全球花生品种多样，花生的特性和营养决定了产品品质。然而，全球花生籽仁的关键品质指标的比较分析和统计学分析相对薄弱，阻碍了全球花生品质评价和花生产业发展。本研究以主要花生生产国的10个不同花生品种为研究对象，对花生籽仁的表观形态、微观结构、单细胞结构、工程特性和质构特性以及主要营养成分含量进行对比分析。花生籽仁的表面和截面微观结构均呈致密的“块状”形貌，细胞结构明显。细胞内脂滴呈球形，均匀分布在细胞内。10个花生品种籽仁的单细胞结构表现出不同的形态和尺寸，并发现这与质构和工程特性相关。此外，花生籽仁的质量损失随温度变化呈5个不同的阶段，分别为水分流失、挥发性损失、蛋白质变性和各种生物大分子的降解等的过程。不同花生品种间脂肪、蛋白质、蔗糖含量以及质构、堆积密度、真实密度、孔隙率、几何平均直径、圆度和球形度均存在差异。本研究建立了主要花生加工国家常见花生品种的微观结构、工程性能和营养成分之间的关联和相关性。研究结果为全球花生品质评价和花生产业提供了有价值数据和见解。

土壤中的氮素分布不均，在氮素富集的土壤区域内，植物根系大量的生长。然而，不同玉米基因型根系对局部施氮的响应与氮素吸收效率之间的关系尚不清楚。本研究以4个玉米品种为研究对象，探讨根系生长对局部施氮响应的基因型差异及对氮素吸收的影响。在水培采用分根培养体系局部供氮，在田间采用条施和穴施的局部施氮方法。结果表明，不同品种根系局部氮响应在水培和田间条件之间具有高度相关性（r>0.99）。在水培局部供氮条件下，强响应品种郑单958、先玉335和先锋32D22的侧根长增加了50-63%，根系生物量增加了36-53%，而弱响应品种蠡玉13的根系生长响应较小。田间条件下，3个强响应品种的根长在40-60 cm土层显著增加66-75%，而蠡玉13的根长变化幅度显著较低。此外，局部施氮肥促进强响应品种的花后氮吸收，增幅达16-88%，并且促进了郑单958的籽粒产量显著增加10-12%。相关分析发现，产量与40-60 cm土层根长呈显著正相关（r=0.39）。综上所述，可在苗期鉴定玉米品种对局部施氮的响应类型，生产中强响应型玉米品种与局部施用氮肥配套应用；同时可将“根系局部施氮响应能力”作为玉米氮高效遗传改良的目标性状。

荔枝在亚热带地区广泛种植，具有重要的经济价值。高密度遗传图谱构建和相关数量性状基因座（QTL）定位是分子标记辅助育种的前提。本研究利用矮化荔枝品种‘紫娘喜’和乔化荔枝品种‘妃子笑’之间的178个子代F₁群体为材料，采用基因分型测序（GBS）技术构建基于单核苷酸多态性（SNP）的高密度连锁图谱。遗传图谱包含3027个SNP标记，分布在15个连锁群上，总的遗传距离为1711.97 cM，平均遗传距离为0.57 cM。基于此高密度遗传图谱和三年的表型分析，共检测到37个QTL与8个矮化性状相关，包括枝梢长度（LNB）、枝梢直径（DNB）、复叶柄长度（LCP）、复叶柄直径（DCP）、节间长度（LI）、叶片长度（LSL）、叶片宽度（WSL）和株高（PH）。这些QTL可以解释8.0％至14.7％（平均= 9.7％）的表型变异。其中，发现几个QTL簇，特别是在LG04和LG11连锁群上，暗示调节荔枝矮化性状的基因可能成簇分布。在这些QTL区间鉴定到126个候选基因，其中55个基因在‘紫娘喜’和‘妃子笑’之间的表达存在差异。这些差异表达基因（DEGs）参与细胞发育、物质运输、信号转导和植物形态发生的调控，可能在调控植物矮化性状中起重要作用。高密度遗传图谱构建及矮化性状相关QTLs分析将为荔枝分子标记辅助育种奠定坚实的基础。

重组病毒活载体疫苗是一种能够有效激活特异性和非特异性免疫、可多联多价、安全性好的新型疫苗。动物α疱疹病毒拥有较大的基因组，含有多个不影响病毒复制的非必需区，能够插入接受外源基因并表达相应抗原蛋白；同时具有较广泛的宿主谱，能够在宿主体内复制并持续刺激动物产生对抗相应病原的免疫力，是作为重组病毒活载体疫苗的理想载体。随着基因编辑技术的发展，可通过多种方法构建能够表达外源基因的重组病毒。目前以动物α疱疹病毒为载体的重组病毒活载体疫苗研究已经涉及禽类、猪、牛、羊、伴侣动物等，目前成功构建的多株重组动物α疱疹病毒能免疫后可使动物同时获得对多种疾病的免疫。本文总结了重组动物α疱疹病毒构建方法、外源基因的引入和表达以及动物α疱疹病毒活载体疫苗免疫作用三个方面的内容，包括了最新的基因编辑技术、不同的构建策略及其优缺点、外源基因的选择、插入形式和位点等，并介绍了各种动物α疱疹病毒活载体疫苗的最新研究进展，旨在为新型动物α疱疹病毒活载体疫苗的研究和开发提供一定的参考。

Seasonal soil freeze-thaw events may enhance soil nitrogen transformation and thus stimulate nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions in cold regions.  However, the mechanisms of soil N₂O emission during the freeze-thaw cycling in the field remain unclear.  We evaluated N₂O emissions and soil biotic and abiotic factors in maize and paddy fields over 20 months in Northeast China, and the structural equation model (SEM) was used to determine which factors affected N₂O production during non-growing season.  Our results verified that the seasonal freeze-thaw cycles mitigated the available soil nitrogen and carbon limitation during spring thawing period, but simultaneously increased the gaseous N₂O-N losses at the annual time scale under field condition.  The N₂O-N cumulative losses during the non-growing season amounted to 0.71 and 0.55 kg N ha^–1 for the paddy and maize fields, respectively, and contributed to 66 and 18% of the annual total.  The highest emission rates (199.2–257.4 μg m^–2 h^–1) were observed during soil thawing for both fields, but we did not observe an emission peak during soil freezing in early winter.  Although the pulses of N₂O emission in spring were short-lived (18 d), it resulted in approximately 80% of the non-growing season N₂O-N loss.  The N₂O burst during the spring thawing was triggered by the combined impact of high soil moisture, flush available nitrogen and carbon, and rapid recovery of microbial biomass.  SEM analysis indicated that the soil moisture, available substrates including NH₄⁺ and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) explained 32, 36, 16 and 51% of the N₂O flux variation, respectively, during the non-growing season.  Our results suggested that N₂O emission during the spring thawing make a vital contribution of the annual nitrogen budget, and the vast seasonally frozen and snow-covered croplands will have high potential to exert a positive feedback on climate change considering the sensitive response of nitrogen biogeochemical cycling to the freeze-thaw disturbance.   

    Tassel branch number (TBN) is the principal component of maize tassel inflorescence architecture and is a typical quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes. The main objective of this research was to detect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for TBN. The maize inbred line SICAU1212 was used as the common parent to develop BC₁S₁ and recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations with inbred lines 3237 and B73, respectively. The two related populations consisted of 123 and 238 lines, respectively. Each population was grown and phenotyped for TBN in two environments. Eleven QTLs were detected in the BC₁S₁ population, located on chromosomes 2, 3, 5, and 7, accounted for 4.45–26.58% of the phenotypic variation. Two QTLs (qB11Jtbn2-1, qB12Ctbn2-1, qBJtbn2-1; q11JBtbn5-1, qB12Ctbn5-1, qBJtbn5-1) that accounted for more than 10% of the phenotypic variation were identified. Three QTLs located on chromosomes 2, 3 and 5, exhibited stable expression in the two environments. Ten QTLs were detected in the RIL population, located on chromosomes 2, 3, 5, 8, and 10, accounted for 2.69–13.58% of the TBN variation. One QTL (qR14Dtbn2-2) explained >10% of the phenotypic variation. One common QTL (qB12Ctbn2-2, qR14Dtbn2-2, qRJtbn2-2) was detected between the two related populations. Three pairs of epistatic effects were identified between two loci with or without additive effects and accounted for 1.19–4.26% of the phenotypic variance. These results demonstrated that TBN variation was mainly caused by major effects, minor effects and slightly modified by epistatic effects. Thus, identification of QTL for TBN may help elucidate the genetic basis of TBN and also facilitate map-based cloning and marker-assisted selection (MAS) in maize breeding programs.

Aphid-borne Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) is one of the most economically important viruses of cucurbitaceous plants.  To survey and control this virus, it is necessary to develop an efficient detection technique.  Using purified ZYMV virion and the conventional hybridoma technology, three hybridoma cell lines (16A11, 5A7 and 3B8) secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against ZYMV Zhejiang isolate were obtained.  The working titers of the ascitic fluids secreted by the three hybridoma cell lines were up to 10^–7 by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).  All MAbs were isotyped as IgG1, kappa light chain.  Western blot analysis indicated that the MAb 3B8 could specifically react with the coat protein of ZYMV while MAbs 5A7 and 16A11 reacted strongly with a protein of approximately 51 kDa from the ZYMV-infected leaf tissues.  According to this molecular weight, we consider this reactive protein is likely to be the HC-Pro protein.  Using these three MAbs, we have now developed five detection assays, i.e., antigen-coated-plate ELISA (ACP-ELISA), dot-ELISA, tissue blot-ELISA, double-antibody sandwich ELISA (DAS-ELISA), and immunocapture-RT-PCR (IC-RT-PCR), for the sensitive, specific, and easy detection of ZYMV.  The sensitivity test revealed that ZYMV could be readily detected respectively by ACP-ELISA, dot-ELISA, DAS-ELISA and IC-RT-PCR in 1:163 840, 1:2 560, 1:327 680 and 1:1 310 720 (w/v, g mL^–1) diluted crude extracts from the ZYMV-infected plants.  We demonstrated in this study that the dot-ELISA could also be used to detect ZYMV in individual viruliferous aphids.  A total of 275 cucurbitaceous plant samples collected from the Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hainan provinces, China, were screened for the presence of ZYMV with the described assays.  Our results showed that 163 of the 275 samples (59%) were infected with ZYMV.  This finding indicates that ZYMV is now widely present in cucurbitaceous crops in China.  RT-PCR followed by DNA sequencing and sequence analyses confirmed the accuracy of the five assays.  We consider that these detection assays can significantly benefit the control of ZYMV in China.  

The excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizer input coupled with flood irrigation might result in higher N leaching and lower nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE). Under an intensive rice system in the Ningxia irrigation region, China, environmental friendly N management practices are heavily needed to balance the amount of N input for optimum crop production while minimize the nitrogen loss. The objective of this study was to determine the influences of side-dressing (SD) technique in mechanical transplanting systems on the NRE, N leaching losses and rice yield in anthropogenic-alluvial soil during two rice growing seasons (2010-2011). Four fertilizer N treatments were established, including conventional urea rate (CU, 300 kg ha–1 yr–1); higher SD of controlled-release N fertilizer rate (SD1, 176 kg ha–1 yr–1); lower SD of controlled-release N fertilizer rate (SD2, 125 kg ha–1 yr–1); and control (CK, no N fertilizer). Field lysimeters were used to quantify drainage from undisturbed soil during six rice growing stages. Meanwhile, the temporal variations of total nitrigen (TN), NO3 –-N, and NH4 +-N concentrations in percolation water were examined. The results showed that SD1 substantially improved NRE and reduced N leaching losses while maintaining rice yields. Across two years, the averaged NRE under SD1 treatment increased by 25.5% as relative to CU, but yet the rice yield was similar between two treatments. On average, the nitrogen loss defined as TN, NH4 +-N, and NO3 –-N under the SD1 treatment reduced by 27.4, 37.2 and 24.1%, respectively, when compared with CU during the study periods. Although the SD2 treatment could further reduce N leaching loss to some extent, this technique would sharply decline rice yield, with the magnitude of as high as 21.0% relative to CU treatment. Additionally, the average NRE under SD2 was 11.2% lower than that under SD1 treatment. Overall, the present study concluded that the SD technique is an effective strategy to reduce N leaching and increase NRE, thus potentially mitigate local environmental threat. We propose SD1 as a novel alternative fertilizer technique under an irrigated rice-based system in Ningxia irrigation region when higher yields are under consideration.

Male sterility induced by a chemical hybridization agent (CHA) is an important tool for utilizing crop heterosis. Leaves, especially the flag leaves, as CHA initial recipients play a decisive role in inducing male sterility. To investigate effects of different treatment times of CHA-SQ-1 used, morphological, biochemical and physiological responses of wheat flag leaves were detected in this study. CHA induced programmed cell death (PCD) as shown in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling (TUNEL) and DNA laddering analysis. In the early phase, CHA-SQ-1 triggered organelle changes and PCD in wheat leaves accompanied by excess production of reactive oxygen species (O2 -. and H2O2) and down-regulation of the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (POD). Meanwhile, leaf cell DNAs showed ladder-like patterns on agarose gel, indicating that CHA-SQ-1 led to the activation of the responsible endonuclease. The oxidative stress assays showed that lipid peroxidation was strongly activated and photosynthesis was obviously inhibited in SQ-1-induced leaves. However, CHA contents in wheat leaves gradually reduced along with the time CHA-SQ-1 applied. Young flags returned to an oxidative/antioxidative balance and ultimately developed into mature green leaves. These results provide explanation of the relations between PCD and anther abortion and practical application of CHA for hybrid breeding.

Domain I of the activated Crystal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis has a seven α-helix bundle structure, which is responsible for membrane channel formation in its insecticidal mechanism. Cry1Ie is toxic to Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée), and plays important roles in insect biological control. The domain I from Cry1Ie has been expressed and purified in its normal conformation, as embedded in the full length homologous toxin structure. The membrane insertion ability of this single domain was compared with the full length homologous toxin using a monolayer insertion experiment. The results indicated that the Cry1Ie-domain I had the ability to insert into the lipid monolayer, and this ability is greater than that of the IE648 toxin. However, the state of insertion is not stable and remains for only a short period of time. The Cry1Ie-domain I plays no role in receptor binding as it had a nonspecific binding with the brush border membrane vesicles of the Asian corn borer.

An experiment was conducted in a singly factorial design to study the effect of glycyl-glutamine dipeptide on enzymeactivity, cell proliferation and apoptosis of jejunal tissues from weaned piglets at different glycyl-glutamine concentrationlevels of 2, 4, 10, 20, and 30 mmol L-1, respectively. The glutaminase activity, diamine oxidase (DAO) activity, cellpeoliferation, apoptosis, and perotein metabolism were measured by the tissue culture method in vitro using jejunaltissues. The immunohistochemical method was used to study the cell proliferation and apoptosis of jejunal tissues. Theresults showed that compared to the blank control, the percentage and MOD value of BrdU-positicve cells incubated withglycyl-glutamine dipeptide solution were significantly (P<0.05) increased. Accordingly, the percentage and MOD valueof caspase-3-positive cells from tissue incubated with glycyl-glutamine dipeptide were notably lower (P<0.05) than thatfrom the control treatment. The glycyl-glutamine dipeptide increased the glutaminase activity, DAO activity and proteincontent of jejunal tissues, as the dipeptide concentration was on the rise (P<0.05). These results indicated that glycylglutaminedipeptide affected the jejunum development and adaptation of weaned piglets, and the function might befulfilled by enhancing the glutamine-related enzyme activity, thereby increasing the consumption of glutamine, and thenimproving the jejunal cell proliferation and suppressing cell apoptosis. The effects of glycyl-glutamine dipeptide relied ina dose-dependent manner, and the maximum effect was achieved at 20-30 mmol L-1 glycyl-glutamine dipeptide.