黄萎病（Verticillium wilt, VW）可导致棉花产量大幅下降，提高植物对黄萎病的抗性是一个世界性难题。在作物生长过程中，需要有效地分配有限的能量资源以平衡生长和防御。目前，鲜有特异性对大丽轮枝菌作出响应的转录因子及其分子机制被报道。本研究发现，与其他类型的MYB转录因子相比，棉花中大部分R2R3型MYB转录因子在受到V. dahliae侵染后发生显著的表达变化。其中，一种新的R2R3-MYB转录因子GhMYB3D5特异性响应V. dahliae的侵染。在没有V. dahliae存在的情况下，GhMYB3D5在15种棉花组织中均不表达；在植株被V. dahliae侵染下，该基因被显著诱导表达。本研究明确了GhMYB3D5正向调控棉花黄萎病的功能及其抗性机制：在植株感染V. dahliae后，上调表达的GhMYB3D5转录因子结合GhADH1基因的启动子，并激活GhADH1基因的表达；并且GhMYB3D5转录因子与GhADH1蛋白可发生物理相互作用，从而进一步增强了GhMYB3D5对其靶基因GhADH1的转录激活强度。进一步发现转录调控模块GhMYB3D5-GhADH1通过提高植株木质素生物合成相关基因（GhPAL、GhC4H、Gh4CL和GhPOD/ GhLAC）的转录水平促进木质素积累，从而增强植株对VW的抗性。综上所述，本研究结果表明GhMYB3D5促进了防御诱导的木质素的积累，该调控方式认为是协调植物免疫和生长的有效方式。

本研究首先建立并验证了一种中兽药的提取方法，该方法能够提取中兽药产品中可能存在的克伦特罗、莱克多巴胺和沙丁胺醇等三种β-受体激动剂及其结构类似的物质。其次，采用该方法对105种批准在动物养殖中使用的中草药进行提取和浓缩，PBS复溶解后采用CGIA筛查存在阳性反应的中草药，出现阳性反应的样品随后经LC-MS/MS（液相色谱-串联质谱法）检测。在动物实验中，将105种中草药分别饲喂三元猪后，接取尿液进行CGIA检测，将有阳性反应的尿液样品进行LC-MS/MS检测。采用乙醇和乙腈（1:9，v/v）为溶剂，对中草药的提取效果良好，在105种受测的中草药的提取物中，青皮、陈皮、木瓜、厚朴和红景天等5种中草药的提取物出现CGIA阳性反应，其他中草药均显阴性反应。105种中草药分别饲喂猪后，喂过青皮和陈皮的猪只尿液出现CGIA检测阳性反应，其他中草药均显阴性反应，在随后的LC-MS/MS检测中喂过青皮和陈皮的猪只尿液未检出克伦特罗、莱克多巴胺或沙丁胺醇。在体外实验中，陈皮、青皮、木瓜、厚朴和红景天能引起克伦特罗、莱克多巴胺和沙丁胺醇CGIA检测阳性现象，该现象属于假阳性；三元猪被超剂量饲喂陈皮或青皮后，猪尿中莱克多巴胺的CGIA检测可出现假阳性。本研究首次提出了中草药的应用可能与临床CGIA检测β-受体激动剂出现假阳性的现象存在一定的关联性，提醒养猪从业者规范中草药添加剂的使用。发现引起猪尿假阳性的青皮和陈皮中存在有一种相同的化学成分——辛弗林，猪尿中存在相对浓度较低的辛弗林可引起莱克多巴胺的CGIA检测呈阳性反应。

Sewage sludge amendment (SSA) is an alternative waste disposal technique and a potential way to increase fertility of mudflats for crop growth. The present study aimed to assess the suitability of SSA by assessing the nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) uptakes, heavy metal accumulation, growth, biomass, and yield response of ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) at 0, 30, 75, 150, and 300 t ha-1 SSA rates at various growth stages. The results showed that the highest biomass of ryegrass at seedling and vegetative stages were at 300 and 150 t ha-1 SSA rate, respectively. The increments of ryegrass yield at reproductive stage at 30, 75, 150, and 300 t ha-1 SSA rates were 98.0, 122.6, 88.1, and 61.2%, compared to unamended soil. N and P concentrations in ryegrass increased with increasing SSA rates at all stages except N and P in roots dropped significantly at 300 t ha-1 rate at vegetative stage. The metal concentration for Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Cr, and Pb in shoot of ryegrass at 300 t ha-1 SSA rate increased by 0.63-, 2.34-, 15.02-, 0.97-, 10.00-, 0.01- and 1.13-fold, respectively, compared to unamended soil. However, heavy metal concentrations in shoot of ryegrass were lower than the standard for forage products in China. The study suggested that sewage sludge amendment in mudflat soils might be feasible. However, the impacts of sludge application on edible crop plants and soil environment need further investigations.

Plants need to be efficient in nutrient management, especially when they face the temporal nutrient defficiencies. Understanding how crops respond to nitrogen (N) starvation would help in the selection of crop cultivars more tolerant to N deficiency. In the present work, the physiological responses of two wheat cultivars, Yannong 19 (YN) and Qinmai 11 (QM), to N starvation conditions were investigated. The two cultivars differed in biomass and N rearrangement between shoots and roots during N starvation. QM allocated more N to roots and exhibited higher root/shoot biomass ratio than YN. However, tissue measurement indicated that both cultivars had similar nitrate content in leaves and roots and similar remobilization rate in roots. Microelectrode measurement showed that vacuolar nitrate activity (concentration) in roots of QM was lower than that in roots of YN, especially in epidermal cells. Nitrate remobilization rates from root vacuoles of two cultivars were also identical. Moreover, vacuolar nitrate remobilization rate was proportional to vacuolar nitrate activity. During N starvation, nitrate reductase activity (NRA) was decreased but there were no significant differences between the two cultivars. Nitrate efflux from roots reduced after external N removal and QM seemed to have higher nitrate efflux rate.