Characteristics of long-distance mobile mRNAs from shoot to root in grafted plant species

Thousands of long-distance mobile mRNAs were identified from different grafting systems,based on high-throughput sequencing technology.Moreover,the long-distance delivery of RNAs was proved to involve multiple mechanisms.Here,we analyzed the homology,motif,and tRNA-like structure(TLS)of long-distance mobile mRNAs identified by RNA-seq as well as the RNA-binding protein(RBP)in nine grafting combinations including Arabidopsis thaliana,Vitis vinifera,Cucumis sativus,Citrullus lanatus,Nicotiana benthamiana,Malus domestica,Pyrus spp.,Glycine max and Phaseolus vulgaris.Although several mRNAs were found to be shared in herbaceous,woody,and related species,the vast majority of long-distance mobile mRNAs were species-specific.Four non-specific movement-related motifs were identified,while the TLS was not necessary for mRNA long distance mobility.In addition,we found that RBPs were conserved among herbaceous and woody plants as well as related species.This paper reports a further in-depth analysis of the endogenous mechanisms by which the species-specific transportable m RNAs were selected by bioinformatics,in order to provide insights for future research on long-distance mobile mRNAs.

ZnO Incorporated Acrylamide Grafted Chitosan Based Composite Film for Advanced Wound Healing Applications

This study was carried out to prepare ZnO nanoparticles incorporated acrylamide grafted chitosan composite film for possible biomedical application especially drug loading in wound healing. ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation method from zinc acetate di-hydrate and incorporated in acrylamide grafted chitosan. FT-IR and TGA of the prepared composite film confirmed the successful incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles in the acrylamide-grafted polymer matrix. SEM images showed that the ZnO nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on the porous matrix of the composite film. Water uptake and buffer uptake analysis revealed that the composite film could hold water and buffer sufficiently, which facilitated the absorption of exudate from the wound site. Amoxicillin was loaded in the prepared composite film and the maximum loading efficiency was found to be 67.33% with drug concentration of 300 ppm. In vitro studies showed greater antimicrobial activity of drug-loaded composite film compared to both pure film and standard antibiotic disc. Finally, the In vivo mouse model showed maximum healing efficiency compared to conventional gauge bandages because the loading of antibiotic in the film produced a synergistic effect and healing time was reduced.

Effects of Flooding Stress on Growth and Root Physiology and Biochemistry of Grafted Red-seed Watermelon Seedlings

[Objectives]This study was conducted to explore how to improve the waterlogging tolerance of red-seed watermelon through grafting,to provide a theoretical basis for its cultivation in rainy season.[Methods]The effects of flooding stress on the growth and root physiological and biochemical characteristics of grafted and own-rooted red-seed watermelon seedlings were studied using Luffa as rootstocks and"Zhongxin 1"red-seed watermelon as scions.[Results]After flooding stress,the biomass and root activity of grafted seedlings of red-seed watermelon were significantly higher than those of own-rooted seedlings.With the prolongation of flooding stress time,the soluble sugar and proline content showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing,and the grafted seedlings had a larger increase and a smaller decrease,and were always significantly higher than own-rooted seedlings in the same period.The content of malondialdehyde in the root system of grafted seedlings increased first and then decreased,while it continued to increase in own-rooted seedlings,and the increase in own-rooted seedlings was significantly greater than that in grafted seedlings during the same period.[Conclusions]Grafting on Luffa rootstocks could improve waterlogging tolerance of red-seed watermelon.

Characterization of volatile organic compounds in grafted tomato plants upon potyvirus necrotic infection

A headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(HS-SPME/GC-MS)method was used to study the volatile organic compounds(VOCs)associated with the differential immune response of tomato plants infected with the recombinant strain of potato virus Y(PVY^(C)-to),necrogenic to tomato.Analysis was carried out in UC82(UC),a virus susceptible tomato variety,comparing the same UC plants grafted or not onto a virus tolerant tomato ecotype,Manduria(Ma);the three types of samples used for the GC-MS analysis were mock-inoculated UC/Ma plants,UC/Ma+PVY^(C)-to and UC+PVY^(C)-to plants;the VOCs obtained were 111.Results from symptomatic PVY^(C)-to-infected UC plants showed a VOCs composition enriched in alcohols,fatty acid derivates,benzenoids,and salicylic acid derivatives,while in mock-inoculated UC/Ma plants VOCs were mainly characterized by methyl ester compounds.The VOC profile was in line with RNAseq data analyses,denoting that PVY^(C)-to viral RNA accumulation and disease symptoms induce the specific transcriptional activation of genes involved in VOCs biosynthesis.Furthermore,principal component analysis highlighted that VOCs of PVY^(C)-to-infected and mock-inoculated grafted plants were much closer each other than that of symptomatic PVY^(C)-to-infected non-grafted UC plants.These results suggest that VOCs profiles of tomato plants are related to the viral RNA accumulation,disease intensity and graft-derived tolerance to PVY^(C)-to infection.

CmoNAC1 in pumpkin rootstocks improves salt tolerance of grafted cucumbers by binding to the promoters of CmoRBOHD1, CmoNCED6, CmoAKT1;2 and CmoHKT1;1 to regulate H_(2)O_(2), ABA signaling and K^(+)/Na^(+) homeostasis

The NAC transcription factor is a type of plant-specific transcription factor that can regulate plant salt tolerance,but the underlying mechanism is unclear in grafted vegetables.H2O2 and ABA in pumpkin rootstocks can be transported to cucumber scion leaves,promoting stomatal closure to improve salt tolerance of grafted cucumbers.Despite these observations,the regulatory mechanism is unknown.Here,our research revealed that CmoNAC1 is a key transcription factor that regulates H_(2)O_(2) and ABA signaling in pumpkin roots under salt stress.The function of CmoNAC1 was analyzed using root transformation and RNA-seq,and we found that pumpkin CmoNAC1 promoted the production of H_(2)O_(2) and ABA via CmoRBOHD1 and CmoNCED6,respectively,and regulated K^(+)/Na^(+) homeostasis via CmoAKT1;2,CmoHKT1;1,and CmoSOS1 to improve salt tolerance of grafted cucumbers.Root knockout of CmoNAC1 resulted in a significant decrease in H_(2)O_(2)(52.9%and 32.1%)and ABA(21.8%and 42.7%)content and K^(+)/Na^(+) ratio(81.5%and 56.3%)in leaf and roots of grafted cucumber,respectively,while overexpression showed the opposite effect.The root transformation experiment showed that CmoNCED6 could improve salt tolerance of grafted cucumbers by regulating ABA production and K^(+)/Na^(+) homeostasis under salt stress.Finally,we found that CmoNAC1 bound to the promoters of CmoRBOHD1,CmoNCED6,CmoAKT1;2,and CmoHKT1;1 using yeast one-hybrid,luciferase,and electrophoretic mobility shift assays.In conclusion,pumpkin CmoNAC1 not only binds to the promoters of CmoRBOHD1 and CmoNCED6 to regulate the production of H_(2)O_(2) and ABA signals in roots,but also binds to the promoters of CmoAKT1;2 and CmoHKT1;1 to increase the K^(+)/Na^(+) ratio,thus improving salt tolerance of grafted cucumbers.

Self-assembly of block copolymers grafted onto a flat substrate:Recent progress in theory and simulations

Block copolymers are a class of soft matter that self-assemble to form ordered morphologies on the scale of nanome- ters, making them ideal materials for various applications. These applications directly depend on the shape and size of the self-assembled morphologies, and hence, a high degree of control over the self-assembly is desired. Grafting block copolymer chains onto a substrate to form copolymer brushes is a versatile method to fabricate functional surfaces. Such surfaces demonstrate a response to their environment, i.e., they change their surface topography in response to different external conditions. Furthermore, such surfaces may possess nanoscale patterns, which are important for some applica- tions; however, such patterns may not form with spun-cast films under the same condition. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of the self-assembly of block copolymers grafted onto a flat substrate. We mainly concentrate on the self-assembled morphologies of end-grafted AB dibloek eopolymers, junction p0int-grafted AB diblock copolymers （i.e., Y-shaped brushes）, and end-grafted ABA triblock copolymers. Special emphasis is placed on theoretical and simulation progress.

Methyl jasmonate mediates melatonin-induced cold tolerance of grafted watermelon plants

Root–shoot communication has a critical role in plant adaptation to environmental stress.Grafting is widely applied to enhance the abiotic stress tolerance of many horticultural crop species;however,the signal transduction mechanism involved in this tolerance remains unknown.Here,we show that pumpkin-or figleaf gourd rootstock-enhanced cold tolerance of watermelon shoots is accompanied by increases in the accumulation of melatonin,methyl jasmonate(MeJA),and hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2)).Increased melatonin levels in leaves were associated with both increased melatonin in rootstocks and MeJA-induced melatonin biosynthesis in leaves of plants under cold stress.Exogenous melatonin increased the accumulation of MeJA and H_(2)O_(2) and enhanced cold tolerance,while inhibition of melatonin accumulation attenuated rootstock-induced MeJA and H_(2)O_(2) accumulation and cold tolerance.MeJA application induced H_(2)O_(2) accumulation and cold tolerance,but inhibition of JA biosynthesis abolished rootstock-or melatonin-induced H_(2)O_(2) accumulation and cold tolerance.Additionally,inhibition of H_(2)O_(2) production attenuated MeJA-induced tolerance to cold stress.Taken together,our results suggest that melatonin is involved in grafting-induced cold tolerance by inducing the accumulation of MeJA and H_(2)O_(2).MeJA subsequently increases melatonin accumulation,forming a self-amplifying feedback loop that leads to increased H_(2)O_(2) accumulation and cold tolerance.This study reveals a novel regulatory mechanism of rootstock-induced cold tolerance.

VcFT-induced mobile florigenic signals in transgenic and transgrafted blueberries

FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)can promote early flowering in annual species,but such role has not been well demonstrated in woody species.We produced self and reciprocal grafts involving non-transgenic blueberry(NT)and transgenic blueberry(T)carrying a 35S-driven blueberry FT(VcFT-OX).We demonstrated that the transgenic VcFT-OX rootstock promoted flowering of non-transgenic blueberry scions in the NT(scion):T(rootstock)grafts.We further analyzed RNASeq profiles and six groups of phytohormones in both NT:T and NT:NT plants.We observed content changes of several hormone metabolites,in a descending order,in the transgenic NT:T,non-transgenic NT:T,and non-transgenic NT:NT leaves.By comparing differential expression transcripts(DETs)of these tissues in relative to their control,we found that the non-transgenic NT:T leaves had many DETs shared with the transgenic NT:T leaves,but very few with the transgenic NT:T roots.Interestingly,a number of these shared DETs belong to hormone pathway genes,concurring with the content changes of hormone metabolites in both transgenic and non-transgenic leaves of the NT:T plants.These results suggest that phytohormones induced by VcFT-OX in the transgenic leaves might serve as part of the signals that resulted in early flowering in both transgenic plants and the non-transgenic NT:T scions.

Synthesis and Characterization of Degraded Gelatin Grafted Poly(ε-caprolactone) Copolymers

Hydrophilic degraded gelatin was modified with hydrophobic poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) via a chemical grafting route.Firstly,PCL with one hydroxyl end group was prepared by the ring-opening polymerization of εcaprolactone (ε-CL) with tin (Ⅱ) 2-ethylhexanoate as catalyst and n-butyl alcohol as initiator.Secondly,the PCL reacted with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) to prepare PCL with isocyanate functional group (PCL-NCO).Hydroxylamine was used to degrade gelatin by the cleavage between asparagine and glycine residues of gelatin.PCL-NCO reacted with the hydroxyl/amino groups of degraded gelatin in a homogeneous system and yielded the PCL modified gelatin copolymers.The gelatin grafted PCL copolymers were measured by means of XRD,FTIR,DSC and 1 H NMR.The results confirmed the conjugation of PCL onto gelatin chains.The PCL modified gelatin can be used as biomaterials owing to their biocompatibility and biodegradation.

The effects of deficit irrigation on nitrogen consumption,yield,and quality in drip irrigated grafted and ungrafted watermelon

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of deficit irrigation on nitrogen consumption,yield,and quality in grafted and ungrafted watermelon.The study was conducted in Cukurova region,Eastern Mediterranean,Turkey,between 2006 and 2008,and employed 3 irrigation rates（full irrigation（l_（100）） with no stress,moderate irrigation（Dl_（70））,and low irrigation（Dl_（50））;Dl_（70） and Dl_（50） were considered deficit irrigation） on grafted（CTJ,Crimson Tide＋Jumbo） and the ungrafted（CT,Crimson Tide） watermelon.The amount of irrigation water（IR） applied to the study plots were calculated based on cumulative pan evaporation that occurred during the irrigation intervals.Nitrogen consumption was 16%lower in CTJ plants than in CT plants.On the other hand,consumption of nitrogen was 28%higher in Dl_（50） plants than in Dl_（70） plants while it was 23%higher in Dl_（50） plants than in l_（100） plants.By grafting,the average amount of nitrogen content in seeds,pulps and peels for CTJ was 30,43 and 56%more than those of CT,respectively.The yield and the quality were not significantly affected by the deficit irrigation.In this respect,grafting of watermelon gave higher yield,but,it had a slight effect on fruit quality.The highest yield values of 16.90 and 19.32 kg plant^（-1） in 2008 were obtained with l_（100）and in CTJ plants,respectively.However,Dl_（50） treatment could be taken into account for the development of reduced irrigation strategies in semiarid regions where irrigation water supplies are limited.Additionally,the yield increased by applying CTJ treatment to the watermelon production.

Effects of Root Zone Temperature on Growth and Photosynthetic Parameters of Grafted Cucumber

Taking Cucurbita maxima and Cucurbita moschata as root stocks,and‘Jinyou No 3＇cucumber as scion,the effects of different root zone temperature conditions optimal temperature（ CK）（ 18-20 ℃）,suboptimal temperature（ 13-15 ℃） and low temperature（ 8-10 ℃） on the growth and photosynthesis indexes were studied. The results showed that,compared with optimal temperature（ CK）,suboptimal temperature and low temperature produced a significant inhibition of growth on cucumbers. The plant height,stem diameter,leaf area,number of leaves and dry weight of aboveground part were all reduced,dry weight of underground part and root shoot ratio all increased,while the inhibition was more significant at low temperature. Low and suboptimal temperature conditions also reduced SPAD value,net photosynthetic rate,transpiration rate,intercellular CO2 concentration and stomatal conductance of the grafted cucumber. And there were differences between different grafted seedlings,and seedlings with‘black seeds＇ as stock performed better than those with‘white seeds＇ as stock at low temperature.

A Grafted Genetic Algorithm for the Job-Shop Scheduling Problem

The standard genetic algorithm has limitations of a low convergence rate and premature convergence in solving the job-shop scheduling problem.To overcome these limitations,this paper presents a new improved hybrid genetic algorithm on the basis of the idea of graft in botany.Through the introduction of a grafted population and crossover probability matrix,this algorithm accelerates the convergence rate greatly and also increases the ability to fight premature convergence.Finally,the approach is tested on a set of standard instances taken from the literature and compared with other approaches.The computation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

STUDY ON THE PROPERTIES OF BLEND OF NATURAL RUBBER LATEX/METHYL METHACRYLATE GRAFTED RUBBER LATEX BY GAMMA RADIATION

Natural rubber latex （NRL） and methyl methacrylate （MMA） grafted rubber latex were blended in different ratios and irradiated at various absorbed doses by gamma rays from Co-60 source at room temperature. The tensile properties, swelling ratio and permanent set were measured. The maximum tensile strength and modulus at 500% elongation were obtained at an absorbed dose of 8 kGy. Modulus increases from 6.99 MPa to 9.87 MPa for an increase in proportion of MMA grafted rubber from 40% to 60% in the blend at similar absorbed dose. Elongation at break and swelling ratio decrease with increasing absorbed dose as well as the MMA grafted rubber content in the blends. The decreasing trend of permanent set is high up to 5 kGy absorbed dose, and beyond that dose, it becomes almost flat.

EFFECT OF CHEMICAL STRUCTURE OF SULFOXIDE GRAFTED POLY (VINYL ALCOHOL) ON GAS PERMEABILITY

The effects of chemical structure, i. e. side chain structure and their contents, on thepermeability of pure SO_2, N_2 and their mixture gases for the sulfoxide grafted poly (vinylalcohol) (RVSO-PVA) membranes have been investigated:where R=Me, Et, Pr, t-Bu and Ph. It was notable that introduction of sulfoxide group intoPVA side chain greatly enhanced the permselectivity of sulfur dioxide. SO_2 permeability andseparation factor of these polymers increased markedly as the size of side chain increased. Thesulfoxide content of the polymer also played an important role in the pure and mixture gasespermeation. Some explanations have been made to interpret this unique gas separation behaviour.

Preparation of Chelating Polymer Grafted Magnetic Adsorbent and Its Application for Removal of Pb(Ⅱ) Ions

A novel magnetic chelating adsorbent （CPMS） with iminodiacetate functionality was prepared by polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate-iminodiacetic acid （GMA-IDA） monomer with N, N-methylenebisacrylamide as crosslinker in the presence of monodisperse magnetic silica microspheres （MS）. CPMS was characterized by IR, SEM, VSM and TGA. The experimental results revealed that MS was embedded in the gel polymer, but the morphology of CPMS was irregular. The saturation magnetization for CPMS was found to be 28.4 emu/g, and the percentage of GMA-IDA polymer grafted on MS was about 46.5%. CPMS were shown to be efficient for the removal of Pb（II） ions at pH 3.0 - 6.0, and the adsorption data obeyed the Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 54.4 mg？g？1 at pH 5.0. Moreover, the adsorption rate of CPMS was fast and it took about 5 minutes to achieve adsorption equilibrium in aqueous solution of lower lead ions concentration.

Humidity Sensing Properties of Pre-irradiation Grafted HDPE Membranes

Grafted high density polyethylene (HDPE) films have been prepared by grafting sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) and acrylic acid (AA) onto HDPE using preirradiation method.The structure and surface morphology of both grafted and ungrafted HDPE films were observed by FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope (SEM),respectively.The humidity sensing properties of grafted HDPE films were investigated.The results show that the impedance of the film decreases with increasing of relative humidity (RH).The films display high sensitivity with nearly three orders of magnitude change in the resistance during the relative humidity variation from 5% to 98%.Grafted HDPE films exhibit excellent properties as humidity sensors.

Influence of Reaction Parameters on Water Absorbency of Starch Grafted Superabsorbents

Superabsorbents starch grafted sodium polyacrylate was synthesized by inverse suspension polymerization, using toluene as the continuous phase, potassium persulfate as the initiator. The effect of reaction parameters, such as starch pretreatment temperature, neutralization degree of monomer, reaction time and temperature, concentration of initiator, molar ratio of monomer and starch, on water absorbency of the starch grafted polymer was studied. The effects of the last two parameters were investigated by uniform design method, and the prediction equation was obtained.

Polyurethane Grafted Attapulgite as Novel Fillers for Nylon 6 Nanocomposites

Attapulgite fibers were modified by polyurethane, forming polyurethane grafted attapulgite （AT-PU）, which was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. Nylon 6/AT-PU nanocomposites of different modified attapulgite loadings were prepared by melt blending in a twin screw extruder. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） observation on the fracture surfaces of the nanocomposites showed not only a uniform dispersion of AT-PU but also a strong interfacial adhesion with the matrix. Differential scanning calorimeter （DSC） and Thermogravimetric analyzer （TGA） were used to illustrate the infiuence of AT-PU particles on the thermal properties of the nylon 6/AT-PU nanocomposites. The results indicated that the addition of attapulgite probably induced the heterogeneous nucleation and was favorable for the formation of γ -crystalline form, and that the higher thermal stability was obtained for the composites.

Research on the Sizing Performance of Starch Grafted Poly-hydroxy Alkyl-acid Esters

Starch grafted poly-hydroxy alkyl-acid esters were prepared via graft polymerization.Different characteristics of grafted starches were tested such as viscosity,viscosity stability,adhesion as well as properties of sized yarns.Sizing performance was analyzed from the aspect of physical and chemical reactions between polymer molecules.It shows that starch grafted poly-hydroxy alkyl-acid esters have excellent sizing performance and could absolutely be used as sizes for polyester-cotton yarns.