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Winter plants rely on vernalization, a crucial process for adapting to cold conditions and ensuring successful reproduction. However, understanding the role of histone modifications in guiding the vernalization process in winter wheat remains limited. In this study, we investigated the transcriptome and chromatin dynamics in the shoot apex throughout the life cycle of winter wheat in the field. Two core histone modifications, H3K27me3 and H3K36me3, exhibited opposite patterns on the key vernalization gene VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1), correlating with its induction during cold exposure. Moreover, the H3K36me3 level remained high at VRN1 after cold exposure, which may maintain its active state. Mutations in FERTILIZATION-INDEPENDENT ENDOSPERM (TaFIE) and SET DOMAIN GROUP 8/EARLY FLOWERING IN SHORT DAYS (TaSDG8/TaEFS), components of the writer complex for H3K27me3 and H3K36me3, respectively, affected flowering time. Intriguingly, VRN1 lost its high expression after the cold exposure memory in the absence of H3K36me3. During embryo development, VRN1 was silenced with the removal of active histone modifications in both winter and spring wheat, with selective restoration of H3K27me3 in winter wheat. The mutant of Tafie-cr-87, a component of H3K27me3 "writer" complex, did not influence the silence of VRN1 during embryo development, but rather attenuated the cold exposure requirement of winter wheat. Integrating gene expression with H3K27me3 and H3K36me3 patterns identified potential regulators of flowering. This study unveils distinct roles of H3K27me3 and H3K36me3 in controlling vernalization response, maintenance, and resetting in winter wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a prevalent type of sexual dysfunction, and continuous monitoring of penile tumescence and rigidity during spontaneous nocturnal erections is crucial for its diagnosis and classification. However, the current clinical standard device, limited by its active mechanical load, is bulky and nonwearable and strongly interferes with erections, which compromises both monitoring reliability and patient compliance. Here, we report a wearable adaptive rigidity monitoring (WARM) system that employs a measurement principle without active loads, allowing for the assessment of penile tumescence and rigidity through a specifically designed elastic dual-ring sensor. The dual-ring sensor, comprising two strain-sensing rings with distinct elastic moduli, provides high resolution (0.1%), robust mechanical and electrical stability (sustaining over 1000 cycles), and strong interference resistance. An integrated flexible printed circuit (FPC) collects and processes sensing signals, which are then transmitted to the host computer via Bluetooth for ED assessment. Additionally, we validated the WARM system against the clinical standard device using both a penile model and healthy volunteers, achieving high consistency. Furthermore, the system facilitates the continuous evaluation of penile erections during nocturnal tumescence tests with concurrent sleep monitoring, demonstrating its ability to minimize interference with nocturnal erections. In conclusion, the WARM system offers a fully integrated, wearable solution for continuous, precise, and patient-friendly measurement of penile tumescence and rigidity, potentially providing more reliable and accessible outcomes than existing technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: MXene sediments is innovatively used as photothermal material for seawater desalination. Inspired by the natural wood transpiration process, a 3D MXene sediment-based aerogel with vertically aligned channels is innovatively prepared as solar evaporator. With unique structure and composition, excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, evaporation rate, salt resistance, and resistance to biological/oil/special environments are achieved in practical desalination. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation from seawater is considered an effective way to alleviate the emerging freshwater crisis because of its green and environmentally friendly characteristics. However, developing an evaporator with high efficiency, stability, and salt resistance remains a key challenge. MXene, with an internal photothermal conversion efficiency of 100%, has received tremendous research interest as a photothermal material. However, the process to prepare the MXene with monolayer is inefficient and generates a large amount of "waste" MXene sediments (MS). Here, MXene sediments is selected as the photothermal material, and a three-dimensional MXene sediments/poly(vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate aerogel evaporator with vertically aligned pores by directional freezing method is innovatively designed. The vertical porous structure enables the evaporator to improve water transport, light capture, and high evaporation rate. Cotton swabs and polypropylene are used as the water channel and support, respectively, thus fabricating a self-floating evaporator. The evaporator exhibits an evaporation rate of 3.6 kg m−2 h−1 under one-sun illumination, and 18.37 kg m−2 of freshwater is collected in the condensation collection device after 7 h of outdoor sun irradiation. The evaporator also displays excellent oil and salt resistance. This research fully utilizes "waste" MS, enabling a self-floating evaporation device for freshwater collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sole situation of semi-crystalline structure induced single performance remarkably limits the green cryogels in the application of soft devices due to uncontrolled freezing field. Here, a facile strategy for achieving multifunctionality of cryogels is proposed using total amorphization of polymer. Through precisely lowering the freezing point of precursor solutions with an antifreezing salt, the suppressed growth of ice is achieved, creating an unusually weak and homogenous aggregation of polymer chains upon freezing, thereby realizing the tunable amorphization of polymer and the coexistence of free and hydrogen bonding hydroxyl groups. Such multi-scale microstructures trigger the integrated properties of tissue-like ultrasoftness (Young's modulus <10 kPa) yet stretchability, high transparency (~92%), self-adhesion, and instantaneous self-healing (<0.3 s) for cryogels, along with superior ionic-conductivity, antifreezing (−58 °C) and water-retention abilities, pushing the development of skin-like cryogel electronics. These concepts open an attractive branch for cryogels that adopt regulated crystallization behavior for on-demand functionalities. Green cryogels are highly desirable for soft devices but often formed as crystalline-crosslinked networks due to lack of control of the freezing process. Here, the authors demonstrate a strategy to obtain multifunctional cryogels by total amorphization of the polymer using anti-freeze salts to lower the freezing point of the precursor solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With the heterogeneous genetic background, prognosis prediction and therapeutic targets for testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs) are still unclear. We defined the tumor immune microenvironment activation status (TIMEAS). Methods: We collected a total of 314 TGCT patients from four cohorts, including a 48-case microarray. A nonnegative matrix factorization algorithm was applied to identify the "immune factor", derived the top 150 weighted genes to divide patients into immune and non-immune classes, and further separated the immune class into activated and exhausted subgroups by nearest template prediction. Tumor mutant burden, gene mutation, and copy number alteration were compared with our recently developed package "MOVICS". A random forest algorithm was performed to establish a prediction model with fewer genes. Immunohistochemistry staining was performed to identify TIMEAS in the microarray. Results: We constructed the TIMEAS in the TCGA-TGCT cohort and further validated it in the GSE3218 and GSE99420 cohorts. The immune class contained the activated status of T-lymphocytes, B-lymphocytes, and macrophages, while Treg cells and the WNT/TGFβ signature were more activated in the immune-suppressed subgroup. Patients in the immune-exhausted subgroup had the worst prognosis, and 22.9% of patients in the immune-activated subgroup had KRAS mutations, which might stimulate the response of the immune system and lead to a favorable prognosis. The immune-exhausted group benefited more from chemotherapy, while the immune-activated subgroup responded well to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. FSCN1 was validated as the target of the immune-exhausted microenvironment by immunohistochemistry. Conclusion: TIMEAS classification can separate TGCT patients; patients in the immune-activated subgroup could benefit more from anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy, and those in the immune-exhausted subgroup are more suitable for chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zirconium-based porphyrin metal organic frameworks (Zr-PMOFs) had attracted attention in the field of photocatalysis in recent years. However, the recombination of photogenerated carriers of monomer PMOF limits its performance of photocatalytic organic pollutants degradation. Metal sulfide has a suitable visible band gap, which can form a heterojunction with MOF materials to enhance the photocatalytic efficiency of MOF. Therefore, a typical metal sulfide semiconductor ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) was introduced into a Zr-MOF (MOF-525) by solvothermal method to prepare a series of ZIS/MOF-525 (ZIS/MOF-525–1, ZIS/MOF-525–2, ZIS/MOF-525–3 and ZIS/MOF-525–4) composite photocatalysts in this work. The results of characterization analysis, optical analysis and electrochemical analysis showed that the interface of ZIS/MOF-525 formed a typical type-II heterojunction, which accelerated the electron transport rate and effectively inhibited the recombination of photogenerated e− and h+ in MOF-525. The optimal removal efficiency of tetracycline (TC) by ZIS/MOF-525–3 (the mass of MOF-525 is 30 mg) reached 93.8% under 60 min visible light illumination, which was greater than that of pure MOF-525 (37.2%) and ZnIn2S4 (70.0%), and it still maintained good stability after five cycles reusing experiment. This work provides feasible insight for the preparation of novel and efficient PMOF-based photocatalysts in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are several investigations that have revealed that cerebral dopamine (DA) plays a pivotal role in the occurrence of premature ejaculation (PE). Although tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is an essential enzyme for the synthesis of DA, only few investigations have described the role of TH in regulation mechanisms for ejaculation till now. To investigate whether there is a correlation between TH expression level in the brain and different ejaculation behavior in rats. Then explore whether the TH expression in the brain will change after acute dapoxetine treatment in rats with Rapid ejaculation. Methods and results: Rats (male, S-D rats, 6–8 weeks) were separated into three groups based on their ejaculation frequency: Rapid, Normal, and Sluggish. Expression level of DA in the brain was determined by enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) kit, TH expression level in the brain was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western Blot (WB) techniques. Among the three groups, DA and TH expression level were the highest in the Rapid ejaculation group, while the lowest was the Sluggish ejaculation group. The results also showed that TH level was positively associated with ejaculation frequency (r = 0.8038, P < 0.001) and negatively associated with ejaculation latency (r=-0.6199, P = 0.018). Furthermore, acute dapoxetine therapy in rats with Rapid ejaculation downregulated TH level in the brain. Conclusion: Changes in ejaculation behavior were significantly linked with TH level. Upregulated TH in selected brain regions related with ejaculation could cause rapid ejaculation. The effect of dapoxetine in prolonging ejaculation could be related to TH downregulation within the brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, materials with pH-regulated near-infrared (NIR) photothermal effect are utilized to realize the efficient, safe, and synergistic antibacterial treatment. Polymeric multilayers were prepared through layer-by-layer assembly and ultraviolet (UV) crosslinking, and the key factors affecting the surface charge and isoelectric point (IEP) of the multilayers were discussed. When the pH-responsive multilayers were obtained, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) having photothermal effect were further assembled into them. The pH responsibility, photothermal effect and antibacterial performance of the multilayers were further studied. The AuNP-composited multilayers can be heated up to 60 °C in 5 min under NIR irradiation, showing a good photothermal property. The multilayers swell and become negatively charged in pH 7.4, whereas they shrink and become positively charged in pH 5.0. Meanwhile, due to the volume shrinkage of multilayers and thereby the aggregation of AuNPs, the photothermal effect is enhanced. Under the synergism effect of pH-regulated photothermal effect and cationic polymer, the bacteria are killed by the multilayer efficiently under NIR and acidic conditions. This study provided a new idea and method for adaptive and intelligent antibacterial treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distinguishing similar gelatins are essential for pharmaceutical administration and therapy based on traditional Chinese medicine. Differed from the conventional studies, this study focuses on a reaction-free terahertz approach to identify gelatins made of asinine, bovine, and porcine skins. Samples in tablets form are measured by terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and the calculated optical parameters are processed by a principal component analysis algorithm. Additionally, linear support vector machines are used to classify gelatin varieties and the performance is discussed with respect to the number of principal components kept for modelling. It is founded that three principal components are optimal to identify similar gelatins in a reduced feature space and the extinction coefficient is more efficient in distinguishing three different gelatins. This study proves the feasibility of THz time-domain spectroscopy in gelatin administration in traditional Chinese medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) is one of the most important photo-protection mechanisms in brown macroalgae. Global warming and ocean acidification are predicted to impact physiological characteristics of marine algae. However, little is known about the effects of co-occurrence of the elevation of pCO2 and temperature on photochemical capacity, especially regarding photoprotective mechanisms in brown macroalgae. Here, we studied the separate and combined effects of increases in pCO2 and temperature on the photochemical characteristics and growth performance in sporophytes of the brown macroalga Saccharina japonica. The results showed that the NPQ of S. japonica is mainly dependent on the xanthophyll cycle (XC) which appears to be related only to the activation of the enzyme violaxanthin de-epoxidase (VDE), and the transthylakoid proton gradient (ΔpH) could not induce NPQ alone. The elevation of pCO2 reduced NPQ value of S. japonica under high-temperature stress. After 60-day cultivation under the ambient and elevated pCO2 (400 and 1000 μatm), we further found that the elevation of pCO2 promoted growth and increased the photosynthetic performance of all three cultivar strains of S. japonica that have been traditionally cultured for many years in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: AGC1-4 kinase plays a crucial role in the regulation of seeds by mediating cell proliferation and embryo development in Arabidopsis. Seed size is a crucial factor to influence final seed yield in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms that set final seed size still need to be investigated. Here, we identified a novel AGC protein kinase AGC1-4, which encodes a serine–threonine kinase, belongs to the AGC VIIIa subfamily. The seeds of agc1-4 mutant were significantly larger than that in the wild type. Overexpression of the AGC1-4 gene reduced seed size. Regulation of AGC1-4 seed size is dependent on embryonic cell number. To further determine AGC1-4 functions in seed size, we analyzed AGC1-4 phosphoproteins using label-free quantitative phosphoproteomics coupled to the transcriptome of agc1-4 using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The RNA-seq analysis showed 1611 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which cover a wide range of functions, such as cell cycle and embryo development. The 262 unique phosphoproteins were detected by phosphoproteomics analysis. The differentially phosphorylated proteins were involved in cell cycle and post-embryo development. Overlay of the RNA-seq and phosphoproteomics results demonstrated AGC1-4 as an important factor that influences seed size by mediating cell proliferation and embryo development. The results in this study provide novel data on the serine–threonine kinase AGC1-4 mediating seed size in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is to explore the relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pathological changes in cryptorchidism by using murine model of intraperitoneal cryptorchidism with surgical operation. To investigate the relationship between the changes of VEGF expression and heat stress inducing germ cell damage in testicular tissue. Six-week-old ICR male mice were operated to make unilateral cryptorchidism mouse model. Here in our study, a remarkable damaged of germ cells are seen in murine model of unilateral cryptorchidism. And the expression of VEGF was significantly changed in a time dependent way and consistent with the pathological changes of testis, this leading us to conclude that there was a negative correlation between VEGF levels and germ cell damage in unilateral cryptorchidism mouse model. We propose that there is a time dependent decrease of VEGF expression in cryptorchidism and confirm that VEGF is essential in spermatogenesis disorder caused by cryptorchidism and non-obstructive azoospermia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene has been highlighted in a variety of wearable electronics and smart textiles applications due to its unique properties such as high conductivity, transparency, flexibility and other excellent mechanical performance. Although there have been extensive efforts for graphene based conductive fibers/yarns, there are remaining challenges in terms of the seamless integration between 2D flakes, and reduced charge transport in a lower carrier concentration. Unstable resistance probably arises from the creation of gaps in the conductive parts of the smart textile. Also, regional temperatures can get too high, constituting a fire-safety hazard and endangering the wearer's safety. In this work, the synergistic effect of graphene and flame-retardant materials was investigated, and a conductive fabric was developed which is highly conductive and flame retardancy. Graphene has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity and acts synergistically with traditional flame-retardants on common fabrics. The electrical surface resistivity of hybrid material modified fabrics was as low as 0.54 kΩ/sq, so they could serve as safe and highly conductive conductor in a simple circuit and show excellent wash-ability. The limiting oxygen index of the fabric increased from 19 to 32 after modification in conjunction with the residue at 800 °C increased from 17.9 to 31%, which could be used as safe and highly conductive materials for smart textiles and wearable devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Levels of urinary prostatic exosomal protein (PSEP) were detected to evaluate the clinical potential of PSEP as a diagnostic marker of chronic prostatitis (CP). Materials and methods: The level of urinary PSEP was measured in 412 cases by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit, including 202 controls and 210 CP cases. Of the CP patients, 116 cases met the definition of the USA National Institutes of Health category III (NIH-III), with 60 cases of NIH-IIIA and 56 cases of NIH-IIIB. The ages, body mass indexes (BMI), white blood cell (WBC) levels in expressed prostatic secretions (EPS), lecithin body counts in EPS, urine PSEP levels both before and after prostate massage obtained from the CP patients and NIH-CPSI scores were analyzed. Results: In the diagnosis of CP, the PSEP contents in the urine samples before and after prostate massage manifested a sensitivity of 86.93% vs. 61.06%, and a total coincidence rate of 85.24% vs. 61.06%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.926 vs. 0.709 for the before and after massage PSEP contents, respectively. Besides, during the follow-up of patients with CP, the improvement in symptoms was not correlated with the level changes of PSEP. Conclusion: Measurement of PSEP levels for the clinical diagnosis of CP is objective and painless. It could be a novel, simple, and noninvasive method for the diagnosis of CP. However, differences in fluid intake may result in a concentration or dilution of urine, which would ultimately affect the judgment of PSEP results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal degradation behaviors and fire retardant properties of poly(1,3,4-oxadiazole)s (POD) and poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide) (PMIA) fibers were investigated. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that POD exhibited higher onset thermal degradation temperature (T) than PMIA, exceeding nearly 80 °C. The thermal degradation kinetics, evaluated by the modified Coats-Redfern method, displayed that the apparent activation energy (E) of POD and PMIA fibers was similar when the conversion rate ( α) ranges from 0.2 to 0.5, while with the α from 0.6 to 0.8, the E of POD was significantly lower than that of PMIA. The fire retardant performance of POD and PMIA fibers were evaluated by cone calorimeter under heat fluxes of 35, 50 and 75 kW/m, during which the temperature of the fibers were monitored by a thermocouple. Surprisingly, POD fibers showed inferior fire retardant performance in comparison with PMIA, with lower time to ignition (TTI) and higher peak heat release rate (PHRR). The origin of the different fire retardant properties of both fibers was revealed by analyzing the residual chars and gaseous products during thermal pyrolysis. The morphology confirmed that stable and compact chars can be formed in PMIA. In addition, the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) characterization of the residual char revealed that POD can form carbonaceous chars at the heat flux of 50 kW/m, while the heat flux of PMIA was 75 kW/m. The pyrolysis products characterized by pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) indicated that POD can be pyrolyzed completely at 600 °C, while the temperature of PMIA was 700 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The free-space method for material dielectric characterization in the microwave band is extended to terahertz frequencies. By analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the relative permittivity of the transmission/reflection method for non-magnetic materials, a fast calculation method using a transmission-only method is proposed. Based on the convergence analysis of the algorithm, a method to estimate the initial value is also proposed. Finally, through measurements of the permittivity of high-density polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, and polymethyl methacrylate in the 325-500 GHz band, we verify the rationality of the algorithm and demonstrate its applicability. Through the combination of the two methods, the terahertz dielectric properties of a majority of flat non-conducting solid materials and non-polar liquid materials can be measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China fusion engineering test reactor is an ITER-like superconducting tokamak reactor, which has a big duty time factor. Lifetime of structure material in blanket play an important role in the safety, reliability and economy of fusion reactor, which should be careful considered in the engineering design. High temperature is always one of the main targets in the fusion reactor concept design. And creep performance under high temperature of structure material is important in the failure mechanisms and lifetime analysis. Creep lifetime analysis of first wall in helium cooled solid breeder blanket was conducted for candidate structural materials. It is found that 316L(N) have a better creep lifetime performance than Eurofer. For an acceptable creep lifetime at 0.3 MW/m surface heat flux, there could be space for wall thickness change and improvement of cooling ability and outlet temperature of first wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is a widespread mechanism for gene regulation and has been implicated in flowering, but the molecular basis governing the choice of a specific poly(A) site during the vegetative-to-reproductive growth transition remains unclear. Here we characterize HLP1, an hnRNP A/B protein as a novel regulator for pre-mRNA 3′-end processing in Arabidopsis. Genetic analysis reveals that HLP1 suppresses Flowering Locus C (FLC), a key repressor of flowering in Arabidopsis. Genome-wide mapping of HLP1-RNA interactions indicates that HLP1 binds preferentially to A-rich and U-rich elements around cleavage and polyadenylation sites, implicating its role in 3′-end formation. We show HLP1 is significantly enriched at transcripts involved in RNA metabolism and flowering. Comprehensive profiling of the poly(A) site usage reveals that HLP1 mutations cause thousands of poly(A) site shifts. A distal-to-proximal poly(A) site shift in the flowering regulator FCA, a direct target of HLP1, leads to upregulation of FLC and delayed flowering. Our results elucidate that HLP1 is a novel factor involved in 3′-end processing and controls reproductive timing via targeting APA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of 151695 wheat expression sequence tags (ESTs) that originated from GenBank/dbEST from July 14, 2003 to August 24, 2004 were used to search for simple sequence repeats (SSRs) with motif 2–5 bp, and 2038 simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs), which accounted for 1.34% of EST database, were identified. Based on these SSR sequences, 249 EST-SSR primer pairs and 166 amplified clear bands in various wheat cultivars were designed. These EST-SSR markers can be used as new molecular markers in wheat and related species. Using Chinese Spring nulli-tetrasomic lines, 93 EST-SSR primer pairs and 193 EST-SSR loci were located on 19 wheat chromosomes except for 4A and 4B. Forty-three loci were mapped on 11 chromosomes of the genetic framework map previously constructed using recombinant inbred lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete nucleotide sequence of genomic RNA of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) strain China/99 from infected bovine tongue epithelium is presented. The nucleotide sequence extending from the 5’ end of the genomic RNA to the 5’ end of poly (A) tail contains 8173 nucleotides (nt). Its open reading frame, which encodes a single polypeptide of 2332 amino acids, encompasses 6999 nt starting from the initiation codon AUG and terminating at the UAA codon 93 bases upstream from the 5’ end of poly (A) tract. The 5’ untranslated region (UTR) is composed of 1081nt. The consensus of the 1d gene of FMDV strain China/99 compared with that of UKG/6/2001, UKG/12/2001, China/99HN4 and China/3/Tibet is over 97%. The result showed the stains belong to the members of the Pan-Asia family. There is a remarkable differentiation in the function-unknown (FUR), p2 and p3 regions between FMDV isolates from infected cattle and swine, especially in 3a gene. No deletion was found in genes /, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2c, 3b, and 3d. These genes might be indispensable to the surviving of FMDV. The secondary structures of small (S) fragments, FUR and an internal ribosome entry site can be classified into three types, and the S fragment and 3’ UTR of the positive-sense RNA fold into stem-loop structures similar to the shape of clover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HAG1 gene was isolated from the floral organs of Hyacinthus orientalis L. by using RT-PCR. Sequence analysis showed that this gene was homologous to AGAMOUS. Northern hybridization indicated that HAG1 was specifically expressed in floral organs using 3′ end of HAG1 as a probe. Further, transcript of this gene was not detected in differentiating tepals induced by lower concentration of hormones, however, it was detected in differentiating stemans by higher concentration of hormones in vitro. It is possible that there is a close relationship between the concentration of hormones, homeotic genes and identities of floral organs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male sterility is a valuable trait for plant breeding and hybrid seed production. The dominant male-sterile gene Ms2 in common wheat has facilitated the release of hundreds of breeding lines and cultivars in China. Here, we describe the map-based cloning of the Ms2 gene and show that Ms2 confers male sterility in wheat, barley and Brachypodium. MS2 appears as an orphan gene within the Triticinae and expression of Ms2 in anthers is associated with insertion of a retroelement into the promoter. The cloning of Ms2 has substantial potential to assemble practical pipelines for recurrent selection and hybrid seed production in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]