本研究从中国东南、华北和东北花生产区收集了大量的田间试验数据研究了1993-2018年间花生产量、养分吸收和植株体分布特征的变化。从1993至2018年，三大区域的花生荚果产量均逐步增加，东南、华北和东北产区的平均产量分别为4148、5138和4635 kg ha^–1。三个区域的氮肥内效率相似，磷肥内效率在区域间从低到高变化为：华北<东南<东北，而钾内效率表现出东南<华北<东北的变化模式。根据养分内效率，生产1吨的荚果产量，花生地上部的平均氮、磷和钾需求量分别为：东南区44.8、5.7和20.6 kg，华北区47.2、5.1和25.5 kg，东北区44.6、4.4和14.7 kg。区域间N/P比以华北<东南<东北的模式变化，东北和华北区N/K比相似，但东南较低。在高量养分吸收情况下，三区域氮、钾收获指数均随养分吸收量的增加而下降。华北高的秸秆磷积累可解释其低的磷肥内效率和N/P比，而东北区高的钾内效率和N/K归因于低的土壤钾供应。前沿分析方法表明养分收获指数随着养分吸收量的增加而下降。本研究揭示了中国不同花生产区的养分供应的限制和盈余状况。

自2018年8月非洲猪瘟在中国爆发以来，在信息快速传播的时代受到全社会的广泛关注。非洲猪瘟的发生发展导致猪肉等主要肉类市场供需失衡，肉类价格大幅剧烈波动。为了分析非洲猪瘟对猪肉等肉类价格的影响，本文采用网络爬虫方法构建了基于互联网非洲猪瘟关注度指数作为非洲猪瘟疫情的代理变量，运用时变参数向量自回归模型 (TVP-VAR) 分析了非洲猪瘟与肉类价格的动态关系。研究发现，非洲猪瘟对猪肉、鸡肉、牛羊肉价格的影响程度、方向和时滞上存在差异，且影响效应有显著的时变特征；同时，非洲猪瘟对肉类价格的影响程度与非洲猪瘟的发展趋势和程度并不一致，脉冲强度与非洲猪瘟的强度和持续时间强相关且脉冲强度在早期普遍较弱，中后期显著增强。未来应加强对非猪瘟的宏观调控，强化市场监测预警，规范生产流通和舆论监测引导，以期而稳定肉类市场预期，促进畜禽市场平稳运行。

花青素是决定梨果皮颜色的重要成分。研究发现褪黑素可以影响花青素代谢，但褪黑素采前处理对果实着色的作用尚不清楚。本试验以‘南红梨’为材料，研究了50、200 μM褪黑素采前喷施梨果实，对果皮着色、酚类物质含量及相关基因表达的影响。结果表明，褪黑素采前喷施可以显著影响梨果实着色，提高果皮中花青素和黄酮醇的含量，降低羟基肉桂酸和黄烷醇的含量，同时增加多数花青素合成基因和相关转录因子的相对表达量。此外，外源褪黑素处理促进了褪黑素合成相关基因的表达，从而增加果皮中内源褪黑素的含量。试验结果为探索褪黑素调控果实花青素代谢提供了新的思路，并有助于外源褪黑素在农业上的应用。

Soil salinity and alkalinity can inhibit crop growth and reduce yield, and this has become a global environmental concern. Combined changes in nitrogen (N) application and hill density can improve rice yields in sodic saline–alkaline paddy fields and protect the environment. We investigated the interactive effects of N application rate and hill density on rice yield and N accumulation, translocation and utilization in two field experiments during 2018 and 2019 in sodic saline–alkaline paddy fields. Five N application rates (0 (control), 90, 120, 150, and 180 kg N ha⁻¹ (N0–N4), respectively) and three hill densities (achieved by altering the distance between hills, in rows spaced 30 cm apart: 16.5 cm (D1), 13.3 cm (D2) and 10 cm (D3)) were utilized in a split-plot design with three replicates. Nitrogen application rate and hill density significantly affected grain yield. The mathematical model of quadratic saturated D-optimal design showed that with an N application rate in the range of 0–180 kg N ha⁻¹, the highest yield was obtained at 142.61 kg N ha⁻¹ which matched with a planting density of 33.3×10⁴ ha⁻¹. Higher grain yield was mainly attributed to the increase in panicles m^–2. Nitrogen application rate and hill density significantly affected N accumulation in the aboveground parts of rice plants and showed a highly significant positive correlation with grain yield at maturity. From full heading to maturity, the average N loss rate of the aboveground parts of rice plants in N4 was 70.21% higher than that of N3. This is one of the reasons why the yield of N4 treatment is lower than that of the N3 treatment. Nitrogen accumulation rates in the aboveground parts under treatment N3 (150 kg N ha⁻¹) were 81.68 and 106.07% higher in 2018 and 2019, respectively, than those in the control. The N translocation and N translocation contribution rates increased with the increase in the N application rate and hill density, whereas N productivity of dry matter and grain first increased and then decreased with the increase in N application rate and hill density. Agronomic N-use efficiency decreased with an increase in N application rate, whereas hill density did not significantly affect it. Nitrogen productivity of dry matter and grain, and agronomic N-use efficiency, were negatively correlated with grain yield. Thus, rice yield in sodic saline–alkaline paddy fields can be improved by combined changes in the N application rate and hill density to promote aboveground N accumulation. Our study provides novel evidence regarding optimal N application rates and hill densities for sodic saline–alkaline rice paddies.

Understanding yield potential, yield gap and the priority of management factors for reducing the yield gap in current intensive maize production is essential for meeting future food demand with the limited resources. In this study, we conducted field experiments using different planting modes, which were basic productivity (CK), farmer practice (FP), high yield and high efficiency (HH), and super high yield (SH), to estimate the yield gap. Different factorial experiments (fertilizer, planting density, hybrids, and irrigation) were also conducted to evaluate the priority of individual management factors for reducing the yield gap between the different planting modes. We found significant differences between the maize yields of different planting modes. The treatments of CK, FP, HH, and SH achieved 54.26, 58.76, 65.77, and 71.99% of the yield potential, respectively. The yield gaps between three pairs: CK and FP, FP and HH, and HH and SH, were 0.76, 1.23 and 0.85 t ha^–1, respectively. By further analyzing the priority of management factors for reducing the yield gap between FP and HH, as well as HH and SH, we found that the priorities of the management factors (contribution rates) were plant density (13.29%)>fertilizer (11.95%)>hybrids (8.19%)>irrigation (4%) for FP to HH, and hybrids (8.94%)>plant density (4.84%)>fertilizer (1.91%) for HH to SH. Therefore, increasing the planting density of FP was the key factor for decreasing the yield gap between FP and HH, while choosing hybrids with density and lodging tolerance was the key factor for decreasing the yield gap between HH and SH.

提高小麦籽粒锌含量对缓解人类膳食中锌缺乏有重要作用。本研究在华北平原连续两年小麦生长季，评价了叶面喷施锌肥和土壤施用氮肥对小麦籽粒粉样中氮、锌累积、分配、氮素转运及其相互关系。结果表明，小麦籽粒中氮、锌主要累积在籽粒胚乳中心层，其含量由外到内呈逐渐减小趋势。土壤施氮显著提高了籽粒各粉样中氮含量，而叶面喷锌显著增加了种皮中氮含量；两种措施均能显著增加胚乳中心层中锌含量。叶面喷锌对籽粒中氮、锌分配的影响不显著，而施氮则能促进氮素向糊粉层、锌素向胚乳中心层的转运，提高植株地上部氮素向籽粒转运的数量，但对贡献率无影响。相关分析表明，籽粒及其粉样中氮含量与开花期和成熟期营养器官中氮含量显著正相关，而种皮和胚乳过渡层中氮含量与胚乳中心层中锌含量亦呈显著的正相关。因此，叶面喷锌和土壤施氮可有效地提高小麦产量和籽粒氮、锌含量，尤其是提高胚乳中的氮、锌含量，可作为解决锌缺乏的有效途径。

小麦全蚀病 (Take-all) 是一种具有毁灭性的土传病害，培育抗病材料是控制该病害的重要途径之一。华山新麦草 (Psathyrostachys huashanica Keng) 是小麦品种改良的重要遗传资源，特别是小麦全蚀病稀缺的抗性资源。在本研究中，相比感病亲本7182，小麦-华山新麦草渗入系H148的全蚀病抗性得到了显著性提升。为了明确H148抗病性的遗传机制，我们构建了H148和西农585的F₂遗传分离群体，且利用植物数量遗传体系“主基因+多基因”混合遗传模型分离分析法对其研究发现，H148的全蚀病抗性受到两对主效基因的共同控制，这两对主效基因存在一定的加性、显性和上位性效应。同时，结合集群分离分析法 (Bulked Segregant Analysis, BSA) 和小麦660K基因芯片筛选出与抗病相关的外源特异性SNP，主要分布于小麦2A染色体。根据特异性SNP开发竞争性等位基因特异性PCR (Kompetitive allele specific PCR, KASP) 分子标记，对F₂群体进行基因分型，最终在2A染色体的68.8-70.1Mb区间内定位到一个主效的QTL。该目标区间在小麦参考基因组序列上存在62个候选基因，经基因功能注释显示，两个可编码蛋白的基因与系统性提升植物根系抗性相关，被预测可能参与了小麦对全蚀病的抗病反应。总之，小麦-华山新麦草渗入系H148的选育以及抗病QTL的定位，以期为小麦抗全蚀病分子辅助育种和抗病基因的精细定位提供一定的参考信息。

养殖业是温室气体排放的重要来源，占到全球温室气体排放的14.5%，中国养殖业，尤其是生猪产业温室气体排放占到了其中相当大的比例。我们利用Kaya恒等原理和对数平均迪氏指数分解法（LMDI）将1976-2016年中国生猪养殖过程中因肠道发酵和粪便管理引起的温室气体排放因素分解：（1）技术进步因素，（2）养殖业内部结构调整因素，（3）农业生产结构调整因素，（4）生活水平改善因素以及（5）人口增长因素等。研究显示，在观测期间中国生猪养殖所产生的温室气体排放增长了1600万吨二氧化碳当量。因素分解研究的结果表明农业经济结构调整因素，经济福利增长因素以及人口增长因素分别对猪肉产量的温室气体排放贡献分别为2300，4100和1300万吨二氧化碳当量。技术进步和养殖业内部结构的调整因素分别促进养殖业减少温室气体排放5100和1100万吨二氧化碳当量。进一步的技术进步和经济结构优化将是中国生猪养殖领域减少温室气体排放的重要途径，技术变革对于生猪产业温室气体减排减排具有非常大的潜力。

As illustrated by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the UN Committee on World Food Security (HLPE 2017), while hunger is on the rise again, malnutrition now takes multiple forms and affects all countries.  Globally, 821 million people are still undernourished (FAO et al. 2018), over 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, while overweight and obesity are quickly rising which affects 1.9 billion adults and 41 million children under five.
The HLPE, in many of its publications, called for radical transformations in our current food systems to address the multiple burdens of malnutrition.  There is already enough evidence to act.  The short-term cost of action may seem high, but the cost of inaction is likely to be much higher, carrying with it a terrible legacy affecting future generations.
The HLPE (2017) identified three core elements in food systems (food supply chains, food environments and consumer behaviour, see Fig. 1).  Among these three elements, the HLPE illustrated the central role of food environments in shaping consumer behaviour and food choices and, finally, in determining diets and nutrition.
The food environment refers to the “physical, economic, political and socio-cultural context in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food” (HLPE 2017).  It consists of:
• the built environment, including: the physical food entry points (supermarkets, formal and informal markets, street kiosks, food trucks, restaurants, schools, hospitals, public canteens, etc.) where food is purchased or obtained, their location and density; the physical infrastructures that allow consumers to access these points;
• the human environment, including: the personal determinants of consumer food choices (such as income, education, values, skills, etc.); and the political, social and cultural norms that influence these choices.
The food environment is a space of convergence where all actors involved in food systems, from food producers to end consumers, interact and confront their interests, objectives and strategies.  Therefore, acting on food environments in the proper way can bring transformative changes across the whole food system for delivering healthy and sustainable diets1.  More specifically, the HLPE (2017) identified three key elements of food environments on which to act to improve the diet and nutrition outcomes of our current food systems: (i) physical and economic access to food (proximity and affordability); (ii) promotion, advertising and information; (iii) food quality and safety.  Considering these three elements and recognizing the evidence gaps in our current knowledge, the HLPE (2017) explored concretely two pathways towards more sustainable food systems2 for healthier diets:
The first pathway is to improve physical and economic access to healthy diets  This first priority adopts a food system perspective.  Food supply chains impact diets and nutrition both positively and negatively.  Governments have the key responsibility to set policies, including regulations, taxes, subsidies and other forms of incentives, which enable actors in food supply chains to maximize the nutrition value of the food produced.  Government policies and programmes which specifically focus on the food environment are also key. These include: public procurement to make diverse and healthy diets more accessible and convenient3 in public places (e.g., schools, hospitals, prisons, etc.), as well as in rural marketplaces, at reasonable prices for consumers; investments and regulations (including zoning regulations) that improve the built environment; taxing junk food or sodas; regulating product formulation; regulating nutrition and health claims on food packaging; adopting an easy to interpret front-of-the-pack labelling system; limiting advertising and promotion of unhealthy foods, especially to children and adolescents; and strengthening national food safety and quality standards, etc.
This second pathway is to strengthen consumers’ information and education on healthy diets  This second priority adopts a consumer perspective and aims at creating and strengthening the demand for heathy foods.  There is a mutual relationship between food supply chains and consumer demands.  If current food supply chains largely shape consumers’ choice, consumers can also influence food supply through their behavior and demand for specific foods.  Effective regulation, information and education have the potential to orient consumers towards healthier and more sustainable food choices.  Mass media campaigns, social and behavior change communication, social media and citizen reporting, social protection programmes and food-based dietary guidelines all serve to potentially increase awareness and influence consumer dietary choices.  Yet, information and education alone may not trigger significant changes and that communication programmes must incorporate insight on actionable steps to change habits to be more effective.   When it comes to food choices, taste, convenience, cultural norms and price often prevail over health or sustainability criteria.  The most effective way to influence demand is when healthy, palatable foods are also affordable and convenient for consumers.
In conclusion, being the interface between food supply and food demand of consumers, food environments should be privileged as the policy entry point to transform our current food systems.

Allopolyploidy has played an important role in plant evolution and heterosis.  Recent studies indicate that the process of wide hybridization and (or) polyploidization may induce rapid and extensive genetic and epigenetic changes in some plant species.  To better understand the allopolyploidy evolutionism and the genetic mechanism of Arachis interspecific hybridization, this study was conducted to monitor the gene expression variation by cDNA start codon targeted polymorphism (cDNA-SCoT) and cDNA high-frequency oligonucleotide-targeting active gene (cDNA-HFO-TAG) techniques, from the hybrids (F₁) and newly synthesized allopolyploid generations (S₀-S₃) between tetraploid cultivated peanut Zhongkaihua 4 with diploid wild one Arachis doigoi. Rapid and considerable gene expression variations began as early as in the F₁ hybrid or immediately after chromosome doubling.  Three types of gene expression changes were observed, including complete silence (gene from progenitors was not expressed in all progenies), incomplete silence (gene expressed only in some progenies) and new genes activation.  Those silent genes mainly involved in RNA transcription, metabolism, disease resistance, signal transduction and unknown functions.  The activated genes with known function were almost retroelements by cDNA-SCoT technique and all metabolisms by cDNA-HFO-TAG.  These findings indicated that interspecific hybridization and ploidy change affected gene expression via genetic and epigenetic alterations immediately upon allopolyploid formation, and some obtained transcripts derived fragments (TDFs) probably could be used in the research of molecular mechanism of Arachis allopolyploidization which contribute to thwe genetic diploidization of newly formed allopolyploids.  Our research is valuable for understanding of peanut evolution and improving the utilization of putative and beneficial genes from the wild peanut.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of soilless substrates of hydroponically grown long-mat seedlings (HLMS) on seedling quality and field growth characteristics of transplanted super japonica rice.  A widely grown conventional super japonica rice cultivar (Wuyunjing 23) was selected as the test material.  The effect of HLMS on seedling quality, mechanical transplantation quality, field growth characteristics, yield, and benefit-cost ratio were compared with seedlings grown in organic substrates and traditional nutritive soil, which was selected as the control.  Root number, root twisting power and root activity of seedlings cultivated by HLMS were decreased compared to that of the organic substrates and control.  However, seedling root length as well as aboveground growth were increased compared to the organic substrates and control seedlings.  In the HLMS, the content of gibberellin acid (GA₃) decreased while abscisic acid (ABA) content increased compared to that of the organic substrates and control seedlings.  During the early stages after transplanting, the re-greening of HLMS was delayed compared to that of the organic substrates and control seedlings.  Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in tiller dynamics and crop yield among the HLMS, organic substrates and control treatments.  The effects of HLMS on seedling production were similar to those of the organic substrates and traditional nutritive soil in the present study, suggesting that HLMS have the potential to replace traditional nutritive soil in seedling production without decreasing crop yield.  Finally, it is important to reduce organic substrates and topsoil dependence during rice seedling production and worthwhile to consider HLMS popularization and its application on a larger scale.

Assessment of variety distinctness is important for both the registration and the protection of particular variety. However, the current testing system, which assesses a range of morphological characters of each pair of varieties grown side-by-side, is time-consuming and is not suitable for the assessment of hundreds of samples. The objective of this study was to develop a procedure for the assessment of wheat variety distinctness using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A comparison between the molecular and morphological profile of 797 varieties was made. On the basis of the comparison, pairs of varieties with a genetic similarity value (GSV) ≤90% were deemed to be distinct, accounting for ~85% of varieties assessed in wheat regional trials. For the remaining ~15% of varieties, GSVs between different varieties were >90%, among which ~35% were not distinct and the other ~65% were distinct. Therefore, if given a GSV>90%, the pairs of varieties should be morphologically assessed in the field. To avoid any errors in the assessments, we proposed the elimination of contaminant plants from the sample before comparing the varietal genotypes, scoring of the genotype at each locus with a pair of allele numbers when constructing a molecular profile, and faithfully recording two alleles at a non-homozygous locus. To reduce the workload and cost, a three-grade markers comparison among varieties is suggested. In addition, 80 SSR markers and a technical procedure for assessment of wheat variety distinctness have been proposed. Based on the procedure, the distinctness assessment of ~85% of all wheat varieties is completed in our laboratory annually. Consequently, total field assessment has been reduced considerably.

Salinity is one of the major abiotic factors affecting the growth and productivity of crops in Hetao Irrigation District, China. In this study, the salinity tolerances of three local crops, wheat (Triticum aestinum L.), maize (Zea mays L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), growing in 76 farm fields are evaluated with modified discount function. Salinity ecological zones appropriate for these local crops are characterized and a case study is presented for crop salinity ecological zoning. The results show that the yield reductions of wheat, maize and sunflower when grown in saline soils are attributed primarily to a reduction in spikelet number, 1 000-grain weight and seed number per head, respectively. Sunflower is the most tolerant crop among the three which had a salinity tolerance index (ST-index) of 12.24, followed by spring maize and spring wheat with ST-Indices of 9.00 and 7.43, respectively. According to the crop salinity tolerance results, the arable land in the Heping Village of this district was subdivided into four salinity ecological zones: the most suitable, suitable, sub-suitable and unsuitable zones. The area proportion of the most suitable zone for wheat, maize and sunflower within the Heping Village was 27.5, 46.5 and 77.5%, respectively. Most of the most suitable zone occurred in the western part of the village. The results of this study provide the scientific basis for optimizing the local major crop distribution and improving cultural practices management in Hetao Irrigation District.

We compared the photosynthetic characteristics in relation to yield of two F1 cotton hybrids (Shiza 2-F1 and Xinluzao 43-F1), their parental lines (NT2, H2 and 4-14) and their F2 descendants at different growth and development stages. The two F1 exhibited heterobeltiosis in net photosynthetic rate (Pn) by 8.1-52.1%, canopy apparent photosynthetic rate (CAP) by 8.2-57.6% and canopy respiration rate (CR) by 3.0-78.7% during the growing season. They also exhibited mid-parent heterosis by 2.0-5.2% in leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD) during the late growth and development stages. Regression analysis showed that both parents contributed to increase in Pn, SPAD and CAP in the F1. A low CR in the F1 matched a low CR of the parental line. Photosynthetic characteristics in the F2 were mainly dependent upon the magnitude and degeneration rate of the F1. Mid-parent heterosis in CAP and in CR during the late growth and development stage reduced the degeneration of the F2. Average dry matter accumulation was 10.7-34.7% higher in the parental lines of Xinluzao 43-F1 than in the parental lines of Shiza 2-F1. Heterobeltiosis in dry matter accumulation was 7.0-23.1% greater for Xinluzao 43-F1 than for Shiza 2-F1. Dry matter accumulation in the F1 was affected by either the dry matter accumulation of parents or heterobeltiosis. Dry matter accumulation in the F2 was mainly influenced by dry matter accumulation in the F1. The yields of the two F1 were 39.1-46.3% higher than their respective parents and 26.4-45.9% higher than that of the conventional cultivar Xinluzao 33. The yields of the two F2 were 9.2-12.8% higher than the parents and 14.9-27.4% higher than that of Xinluzao 33. The photosynthetic production and yield of the F1 and F2 were higher than that of their parents. The increases in Pn and CAP of the F1 and F2 were dependent on the photosynthetic characteristics of their parents. It is thus concluded that the photosynthetic performance, light use efficiency and yield of the F1 can be improved by using at least one parent with low CR, but high CAP, Pn and SPAD. This strategy might also improve the value of the F2.

Myrosinase is a defense-related enzyme and is capable of hydrolyzing glucosinolates into a variety of compounds, some of which are toxic to pathogens and herbivores. Many studies revealed that a number of important vegetables or oil crops contain the myrosinase-glucosinolate system. However, the related promoter and genomic DNA sequences as well as expression profiles of myrosinase gene remain largely unexplored in radish (Raphanus sativus). In this study, the 2 798 bp genomic DNA sequence, designated as RsMyr2, was isolated and analyzed in radish. The RsMyr2 consisting of 12 exons and 11 introns reflected the common gene structure of myrosinases. Using the genomic DNA walking approach, the 5´-flanking region upstream of RsMyr2 with length of 1 711 bp was successfully isolated. PLACE and PlantCARE analyses revealed that this upstream region could be the promoter of RsMyr2, which contained several basic cis-regulatory elements including TATA-box, CAAT-box and regulatory motifs responsive to defense and stresses. Furthermore, recombinant pET-RsMyr2 protein separated by SDS-PAGE was identified as myrosinase with mass spectrometry. Real-time PCR analysis showed differential expression profiles of RsMyr2 in leaf, stem and root at different developmental stages (e.g., higher expression in leaf at cotyledon stage and lower in flesh root at mature stage). Additionally, the RsMyr2 gene exhibited up-regulated expression when treated with abscisic acid (ABA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), whereas it was down-regulated by wounding (WO) treatment. The findings indicated that the expression of RsMyr2 gene was differentially regulated by these stress treatments. These results could provide new insight into elucidating the molecular characterization and biological function of myrosinase in radish.

Zinc finger protein (ZFP) genes comprise a large and diverse gene family, and are involved in biotic and abiotic stress responses in plants. In this study, a total of 126 ZFP genes classified into various types in wheat were characterized and subjected to expression pattern analysis under inorganic phosphate (Pi) deprivation. The wheat ZFP genes and their corresponding GenBank numbers were obtained from the information of a 4×44K wheat gene expression microarray chip. They were confirmed by sequence similarity analysis and named based on their homologs in Brachypodium distachyon or Oriza sativa. Expression analysis based on the microarray chip revealed that these ZFP genes are categorized into 11 classes according to their gene expression patterns in a 24-h of Pi deprivation regime. Among them, ten genes were differentially up-regulated, ten genes differentially down- regulated, and two genes both differentially up- and down-regulated by Pi deprivation. The differentially up- or down-regulated genes exhibited significantly more or less transcripts at one, two, or all of the checking time points (1, 6, and 24 h) of Pi stress in comparison with those of normal growth, respectively. The both differentially up- and down-regulated genes exhibited contrasting expression patterns, of these, TaWRKY70;5 showed significantly up-regulated at 1 and 6 h and down-regulated at 24 h whereas TaAN1AN20-8;2 displayed significantly upregulated at 1 h and downregulated at 6 h under deprivation Pi condition. Real time PCR analysis confirmed the expression patterns of the differentially expressed genes obtained by the microarray chip. Our results indicate that numerous ZFP genes in wheat respond to Pi deprivation and have provided further insight into the molecular basis that plants respond to Pi deprivation mediated by the ZFP gene family.

Salinity is a major factor limiting rice yield in coastal areas of Asia. To facilitate breeding salt tolerant rice varieties, the whole- plant growth duration salt tolerance (ST) was genetically dissected by phenotyping two sets of BC2F5 introgression lines (ILs) for four yield traits under severe natural salt stress and non-stress filed conditions using SSR markers and the methods of advanced backcross QTL (AB-QTL) analysis and selective introgression. Many QTLs affecting four yield traits under salt stress and non- stress conditions were identified, most (>90%) of which were clustered in 13 genomic regions of the rice genome and involved in complex epistasis. Most QTLs affecting yield traits were differentially expressed under salt stress and non-stress conditions. Our results suggested that genetics complementarily provides an adequate explanation for the hidden genetic diversity for ST observed in both IL populations. Some promising Huanghuazhan (HHZ) ILs with favorable donor alleles at multiple QTLs and significantly improved yield traits under salt stress and non-stress conditions were identified, providing excellent materials and relevant genetic information for improving rice ST by marker-assisted selection (MAS) or genome selection.

Cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 1 (CRABP1) is a well-conserved member of cytosolic lipid-binding protein family. It is an important modulator of retinoic acid signaling. Long serial analysis of gene expression (LongSAGE) analysis suggested that CRABP1 gene was differentially expressed during prenatal skeletal muscle development in porcine. Here, we obtained the full-length coding region sequence and genomic sequence of the porcine CRABP1 gene and analyzed its genomic structures. Subsequently, we examined CRABP1 chromosome assignment using INRA-University of Minnesota 7 000 porcine radiation hybrid panel (IMpRH) and explored its tissue distribution in adult Tongcheng pigs and dynamical expression profiles in prenatal skeletal muscle (33, 65 and 90 days post coitus, dpc) from Landrace (lean-type) (described as L33, L65 and L90) and Tongcheng pigs (obese-type) (described as T33, T65 and T90). The CRABP1 gene was mapped to chromosome 7q11-q23 and closely linked to the microsatellite marker SWR1928. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that CRABP1 mRNA was highly expressed in lung and stomach, moderately expressed in placenta and uterus, and weakly expressed in other tissues. Moreover, CRABP1 gene was down-regulated during prenatal skeletal muscle development in both Landrace and Tongcheng pigs and it was expressed much higher in T33 than L33. Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected by sequencing and mass spectrometry methods, allele frequency analysis indicated that g. 281 (G>A) and g. 2992 (G>A) were deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the Landrace and DLY (Duroc×(Landrace×Yorkshire)) pig breeds.

This study was aimed to evaluate the potential effects of rest grazing on organic carbon storage in Stipa grandis steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. Using potassium dichromate heating method, we analyzed the organic carbon storage of plant and soil in Stipa grandis steppe after rest grazing for 3, 6, and 9 yr. The results indicated that as the rest grazing ages prolonged, the biomass of aboveground parts, litter and belowground plant parts (roots) of the plant communities all increased, meanwhile the C content of the biomass increased with the rest grazing ages prolonging. For RG0, RG3a, RG6a, and RG9a, C storage in aboveground vegetation were 60.7, 76.9, 82.8 and 122.2 g C m-2, respectively; C storage of litter were 5.1, 5.8, 20.4 and 25.5 g C m-2, respectively; C storage of belowground roots (0-100 cm) were 475.2, 663.0, 1 115.0 and 1 867.3 g C m-2, respectively; C storage in 0-100 cm soil were 13.97, 15.76, 18.60 and 32.41 kg C m-2, respectively. As the rest grazing ages prolonged, the organic C storage in plant communities and soil increased. The C storage of belowground roots and soil organic C was mainly concentrated in 0-40 cm soil body. The increased soil organic C for RG3a accounted for 89.8% of the increased carbon in vegetation-soil system, 87.2% for RG6a, and 92.6% for RG9a. From the perspective of C sequestration cost, total cost for RG3a, RG6a, and RG9a were 2 903.4, 5 806.8 and 8 710.2 CNY ha-1, respectively. The cost reduced with the extension of rest grazing ages, 0.15 CNY kg-1 C for RG3a, 0.11 CNY kg-1 C for RG6a and 0.04 CNY kg-1 C for RG9a. From the growth characteristics of grassland plants, the spring was one of the two avoided grazing periods, timely rest grazing could effectively restore and update grassland vegetation, and was beneficial to the sustainable use of grassland. Organic C storage for RG9a was the highest, while the cost of C sequestration was the lowest. Therefore, spring rest grazing should be encouraged because it was proved to be a very efficient grassland use pattern.

The introduction of reduced height (Rht) genes Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b led to impressive increases in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields during the Green Revolution. In the present study, the dynamic elongation of peduncle in a set of near-isogenic lines (NILs) carrying different Rht alleles (Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-D1b+Rht-B1b, and Rht-D1b+Rht-B1c) were investigated. The reduction of the final length of peduncle in NILs was dependent mainly on the elongation rate, which was reduced by Rht genes, during rapid elongation phase. Resin sections showed that Rht genes strongly reduced the cell extension in peduncle. The expression of expansin genes, which mediate cell wall loosening and leading to cell expansion, were analysed by using realtime quantitative PCR (qPCR). Among the 23 possible wheat expansin genes, 17 were expressed in the peduncle. The spatial distribution of expression was further analysed for five expansins that showed high expression levels in the peduncles of Rht lines. Compared to wild type plants, the incorporation of Rht-D1b allele decreased about 37 and 80% of the expression levels of ExpA7 and ExpA3 in elongation zone, respectively. The presence Rht-B1c dwarfing genes, however, produced 53% reduction in the expression level of ExpA7, and seriously decreased about 70% of ExpB9 expression. Although the expression levels of five genes exhibited variability among the lines, an expansin gene, ExpB2, showed its expression level highly associated with the cell elongation rate in peduncle of different Rht lines.

Mequindox (MEQ), 3-methyl-2-quinoxalinacetyl-1,4-dioxide, is widely used in Chinese veterinary medicine as an antimicrobial agent and feed additive. Its toxicity has been reported to be closely related to its metabolism. To understand the pathways underlying MEQ’s metabolism more clearly, we studied its metabolism in isolated rat liver cells by using liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization hybrid linear trap quadrupole orbitrap (LC-LTQ-Orbitrap) mass spectrometry. The structures of MEQ metabolites and their product ions were readily and reliably characterized on the basis of accurate MS2 spectra and known structure of MEQ. Eleven metabolites were detected in isolated rat liver cells, two of which were detected for the first time in vitro. The major metabolic pathways reported previously for in vitro metabolism of MEQ in rat microsomes were confirmed in this study, including N → O group reduction, carbonyl reduction, and methyl monohydroxylation. In addition, we found that acetyl hydroxylation was an important pathway of MEQ metabolism. The results also demonstrate that cellular systems more closely simulate in vivo conditions than do other in vitro systems such as microsomes. Taken together, these data contribute to our understanding of the in vivo metabolism of MEQ.

Simple sequence repeats (SSR) have been widely used as molecular markers due to their abundance and high polymorphism. However, up to now, the SSR markers had not been developed in the obligate biotrophic phytopathogenic fungus, Blumeria graminis f.sp. tritici. From (AC)10 and (AG)10 enriched genomic libraries for Bgt, 25 primer pairs were designed using the FIASCO (fast isolation by AFLP of sequences containing repeats) protocol. Five primer pairs exhibited polymorphism with allelic diversity from two to seven alleles and produced 29 alleles in a survey of 90 isolates collected from six provinces (cities) in China, while the others displayed monomorphic. Levels of observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.000-0.044 (mean 0.025) and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.297-0.816 (mean 0.538). These molecular markers provide a novel source to genetic diversity assays and to genetic and physical mapping of Bgt. SSR markers of Bgt need to be further explored.

Dairy industry has become an increasingly important enterprise in China as people’s dietary preferences and composition have changed dramatically with rapid economic development in the past several decades. A number of problems, however, exist in China’s relatively young dairy industry, including the imbalanced allocation of profits throughout the dairy supply chain. One of the root causes of the melamine infant powered milk scandal in 2008 was the unfair profit allocation mechanism in dairy supply chain. The revenue sharing contract approach has proven to be effective in generating market shares and total profits. In this study, we apply the three-stage revenue sharing contract model of Giannoccaro and Pontrandolfo (2004) in an analysis of dairy supply chain to explore its problems in profit allocation and possible solutions to them. The analysis was conducted by a case study of Hohhot, often called as “milk capital of China”. Our results show that the current profit distribution in the dairy supply chain is not balanced: the supermarket’s profit>farmer’s profit>manufacturer’s profit. Under the revenue sharing contract setting, the dairy industry’s total profit increased by 12.49%. By exploring different parameters in the revenue sharing contract model, we have found that a win-win situation can be created among all the members of the supply chain. In dairy supply chain, the ratio of the revenue reserved for the supermarket itself is equal or greater than 47% and the ratio of the revenue reserved for the manufacturer itself is between 46.4 and 50.2%. The values of the parameters that generate a sustainable or win-win situation are related to the bargaining position in the dairy supply chain. The revenue sharing contract has proven to be effective and desirable by all the dairy chain partners in dairy supply chain. The results of this study provide relevant information for improving the dairy supply chain structure and the revenue sharing contract model can be applied to other industries, sectors and regions.