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Rice straw is an agricultural waste, the disposal of which through open burning is an emerging challenge for ecology. Green manufacturing using straw returning provides a more avant-garde technique that is not only an effective management measure to improve soil fertility in agricultural ecosystems but also nurtures environmental stewardship by reducing waste and the carbon footprint. However, fresh straw that is returned to the field cannot be quickly decomposed, and screening microorganisms with the capacity to degrade straw and understanding their mechanism of action is an efficient approach to solve such problems. This study aimed to reveal the potential mechanism of influence exerted by exogenous degradative bacteria (ZJW-6) on the degradation of straw, growth of plants, and soil bacterial community during the process of returning rice straw to the soil. The inoculation with ZJW-6 enhanced the driving force of cellulose degradation. The acceleration of the rate of decomposition of straw releases nutrients that are easily absorbed by rice (Oryza sativa L.), providing favorable conditions for its growth and promoting its growth and development; prolongs the photosynthetic functioning period of leaves; and lays the material foundation for high yields of rice. ZJW-6 not only directly participates in cellulose degradation as degrading bacteria but also induces positive interactions between bacteria and fungi and enriches the microbial taxa that were related to straw degradation, enhancing the rate of rice straw degradation. Taken together, ZJW-6 has important biological potential and should be further studied, which will provide new insights and strategies for the appropriate treatment of rice straw. In the future, this degrading bacteria may provide a better opportunity to manage straw in an ecofriendly manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic regulatory mechanism, it regulates gene expression by recruiting proteins involved in gene repression or by inhibiting the binding of transcription factor(s) to DNA. In this study, a novel methyltransferase 2a gene (Zmet2a) was cloned in maize and identified by polymerase chain reaction-base (PCR-base) using a bioinformatics strategy. The Zmet2a cDNA sequence is 2739 bp long and translates to 912 amino acid peptides. The Zmet2a protein revealed that it contains BAH and CHROMO structural domains, is a non-transmembrane protein that is hydrophilically unstable, and has no signal peptide structure. Meanwhile, we verified the biological roles of Zmet2a using transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing Zmet2a and Zmet2a -knockout maize. Transgenic Zmet2a Arabidopsis thaliana showed highly significant advancement in flowering time, and Zmet2a -knockout maize showed advancement in flowering time, with significant changes in several traits. Altogether, these report the role of Zmet2a in the regulation of flowering time, which will lay a foundation for revealing the biological function and epigenetic regulation mechanism of Zmet2a in the growth, development and flowering of maize. Supplementary Material Supplementary Material File [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Dry cultivation of rice is a water‐saving, emission reduction and labor‐saving rice farming method. However, the development of rice under dry cultivation is hampered by the limitations of dry cultivation on rice yield and rice quality. We hypothesized that additional silicon (Si) would be a measure to address these limitations or challenges. RESULTS: In the present study, we set up field trials with three treatments: flooded cultivation (W), dry cultivation (D) and dry cultivation plus Si. Yield and quality were reduced under D treatment compared to W treatment. The addition of Si promoted root development, increased plant height and leaf area, increased photosynthetic enzyme activity, net photosynthetic rate and SPAD values, and increased biomass under dry crop conditions. Under the drought conditions, silica up‐regulated the expression of AGPSI, SBEI, SBEIIb, SSI and SSII‐1 genes and the activities of ADP‐glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase), soluble starch synthetase (SSS) and starch branching enzyme (SBE) enzymes, which reduced protein, amylose, chalkiness percentage and chalkiness degree, increased brown rice rate, milled rice rate and head milled rice rate, and also improved rice quality. In addition, the increase of AGPase, SSS and SBE enzyme activities promoted the filling rate and the number of spikes was guaranteed, whereas the yield was improved by promoting the seed setting rate and 1000‐grain weight. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that adding appropriate amounts of Si fertilizer can improve the yield and quality of rice under dry cultivation by regulating source supply capacity and grain starch synthesis. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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BACKGROUND: Sugarcane provides many secondary metabolites for the pharmacological and cosmetic industries. Secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, have been studied, but few reports focus on the identification of alkaloid and non‐alkaloid phytocompounds in sugarcane. RESULTS: In this study, we identified 40 compounds in total from the rinds of cultivated sugarcane varieties (including eight alkaloids, 24 non‐alkaloids, and eight others) by using the liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) approach. Among these compounds, 31 were novel and are reported for the first time in sugarcane. Some alkaloids such as 3‐indoleacrylic acid, N,N‐dimethyl‐5‐methoxytryptamine, tryptamine, 6‐hydroxynicotinic acid, and 6‐deoxyfagomine are identified the first time in sugarcane rind. Four alkaloids such as trigonelline, piperidine, 3‐indoleacrylic acid, and 6‐deoxyfagomine are found abundantly in sugarcane rind and these compounds have promising pharmaceutical value. Some phytocompounds such as choline and acetylcholine (non‐alkaloid compounds) were most common in the rind of ROC22 and Yuetang93/159 (YT93/159). Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis revealed that the ROC22, Taitang172 (F172), and Yuetang71/210 (YT71/210) varieties were quite similar in alkaloid composition when compared with other sugarcane varieties. We have also characterized the biosynthesis pathway of sugarcane alkaloids. The rind of F172, ROC22, and YT71/210 showed the highest total alkaloid content, whereas the rind of ROC16 revealed a minimum level. Interestingly, the rind extract from YT71/210 and F172 showed maximum antioxidant activity, followed by ROC22. CONCLUSION: Our results showed the diversity of alkaloid and non‐alkaloid compounds in the rind of six cultivated sugarcanes and highlighted the promising phytocompounds that can be extracted, isolated, and utilized by the pharmacological industry. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]