Effects of Different Application Rates of Bioorganic Fertilizer on the Growth of Spinach in a Short Term

[Objectives]This study was conducted to promote the rational use of bioorganic fertilizers.[Methods]Stanley bioorganic fertilizer was selected to investigate the laws and characteristics of the effects of bioorganic fertilizer on spinach growth with different application rates in a short term and found out the precise application rate.[Results]As the application rate of bioorganic fertilizer increasing,the emergence rate of spinach decreased.The total weights and leaf areas of spinach plants treated with different application rates of bioorganic fertilizers were all higher than those of the control check(CK).The total weights and leaf areas of spinach plants applied with bioorganic fertilizer at different rates were all higher than those of the CK.The total weight of spinach plants increased linearly with the application rate of bioorganic fertilizer increasing among treatments,while the leaf area fluctuated with the increase of bioorganic fertilizer concentration among various treatments.The average root volumes and average diameters of treatments applied with bioorganic fertilizer at different rates were all higher than those in the CK,but the average root length showed a different trend.The average root length was higher in the CK than in various bioorganic fertilizer treatments in the early growth period,but the differences of various treatments from the CK gradually decreased in the middle period,and in the later period,the root length of spinach treated with organic fertilizer gradually exceeded the CK.[Conclusions]This study provides a theoretical basis for the rational application of bioorganic fertilizers in spinach production.

Construction of Arabidopsis thaliana ugt84a2/ugt84a4 Double Mutants Mediated by CRISPR/Cas9

[Objectives]The CRISPR/Cas9(Clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat/Cas9)gene editing technology is the third generation of"genome fixed-point editing technology"following the"zinc finger endonuclease(ZFN)"and"transcription activator effector nuclease(TALEN)".Glucotransferase genes UGT84A2 and UGT84A4,can simultaneously convert hydroxycinnamate into 1-O-β-glucose esters as isozymes.The CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to construct double mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana ugt84a2/ugt84a4.[Methods]A CRISPR/Cas9 double mutant expression vector was constructed using UGT84A2 and UGT84A4 as the target genes.The Agrobacterium-mediated dip dyeing method was used to transform wild-type A.thaliana,and the CRISPR/Cas9system was used to target and knock out A.thaliana UGT84A2 and UGT84A4 genes.[Results]The descendants of A.thaliana with the UGT84A2/UGT84A4 gene were sequenced and analyzed.Thirteen positively transformed plants obtained were analyzed according to the sequencing results,and the ugt84a2/ugt84a4 double mutants were screened.[Conclusions]This study provides a reference for the functional study of UGT84A2 and UGT84A4 isoenzyme genes in other species,as well as strong theoretical and method support for accelerating the development and utilization of UGT84A2/UGT84A4 functional gene resources.

Transfer-free chemical vapor deposition graphene for nitride epitaxy: challenges, current status and future outlook

Graphene, a two-dimensional material with outstanding electrical and mechanical properties, has attracted considerable attention in the field of semiconductor technologies due to its potential use as a buffer layer for the epitaxial Ⅲ-nitride growth. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the chemical vapor deposition growth of graphene on various insulating substrates for the nitride epitaxy, which offers a facile, inexpensive, and easily scalable methodology. However, certain challenges are still present in the form of producing high-quality graphene and achieving optimal interface compatibility with Ⅲ-nitride materials.In this review, we provide an overview of the bottlenecks associated with the transferred graphene fabrication techniques and the state-of-the-art techniques for the transfer-free graphene growth. The present contribution highlights the current progress in the transfer-free graphene growth on different insulating substrates, including sapphire, quartz, SiO_(2)/Si, and discusses the potential applications of transfer-free graphene in the Ⅲ-nitride epitaxy. Finally, it includes the prospects of the transfer-free graphene growth for the Ⅲ-nitride epitaxy and the challenges that should be overcome to realize its full potential in this field.

New-type highly stable 2D/3D perovskite materials:the effect of introducing ammonium cation on performance of perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cells(PSCs) have drawn wide attention due to the rapidly rising efficiency which presently attains over 23%. However, problems of instability continue to plague the high-efficiency devices impairing their practical applications. Here, by firstly introducing smaller-size NH4+ into(FAPbI3)0.85(MAPbBr3)0.15(FA/MA) to form a novel 2D-3D mixed structure, we designed and prepared new-type hybrid perovskite materials of [(NH4)2.4(FA)n-1PbnI3n+1.4]0.85(MAPbBr3)0.15(n=3, 5, 7, 9 and 11)(A/FA/MA) and used them as absorber in solar cells. Especially, unlike the reported 2D/MD perovskite perovskites based on larger-size ammonium salts;A/FA/MA perovskites are the first to display red-shift light absorption and decreased band gaps in comparison to normal perovskites. Consequently, when n=9, the A/FA/MA device shows outstanding performance with a solar to electric power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 18.25% and negligible hysteresis. When the encapsulated A/FA/MA perovskite device was soaked in full sunlight for 1,000 h, the PCE remains almost unchanged. Moreover, the unsealed A/FA/MA PSCs maintain 90% of their initial PCE when aged at high humidity conditions over the same 1000-h time period. Our findings provide a guide for the future development of such novel perovskites and it is helpful to select more suitable ammonium salt to obtain highly efficient and stable 2D-3D PSCs.

Structural insights into substrate recognition by the type Ⅶ secretion system

Type VII secretion systems(T7SSs)are found in many disease related bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb).ESX-1[early secreted antigen 6 kilodaltons(ESAT-6)system 1]is one of the five subtypes(ESX-1?5)of T7SSs in Mfb,where it delivers virulence factors into host macrophages during infection.However,little is known about the molecular details as to how this occurs.Here,we provide high-resolution crystal structures of the C-terminal ATPase3 domains of EccC subunits from four different Mtb T7SS subtypes.These structures adopt a classic RecA-like a/p fold with a conserved Mg-ATP binding site.The structure of EccCbl in complex with the C-terminal peptide of EsxB identifies the location of substrate recognition site and shows how the specific signaling module XxxxMxF"for Mtb ESX-1 binds to this site resulting in a translation of the bulge loop.A comparison of all the ATPase3 structures shows there are significant differences in the shape and composition of the signal recognition pockets across the family,suggesting that distinct signaling sequences of substrates are required to be specifically recognized by different T7SSs.A hexameric model of the EccC-ATPase3 is proposed and shows the recognition pocket is located near the central substrate translocation channel.The diameter of the channel is?25-A,with a size that would allow helix-bundle shaped substrate proteins to bind and pass through.Thus,our work provides new molecular insights into substrate recognition for Mtb T7SS subtypes and also a possible transportation mechanism for substrate and/or virulence factor secretion.

CuS nanoplatelets arrays grown on graphene nanosheets as advanced electrode materials for supercapacitor applications

CuS nanoplatelets arrays grown on graphene nanosheets are successfully synthesized via a facile lowtemperature solvothermal reaction with graphene oxide（GO）, CH;CSNH;and Cu（CH;COO）;·H;O as the reactants. CH;CSNH;plays an important role in being the reducing agent for GO and the sulfur source of CuS. Supercapacitive performance of the graphene/CuS nanocomposite as active electrode materials has been evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements. The results indicate that graphene/CuS electrode delivers a high capacitance of 497.8 F g;at a current density of 0.2 A g;, which outperforms bare CuS electrode. This excellent performance is ascribed to the short diffusion path and large surface area of the unique hierarchical nanostructure with nanoflakes building blocks for bulk accessibility of faradaic reaction.