Characterization of the 19 Novel Cotton FLA Genes and Their Expression Profiling in Fiber Development and in Response to Phytohormones and Salt Stress

Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins(FLAs),a subclass of arabinogalactan proteins(AGPs),are usually involved in cell development in plants.To investigate the expression profiling as well

Coalition Emergency Response System, City Security and City Sustainable Development

The relations among the establishment of Coalition Emergency Response System （CERS）, city security and city sustainable development are analyzed in the article. According to the relation analysis, it is concluded that cities should build up their CERS to deal with the thread of damage in China. The recommendations about the establishment of the system are also provided.

The Symbiotic Relationship Unraveling the Interplay between Technology and Artificial Intelligence(An Intelligent Dynamic Relationship)

This article investigates the dynamic relationship between technology and AI(artificial intelligence)and the role that societal requirements play in pushing AI research and adoption.Technology has advanced dramatically throughout the years,providing the groundwork for the rise of AI.AI systems have achieved incredible feats in various disciplines thanks to advancements in computer power,data availability,and complex algorithms.On the other hand,society’s needs for efficiency,enhanced healthcare,environmental sustainability,and personalized experiences have worked as powerful accelerators for AI’s progress.This article digs into how technology empowers AI and how societal needs dictate its progress,emphasizing their symbiotic relationship.The findings underline the significance of responsible AI research,which considers both technological prowess and ethical issues,to ensure that AI continues to serve the greater good.

Root developmental responses to phosphorus nutrition

Phosphorus is an essential macronutrient for plant growth and development. Root system architecture(RSA) affects a plant's ability to obtain phosphate, the major form of phosphorus that plants uptake. In this review, I first consider the relationship between RSA and plant phosphorusacquisition efficiency, describe how external phosphorus conditions both induce and impose changes in the RSA of major crops and of the model plant Arabidopsis, and discuss whether shoot phosphorus status affects RSA and whether there is a universal root developmental response across all plant species. I then summarize the current understanding of the molecular mechanisms governing root developmental responses to phosphorus deficiency. I also explore the possible reasons for the inconsistent results reported by different research groups and comment on the relevance of some studies performed under laboratory conditions to what occurs in natural environments.

Phosphatidic acid plays key roles regulating plant development and stress responses

Phospholipids, including phosphatidic acid （PA）, phosphatidylcholine （PC）, phosphatidylethanolamine （PE）, phosphatidylglycerol （PC）, phosphatidylserine （PS） and phosphoinositides, have emerged as an important class of cellular messenger molecules in various cellular and physiological processes, of which PA attracts much attention of researchers. In addition to its effect on stimulating vesicle trafficking, many studies have demonstrated that PA plays a crucial role in various signaling pathways by binding target proteins and regulating their activity and subcellular localization. Here, we summarize the functional mechanisms and target proteins underlying PA-mediated regulation of cellular signaling, development, hormonal responses, and stress responses in plants.

Understanding Plant Development and Stress Responses through Integrative Approaches

As the name reflects, integrative plant biology is the core topic of JIPB. In the past few years JIPB has been pursuing the development of this area, to assist the scientific community to bring together all possible research tools to understand plant growth, development and stress responses in micro- and macro-scales. As part of these efforts, JIPB and Yantai University organized the 1st International Symposium on Integrative Plant Biology in the seaside town of Yantai during August 10-12, 2009 （Figure 1） The symposium was co-sponsored by Botanical Society of China, Chinese Society for Cell Biology, Genetics Society of China, and Chinese Society for Plant Physiology.

Transcriptome analysis of hsp18.3 functions and regulatory systems using RNA-sequencing in the red flour beetle,Tribolium castaneum

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is a major agriculture pest of stored grain, cereal products and peanuts for human consumption. It is reported that heat shock protein 18.3 of T. castaneum（Tchsp18.3） plays a significant role in stress resistance, development and reproduction. However, the regulatory systems of Tchsp18.3 remain unknown. Therefore, we compared the global transcriptome profiles of RNA interference（RNAi）-treated larvae（ds-Tchsp18.3） and control larvae of T. castaneum using RNA sequencing. Overall, we obtained 14 154 435 sequence reads aligned with 13 299 genes. Additionally, 569 differentially expressed genes（DEGs） were identified from the ds-Tchsp18.3 and control groups, of which 246 DEGs were annotated in the 47 Gene Ontology（GO） functional groups and 282 DEGs were assigned to 147 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） biological signaling pathways. The DEGs encoding viperin, dorsal, Hdd11, PGRP2, defensin1 and defensin2 were simultaneously related to immunity and stress responses, which suggests that cross-talk might exist between the immunity and stress responses of T. castaneum. The knockdown of Tchsp18.3 gene expression suppressed the antioxidant activity process, which most likely modulated the effects of Tchsp18.3 on development and reproduction. Furthermore, the DEGs, including Blimp-1, Gld, Drm, Kinesin-14, Pthr2, Delta（11）-like and EGF-like domain protein 2, were also associated with the development and reproduction of ds-Tchsp18.3 insects. Additionally, knockdown of Tchsp18.3 amplified the serine protease（SP） signaling pathway to further regulate stress responses and innate immunity as well as development and reproduction of the red flour beetles. These results provide valuable insight into the molecular regulatory mechanism of Tchsp18.3 involved in insect physiology and further facilitate the research of suitable and sustainable management for pest control.

Effect of Strain Rate on Compression Behavior of Vinyl Ester Resin Casting

Quasi-static and high strain rate compressive experiments on vinyl ester casting were carried out by means of MTS (Material Test System) and Hopkinson bar. The behaviors of the compressed unstable and fracture of the resin casting at different strain rates were investigated.The results indicate that the response behavior of the resin casting is controlled by different mechanisms at different strain rate, and some mechanical properties of vinyl ester casting are rate-dependent: the casting are destroyed in toughness model under strain rate 3.3×10 -4～6.6×10 -3/s, while the casting are destroyed in brittleness model under strain rate 950～5800/s. The yield stress, yield strain energy density are all increased with the increasing strain rates at quasi-static as well as at high strain rates. What is interesting is that the yield strain decreased with the strain rates increasing at quasi-static while increased at high strain rates. It is considered that the casting occurred forcing high elastic deformation at high strain rates. The damage of the specimens is mainly controlled by axial stress before unstable deformation, while mainly controlled by shear stress after unstable deformation, and then developed to fracture finally. This progress is rate-dependent: the development of the cracks inside the castings increased with the strain rate increasing.

Molecular characterization and developmental expression patterns of thyroid hormone receptors(TRs) and their responsiveness to TR agonist and antagonist in Rana nigromaculata

Considering some advantages of Rana nigromaculata as an experimental species, we propose that this species, like Xenopus laevis, could be used to assay thyroid hormone（TH） signaling disrupting actions. To validate the utilizability of R. nigromaculata, we investigated the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to a TH receptor（TR） agonist（T3） and antagonist（amiodarone） by analyzing expression, based on characterizing TR cDNA and developmental expression patterns. With high levels of identity with the corresponding genes in X. laevis, both TRα and TRβ in R. nigromaculata exhibited roughly similar developmental expression patterns to those of X. laevis, in spite of some species-specific differences. Both TRα and TRβ expression had greater changes in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis. T3 exposure for 2 days induced more dramatic increases of TRβ expression in stage 27 than in stage34 tadpoles but not in stage 42 tadpoles, showing that the responsiveness of R. nigromaculata to TH decreased with development and disappeared at the onset of metamorphic climax.Corresponding to greater changes of TRβ expression in the liver and intestine than in the tail and brain during metamorphosis, the liver and intestine had higher responsiveness to exogenous T3 than the tail and brain. Amiodarone inhibited T3-induced TRβ expression. Our results show that R. nigromaculata can be used as a model species for assaying TH signaling disrupting actions by analyzing TRβ expression, and intestine tissues at stage 27 are ideal test materials due to high responsiveness and easy accessibility.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of phospholipase C gene family in cotton (Gossypium spp.)

Phospholipase C (PLC) are important regulatory enzymes involved in several lipid and Ca2+-dependent signaling pathways.Previous studies have elucidated the versatile roles of PLC genes in growth, development and stress responses of many plants, however, the systematic analyses of PLC genes in the important fiber-producing plant, cotton, are still deficient. In this study,through genome-wide survey, we identified twelve phosphatidylinositol-specific PLC (PI-PLC) and nine non-specific PLC (NPC) genes in the allotetraploid upland cotton Gossypium hirsutum and nine PI-PLC and six NPC genes in two diploid cotton G. arboretum and G.raimondii, respectively. The PI-PLC and NPC genes of G. hirsutum showed close phylogenetic relationship with their homologous genes in the diploid cottons and Arabidopsis. Segmental and tandem duplication contributed greatly to the formation of the gene family. Expression profiling indicated that few of the PLC genes are constitutely expressed, whereas most of the PLC genes are preferentially expressed in specific tissues and abiotic stress conditions. Promoter analyses further implied that the expression of these PLC genes might be regulated by MYB transcription factors and different phytohormones.These results not only suggest an important role of phospholipase C members in cotton plant development and abiotic stress response but also provide good candidate targets for future molecular breeding of superior cotton cultivars.