Adelphocoris suturalis is a polyphagous pest that is increasingly causing severe economic damage due to more frequent outbreaks.  The development of non-target resistance to commercial Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton has further exacerbated its pest status and amplified the need for more sustainable methods of control.  RNA interference (RNAi)-based pest management strategies, such as root soaking and transgenic plants that express dsRNAs, have proven to be reliable, eco-friendly pest control strategies.  To identify new RNAi targets for potential A. suturalis population control, we investigated the target of rapamycin (TOR) signaling pathway.  A critical role for this pathway in A. suturalis reproductive regulation was suggested by pharmacological analyses.  Subsequent RNAi-mediated knockdown of the A. suturalis TOR pathway genes TOR, Ras homolog enriched in the brain (Rheb), and ribosomal S6 kinase (S6K) reduced fertility.  Moreover, a spray-induced and nanocarrier-delivered gene silencing (SI-NDGS) system targeting TOR successfully suppressed ovarian development, which demonstrates its effectiveness as a pest control target.  These results provide a critical foundation for understanding reproductive regulation in A. suturalis and introduce new candidates for RNAi-based A. suturalis management.

Global warming is primarily characterized by asymmetric temperature increases, with greater temperature rises in winter/spring and at night compared to summer/autumn and the daytime.  We investigated the impact of winter night warming on the top expanded leaves of the spring wheat cultivar Yangmai 18 and the semi-winter wheat cultivar Yannong 19 during the 2020–2021 growing season.  Results showed that the night-time mean temperature in the treatment group was 1.27°C higher than the ambient temperature, and winter night warming increased the yields of both wheat cultivars, the activities of sucrose synthase and sucrose phosphate synthase after anthesis, and the biosynthesis of sucrose and soluble sugars.  Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using criteria of P-value<0.05 and fold change>2, and they were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses.  Genes differentially expressed in wheat leaves treated with night warming were primarily associated with starch and sucrose metabolism, amino acid biosynthesis, carbon metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, and amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism.  Comparisons between the groups identified 14 DEGs related to temperature.  These results highlight the effects of winter night warming on wheat development from various perspectives.  Our results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of the response of wheat to winter night warming and the candidate genes involved in this process.

Introducing the inherent genetic diversity of wild species into cultivars has become one of the hot topics in crop genetic breeding and genetic resource research.  Fiber- and seed-related traits, which are critical to the global economy and people’s livelihoods, are the principal focus of cotton breeding.  Here, the wild cotton species Gossypium tomentosum was used to broaden the genetic basis of G. hirsutum and identify QTLs for fiber- and seed-related traits.  A population of 559 chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) was established with various chromosome segments from G. tomentosum in a G. hirsutum cultivar background.  Totals of 72, 89, and 76 QTLs were identified for three yield traits, five fiber quality traits, and six cottonseed nutrient quality traits, respectively.  Favorable alleles of 104 QTLs were contributed by G. tomentosum.  Sixty-four QTLs were identified in two or more environments, and candidate genes for three of them were further identified.  The results of this study contribute to further studies on the genetic basis of the morphogenesis of these economic traits, and indicate the great breeding potential of G. tomentosum for improving the fiber- and seed-related traits in G. hirsutum.

Peanut varieties are diverse globally, with their characters and nutrition determining the product quality.  However, the comparative analysis and statistical analysis of key quality indicators for peanut kernels across the world remains relatively limited, impeding the comprehensive evaluation of peanut quality and hindering the industry development on a global scale.  This study aimed to compare and analyze the apparent morphology, microstructure, single-cell structure, engineering and mechanical properties, as well as major nutrient contents of peanut kernels from 10 different cultivars representing major peanut-producing countries.  The surface and cross-section microstructure of the peanut kernels exhibited a dense “blocky” appearance with a distinct cellular structure.  The lipid droplets were predominantly spherical with a regular distribution within the cells.  The single-cell structure of the kernels from these 10 peanut cultivars demonstrated varying morphologies and dimensions, which exhibited correlations with their mechanical and engineering properties.  Furthermore, the mass loss versus temperature profiles of the peanut kernels revealed five distinct stages, corresponding to moisture loss, volatile loss, protein denaturation, and the degradation of various biomacromolecules.  Variations were also observed in the lipid, protein, and sucrose contents, texture, bulk density, true density, porosity, geometric mean diameter, and sphericity among the different peanut varieties.  This study establishes relationships and correlations among microstructure, engineering properties, and nutritional composition of commonly grown peanut varieties in major peanut-processing countries.  The findings provide valuable insights into peanut quality evaluation, empowering the peanut industry to enhance their processing and product development efforts.

Recently, increasing natural infection cases and experimental animal challenge studies demonstrated domestic cats are susceptible to multiple subtypes influenza A virus (IAV) infections.  Notably, some subtype IAV strains could circulate in domestic cats after cross-species transmission and even infected humans, posing a threat to public health.  Host factors related to viral polymerase activity could determine host range of IAV and acidic nuclear phosphoprotein 32 (ANP32) is the most important one among them.  However, role of cat-derived ANP32 on viral polymerase activity and host range of IAV is still unknown.  In the present study, a total of 10 feline ANP32 (feANP32) splice variants (including 5 feANP32A, 3 feANP32B, and 2 feANP32E) were obtained from domestic cats by RT-PCR.  Sequence alignment results demonstrated amino acid deletions and/or insertions occurred among feANP32 variants, but all feANP32 proteins were primarily localized to cell nucleus.  Minigenome replication systems for several representative IAV strains were established and the support ability of feANP32 on IAV polymerase activity was estimated.  The results indicated that most feANP32A and feANP32B splice variants were able to support all the tested IAV strains, though the support activity of a single feANP32 protein on polymerase activity varied among different IAV strains.  In addition, the role of feANP32 in supporting H3N2 canine influenza virus was determined by investigating viral replication in vitro.  Collectively, our study systematically investigated the support activity of feANP32 on IAV, providing a clue for further exploring the mechanism of susceptibility of cats to IAV.

Marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) breeding have greatly improved the efficiency of rice breeding.  Due to the influences of epistasis and gene pleiotropy, ensuring the actual breeding effect of MAS and GS is still a difficult challenge to overcome.  In this study, 113 indica rice varieties (V) and their 565 testcross hybrids (TC) were used as the materials to investigate the genetic basis of 12 quality traits and nine agronomic traits.  The original traits and general combining ability of the parents, as well as the original traits and mid-parent heterosis of TC, were subjected to genome-wide association analysis.  In total, 381 primary significantly associated loci (SAL) and 1,759 secondary SALs that had epistatic interactions with these primary SALs were detected.  Among these loci, 322 candidate genes located within or nearby the SALs were screened, 204 of which were cloned genes.  A total of 39 MAS molecular modules that are beneficial for trait improvement were identified by pyramiding the superior haplotypes of candidate genes and desirable epistatic alleles of the secondary SALs.  All the SALs were used to construct genetic networks, in which 91 pleiotropic loci were investigated.  Additionally, we estimated the accuracy of genomic prediction in the parent V and TC by incorporating either no SALs, primary SALs, secondary SALs or epistatic effect SALs as covariates.  Although the prediction accuracies of the four models were generally not significantly different in the TC dataset, the incorporation of primary SALs, secondary SALs, and epistatic effect SALs significantly improved the prediction accuracies of 5 (26%), 3 (16%), and 11 (58%) traits in the V dataset, respectively.  These results suggested that SALs and epistatic effect SALs identified based on an additive genotype can provide considerable predictive power for the parental lines.  They also provide insights into the genetic basis of complex traits and valuable information for molecular breeding in rice.

Population growth and growing demand for livestock products produce large amounts of manure, which can be harnessed to maintain soil sustainability and crop productivity. However, the impacts of excessive manure application on crop yields, nitrogen (N)-cycling processes and microorganisms remain unknown. Here, we explored the effects of 20-year of excessive rates (18 and 27 Mg ha^–1 yr^–1) of pig manure application on peanut crop yields, soil nutrient contents, N-cycling processes and the abundance of N-cycling microorganisms in an acidic Ultisol in summer and winter, compared with none and a regular rate (9 Mg ha^–1 yr^–1) of pig manure application. Long-term excessive pig manure application, especially at the high-rate, significantly increased soil nutrient contents, the abundance of N-cycling functional genes, potential nitrification and denitrification activity, while it had a weaker effect on peanut yield and plant biomass. Compared with manure application, seasonality had a much weaker effect on N-cycling gene abundance. Random forest analysis showed that available phosphorus (AP) content was the primary predictor for N-cycling gene abundance, with significant and positive associations with all tested N-cycling genes. Our study clearly illustrated that excessive manure application would increase N-cycling gene abundance and potential N loss with relatively weak promotion of crop yields, providing significant implications for sustainable agriculture in the acidic Ultisols.

Aphids are major insect pests in agriculture and forestry worldwide. Following attacks by natural enemies, many aphids release an alarm pheromone to protect their population. In most aphids, the main component of the aphid alarm pheromone (AAP) is the sesquiterpene hydrocarbon (E)-β-farnesene (EβF). However, the mechanisms behind its biosynthesis and regulation remain poorly understood. In this study, we used the bird cherry–oat aphid Rhopalosiphum padi, which is an important wheat aphid, to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of EβF biosynthesis. Our results showed that EβF biosynthesis occurs during the mature embryo period and the molting period of the 1st- and 2nd-instar nymphs. Triglycerides provide the prerequisite material for EβF production and release. Based on transcriptome sequencing, RNAi analysis, hormone treatments, and quantitative measurements, we found that the biosynthesis of EβF utilizes acetyl coenzyme A produced from fatty acid degradation, which can be suppressed by juvenile hormone but it is promoted by 20-hydroxyecdysone through the modulation of fatty acid metabolism. This is the first systemic study on the modulation of EβF production in aphids. The results of our study provide insights into the molecular regulatory mechanisms of AAP biosynthesis, as well as valuable information for designing potential aphid control strategies.

Stigma color is a critical agronomic trait in watermelon that plays an important role in pollination.  However, there are few reports on the regulation of stigma color in watermelon.  In this study, a genetic analysis of the F₂ population derived from ZXG1553 (P₁, with orange stigma) and W1-17 (P₂, with yellow stigma) indicated that stigma color is a quantitative trait and the orange stigma is recessive compared with the yellow stigma.  Bulk segregant analysis sequencing (BSA-seq) revealed a 3.75 Mb segment on chromosome 6 that is related to stigma color.  Also, a major stable effective QTL Clqsc6.1 (QTL stigma color) was detected in two years between cleaved amplified polymorphic sequencing (CAPS) markers Chr06_8338913 and Chr06_9344593 spanning a ~1.01 Mb interval that harbors 51 annotated genes.  Cla97C06G117020 (annotated as zinc finger protein CONSTANS-LIKE 4) was identified as the best candidate gene for the stigma color trait through RNA-seq, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and gene structure alignment analysis among the natural watermelon panel.  The expression level of Cla97C06G117020 in the orange stigma accession was lower than in the yellow stigma accessions with a significant difference.  A nonsynonymous SNP site of the Cla97C06G117020 coding region that causes amino acid variation was related to the stigma color variation among nine watermelon accessions according to their re-sequencing data.  Stigma color formation is often related to carotenoids, and we also found that the expression trend of ClCHYB (annotated as β-carotene hydroxylase) in the carotenoid metabolic pathway was consistent with Cla97C06G117020, and it was expressed in low amounts in the orange stigma accession.  These data indicated that Cla97C06G117020 and ClCHYB may interact to form the stigma color.  This study provides a theoretical basis for gene fine mapping and mechanisms for the regulation of stigma color in watermelon. 

Maize (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) relay intercropping provides a way to enhance land productivity.  However, the late-planted soybean suffers from shading by the maize.  After maize harvest, how the recovery growth influences the leaf and nodule traits remains unclear.  A three-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of genotypes, i.e., supernodulating (nts1007), Nandou 12 (ND12), and Guixia 3 (GX3), and crop configurations, i.e., the interspecific row spacing of 45 (I45), 60 (I60), 75 cm (I75), and sole soybean (SS), on soybean recovery growth and N fixation.  The results showed that intercropping reduced the soybean total leaf area (LA) by reducing both the leaf number (LN) and unit leaflet area (LUA), and it reduced the nodule dry weight (NW) by reducing both the nodule number (NN) and nodule diameter (ND) compared with the SS.  The correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated a co-variability of the leaf and nodule traits in response to the genotype and crop configuration interactions.  During the recovery growth stages, the compensatory growth promoted soybean growth to reduce the gaps of leaf and nodule traits between intercropping and SS.  The relative growth rates of ureide (RGR_U) and nitrogen (RGR_N) accumulation were higher in intercropping than in SS.  Intercropping achieved more significant sucrose and starch contents compared with SS.  ND12 and GX3 showed more robust compensatory growth than nts1007 in intercropping.  Although the recovery growth of relay intercropping soybean improved biomass and nitrogen accumulation, ND12 gained a more significant partial land equivalent ratio (pLER) than GX3.  The I60 treatment achieved more robust compensation effects on biomass and N accumulation than the other configurations.  Meanwhile, I60 showed a higher nodule sucrose content and greater shoot ureide and N accumulation than SS.  Finally, intercropping ND12 with maize using an interspecific row spacing of 60 cm was optimal for both yield advantage and N accumulation.

The combined effects of straw incorporation (SI) and polymer-coated urea (PCU) application on soil ammonia (NH₃) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from agricultural fields have not been comprehensively evaluated in Northwest China.  We conducted a two-year field experiment to assess the effects of combining SI with either uncoated urea (U) or PCU on soil NH₃ emissions, N₂O emissions, winter wheat yields, yield-scaled NH₃ (I_NH3), and yield-scaled N₂O (I_N2O).  Five treatments were investigated, no nitrogen (N) fertilizer (N₀), U application at 150 kg N ha^–1 with and without SI (SI+U and S₀+U), and PCU application at 150 kg N ha^–1 with and without SI (SI+PCU and S₀+PCU).  The results showed that the NH₃ emissions increased by 20.98–34.35% following SI compared to straw removal, mainly due to increases in soil ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) content and water-filled pore space (WFPS).  SI resulted in higher N₂O emissions than under the S₀ scenario by 13.31–49.23% due to increases in soil inorganic N (SIN) contents, WFPS, and soil microbial biomass.  In contrast, the PCU application reduced the SIN contents compared to the U application, reducing the NH₃ and N₂O emissions by 45.99–58.07 and 18.08–53.04%, respectively.  Moreover, no significant positive effects of the SI or PCU applications on the winter wheat yield were observed.  The lowest I_NH3 and I_N2O values were observed under the S₀+PCU and SI+PCU treatments.  Our results suggest that single PCU applications and their combination with straw are the optimal agricultural strategies for mitigating gaseous N emissions and maintaining optimal winter wheat yields in Northwest China.

In order to further improve the utility of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote-sensing for quickly and accurately monitoring the growth of winter wheat under film mulching, this study examined the treatments of ridge mulching, ridge–furrow full mulching, and flat cropping full mulching in winter wheat.  Based on the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method, four agronomic parameters (leaf area index, above-ground biomass, plant height, and leaf chlorophyll content) were used to calculate the comprehensive growth evaluation index (CGEI) of the winter wheat, and 14 visible and near-infrared spectral indices were calculated using spectral purification technology to process the remote-sensing image data of winter wheat obtained by multispectral UAV.   Four machine learning algorithms, partial least squares, support vector machines, random forests, and artificial neural network networks (ANN), were used to build the winter wheat growth monitoring model under film mulching, and accuracy evaluation and mapping of the spatial and temporal distribution of winter wheat growth status were carried out.  The results showed that the CGEI of winter wheat under film mulching constructed using the FCE method could objectively and comprehensively evaluate the crop growth status.  The accuracy of remote-sensing inversion of the CGEI based on the ANN model was higher than for the individual agronomic parameters, with a coefficient of determination of 0.75, a root mean square error of 8.40, and a mean absolute value error of 6.53.  Spectral purification could eliminate the interference of background effects caused by mulching and soil, effectively improving the accuracy of the remote-sensing inversion of winter wheat under film mulching, with the best inversion effect achieved on the ridge–furrow full mulching area after spectral purification.  The results of this study provide a theoretical reference for the use of UAV remote-sensing to monitor the growth status of winter wheat with film mulching.