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To investigate the effects of the height-thickness ratio ([beta]) on the mechanical properties and stability coefficients ([[phi].sub.s]) of interlocking compressed earth block (ICEB) masonry members under axial compression, four groups of specimens with different [beta] of 3.75, 6.75, 11.25, and 14.25 were tested, thereby assessing their stress process, failure mode, compressive strength, and in- and out-of-plane deformations. All the specimens underwent brittle failure under axial compression: the compressive strength was found to decrease in a range from 5.6% to 43% with increasing [beta], whereas the initial stacking defects and the in- and out-of-plane deformations increased. The specimens became less stable, and we noticed that the overall damage was caused by strength failure and not instability failures. Because the stability coefficient of ICEB-based masonry components cannot be calculated as those of more conventional brickwork, we combined our results with well-established masonry design guidelines and derived an interlocking improvement coefficient. Finally, we proposed a formula for calculating the axial compression stability coefficient of ICEB masonry that can provide a useful reference for subsequent research on ICEB walls. Key words: interlocking compressed earth block masonry, axial compression, height-thickness ratio, deformation performance, stability coefficient. Dans le but d'etudier les effets du rapport hauteur-epaisseur (b) sur les proprietes mecaniques et les coefficients de stabilite (ws) des elements de maconnerie de blocs a emboitement en terre comprimee (BETC) sous compression axiale, quatre groupes de pieces d'essai avec differents [beta] de 3,75, 6,75,11,25 et 14,25 ont ete mis a l'essai, evaluant ainsi leur processus de contrainte, leur mode de defaillance, leur resistance a la compression et leurs deformations dans le plan et hors plan. Toutes les pieces d'essai ont subi une rupture fragile sous compression axiale : la resistance a la compression a diminue dans une fourchette de 5,6 a 43% avec l'augmentation de b, tandis que les defauts d'empilage initiaux et les deformations dans le plan et hors plan ont augmente. Les pieces d'essais sont devenues moins stables, et nous avons remarque que les dommages ont ete causes par une defaillance de la resistance et non par des defaillances d'instabilite. Etant donne que le coefficient de stabilite des elements de maconnerie a base de BETC ne peut pas etre calcule comme celui de la maconnerie de briques plus conventionnelle, nous avons combine nos resultats avec des lignes directrices bien etablies en matiere de conception de maconnerie et avons obtenu un coefficient d'amelioration de l'emboitement. Enfin, nous avons propose une formule pour calculer le coefficient de stabilite de la compression axiale de la maconnerie de BETC qui peut servir de reference pour des recherches ulterieures sur les murs de BETC. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : maconnerie de blocs a emboitement en terre comprimee (BETC), compression axiale, rapport hauteur-epaisseur, resultats de deformation, coefficient de stabilite., Introduction An interlocking compressed earth block (ICEB) is a new type of compressed earth block (CEB) produced from fine-grained raw soil and small amounts of cement admixtures; it is shaped [...]

Chloroplasts and mitochondria, descendants of ancient prokaryotes via endosymbiosis, occupy a pivotal position in plant growth and development due to their intricate connections with the nuclear genome. Genes encoded by the nuclear genome but relocated to or being functional within these organelles are commonly referred as organelle-targeting nuclear genes (ONGs). These genes are essential for maintaining cytonuclear coordination, thereby determining the stability of the life cycle. While molecular function and cytonuclear coordination of some endosymbiosis-derived ONGs (E-ONGs) have been extensively studied, the evolutionary history and characteristics from a more widespread range of non-endosymbiosis-derived ONGs (NE-ONGs) remain largely enigmatic. In this study, we focused on 12 representative species within the Poaceae family to systematically identify NE-ONGs and investigated their evolutionary history and functional significance on a phylogenetic timescale. Upon aligning these 12 species' evolutionary histories, we observed the following phenomena: (i) an exploration of NE-ONGs between the BOP and PACMAD clades unveiled dynamic compositions, potentially influencing their photosynthetic divergence; (ii) the majority of the abundant species-specific NE-ONGs exist in a single-copy status, and functional enrichment analysis further underscored their specialized roles, which could be crucial for species adaptation; and (iii) comparative analyses between plasmid- and mitochondria-related NE-ONGs (pNE-ONGs and mNE-ONGs) revealed a prevalence of pNE-ONGs, indicating tighter control for chloroplast function in Poaceae. In summary, this study offers novel insights into the cytonuclear co-evolutionary dynamics in Poaceae speciation and draws attention to crop improvement by using NE-ONGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) is able to regulate the expression of ABA-responsive genes via signaling transduction, and thus plays an important role in regulating plant responses to abiotic stresses. Hence, characterization of unknown ABA response genes may enable us to identify novel regulators of ABA and abiotic stress responses. By using RT-PCR analysis, we found that the expression levels of ABA-induced Serine-rich Repressor 1 (ASR1)and ASR2, two closely related unknown function genes, were increased in response to ABA treatment. Amino acid sequence analyses show that ASR1 contains an L×L×L motif and both ASR1 and ASR2 are enriched in serine. Transfection assays in Arabidopsis leaf protoplasts show that ASR1 and ASR2 were predominantly localized in the nucleus and were able to repress the expression of the reporter gene. The roles of ASRs in regulating ABA responses were examined by generating transgenic Arabidopsis plants over-expressing ASR1 and ASR2, respectively, and CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited single and double mutants for ASR1 and ASR2. In both the seed germination and cotyledon greening assays, ABA sensitivity remained largely unchanged in the over-expression transgenic plants and the single mutants of ASR1 and ASR2, but greatly increased ABA sensitivity was observed in the asr1 asr2 double mutants. In root elongation assays, however, decreased ABA sensitivity was observed in the 35S:ASR1 and 35S:ASR2 transgenic plants, whereas increased ABA sensitivity was observed in the asr1 and asr2 single mutants, and ABA sensitivity was further increased in the asr1 asr2 double mutants. Transcriptome analysis show that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) down-regulated in the 35S:ASR1 transgenic plant seedlings, but up-regulated in the asr1 asr2 double mutant seedlings were highly enriched in processes including responses to plant hormones and stress stimuli. Taken together, our results show that ASR1 and ASR2 are closely related ABA response genes, ASR1 and ASR2 are serine-rich novel transcription repressors, and they negatively regulate ABA responses in Arabidopsis in a redundant manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Auxin is one of the traditional plant hormones, whereas peptide hormones are peptides with hormone activities. Both auxin and plant peptide hormones regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development, and there are cross-talks between auxin and plant peptide hormones. PAMP-INDUCED SECRETED PEPTIDES (PIPs) and PIP-LIKEs (PIPLs) are a new family of plant peptide hormone, and PIPL3/TARGET OF LBD SIXTEEN 2 (TOLS2) has been shown to regulate lateral root formation in Arabidopsis. We report here the identification of PIP2 as an auxin response gene, and we found it plays a role in regulating root and hypocotyl development in Arabidopsis. By using quantitative RT-PCR, we found that the expression of PIP2 but not PIP1 and PIP3 was induced by auxin, and auxin induced expression of PIP2 was reduced in nph4-1 and arf19-4 , the lost-of-function mutants of Auxin Response Factor 7 (ARF7) and ARF19 , respectively. By generating and characterizing overexpressing transgenic lines and gene edited mutants for PIP2 , we found that root length in the PIP2 overexpression plant seedlings was slightly shorter when compared with that in the Col wild type plants, but root length of the pip2 mutant seedlings remained largely unchanged. For comparison, we also generated overexpressing transgenic lines and gene edited mutants for PIP3 , as well as pip2 pip3 double mutants. Surprisingly, we found that root length in the PIP3 overexpression plant seedlings is shorter than that of the PIP2 overexpression plant seedlings, and the pip3 mutant seedlings also produced short roots. However, root length in the pip2 pip3 double mutant seedlings is largely similar to that in the pip3 single mutant seedlings. On the other hand, hypocotyl elongation assays indicate that only the 35S:PIP2 transgenic plant seedlings produced longer hypocotyls when compared with the Col wild type seedlings. Further analysis indicates that PIP2 promotes cell division as well as cell elongation in hypocotyls. Taken together, our results suggest that PIP2 is an auxin response gene, and PIP2 plays a role in regulating root and hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis likely via regulating cell division and cell elongation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WDR proteins in plants regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development, as well as plant responses to environmental stimuli. Here, we report the identification of AIW1 (ABA-induced WD40-repeat 1) and AIW2 as novel regulators of salt responses in Arabidopsis. RT-PCR results show that the expression of AIW1 and AIW2 were induced by ABA. Transfection assays in protoplasts show that AIW1 and AIW2 were nucleus proteins and functioned as transcription repressors. When overexpressed in Arabidopsis, AIW1 promoted root elongation, and reduced seedlings sensitivity to ABA. On the other hand, aiw1 aiw2 double mutants showed an increased sensitivity to ABA in seed germination assays. In addition, salt tolerance was reduced in the 35S:AIW1 transgenic plants in root elongation assays. Taken together, our results suggest that AIW1 and AIW2 are ABA-induced plant specific WD40 repeat-containing transcription repressors, and AIW1 and AIW2 function redundantly to regulate ABA and salt responses in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EAR motif-containing proteins are able to repress gene expression, therefore play important roles in regulating plants growth and development, plant response to environmental stimuli, as well as plant hormone signal transduction. ABA is a plant hormone that regulates abiotic stress tolerance in plants via signal transduction. ABA signaling via the PYR1/PYLs/RCARs receptors, the PP2Cs phosphatases, and SnRK2s protein kinases activates the ABF/AREB/ABI5-type bZIP transcription factors, resulting in the activation/repression of ABA response genes. However, functions of many ABA response genes remained largely unknown. We report here the identification of the ABA-responsive gene SlEAD1 (Solanum lycopersicum EAR motif-containing ABA down-regulated 1) as a novel EAR motif-containing transcription repressor gene in tomato. We found that the expression of SlEAD1 was down-regulated by ABA treatment, and SlEAD1 repressed reporter gene expression in transfected protoplasts. By using CRISPR gene editing, we generated transgene-free slead1 mutants and found that the mutants produced short roots. By using seed germination and root elongation assays, we examined ABA response of the slead1 mutants and found that ABA sensitivity in the mutants was increased. By using qRT-PCR, we further show that the expression of some of the ABA biosynthesis and signaling component genes were increased in the slead1 mutants. Taken together, our results suggest that SlEAD1 is an ABA response gene, that SlEAD1 is a novel EAR motif-containing transcription repressor, and that SlEAD1 negatively regulates ABA responses in tomato possibly by repressing the expression of some ABA biosynthesis and signaling genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate whether the compression reduction factor φ under cyclic load is needed in the brace design of zipper frames, numerical models, in which the braces are respectively designed with and without considering the reduction factor φ, are designed according to the design method of suspended zipper frames. Some indexes, including the natural periods, steel consumption and dynamic response under frequent and rare earthquakes, are analyzed and compared. The results show that the dynamic responses of the two struts are similar to each other and both of them can meet the requirement of "no-damage under frequent earthquake" and "no-collapse under rare earthquake" required by the GB 50011 code. Because the steel consumption in the zipper frames design without considering the reduction factor ip under cyclic loading is less, and comprehensive anti-seismic property is better, it is recommended not considering the reduction factor φ in the frame design under the condition. It is also pointed out that the design method of the zipper struts is conservative and a more reasonable design method of zipper struts needs to be put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosis is associated with differential gene expression between hybrids and their parental lines, and the genes involved in cell proliferation played important roles. AtARF2 is a general cell proliferation repressor in Arabidopsis. In our previous study, two homologues (ZmARF10 and ZmARF25) of AtARF2 were identified in maize, but their relationship with heterosis was not elucidated. Here, the expression patterns of ZmARF10 and ZmARF25 in seedling leaves of maize hybrids and their parental lines were analyzed. The results of qRT-PCR exhibited that ZmARF25 was down-regulated in leaf basal region of hybrids. Moreover, overexpression of ZmARF25 led to reduced organ size in Arabidopsis, which was mainly due to the decrease in cell number, not cell size. In addition, the cell proliferation related genes AtANT, AtGIF1 and AtGRF5 were down-regulated in 35S::ZmARF25 transgenic lines. Collectively, we proposed that the down-regulation of ZmARF25 in maize hybrid may accelerate cell proliferation and promote leaf development, which, in turn, contributes to the observed leaf size heterosis in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heterosis is associated with differential gene expression between hybrids and their parental lines, and the genes involved in cell proliferation played important roles. AtARF2 is a general cell proliferation repressor in Arabidopsis. In our previous study, two homologues (ZmARF10 and ZmARF25) of AtARF2 were identified in maize, but their relationship with heterosis was not elucidated. Here, the expression patterns of ZmARF10 and ZmARF25 in seedling leaves of maize hybrids and their parental lines were analyzed. The results of qRT-PCR exhibited that ZmARF25 was down-regulated in leaf basal region of hybrids. Moreover, overexpression of ZmARF25 led to reduced organ size in Arabidopsis, which was mainly due to the decrease in cell number, not cell size. In addition, the cell proliferation related genes AtANT, AtGIF1 and AtGRF5 were down-regulated in 35S::ZmARF25 transgenic lines. Collectively, we proposed that the down-regulation of ZmARF25 in maize hybrid may accelerate cell proliferation and promote leaf development, which, in turn, contributes to the observed leaf size heterosis in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) function in diverse biological processes, and lncRNA expression is under epigenetic regulation, including by cytosine DNA methylation. However, it remains unclear whether 5-methylcytosine (5mC) plays a similar role in different sequence contexts (CG, CHG, and CHH). In this study, we characterized and compared the profiles of genome-wide lncRNA profiles (including long intergenic non-coding RNAs [lincRNAs] and long noncoding natural antisense transcripts [lncNATs]) of a null mutant of the rice DNA methyltransferase 1, OsMET1-2 (designated OsMET1-2-/-) and its isogenic wild type (OsMET1-2+/+). The En/Spm transposable element (TE) family, which was heavily methylated in OsMET1-2+/+, was transcriptionally de-repressed in OsMET1-2-/- due to genome-wide erasure of CG methylation, and this led to abundant production of specific lncRNAs. In addition, RdDM-mediated CHH hypermethylation was increased in the 5'-upstream genomic regions of lncRNAs in OsMET1-2-/-. The positive correlation between the expression of lincRNAs and that of their proximal protein-coding genes was also analyzed. Our study shows that CG methylation negatively regulates the TE-related expression of lncRNA and demonstrates that CHH methylation is also involved in the regulation of lncRNA expression., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Genetics Society of America.)