准确估算区域尺度冬小麦产量对掌握粮食生产情况和保证国家粮食安全十分重要。但目前精确的水资源和区域灌溉信息难以获取，基于遥感模拟区域尺度冬小麦产量的年际和空间变化仍存在较大误差。为此，本研究以中国冬小麦主产区华北平原（NCP）为研究区，发展基于灌溉模式参数（IPPs，即灌溉频率和灌溉时期）近似估计冬小麦灌溉信息的新方法，并将其耦合到一个新发展的遥感过程模型（PRYM–Wheat），以更准确模拟NCP冬小麦产量。本研究使用NCP各县市参考年份（2010–2015）的统计产量确定IPPs的最优值，然后在站点和区域尺度验证耦合了最优IPPs的PRYM–Wheat模拟冬小麦的精度。结果显示，耦合了最优IPPs的PRYM–Wheat模拟参考年份冬小麦产量的相关系数R提升了0.15（37%），均方根误差RMSE减少了0.90 t/hm²（41%）；模拟验证年份（2001–2009和2016–2019）站点尺度、河北省县级尺度、河南省县级尺度和山东省市级尺度的R（RMSE）分别为0.80（0.62 t/hm²）、0.51（0.95 t/hm²）、0.72（1.18 t/hm²）和0.42（0.72 t/hm²）。总体来看，IPPs可以有效提升基于遥感模拟灌溉区区域尺度冬小麦产量的精度，耦合了IPPs的PRYM–Wheat模型可为估算区域冬小麦多年产量提供稳定可靠的方法，为确保区域粮食安全提供科学依据。

土壤盐渍化是限制干旱区农业生产的一个重要环境问题。将秸秆深还田至地表下40 cm处形成生物质隔层是抑制土壤返盐的有效措施之一，然而，不同用量的秸秆隔层对盐碱土壤剖面有机碳（SOC）和总氮（TN）的遗留效应的影响尚不明确。因此，本研究基于四年（2015-2018年）的不同用量（即0、6、12和18 Mg·ha^-1）秸秆隔层处理田间定位试验，分析了秸秆隔层措施对盐碱土壤剖面中有机碳和全氮含量的影响。结果表明：与无秸秆隔层（CK）相比，秸秆隔层处理的20-40 cm和40-60 cm土层SOC含量分别增加了14-32%和11-57%，TN含量分别增加了8-22%和6-34%，SOC含量的增幅高于TN含量，从而20-60 cm土层的C：N比增加。与CK相比，秸秆隔层处理的20-60 cm土层SOC和TN含量的显著增加，导致了土壤层化率（0-20: 20-60 cm）的下降，促进了SOC和TN在土壤剖面上的均匀分布。此外，SOC和TN含量均随秸秆隔层用量的增加而增加，同时秸秆隔层处理有效的水盐调控效果显著提升向日葵产量。综合比较，12 Mg·ha^-1的秸秆隔层处理SOC、TN和C:N比相对较高，土壤层化比率较低。以上结果表明，秸秆隔层措施在改善盐碱地底层土壤肥力方面有很大潜力，其遗留效应至少能维持4年

木质素代谢在植物对病原菌的防御中起着关键作用，并且在抵御病原菌侵染的过程中总是起到正向作用。因此，解析植物木质素响应病原菌代谢相关抗性基因的遗传机理具有重要意义。本研究以8个陆地棉品系为材料，构建了一个多亲本高世代杂交(MAGIC)群体(n=280)，该群体表现出控制优良性状的等位基因的聚合特征。为了研究木质素对黄萎病的响应(LRVW)，本研究在4种环境下分别建立了人工病圃(ADN)和轮作苗圃(RN)。通过采集和测定棉秆的木质素含量，并将不同环境下ADN/RN木素比值作为LRVW值，结果表明，群体LRVW值表现出较丰富的变异。利用63K芯片获得了9323个高质量单核苷酸多态(SNP)标记，用于MAGIC群体的基因分型，结果显示，SNPs分布于全基因组，平均密度为4.78SNP/Mb，在染色体间的分布范围为1.14 SNP/Mb (ChrA06)~10.08 SNP/Mb (ChrD08)。利用混合线性模型(MLM)对LRVW进行全基因组关联分析，并在两个以上的环境中共同检测到3个稳定的QTL，即qLRVW-A04、qLRVW-A10和qLRVW-D05。结合分析候选基因编码序列变异、诱导表达模式和功能注释，最终在QTL区间选择了两个关键候选基因Ghi_D05G01046和Ghi_D05G01221。这两个基因在编码区都出现了非同义突变，并且都受黄萎病菌强烈诱导。Ghi_D05G01046编码一个富含亮氨酸的延伸素(LRx)蛋白，与拟南芥细胞壁的生物合成和结构有关。Ghi_D05G01221编码Jaz的转录抑制因子，它在茉莉酸(JA)信号通路中发挥作用。综上所述，本研究不仅为陆地棉抗黄萎病育种和QTL定位创造了宝贵的遗传资源，也为解析陆地棉抗黄萎病的遗传基础开辟了新的视角。

溶血磷脂酸( Lysophosphatidic acid, LPA)是一种小分子甘油磷脂，在多种动物细胞中具有生长因子和激素样活性。LPA通过结合G蛋白偶联受体,激活下游信号通路，产生促卵母细胞成熟，提高胚胎发育率，促进细胞增殖等生物学效应。绵羊是我国重要的家畜之一，其体外受精效率较其他物种偏低,且目前仍未建立真正的绵羊胚胎干细胞。本研究通过在绵羊体外受精过程及囊胚接种细胞培养过程中添加LPA，以探究LPA对绵羊体外受精以及囊胚接种细胞培养的影响。首先，我们对绵羊的体外受精体系进行了筛选，选取了两种成熟液与两种SOF液进行组合，通过比较不同体系间的成熟率、卵裂率和囊胚率，最终找到最优的体外受精的体系，即IVM Ⅱ and SOF Ⅱ。然后，在绵羊体外受精过程中添加不同浓度的LPA，探讨LPA浓度对绵羊体外受精的影响。结果显示，当LPA浓度为0.1 μmol L^-1 - 10 μmol L^-1之间时，随着LPA浓度的增加，绵羊卵母细胞体外成熟率、囊胚率逐渐上升(P < 0.05)，卵裂率无显著变化(P > 0.05),囊胚形态正常；当LPA浓度达到15 μmol L^-1时，成熟率、卵裂率、囊胚率均出现显著下降 (P < 0.05)，且囊胚形态发生异常，胚胎内细胞团聚集不正常，囊胚内部出现分区，不能发育成为优质的囊胚。另外，随着LPA浓度在0.1 μmol L^-1- 10 μmol L^-1范围内逐渐增大，LPAR2、LPAR4、TE相关基因CDX-2和多能性相关基因OCT-4在绵羊早期体外受精胚胎中的mRNA表达量也逐步增加。而15 μmol L^-1 LPA处理组中，早期胚胎LPAR2、LPAR4、CDX-2和OCT-4的表达量均显著低于LPA - 10 μmol L^-1处理组(P<0.05)。最后，我们将绵羊体外受精囊胚接种在不同培养体系,尝试建立胚胎干细胞。 结果表明，LPA使接种后的囊胚细胞向TSC样细胞生长。随着LPA浓度从0 μmol L^-1增加到10 μmol L^-1, OCT-4和CDX-2的蛋白免疫荧光强度和mRNA丰度增强(P < 0.05)，而15 μmol L^-1 LPA则显著降低OCT-4和CDX-2在囊胚接种细胞中的表达(P < 0.05)。同时，10 μmol L^-1的LPA处理后，LPAR2和LPAR4蛋白表达显著增加。综合上述实验结果，LPA可促进绵羊体外受精早期胚胎发育,并促进囊胚接种细胞向TSC方向生长，为大动物体外受精及胚胎干细胞建系提供参考。

非洲猪瘟在我国爆发，给我国养殖业带来巨大的经济损失，目前无可用的商业化疫苗和药物，其相关研究限定于在高等级生物安全实验室中完成，生物安全防护中消毒剂的合理使用尤为重要。MICRO-CHEM PLUS（MCP）作为一种复合型季铵盐类消毒剂在高等级生物安全实验室广泛使用，而针对非洲猪瘟病毒（African swine fever Virus，ASFV）的灭活效果未见相关报道。本文我们探究不同病毒载量、不同消毒剂浓度、不同作用时间及不同作用温度对于灭活非洲猪瘟病毒效果的影响。研究结果表明高病毒载量需要更高浓度的MCP才能将ASFV完全灭活，较低浓度的MCP需要延长作用时间才能达到完全灭活ASFV的效果，不同的作用温度对于MCP灭活ASFV的效果无影响。应用干雾消毒机将5%MCP进行房间喷雾消毒，当浓度达到0.06L/m3，用ASFV、大肠杆菌和金色葡萄球菌作为生物指示剂，可以达到终末消毒效果，但对于枯草芽孢杆菌作为生物指示剂还有部分活菌残留；当浓度为0.03L/m3时，对于大肠杆菌或金黄色葡萄球菌作为生物指示剂，也可以达到了终末消毒效果。该研究为在特定环境中合理使用 MCP 提供了科学依据，可以用于操作ASFV的高等级生物安全实验室的消毒以及猪场非洲猪瘟感染的预防。

马铃薯是中国北方主要的粮食作物之一。然而，降水量少且年际波动大严重威胁着北方雨养马铃薯的高产和稳产。在水分限制条件下，优化水分管理措施可有效提升马铃薯的产量和水分利用效率，从而能保证粮食安全。但当前较少研究定量了不同水分管理措施对中国北方马铃薯产量和水分利用效率的贡献。本文基于多源大田试验数据和作物模型，使用Meta分析方法定量了中国北方大兴安岭区、燕山丘陵区、阴山北麓区和黄土高原区马铃薯的潜在、灌溉和雨养产量及其水分利用效率。结果表明，APSIM-Potato模型模拟的马铃薯潜在干重产量在燕山丘陵最高（12.4 t ha^-1），其次为阴山北麓（11.4 t ha^-1）、大兴安岭（11.2 t ha^-1）、和黄土高原（10.7 t ha^-1）。大兴安岭、燕山丘陵、阴山北麓和黄土高原实测的雨养马铃薯干重产量分别占各区潜在产量的61、30、28和24%。潜在条件下燕山丘陵马铃薯的水分利用效率最高，其次为大兴安岭、阴山北麓和黄土高原，对应的水分利用效率分别为2.2、2.1、1.9和1.9 kg m^-3。在北方马铃薯种植区，沟垄种植的马铃薯产量和水分利用效率可较平作提升8-49%和2-36%，而沟垄种植搭配覆膜的马铃薯产量和水分利用效率可较平作提升35-89%和7-57%。在水资源有限的马铃薯种植区，通过沟垄种植、覆膜和补灌相结合的水分管理方式能协同提高马铃薯的产量和水分利用效率。

理解作物产量差（YG）的空间分布对提高作物产量至关重要。目前的研究通常集中在站点尺度上，当扩展到域尺度上可能会导致相当大的不确定性。为了解决这一问题，本研究采用基于改进北方生态系统生产力模拟器（BEPS）的遥感驱动过程冬小麦作物产量模型（PRYM-Wheat），模拟了2015-2019年华北平原冬小麦的产量差。通过统计产量数据进行产量验证，表明PRYM-Wheat模型在模拟冬小麦实际产量（Ya）方面具有良好的性能。研究区Ya的分布差异较大，由东南向西北呈下降趋势。遥感估算结果表明，研究区域的平均YG为6400.6 kg ha^-1。江苏省YG产量最大，为7307.4 kg ha^-1。安徽YG最小，为5842.1 kg ha^-1。通过分析YG对环境因素的响应，发现YG与降水之间没有明显的相关性，而YG与累积温度之间存在较弱的负相关关系；此外，YG与海拔升高呈正相关。总的来说，研究作物产量差（YG）可以为今后提高作物产量提供方向。

本研究制备了在骨骼肌组织中特异表达人FST基因的转基因（TG）猪，并进行了表型鉴定。相较于野生型（WT）猪，TG猪骨骼肌重量显著增加(P<0.05)，脂肪沉积显著减少(P<0.05)，代谢状态显著改善(P<0.05)。根据表型变化，利用RNA-seq技术对WT猪和TG猪的骨骼肌（酵解型：背最长肌，氧化型：腰大肌）、白色脂肪（皮下脂肪：背部皮下脂肪，内脏脂肪：腹膜后脂肪）和肝脏共6个组织进行了转录组比较分析。结果表明，PIK3-AKT信号通路、钙离子信号通路及氨基酸代谢通路在FST诱导的骨骼肌肥大中具有重要作用；MYH7基因（决定I型肌纤维）表达量的相对比例在TG猪腰大肌中显著减低，氧化磷酸化和脂肪酸代谢等相关信号通路也在TG猪腰大肌中显著下调；相较于WT猪，TG猪脂肪中的AMPK信号通路、脂代谢相关通路发生显著变化，脂质合成、脂质分解及脂质储存相关基因表达量在皮下脂肪中显著降低，脂质分解相关基因表达量在腹膜后脂肪组织中显著升高。肝脏组织中，TGF-β信号通路相关基因在TG猪中显著下调。这些结果将有助于理解卵泡抑素引起猪表型变化的分子机制，为该候选靶点进一步在分子育种中的应用提供了基础数据。

非洲猪瘟 (ASF) 是家猪和野猪的一种毁灭性疾病。目前没有有效的商品化疫苗，疾病的控制主要依赖于对感染猪的监测和早期检测。ASF是由非洲猪瘟病毒 (ASFV) 引起的疾病。以前的血清学检测方法（如 ELISA）主要基于ASFV的重组结构蛋白，包括 p72、p54和p30等。然而，猪感染 ASFV后产生的针对此类蛋白的抗体不能为其提供有效的免疫保护。因此，仍然需要可用于临床诊断和评估疫苗免疫猪体液免疫反应的新血清学检测方法。在此项研究中，我们表达并纯化了重组pB602L蛋白。然后将纯化的pB602L蛋白作为抗原进行间接 ELISA 检测。该方法对猪瘟病毒、伪狂犬病病毒、猪细小病毒等15种最常见的猪病原的抗血清无交叉反应。然后使用该方法与商品化ELISA试剂盒同时对60头猪的血清样本进行检测，其中包括数量未知的抗ASFV血清，两种方法检测的符合率为95%。此外，使用基于pB602L蛋白的iELISA对7基因缺失的ASFV株（HLJ/18-7GD）免疫猪体内的抗体水平进行检测。结果表明，接种10 天以后，在所有接种猪体内都检测到抗体水平持续增加。我们的结果表明，这种基于 pB602L的间接ELISA检测可用于ASFV的临床诊断。

蔗糖非发酵相关蛋白激酶2（SnRK2）是植物特有的一类丝氨酸/苏氨酸蛋白激酶，其能够应对大量不利的环境刺激。之前研究报道了小麦TaSnRK2.4响应非生物逆境胁迫，提高了转基因拟南芥的多重抗性。本研究将揭示TaSnRK2.4的抗逆机理并发掘新的功能。TaSnRK2.4s分别被定位于3A、3B和3D染色体，这3种基因组序列均被克隆。多态性检测结果表明，TaSnRK2.4-3A和TaSnRK2.4-3B分别有1处和13处变异位点，TaSnRK2.4-3D未发现变异位点。基于其中3处变异位点，开发了标记2.4AM1、2.4BM1和2.4BM2。关联分析结果表明，TaSnRK2.4-3A和TaSnRK2.4-3B均与千粒重显著关联，其中SNP3A-T和SNP3B-C是高千粒重的优异等位变异。酵母双杂交和荧光素酶互补成像试验表明，TaSnRK2.4和逆境响应蛋白TaLTP3互作，进而得出TaSnRK2.4通过激活TaLTP3参与抗逆。我们的研究显示了TaSnRK2.4在增产抗逆方面具有巨大潜力。

花生是重要的油料作物，培育高油品种是花生育种的主要目标之一。研究表明，干旱胁迫下花生叶片渗透压与其籽仁含油量呈显著负相关。基于这一原理，我们创建了利用离体诱变和渗透压定向筛选培育高油花生新品种的有效方法。以花生品种花育20号的种子胚小叶为外植体，平阳霉素(PYM)为诱变剂，羟脯氨酸(HYP)为渗透压调节剂进行离体诱变和定向筛选，最终获得15株HYP耐性再生植株。每个再生植株均有含油量 >55%的后代（而花育20号含油量为49.5%）。从HYP耐性植株后代中培育出3个高产高油花生新品种，宇花4号、宇花9号、宇花14号，含油量分别为57.7%、61.1%、59.3%。结果表明，PYM离体诱变后进行HYP离体定向筛选，是培育高油花生品种的有效途径。

Cotton is a globally important natural fiber and oilseed crop of crucial economic significance.  Molecular breeding has become a dominant method of cotton cultivation because it allows for a shorter breeding period and directional selection of high quality genes.  Patent data are key resources and are the core competitiveness of agricultural development, as the world’s largest and most reliable source of technical information.  However, little attention has been paid to patent analysis of cotton molecular breeding.  This study uses bibliometric analysis methodology and technical classification indexing to reveal global development trends of cotton molecular breeding, based on patents by retrieval methods and expert screening.  The annual number of patents, the life-cycle of patent-based technology, patent portfolios of primary countries, and main patentees, as well as technical distribution of patents, were analyzed in this study.  In addition, this study put emphasis on the comparative analysis of two important patentees through patent roadmaps based on the relationship among patent citations.  Finally, in order to understand the trend of new molecular breeding technology, patents related to clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), RNA interference (RNAi), and gene chip were also analyzed, all of which apply to cotton but also to other crops.  Results in this paper can provide references for cotton molecular breeding researchers and relevant management departments.

Received  26 June, 2017    Accepted  17 October, 2017
© 2018 CAAS. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V.  All rights reserved.
doi:

In this paper, a polyethersulfone (PES)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite membrane was prepared using phase inversion.  The surface morphology and internal structure of the membrane were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).  The effects of MWCNTs content on various aspects of membrane performance such as porosity, water flux, and antifouling characteristics were investigated.  Results showed that proper addition of MWCNTs would improve the properties of the membrane.  MWCNTs had a strong adsorption capacity for industrial dyes and the composite membrane could be used as an effective method to identify and clean up illegal dyes in foods.  In addition, this new method for identifying dyes is rapid: the cleanup procedure in the determination of illegal dyes in foods by the composite membrane was shortened to 30 min or less compared to 6–8 h for traditional methods.

The stress-associated protein (SAP) multigene family is conserved in both animals and plants.  Its function in some animals and plants are known, but it is yet to be deciphered in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).  We identified the wheat gene TaSAP17-D, a member of the SAP gene family with an AN1/AN1 conserved domain.  Subcellular localization indicated that TaSAP17-D localized to the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane.  Expression pattern analyses revealed that TaSAP17-D was highly expressed in seedlings and was involved in NaCl response, polyethylene glycol (PEG), cold, and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA).  Constitutive expression of TaSAP17-D in transgenic Arabidopsis resulted in enhanced tolerance to salt stress, confirmed by improved multiple physiological indices and significantly upregulated marker genes related to salt stress response.  Our results suggest that TaSAP17-D is a candidate gene that can be used to protect crop plants from salt stress.  

Application of fertilizer has been found to significantly affect soil N cycling.  However, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates is still lacking.  We compiled data of observations from 10 long-term fertilization experiments and conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of long-term fertilization on soil gross N transformation rates.  The results showed that if chemical fertilizers of N, P and K were applied in balance, soil pH decreased very slightly.  There was a significantly positive effect of long-term fertilization, either chemical or organic fertilizers or their combinations, on gross N mineralization rate compared to the control treatment (the mean effect size ranged from 1.21 to 1.25 at 95% confidence intervals (CI) with a mean of 1.23), mainly due to the increasing soil total N content.  The long-term application of organic fertilizer alone and combining organic and chemical fertilizer could increase the mineralization-immobilization turnover, thus enhance available N for plant while reduce N losses potential compared to the control treatment.  However, long-term chemical fertilizer application did not significantly affect the gross NH4+ immobilization rate, but accelerated gross nitrification rate (1.19; 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.31).  Thus, long-term chemical fertilizer alone would probably induce higher N losses potential through NO3– leaching and runoff than organic fertilizer application compared to the control treatment.  Therefore, in the view of the effects of long-term fertilization on gross N transformation rates, it also supports that organic fertilizer alone or combination of organic and chemical fertilizer could not only improve crop yield, but also increase soil fertility and reduce the N losses potential.

    Salt stress has been increasingly constraining crop productivity in arid lands of the world. In our recent study, salt stress was alleviated and crop productivity was improved remarkably by straw layer burial plus plastic film mulching in a saline soil. However, its impact on the microflora diversity is not well documented. Field micro-plot experiments were conducted from 2010 to 2011 using four tillage methods: (i) deep tillage with plastic film mulching (CK), (ii) straw layer burial at 40 cm (S), (iii) straw layer burial plus surface soil mulching with straw material (S+S), and (iv) plastic film mulching plus buried straw layer (P+S). Culturable microbes and predominant bacterial communities were studied; based on 16S rDNA, bacterial community structure and abundance were characterized using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results showed that P+S was the most favorable for culturable bacteria, actinomyces and fungi and induced the most diverse genera of bacteria compared to other tillage methods. Soil temperature had significant positive correlations with the number of bacteria, actinomyces and fungi (P<0.01). However, soil water was poorly correlated with any of the microbes. Salt content had a significant negative correlation with the number of microbers, especially for bacteria and fungi (P<0.01). DGGE analysis showed that the P+S exhibited the highest diversity of bacteria with 20 visible bands followed by S+S, S and CK. Moreover, P+S had the highest similarity (68%) of bacterial communities with CK. The major bacterial genera in all soil samples were Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. Given the considerable increase in microbial growth, the combined use of straw layer burial and plastic film mulching could be a practical option for alleviating salt stress effects on soil microbial community and thereby improving crop production in arid saline soils.

Potassium (K) deficiency is one of the major abiotic stresses which has drastically influenced maize growth and yield around the world. However, the physiological mechanism of K deficiency tolerance is not yet fully understood. To identify the differences of root morphology, physiology and endogenous hormones at different growing stages, two maize inbred lines 90-21-3 (tolerance to K deficiency) and D937 (sensitive to K deficiency) were cultivated in the long-term K fertilizer experimental pool under high potassium (+K) and low potassium (–K) treatments. The results indicated that the root length, volume and surface area of 90-21-3 were significantly higher than those of D937 under –K treatment at different growing stages. It was noteworthy that the lateral roots of 90-21-3 were dramatically higher than those of D937 at tasselling and flowering stage under –K treatment. Meanwhile, the values of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and oxidizing force of 90-21-3 were apparently higher than those of D937, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) content of D937 was obviously increased. Compared with +K treatment, the indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) content of 90-21-3 was largely increased under –K treatment, whereas it was sharply decreased in D937. On the contrary, abscisic acid (ABA) content of 90-21-3 was slightly increased, but that of D937 was significantly increased. The zeatin riboside (ZR) content of 90-21-3 was significantly decreased, while that of D937 was relatively increased. These results indicated that the endogenous hormones were stimulated in 90-21-3 to adjust lateral root development and to maintain the physiology function thereby alleviating K deficiency.

Both bolting and flowering times influence taproot and seed production in radish. FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) plays a key role in plant flowering by functioning as a repressor. Two genomic DNA sequences, a 3 046-bp from an early- and a 2 959-bp from a late-bolting radish line were isolated and named as RsFLC1 and RsFLC2, respectively, for they share approximately 87.03% sequence identity to the FLC cDNA sequences. The genomic DNA sequences, 1 466-bp and 1 744-bp, flanking the 5´-regions of RsFLC1 and RsFLC2, respectively, were characterized. Since both of them harbor the basic promoter elements, the TATA box and CAAT box, they were designated as PRsFLC1 and PRsFLC2. The transcription start site (TSS) was identified at 424 and 336 bp upstream of the start codon in PRsFLC1 and PRsFLC2, respectively. cis-regulatory elements including CGTCA (MeJA-responsive) and ABRE (abscisic acid-responsive) motifs were found in both promoters, while some cis-regulatory elements including TCA element and GARE-motif were present only in PRsFLC1. These sequence differences lead to the diversity of promoter core elements, which could partially result in the difference of bolting and flowering time in radish line NauDY13 (early-bolting) and Naulu127 (late-bolting). Furthermore, to investigate the activity of these promoters, a series of 5´-deletion fragment-GUS fusions were constructed and transformed into tobacco. GUS activity was detected in PRsFLC1-(1 to 4)-GUS-PS1aG-3 and PRsFLC2-(1 to 4)-GUS-PS1aG-3 transgenic tobacco leaf discs, and this activity progressively decreased from PRsFLC-1-GUS-PS1aG-3 to PRsFLC-5-GUS-PS1aG-3. Deletion analysis indicated that the cis-regulatory elements located at –395 bp to +1 bp may be critical for specifying RsFLC gene transcription.

Photoperiodic response is an important characteristic that plays an important role in plant adaptability for various environments. Wheat cultivars grow widely and have high yield potential for the strong photoperiod adaptibility. To assess the photoperiodic response of different genotypes in wheat cultivars, the photoperiodic effects of the Ppd-D1 alleles and the expressions of the related TaGI, TaCO and TaFT genes in Liaochun 10 and Ningchun 36 were investigated under the short-day (6 h light, SD), moderate-day (12 h light, MD) and long-day (24 h light, LD) conditions. Amplicon length comparison indicated that the promoter of Ppd-D1 in Ningchun 36 is intact, while Liaochun 10 presented the partial sequence deletion of Ppd-D1 promoter. The durations of all developmental stages of the two cultivars were reduced by subjection to an extended photoperiod, except for the stamen and pistil differentiation stage in the Liaochun 10 cultivar. The expression levels of the Ppd-D1 alleles and the TaGI, TaCO and TaFT genes associated with the photoperiod pathway were examined over a 24-h period under SD and MD conditions. The relationships of different photoperiodic responses of the two cultivars and the expression of photoperiod pathway genes were analyzed accordingly. The photoperiod insensitive (PI) genotype plants flower early under SD; meanwhile, the abnormal expression of the Ppd-D1a allele is accompanied with an increase in TaFT1 expression and the TaCO expression variation. The results would facilitate molecular breeding in wheat.

    Plant height (PH) is one of the most important agronomic traits of rice, as it directly affects the lodging resistance and the high yield potential. Meanwhile, PH is often constrained by water supply over the entire growth period. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) derived from Xiaobaijingzi and Kongyu 131 strains grown under drought stress and with normal irrigation over 2 yr (2013 and 2014), respectively (regarded as four environments), was used to dissect the genetic basis of PH by developmental dynamics QTL analysis combined with QTL×environment interactions. QTLs with net effects excluding the accumulated effects were detected to explore the relationship between gene×gene interactions and gene×environment interactions in specific growth period. A total of 26 additive QTLs (A-QTLs) and 37 epistatic QTLs (E-QTLs) associated with PH were detected by unconditional and conditional mapping over seven growth periods. qPH-2-3, qPH-4-3, qPH-6-1, qPH-7-1, and qPH-12-5 could be detected by both unconditional and conditional analyses. qPH-4-3 and qPH-7-5 were detected in four stages (periods) to be sequentially expressed QTLs controlling PH continuous variation. QTLs with additive effects (A-QTLs) were mostly expressed in the period S3|S2 (the time interval from stages 2 to 3), and QTL×environment interactions performed actively in the first three stages (periods) which could be an important developmental period for rice to undergo external morphogenesis during drought stress. Several QTLs showed high adaptability for drought stress and many QTLs were closely related to the environments such as qPH-3-5, qPH-2-2 and qPH-6-1. 72.5% of the QTLs with a and aa effects detected by conditional analysis were under drought stress, and the PVE of QTLs detected by conditional analysis under drought stress were also much higher than that under normal irrigation. We infer that environments would influence the detection results and sequential expression of genes was highly influenced by environments as well. Many QTLs (qPH-1-2, qPH-3-5, qPH-4-1, qPH-2-3) coincident with previously identified drought resistance genes. The result of this study is helpful to elucidating the genetic mechanism and regulatory network underlying the development of PH in rice and providing references to marker assisted selection.

   Lipid transfer protein (LTP) is a kind of small molecular protein, which is named for its ability to transfer lipid between cell membranes. It has been proved that the protein is involved in the responding to abiotic stresses. In this study, TaLTP-s, a genomic sequence of TaLTP was isolated from A genome of wheat (Triticum aestivum L). Sequencing analysis exhibited that there was no diversity in the coding region of TaLTP-s, but seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 1 bp insertion/deletion (InDel) were detected in the promoter regions of different wheat accessions. Nucleotide diversity (π) in the region was 0.00033, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) extended over almost the entire TaLTP-s region in wheat. The dCAPS markers based on sequence variations in the promoter regions (SNP-207 and SNP-1696) were developed, and three haplotypes were identified based on those markers. Association analysis between the haplotypes and agronomic traits of natural population consisted of 262 accessions showed that three haplotypes of TaLTP-s were significantly associated with plant height (PH). Among the three haplotypes, HapIII is considered as the superior haplotype for increasing plant height in the drought stress environments. The G variance at the position of 207 bp could be a superior allele that significantly increased number of spikes per plant (NSP). The functional marker of TaLTP-s provide a tool for marker-assisted selection regarding to plant height and number of spikelet per plant in wheat.

    A fluorescent competitive assay for melamine was first developed utilizing dummy molecularly imprinted polymers (DMIPs) as artificial antibodies. This method is based on the competition between fluorescent substances and the unlabeled analyte for binding sites in synthesized DMIPs and the decreased binding of fluorescent substances to DMIPs due to increased concentrations of melamine in the solutions. DMIPs for melamine were synthesized under a hot water bath in the presence of the initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) using 2,4-diamino-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazine (DAMT) as a dummy template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a crosslinking agent. The adsorption capacity and selectivity of DMIPs for melamine were evaluated by the isothermal adsorption curve and Scatchard analysis. The evaluation results showed that the synthesized DMIPs had specific recognition sites for melamine and the maximum adsorption amount was 1 066.33 μg g^–1. Later, 5-(4,6-dichlorotriazinyl) amino fluorescein (DTAF) with a triazine ring, which slightly resembles melamine, was selected as the fluorescent substance. The fluorescent competitive assay using DMIPs as the antibody mimics was finally established by selecting and optimizing the reaction solvents, DMIPs amount, DTAF concentration, and incubation time. The optimal detection system showed a linear response within range of 0.05–40 mg L^–1 and the limit of detection (LOD) was 1.23 μg L^–1. It was successfully applied to the detection of melamine in spiked milk samples with satisfactory recoveries (71.9 to 86.3%). According to the comparative analysis, the result of optimized fluorescent competitive assay revealed excellent agreement with the HPLC-MS/MS result for melamine.

The rapidly growing demand for food, feed and fuel requires further improvements of land and water management, crop productivity and resource-use efficiencies. Combined field experimentation and crop growth modelling during the past five decades made a great leap forward in the understanding of factors that determine actual and potential yields of monocrops. The research field of production ecology developed concepts to integrate biological and biophysical processes with the aim to explore crop growth potential in contrasting environments. To understand the potential of more complex systems (multi-cropping and intercropping) we need an agro-ecosystem approach that integrates knowledge derived from various disciplines: agronomy, crop physiology, crop ecology, and environmental sciences (soil, water and climate). Adaptation of cropping systems to climate change and a better tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses by genetic improvement and by managing diverse cropping systems in a sustainable way will be of key importance in food security. To accelerate sustainable intensification of agricultural production, it is required to develop intercropping systems that are highly productive and stable under conditions with abiotic constraints (water, nutrients and weather). Strategies to achieve sustainable intensification include developing tools to evaluate crop growth potential under more extreme climatic conditions and introducing new crops and cropping systems that are more productive and robust under conditions with abiotic stress. This paper presents some examples of sustainable intensification management of intercropping systems that proved to be tolerant to extreme climate conditions.