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2023 Vol. 22 No. 1 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Review
Crop Science
Horticulture
Plant Protection
Animal Science · Veterinary Medicine
Agro-ecosystem & Environment
Food Science
Agricultural Economics and Management
Short Communication


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Early defoliation is gradually becoming a major problem that poses a threat to the pear industry in southern China, which is caused by multiple factors including abiotic and biotic stress. Notably, the occurrence of early defoliation induces the out-of-season blooming, which subsequently has negative effects on pear tree vigor, fruit quality, and sustained high yield in the following year. To investigate the cultivars resistant to early defoliation, we performed the resistance and susceptibility evaluation of 155 pear accessions response to early defoliation, which provided the important information for both cultivation protection and future breeding in pear, and the transcriptome analysis provides new insights into potentially essential genes responding to early defoliation in pears for future molecular breeding. The photo is provided by the research team of Dr. Wu Jun from Nanjing Agricultural University, China. See pages 120–138 for details.


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Review

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Advances in studies on the physiological and molecular regulation of barley tillering Asad RIAZ, Ahmad M. ALQUDAH, Farah KANWAL, Klaus PILLEN, YE Ling-zhen, DAI Fei, ZHANG Guo-ping 2023, 22(1): 1-13.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.011 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Tillering is a crucial trait closely associated with yield potential and environmental adaptation in cereal crops, regulated by the synergy of endogenous (genetic) and exogenous (environmental) factors.  The physiological and molecular regulation of tillering has been intensively studied in rice and wheat.  However, tillering research on barley is scarce.  This review used the recent advances in bioinformatics to map all known and potential barley tiller development genes with their chromosomal genetic and physical positions.  Many of them were mapped for the first time.  We also discussed tillering regulation at genetic, physiological, and environmental levels.  Moreover, we established a novel link between the genetic control of phytohormones and sugars with tillering.  We provided evidence of how environmental cues and cropping systems help optimize the tiller number.  This comprehensive review enhances the understanding of barley’s physiological and genetic mechanisms controlling tillering and other developmental traits.

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Antioxidant lignans sesamin and sesamolin in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.): a comprehensive review and future prospects Senouwa Segla Koffi DOSSOU, XU Fang-tao, Komivi DOSSA, ZHOU Rong, ZHAO Ying-zhong, WANG Lin-hai 2023, 22(1): 14-30.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.097 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a significantly lucrative cash crop for millions of small-holder farmers.  Its seeds are an important source of a highly appreciated vegetable oil globally and two clinically essential antioxidant lignans, sesamin and sesamolin.  Accordingly, many countries import millions of tons of sesame seed every year.  The demand for lignan-rich sesame seeds has been increasing in recent years due to the continuous discovery of several pharmacological attributes of sesamin and sesamolin.  To meet this demand, the sesame breeder’s primary objective is to release sesame cultivars that are enriched in oil and lignans.  Thus, it is necessary to summarize the information related to the sesamin and sesamolin contents in sesame in order to promote the joint efforts of specialized research teams on this important oilseed crop.  In this article, we present the current knowledge on the sesamin and sesamolin contents in S. indicum L. with respect to the updated biosynthesis pathway, associated markers, governing loci, available variability in sesame germplasm, the in planta potential roles of these compounds in sesame, and the newly discovered pharmacological attributes.  In addition, we propose and discuss some required studies that might facilitate genomics-assisted breeding of high lignan content sesame varieties.

Crop Science

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Less hairy leaf 1, an RNaseH-like protein, regulates trichome formation in rice through auxin CHEN Hong-yan, ZHU Zhu, WANG Xiao-wen, LI Yang-yang, HU Dan-ling, ZHANG Xue-fei, JIA Lu-qi, CUI Zhi-bo, SANG Xian-chun 2023, 22(1): 31-40.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.101 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The trichomes of rice leaves are formed by the differentiation and development of epidermal cells.  Plant trichomes play an important role in stress resistance and protection against direct ultraviolet irradiation.  However, the development of rice trichomes remains poorly understood.  In this study, we conducted ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS)-mediated mutagenesis on the wild-type (WT) indica rice ‘Xida 1B’.  Phenotypic analysis led to the screening of a mutant that is defective in trichome development, designated lhl1 (less hairy leaf 1).  We performed map-based cloning and localized the mutated gene to the 70-kb interval between the molecular markers V-9 and V-10 on chromosome 2.  The locus LOC_Os02g25230 was identified as the candidate gene by sequencing.  We constructed RNA interference (LHL1-RNAi) and overexpression lines (LHL1-OE) to verity the candidate gene.  The leaves of the LHL1-RNAi lines showed the same trichome developmental defects as the lhl1 mutant, whereas the trichome morphology on the leaf surface of the LHL1-OE lines was similar to that of the WT, although the number of trichomes was significantly higher.  Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis revealed that the expression levels of auxin-related genes and positive regulators of trichome development in the lhl1 mutant were down-regulated compared with the WT.  Hormone response analysis revealed that LHL1 expression was affected by auxin.  The results indicate that the influence of LHL1 on trichome development in rice leaves may be associated with an auxin pathway.

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TaABI19 positively regulates grain development in wheat LIU Yun-chuan, WANG Xiao-lu, HAO Chen-yang, IRSHAD Ahsan, LI Tian, LIU Hong-xia, HOU Jian, ZHANG Xue-yong 2023, 22(1): 41-51.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.049 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Starch is the most important component in endosperm, and its synthesis is regulated by multiple transcription factors (TFs) in cereals. However, whether the functions of these TFs are conserved or not among cereals unclear yet. Here, we cloned a B3 family TF, named as TaABI19 based on its orthologous in maize (Zea mays L.). Alignment of DNA and protein showed that ABI19 was conserved in maize and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). We found that TaABI19 was highly expressed in young spike and developing grains and encoded a nucleus-localized transcriptional activator in wheat. The taabi19-b1 null mutants obtained by EMS performed down-regulation of starch synthesis, shorter grain length and lower thousand grain weight (TGW). Furthermore, we provided TaABI19 could bind to the promoters of TaPBF homology genes and enhance their expression. Haplotype association showed that TaABI19-B1 was significantly associated with TGW. We found that Hap2 and Hap3 were favored and underwent positive selection in China wheat breeding. Less than fifty percent in the modern cultivars conveying favored haplotypes indicates TaABI19 still can be considered as target loci for marker-assisted selection breeding to increase TGW in China.

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Genetic effects of Agropyron cristatum 2P chromosome translocation fragments in wheat background XU Shi-rui, JIANG Bo, HAN Hai-ming, JI Xia-jie, ZHANG Jin-peng, ZHOU Sheng-hui, YANG Xin-ming, LI Xiu-quan, LI Li-hui, LIU Wei-hua 2023, 22(1): 52-62.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.094 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Agropyron cristatum (2n=4x=28, PPPP) is a wild relative of common wheat which contains a large number of desirable genes that can be exploited for wheat improvement.  Wheat–A. cristatum 2P alien translocation lines exhibit many desirable traits, such as small flag leaves, a high spikelet number and density, and a compact plant type.  An agronomic trait evaluation and a genetic analysis were carried out on translocation lines and backcross populations of these lines carrying different translocation fragments.  The results showed that a translocation fragment from 2PT-3 (2PL) reduced the length of the flag leaves, while translocation fragments from 2PT-3 (2PL) and 2PT-5 (2PL (0.60–1.00)) reduced the width of the flag leaves.  A translocation fragment from 2PT-13 (2PS (0.18–0.36)) increased the length and area of the flag leaves.  Translocation fragments from 2PT-3 (2PL) and 2PT-8 (2PL (0.86–1.00)) increased the density of spikelets.  Translocation fragments from 2PT-7 (2PL (0.00–0.09)), 2PT-8 (2PL (0.86–1.00)), 2PT-10 (2PS), and 2PT-13 (2PS (0.18–0.36)) reduced plant height.  This study provides a scientific basis for the effective utilization of wheat–A. cristatum translocation lines.

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Grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency and physiological performance of indica/japonica hybrid rice in response to various nitrogen rates ZHOU Qun, YUAN Rui, ZHANG Wei-yang, GU Jun-fei, LIU Li-jun, ZHANG Hao, WANG Zhi-qin, YANG Jian-chang 2023, 22(1): 63-79.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.076 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Utilizing the heterosis of indica/japonica hybrid rice (IJHR) is an effective way to further increase rice grain yield.  Rational application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer plays a very important role in using the heterosis of IJHR to achieve its great yield potential.  However, the responses of the grain yield and N utilization of IJHR to N application rates and the underlying physiological mechanism remain elusive.  The purpose of this study was to clarify these issues.  Three rice cultivars currently used in rice production, an IJHR cultivar Yongyou 2640 (YY2640), a japonica cultivar Lianjing 7 (LJ-7) and an indica cultivar Yangdao 6 (YD-6), were grown in the field with six N rates (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 kg ha–1) in 2018 and 2019.  The results showed that with the increase in N application rates, the grain yield of each test cultivar increased at first and then decreased, and the highest grain yield was at the N rate of 400 kg ha–1 for YY2640, with a grain yield of 13.4 t ha–1, and at 300 kg ha–1 for LJ-7 and YD-6, with grain yields of 9.4–10.6 t ha–1.  The grain yield and N use efficiency (NUE) of YY2640 were higher than those of LJ-7 or YD-6 at the same N rate, especially at the higher N rates.  When compared with LJ-7 or YD-6, YY2640 exhibited better physiological traits, including greater root oxidation activity and leaf photosynthetic rate, higher cytokinin content in the roots and leaves, and more remobilization of assimilates from the stem to the grain during grain filling.  The results suggest that IJHR could attain both higher grain yield and higher NUE than inbred rice at either low or high N application rates.  Improved shoot and root traits of the IJHR contribute to its higher grain yield and NUE, and a higher content of cytokinins in the IJHR plants plays a vital role in their responses to N application rates and also benefits other physiological processes.

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Border effects of the main and ratoon crops in rice ratooning system ZHENG Chang, WANG Yue-chao, XU Wen-ba, YANG De-sheng, YANG Guo-dong, YANG Chen, HUANG Jian-liang, PENG Shao-bing 2023, 22(1): 80-91.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.048 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The border effect (BE) is widely observed in crop field experiments, and it has been extensively studied in many crops.  However, only limited attention has been paid to the BE of ratoon rice.  We conducted field experiments on ratoon rice in Qichun County, Hubei Province, Central China in 2018 and 2019 to compare the BE in the main and ratoon crops, and to quantify the contribution of BE in the main crop to that in the ratoon crop.  The BE of two hybrid varieties was measured for the outermost, second outermost, and third outermost rows in each plot of both crops.  To determine the contribution of BE between the two crops, portions of hills in the outermost and second outermost rows were uprooted during the harvest of the main crop so that the second and third outermost rows then became the outermost rows in the ratoon crop.  Overall, the BE on grain yield was greater in the main crop than in the ratoon crop.  In the main crop, the BE on grain yield was 98.3% in the outermost row, which was explained by the BE on panicles m–2, spikelets/panicle, spikelets m–2, and total dry weight.  In the ratoon crop, the BE on grain yield was reduced to 60.9 and 27.6% with and without the contribution of the BE in the main crop, respectively.  Consequently, 55.1% of the BE on grain yield in the ratoon crop was contributed from the main crop.  High stubble dry weight and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) accumulation at the harvest of the main crop were responsible for the contribution of BE in the main crop to that in the ratoon crop.  Our results suggest that increases in stubble dry weight and NSC accumulation at the harvest of the main crop could be important strategies for developing high-yielding cropping practices in the rice ratooning system.

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Agronomic management practices in dryland wheat result in variations in precipitation use efficiency due to their differential impacts on the steps in the precipitation use process YANG Wen-jia, LI Yu-lin, LIU Wei-jian, WANG Shi-wen, YIN Li-na, DENG Xi-ping 2023, 22(1): 92-107.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.102 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Yield loss due to low precipitation use efficiency (PUE) occurs frequently in dryland crop production.  PUE is determined by a complicated process of precipitation use in farmland, which includes several sequential steps: precipitation infiltrates into the soil, the infiltrated precipitation is stored in soil, the soil-stored precipitation is consumed through transpiration or evaporation, transpired precipitation is used to produce dry-matter, and finally dry-matter is re-allocated to grains.  These steps can be quantified by six ratios: precipitation infiltration ratio (SW/SWe; SW, total available water; SWe, available soil water storage at the end of a specific period), precipitation storage ratio (SWe/P; P, effective precipitation), precipitation consumption ratio (ET/SW; ET, evapotranspiration), ratio of crop transpiration to evapotranspiration (T/ET; T, crop transpiration), transpiration efficiency (B/T; B, the increment of shoot biomass) and harvest index (Y/B; Y, grain yield).  The final efficiency is then calculated as: PUE=SWe/P×SW/SWe×ET/SW×T/ET×B/T×Y/B.  Quantifying each of those ratios is crucial for the planning and execution of PUE improvements and for optimizing the corresponding agronomic practices in a specific agricultural system.  In this study, those ratios were quantified and evaluated under four integrated agronomic management systems.  Our study revealed that PUE and wheat yield were significantly increased by 8–31% under manure (MIS) or biochar (BIS) integrated systems compared to either conventional farmers’ (CF) or high N (HN) integrated systems.  In the infiltration and storage steps, MIS and BIS resulted in lower SWe/P but higher SW/SWe compared with CF and HN.  Regarding the consumption step, the annual ET/SW under MIS and BIS did not increase due to the higher ET after regreening and the lower ET before regreening compared with CF or HN.  The T/ET was significantly higher under MIS and BIS than under CF or HN.  In the last two steps, transpiration efficiency and harvest index were less strongly affected by the agronomic management system, although both values varied considerably across the different experimental years.  Therefore, attempts to achieve higher PUE and yields in rainfed wheat through agronomic management should focus on increasing the T/ET and SW/SWe, while maintaining ET/SW throughout the year and keeping SWe/P relatively low at harvest time.

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Effect of the L-D1 alleles on leaf morphology, canopy structure and photosynthetic productivity in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) JIANG Hui, GAO Ming-wei, CHEN Ying, ZHANG Chao, WANG Jia-bao, CHAI Qi-chao, WANG Yong-cui, ZHENG Jin-xiu, WANG Xiu-li, ZHAO Jun-sheng 2023, 22(1): 108-119.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.099 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   One of the most important objectives for breeders is to develop high-yield cultivars.  The increase in crop yield has met with bottlenecks after the first green revolution, and more recent efforts have been focusing on achieving high photosynthetic efficiency traits in order to enhance the yield.  Leaf shape is a significant agronomic trait of upland cotton that affects plant and canopy architecture, yield, and other production attributes.  The major leaf shape types, including normal, sub-okra, okra, and super-okra, with varying levels of lobe severity, are controlled by a multiple allelic series of the D-genome locus L-D1.  To analyze the effects of L-D1 alleles on leaf morphology, photosynthetic related traits and yield of cotton, two sets of near isogenic lines (NILs) with different alleles were constructed in Lumianyan 22 (LMY22) and Lumianyan 28 (LMY28) backgrounds.  The analysis of morphological parameters and the results of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) showed that the regulation of leaf shape by L-D1 alleles was similar to a gene-dosage effect.  Compared with the normal leaf, deeper lobes of the sub-okra leaf improved plant canopy structure by decreasing the leaf area index (LAI) and increasing the light transmittance rate (LTR), and the mid-range LAI of sub-okra leaf also guaranteed the accumulation of cotton biomass.  Although the chlorophyll content (SPAD) of sub-okra leaf was lower than those of the other two leaf shapes, the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of sub-okra leaf was higher than those of okra leaf and normal leaf at most stages.  Thus, the improvements in canopy structure, as well as photosynthetic and physiological characteristics, contributed to optimizing the light environment, thereby increasing the total biomass and yield in the lines with a sub-okra leaf shape.  Our results suggest that the sub-okra leaf may have practical application in cultivating varieties, and could enhance sustainable and profitable cotton production.

Horticulture

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Evaluation of the early defoliation trait and identification of resistance genes through a comprehensive transcriptome analysis in pears SHAN Yan-fei, LI Meng-yan, WANG Run-ze, LI Xiao-gang, LIN Jing, LI Jia-ming, ZHAO Ke-jiao, WU Jun 2023, 22(1): 120-138.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.040 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Early defoliation, which usually occurs during summer in pear trees, is gradually becoming a major problem that poses a serious threat to the pear industry in southern China.  However, there is no system for evaluating the responses of different cultivars to early defoliation, and our knowledge of the potential molecular regulation of the genes underlying this phenomenon is still limited.  In this study, we conducted field investigations of 155 pear accessions to assess their resistance or susceptibility to early defoliation.  A total of 126 accessions were found to be susceptible to early defoliation, and only 29 accessions were resistant.  Among them, 19 resistant accessions belong to the sand pear species (Pyrus pyrifolia).  To identify the resistance genes related to early defoliation, the healthy and diseased samples of two sand pear accessions, namely, the resistant early defoliation accession ‘Whasan’ and the susceptible early defoliation accession ‘Cuiguan’, were used to perform RNA sequencing.  Compared with ‘Cuiguan’, a total of 444 genes were uniquely differentially expressed in ‘Whasan’.  Combined with GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, we found that early defoliation was closely related to the stress response.  Furthermore, a weighted gene co-expression network analysis revealed a high correlation of WRKY and ethylene responsive factor (ERF) transcription factors with early defoliation resistance.  This study provides useful resistant germplasm resources and new insights into potentially essential genes that respond to early defoliation in pears, which may facilitate a better understanding of the resistance mechanism and molecular breeding of resistant pear cultivars

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PpMAPK6 regulates peach bud endodormancy release through interactions with PpDAM6 ZHANG Yu-zheng, XU Chen, LU Wen-li, WANG Xiao-zhe, WANG Ning, MENG Xiang-guang, FANG Yu-hui, TAN Qiu-ping, CHEN Xiu-de, FU Xi-ling, LI Ling 2023, 22(1): 139-148.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.09.010 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The MADS-box (DAM) gene PpDAM6, which is related to dormancy, plays a key role in bud endodormancy release, and the expression of PpDAM6 decreases during endodormancy release.  However, the interaction network that governs its regulation of the endodormancy release of flower buds in peach remains unclear.  In this study, we used yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays to identify a mitogen-activated protein kinase, PpMAPK6, that interacts with PpDAM6 in a peach dormancy-associated SSHcDNA library.  PpMAPK6 is primarily located in the nucleus, and Y2H and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays verified that PpMAPK6 interacts with PpDAM6 by binding to the MADS-box domain of PpDAM6.  Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression of PpMAPK6 was opposite that of PpDAM6 in the endodormancy release of three cultivars with different chilling requirements (Prunus persica ‘Chunjie’, Prunus persica var. nectarina ‘Zhongyou 5’, Prunus persica ‘Qingzhou peach’).  In addition, abscisic acid (ABA) inhibited the expression of PpMAPK6 and promoted the expression of PpDAM6 in flower buds.  The results indicated that PpMAPK6 might phosphorylate PpDAM6 to accelerate its degradation by interacting with PpDAM6.  The expression of PpMAPK6 increased with decreasing ABA content during endodormancy release in peach flower buds, which in turn decreased the expression of PpDAM6 and promoted endodormancy release.

Plant Protection

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Occurrence pattern and morphological polymorphism of weedy rice in China WANG Hao-quan, DAI Wei-min, ZHANG Zi-xu, LI Meng-shuo, MENG Ling-chao, ZHANG Zheng, LU Huan, SONG Xiao-ling, QIANG Sheng 2023, 22(1): 149-169.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.001 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Rice, the main food crop in China, has been sporadically reported to suffer from weedy rice infestation.  However, the overall occurrence and distribution pattern of Chinese weedy rice remains unclear because a systematic survey has not been conducted.  In order to reveal the infestation of Chinese weedy rice, a field survey was conducted in 999 sampling sites all over the rice-growing regions in China from 2009 to 2016 using seven-scale visual scoring of the level of weed infestation.  Weedy rice was found 39% occurrence incidence in a total of 387 sites.  The sampling sites with 50% or higher overall weedy rice infestation index mainly radiated from Jiangsu, Heilongjiang, Ningxia and Guangdong to the whole East China, Northeast China, Northwest China and South China.  A total of 45 morphological characters from 287 populations (collected simultaneously with the field survey) out of those occurred sites were observed and analyzed using multivariate analysis in common gardens with the same cultivation conditions in 2017 and 2019.  Canonical correlation analysis showed that 45 morphological characters were significantly related to the latitude, mean temperature, minimum temperature, precipitation and mean diurnal range factors.  The 287 weedy rice populations were divided into three morphological groups with climate-dependent geographical differentiation: strong tiller type only in Jiangsu, large leaf type in South China and Central China and large grain type mainly in North China.  Weedy rice seriously infested rice fields and had a geography, climate and cultivated rice type-dependent morphological and biotype differentiation in China.  It is suggested to pay attention to the harmfulness of weedy rice and adopt comprehensive control strategies.

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In vitro and in silico studies of salicylic acid on systemic induced resistance against bacterial leaf blight disease and enhancement of crop yield Wannaporn THEPBANDIT, Narendra Kumar PAPATHOTI, Jayasimha Rayulu DADDAM, Nguyen Huy HOANG, Toan LE THANH, Chanon SAENGCHAN, Kumrai BUENSANTEAI 2023, 22(1): 170-184.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.112 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Salicylic acid (SA) is an effective elicitor to promote plant defenses and growth.  This study aimed to investigate rice (Oryza sativa L.) cv. Khao Dawk Mali 105 treated with salicylic acid (SA)-Ricemate as an enhanced plant protection mechanism against bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo).  Results indicated that the use of SA-Ricemate as a foliar spray at concentrations of more than 100 mg L–1 can reduce the severity of BLB  by 71%.  SA-Ricemate treatment also increased the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content of rice leaf tissues over untreated samples by 39–61%.  Malondialdehyde (MDA) in rice leaves treated with SA-Ricemate also showed an increase of 50–65% when comparing to non-treated samples.  The differential development of these defense compounds was faster and distinct when the SA-Ricemate-treated rice was infected with Xoo, indicating plant-induced resistance.  Besides, SA-Ricemate elicitor at a concentration of 50–250 mg L–1 was correlated with a substantial increase in the accumulation of total chlorophyll content at 2.53–2.73 mg g–1 of fresh weight which suggests that plant growth is activated by SA-Ricemate.  The catalase- and aldehyde dehydrogenase-binding sites were searched for using the CASTp server, and the findings were compared to the template.  Chemsketch was used to design and optimize SA, which was then docked to the catalase and aldehyde dehydrogenase-binding domains of the enzymes using the GOLD 3.0.1 Software.  SA is shown in several docked conformations with the enzymes catalase and aldehyde dehydrogenase.  All three catalase amino acids (GLN7, VAL27, and GLU38) were discovered to be involved in the creation of a strong hydrogen bond with SA when SA was present.  In this mechanism, the aldehyde dehydrogenase amino acids LYS5, HIS6, and ASP2 were all implicated, and these amino acids created strong hydrogen bonds with SA.  In field conditions, SA-Ricemate significantly reduced disease severity by 78% and the total grain yield was significantly increased which was an increase of plant height, tiller per hill, and panicle in three field trials during Aug–Nov 2017 and 2018.  Therefore, SA-Ricemate can be used as an alternative elicitor on replacing harmful pesticides to control BLB disease with a high potential of increasing rice defenses, growth, and yield components.

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Regional selection of insecticides and fungal biopesticides to control aphids and thrips and improve the forage quality of alfalfa crops PAN Fan, GAO Li-jie, ZHU Kai-hui, DU Gui-lin, ZHU Meng-meng, ZHAO Li, GAO Yu-lin, TU Xiong-bing, ZHANG Ze-hua 2023, 22(1): 185-194.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.070 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The efficacies of biological and conventional chemical insecticides against two major insect pests of alfalfa (aphids and thrips) were compared in three sites across China’s alfalfa belt.  In addition, the persistence of the residues of chemical insecticides in alfalfa and their influence on the quality of alfalfa hay were examined.  Efficacy varied among the different biological and chemical insecticides.  The chemical insecticides were significantly more effective than biopesticides in a short time-frame.  The efficacy period of biopesticides was significantly longer than that of chemical insecticides, and the corrected mortality rate of aphids in all regions was above 50% at 14 days after application.  The analysis of pesticide residues showed that the residual doses of all the pesticides were within the allowed ranges after the safe period.  The acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents in alfalfa hay were higher and the protein content was lower in chemical insecticide treatments than in biopesticide treatments in Hebei.  The relative feeding value of alfalfa hay treated with Metarhizium anisopliae IPP330189 was the highest among the treatments.  Compared with chemical insecticides, the yield of alfalfa hay was higher in the biopesticides treatments.  Biopesticides show a stronger control effect on insect populations and also a better improvement in the quality of alfalfa hay than chemical insecticides.  This study provides a basis for exploring and developing a comprehensive control regime for alfalfa insect pests in the different alfalfa-growing regions in China, and for reducing chemical insecticide usage and improving forage quality.

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Development of a high-efficiency sex pheromone formula to control Euproctis pseudoconspersa LI Zhao-qun, YUAN Ting-ting, CUI Shao-wei, ZHAO Ying-jie, SHAO Yuan-hai, SHANG Jian-nong, LUO Zong-xiu, CAI Xiao-ming, BIAN Lei, CHEN Zong-mao 2023, 22(1): 195-201.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.113 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The tea tussock moth (Euproctis pseudoconspersa) is one of the most destructive chewing pests in tea plantations and causes a serious allergic reaction on the skin of tea plantation workers.  The sex pheromone components of its Japanese population were first identified as 10,14-dimethylpentadecyl isobutyrate (10Me14Me-15:iBu) and 14-methylpentadecyl isobutyrate (14Me-15:iBu), with a stereogenic center.  Only 10Me14Me-15:iBu has been identified in the Chinese E. pseudoconspersa population.  However, field tests have shown that 10Me14Me-15:iBu cannot meet the demand of effective pest control in China.  To develop a high-efficiency E. pseudoconspersa sex pheromone formula, electroantennogram (EAG) recordings of (S)- and (R)-enantiomers of 10Me14Me-15:iBu and 14Me-15:iBu were obtained in the present study.  The results demonstrated that the EAG responses of male antennae to (R)-enantiomers were significantly higher than responses to the (S)-enantiomers, and 14Me-15:iBu also elicited EAG activity.  Field tests showed that the catch numbers of male moths by (R)-enantiomers were significantly higher (P<0.05) than those of (S)-enantiomers.  Addition of 14Me-15:iBu significantly increased the catch numbers of both the (S)- and (R)-enantiomers.  The efficient pheromone formula containing 0.75 mg (R)-10Me14Me-15:iBu and 0.1 mg 14Me-15:iBu showed significantly higher attractiveness than commercial pheromone products.  Our study demonstrated that (R)-10Me14Me-15:iBu was the major sex pheromone component of E. pseudoconspersa, and 14Me-15:iBu might be the minor sex pheromone component.  Furthermore, a high-efficiency sex pheromone formula for E. pseudoconspersa control was defined in this study.

Animal Science · Veterinary Medicine

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The collagen type I alpha 1 chain gene is an alternative safe harbor locus in the porcine genome XIANG Guang-ming, ZHANG Xiu-ling, XU Chang-jiang, FAN Zi-yao, XU Kui, WANG Nan, WANG Yue, CHE Jing-jing, XU Song-song, MU Yu-lian, LI Kui, LIU Zhi-guo 2023, 22(1): 202-213.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.105 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Efficient and stable expression of foreign genes in cells and transgenic animals is important for gain-of-function studies and the establishment of bioreactors.  Safe harbor loci in the animal genome enable consistent overexpression of foreign genes, without side effects.  However, relatively few safe harbor loci are available in pigs, a fact which has impeded the development of multi-transgenic pig research.  We report a strategy for efficient transgene knock-in in the endogenous collagen type I alpha 1 chain (COL1A1) gene using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system.  After the knock-in of a 2A peptide-green fluorescence protein (2A-GFP) transgene in the last codon of COL1A1 in multiple porcine cells, including porcine kidney epithelial (PK15), porcine embryonic fibroblast (PEF) and porcine intestinal epithelial (IPI-2I) cells, quantitative PCR (qPCR), Western blotting, RNA-seq and CCK8 assay were performed to assess the safety of COL1A1 locus.  The qPCR results showed that the GFP knock-in had no effect (P=0.29, P=0.66 and P=0.20 for PK15, PEF and IPI-2I cells, respectively) on the mRNA expression of COL1A1 gene.  Similarly, no significant differences (P=0.64, P=0.48 and P=0.80 for PK15, PEF and IPI-2I cells, respectively) were found between the GFP knock-in and wild type cells by Western blotting.  RNA-seq results revealed that the transcriptome of GFP knock-in PEF cells had a significant positive correlation (P<2.2e–16) with that of the wild type cells, indicating that the GFP knock-in did not alter the global expression of endogenous genes.  Furthermore, the CCK8 assay showed that the GFP knock-in events had no adverse effects (P24h=0.31, P48h=0.96, P72h=0.24, P96h=0.17, and P120h=0.38) on cell proliferation of PK15 cells.  These results indicate that the COL1A1 locus can be used as a safe harbor for foreign genes knock-in into the pig genome and can be broadly applied to farm animal breeding and biomedical model establishment

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Dietary copper supplementation modulates performance and lipid metabolism in meat goat kids ZHANG Yan-mei, AO De, LEI Kai-wen, XI Lin, Jerry W SPEARS, SHI Hai-tao, HUANG Yan-ling, YANG Fa-long 2023, 22(1): 214-221.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.066 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Forty-eight male Lezhi black goat kids with similar body weight ((12.09±1.70) kg) and age ((60±5) d) were used to determine the effect of dietary copper (Cu), in the form of reagent grade Cu sulfate (CuSO4∙5H2O), on performance, serum lipid profile, and the relative mRNA abundance of genes involved in lipid metabolism.  Goat kids were stratified by body weight and randomly assigned to one of 4 treatment groups.  Each treatment consisted of 12 replicate pens with each pen containing one goat kid.  Treatment groups received the basal diet with no supplemental Cu (control), basal diet plus 10 mg of Cu kg–1 of dry matter (DM), basal diet plus 20 mg of Cu kg–1 of DM, or basal diet plus 30 mg of Cu kg–1 of DM.  Goats were housed individually in pens and fed a high-concentrate pelleted diet for 60 d.  Average daily gain, average daily feed intake and feed:gain of goats were not affected by dietary Cu supplementation (P>0.10).  No differences were detected in serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, and high density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations of goat kids fed with different Cu concentrations (P>0.05).  However, serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations decreased linearly (P=0.01) as the concentration of dietary Cu increased.  Intramuscular fat content of longissimus muscle increased (P=0.002) quadratically and liver Cu concentrations increased (P<0.001) linearly as dietary Cu concentration increased.  Compared with the control, dietary supplementation of 20 mg Cu kg–1 DM decreased the relative mRNA abundance of fatty acid-binding protein 4 (P=0.01) and lipoprotein lipase (P=0.05), and tended to decrease the relative mRNA abundance of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (P=0.06) in longissimus muscle of goats.  The relative mRNA abundance of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (P<0.001), carnitine acetyltransferase (P=0.001), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (P=0.001) were also decreased in liver by Cu supplementation.  These results indicate that dietary supplementation of Cu modified lipid metabolism by increasing muscular fat and decreasing serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and the modification might be associated with the reduction of relative mRNA abundance of genes for oxidation of long-chain fatty acid in muscle and liver of Lezhi black goat kids.

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Potential regulation of linoleic acid and volatile organic compound contents in meat of chickens by PLCD1 LIU Xiao-jing, WANG Yong-li, LIU Li, LIU Lu, ZHAO Gui-ping, WEN Jie, JIA Ya-xiong, CUI Huan-xian 2023, 22(1): 222-234.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.063 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Omega-3 (linolenic acid (ALA), docosapentaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid) and omega-6 (linoleic acid (LA), arachidonic acid) polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential for health and normal physiological functioning in humans.  Here we report a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on LA content in chicken meat.  The 19 significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified by the GWAS approach were annotated in VILL, PLCD1 and OXSR1 genes with highly polymorphic linkage blocks, and explained 4.5% of the phenotypic variation in the LA content.  Specifically, the PLCD1 mRNA expression level was negatively correlated with the LA content, and significantly higher in chickens with low LA content than in those with high LA content.  In addition, PLCD1 was found to be involved in metabolic pathways, etc.  Furthermore, the LA content was correlated with volatile organic compounds (e.g., octanal, etc.), but no relationship was found with intramuscular fat and triglycerides in chicken meat.  The results indicated that there are key SNPs in PLCD1 that regulate the content of LA, and it has no significant effect on fat deposition, but may affect the content of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Agro-ecosystem & Environment

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Local nitrogen application increases maize post-silking nitrogen uptake of responsive genotypes via enhanced deep root growth CHEN Zhe, REN Wei, YI Xia, LI Qiang, CAI Hong-guang, Farhan ALI, YUAN Li-xing, MI Guo-hua, PAN Qing-chun, CHEN Fan-jun 2023, 22(1): 235-250.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.07.003 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Nitrogen (N) is unevenly distributed throughout the soil and plant roots proliferate in N-rich soil patches.  However, the relationship between the root response to localized N supply and maize N uptake efficiency among different genotypes is unclear.  In this study, four maize varieties were evaluated to explore genotypic differences in the root response to local N application in relation to N uptake.  A split-root system was established for hydroponically-grown plants and two methods of local N application (local banding and local dotting) were examined in the field.  Genotypic differences in the root length response to N were highly correlated between the hydroponic and field conditions (r>0.99).  Genotypes showing high response to N, ZD958, XY335 and XF32D22, showed 50‒63% longer lateral root length and 36‒53% greater root biomass in N-rich regions under hydroponic conditions, while the LY13 genotype did not respond to N.  Under field conditions, the root length of the high-response genotypes was found to increase by 66‒75% at 40‒60 cm soil depth, while LY13 showed smaller changes in root length.  In addition, local N application increased N uptake at the post-silking stage by 16‒88% in the high-response genotypes and increased the grain yield of ZD958 by 10‒12%.  Moreover, yield was positively correlated with root length at 40‒60 cm soil depth (r=0.39).  We conclude that local fertilization should be used for high-response genotypes, which can be rapidly identified at the seedling stage, and selection for “local-N responsive roots” can be a promising trait in maize breeding for high nitrogen uptake efficiency.

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Reduction of N2O emissions by DMPP depends on interaction of nitrogen source (digestate vs. urea) with soil properties LI Hao-ruo, SONG Xiao-tong, Lars R. BAKKEN, JU Xiao-tang 2023, 22(1): 251-264.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.009 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The inhibition of nitrification by mixing nitrification inhibitors (NI) with fertilizers is emerging as an effective method to reduce fertilizer-induced nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions.  The additive 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) apparently inhibits ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) more than ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA), which dominate the nitrification in alkaline and acid soil, respectively.  However, the efficacy of DMPP in terms of nitrogen sources interacting with soil properties remains unclear.  We therefore conducted a microcosm experiment using three typical Chinese agricultural soils with contrasting pH values (fluvo-aquic soil, black soil and red soil), which were fertilized with either digestate or urea in conjunction with a range of DMPP concentrations.  In the alkaline fluvo-aquic soil, fertilization with either urea or digestate induced a peak in N2O emission (60 μg N kg–1 d–1) coinciding with the rapid nitrification within 3 d following fertilization.  DMPP almost eliminated this peak in N2O emission, reducing it by nearly 90%, despite the fact that the nitrification rate was only reduced by 50%.  In the acid black soil, only the digestate induced an N2O emission that increased gradually, reaching its maximum (20 μg N kg–1 d–1) after 5–7 d.  The nitrification rate and N2O emission were both marginally reduced by DMPP in the black soil, and the N2O yield (N2O-N per NO2–+NO3–-N produced) was exceptionally high at 3.5%, suggesting that the digestate induced heterotrophic denitrification.  In the acid red soil, the N2O emission spiked in the digestate and urea treatments at 50 and 10 μg N kg–1 d–1, respectively, and DMPP reduced the rates substantially by nearly 70%.  Compared with 0.5% DMPP, the higher concentrations of DMPP (1.0 to 1.5%) did not exert a significantly (P<0.05) better inhibition effect on the N2O emissions in these soils (either with digestate or urea).  This study highlights the importance of matching the nitrogen sources, soil properties and NIs to achieve a high efficiency of N2O emission reduction.

Food Science

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Influence of two-stage harvesting on the properties of cold-pressed rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) oils NING Ning, HU Bing, BAI Chen-yang, LI Xiao-hua, KUAI Jie, HE Han-zi, REN Yi-lin, WANG Bo, JIA Cai-hua, ZHOU Guang-sheng, ZHAO Si-ming 2023, 22(1): 265-278.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.09.015 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) harvesting method is critical since it significantly determines the seed yield, oil quality, and industrial efficiency.  This study investigated the influences of harvesting methods on the quality of cold-pressed rapeseed oil of two varieties.  Oil color, peroxide value (POV), tocopherol content, fatty acid composition, and polarity of total polyphenols (PTP) contents of two rapeseed varieties in Huanggang and Xiangyang were compared through artificially simulated combined harvesting and two-stage harvesting.  Results showed significant differences in the quality of rapeseed oil between the two harvesting methods.  The red value (R-value), POV, total tocopherol contents, linoleic and linolenic acid content, and PTP content of the pressed rapeseed oil prepared by the combined harvesting method were about 27.6, 5.7, 15.8, 2.0, 0.5, and 28.6% lower than those of the oil produced from the two-stage harvesting method, respectively.  Xiangyang and Huayouza62 performed better in the two regions and two varieties, respectively.  To sum up, the rapeseed oil obtained 41–44 days after final flowering of combined harvesting, 35 days after final flowering, and six days of post-ripening of the two-stage harvesting had the best quality.

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Visual learning graph convolution for multi-grained orange quality grading GUAN Zhi-bin, ZHANG Yan-qi, CHAI Xiu-juan, CHAI Xin, ZHANG Ning, ZHANG Jian-hua, SUN Tan 2023, 22(1): 279-291.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.09.019 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The quality of oranges is grounded on their appearance and diameter.  Appearance refers to the skin’s smoothness and surface cleanliness; diameter refers to the transverse diameter size.  They are visual attributes that visual perception technologies can automatically identify.  Nonetheless, the current orange quality assessment needs to address two issues: 1) There are no image datasets for orange quality grading; 2) It is challenging to effectively learn the fine-grained and distinct visual semantics of oranges from diverse angles.  This study collected 12 522 images from 2 087 oranges for multi-grained grading tasks.  In addition, it presented a visual learning graph convolution approach for multi-grained orange quality grading, including a backbone network and a graph convolutional network (GCN).  The backbone network’s object detection, data augmentation, and feature extraction can remove extraneous visual information.  GCN was utilized to learn the topological semantics of orange feature maps.  Finally, evaluation results proved that the recognition accuracy of diameter size, appearance, and fine-grained orange quality were 99.50, 97.27, and 97.99%, respectively, indicating that the proposed approach is superior to others.

Agricultural Economics and Management

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Farmers’ precision pesticide technology adoption and its influencing factors: Evidence from apple production areas in China YUE Meng, LI Wen-jing, JIN Shan, CHEN Jing, CHANG Qian, Glyn JONES, CAO Yi-ying, YANG Gui-jun, LI Zhen-hong, Lynn J. FREWER 2023, 22(1): 292-305.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.11.002 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   The research aimed to understand farmers’ willingness to adopt (WTA) and willingness to pay (WTP) for precision pesticide technologies and analyzed the determinants of farmers’ decision-making.  We used a two-stage approach to consider farmers’ WTA and WTP for precision pesticide technologies.  A survey of 545 apple farmers was administered in Bohai Bay and the Loess Plateau in China.  The data were analyzed using the double-hurdle model.  The results indicated that 78.72% of respondents were willing to apply precision pesticide technologies provided by service organizations such as cooperatives and dedicated enterprises, and 69.72% were willing to buy the equipment for using precision pesticide technologies.  The results of the determinant analysis indicated that farmers’ perceived perceptions, farm scale, cooperative membership, access to digital information, and availability of financial services had significant and positive impacts on farmers’ WTA precision pesticide technologies.  Cooperative membership, technical training, and adherence to environmental regulations increased farmers’ WTP for precision pesticide technologies.  Moreover, nonlinear relationships between age, agricultural experience, and farmers’ WTA and WTP for precision pesticide technology services were found.

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Consumers’ experiences and preferences for plant-based meat food: Evidence from a choice experiment in four cities of China WANG Ge, Madison T PLASTER, Bai Yun-li, LIU Cheng-fang 2023, 22(1): 306-319.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.09.008 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   This paper examined consumers’ experiences in and preferences for plant-based meat (PBM) food and their respective correlates, based on data from an online survey of 579 consumers in four major cities in China in early 2021.  We first described consumers’ experiences in consuming and purchasing PBM food and their correlates, and then analyzed consumer preferences using hypothetical choice experiment.  The experiment offered consumers various options to purchase burgers made from PBM or animal-based meat (ABM), combined with different countries of origin (COO), taste labels, and prices.  Our data showed that respondents hold overall positive attitudes toward PBM food; 85 and 82% of respondents reported experience in eating and purchasing PBM food, respectively.  More than half of them ate PBM food because they wanted to try new food (58%), or were interested in healthy food (56%).  Income, religion, and dietary restrictions were significantly correlated with consumers’ experiences in PBM food consumption.  Results from the Random Parameter Logit Model based on the hypothetical choice experiment data showed that 79% of respondents chose PBM burgers and were willing to pay an average of 88 CNY for a PBM burger.  We also found that 99.8 and 83% of respondents are willing to buy burgers made in China and those with a taste label, with a willingness to pay (WTP) of 208 and 120 CNY, respectively.  The heterogeneity test revealed that females and those with at least a bachelor’s degree, higher income, religious beliefs, and dietary restrictions are more likely to buy PBM burgers than their counterparts

Short Communication

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Characterization of a blaCTX-M-3, blaKPC-2 and blaTEM-1B co-producing IncN plasmid in Escherichia coli of chicken origin WANG Wen-jing, WANG Yi-fu, JIN Ya-jie, SONG Wu-qiang, LIN Jia-meng, ZHANG Yan, TONG Xin-ru, TU Jian, LI Rui-chao, LI Tao 2023, 22(1): 320-324.  DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.075 Abstract ( )   PDF in ScienceDirect   An extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Escherichia coli strain 258E was isolated from an anal swab sample of a chicken farm of Anhui province in China. Genomic analyses indicated that the strain 258E harbors an incompatibility group N (IncN) plasmid pEC258-3, which co-produces blaCTX-M-3, blaKPC-2, blaTEM-1B, qnrS1, aac(6')-Ib-cr, dfrA14, arr-3, and aac(6')-Ib3. Multiple genome arrangement analyses indicated that pEC258-3 is highly homologous with pCRKP-1-KPC discovered in Klebsiella pneumoniae from a patient. Furthermore, conjugation experiments proved that plasmid pEC258-3 can be transferred horizontally and may pose a significant potential threat in animals, community and hospital settings.