Search

Wheat germplasm is a fundamental resource for basic research, applied studies, and wheat breeding, which can be enriched normally by several paths, such as collecting natural lines, accumulating breeding lines, and introducing mutagenesis materials. Ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) is an alkylating agent that can effectively introduce genetic variations in a wide variety of plant species. In this study, we created a million-scale EMS population (MEP) that started with the Chinese wheat cultivars 'Luyan 128', 'Jimai 38', 'Jimai 44', and 'Shannong 30'. In the M1 generation, the MEP had numerous phenotypical variations, such as >3,000 chlorophyll-deficient mutants, 2,519 compact spikes, and 1,692 male sterile spikes. There were also rare mutations, including 30 independent tillers each with double heads. Some M1 variations of chlorophyll-deficiency and compact spikes were inheritable, appearing in the M2 or M3 generations. To advance the entire MEP to higher generations, we adopted a single-seed descendent (SSD) approach. All other seed composites of M2 were used to screen other agronomically important traits, such as the tolerance to herbicide quizalofop-P-methyl. The MEP is available for collaborative projects, and provides a valuable toolbox for wheat genetics and breeding for sustainable agriculture. more...

Abstract Stripe (yellow) rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), can significantly affect wheat production. Cloning resistance genes is critical for efficient and effective breeding of stripe rust resistant wheat cultivars. One resistance gene (Yr10 CG ) underlying the Pst resistance locus Yr10 has been cloned. However, following haplotype and linkage analyses indicate the presence of additional Pst resistance gene(s) underlying/near Yr10 locus. Here, we report the cloning of the Pst resistance gene YrNAM in this region using the method of sequencing trait-associated mutations (STAM). YrNAM encodes a non-canonical resistance protein with a NAM domain and a ZnF-BED domain. We show that both domains are required for resistance. Transgenic wheat harboring YrNAM gene driven by its endogenous promoter confers resistance to stripe rust races CYR32 and CYR33. YrNAM is an ancient gene and present in wild wheat species Aegilops longissima and Ae. sharonensis; however, it is absent in most wheat cultivars, which indicates its breeding value. more...

Road vehicles and maglev trains have garnered significant attention, with their suspension systems being crucial for safe and stable performance. However, these systems can be compromised by faults such as sensor and actuator failures, posing risks to stability and safety. This review explores fault-tolerant controls for suspension systems, driven by the need to enhance fault tolerance in such scenarios. We examine the dynamic similarities between the semi-active/active suspension systems in road vehicles and the suspension systems in maglev trains, offering a comprehensive summary of fault-tolerant control strategies for both. Our analysis covers the histories, technical characteristics, fundamentals, modeling, mathematical derivations, and control objectives of both systems. The review categorizes fault-tolerant control methods into hardware redundancy, passive fault-tolerant control, and active fault-tolerant control. We evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of these strategies and propose future directions for the development of fault-tolerant control in suspension systems. more...

IntroductionAs one of the important sources of food for human beings, fruits have been extensively studied. To better guide basic and applied research, it is urgent to conduct a systematic analysis of these studies based on extensive literature collection.MethodsBased on the Web of Science Core Collection database, this study uses R language and CiteSpace to conduct bibliometric analysis and data mining on the literatures related to fruit quality from January 2013 to June 2023.ResultsThe results indicated that among various fruits, tomatoes have been most frequently studied with special interests in photosynthesis, fruit development, and molecular breeding. The research direction primarily focused on fruit resistance and storage characteristics. Among the indicators related to fruit quality, antioxidant activity has the highest co-occurrence with other indicators of fruit quality, especially with nutrients such as anthocyanins, phenolic substances, sugars, and fruit firmness.DiscussionCurrently, adaptation to stress and antioxidant activity are recognized as prominent research focal points in this field. Fruit morphology, particularly fruit size, irrigation methods, application of molecular technology, and infection prevention, represent potential areas of interests in future research on fruit quality. more...

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been incredibly successful at correctly classifying various input types, including images, speech, and data, according to consumer preferences. However, the efficacy of DNNs in Gestalt classification tasks, an important case in manifesting human perceptual capability, remains challenging, as DNNs are generally unable to perceive illusory closure from Gestalt images unless DNNs are carefully calibrated using a significant amount of priori information. However, altering the input, as minute changes typically imperceptible to humans, can confound carefully calibrated DNNs. In this study, EEG signal-empowered deep clustering based on topological data analysis (TDA) is proposed. The adoption of TDA manifests the separability of EEG signals responsive to Gestalt and non-Gestalt images. It also yields new families of features and descriptors for Gestalt illusory contours by extracting topological and geometric information. Furthermore, the combination of analyzed EEG signals and digital images further benefits the recognition of Gestalt illusory contours. Extensive experiments have shown convincing improvements over the state-of-the-art DNNs (e.g., DeepCluster and multi-view clustering [MVC]). In particular, DeepCluster with TDA can perceive illusory contours to some degree, given its 66.5% classification accuracy. Nevertheless, on top of extracted topological features from EEG signals, it produces higher classification accuracy (i.e., 71.9%), indicating the features extracted from the EEG signal contribute to perceive Gestalt illusory contours. On the other hand, the applications of topological features to the latest MVC also bring 4.5% improvement and demonstrate the effectiveness. more...

Ovate family proteins (OFP) are plant-specific transcription factors involved in regulating morphologies of the lateral organs, plant growth and development. However, the functional roles of OFP genes in Betula luminifera, an important timber tree species, are not well studied. In this study, we identified 20 BlOFP genes and analyzed their phylogenetic relationship, gene structure, conserved motifs, and cis-elements. Further, expression analysis indicates that BlOFP genes were up-regulated in leaves on the one-year-old branch compared to leaves on the current-year branch and bract, except BlOFP7, BlOFP11, BlOFP14 and BlOFP12. The overexpression of BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 in Arabidopsis thaliana not only resulted in a slower growth rate but also produced sawtooth shape, flatter and darker green rosette leaves. Further investigation showed that the leaf thickness of the transgenic plants was more than double that of the wild type, which was caused by the increasement in the number and size of palisade tissue cells. Furthermore, the expression analysis also indicated that the expressions of several genes related to leaf development were significantly changed in the transgene plants. These results suggested the significant roles of BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 in leaf development. Moreover, protein-protein interaction studies showed that BlOFP3 interacts with BlKNAT5, and BlOFP5 interacts with BlKNAT5, BlBLH6 and BlBLH7. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that BlOFP3 and BlOFP5 were involved in leaf shape and thickness regulation by forming a complex with BlKNAT5, BlBLH6 and BlBLH7. In addition, our study serves as a guide for future functional genomic studies of OFP genes of the B. luminifera. more...

This study investigated the barley lesion mimic mutant (LMM) 5386, evidenced by a leaf brown spot phenotype localized on the chromosome 3H, and its conferred basal resistance to Fusarium graminearum. RNA-seq analysis identified 1453 genes that were differentially expressed in LMM 5386 compared to those in the wild type. GO and KEGG functional annotations suggested that lesion mimic formation was mediated by pathways involving oxidation reduction and glutathione metabolism. Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in brown spots was substantially higher in LMM 5386 than in the wild-type plant; therefore, antioxidant competence, which is indicated by ROS accumulation, was significantly lower in LMM 5386. Furthermore, the reduction of glycine in LMM 5386 inhibited glutathione biosynthesis. These results suggest that the decrease in antioxidant competence and glutathione biosynthesis caused considerable ROS accumulation, leading to programmed cell death, which eventually reduced the yield components in LMM 5386. more...

The integrated development of information communication technology and neuroscience heralds the possibility and great potential of brain-to-brain wireless communication(B2BC).The physiologically meaningful features of brain responses were extracted to different contour and shape in images in Gestalt cognitive tests by combining persistent homology analysis with electroencephalogram (EEG).The experimental results show that more brain regions in the frontal lobe were involved when the subject perceives the random and disordered combination of images compared to the ordered Gestalt images.Meanwhile, the persistence entropy of EEG data evoked by random sequence diagram (RSD) was observed to be significantly different from that by the ordered Gestalt images(GST) in several frequency bands, which indicated that human cognition of shapes and contours, such as a preliminary advanced cognition process, could be separated to some extent through topological analysis.This method can digitize the neural signals while preserving the whole and local features of the original signals.In general, the cognitively related neural correlates by persistent homology features of EEG signal are revaluated and quantified, which provides an approach to realize the digitization of neural signals in brain-to-brain wireless communication. more...

Powdery mildew is one of the most devastating foliar diseases in wheat production. The wild relative Thinopyrum ponticum (2n = 10x = 70) has been widely used in wheat genetic improvement due to its superior resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses. In the present study, two wheat-Th. ponticum introgression lines named SN0293-2 and SN0293-7 were developed from the progenies of a cross between the octoploid Trititrigia SNTE20 and common wheat, including the elite cultivar Jimai 22. They had a novel powdery mildew resistance gene (temporarily named PmSN0293) putatively from Th. ponticum pyramided with Pm2 and Pm52, exhibiting excellent Pm resistance at both the seedling and adult stages. Sequential GISH-FISH detected no signal of Th. ponticum in these two lines but a pair of T1BL·1RS in SN0293-2. Chromosomal structural variations were also observed obviously in SN0293-2 and SN0293-7. Through the Wheat 660K SNP array, 157 SNPs, 134 of which were on 6A, were found to be specific to Th. ponticum. Based on the data combined with DNA re-sequencing, seven specific markers, including one CAPS marker on 2B and six CAPS and Indel markers on 6A, were developed, confirming their wheat-Th. ponticum introgression nature. Furthermore, the two lines displayed positive plant height and produced more kernels and higher 1,000-grain weight. Excellent resistance with desirable agronomic traits makes them valuable in wheat breeding programs. more...

Powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a devastating fungal disease that seriously damages the yield and quality of wheat in many regions of the world. Identifying new resistance genes and breeding new resistant varieties are effective methods to control this disease. The breeding line SN15218 shows good resistance against powdery mildew. We, therefore, developed an F2 population and 287 F2:3 families crossed between SN15218 and the powdery mildew susceptible cultivar Huixianhong (HXH). Genetic analysis indicated that a single dominant gene, designated herein PmSN15218, conferred resistance to the Bgt isolate E09 in SN15218. Bulked segregant RNA-Seq (BSR-Seq) analysis revealed that PmSN15218 is located in a ∼25-Mb interval on chromosome 2AL. Using the polymorphism information between SN15218 and HXH, we developed 13 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) markers and mapped this gene to a 0.5-cM genetic interval between the two flanking markers PmM12 and PmM14, corresponding to a 6.01-Mb physical region in the Chinese Spring reference genome. The results of molecular marker analysis, allelic tests of resistance spectrum, and DNA resequencing indicated that PmSN15218 is distinct from the known resistance gene Pm4b on 2AL. more...

Stripe rust is a serious threat to wheat production. Here, the authors reveal that the resistance gene, only present in the wheat progenitor Aegilops tauschii and its derived synthetic wheat, encodes a nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptor and confers resistance in common wheat and barley. more...

In this paper, a novel concept of nonlinear controller design is proposed, which is applicable to nonlinear systems subject to external periodic disturbances. At first, by employing a pioneering nonlinear coordinate transformation, a new nonlinear system model with expected dynamic characteristics is derived. Then, a corresponding linear system is achieved by means of linearization techniques at equilibrium points. Next, based on the results of classical linear control theory, a linear quadratic regulator is applied to the resulted linear system. Finally, the nonlinear controller can be obtained through the inverse nonlinear coordinate transformation of the linear feedback controller. The performance of the proposed method is validated on a magnetic levitation system and is compared with the classical linearization feedback control. Simulation results show that the proposed controller design assures enhanced performance in terms of both system stabilization and disturbance attenuation. more...

The dominant male-sterile geneMs2 has facilitated the release of hundreds of wheat-breeding lines and cultivars in China. Here Ni et al. describe the cloning of the Ms2 gene, which appears as an orphan gene in the Triticinae, and show that Ms2 can be used to confer male sterility in wheat, barley and Brachypodium. more...

The motor is an important part of the flywheel energy storage system. The flywheel energy storage system realizes the absorption and release of electric energy through the motor, and the high-performance, low-loss, high-power, high-speed motors are key components to improve the energy conversion efficiency of energy storage flywheels. This paper analyzes the operating characteristics of the permanent magnet synchronous motor/generator (PMSG) used in the magnetically levitated flywheel energy storage system (FESS) and calculates the loss characteristics in the drive and power generation modes. Based on this, the electromagnetic part of the motor is optimized in detail. Aiming at this design, this paper calculates the loss characteristics of driving and power generation modes in detail, including its winding loss, core loss, rotor eddy current loss and mechanical loss. The calculation results show that the design meets the loss requirements. It can reduce the no-load loss of the permanent magnet synchronous motor at high speed and improve the energy conversion efficiency, which gives this system practical application prospects. more...

The levitation stability of maglev trains is determined by the interaction of vehicle-bridge dynamic characteristics. The state change of vehicle and track beam will affect the dynamic performance of maglev trains. In order to study the levitation characteristics of maglev trains, a coupled vehicle-bridge dynamic model based on an elastic beam was established to study the influence of beam stiffness and vehicle load on the dynamic performance of the maglev system. In the form of numerical simulation, the time-domain characteristics of key characteristic variables, such as levitation gap and vertical deflection of track beam, under different working conditions of stiffness and load were analyzed. The simulation shows that the levitation system can smoothly converge to the stable value under each working condition, which indicates the rationality of the field test. Based on the Shanghai Lingang medium-and-low-speed maglev test line, the maglev test was carried out, and the time-domain and frequency-domain characteristics of the above key variables were analyzed based on the measured data. The results show that the fluctuation of the levitation gap was affected by load and stiffness, and the law was consistent with the simulation results. The increase in load or the decrease in beam stiffness would lead to an increase in vertical deflection and vibration of the track beam. However, the train could still maintain good levitation performance under the above extreme conditions, which verified the reliability of the levitation system and the correctness of the simulation model. The conclusion of this paper can provide a reference for the design of the levitation system and track line of medium-and-low-speed maglev train. more...

Background Betula luminifera H. Winkler, which is widely distributed in southern China, is an economically important broadleaf tree species. However, little genomic information of B. luminifera is available, and little is known about the molecular mechanisms of wood formation in this species. Meanwhile, few efforts have focused on investigating the early transcriptional changes during tension wood formation in woody plants. Results A reference transcriptome dataset was first generated containing 45,700 Unigenes, and 35,135 (76.9%) Unigenes were annotated by a BLAST similarity search against four public databases. Then, based on an anatomical investigation, the global gene expression changes during the early stages of tension wood formation were analyzed. Gene expression profiling showed that a total of 13,273 Unigenes were differentially regulated during the early stages of tension wood formation. Most genes involved in cellulose and lignin biosynthesis were highlighted to reveal their biological importance in tension wood formation. In addition, the transcription levels of many genes involved in the auxin response pathway were significantly changed during the early stages of tension wood formation. Furthermore, 18 TFs co-expressed with key enzymes of cellulose synthesis were identified. Conclusions Our results revealed the transcriptional changes associated with TW formation and identified potential key genes in the regulation of this process. These results will help to dissect the molecular mechanism of wood formation and provide key candidate genes for marker-assisted selection in B. luminifera. more...

When two maglev trains travel in opposite directions on two adjacent tracks, train crossing is inevitable. Especially when both trains run at full speed, the pressure wave formed by each other will have a significant impact on the structure of the vehicle. Therefore, it is important to understand the pressure distribution on the body surface during the crossing to mitigate impact of the pressure wave. In this work, numerical simulation techniques are employed to reveal the nature of pressure wave during train crossing. Firstly, the aerodynamic load calculation model and the pressure wave calculation model are established, based on the turbulence model and flow field control equation. Secondly, the governing equations are discretized together with determined corresponding boundary conditions, which leads to an effective numerical analysis method. Finally, the corresponding aerodynamic analysis is carried out for the high-speed maglev test vehicle running at speed 500 km/h on the open-air line. The simulation results reveal that the spot which sustains the most pressure fluctuation is at the widest part of the vehicle during the train crossing. This forms valuable insights on the aerodynamic nature of high-speed maglev train and provides necessary inputs to the structural design of the vehicle. more...

The phase transition from vegetative to reproductive growth is a critical event in the life cycle of flowering plants. FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) plays a central role in the regulation of this transition by integrating signals from multiple flowering pathways in the leaves and transmitting them to the shoot apical meristem. In this study, we characterized FT homologs in the temperate grasses Brachypodium distachyon and polyploid wheat using transgenic and mutant approaches. Downregulation of FT1 by RNAi was associated with a significant downregulation of the FT-like genes FT2 and FT4 in Brachypodium and FT2 and FT5 in wheat. In a transgenic wheat line carrying a highly-expressed FT1 allele, FT2 and FT3 were upregulated under both long and short days. Overexpression of FT1 caused extremely early flowering during shoot regeneration in both Brachypodium and hexaploid wheat, and resulted in insufficient vegetative tissue to support the production of viable seeds. Downregulation of FT1 transcripts by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in non-flowering Brachypodium plants and late flowering plants (2-4 weeks delay) in wheat. A similar delay in heading time was observed in tetraploid wheat plants carrying mutations for both FT-A1 and FT-B1. Plants homozygous only for mutations in FT-B1 flowered later than plants homozygous only for mutations in FT-A1, which corresponded with higher transcript levels of FT-B1 relative to FT-A1 in the early stages of development. Taken together, our data indicate that FT1 plays a critical role in the regulation of flowering in Brachypodium and wheat, and that this role is associated with the simultaneous regulation of other FT-like genes. The differential effects of mutations in FT-A1 and FT-B1 on wheat heading time suggest that different allelic combinations of FT1 homoeologs could be used to adjust wheat heading time to improve adaptation to changing environments. more...

A novel cationic microbubble (MB) for improvement of the DNA loading capacity and the ultrasound-mediated gene delivery efficiency has been developed; it has been prepared with commercial lipids and a stearic acid modified polyethylenimine 600 (Stearic-PEI600) polymer synthesized via acylation reaction of branched PEI600 and stearic acid mediated by N, N'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI). The MBs' concentration, size distribution, stability and zeta potential (ζ-potential) were measured and the DNA loading capacity was examined as a function of the amount of Stearic-PEI600. The gene transfection efficiency and cytotoxicity were also examined using breast cancer MCF-7 cells via the reporter plasmid pCMV-Luc, encoding the firefly luciferase gene. The results showed that the Stearic-PEI600 polymer caused a significant increase in magnitude of ζ-potential of MBs. The addition of DNA into cationic MBs can shift ζ-potentials from positive to negative values. The DNA loading capacity of the MBs grew linearly from (5±0.2) ×10⁻³ pg/µm² to (20±1.8) ×10⁻³ pg/µm² when Stearic-PEI600 was increased from 5 mol% to 30 mol%. Transfection of MCF-7 cells using 5% PEI600 MBs plus ultrasound exposure yielded 5.76±2.58×10³ p/s/cm²/sr average radiance intensity, was 8.97- and 7.53-fold higher than those treated with plain MBs plus ultrasound (6.41±5.82) ×10² p/s/cm²/sr, (P more...