Development and identification of two novel wheat-rye 6R derivative lines with adult-plant resistance to powdery mildew and high-yielding potential

Powdery mildew,caused by Blumeria graminis f.sp.tritici(Bgt),is a devastating disease that seriously threatens wheat yield and quality.To control this disease,host resistance is the most effective measure.Compared with the resistance genes from common wheat,alien resistance genes can better withstand infection of this highly variable pathogen.Development of elite alien germplasm resources with powdery mildew resistance and other key breeding traits is an attractive strategy in wheat breeding.In this study,three wheat-rye germplasm lines YT4-1,YT4-2,and YT4-3 were developed through hybridization between octoploid triticale and common wheat,out of which the lines YT4-1 and YT4-2 conferred adult-plant resistance(APR)to powdery mildew while the line YT4-3 was susceptible to powdery mildew during all of its growth stages.Using genomic in situ hybridization,multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization,multi-color GISH,and molecular marker analysis,YT4-1,YT4-2,and YT4-3 were shown to be cytogenetically stable wheat-rye 6R addition and T1RS.1BL translocation line,6RL ditelosomic addition and T1RS.1BL translocation line,and T1RS.1BL translocation line,respectively.Compared with previously reported wheat-rye derivative lines carrying chromosome 6R,YT4-1 and YT4-2 showed stable APR without undesirable pleiotropic effects on agronomic traits.Therefore,these novel wheat-rye 6R derivative lines are expected to be promising bridge resources in wheat disease breeding.

Zincophilic Ti_(3)C_(2)Cl_(2)MXene and anti-corrosive Cu NPs for synergistically regulated deposition of dendrite-free Zn metal anode

Dendrites growth,chemical corrosion,and hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)on zinc anodes are the main barriers for the development of aqueous zinc-ion batteries(AZIBs).Constructing interfacial protec-tive layer is an effective way to alleviate the side reactions on the anodes.Herein,Cu/Ti_(3)C_(2)Cl_(2)MXene(CMX)with high zincophilic and hydrophobic property is prepared by the lewis molten salts etching method,and the CMX interface protection layer is constructed by a simple spin coating.The CMX coat-ing layer can provide abundant nucleation sites and uniformize the charge distribution through the zin-cophilic Ti_(3)C_(2)Cl_(2)MXene matrix,leading to homogenous Zn deposition.In addition,the hydrophobic coat-ing contained anti-corrosive Cu nanoparticles can prevent the Zn anode from the electrolyte,beneficial for suppressing the chemical corrosion and HER.Therefore,the stable and reversible Zn plating/stripping is achieved for the Zn anode coated by the CMX,which exhibits the lifespan of over 1400 h at 0.5 mA cm^(−2),and even can steadily run for 700 h with 65 mV at 10 mA cm^(−2).Furthermore,CMX@Zn shows a high coulombic efficiency of over 100%for 3800 cycles,which indicates that the CMX@Zn electrode has excellent stability and reversibility of Zn stripping/plating.The full batteries assembled with ZnCoMnO/C(ZCM)cathodes also exhibits higher capacity(450.6 mAh g^(−1)at 0.1 A g^(−1))and cycle stability(capacity retention of 70%after 1500 cycles).This work enhanced the lifespan of AZIBs and broaden the research of multifunctional coating layer to other secondary batteries based on metal anodes.

Oxygen vacancies enriched nickel cobalt based nanoflower cathodes: Mechanism and application of the enhanced energy storage

The rational design of oxygen vacancies and electronic microstructures of electrode materials for energy storage devices still remains a challenge. Herein, we synthesize nickel cobalt-based oxides nanoflower arrays assembled with nanowires grown on Ni foam via the hydrothermal process followed annealing process in air and argon atmospheres respectively. It is found that the annealing atmosphere has a vital influence on the oxygen vacancies and electronic microstructures of resulting NiCo_(2)O_(4) (NCO-Air) and CoNiO_(2) (NCO-Ar) products, which NCO-Ar has more oxygen vacancies and larger specific surface area of 163.48 m^(2)/g. The density functional theory calculation reveals that more oxygen vacancies can provide more electrons to adsorb –OH free anions resulting in superior electrochemical energy storage performance. Therefore, the assembled asymmetric supercapacitor of NCO-Ar//active carbon delivers an excellent energy density of 112.52 Wh/kg at a power density of 558.73 W/kg and the fabricated NCO-Ar//Zn battery presents the specific capacity of 180.20 mAh/g and energy density of 308.14 Wh/kg. The experimental measurement and theoretical calculation not only provide a facile strategy to construct flower-like mesoporous architectures with massive oxygen vacancies, but also demonstrate that NCO-Ar is an ideal electrode material for the next generation of energy storage devices.

The First Crested Duck Genome Reveals Clues to Genetic Compensation and Crest Cushion Formation

The Chinese crested(CC)duck is a unique indigenous waterfowl breed,which has a crest cushion that affects its survival rate.Therefore,the CC duck is an ideal model to investigate the genetic compensation response to maintain genetic stability.In the present study,we first generated a chromosome-level genome of CC ducks.Comparative genomics revealed that genes related to tissue repair,immune function,and tumors were under strong positive selection,indicating that these adaptive changes might enhance cancer resistance and immune response to maintain the genetic stability of CC ducks.We also assembled a Chinese spot-billed(Csp-b)duck genome,and detected the structural variations(SVs)in the genome assemblies of three ducks(i.e.,CC duck,Csp-b duck,and Peking duck).Functional analysis revealed that several SVs were related to the immune system of CC ducks,further strongly suggesting that genetic compensation in the anti-tumor and immune systems supports the survival of CC ducks.Moreover,we confirmed that the CC duck originated from the mallard ducks.Finally,we revealed the physiological and genetic basis of crest traits and identified a causative mutation in TAS2R40 that leads to crest formation.Overall,the findings of this study provide new insights into the role of genetic compensation in adaptive evolution.

Derivation of Non-Integration Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Fibroblast of Severe Deafness Patients with GJB2 Mutation

In all the connexin-associated human diseases, deafness is one of the most important diseases with high frequency. The mu- tations of GJB2 （gap junction protein β2, also called connexin 26, Cx26） gene link with nonsyndromic or syndromic senso- rineural hearing loss and were shown to account for a large proportion of congenital deaf cases in many studied populations （del Castillo and del Castillo, 2011）. For example, the 235de1C mutation in GJB2 shows the frequency of approximately 1% and is the most frequent mutation in East Asian population （Yan et al., 2003）. Many efforts have been put to study the function of Gjb2 gene in both mouse model and human. In mouse, extensive deletion of Gjb2 causes embryo lethal due to the decreased transplacental glucose uptake, which was not found in human （Takata and Hirano, 1997; Gabriel et al., 1998）. In human, GJB2 deficiency is not able to cause embryo lethal （D＇Andrea et al., 2002）. However, the study of GJB2-associated hearing loss is hampered by many difficulties, such as unobtainable human cochlea and acoustic nerve tissues, and therefore the GJB2-associated hearing loss are underlying mechanisms of still remaining unclear.

Durable pluripotency and haploidy in epiblast stem cells derived from haploid embryonic stem cells in vitro

Haploid pluripotent stem cells,such as haploid embryonic stem cells(haESCs),facilitate the genetic study of recessive traits.In vitro,fish haESCs maintain haploidy in both undifferentiated and differentiated states,but whether mammalian haESCs can preserve pluripotency in the haploid state has not been tested.Here,wereport thatmousehaESCs can differentiate in vitro into haploid epiblast stem cells(haEpiSCs),which maintain an intact haploid genome,unlimited self-renewal potential,and durable pluripotency to differentiate into various tissues in vitro and in vivo.Mechanistically,the maintenance of self-renewal potential depends on the Activin/bFGF pathway.We further show that haEpiSCs can differentiate in vitro into haploid progenitor-like cells.When injected into the cytoplasm of an oocyte,androgenetic haEpiSC(ahaEpiSCs)can support embryonic development until midgestation(E12.5).Together,these resultsdemonstrate durable pluripotency inmousehaESCs andhaEpiSCs,aswell asthe valuable potential of using these haploid pluripotent stem cells in high-throughput genetic screening.