植物叶绿素生物合成和叶绿体发育是两个受外源和内源因子调控的极其复杂过程。在本研究中，我们鉴定了一个正调控水稻叶绿素生物合成和叶绿体发育的还原异构酶基因OsDXR。OsDXR基因敲除突变体表现为白化致死表型，不能完成整个生命周期。OsDXR在水稻叶片中高表达，亚细胞定位表明OsDXR是一种叶绿体蛋白。与野生型相比，在OsDXR敲除突变体中许多参与叶绿素生物合成和叶绿体发育的基因表达存在差异。我们发现在OsDXR敲除突变体中叶绿体基因ndhA-1019和rpl2-1的RNA编辑效率显著降低。此外，酵母双杂交和双分子荧光互补实验证实，OsDXR与RNA编辑因子OsMORF1有相互作用。我们证实质体2-C-甲基-去甲三醇-4-磷酸途径的破坏导致叶绿体发育和叶绿体基因的RNA编辑存在缺陷。

类胡萝卜素参与植物叶色的形成以及光系统的光保护。在这项研究中，我们发现蓝光会显着上调橙色大白菜内叶中的总类胡萝卜素。此外，转录组学分析显示，蓝光处理诱导类胡萝卜素代谢途径上游的光合作用（BrHY5-2、BrCOP1、BrDET1）和MEP（甲基赤藓糖醇 4-磷酸）（BrGGPS、BrDXS、BrHDR）途径中的基因上调。类胡萝卜素代谢组学分析显示，蓝光处理后几种橙色和红色类胡萝卜素（番茄红素、玉米黄质、β-胡萝卜素、叶黄素和β-隐黄质）的积累有助于叶片橙色的加深，表明短期蓝光治疗可用于促进“有益营养”的积累。光信号基因 BrHY5-2 参与了橙色大白菜中类胡萝卜素生物合成的蓝光诱导转录调控。BrHY5-2在拟南芥中的过表达显著增加了总类胡萝卜素含量和对蓝光的敏感性。上述发现揭示了蓝光诱导橙色大白菜品系中类胡萝卜素合成和积累的新见解，并提供了提高蔬菜营养价值的新方法。

本研究通过系统发育分析鉴定了蚜虫中一个保守的气味受体分支，并对这一支中豌豆蚜气味受体ApisOr23的功能进行了研究。序列分析的结果显示，豌豆蚜、大豆蚜和棉蚜的同源受体Or23序列相似性为94.28%。此外，我们对8种蚜虫同源受体Or23序列进行保守基序 (motif) 分析，进一步验证了Or23分支的高度保守性。组织特异性表达分析结果显示，豌豆蚜ApisOr23主要在触角高表达。随后，我们利用非洲爪蟾卵母细胞表达系统对ApisOr23进行体外功能研究，结果显示在所有测试的化合物中，ApisOr23对反-2-己烯醛、顺-2-己烯醇、庚醇、4’-乙基苯乙酮和乙酸乙酯这5种植物挥发物有明显的电生理活性。其中，反-2-己烯醛作为豆科植物的一种主要挥发物，能够最大程度地激活ApisOr23。本研究揭示了蚜虫中保守的气味受体Or23的功能，推测该受体在蚜虫寄主识别过程中起到重要作用。

在植物中，胞质果糖-1,6-二磷酸酶（cyFBPase）和景天庚酮糖-1,7-二磷酸酶（SBPase）酶活性的提高与植物增产密切相关。在本研究中，通过在烟草(Nicotiana tabacum)中过表达油菜cDNA，cyFBPase和SBPase基因表达水平显著提高。在转双基因cyFBPase/SBPase (TpFS)植株中， cyFBPase 和 SBPase酶活分别是野生型的1.77和1.45倍，在转cyFBPase单基因(TpF)和SBPase单基因 (TpS)植株中，cyFBPase 和 SBPase酶活分别是野生型的1.55和1.12倍，1.23和1.36倍。TpF, TpS 和 TpFS转基因植株的光合效率分别比野生型提高了4%，20%和25%。SBPase和cyFBPase在转基因烟草中相互正向调控，协同增效。 此外，三种转基因植株的蔗糖含量均高于WT植株。 淀粉含量在TpFS和TpS植株中分别提高了53%和37%，但在TpF植株中略有下降。 此外，含有SBPase和/或cyFBPase基因的转基因烟草植株生长加快，生物量提高。 在TpFS、TpS和TpF植株中，干重、株高、茎粗、叶大小、花数和果荚重均比WT植株大幅增高。 因此，共表达SBPase和cyFBPase可能为作物高产开辟新的途径。

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.

The supernumerary spikelets (SS) characters of tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) resulting in more spikelets and kernels per spike, thus enhancing sink capacity may contribute to potential wheat yield improvement.  In order to investigate the effect of different SS types on agronomic characters and understand the genetic base of SS phenotype in tetraploid wheat, near isogenic lines (NILs), bh-50 with normal spikelets (NS), bh-51 with four-rowed spikelets (FRS), bh-52 with short-ramified spikelets (SRS), and bh-53 with long-ramified spikelets (LRS) in a Triticum durum cv. ZY1286 genetic background were developed by continuous backcrossing.  Agronomic characters showed that the SS phenotype lines, bh-51, bh-52 and bh-53 have significant increase in the number of spikelets and grains per spike compared with the NS phenotype line bh-50 (P<0.05), and bh-53 line showed much more increase than those of bh-51 and bh-52.  However, bh-53 had the lowest grain weight and the longest spike development stage than those of other spike phenotypes.  These results indicated that the different SS types have different effects on the agronomic and spike characters.  Genetic analysis through bh-50/bh-51 and bh-51/bh-53 F₂ populations showed that a recessive major gene controlled the spike architecture to transform from NS to FRS, and a dominant major gene determined the change of spike phenotype from FRS to RS.  DNA sequences of TtBH/WFZP ortholog on chromosome 2AS revealed that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) substitution happened in the open reading frame (ORF) region of all the SS tetraploid wheat accessions, which may lead to the generation of lateral meristems between glume and lemma during the immature spike development.  While the fates of the lateral meristems, developing into lateral spikelets or branched spikelets, may be determined by another major gene.  Our results presented here may advance our understanding and knowledge of the genes and genetic pathways determining the spike architecture development in wheat.

The development of genetically modified crops requires new promoters and regulatory regions to achieve high gene expression and/or tissue-specific expression patterns in plants. To obtain promoter sequences of plants with new properties, we analyzed the expression traits of the cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) translation elongation factor 1A gene family. The results showed that the GhEF1A8 gene is highly expressed in different organs of cotton plants, and showed much higher transcript levels in stems and leaves. Its promoter (GhEF1A1.7) and the 5´ untranslated region (5´ UTR), comprising a regulatory region named PGhEF1A8, were isolated from cotton and studied in stably transformed tobacco plants. The regulatory region sequences were fused to the β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene to characterize its expression pattern in tobacco. Histochemical and fluorometric GUS activity assays demonstrated that PGhEF1A8 could direct GUS gene expression in all tissues and organs in transgenic tobacco, including leaves, stems, flowers, and roots. The level of GUS activity in the leaves and stems was significantly higher than in cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter::GUS plants, but as same as CaMV 35S promoter::GUS plants in flower and root tissues. GUS expression levels decreased 2–10-fold when the 5´ UTR was absent from PGhEF1A8. Deletion analysis of the PGhEF1A8 sequence showed that the region −647 to −323 might possess negative elements that repress transgene expression in tobacco plants. The results suggested that the GhEF1A8 regulation region may represent a practical choice to direct high-level constitutive expression of transgenes and could be a valuable new tool in plant genetic engineering.

In order to understand the yield performance and nitrogen (N) response of hybrid rice under different ecological conditions in southern China, field experiments were conducted in Huaiji County of Guangdong Province, Binyang of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Changsha City of Hunan Province, southern China in 2011 and 2012. Two hybrid (Liangyoupeijiu and Y-liangyou 1) and two inbred rice cultivars (Yuxiangyouzhan and Huanghuazhan) were grown under three N treatments (N1, 225 kg ha–1; N2, 112.5–176 kg ha–1; N3, 0 kg ha–1) in each location. Results showed that grain yield was higher in Changsha than in Huaiji and Binyang for both hybrid and inbred cultivars. The higher grain yield in Changsha was attributed to larger panicle size (spikelets per panicle) and higher biomass production. Consistently higher grain yield in hybrid than in inbred cultivars was observed in Changsha but not in Huaiji and Binyang. Higher grain weight and higher biomass production were responsible for the higher grain yield in hybrid than in inbred cultivars in Changsha. The better crop performance of rice (especially hybrid cultivars) in Changsha was associated with its temperature conditions and indigenous soil N. N2 had higher internal N use efficiency, recovery efficiency of applied N, agronomic N use efficiency, and partial factor productivity of applied N than N1 for both hybrid and inbred cultivars, while the difference in grain yield between N1 and N2 was relatively small. Our study suggests that whether hybrid rice can outyield inbred rice to some extent depends on the ecological conditions, and N use efficiency can be increased by using improved nitrogen management such as site-specific N management in both hybrid and inbred rice production.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a lifelong illness with profound emotional and social impacts, and could cause serious damage to large intestine, especially in colon. However, the pathogenesis of UC remained unclear. The present study attempts to find out the role of matrix metalloproteinases-7 (MMP-7) and lysozyme in the pathogenesis of UC through a mice model induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). The UC model was evaluated both by disease activity index (DAI) and the intestinal histopathology. The results show that there is a high correlation between the DAI score and the pathological changes of colon. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) serum levels and large intestinal fluids levels in UC mice are always higher than that of the control groups, which might be associated with the degree of the inflammation damage in the colon. The change tendency of the MMP-7 mRNA and protein expressions are both up-regulated firstly and then down-regulated from 1 to 5 d in the colon, but only the MMP-7 protein is up-regulated at 7 d again. The up-regulated MMP-7 levels in the early stage of UC may play a protective role through the activated defensins, while the down-regulated levels in the mid-later stage of UC may be connected with the severe lesions in the colon. However, the up-regulated MMP-7 levels in the later stage of UC in the colon may also contribute to the tissue repair or be served as a marker to CRC (colorectal cancer). The distribution of lysozyme protein indicates that there may be Paneth-like cells in the colon. Both the changes of MMP-7 and lysozyme in the small intestine may play a protective role for the safe environment of the whole gut, especially to the colon of UC.

Sublethal effects of chlorantraniliprole to Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) larvae were evaluated through exposure of third instar larvae to the insecticide incorporated into an artificial diet. When larvae were fed on the insecticide-containing diet for 7 d, the LC10, LC20, LC40, and LC50 values were 3.790, 7.977, 21.577, and 33.121 μg active ingredient L-1, respectively. Chlorantraniliprole at sublethal concentrations significantly reduced the larval body mass, emergence ratio, adult longevity and egg hatching rate in both the parental and offspring generations. The pupation and copulation rate in the parental generation and the pupal mass in the offspring also strongly decreased. Reproduction was seriously disturbed in both the parental and offspring groups even when only one of the partners was exposed to chlorantraniliprole at larval stages. However, at the lowest concentration of exposure (LC10), offspring fecundity was strongly reduced only when both partners were exposed. The net reproductive rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (rm), and gross reproduction rate (GRR) at LC20, LC40 concentrations were significantly lower than that of the control. Post-exposure effects also included an extended larval developmental time and increased male proportion in both generations. The doubling time (Dt) at LC20, LC40 concentrations as well as gross reproduction rate (GRR) at LC10 concentration were also significantly increased. Chlorantraniliprole might have significant effects on H. armigera population dynamics even at sublethal concentrations on both parental and offspring generations.