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Small RNAs are key regulators in plant growth and development. One subclass, phased siRNAs (phasiRNAs) require a trigger microRNA for their biogenesis. In grasses, two pathways yield abundant phasiRNAs during anther development; miR2275 triggers one class, 24-nt phasiRNAs, coincident with meiosis, while a second class of 21-nt phasiRNAs are present in premeiotic anthers. Here we report that the 24-nt phasiRNA pathway is widely present in flowering plants, indicating that 24-nt reproductive phasiRNAs likely originated with the evolutionary emergence of anthers. Deep comparative genomic analyses demonstrated that this miR2275/24-nt phasiRNA pathway is widely present in eudicots plants, however, it is absent in legumes and in the model plant Arabidopsis, demonstrating a dynamic evolutionary history of this pathway. In Solanaceae species, 24-nt phasiRNAs were observed, but the miR2275 trigger is missing and some loci displaying 12-nt phasing. Both the miR2275-triggered and Solanaceae 24-nt phasiRNAs are enriched in meiotic stages, implicating these phasiRNAs in anther and/or pollen development, a spatiotemporal pattern consistent in all angiosperm lineages that deploy them.

As the global demand for renewable energy continues to increase, marine renewable energy has attracted much attention as a potential source of clean energy. As a country with rich marine resources, Portugal's marine environment is of great significance to the development of marine energy. However, the current impact assessment of marine renewable energy projects has shortcomings such as incomplete understanding of ecosystems, incomplete consideration of fishery resources and socioeconomic impacts, lack of accuracy, and failure to consider geographical differences, thus lacking comprehensiveness and accuracy. To this end, we propose the ACO-TCN- Attention model to address these shortcomings in current impact assessments of marine renewable energy projects. The goal of this model is to provide a more comprehensive, precise and nuanced analysis to better understand the impacts of these projects on ecosystems, socio-economics and local communities. "ACO-TCN-Attention" is a model architecture that combines multiple machine learning and deep learning concepts. It includes three main parts: Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN) and Attention mechanism. The ant colony optimization model simulates the behavior of ants and is used to optimize the operating strategies of marine renewable energy projects. Temporal Convolutional Network specializes in processing time series data and improves the prediction accuracy of the model. The attention mechanism allows the model to dynamically focus on the pieces of information that are most important for the current task. Extensive experimental evaluation shows that our method performs well on multiple datasets, significantly outperforming other models. This research is of great significance as it provides new methods and tools for improving the environmental impact assessment of marine renewable energy projects. By understanding the potential impacts of projects more accurately, we can better balance the relationship between the development of renewable energy and environmental protection, supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. This research also provides useful guidance and reference for future research and practice in the field of marine energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Soluble sugars play an important role in plant growth, development and fruit quality. Pear fruits have demonstrated a considerable improvement in sugar quality during their long history of selection. However, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms accompanying the changes in fruit sugar content as a result of selection by horticulturists. Here, we identified a calcium‐dependent protein kinase (PbCPK28), which is located on LG15 and is present within a selective sweep region, thus linked to the quantitative trait loci for soluble solids. Association analysis indicates that a single nucleotide polymorphism‐13 variation (SNP13T/C) in the PbCPK28 regulatory region led to fructose content diversity in pear. Elevated expression of PbCPK28 resulted in significantly increased fructose levels in pear fruits. Furthermore, PbCPK28 interacts with and phosphorylates PbTST4, a proton antiporter, thereby coupling the sugar import into the vacuole with proton export. We demonstrated that residues S277 and S314 of PbTST4 are crucial for its function. Additionally, PbCPK28 interacts with and phosphorylates the vacuolar hydrogen proton pump PbVHA‐A1, which could provide proton motive forces for PbTST4. We also found that the T11 and Y120 phosphorylation sites in PbVHA‐A1 are essential for its function. Evolution analysis and yeast‐two‐hybrid results support that the CPK‐TST/CPK‐VHA‐A regulatory network is highly conserved in plants, especially the corresponding phosphorylation sites. Together, our work identifies an agriculturally important natural variation and an important regulatory network, allowing genetic improvement of fruit sugar contents in pears through modulation of PbCPK28 expression and phosphorylation of PbTST4 and PbVHA‐A1. Significance Statement: The changes in fruit sugars are a result of selection by early horticulturists. However, little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms conferring these changes. Here, we identified a domesticated calcium‐dependent protein kinase gene, PbCPK28, that interacted with and phosphorylates the H+/sugar antiporter PbTST4 and vacuolar hydrogen proton pump PbVHA‐A1 to increase the sugar content of pear fruits. Further results showed that the CPK‐TST/CPK‐VHA‐A regulatory network is highly conserved in plants. Our findings provide new insights into the regulatory mechanism for sugar accumulation in fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The R2R3-MYB transcription factor FveMYB10 is a major regulator of anthocyanin pigmentation in the red fruits of strawberry. fvemyb10 loss-of-function mutants form yellow fruits but still accumulate purple-colored anthocyanins in the petioles, suggesting that anthocyanin biosynthesis is under distinct regulation in fruits and petioles. From chemical mutagenesis in the diploid wild strawberry Fragaria vesca , we identified a green petioles (gp) -1 mutant that lacks anthocyanins in petioles. Using mapping-by-sequencing and transient functional assays, we confirmed that the causative mutation resides in a FveMYB10-Like (FveMYB10L) gene and that FveMYB10 and FveMYB10L function independently in the fruit and petiole, respectively. In addition to their tissue-specific regulation, FveMYB10 and FveMYB10L respond differently to changes in light quality, produce distinct anthocyanin compositions, and preferentially activate different downstream anthocyanin biosynthesis genes in their respective tissues. This work identifies a new regulator of anthocyanin synthesis and demonstrates that two paralogous MYB genes with specialized functions enable tissue-specific regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis in fruit and petiole tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]