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Summary: Drought is a deleterious abiotic stress factor that constrains crop growth and development. Post‐translational modification of proteins mediated by the ubiquitin–proteasome system is an effective strategy for directing plant responses to stress, but the regulatory mechanisms in wheat remain unclear. In this study, we showed that TaSDIR1‐4A is a positive modulator of the drought response. Overexpression of TaSDIR1‐4A increased the hypersensitivity of stomata, root length and endogenous abscisic acid (ABA) content under drought conditions. TaSDIR1‐4A encodes a C3H2C3‐type RING finger protein with E3 ligase activity. Amino acid mutation in its conserved domain led to loss of activity and altered the subcellular localization. The membrane‐bound transcription factor TaWRKY29 was identified by yeast two‐hybrid screening, and it was confirmed as interacting with TaSDIR1‐4A both in vivo and in vitro. TaSDIR1‐4A mediated the polyubiquitination and proteolysis of the C‐terminal amino acid of TaWRKY29, and its translocation from the plasma membrane to the nucleus. Activated TaWRKY29 bound to the TaABI5 promoter to stimulate its expression, thereby positively regulating the ABA signalling pathway and drought response. Our findings demonstrate the positive role of TaSDIR1‐4A in drought tolerance and provide new insights into the involvement of UPS in the wheat stress response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion behavior of 316 stainless steel (316 SS) in NaCl–KCl–FeCl3 molten salt and vapor was studied at 300°C for 150, 300, and 500 h in Ar. The weight change, the micromorphology, element distribution, and crystal structure of the 316 SS alloy were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. 316 SS alloys suffered from weight loss, significant visible corrosion shedding, and corrosion holes. The corrosion holes and corrosion shedding block of the 316 SS alloys become more and more serious with the increase in corrosion time. The corrosion depth of the corroded 316 SS alloys in NaCl–KCl–FeCl3 molten salt and vapor for 500 h can even reach up to 20.0 and 14.0 μm, respectively. 316 SS alloys in NaCl–KCl–FeCl3 molten salts underwent a more serious corrosion attack than that in the NaCl–KCl–FeCl3 vapor at 300°C due to the strong oxidizing compound FeCl3 in the molten salt. It not only offers a new insight into the corrosion behavior of 316 SS alloys in the chloride salts and corresponding vapor but also enriches the corrosion databases of the chloride salts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene has an important role in regulating plant growth and development as well as responding to adversity stresses. The 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase (ACS) is the rate-limiting enzyme for ethylene biosynthesis. However, the role of the ACS gene family in wheat has not been examined. In this study, we identified 12 ACS members in wheat. According to their position on the chromosome, we named them TaACS1-TaACS12, which were divided into four subfamilies, and members of the same subfamilies had similar gene structures and protein-conserved motifs. Evolutionary analysis showed that fragment replication was the main reason for the expansion of the TaACS gene family. The spatiotemporal expression specificity showed that most of the members had the highest expression in roots, and all ACS genes contained W box elements that were related to root development, which suggested that the ACS gene family might play an important role in root development. The results of the gene expression profile analysis under stress showed that ACS members could respond to a variety of stresses. Protein interaction prediction showed that there were four types of proteins that could interact with TaACS. We also obtained the targeting relationship between TaACS family members and miRNA. These results provided valuable information for determining the function of the wheat ACS gene, especially under stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion behaviours of Ni-Mo-Cr alloy and 316 stainless steel samples after immersing in NaCl-KCl-AlCl3 salt at 400.0°C for 168 h were investigated. The surface of Ni-Mo-Cr alloy basically kept its pre-corrosion morphology, with only a few corrosion pits. While NaCl-KCl-AlCl3 salt had stronger corrosivity to 316SS. After corrosion, the grain boundary of the surface of 316SS alloy was clearly visible, and the Fe and Cr atoms on the surface of 316SS were selectively corroded, leaving a Ni- rich layer of about 6.5 µm on the outmost surface of 316SS. At the temperature of 400.0°C, the corrosion resistance of Ni-Mo-Cr alloy to molten NaCl-KCl-AlCl3 salt was better than that of 316SS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress is an important factor that severely affects crop yield and quality. Autophagy has a crucial role in the responses to abiotic stresses. In this study, we explore TaNBR1 in response to drought stress. Expression of the TaNBR1 gene was strongly induced by NaCl, PEG, and abscisic acid treatments. The TaNBR1 protein is localized in the Golgi apparatus and autophagosome. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing TaNBR1 exhibited reduced drought tolerance. When subjected to drought stress, compared to the wild-type (WT) lines, the transgenic overexpressing TaNBR1 plants had a lower seed germination rate, relative water content, proline content, and reduced accumulation of antioxidant enzymes, i.e., superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase, as well as higher chlorophyll losses, malondialdehyde contents, and water loss. The transgenic plants overexpressing TaNBR1 produced much shorter roots in response to mannitol stress, in comparison to the WT plants, and they exhibited greater sensitivity to abscisic acid treatment. The expression levels of the genes related to stress in the transgenic plants were affected in response to drought stress. Our results indicate that TaNBR1 negatively regulates drought stress responses by affecting the expression of stress-related genes in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]