Nonfunctional alleles of long-day suppressor genes independently regulate flowering time

Due to the remarkable adaptability to various environments, rice varieties with diverse flowering times have abeen domesticated or improved from Oryza rufipogon.Detailed knowledge of the genetic factors controlling flowering time will facilitate understanding the adaptation mechanism in cultivated rice and enable breeders to design appropriate genotypes for distinct preferences. In this study,four genes（Hd1, DTH8, Ghd7 and OsPRR37） in a rice long-day suppression pathway were collected and sequenced in 154, 74,69 and 62 varieties of cultivated rice（Oryza sativa）respectively. Under long-day conditions, varieties with nonfunctional alleles flowered significantly earlier than those with functional alleles. However, the four genes have different genetic effects in the regulation of flowering time： Hd1 and Os PRR37 are major genes that generally regulate rice flowering time for all varieties, while DTH8 and Ghd7 only regulate regional rice varieties. Geographic analysis and network studies suggested that the nonfunctional alleles of these suppression loci with regional adaptability were derived recently and independently. Alleles with regional adaptability should be taken into consideration for genetic improvement. The rich genetic variations in these four genes,which adapt rice to different environments, provide the flexibility needed for breeding rice varieties with diverse flowering times.

Domesticating Time： Gendered Temporalities in Hou Hsiao-hsien＇s Cafe Lumiere

This article utilizes the trope of domesticity/domestication in order to explore notions of gendered temporality in Hou Hsiao-hsien＇s Cafe Lumiere （2003）. In dialogue with the Chinese writer Eileen Chang and Western theories about women＇s time and domestic temporality, the article proposes that the works of both Hou and Chang can be described as instances of ecriture feminine that interrogate an ambivalence toward domesticity. Drawing on Chantal Akerman＇s film in contrast to that of Hou, the article further demonstrates how the use of the cinematographic long take domesticates time and space, as well as the ways in which the horror of everyday domesticity have been captured through what Rey Chow calls ＂feminine details.＂ Finally, the present article argues that Cafe Lumiere domesticates a fear of domesticity and pregnancy through a reconfiguration of linear and cyclical time, a reversal of gender roles in its protagonists, and a privileging of aurality over visuality in its cinematic style, such that it presents the potential for a new kind of union and a new kind of futurity premised upon reordered gendered forms of temporality.