A Golden2-like transcription factor, BnGLK1a, improves chloroplast development, photosynthesis, and seed weight in rapeseed

Enhancing photosynthetic efficiency is a major goal for improving crop yields under agricultural field conditions and is associated with chloroplast biosynthesis and development.In this study,we demonstrate that Golden2-like 1a(BnGLK1a)plays an important role in regulating chloroplast development and photosynthetic efficiency.Overexpressing BnGLK1a resulted in significant increases in chlorophyll content,the number of thylakoid membrane layers and photosynthetic efficiency in Brassica napus,while knocking down BnGLK1a transcript levels through RNA interference(RNAi)had the opposite effects.A yeast two-hybrid screen revealed that BnGLK1a interacts with the abscisic acid receptor PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE 1-LIKE 1-2(BnPYL1-2)and CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 9 SIGNALOSOME 5A subunit(BnCSN5A),which play essential roles in regulating chloroplast development and photosynthesis.Consistent with this,BnGLK1a-RNAi lines of B.napus display hypersensitivity to the abscisic acid(ABA)response.Importantly,overexpression of BnGLK1a resulted in a 10%increase in thousand-seed weight,whereas seeds from BnGLK1a-RNAi lines were 16%lighter than wild type.We propose that BnGLK1a could be a potential target in breeding for improving rapeseed productivity.Our results not only provide insights into the mechanisms of BnGLK1a function,but also offer a potential approach for improving the productivity of Brassica species.

In-situ coupling construction of interface bridge to enhance electrochemical stability of all solid-state lithium metal batteries

Polymer-based composite electrolytes composed of three-dimensional Li_(6.4)La_(3)Zr_(2)Al_(0.2)O_(12)(3D-LLZAO)have attracted increasing attention due to their continuous ion conduction and satisfactory mechanical properties.However,the organic/inorganic interface is incompatible,resulting in slow lithium-ion transport at the interface.Therefore,the compatibility of organic/inorganic interface is an urgent problem to be solved.Inspired by the concept of“gecko eaves”,polymer-based composite solid electrolytes with dense interface structures were designed.The bridging of organic/inorganic interfaces was established by introducing silane coupling agent(3-chloropropyl)trimethoxysilane(CTMS)into the PEO-3D-LLZAO(PL)electrolyte.The in-situ coupling reaction improves the interface affinity,strengthens the organic/inorganic interaction,reduces the interface resistance,and thus achieves an efficient interface ion transport network.The prepared PEO-3D-LLZAO-CTMS(PLC)electrolyte exhibits enhanced ionic conductivity of 6.04×10^(-4)S cm^(-1)and high ion migration number(0.61)at 60℃and broadens the electrochemical window(5.1 V).At the same time,the PLC electrolyte has good thermal stability and high mechanical properties.Moreover,the Li Fe PO_(4)|PLC|Li battery has excellent rate performance and cycling stability with a capacity decay rate of 2.2%after 100 cycles at 60℃and 0.1 C.These advantages of PLC membranes indicate that this design approach is indeed practical,and the in-situ coupling method provides a new approach to address interface compatibility issues.

BnbHLH92a negatively regulates anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis in Brassica napus

Yellow seed trait is a desirable characteristic with potential for increasing seed quality and commercial value in rapeseed,and anthocyanin and proanthocyanidins(PAs)are major seed-coat pigments.Few transcription factors involved in the regulation of anthocyanin and PAs biosynthesis have been characterized in rapeseed.In this study,we identified a transcription factor gene BnbHLH92a(BnaA06T0441000ZS)in rapeseed.Overexpressing BnbHLH92a both in Arabidopsis and in rapeseed reduced levels of anthocyanin and PAs.Correspondingly,the expression profiles of anthocyanin and PA biosynthesis genes(TT3,BAN,TT8,TT18,and TTG1)were shown by quantitative real-time PCR to be inhibited in BnbHLH92a-overexpressing Arabidopsis seeds,indicating that BnbHLH92a represses the anthocyanin and PA biosynthesis pathway in Arabidopsis.BnbHLH92a physically interacts with the BnTTG1 protein and represses the biosynthesis of anthocyanins and PAs in rapeseed.BnbHLH92a also binds directly to the BnTT18 promoter and represses its expression.These results suggest that BnbHLH92a is a novel upstream regulator of flavonoid biosynthesis in B.napus.

Fusing T5 exonuclease with Cas9 and Cas12a increases the frequency and size of deletion at target sites

CRISPR/Cas systems, especially CRISPR/Cas9, generally result in small insertions/deletions, which are unlikely to eliminate the functions of regulatory and other non-coding sequences. To generate larger genomic deletions usually requires the use of pairs of guide RNAs. Here we show that it is possible to create such deletions with a single guide RNA by fusing Cas9 or Cas12a with T5 exonuclease(T5exo). These fusion constructs were found to increase both the frequency and size of deletions at target loci in rice protoplasts and seedlings. Moreover, the genome editing efficiencies of Cas9 and Cas12a were also enhanced by fusion with T5 exonuclease. These T5exo-Cas fusions expand the CRISPR toolbox, and facilitate knockout of regulatory and non-coding DNA sequences. From a wider standpoint, our results suggest a general strategy for producing larger deletions using other Cas nucleases.

Effect of Cl doping amount on the microstructure,photovoltaic properties and ferroelectric properties of Bi-based lead-free perovskite

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites with 3D perovskite structure have gained much attention as light harvesting materials in thinfilm photovoltaics.This is because of their outstanding light-absorption characteristics,charge-transport dynamics and their simple processability using lab-scale solution and vapor phase deposition techniques.However,the inherent instability and lead toxicity of lead-based PSCs are the major problems at present.Recent studies have shown that the(CH_(3)NH_(3)T_(3)Bi_(2)I_(9)(MBI)0D bismuth-based compound can be used as an optical absorption layer in solar cells.In this paper,the(CH_(3)NH_(3)T_(3)Bi_(2)I_(9)was doped with Cl
and a series of(CH_(3)NH_(3)T_(3)Bi_(2)I_(9-x)Cl_(x)films were prepared.The effects of different doping amounts on the microstructure,photovoltaic properties and ferroelectric properties were systematically investigated.Scanning electron microscope(SEM)and Atomic force microscope(AFM)analysis showed that with the increase of doping content,the density of the films increased and the roughness decreased.The photoelectric conversion efficiency of(CH_(3)NH_(3)T_(3)Bi_(2)I_(9-x)Cl_(x)raises with the increase of doping content.For example,the photoelectric conversion efficiency of(C_(H)3NH_(3)T_(3)Bi_(2)I_(3)Cl_(6)is 0.473%.We find that the leakage current descends into the increase in doping content,which may be due to the increase in the film density and the decrease of porosity.These research results have a positive effect on the development of Bi-based lead-free perovskite.