Hydrothermal exfoliated molybdenum disulfide nanosheets as anode material for lithium ion batteries

Ultrathin MoS2 nanosheets were prepared in high yield using a facile and effective hydrothermal intercalation and exfoliation route. The products were characterized in detail using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the high yield of MoS2 nanosheets with good quality was successfully achieved and the dimensions of the immense nanosheets reached 1 μm-2/zm. As anode material for Li-ion batteries, the as-prepared MoS2 nanosheets electrodes exhibited a good initial capacity of 1190 mAh.g-l and excellent cyclic stability at constant current density of 50 mA.g-1. After 50 cycles, it still delivered reversibly sustained high capacities of 750 mAh.g-1.

Soil restoration research advances of artificial sand-binding vegetation ecosystem in the Tengger Desert, Northern China

Soil plays an important role in desert ecosystem, and is vital in constructing a steady desert ecosystem. The management and restoration of desertified land have been the focus of much discussion. The soil in Shapotou desert region has developed remarkably since artificial sand-binding vegetation established in 1946. The longer the period of dune stabilization, the greater the thickness of microbiotic crusts and subsoil. Meanwhile, proportion of silt and clay increased significantly, and soil bulk density declinced. The content of soil organic matter, N, P, and K similarly increased. Therefore, soil has developed from aeolian sand soil to Calcic-Orthic aridisols. This paper discusses the effects brought about by dust, microbiotic soil crust and soil microbes on soil-forming process. Then, we analyzed the relation between soil formation and sand-binding vegetation evolution, in order to provide a baseline for both research on desert ecosystem recovery and ecological environment governance in arid and semi-arid areas.

Pomegranate-like porous NiCo_(2)Se_(4) spheres with N-doped carbon as advanced anode materials for Li/Na-ion batteries

Design and preparation of dual-role anode materials with extraordinary performance for rechargeable Li/Na-ion batteries (LIBs/NIBs) remains highly challenging.Herein,three-dimensional (3D) pomegranate-like porous bimetallic NiCo_(2)Se_(4) spheres with N-doped carbon (termed as NC@NiCo_(2)Se_(4)) are synthesized by solvothermal method and annealing.Microstructure investigations reveal that the NC@NiCo_(2)Se_(4) spheres include nano-sized NiCo_(2)Se_(4) particles as inner core and NiCo_(2)Se_(4) with the modification of thin-walled N-doped carbon layer as inner/outer shell.The bimetallic NC@NiCo_(2)Se_(4) spheres possess synergistic interaction of Ni/Co atoms to enhance intrinsic conductivity and electrochemical activity,unique pomegranate-like structure with an inner void space and robust shell to mitigation volume expansion,and intimate contact of N-doped carbon layer to improve interface effect and accelerate conversion kinetics.As anode materials,the NC@NiCo_(2)Se_(4) exhibits superior lithium/sodium storage performances (1401.6 and 794.8 mA h g^(-1)at current density of 0.5 and 5 A g^(-1)after 500 cycles for LIBs as well as 433.9 mA h g^(-1)at 3 A g^(-1)after 1000 cycles and a high capability of 306.6 mA h g^(-1)at 20 A g^(-1)for NIBs).This work represents an impressive strategy for future research of bimetallic selenides as anode materials for advanced high-performance LIBs/NIBs.

Efficient Chemical Prelithiation with Modificatory Li^(+) Solvation Structure Enabling Spatially Homogeneous SEI toward High Performance SiO_(x) Anode

Chemical prelithiation is widely proven to be an effective strategy to address the low initial coulombic efficiency(ICE)of promising SiO_(x) anode.Though the reagent composition has been widely explored,the Li^(+) solvation structure,which practically plays the cornerstone role in the prelithiation ability,rate,uniformility,has rarely been explored.A novel environmentally-friendly reagent with weak solvent cyclopentyl methyl ether(CPME)is proposed that enables both improved ICE and spatial homogeneous solid electrolyte interphase(SEl).And the prelithiation behavior and mechanism were explored focused on the Li^(+) solvation structure.Both theoretical investigation and spectroscopic results suggest that weak solvent feature of CPME reduces the solvent coordination number and decreases the Li^(+) desolvation energy.

光信号与激素调控种子休眠和萌发研究进展

休眠是种子植物在长期进化过程中产生的适应性性状,通过抑制种子在不适宜的环境中萌发进而保证植物能够在逆境中生存。此外,休眠有助于种子的长距离运输和扩散,因此休眠对种子延续和物种保存具有重要意义。种子由休眠向萌发的发育转变不仅关系到物种的繁衍,而且对保证农业生产中作物的产量和品质也具有重要作用。种子的休眠和萌发受到内源激素和外源光信号的共同调控。其中,外源光信号主要通过调控内源ABA和GA的生物合成及信号转导进而调控种子休眠和萌发。该文系统综述了外源光信号和内源激素调控种子休眠和萌发的作用通路以及两类信号通路之间的交互作用,旨在为农业生产中利用光和激素调控种子休眠与萌发提供参考。

植物转录因子与DNA互作研究技术

转录通过调控下游基因的时空特异性表达影响植物生长发育。在转录调控机制的解析过程中,转录因子与DNA的相互作用是关键的一环。近年来,研究者利用酵母单杂交(Y1H)和凝胶阻滞迁移率实验(EMSA)检测转录因子能否直接结合DNA;而瞬时表达技术则是一种检测转录因子对下游基因调控作用的便捷方式。该文对Y1H、EMSA和瞬时表达技术的原理、实验方法和相关注意事项进行详细阐述,以期为转录因子与DNA的互作研究提供参考方法。

The role of light in regulating seed dormancy and germination^FA

Seed dormancy is an adaptive trait in plants. Breaking seed dormancy determines the timing of ger-mination and is, thereby essential for ensuring plant sur-vival and agricultural production. Seed dormancy and the subsequent germination are controlled by both internal cues (mainly hormones) and environmental signals. In the past few years, the roles of plant hormones in regulating seed dormancy and germination have been uncovered. However, we are only beginning to understand how light signaling pathways modulate seed dormancy and inter-action with endogenous hormones. In this review, we summarize current views of the molecular mechanisms by which light controls the induction, maintenance and re-lease of seed dormancy, as well as seed germination, by regulating hormone metabolism and signaling pathways.

PIF1 and RVE1 form a transcriptional feedback loop to control light-mediated seed germination in Arabidopsis^FA

The phytochrome B (phyB) photoreceptor plays a major role that inputs light signals to regulate seed dormancy and germination. PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR1 (PIF1) is a key transcription factor repressing phyB-mediated seed germination, while REVEILLE1 (RVE1) factor functions as a curial regulator in controlling both seed dormancy and ger-mination. However, the relationship between the PIF1-and RVE1-modulated signaling pathways remains mostly unknown. Here, we find that PIF1 physically interacts with RVE1. Genetic analysis indicates that RVE1 inhibition on seed germination requires PIF1;re-ciprocally, the repressive effect of PIF1 is partially de-pendent on RVE1. Strikingly, PIF1 and RVE1 directly bind to the promoter and activate the expression of each other. Furthermore, PIF1 and RVE1 coordinately regulate the transcription of many downstream genes involved in abscisic acid and gibberellin pathways. Moreover, PIF1 enhances the DNA-binding ability and transcriptional repression activity of RVE1 in regulating GIBBERELLIN 3-OXIDASE2, and RVE1 promotes PIF1's DNA-binding ability in modulating ABSCISIC ACID-INSENSITIVE3 expression. Thus, this study demon-strates that PIF1 and RVE1 form a transcriptional feedback loop that coordinately inhibits seed germi-nation, providing a mechanistic understanding of how phyB-mediated light signal is transduced to the seeds.

Plant synthetic epigenomic engineering for crop improvement

Efforts have been directed to redesign crops with increased yield,stress adaptability,and nutritional value through synthetic biology—the application of engineering principles to biology.A recent expansion in our understanding of how epigenetic mechanisms regulate plant development and stress responses has unveiled a new set of resources that can be harnessed to develop improved crops,thus heralding the promise of“synthetic epigenetics.”In this review,we summarize the latest advances in epigenetic regulation and highlight how innovative sequencing techniques,epigenetic editing,and deep learning-driven predictive tools can rapidly extend these insights.We also proposed the future directions of synthetic epigenetics for the development of engineered smart crops that can actively monitor and respond to internal and external cues throughout their life cycles.

SMOC:a smart model for open chromatin region prediction in rice genomes

In eukaryotic genomes, the fundamental unit of chromatin is the nucleosome, which is composed of a histone octamer that contains two copies of each histone, H3, H2A, H2B, and H4 (Bell et al., 2011).Chromatin is wrapped in the nucleus in a highly helical state to play an essential role in gene regulation (Li et al., 2007).

Genome-edited ATP BINDING CASSETTE B1 transporter SD8 knockouts show optimized rice architecture without yield penalty

Dear editor,In the 1960s,the use of semi-dwarf rice and wheat varieties ushered in the‘‘Green Revolution,’’leading to reduced lodging and increased harvest index.In rice,essentially all modern semidwarf varieties carry a specific null mutation or weak alleles of Semi-Dwarf1(SD1),which encodes a GA20-2 oxidase in the gibberellin biosynthetic pathway(Monna et al.,2002;Sasaki et al.,2002;Spielmeyer et al.,2002).In addition to gibberellins,other plant hormones such as brassinosteroids,strigolactones,and auxin also function in reducing rice height(Ferrero-Serrano et al.,2019).However,many dwarf or semi-dwarf mutants have not been widely used in rice-breeding programs because they adversely impact grain yield(Ferrero-Serrano et al.,2019).

The Evening Complex and the Chromatin-Remodeling Factor PICKLE Coordinately Control Seed Dormancy by Directly Repressing DOG1 in Arabidopsis

Primary seed dormancy is acquired during seed development and maturation,which is important for plant fitness and survival.DELAY OF GERMINATION1(DOG1)plays a critical role in inducing seed dormancy.DOG1 expression increases rapidly during seed development,but the precise mechanism underlying this process remains elusive.In this study,we showed that mutants with a loss or reduced function of the chromatin-remodeling factor PICKLE(PKL)exhibit increased seed dormancy.PKL associates with DOG1 chromatin and inhibits its transcription.We found that PKL physically interacts with LUX ARRHYTHMO(LUX),a member of the evening complex(EC)of the circadian clock.Furthermore,LUX directly binds to a specific coding sequence of DOG1,and DOG1 acts genetically downstream of PKL and LUX.Mutations in either LUX or EARLY FLOWERING3(ELF3)encoding another member of the EC led to increased DOG1 expression and enhanced seed dormancy.Surprisingly,these phenotypes were abolished when the parent plants were grown under continuous light.In addition,we observed that loss of function of either PKL or LUX decreased H3K27me3 levels at the DOG1 locus.Taken together,our study reveals a regulatory mechanism in which EC proteins coordinate with PKL to transmit circadian signals for directly regulating DOG1 expression and seed dormancy during seed development.

PRMT6 physically associates with nuclear factor Y to regulate photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis

The timing of floral transition is critical for reproductive success in flowering plants.In long-day(LD)plant Arabidopsis,the floral regulator gene FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)is a major component of the mobile florigen.FT expression is rhythmically activated by CONSTANS(CO),and specifically accumu-lated at dusk of LDs.However;the underlying mechanism of adequate regulation of FT transcription in response to day-length cues to warrant flowering time still remains to be investigated.Here,we identify a homolog of human protein arginine methyltransferases 6(HsPRMT6)in Arabidopsis,and confirm AtPRMT6 physically interacts with three positive regulators of flowering Nuclear Factors YC3(NF-YC3),NF-YC9,and NF-YB3.Further investigations find that AtPRMT6 and its encoding protein accumulate at dusk of LDs.PRMT6-mediated H3 R2me2a modification enhances the promotion of NF-YCs on FT transcription in response to inductive LD signals.Moreover,AtPRMT6 and its homologues proteins AtPRMT4a and AtPRMT4b coordinately inhibit the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS C,a suppressor of FT.Taken together,our study reveals the role of arginine methylation in photoperiodic pathway and how the PRMT6-mediating H3R2me2a system interacts with NF-CO module to dynamically control FT expression and facilitate flowering time.

Helical Poly(α,β-unsaturated ketone)with Bulky Pendant of Binaphthyl from Anionic Polymerization of(−)-Menthyl(S)-6'-Acrylyl-2'-methyloxy-1,1'-binaphthalene-2-carboxylate

(−)-Menthyl(S)-6'-acrylyl-2'-methyloxy-1,1'-binaphthalene-2-carboxylate(3)was synthesized and anionically polymerized using n-BuLi as an initiator in toluene.The monomer 3 was levorotatory and had an[α]_(D)^(25)value of−72.4,but its corresponding polymer poly-3 was dextrorotatory and showed an[α]_(D)^(25)value of+162.0.Poly-3 was confirmed to exist in the form of one-handed helical structure in solution by means of comparing the specific optical rotation and the CD spectra with that of 3 and the model compounds such as(−)-menthyl(S)-6'-propionyl-2'-methyloxy-1,1'-binaphthalene-2-carboxylate 2b and(−)-menthyl(S)-6'-heptanoyl-2'-methyloxy-1,1'-binaphthalene-2-carboxylate 2c.This conclusion was also confirmed by the fact that the g-value of poly-3 is about 11 times of that of monomer 3.

Optically Active Helical Poly[(S)-3-vinyl-2,2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl]:New Ligand for Asymmetric Addition of Diethylzinc to Aryl Aldehyde

Poly[(S)-3-vinyl-2,2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl](L*)was obtained by taking off the protecting groups of poly[(S)-3-vinyl-2,2'-bis(methoxymethoxy)-1,1'-binaphthyl](poly-1).L*was proved to keep a stable helical con-formation in solution.The application of helical L*in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes has been studied.The catalytic system employing 10 mol%of L*and 150 mol%of Ti(OiPr)_(4) was found to promote the addi-tion of diethylzinc to a wide range of aromatic aldehydes,giving up to 99%enantiomeric excess(ee)and up to 93%yield of the corresponding secondary alcohol at 0℃.The chiral polymer can be easily recovered and reused with-out loss of catalytic activity as well as enantioselectivity.

Correction to:PRMT6 physically associates with nuclear factor Y to regulate photoperiodic flowering in Arabidopsis

In this artice Figs.2 and 3 were wrongly numbered;Fig.2 should have been Fig.3 and vice versa as shown below.Moreover,the Fig.3 indications have been revised as shown:the sentence"Next,two transfer DNA(T-DNA)insertion single-mutant prmt6-1(Sail 385_A06)and prmt6-2(Salk 151679C)(Figs.2A;S3)..'has been revised as“Next,two transfer DNA(T-DNA)inser-tion single-mutant prmt6-1(Sail 385_A06)and prmt6-2(Salk 151679C)(Figs.3A;S3..".