Light deficiency is a growing abiotic stress in rice production. However, few studies focus on shading effects on grain yield and quality of rice in East China. It is also essential to investigate proper nitrogen (N) application strategies that can effectively alleviate the negative impacts of light deficiency on grain yield and quality in rice. A two-year field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of shading (non-shading and shading from heading to maturity) and panicle N application (N_DP, decreased panicle N rate; N_MP, medium panicle N rate; N_IP, increased panicle N rate) treatments on rice yield- and quality-related characteristics. Compared with non-shading, shading resulted in a 9.5–14.8% yield loss (P<0.05), mainly due to lower filled-grain percentage and grain weight. N_MP and N_IP had higher (P<0.05) grain yield than N_DP under non-shading, and no significant difference was observed in rice grain yield among N_DP, N_MP, and N_IP under shading. Compared with N_MP and N_IP, N_DP achieved less yield loss under shading because of the increased filled-grain percentage and grain weight. Shading reduced leaf photosynthetic rate after heading, as well as shoot biomass weight at maturity, shoot biomass accumulation from heading to maturity, and nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) content in the stem at maturity (P<0.05). The harvest index and NSC remobilization reserve of N_DP were increased under shading. Shading decreased (P<0.05) percentages of brown rice, milled rice, head rice, and amylose content while increasing (P<0.05) chalky rice percentage, chalky area, chalky degree, and grain protein. N_MP demonstrated a better milling quality under non-shading, while N_DP demonstrated under shading. N_DP exhibited both lower chalky rice percentage, chalky area, and chalky degree under non-shading and shading, compared with N_MP and N_IP. N_DP under shading decreased amylose content and breakdown but increased grain protein content and setback, contributing to similar overall palatability to nonshading. Our results suggested severe grain yield and quality penalty of rice when subjected to shading after heading. N_DP improved NSC remobilization, harvest index, and sink-filling efficiency and alleviated yield loss under shading. Besides, N_DP would maintain rice’s milling, appearance, and cooking and eating qualities under shading. Proper N management with a decreased panicle N rate could be adopted to mitigate the negative effects of shading on rice grain yield and quality.

One of the most important objectives for breeders is to develop high-yield cultivars.  The increase in crop yield has met with bottlenecks after the first green revolution, and more recent efforts have been focusing on achieving high photosynthetic efficiency traits in order to enhance the yield.  Leaf shape is a significant agronomic trait of upland cotton that affects plant and canopy architecture, yield, and other production attributes.  The major leaf shape types, including normal, sub-okra, okra, and super-okra, with varying levels of lobe severity, are controlled by a multiple allelic series of the D-genome locus L-D₁.  To analyze the effects of L-D₁ alleles on leaf morphology, photosynthetic related traits and yield of cotton, two sets of near isogenic lines (NILs) with different alleles were constructed in Lumianyan 22 (LMY22) and Lumianyan 28 (LMY28) backgrounds.  The analysis of morphological parameters and the results of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) showed that the regulation of leaf shape by L-D₁ alleles was similar to a gene-dosage effect.  Compared with the normal leaf, deeper lobes of the sub-okra leaf improved plant canopy structure by decreasing the leaf area index (LAI) and increasing the light transmittance rate (LTR), and the mid-range LAI of sub-okra leaf also guaranteed the accumulation of cotton biomass.  Although the chlorophyll content (SPAD) of sub-okra leaf was lower than those of the other two leaf shapes, the net photosynthetic rate (P_n) of sub-okra leaf was higher than those of okra leaf and normal leaf at most stages.  Thus, the improvements in canopy structure, as well as photosynthetic and physiological characteristics, contributed to optimizing the light environment, thereby increasing the total biomass and yield in the lines with a sub-okra leaf shape.  Our results suggest that the sub-okra leaf may have practical application in cultivating varieties, and could enhance sustainable and profitable cotton production.

Organic acids are one of the most important factors influencing fruit flavors. The predominant organic acid in most pear cultivars is malic acid, but the mechanism controlling its accumulation remains unclear. In this study, by comparing gene expression levels and organic acid content, we revealed that the expression of PbPH5, which encodes a P_3A-ATPase, is highly correlated with malic acid accumulation in different pear species, with correlation coefficients of 0.932^**, 0.656^*, 0.900^**, and 0.518^* (^*, P<0.05 or ^**, P<0.01) in Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd., P. communis Linn., P. pyrifolia Nakai., and P. ussuriensis Maxim., respectively. Moreover, the overexpression of PbPH5 in pear significantly increased the malic acid content. In contrast, silencing PbPH5 via RNA interference significantly decreased its transcript level and the pear fruit malic acid content. A subcellular localization analysis indicated that PbPH5 is located in the tonoplast. Additionally, a phylogenetic analysis proved that PbPH5 is a PH5 homolog gene that is clustered with Petunia hybrida, Malus domestica, and Citrus reticulata genes. Considered together, these findings suggest PbPH5 is a functionally conserved gene. Furthermore, the accumulation of malic acid in pear fruits is at least partly related to the changes in PbPH5 transcription levels.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate potential adverse effects of diacylglycerol microemulsion (DAGM) inrats/mice. Acute safety evaluation was carried out by giving intragastrically with 20 mL 25% DAG kg-1 body weight ofDAGM or water with two groups of mice. Chronic safety evaluation with 40 male and 40 female Sprague-Dawley rats wascarried out by setting a control group and 3 different dose groups (n=10 male+10 female) administered with DAGM with6.7, 10 and 20 mL kg-1 body weight per day. Relevant parameters of liver and kidney function and biochemistry weredetermined by standard methods at end point. Acute toxicity study revealed the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) ofDAGM was 20 mL kg-1 body weight in mice. No death was observed at the dose of 20 mL kg-1 body weight per day. Chronicsafety evaluation did not show significant changes on hematological, histopathologic, clinical, and biochemical testswhen administered at levels of 6.7, 10 and 20 mL kg-1 body weight per day to rats for 30 d. No significant body weightchanges were observed in different dosages in both male and female rats. Our results suggested that acute and chronicadverse effects were not observed in histology and clinical parameters in both mice and rats. The results suggested thatDAGM is safe at the experimental levels.