Multi-year throughfall reduction enhanced the growth and non-structural carbohydrate storage of roots at the expenses of above-ground growth in a warm-temperate natural oak forest

The more frequent occurrence and severer drought events resulting from climate change are increasingly affecting the physiological performance of trees and ecosystem carbon sequestration in many regions of the world.However,our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the responses and adaption of forest trees to prolonged and multi-year drought is still limited.To address this problem,we conducted a long-term manipulative throughfall reduction(TFR,reduction of natural throughfall by 50%–70%during growing seasons)experiment in a natural oriental white oak(Quercus aliena var.acuteserrata Maxim.)forest under warm-temperate climate.After seven years of continuous TFR treatment,the aboveground growth in Q.aliena var.acuteserrata started to decline.Compared with the control plots,trees in the TFR treatment significantly reduced growth increments of stems(14.2%)and leaf area index(6.8%).The rate of net photosynthesis appeared to be more susceptible to changes in soil water in trees subjected to the TFR than in the control.The TFR-treated trees allocated significantly more photosynthates to belowground,leading to enhanced growth and nonstructural carbohydrates(NSC)storage in roots.The 7-year continuous TFR treatment increased the biomass,the production and the NSC concentration in the fine roots by 53.6%,153.6%and 9.6%,respectively.There were clear trade-offs between the aboveground growth and the fine root biomass and NSC storage in Q.aliena var.acuteserrata trees in response to the multi-year TFR treatment.A negative correlation between the fine root NSC concentration and soil water suggested a strategy of preferential C storage over growth when soil water became deficient;the stored NSC during water limitation would then help promote root growth when drought stress is released.Our findings demonstrate the warm-temperate oak forest adopted a more conservative NSC use strategy in response to long-term drought stress,with enhanced root growth and NSC storage at the expenses of above-ground growth to mitigate climate changeinduced drought.

The State of the Art of Data Science and Engineering in Structural Health Monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a multi-discipline field that involves the automatic sensing of structural loads and response by means of a large number of sensors and instruments, followed by a diagnosis of the structural health based on the collected data. Because an SHM system implemented into a structure automatically senses, evaluates, and warns about structural conditions in real time, massive data are a significant feature of SHM. The techniques related to massive data are referred to as data science and engineering, and include acquisition techniques, transition techniques, management techniques, and processing and mining algorithms for massive data. This paper provides a brief review of the state of the art of data science and engineering in SHM as investigated by these authors, and covers the compressive sampling-based data-acquisition algorithm, the anomaly data diagnosis approach using a deep learning algorithm, crack identification approaches using computer vision techniques, and condition assessment approaches for bridges using machine learning algorithms. Future trends are discussed in the conclusion.

Divergent allocations of nonstructural carbohydrates shape growth response to rainfall reduction in two subtropical plantations

Nonstructural carbohydrates(NSC)are indicators of tree carbon balance and play an important role in regulating plant growth and survival.However,our understanding of the mechanism underlying drought-induced response of NSC reserves remains limited.Here,we conducted a long-term throughfall exclusion(TFE)experiment to investigate the seasonal responses of NSC reserves to manipulative drought in two contrasting tree species(a broadleaved tree Castanopsis hystrix Miq.and a coniferous tree Pinus massoniana Lamb.)of the subtropical China.We found that in the dry season,the two tree species differed in their responses of NSC reserves to TFE at either the whole-tree level or by organs,with significantly depleted total NSC reserves in roots in both species.Under the TFE treatment,there were significant increases in the NSC pools of leaves and branches in C.hystrix,which were accompanied by significant decreases in fine root biomass and radial growth without significant changes in canopy photosynthesis;while P.massoniana exhibited significant increase in fine root biomass without significant changes in radial growth.Our results suggested that under prolonged water limitation,NSC usage for growth in C.hystrix is somewhat impaired,such that the TFE treatment resulted in NSC accumulation in aboveground organs(leaf and branch);whereas P.massoniana is capable of efficiently utilizing NSC reserves to maintain its growth under drought conditions.Our findings revealed divergent NSC allocations under experimental drought between the two contrasting tree species,which are important for better understanding the differential impacts of climate change on varying forest trees and plantation types in subtropical China.

Extraction and Application Prospects of Artemisia leucophylla(Turcz. ex Bess.) C.B.Clarke

The main components of Artemisia leucophylla(Turcz.ex Bess.) C.B.Clarke extract are volatile oils,flavonoids,lignans,terpenoids,etc.Studies have shown that A.leucophylla has bactericidal,anti-inflammatory,anti-oxidant,anti-ultraviolet functions,and it has large development space and application value in many fields.This paper first introduced the growth resource distribution,active component extraction method,composition and efficacy of A.leucophylla,and analyzed the application prospects in daily necessities,in order to provide reference for the in-depth research,development and utilization of A.leucophylla.

Natural variation of GmFATA1B regulates seed oil content and composition in soybean

Soybean(Glycine max) produces seeds that are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and is an important oilseed crop worldwide. Seed oil content and composition largely determine the economic value of soybean. Due to natural genetic variation, seed oil content varies substantially across soybean cultivars. Although much progress has been made in elucidating the genetic trajectory underlying fatty acid metabolism and oil biosynthesis in plants, the causal genes for many quantitative trait loci(QTLs) regulating seed oil content in soybean remain to be revealed. In this study, we identified Gm FATA1B as the gene underlying a QTL that regulates seed oil content and composition, as well as seed size in soybean. Nine extra amino acids in the conserved region of Gm FATA1B impair its function as a fatty acyl–acyl carrier protein thioesterase, thereby affecting seed oil content and composition. Heterogeneously overexpressing the functional Gm FATA1B allele in Arabidopsis thaliana increased both the total oil content and the oleic acid and linoleic acid contents of seeds. Our findings uncover a previously unknown locus underlying variation in seed oil content in soybean and lay the foundation for improving seed oil content and composition in soybean.

Group-specific functional patterns of mitochondrion-related organelles shed light on their multiple transitions from mitochondria in ciliated protists

Adaptations of ciliates to hypoxic environments have arisen independently several times.Studies on mitochondrion-related organelle(MRO)metabolisms from distinct anaerobic ciliate groups provide evidence for understanding the transitions from mitochondria to MROs within eukaryotes.To deepen our knowledge about the evolutionary patterns of ciliate anaerobiosis,mass-culture and single-cell transcriptomes of two anaerobic species,Metopus laminarius(class Armophorea)and Plagiopyla cf.narasimhamurtii(class Plagiopylea),were sequenced and their MRO metabolic maps were compared.In addition,we carried out comparisons using publicly available predicted MRO proteomes from other ciliate classes(i.e.,Armophorea,Litostomatea,Muranotrichea,Oligohymenophorea,Parablepharismea and Plagiopylea).We found that single-cell transcriptomes were similarly comparable to their mass-culture counterparts in predicting MRO metabolic pathways of ciliates.The patterns of the components of the MRO metabolic pathways might be divergent among anaerobic ciliates,even among closely related species.Notably,our findings indicate the existence of group-specific functional relics of electron transport chains(ETCs).Detailed group-specific ETC functional patterns are as follows:full oxidative phosphorylation in Oligohymenophorea and Muranotrichea;only electron-transfer machinery in Armophorea;either of these functional types in Parablepharismea;and ETC functional absence in Litostomatea and Plagiopylea.These findings suggest that adaptation of ciliates to anaerobic conditions is group-specific and has occurred multiple times.Our results also show the potential and the limitations of detecting ciliate MRO proteins using single-cell transcriptomes and improve the understanding of the multiple transitions from mitochondria to MROs within ciliates.