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The functions of long noncoding (lnc) RNA in the response of maize to infection by rice black streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) is poorly understood, and therefore, a comprehensive disease‐responding lncRNA profile in maize infected with RBSDV was investigated. A total of 38,511 mRNAs and 2717 lncRNAs were identified by performing transcriptomic analysis of maize leaves infected with the virus, including 558 and 8276 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRs) and mRNAs (DEmRs). Functional enrichment analysis of DEmRs showed that multiple immune‐related pathways were significantly enriched (p < 0.05), such as "plant hormone signal transduction", "phenylpropanoid biosynthesis", and "plant–pathogen interaction". There were 248 DElncR‐DEmR pairs, including 169 DElncRs and 236 target DEmRs generated by combining location information and differentially expressed transcripts in this work. In addition, we found that the promoter of lncRNA MSTRG.17772.1 that responds to RBSDV contains abscisic acid (ABA)‐ and methyl jasmonate (MeJA)‐responsive regions, and these two hormones can increase the level of MSTRG.17772.1 and corresponding target mRNA Zm00001d049643_T003, suggesting that ABA and MeJA may respond to RBSDV infection through MSTRG.17772.1–Zm00001d049643_T003 in maize. Our findings revealed the expression of RBSDV‐responsive lncRNAs in maize and provide novel insights into the connection between lncRNAs and ABA and MeJA in the regulation of plant disease resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on the initiative to integrate team task and job engagement as related to the transfer of tacit knowledge. The aim of this study is to investigate if team task and job involvement enhances the overall work efficiency through transfer of tacit knowledge between e-business virtual teams. We develop a model that is based on the relationship between tacit degree of knowledge, job engagement, team tasks, and their effect on knowledge transfer. The conceptual model is validated with the data collected from a survey. The results indicate that the tacit knowledge does not have a positive effect on team tasks and job engagement, and the team tasks and job engagement have a significant positive effect on knowledge transfer. In addition, the study found that team tasks and job engagement have mediating effects in the process of tacit knowledge transfer. Also, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications and contributions of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In plants, viral replication can be inhibited through gene silencing, which is mediated by short interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA). However, under natural conditions, viruses are extremely susceptible to mutations that may decrease the efficiency of cleavage of these small RNAs (sRNAs). Therefore, a single sRNA may not provide a sufficient degree of viral resistance to transgenic plants. Potato virus Y necrotic strain (PVYN) and Potato virus Y common strain (PVYO) are the two major PVY strains that cause systemic necrosis and mottling, respectively, in tobacco. In this study, we designed specific siRNAs and miRNAs to target two regions of the PVYO replicase gene (NIb). Eight plant expression vectors containing one or two sRNAs were constructed. Luciferase activity assays showed that the designed sRNAs successfully cleaved the NIb gene of PVYO and PVYN, and the vector carrying a combined siRNA- and miRNA-based short hairpin RNA (shRNA) demonstrated the strongest inhibitory effect. These effects were confirmed through the acquisition of PVYO and PVYN resistance in transgenic sRNA-expressing Nicotiana tabacum plants. This phenomenon could be related to a plant defense mechanism in which siRNA and miRNA pathways are complementary and interact to achieve gene silencing. Furthermore, there is a tendency for the homologous small RNA sequences (PVYO) to be more effective in conferring resistance than those with imperfect homology (PVYN). Overall, these findings confirm that the use of a combined siRNA- and miRNA-based shRNAs is a promising approach for introducing viral resistance to plants through genetic engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The storage period of European pear (Pyrus communis L.) is prolonged at low temperature, but the pear softened quickly after shifting to room temperature. However, the molecular mechanisms that influence this process are unknown. In this study, 'Docteur Jules Guyot' pears were placed at room temperature (RT) and low temperature and then turned to room temperature (LR). The fruit firmness of 'Docteur Jules Guyot' under LR decreased faster than RT after moving from low temperature. The ethylene production rate, water-soluble pectin (WSP), ionic-soluble pectin (ISP) content, and pectin degradation enzyme activity of 'Docteur Jules Guyot' under LR increased faster than RT after moving from low temperature. RNA-seq of 'Docteur Jules Guyot' pear under different storage conditions was carried out, and 1018 genes were found to be negatively correlated with fruit firmness by the weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) method. Then, 24 structural genes and transcription factors related to fruit softening were selected to verify the RNA-Seq results. The expression of all these selected genes increased significantly after LT storage. The fruit firmness, pectin content, and pectin degradation enzyme activity of 'Laiyang' pear did not change significantly under RT and LR storage conditions. The expression of LAX2 , ARF19 , EXP1 , EXPA1 , EXP3 and PG2 was upregulated in 'Docteur Jules Guyot' pear but downregulated in 'Laiyang' pear. These genes might play important roles in the softening process of European pear. This work laid the foundation for revealing the mechanisms of European pear fruit softening. • Low temperature accelerated the softening of 'Docteur Jules Guyot' pear after shifting to room temperature. • WGCNA identifies two key modules involved in pear fruit softening. • The expression trend of some genes in European and Asian pears was completely opposite. • LAX2 , ARF19 , EXP1 , EXPA1 , EXP3 and PG2 may play important roles in European pear softening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonspecific lipidtransfer proteins (nsLTPs), which are small, cysteine‐rich proteins, belong to the pathogenesis‐related protein family, and several of them act as positive regulators during plant disease resistance. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of these proteins in plant immune responses are unclear. In this study, a typical nsLTP gene, StLTP10, was identified and functionally analysed in potato. StLTP10 expression was significantly induced by Phytophthora infestans, which causes late blight in potato, and defence‐related phytohormones, including abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid. Characterization of StLTP10‐overexpressing and knockdown lines indicated that StLTP10 positively regulates plant resistance to P. infestans. This resistance was coupled with enhanced expression of reactive oxygen species scavenging‐ and defence‐related genes. Furthermore, we identified that StLTP10 physically interacts with ABA receptor PYL4 and affects its subcellular localization. These two proteins work together to regulate stomatal closure during pathogen infection. Interestingly, we also found that wound‐induced protein kinase interacts with StLTP10 and positively regulates its protein abundance. Taken together, our results provide insight into the role of StLTP10 in resistance to P. infestans and suggest candidates to enhance broad‐spectrum resistance to pathogens in potato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytophthora infestans causes the severe late blight disease of potato. During its infection process, P. infestans delivers hundreds of RXLR (Arg-x-Leu-Arg, x behalf of any one amino acid) effectors to manipulate processes in its hosts, creating a suitable environment for invasion and proliferation. Several effectors interact with host proteins to suppress host immunity and inhibit plant growth. However, little is known about how P. infestans regulates the host transcriptome. Here, we identified an RXLR effector, PITG_15718.2, which is upregulated and maintains a high expression level throughout the infection. Stable transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum) lines expressing PITG_15718.2 show enhanced leaf colonization by P. infestans and reduced vegetative growth. We further investigated the transcriptional changes between three PITG_15718.2 transgenic lines and the wild type Désirée by using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). Compared with Désirée, 190 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 158 upregulated genes and 32 downregulated genes in PITG_15718.2 transgenic lines. Eight upregulated and nine downregulated DEGs were validated by real-time RT-PCR, which showed a high correlation with the expression level identified by RNA-Seq. These DEGs will help to explore the mechanism of PITG_15718.2-mediated immunity and growth inhibition in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on density evolution analysis of the existing belief propagation (BP) algorithm, the Turbo Decoding Message Passing (TDMP) algorithm was analyzed from the perspective of density evolution and Gaussian approximation, and the theoretical analysis process of TDMP algorithm was given. When calculating the prior message of each layer of the TDMP algorithm, the check message of the previous iteration should be subtracted. Therefore, the result will not be convergent, if the TDMP algorithm is directly analyzed based on density evolution and Gaussian approximation. We researched the TDMP algorithm based on the symmetry conditions to obtain the convergent result. When using density evolution (DE) and Gaussian approximation to analyze the decoding convergence of the TDMP algorithm, we can provide a theoretical basis for proving the superiority of the algorithm. Then, based on the DE theory, we calculated the probability density function (PDF) of the check-to-variable information of TDMP and its simplified algorithm, and then gave it a calculation based on the process of the normalization factor. Simulation results show that the decoding convergence speed of the TDMP algorithm was faster and the iterations were smaller compared to the BP algorithm under the same conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]