低亲和硝酸盐转运基因成员已在水稻硝酸盐转运基因1/肽转运基因家族（NPF）的4-8亚家族中鉴定出来，但OsNPF3亚家族在硝酸盐和植物激素转运及水稻生长发育上还不清楚。本研究中，我们发现硝酸盐和植物激素转运基因OsNPF3.1在水稻分蘖和氮利用效率上起重要作用。OsNPF3.1的启动子序列在517个水稻品种中具有4种主要单倍型，其表达与分蘖数呈正相关。OsNPF3.1在水稻基部、茎和叶片中的表达量高于其他部位，且在水稻根部和地上部分被硝酸盐、脱落酸（ABA）和赤霉素3（GA3）强烈诱导表达。电生理实验表明，OsNPF3.1是一种pH依赖的低亲和硝酸盐转运基因，且水稻原生质体摄取实验表明它是ABA和GA3的转运基因。OsNPF3.1过表达后在高硝态氮浓度下显著促进了ABA在根系的积累和GA在基部的积累，进一步抑制了腋芽的伸长和水稻分蘖。在中低硝态氮浓度下OsNPF3.1的过表达植株氮利用效率增强，而在高硝态氮浓度下OsNPF3.1的突变体植株氮利用效率增加。以上结果表明，OsNPF3.1在不同硝态氮浓度下的不同水稻组织中转运硝酸盐和植物激素。OsNPF3.1表达改变的过表达植株或CRISPR植株分别在低硝酸盐和高硝酸盐浓度下提高氮利用效率。

本文构建了一种基于图像的半自动的大田作物根系表型分析方法，包括图像采集、图像去噪与分割、特征提取和数据分析四个模块，能够提取5个全局特征和40个局部特征。通过对比人类统计的一级侧根分支数和本文构建的方法提取的结果，发现二者之间具有较好的一致性，R²高达0.97。在玉米/大豆间作系统中，基于该方法提取的根系表型特征参数，进一步发现玉米的种间优势主要表现在5-7轮节根基部5cm内，而间作系统对大豆的明显抑制作用主要体现在主根基部20 cm范围内。因此，本文为大田根系形态和拓扑表型特征的研究提供了一种高通量和高精度的新方法，可以潜在的应用于大田根系三维结构的重建，以及根系生长、溶质运输和水分吸收的模型模拟（例如OpenSimRoot）。

糖转运蛋白在植物渗透调节、信号途径以及植物的生长发育过程中具有重要的作用。然而，目前高粱糖转运蛋白（Sorghum Sugar Transporter，SST）的功能研究却相对较少。本研究通过BLASTP在全基因组鉴定得到98个SST。分析结果显示，这98个SST被划分成3个家族，其中6个被划分为蔗糖转运蛋白家族（sucrose transporters，SUT），23个被划分为SWEET蛋白家族（sugars will eventually be exported transporters，SWEET），69个被划分为单糖转运蛋白家族（monosaccharide transporters，MST）。并且这69个高粱MST可进一步分为7个亚家族，其中24个蛋白属于sugar transporter protein（STP），23个属于polyol/monosaccharide transporter（PLT），2个属于vacuolar glucose transporter（VGT），4个属于inositol transporter（INT），3个属于plastidic glucose transporter/suppressor of G protein beta1（pGlcT/SBG1），5个属于tonoplastic monosaccharide transporter（TMT），8个属于early response to dehydration (ERD6)-like（ERD）。研究结果还发现，SST的编码基因在染色体上随机分布，但却呈现成簇分布的特性，SWEET、ERD、STP和PLT的27个编码基因聚集形成8个串联重复区，其中22个编码基因形成了11对旁系同源基因，占SST编码基因的22.4%。此外，SST家族具有相似的保守结构域，但其保守基序与跨膜结构域（TMH）的特征却有所不同。进一步的分析结果显示，SST编码基因表现出明显的组织特异性；有7个SST主要分布在细胞膜以及膜细胞器上；而选取的14个SST则均能在酵母中转运不同类型的单糖。通过以上研究，我们揭示了SST的序列特征和蛋白的初步功能，研究结果为解析SST在高粱的糖转运及糖信号通路中的作用奠定了基础。

Here, the ozone-treated domestic sludge was diluted up to four different multiples and utilized as a nutritional source for hydroponic lettuce growth.  Additionally, lettuce was cultured using the modified Hoagland nutrient solution as a control.  The effects of ozone-treated domestic sludge on lettuce growth and nutrition were studied.  Results showed that the lettuce treated with modified Hoagland inorganic nutrient solution had increased leaf number, plant height, fresh weight and dry weight compared to those treated with the ozone-treated domestic sludge dilution (P<0.05).  However, the lettuce cultivated with the 2-fold ozone-treated sludge dilution showed significantly higher (P<0.05) contents of chlorophyll, soluble sugar and ascorbic acid (Vc) compared to that treated with modified Hoagland nutrient solution.  And the nitrate concentration in the lettuce cultured with the 2-fold ozone-treated sludge dilution was 53.93% less than that cultured with the modified Hoagland nutrient solution, which was a significant improvement (P<0.05).  This study suggested that the 2-fold ozone-treated sludge dilution is optimal for lettuce hydroponic nutrient requirements.

  In the present study, the effect of manganese (Mn) on antioxidant status and the expression of the manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) gene in cultured primary myocardial cells collected from the chick embryos was investigated.  The hypothesis that Mn supplementation would enhance the expression of MnSOD in cultured primary myocardial cells of chick embryos was tested.  Eggs collected from Mn-depleted Arbor Acres laying breeder hens were incubated for 10 days and then myocardial cells were isolated and cultivated for 8 days.  The embryonic myocardial cells on day 6 were treated with Mn in the cell culture medium at different time points when the proportion of cells showing spontaneous contraction was over 95% after the 3-day primary culture.  A completely randomized design involving a 3 Mn levels (0, 0.5 and 1.0 mmol L^–1)×3 incubation time points (12, 24 and 48 h) factorial arrangement of treatments (n=6) was used in the current experiment.  The results showed that MnSOD activity and mRNA expression level were induced by Mn and increased with incubation time, which supported the hypothesis that Mn would enhance the expression of the MnSOD gene, and thus might protect myocardial cells from oxidative stress during the chick embryonic development.

A endochitinase gene (Tch) from the fungus Trichoderma viride was introduced into broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Sixty-eight putative transformants were obtained and the presence of the Tch gene was confirmed by both PCR and Southern blot analysis. RT-PCR analysis showed an accumulation of the transcript encoding the endochitinase protein in the transgenic plants. Using real-time quantitative PCR, the expression profiling of endochitinase gene was analyzed. Primary transformants and selfed progeny were examined for expression of the endochitinase using a fluorometric assay and for their resistance to the pathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solani. The endochitinase activities in T0 in vitro plants, T0 mature plants and T1 mature plants were correlated with leaf lesions, and the transgenic line T618 had high endochitinse activities of 102.68, 114.53 and 120.27 nmol L–1 MU min–1 mg–1 protein in the three kinds of plants, respectively. The endochitinase activity showed a positive correlation with the resistance to the pathogens. Most transgenic T0 broccoli had increased resistance to the pathogens of B. cinerea and R. solani in leaf assays and this resistance was confirmed to be inheritable. These findings suggested that expression of the Tch gene from T. viride could enhance resistance to pathogenic fungi in Brassica species.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~21 nucleotide (nt), endogenous RNAs that regulate gene expression in plants. Increasing evidence suggests that miRNAs play an important role in species-specific development in plants. However, the detailed miRNA profile divergence has not been performed among tomato species. In this study, the small RNA (sRNA) profiles of Solanum lycopersicum cultivar 9706 and Solanum habrochaites species PI 134417 were obtained by deep sequencing. Sixty-three known miRNA families were identified from these two species, of which 39 were common. Further miRNA profile comparison showed that 24 known non-conserved miRNA families were species-specific between these two tomato species. In addition, six conserved miRNA families displayed an apparent divergent expression pattern between the two tomato species. Our results suggested that species-specific, non-conserved miRNAs and divergent expression of conserved miRNAs might contribute to developmental changes and phenotypic variation between the two tomato species. Twenty new miRNAs were also identified in S. lycopersicum. This research significantly increases the number of known miRNA families in tomato and provides the first set of small RNAs in S. habrochaites. It also suggests that miRNAs have an important role in species-specific plant developmental regulation.

Organic amendment is considered as an effective way to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stock in croplands. To better understand its potential for SOC sequestration, whether SOC saturation could be observed in an intensive agricultural ecosystem receiving long-term composted manure were examined. Different SOC pools were isolated by physical fractionation techniques of a Cambisol soil under a long-term manure experiment with wheat-maize cropping in North China Plain. A field experiment was initiated in 1993, with 6 treatments including control (i.e., without fertilization), chemical fertilizer only, low rate of traditional composted manure (7.5 t ha-1), high rate of traditional composted manure (15 t ha-1), low rate of bio-composted manure (7.5 t ha-1) and high rate of bio-composted manure (15 t ha-1). The results showed that consecutive (for up to 20 years) composted manure amendments significantly improved soil macro-aggregation, aggregate associated SOC concentration, and soil structure stability. In detail, SOC concentration in the sand-sized fraction (>53 μm) continued to increase with manure application rate, while the silt (2-53 μm) and clay (<2 μm) particles showed no further increase with greater C inputs, exhibiting the C saturation. Further physical separation of small macro-aggregates (250-2 000 μm) into subpools showed that the non-protected coarse particulate organic matter (cPOM, >250 μm) was the fraction in which SOC continued to increase with increasing manure application rate. In contrast, the chemical and physical protected C pools (i.e., micro-aggregates and silt-clay occluded in the small macroaggregates) exhibited no additional C sequestration when the manure application rate was increased. It can be concluded that repeated manure amendments can increase soil macro-aggregation and lead to the increase in relatively stable C pools, showing hierarchical saturation behavior in the intensive cropping system of North China Plain.

In order to determine the potential for haploid induction via in vitro gynogenesis in tomato, the ovules and protoplasts of embryo sacs from the hybrids Zhongza 101 and Zhongza 105 were cultured. An efficient method of ovule isolation was established in this study. Using this method, 100-150 ovules could be isolated from one ovary. Isolated ovules were cultured on three induction media to induce gynogenesis in vitro. During culture, ovules were enlarged markedly, with opaque white color. When observed microscopically, there were cell divisions and cell clumps in embryo sacs. Subsequently, the cell clumps in embryo sacs ceased growth, likely because the integument grew faster than embryo sacs did and hindered the further development of embryo sacs. Therefore, subsequent callus morphogenesis might be originated from the integument. Thousands of calli from the two tomato varieties were obtained. Five diploid plants were regenerated after 15 months of subculturing. To eliminate the hindering effect of integument on embryo sac cells, the protoplasts of embryo sacs were prepared and cultured. After 48 hours of culture, the protoplasts of embryo sacs doubled in size and gradually formed clusters of cells. These results suggested that gynogenesis might be a potential way for haploid induction in tomato.

Soil moisture and salinity are two crucial coastal saline soil variables, which influence the soil quality and agricultural productivity in the reclaimed coastal region. Accurately characterizing the spatial variability of these soil parameters is critical for the rational development and utilization of tideland resources. In the present study, the spatial variability of soil moisture and salinity in the reclaimed area of Hangzhou gulf, Shangyu City, Zhejiang Province, China, was detected using the data acquired from radar image and the proximal sensor EM38. Soil moisture closely correlates radar scattering coefficient, and a simplified inversion model was built based on a backscattering coefficient extracted from multi-polarization data of ALOS/PALSAR and in situ soil moisture measured by a time domain reflectometer to detect soil moisture variations. The result indicated a higher accuracy of soil moisture inversion by the HH polarization mode than those by the HV mode. Soil salinity is reflected by soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). Further, ECa can be rapidly detected by EM38 equipment in situ linked with GPS for characterizing the spatial variability of soil salinity. Based on the strong spatial variability and interactions of soil moisture and salinity, a cokriging interpolation method with auxiliary variable of backscattering coefficient was adopted to map the spatial variability of ECa. When compared with a map of ECa interpolated by the ordinary kriging method, detail was revealed and the accuracy was increased by 15.3%. The results conclude that the integrating active remote sensing and proximal sensors EM38 are effective and acceptable approaches for rapidly and accurately detecting soil moisture and salinity variability in coastal areas, especially in the subtropical coastal zones of China with frequent heavy cloud cover.

The whole-plant morphology, leaf ultrastructure, photosynthesis as well as enzyme activities of two tomato cultivars (Meifen-2 and Hongsheng) to differential light availabilities (450-500 μmol m-2 s-1, 75-100 μmol m-2 s-1) were examined in controlled environment. The results showed that the plant biomass and root/shoot ratio decreased and the specific leaf area increased significantly under the low light condition. There was a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities and decrease in soluble sugar and protein contents in LL-grown plants. For both cultivars, downregulation of photosynthesis and electron transport components were observed in LL-grown plants, the inhibition of the photosynthesis under the LL condition could be partially explained by the decrease of stomata density and by the changes of chloroplast.