Cuticular wax plays an important role in protecting plants against water loss and pathogen infection and in the adaptations to environmental stresses.  The genetic mechanism of the biosynthesis and accumulation of epicuticular wax in rice remains largely unknown.  Here, we show a spontaneous mutant displaying wax crystal-sparse leaves and decreased content of epicuticular wax that was derived from the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) restorer line Zhenhui 714.  Compared with the wild type Zhenhui 714, the mutant exhibited hydrophilic features on leaf surface and more sensitivity to drought stress.  The mutation also caused lower grain number per panicle and thousand grain weight, leading to the decline of yield.  Genetic analysis indicates that the mutation is controlled by a single recessive gene, named wax crystal-sparse leaf3 (wsl3).  Using segregation populations derived from crosses of mutant/Zhendao 88 and mutant/Wuyujing 3, respectively, the wsl3 gene was fine-mapped to a 110-kb region between markers c3-16 and c3-22 on chromosome 3.  According to the rice reference genome and gene analysis, we conclude that a novel gene/mechanism involved in regulation of rice cuticular wax formation.

Somatic nuclear transfer technology has become increasingly promising in biomedicine and agriculture. Whereas the approach remains inefficient and underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous. Although cloned embryos have similar in vitro developmental capacity as in vitro fertilized (IVF) embryos before implantation, they appeared to have much lower full-term developmental efficiency in pig and cattle, and thus it would be reasonable to postulate that profound distinction at the molecular level should exist between them. Herein, RNA sequencing technique was used to screen differentially expressed genes in cloned and IVF blastocysts, and in total 628 differentially expressed transcripts were obtained, among which, 280 transcripts are up-regulated and 348 transcripts are down-regulated in cloned blastocysts. Moreover, one statistically significant pathway associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein processing was enriched, and some ER-stress markers such as ATF4, ATF6, PDIA3, HSPA1B, HSP40 and HSP90 between cloned and IVF blastocysts were suggested. Additionally, some developmentally important genes such as lipid metabolism related genes (MGLL, DDHD2 and FADS2) and epigenetic modification genes (DNMT1, KDM5C and MBD3L5) were found differentially expressed between cloned and IVF embryos.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) are unique stem cells in adult body that can transmit genetic information to the next generation. They have self-renewal potential and can continuously support spermatogenesis throughout life of a male animal. However, the SSC population is extremely small, isolation and purification of the SSCs is challenging, especially for livestock animals. It has been confirmed that CDH1 (cadherin-1, also known as E-cadherin) can be expressed in undifferentiated SSCs of mouse and rats, but it has not been verified in sheep. Here, CDH1 was found as a novel surface marker for sheep SSCs. In this paper, sheep anti- CDH1 polyclonal antibodies were prepared and its activity was checked. Using the obtained antibodies and immunohistochemistry analysis, we confirmed that CDH1 can be expressed by SSCs in sheep testis.