The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor gene,OsbHLH38,plays a key role in controlling rice salt tolerance

The plant hormone abscisic acid(ABA)is crucial for plant seed germination and abiotic stress tolerance.However,the association between ABA sensitivity and plant abiotic stress tolerance remains largely unknown.In this study,436 rice accessions were assessed for their sensitivity to ABA during seed germination.The considerable diversity in ABA sensitivity among rice germplasm accessions was primarily reflected by the differentiation between the Xian(indica)and Geng(japonica)subspecies and between the upland-Geng and lowland-Geng ecotypes.The upland-Geng accessions were most sensitive to ABA.Genome-wide association analyses identified four major quantitative trait loci containing21 candidate genes associated with ABA sensitivity of which a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor gene,OsbHLH38,was the most important for ABA sensitivity.Comprehensive functional analyses using knockout and overexpression transgenic lines revealed that OsbHLH38 expression was responsive to multiple abiotic stresses.Overexpression of OsbHLH38 increased seedling salt tolerance,while knockout of OsbHLH38 increased sensitivity to salt stress.A salt-responsive transcription factor,OsDREB2A,interacted with OsbHLH38 and was directly regulated by OsbHLH38.Moreover,OsbHLH38 affected rice abiotic stress tolerance by mediating the expression of a large set of transporter genes of phytohormones,transcription factor genes,and many downstream genes with diverse functions,including photosynthesis,redox homeostasis,and abiotic stress responsiveness.These results demonstrated that OsbHLH38 is a key regulator in plant abiotic stress tolerance.

Characterization of the asymmetric evolving yield and flow of 6016-T4 aluminum alloy and DP490 steel

6016-T4 aluminum alloy and DP490 steel were systematically tested under 24 proportional loading paths,including uniaxial tensile tests with a 15°increment,uniaxial compressive and simple shear tests with a 45°increment,and biaxial tensile tests using cruciform specimens.Cruciform specimens in the rolling/transverse and 45°/135°sampling directions were tested with seven and four different stress ra-tios,respectively.The normal and diagonal planes plastic work contours and the yield stresses under uniaxial tension and compression were measured to investigate the anisotropic yield.Meanwhile,the normal and diagonal planes directions of plastic strain rate and the rα-values under uniaxial tension and compression were characterized to confirm the plastic flow.Several existing asymmetric yield crite-ria under the associated and non-associated flow rules were comprehensively evaluated to describe the asymmetric plastic anisotropy of 6016-T4 aluminum alloy and DP490 steel.The results suggest that in the investigated yield criteria,the non-associated models can predict the tension and compression asym-metry of materials more accurately than the associated models,and the function of stress triaxiality can more effectively describe the asymmetric yield behavior than the first stress invariant.In addition,the pure shear stress states are helpful in assessing the validity and applicability of advanced asymmetric yield stress functions,and the inspection of diagonal plane plastic work contours containing more pure shear stress states should prioritized over that of normal plane plastic work contours.The evaluation of plastic potential functions should not only consider the prediction accuracy of the normal plane di-rections of plastic strain rate,but also further check the diagonal plane directions of plastic strain rate.Expressing mechanical properties as a function of equivalent plastic strain to calibrate parameters of the yield criterion allows the continuous capture of anisotropic evolution of the asymmetric yield surface and the changes in the asymmetric plastic potential surface.

In maize,co-expression of GAT and GR79-EPSPS provides high glyphosate resistance,along with low glyphosate residues

Herbicide tolerance has been the dominant trait introduced during the global commercialization of genetically modified(GM)crops.Herbicide-tolerant crops,especially glyphosate-resistant crops,offer great advantages for weed management;however,despite these benefits,glyphosate-resistant maize(Zea mays L.)has not yet been commercially deployed in China.To develop a new bio-breeding resource for glyphosate-resistant maize,we introduced a codon-optimized glyphosate N-acetyltransferase gene,gat,and the enolpyruvyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthase gene,gr79-epsps,into the maize variety B104.We selected a genetically stable high glyphosate resistance(GR)transgenic event,designated GG2,from the transgenic maize population through screening with high doses of glyphosate.A molecular analysis demonstrated that single copy of gat and gr79-epsps were integrated into the maize genome,and these two genes were stably transcribed and translated.Field trials showed that the transgenic event GG2 could tolerate 9000 g acid equivalent(a.e.)glyphosate per ha with no effect on phenotype or yield.A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC–MS)analysis revealed that,shortly after glyphosate application,the glyphosate(PMG)and aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA)residues in GG2 leaves decreased by more than 90%compared to their levels in HGK60 transgenic plants,which only harbored the epsps gene.Additionally,PMG and its metabolic residues(AMPA and N-acetyl-PMG)were not detected in the silage or seeds of GG2,even when far more than the recommended agricultural dose of glyphosate was applied.The co-expression of gat and gr79-epsps,therefore,confers GG2 with high GR and a low risk of herbicide residue accumulation,making this germplasm a valuable GR event in herbicide-tolerant maize breeding.

Glass formation adjacent to the intermetallic compounds in Cu-Zr binary system

On the contrary to the common belief that glass formation is unfeasible near terminal intermetallic com- pound due to fast crystallization kinetics, here we present our findings that bulk metallic glasses are readily formed near intermetallic compounds, far away from the traditional region of glass forming near eutectics. While the intermetallic compounds themselves are not possible glass formers, bulk metallic glasses can be quenched compositionally neighboring the intermetallic compounds as close as 0.5 at.%. Taking binary Cu-Zr as a model system, the phenomenon of two optimum glass forming compositions sandwiching the corresponding intermetallic compounds （Cu51 Zr14, CU10Zr7, CuZr, CuZr2 and Cu8Zr3） is observed consistently. This new scenario of＂intermetallic glass＂ is verified by the thermodynamic princi- ple that the alloy liquids neighboring the intermetallic compounds possess lower Gibbs free energy than that of the compounds themselves. Furthermore, the sluggish crystallization behavior of these liquids provides an additional kinetic explanation.