Search

SUMMARY: Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is an energy‐intensive process, to maintain the balance between growth and nitrogen fixation, high concentrations of nitrate inhibit root nodulation. However, the precise mechanism underlying the nitrate inhibition of nodulation in soybean remains elusive. In this study, CRISPR‐Cas9‐mediated knockout of GmNLP1 and GmNLP4 unveiled a notable nitrate‐tolerant nodulation phenotype. GmNLP1b and GmNLP4a play a significant role in the nitrate‐triggered inhibition of nodulation, as the expression of nitrate‐responsive genes was largely suppressed in Gmnlp1b and Gmnlp4a mutants. Furthermore, we demonstrated that GmNLP1b and GmNLP4a can bind to the promoters of GmNIC1a and GmNIC1b and activate their expression. Manipulations targeting GmNIC1a and GmNIC1b through knockdown or overexpression strategies resulted in either increased or decreased nodule number in response to nitrate. Additionally, transgenic roots that constitutively express GmNIC1a or GmNIC1b rely on both NARK and hydroxyproline O‐arabinosyltransferase RDN1 to prevent the inhibitory effects imposed by nitrate on nodulation. In conclusion, this study highlights the crucial role of the GmNLP1/4‐GmNIC1a/b module in mediating high nitrate‐induced inhibition of nodulation. Significance Statement: This study highlights the crucial role of the GmNLP1/4‐GmNIC1a/b module in mediating high nitrate‐induced inhibition of nodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-rich cathode materials LiNixCoyMn1-x-yO2 (NCM) are widely used in Li-ion batteries because of their high energy density and low material cost. However, the cycle and safety performance are poor due to internal structure instability, cation mixing, and surface instability. The Al-O bond and TM-F bond are higher than the TM-O bond, which is beneficial to the stable layered structure of NCM cathode material. In this paper, Ni-rich layered Li[(Ni0.9Co0.05Mn0.03)1-xAlx]O2-zFz (NCMAF) cathode material was prepared by a high-temperature solid-state method. When compared to NCM, the co-doped NCMAF shows excellent rate performance with the discharge capacity (177 mAh/g) at 10C and better cycle performance with a capacity retention of 72.7% after 200 cycles. According to XRD, Rietveld refined, and TEM analysis, the lithium layer distance of co-doped NCMAF is broader than that of pristine NCM. The capacity differential (dQ/dV) proves that the H2-H3 phase transition is inhibited during the charging and discharging process of NCMAF. Analysis of EIS reveals that the modified NCMAF has lower polarization and increases the diffusion coefficient (8.59 × 10−14 cm2/s) of lithium-ion than pristine NCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pluripotent stem cells from domesticated animals have potential applications in transgenic breeding. Here, we describe induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from bovine fetal fibroblasts by lentiviral transduction of Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc defined-factor fusion proteins. Bovine iPS cells showed typical colony morphology, normal karyotypes, stained positively for alkaline phosphatase (AP) and expressed Oct4, Nanog and SSEA1. The CpG in the promoter regions of Oct4 and Nanog were highly unmethylated in bovine iPS cells compared to the fibroblasts. The cells were able to differentiate into cell types of all three germ layers in vitro and in vivo. In addition, these cells were induced into female germ cells under defined culture conditions and expressed early and late female germ cell-specific genes Vasa, Dazl, Gdf9, Nobox, Zp2, and Zp3. Our data suggest that bovine iPS cells were generated from bovine fetal fibroblasts with defined-factor fusion proteins mediated by lentivirus and have potential applications in bovine transgenic breeding and gene-modified animals.

The saturable absorption properties of Co2 + : MgAl2O4 crystals in three different cutting directions were studied experimentally. The characteristic of the transmission of polarized incidence light through the [100], [110], and [111]-cut Co2 + : MgAl2O4 single crystal was investigated. The [110]-cut crystal had the maximum transmittance observed. We conclude that using a [110]-cut Co2 + : MgAl2O4 crystal to form a Co2 + : MgAl2O4 / Er,Yb:glass passive Q-switched microchip laser can improve the output characteristics of the laser, such as pulse energy and extinction ratio without changing any other parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]