Cd Toxicity and Accumulation in Rice Plants Vary with Soil Nitrogen Status and Their Genotypic Difference can be Partly Attributed to Nitrogen Uptake Capacity

Two indica rice genotypes, viz. Milyang 46 and Zhenshan 97B differing in Cd accumulation and tolerance were used as materials in a hydroponic system consisting of four Cd levels （0, 0.1, 1.0 and 5.0 μmol/L） and three N levels （23.2, 116.0 and 232.0 mg/L） to study the effects of nitrogen status and nitrogen uptake capacity on Cd accumulation and tolerance in rice plants. N-efficient rice genotype, Zhenshan 97B, accumulated less Cd and showed higher Cd tolerance than N-inefficient rice genotype, Milyang 46. There was consistency between nitrogen uptake capacity and Cd tolerance in rice plants. Increase of N level in solution slightly increased Cd concentration in shoots but significantly increased in roots of both genotypes. Compared with the control at low N level, Cd tolerance in both rice genotypes could be significantly enhanced under normal N level, but no significant difference was observed between the Cd tolerances under normal N （116.0 mg/L） and high N （232.0 mg/L） conditions. The result proved that genotypic differences in Cd accumulation and toxicity could be, at least in part, attributed to N uptake capacity in rice plants.

Synthesis of Novel Chelating Adsorbents for Boron Uptake from Aqueous Solutions

Two kinds of novel chelating adsorbents have been synthesized to separate boron from aqueous solutions. One is the boron-specific chelating resin,synthesized by the functionalization of macroporous poly (glycidyl methacrylate-co-trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate),with N-methylglucamine. The other is the organic-inorganic hybrid mesoporous SBA-15 with polyol functional groups,prepared by a two-step post-grafting method. The resin can adsorb boron in almost all pH range,and its maximum uptake capacity reaches 1.15 mmol/g. The present study of the polyol-functionalized SBA-15 shows that the post-grafting is successful and the resulting adsorbent has the uptake capacity of 0.63 mmol/g.

Coronatine promotes maize water uptake by directly binding to the aquaporin ZmPIP2;5 and enhancing its activity

Water uptake is crucial for crop growth and development and drought stress tolerance. The water channel aquaporins(AQP) play important roles in plant water uptake. Here, we discovered that a jasmonic acid analog, coronatine(COR), enhanced maize(Zea mays) root water uptake capacity under artificial water deficiency conditions. COR treatment induced the expression of the AQP gene Plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2;5(ZmPIP2;5).In vivo and in vitro experiments indicated that COR also directly acts on ZmPIP2;5 to improve water uptake in maize and Xenopus oocytes. The leaf water potential and hydraulic conductivity of roots growing under hyperosmotic conditions were higher in ZmPIP2;5-overexpression lines and lower in the zmpip2;5 knockout mutant, compared to wild-type plants. Based on a comparison between ZmPIP2;5 and other PIP2s, we predicted that COR may bind to the functional site in loop E of ZmPIP2;5. We confirmed this prediction by surface plasmon resonance technology and a microscale thermophoresis assay, and showed that deleting the binding motif greatly reduced COR binding. We identified the N241 residue as the COR-specific binding site, which may activate the channel of the AQP tetramer and increase water transport activity,which may facilitate water uptake under hyperosmotic stress.

Challenges in engineering the structure of ionic liquids towards direct air capture of CO_(2)

1.Introduction Man-made perturbations over emissions of greenhouse gas(GHG)bring tremendous negative impacts on the survival environment[1].CO_(2)accounts for~75%of global GHG impacts with others mainly composed of N_(2)O,CH_(4),and small fluorinated gas molecules[2].Deployment of“negative emission”technologies via direct air capture(DAC)of CO_(2)by engineered chemical reactions represents one of the most promising and distinct pathways to limit and alleviate the global warming trend[3].

Response of spatial structure of cotton root to soil-wetting patterns under mulched drip irrigation

The matching relationship between the spatial structure of cotton cluster root systems and soil-wetting patterns under mulched drip irrigation forms the theoretical basis for the technical design of mulched drip irrigation.A 2-year field experiment was conducted,in which different soil-wetting patterns were produced by setting different emitter discharge rates.The envelopes of cotton cluster root length densities were derived using the topological methodology and used to examine the effects of different soil-wetting patterns on the spatial structure of root systems and water uptake capacity within row spaces.The results showed that the root systems in rows of cotton grown under narrower and deeper soil-wetting patterns exhibited a single-peak distribution,while those under wider and shallower soil-wetting patterns exhibited a two-peak distribution.Furthermore,cotton rows grown near mulch edges experienced lower moisture stress,and wider and shallower soil-wetting patterns contributed to greater root growth rates in the vertical direction and resulted in more even potential water uptake capacities.The findings of this study revealed that wider and shallower soil-wetting patterns were more desirable for mulched drip irrigation of cotton and should be considered in the technical design of drip irrigation systems.