NECK LEAF 1, a GATA type transcription factor, modulates organogenesis by regulating the expression of multiple regulatory genes during reproductive development in rice

In the monocot rice species Oryza sativa L., one of the most striking morphological processes during reproductive development is the concurrence of panicle development with the sequential elongation of upper internodes （UPIs）. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, we cloned the rice gene NECK LEAF 1 （NL1）, which when mutated results in delays in flowering time, smaller panicles with overgrown bracts and abnormal UPI elongation patterns. The NL1 gene encodes a GATA-type transcription factor with a single zinc finger domain, and its transcripts are de- tected predominantly in the bract primordia, which normally degenerate in the wild-type plants. Overexpression of NL1 in transgenic plants often gives rise to severe growth retardation, less vegetative phytomers and smaller leaves, suggesting that NL1 plays an important role in organ differentiation. A novel mutant allele of PLASTOCHRON1 （PLAD, a gene known to play a key role in regulating leaf initiation, was identified in this study. Genetic analysis demonstrated an interaction between nil and plal, with NL1 acting upstream of PLA1. The expression level and spatial pattern of PLA1 were found to be altered in the nil mutant. Furthermore, the expression of two regulators of flowering, Hd3a and OsMADS1, was also affected in the nil mutant. On the basis of these findings, we propose that NL1 is an intrinsic factor that modulates and coordinates organogenesis through regulating the expression of PLA1 and other regulatory genes during reproductive development in rice.

Promotion effect of epoxy group neighboring single-atom Cu site on acetylene hydrochlorination

Carbon materials have been used as the support for catalysts in the field of acetylene hydrochlorination,the influence of inevitable oxygen-containing moieties on the reaction is often ignored and the mechanism of the oxygen-doping structure remains ambiguous.Herein,we explored the effect of the oxygen-containing group(C-O-C)in the support on the activity of single-atom dispersed Cu catalysts.By immersing the Cu single-atom catalyst in an alkaline solution,the epoxy species on the carbon support was cleaved to obtain a pure ether species while the Cu site was modified to a more electron-deficient state.The turnover frequency value of Cu/O-FLP catalyst with epoxy groups was 1.6-fold higher than that of alkaline treated catalyst.Our result indicated that the epoxy groups could assist adjacent single-atom Cu sites to synergistically promote the adsorption and cleavage of the reactant hydrogen chloride toward form C-OH and Cu-Cl bonds,and reduce the reaction energy barrier.The presence of electron deficient Cu sites and ether species could induce competitive adsorption of the acetylene and hydrogen chloride,thereby reducing the activity of the catalyst.This study highlights the influence of surface oxygen species and the tunability of the support,providing the foundation for the fabrication of higher-activity Cu catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination.

Manipulating micro-electric field and coordination-saturated site configuration boosted activity and safety of frustrated single-atom Cu/O Lewis pair for acetylene hydrochlorination

Simultaneously boosting acetylene hydrochlorination activity and avoiding formation of explosive copper acetylide over Cu-based catalyst,which represented a promising alternative to Hg-based and noble metal catalysts,remained challenging.Herein,we fabricated a frustrated single-atom Cu/O Lewis pair catalyst(Cu/O-FLP)by coupling epoxide group(C-O-C)with atomdispersed Cu-cis-N_(2)C_(2)Cl center to address this challenge.The basic epoxy site modulated the electron-deficient state of Lewisacidic Cu center and paired with the Cu-cis-N_(2)C_(2)Cl moiety to preferentially break HCl into different electronegative Cu-Clδ-and C-O-H^(δ+)intermediates,which further induced both an extra localized electric field to polarize acetylene and a upshift of the dband center of catalyst,thereby promoting adsorption and enrichment of acetylene by enhancing the dipolar interaction between acetylene and active intermediates.Moreover,the generated Cu-Clδ-and C-O-H^(δ+)drastically reduced the energy barrier of ratelimiting step and made vinyl chloride easier to desorb from the Lewis-basic oxygen-atom site rather than traditional Lewis-acidic Cu center.These superiorities ensured a higher activity of Cu/O-FLP compared with its counterparts.Meanwhile,preferential dissociation of HCl endowed single-atom Cu with the coordination-saturated configuration,which impeded formation of explosive copper acetylide by avoiding the direct interaction between Cu and acetylene,ensuring the intrinsic safety during catalysis.

Roles of DEMETER in regulating DNA methylation in vegetative tissues and pathogen resistance

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mark important for genome stability and gene expression.In Arabidopsis thaliana,the 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylase/demethylase DEMETER(DME)controls active DNA demethylation during the reproductive stage;however,the lethality of loss-of-function dme mutations has made it difficult to assess DME function in vegetative tissues.Here,we edited DME using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 and created three weak dme mutants that produced a few viable seeds.We also performed central cell-specific complementation in a strong dme mutant and combined this line with mutations in the other three Arabidopsis demethylase genes to generate the dme ros1 dml2 dml3(drdd)quadruple mutant.A DNA methylome analysis showed that DME is required for DNA demethylation at hundreds of genomic regions in vegetative tissues.A transcriptome analysis of the drdd mutant revealed that DME and the other three demethylases are important for plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses in vegetative tissues.Despite the limited role of DME in regulating DNA methylation in vegetative tissues,the dme mutants showed increased susceptibility to bacterial and fungal pathogens.Our study highlights the important functions of DME in vegetative tissues and provides valuable genetic tools for future investigations of DNA demethylation in plants.

Preparation of carbon nitride nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation method with high yield and enhanced photocatalytic activity

As an emerging 2D conjugated material,graphitic carbon nitride(CN) has attracted great research attention as important catalytic medium for transforming solar energy.Nanostructure modulation of CN is an effective way to improve catalytic activities and has been extensively investigated,but remains challenging due to complex processes,time consuming or low yield.Here,taking advantage of recent discovered good solvents for CN,a nanoprecipitation approach using poor solvents is proposed for preparation of CN nanoparticles(CN NPs).With simple processes of CN dissolution and precipitation,we can quickly synthesize CN NPs(^40 nm) with a yield of up to 50%,the highest one to the best of our knowledge.As an example of potential applications,the as-prepared CN NPs were applied to photocatalytic degradation of dyes with an evident boosted performance up to 2.5 times.This work would open a new way for batch preparation of nanostructured CN and pave its large-scale industrial applications.