Morphological and physiological traits of large-panicle rice varieties with high filled-grain percentage

financed by the Special Program of Super Rice of Ministry of Agriculture, China （02318802013231）;the National Public Services Sectors （Agricultural） Research Projects, Ministry of Agriculture, China （201303102）;the Great Technology Project of Ningbo, China （2013C11001）

Integrating ancient patterns and current dynamics of insect-plant interactions＂ Taxonomic and geographic variation in herbivore specialization

The search for pattern in the ecology and evolutionary biology of insect-plant associations has fascinated biologists for centuries. High levels of tropical （tow-latitude） plant and insect diversity relative to poleward latitudes and the disproportionate abundance of host-specialized insect herbivores have been noted. This review addresses several aspects of local insect specialization, host use abilities （and loss of these abilities with specialization）, host-associated evolutionary divergence, and ecological （including ＂hybrid＂） speciation, with special reference to the generation of biodiversity and the geographic and taxonomic identification of ＂species borders＂ for swallowtail butterflies （Papilionidae）. From ancient phytochemically defined angiosperm affiliations that trace back millions of years to recent and very local specialized populations, the Papilionidae （swallowtail butterflies） have provided a model for enhanced tmderstanding of localized ecological patterns and genetically based evolutionary processes. They have served as a useful group for evaluating the feeding specialization/physiological efficiency hypothesis. They have shown how the abiotic （thermal） environment interacts with host nutritional suitability to generate ＂voltinisrn/suitability＂ gradients in specialization or preference latitudinally, and geographical mosaics locally. Several studies reviewed here suggest strongly that the oscillation hypothesis for speciation does have considerable merit, but at the same time, some species-level host specializations may lead to evolutionary dead-ends, especially with rapid environmental/habitat changes involving their host plants. Latitudinal gradients in species richness and degree of herbivore feeding specialization have been impacted by recent developments in ecological genetics and evolutionary ecology. Localized insect- plant associations that span the biospectrum from polyphenisms, polymorphisms, biotypes, demes, host races, to cryptic species, remain academically contentious, with simple definitions still debated. However, molecular analyses combined with ecological, ethological and physiological studies, have already begun to unveil some answers for many important ecological/evolutionary questions.

Advances in Biological Water-saving Research:Challenge and Perspectives

Increasing the efficiency of water use by crops continues to escalate as a topic of concem because drought is a restrictive environmental factor for crop productivity woridwide .Greater yield per unit rainfall is one of the most important challenges in water-saving agriculture Besides water-saving by irrigation engineering and conservation tillage, a good understanding of factors limiting and/or regulating yleld now provides us with an opportunity to identify and then precisely seiect for physiciogical and breeding traits that increase the efficiency of water use and drought tolerance under water-limited conditions, biological water-saving is one means of achieving this goal, A definition of bilogical water-saving measures is proposed which embraces improvements in water use efficiency （WUE） and drought tolerance, by genetic improvement and physiological regulation. The preponderance of bilogical water-saving measures is discussed and strategies identified for working within natural resource constraints. The technology and future perspectives of bilogical water saving could provide not only new water-saving techniques but also a scientific base for application of water-saving irrigation and conservation tillage.