Methane Emission from Rice Fields:Necessity for Molecular Approach for Mitigation

Anthropogenic methane emissions are a leading cause of the increase in global averagetemperatures,often referred to as global warming.Flooded soils play a significant role in methaneproduction,where the anaerobic conditions promote the production of methane by methanogenicmicroorganisms.Rice fields contribute a considerable portion of agricultural methane emissions,as riceplants provide both factors that enhance and limit methane production.Rice plants harbor both methaneproducingand methane-oxidizing microorganisms.Exudates from rice roots provide source for methaneproduction,while oxygen delivered from the root aerenchyma enhances methane oxidation.Studies haveshown that the diversity of these microorganisms depends on rice cultivars with some genes characterizedas harboring specific groups of microorganisms related to methane emissions.However,there is still aneed for research to determine the balance between methane production and oxidation,as rice plantspossess the ability to regulate net methane production.Various agronomical practices,such as fertilizerand water management,have been employed to mitigate methane emissions.Nevertheless,studiescorrelating agronomic and chemical management of methane with productivity are limited.Moreover,evidences for breeding low-methane-emitting rice varieties are scattered largely due to the absence ofcoordinated breeding programs.Research has indicated that phenotypic characteristics,such as rootbiomass,shoot architecture,and aerenchyma,are highly correlated with methane emissions.This reviewdiscusses available studies that involve the correlation between plant characteristics and methaneemissions.It emphasizes the necessity and importance of breeding low-methane-emitting rice varieties inaddition to existing agronomic,biological,and chemical practices.The review also delves into the idealphenotypic and physiological characteristics of low-methane-emitting rice and potential breeding techniques,drawing from studies conducted with diverse varieties,mutants,and transgenic plants.

UV light driven high-performance room temperature surface acoustic wave NH_(3) gas sensor using sulfur-doped g-C_(3)N_(4) quantum dots

Nanomaterials integrated surface acoustic wave(SAW)gas sensing technology has emerged as a promising candidate for realtime toxic gas sensing applications for environmental and human health safety.However,the development of novel chemical interface based on two-dimensional(2D)sensing materials for SAW sensors for the rapid and sensitive detection of NH_(3)gas at room temperature(RT)still remains challenging.Herein,we report a highly selective RT NH_(3)gas sensor based on sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots(S@g-C_(3)N_(4)QD)coated langasite(LGS)SAW sensor with enhanced sensitivity and recovery rate under ultraviolet(UV)illumination.Fascinatingly,the sensitivity of the S@g-C_(3)N_(4)QD/LGS SAW sensor to NH_(3)(500 ppb)at RT is dramatically enhanced by~4.5-fold with a low detection limit(~85 ppb),high selectivity,excellent reproducibility,fast response/recovery time(70 s/79 s)under UV activation(365 nm)as compared to dark condition.Additionally,the proposed sensor exhibited augmented NH_(3)detection capability across the broad range of relative humidity(20%–80%).Such remarkable gas sensing performances of the as-prepared sensor to NH_(3)are attributed to the high surface area,enhanced functional groups,sulfur defects,UV photogenerated charge carriers,facile charge transfer in the S@g-C_(3)N_(4)QD sensing layer,which further helps to improve the gas molecules adsorption that causes the increase in conductivity,resulting in larger frequency responses.The gas sensing mechanism of S@g-C_(3)N_(4)QD/LGS SAW sensor is ascribed to the enhanced electroacoustic effect,which is supported by the correlation of resistive type and COMSOL Multiphysics simulation studies.We envisage that the present work paves a promising strategy to develop the next generation 2D g-C_(3)N_(4)based high responsive RT SAW gas sensors.

Speed vernalization to accelerate generation advance in winter cereal crops

There are many challenges facing the development of high-yielding,nutritious crops for future environments.One limiting factor is generation time,which prolongs research and plant breeding timelines.Recent advances in speed breeding protocols have dramatically reduced generation time for many short-day and long-day species by optimizing lightand temperature conditions during plant growth.However,winter crops with a vernalization requirement stillrequire upto 6-10weeks in low-temperature conditions before thetransition to reproductivedevelopment.Here,we tested a suite of environmental conditions and protocols to investigate whether the vernalization process can be accelerated.We identified a vernalization method consisting of exposing seeds at the soil surface to an extended photoperiod of 22 h day:2 h night at 10°C with transfer to speed breeding conditions that dramatically reduces generation time in both winter wheat(Triticum aestivum)and winter barley(Hordeum vulgare).Implementation of the speedvernalization protocolfollowed byspeedbreedingallowed the completion ofuptofivegenerations per yearforwinter wheat or barley,whereas only two generations can be typically completed under standard vernalization and plant growth conditions.The speed vernalization protocol developed in this study has great potential to accelerate biological research and breeding outcomes for winter crops.