Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences Research Articles

Application and prospect of BSA method based on bibliometrics in crop breeding.

In order to understand the progress and frontier in the application of BSA(bulked segregant analysis) method in crop breeding and to reflect objectively the contribution of different countries, institutions and researchers in this field at home and abroad, this study analyzed 2111 items in the WOS (Web of Science) database from 2000 to 2023 and 446 items in the CNKI (China National through Knowledge Infrastructure) database from 2003 to 2023, regarding the researches of the application of BSA in crop breeding, basing on bibliometric analysis methods using CiteSpace software including keyword co-occurrence analysis, highlight word analysis, keyword clustering analysis, clustering timeline analysis and author co-citation. The results showed that there was an consistent increasing trend in the publication number of the application of BSA in crop breeding both in the domestic and foreign journals year by year. Ranking of the top countries according to the number of publications was China, the United States and India. The Huazhong Agricultural University displayed the highest number of publications in the CNKI database, while the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences was found to have the highest number of publications in the WOS database. The published articles related to the application of BSA in crop breeding abroad mainly focused on the disciplines such as plant science, agronomy, horticulture and genetics, while those in China mainly concentrated on such disciplines as plant science, plant protection, horticulture and biology. The top three authors in terms of influence in the field of appling BSA in crop breeding were Michelmore RW, Kosambi DD and Li H, while Michelmore RW, Lander ES and Li H had closer cooperations with other authors. The top three crops relating to the studies of BSA were rice(Oryza sativa), soybean(Glycine max), corn(Zea mays L.) with the hot spot traits of disease resistance and plant height domestically. The top three crops involving the studies of BSA were rice, Arabidopsis thaliana and wheat(Triticum aestivum L.) with hot spot traits of disease resistance abroad. Up to now, BSA was mainly used to localize and functionally verify the candidate genes linking target traits and the mutated genes in crops in the domestical documents, while the foreign published studies based on BSA were mainly focused on the fine mapping and functional verification of target trait genes aiming at the revelation of genetic mechanisms in crops. Research frontier analysis indicated that rice, peanuts(Arachis hypogaea L.), upland cotton(Gossypium hirsutum L.) would be the main objects of studies concerning application of BSA in crop breeding with the hot topics of crop mutants and crop metabolites in the future.

Intrahousehold empowerment gaps and dietary diversity in China.

This article analyzes the relationship between intrahousehold empowerment gaps and food and nutrition security using quantitative data collected through a household survey organized by the Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-AII), in 2023. Based on empowerment theory, this study measured the relative empowerment of spouses from the Abbreviated Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (A-WEAI). From the micro-level evidence of 468 rural households, this study found that intrahousehold empowerment gaps harm the diversity of household diets. In particular, reducing gender gaps in access to resources, leadership, and income can help diversify household diets. However, data on the impact of shortening the difference in working hours between wives and husbands for the benefit of food safety are yet to be conclusive. Additionally, gender gaps in the group of non-coresident mothers-in-law and non-migrants hurt household food security. The paper also provides further justification for policies and interventions that aim to improve women's bargaining position in the household.

First Report of Fusarium proliferatum Causing Bulb Rot on Lilium davidii var. willmottiae in China.

Lilium davidii var. willmottiae, known as Lanzhou lily, is widely cultivated in China for its edible bulbs. In July 2023, symptoms of bulb rot were observed on Lanzhou lilies harvested from Lanzhou, Gansu Province, during storage at the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Beijing, China), at an incidence of nearly 70%. The surface of the lily scales had dark water-stained spots, after the development of which the color gradually darkened, the bulbs became soft, accompanied by a pungent smell. Finally, the whole bulb became ruined and rotten, and there were thick mycelium layers on the bulbs. The infected bulbs were washed with clean water, sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30 s and 2% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min, and then rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. The 5 mm×5 mm tissue pieces from the junction of the diseased part and the healthy part were clipped, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and subsequently incubated at 25 °C. Pure cultures were obtained by transferring hyphal tips to new PDA plates. A total of 10 fungal isolates were obtained, all of which exhibited typical Fusarium characteristics. The colonies were white to pink with white to cream-colored aerial mycelia. After 10 to 15 days of incubation, the macroconidia (n = 50) were hyaline, relatively slender with a curve, three to five septate, and 8.73 to 33.24 × 2.16 to 4.19 μm in length. The microconidia (n = 50) were hyaline and pyriform, without septa, and measured 4.04 to 8.48 × 1.24 to 2.65 μm. These morphological characteristics were similar to those described for Fusarium proliferatum (Leslie and Summerell 2006). For molecular identification, a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) protocol was used to extract total genomic DNA (O'Donnell et al., 1998), after which the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor subunit 1-alpha (TEF1-α) and RNA polymerase Ⅱ subunit 2 (RPB2) genes were amplified using the universal primers ITS1/ITS4, EF1/EF2 and RPB2-5f2/fRPB2-7cr, respectively, and subsequently sequenced (White et al., 1990; O'Donnell et al., 1998; Liu et al., 1999; Reeb et al., 2004; O'Donnell et al., 2007; Jiang et al., 2018). The sequences of a representative isolate (CAAS01) were analyzed and submitted to GenBank under accession numbers OR554007 (ITS), OR594233 (TEF1-α) and OR603932 (RPB2). A BLAST analysis revealed that the sequences of the ITS, TEF1-α, and RPB2 genes shared 100%, 100%, and 100% identity, respectively, with those of Fusarium proliferatum (MT466521.1, MK952792.1, and LT841266.1) in GenBank. In addition, the ITS, TEF1-α and RPB2 sequences shared 100%, 100%, and 100% identity with those of Fusarium annulatum (LC13675, the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex; previously known as the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex) in the Fusarium-ID database. Fusarium proliferatum, whose common synonyms are Gibberella fujikuroi mating population D and Gibberella fujikuroi var. intermedia, is the anamorphic form of the Gibberella fujikuroi complex that belongs to the Nectriaceae family. A phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the combined TEF1-α and RPB2 sequences of CAAS01 and other Fusarium isolates, revealing that CAAS01 was grouped with Fusarium proliferatum. Based on sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, the isolate was identified as Fusarium proliferatum. To determine the pathogenicity of the isolated fungi, healthy bulbs were punctured with disposable sterilized needles and soaked in equal amounts of sterile water and conidial suspension (1×107 conidia/mL) for 30 min respectively. The pathogenicity experiment was repeated three times. After 7 days of inoculation at 25 °C and 80% relative humidity, the surface of the inoculated bulbs produced water-stained spots and mycelium layers consistent with the symptoms exhibited by Lilium davidii var. willmottiae bulbs during storage, while the uninoculated lily bulbs remained symptomless. Fusarium proliferatum was reisolated from the infected bulbs and identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics, fulfilling Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of bulb rot on Lilium davidii var. willmottiae caused by Fusarium proliferatum in China. This study will contribute to the development of management strategies for this postharvest disease in Lilium davidii var. willmottiae.

Commitment and innovation, and dedication towards excellence—Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Commitment and innovation, and dedication towards excellence—Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Bibliometric and literature review of the development of mineral fertilizers.

Mineral fertilizers are a new type of sustainable fertilizers, containing natural ores as the primary raw material with various nutrients and organic matters. This study combines two methods of bibliometric analysis to comprehensively review the progress of mineral fertilizers from 2000 to 2021. The results showed that the research on mineral fertilizers has increased in the past 21years, especially after 2014. Developed countries studied mineral fertilizers more extensively than developing countries, but some developing countries, such as China and India, are also paying attention to this area in recent years. Chinese Academic of Sciences, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences were the main publishing institutions. Nutrient elements, changes in soil properties, and the effects on promoting crop growth were the main contents of the research. Still, such issues as bioremediation, soil environment improvement, and crop resistance are becoming hot spots. The field of mineral fertilizers showed a strong interdisciplinary nature and an increasingly comprehensive research perspective. The goal is that this synthesis will be used as a starting point for a broader study on responsible environmental management and research on improving fertilizer use efficiency.

Effect of using reclaimed water via furrow and subsurface drip systems under alternate partial root-zone irrigation mechanism on crops growth and soil properties

AbstractThe growing population in the face of water scarcity inevitably necessitates the quest for alternative sources of irrigation water, which integrates them with irrigation strategies for improved agricultural productivity to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. A three-year field experiment was conducted in 2017, 2018, and 2019 to investigate the effect of water quality (reclaimed water (RW) and clean water (CW)), irrigation techniques (subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and furrow irrigation (FUI)), irrigation methods (full irrigation (FI) and alternate partial root-zone irrigation (APRI) (70% ETc)), and their interactions on the fresh fruit yield (FY), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of tomatoes. Further, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and organic matter (OM) of soil were evaluated. The experiments were undertaken over three growing spring seasons in a greenhouse at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Henan Province, China. Throughout the three years of this study, the yield, the IWUE, and the NUE values of all treatments under RW were higher than those corresponding values under CW. The trend was the same under SDI as it was under FUI. Statistical analyses revealed that there was no significant effect (P > 0.05) of water quality, irrigation technique, and irrigation methods on the soil EC, pH, and OM over the three years. In addition, the interaction between the different experimental factors over the three years of the study was not significant. In conclusion, the application of RW under SDI can result in saving CW and increasing productivity without any negative effect on the investigated soil properties. Furthermore, when RW-SDI is used in conjunction with APRI, it can result in increasing IWUE.

Effects of gibberellic acid, kinetin and indole butyric acid mixture on sorghum salinity tolerance and grain yield in saline-alkali coastal zone.

The development and utilization of coastal saline-alkali lands hold significant importance in mitigating the shortage of cultivated land resources in China, enhancing the agro-ecological environment in coastal saline and alkaline areas, and ensuring national food security. We set up both pot and field trials (randomized block design) at Xinxiang experimental station of Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (ICS-CAAS) and Dongying Yellow River Delta Modern Agricultural Research Base in Shandong Province in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The experimental materials, Jiliang 1 and Jiliang 2, underwent seed dressing with GKI composites at concentrations of 2.5 and 5 mL·kg-1. These composites, which contained the main components of gibberellin, kinetin, and indole butyric acid, were denoted as GKI2.5 and GKI5.0, respectively. The control plots (CK) received water seed dressing. The aim was to assess the regulatory effects of GKI on salt tolerance and grain sorghum yield. Compared to CK, the GKI2.5 and GKI5.0 seed dressing treatments significantly enhanced the growth and development of the two grain sorghum varieties, increased antioxidant enzyme activity and soluble protein content of sorghum leaves, while reducing leaf malondialdehyde content. Moreover, the GKI treatments increased leaf net photosynthetic rate. Under field conditions, yields of Jiliang 1 and Jiliang 2 were enhanced by an average of 17.1% and 19.1%, respectively. In conclusion, GKI seed dressing treatment effectively promoted the growth and development of sorghum under salt stress. It enhanced the antioxidant and osmoregulatory capacities of leaves, reduced the level of membrane lipid peroxidation, and improved net photosynthetic rate of leaves, which together improved the salt tolerance and sorghum yield.

First report of Fusarium equiseti causing bulb rot on lily (Lilium 'White planet' ) in China.

Lily (Lilium spp.) is one of the main ornamental plants grown in the world. In addition, bulbs of lily have been extensively used as edible and medicinal herbs in northern and eastern Asia, especially in China (Yu et al. 2015; China Pharmacopoeia Committee 2020; Tang et al. 2021). In August of 2021, a disease of stem and leaf rot was observed on lily cultivar 'White planet' with approximately 25% disease incidence in the greenhouse and fields at the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Beijing, China). The bulbs of symptomatic plants were brown and rotten, with sunken lesions. Symptomatic plants showed short, discolored leaves, and eventually lead to stem wilt and death of the whole plants. Infected bulbs were surface sterilized in 75% ethanol for 30 s, then in 2% sodium hypochlorite for 5 min, and rinsed three times with sterile distilled water. A 0.5×0.5 cm2 tissue piece was then placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium and incubated at 25±1℃. After 5 days, the isolate was purified by single spore isolation technique. The singled-spored fungal colony was characterized by fluffy white aerial mycelia, and produced orange pigments with age. After seven days on Spezieller Nahrstoffarmer agar (SNA), conidia produced from simple lateral phialides. Macroconidia have pronounced dorsiventral curvature typical, significantly enlarged in the middle, a tapered whip-liked pointed apical cell and characteristic foot-shaped basal cell, 3 to 6 septate, measuring 18.71 to 43.01×2.89 to 5.56 μm with an average size of 26.98×3.90 μm (n=30). Microconidia were not observed. Typical verrucose thick chlamydospore with rough walls were profuse in chains or clumps, ellipsoidal to subglobose. These morphological characteristics were consistent with Fusarium spp. (Leslie et al. 2006). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor subunit 1-alpha (TEF1-α) and RNA polymeraseⅡsubunit 2 (RPB2) genes were amplified using primers ITS1/ITS4, EF1/EF2 and 5F2/7cR respectively and sequenced (White et al. 1990; Jiang et al. 2018; O'Donnell et al. 2007). Sequences were submitted to GenBank under accession numbers OM078499 (ITS), Accession OM638086 (TEF1-α) and OM638085 (RPB2). BLAST analysis showed that ITS, TEF1-α and RPB2 sequences shared 100%, 99.8%, 99.2% identity to F. equiseti (OM956073, KY081599, MW364892) in GenBank, respectively. In addition, ITS, TEF1-α and RPB2 sequences shared 100%, 99.53%, 100% identity with Fusarium lacertarum (LC7927, Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex) in the Fusarium-ID database. Based on the morphological characteristics and molecular sequences, the isolates were identified as Fusarium equiseti. A pathogenicity test was performed on potted lily ('White planet') under greenhouse conditions (25±1℃ with a 16 h light and 8 h dark cycle). Three healthy lily bulbs were selected and one bulb was planted in each pot filled with sterilized soil. Each pot was inoculated with 5 mL of conidia suspension (1×107 conidia/mL) in te soil around bulbs with a stem length of 3 cm, with an equal amount of sterilized water as a control. This test had three replicates. After 15 days of inoculation, typical symptoms of bulb rotten, like those observed in the greenhouse and fields, developed on the inoculated plants but not on the controls. The same fungus was consistently reisolated from the diseased plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report that F. equiseti caused bulb rot on Lilium in China. Our result should help with future monitoring and control of lily wilt disease.

Leaf area index estimation under wheat powdery mildew stress by integrating UAV‑based spectral, textural and structural features

The infection of powdery mildew changes the internal physiological activity and external morphology of winter wheat, resulting in damage to crop health. Leaf area index (LAI) is an important agronomic parameter to assess crop growth. However, how to accurately and quickly interpret the spatial variation of LAI under powdery mildew stress has become a difficult problem. To detect the spatial variation and improve the estimation accuracy of winter wheat LAI under powdery mildew stress, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral remote sensing technique was used to continuously observe winter wheat infected with diseases in the field. The artificial inoculation experiment of powdery mildew was carried out in the experimental base of the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang, China in 2022. The occurrence of powdery mildew changed the canopy spectral reflectance and morphology of winter wheat. Parameters of vegetation indices (VIs), structure (Str) and texture (Tex) features were used to quantify the spectral reflectance and morphology of winter wheat canopy. Sensitivity analysis of different types of features and LAI and crop disease index (DI) was conducted to obtain specific features responding to LAI and DI. Partial least squares method (PLSR) was used to construct LAI estimation model under powdery mildew stress. The results of this study showed that (i) in contrast to crop height, crop coverage and canopy volume maintained consistency with the time change of LAI, which could be utilized to assess LAI variation under powdery mildew stress. (ii) In general, Tex features were more sensitive to LAI and DI than the Str and VIs. (iii) The R2 and RMSE of LAI estimated under powdery mildew stress by Tex, Str and VIs were 0.56, 0.50, 0.45 and 0.32, 0.35, and 0.36, respectively. The combination of VIs, Str, and Tex provided the highest estimation accuracy (R2 = 0.71, RMSE = 0.26). Compared with VIs, Str, Tex, VIs + Str, VIs + Tex, Str + Tex, the R2 of winter wheat LAI estimation under powdery mildew stress was increased by 58%, 42%, 27%, 22%, 15%, and 8%, respectively. This study analyzed the spatial variation of LAI of winter wheat under powdery mildew stress using remote sensing technique, which provided an important theoretical basis for crop disease control in the field.

Bacillus thuringiensis pesticidal toxins: A global analysis based on a scientometric study (1980–2021)

Several studies have been conducted on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) pesticidal toxins due to their successful environmentally friendly biopesticide activity against various insect pest orders, protozoa, mites, and nematodes. However, no existing study has systematically examined the trends and evolution of research on Bt pesticidal toxins from a scientometric perspective. This study aimed to analyze the trends and hotspots of global research in this field. 5757 publications on Bt pesticidal toxins were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS) from 1980 to 2021. Statistical and scientometric analyses were performed using Excel, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer visualization tools to evaluate research evolution, journal contribution and subject categories, contributing countries and institutions, highly influential references, and most used author keywords. The 5757 publications featured in 917 journals spanning 116 subject categories. The top 5 subject categories ranked as Entomology, Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology, Microbiology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Agriculture. Out of these publications, the USA contributed the most, with 1562 publications, 72,754 citations, and 46.58 average citations per paper (ACPP); however, Belgium had the highest (106.43) ACPP among the top 20 contributing countries. The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences is the leading institution with 298 publications and 21.20 ACPP. The Pasteur Institute is ranked first (90.04) in terms of ACPP. Keywords analyses revealed that recent studies are inclined toward the evolution of insect resistance against Bt toxins. In future, studies related to the development of resistance mechanisms by insects against Bt pesticidal toxins and ways to overcome them will likely receive more attention. This study highlights the past and current situations and prospective directions of Bt pesticidal toxins-related research.

First Report of Black Rot on Persimmon Fruit Caused by Diaporthe eres in China.

The fruit of persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) is popular with consumers for its delicious taste and is widely grown in China. In September 2022, fruit rot symptoms were found on persimmons grown at the Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (120°26'43.879″E, 36°7'59.794″N) in Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China. Diseases incidence on fruit is 70%. Typical symptoms were small, black spots, which gradually expanded, and became rot lesions, causing fruit rot and serious losses. To isolate the pathogen, small sections (approximately 2 × 2 mm) of symptomatic tissues from five persimmon fruits were surface-sterilized in 5% NaClO, followed by 75% ethanol, rinsed with sterile distilled water, and then incubated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates incubated at 28℃ for 5 days. By single spore isolation method, seven dominant fungal isolates developed with similar colonies. They were initially white and gradually turned to gray after 7 d. The alpha conidia were unicellular, colorless, elliptic or fusiform, and 5.0 to 8.0 μm × 2.5 to 3.5 μm in size. Beta conidia were unicellular, colorless, filiform, often hooked at one end and 18 to 28 μm × 1.3 to 1.5 μm in size. These morphological features were consistent with Diaporthe spp (Udayanga et al. 2014). To confirm identity of the causal fungus, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA, translation elongation factor 1-a (TEF1-a), b-tubulin (TUB), and histone H3 (HIS) genes of three representative isolates (De2, De3 and DeR2) were amplified and sequenced using primers ITS1/ITS4, EF1-728F/EF1-986R, Bt2a/Bt2b and CYLH3F/H3-1b as described by Chaisiri et al. (2021). The resulting sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession nos. OP963195, OP963386 and OP963389 for ITS; OP968958, OP968959 and OP9689600 for EF1-α; OP978141, OP978142 and OP978143 for TUB; OP968955, OP96896 and OP968957 for HIS), and showed 99-100% similarity with D. eres by NCBI blast. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using MEGA-X software, with the NJ method. In the phylogenetic tree, the combined sequences attributed the three isolates to the D. eres. On the basis of morphological and molecular characteristics, the pathogen was identified as D. eres. The strain De2 was preserved in the Agricultural Culture Collection of China (preservation number: ACCC 35482). Pathogenicity tests were performed by wound inoculation on healthy persimmon fruit. These were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 1 min, rinsed in sterile water three times, and allowed to dry. A 5-mm agar disc with mycelium of the causal pathogen was placed on the surface of fruit, which was wounded with a sterile needle in advance, with the sterile PDA plugs used as control. Three persimmons were used for each treatment, repeat three times. All the treated fruits were incubated in the sterilized transparent plastic cans at 28°C and 90% RH. After 3 days inoculation, the first symptom of rot lesion appeared on the fruit with mycelial plugs, whereas the control fruit remained symptomless. The same causal pathogens were re-isolated from the lesions and identified by morphologyand confirmed to fulfill Koch's postulates. This is the first report of D. eres causing fruit rot on persimmon. This finding showed that Diaporthe eres is a causal agent of persimmon fruit rot in China.

Five improved sesame reference genomes and genome resequencing unveil the contribution of structural variants to genetic diversity and yield-related traits variation.

Five improved sesame reference genomes and genome resequencing unveil the contribution of structural variants to genetic diversity and yield-related traits variation.

Genetic Dissection of Salt Tolerance and Yield Traits of Geng (japonica) Rice by Selective Subspecific Introgression

Salinity is a major factor limiting rice productivity, and developing salt-tolerant (ST) varieties is the most efficient approach. Seventy-eight ST introgression lines (ILs), including nine promising lines with improved ST and yield potential (YP), were developed from four BC2F4 populations from inter-subspecific crosses between an elite Geng (japonica) recipient and four Xian (indica) donors at the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Genome-wide characterization of donor introgression identified 35 ST QTLs, 25 of which harbor 38 cloned ST genes as the most likely QTL candidates. Thirty-four are Xian-Geng differentiated ones with the donor (Xian) alleles associated with ST, suggesting differentiated responses to salt stress were one of the major phenotypic differences between the two subspecies. At least eight ST QTLs and many others affecting yield traits were identified under salt/non-stress conditions. Our results indicated that the Xian gene pool contains rich ‘hidden’ genetic variation for developing superior Geng varieties with improved ST and YP, which could be efficiently exploited by selective introgression. The developed ST ILs and their genetic information on the donor alleles for ST and yield traits would provide a useful platform for developing superior ST and high-yield Geng varieties through breeding by design in the future.

Transcriptome Analysis to Elucidate the Effects of Milk Replacer Feeding Level on Intestinal Function and Development of Early Lambs.

Although early feeding strategies influence intestinal development, the effects of milk replacer (MR) feeding level on intestinal structure and functional development and underlying regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, 14 male Hu lambs were fed MR at 2% or 4% of their average body weight and weaned at 35 days of age. The MR was produced by the Institute of Feed Research of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and it contains 96.91% dry matter, 23.22% protein, and 13.20% fat. Jejunal tissues were assessed by RNA-seq for differences in the gene expression of lambs at 49 days of age; regulatory pathways and mechanisms of the effects of early nutrition on intestinal function and development were analyzed, along with growth performance, feed intake, jejunal histomorphology, and digestive enzyme activities. Increasing MR- feeding levels increased dry matter intake and daily gain before weaning, as well as lactase, amylase, lipase, trypsin, and chymotrypsin activities and intestinal villus length and muscular thickness. Overall, 1179 differentially expressed genes were identified, which were enriched in nutrient metabolism, coagulation cascades, and other pathways. Further, intensive MR feeding affected insulin sensitivity to reduce excessive glucose interception by intestinal tissues to ensure adequate absorbed glucose release into the portal circulation and promoted lipid and protein degradation in intestinal tissues to meet the energy demand of intestinal cells by regulating AHSG, IGFBP1, MGAT2, ITIH, and CYP2E1 expression.

Optimizing plant type structure to adjust the temporal and spatial distribution of water consumption and promote the growth and yield formation of cotton

Global warming leads to further shortage of agricultural water resources. Understanding the water consuming characteristics of different cotton cultivars is crucial for efficient utilization of water resources and yield increasing. However, there is little evidence about the effects of cotton cultivars with different plant-type structures on yield formation and temporal and spatial distribution of water consumption. A two-year experiment was conducted at the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate the water consumption of six cotton cultivars with different plant-type structures cotton using spatial grid method and water balance method combined with 5TE sensor. The leaf area index (LAI), biomass, yield and spatial distribution of bolls were also measured and analyzed. The results showed that the loose-type cultivars consumed more soil water than the compact-type cultivars, which was due to the higher water consumption in the 40–120 cm soil layer. The cumulative water consumption and water consumption of each soil layer (0–40 cm 40–80 cm and 80–120 cm) of different cotton cultivars had significant quadratic function relationship with LAI, and had significant linear positive correlation with biomass accumulation (aboveground biomass and underground biomass), with R2 greater than 0.8. When consuming the same amount of water, loose-type cultivars produced more biomass and larger green leaf area than compact-type cultivars. However, the yield-increasing and water-saving effects of the two plant-type structure cotton cultivars were similar, while SCRC 28 and Ji 228 have higher yield and water use efficiency (WUE), which were suitable to be popularized and planted in the cotton area of the Yellow River basin. Cotton yield was significantly negatively correlated with boll setting rate in upper canopy and water consumption in 0–40 cm soil layer, and the R respectively were − 0.82 and − 0.69; it was positively correlated with boll setting rate in lower canopy and water consumption in 80–120 cm soil layer, and the R respectively were 0.75 and 0.64. Therefore, increasing the WUE of 0–40 cm soil layer and water consumption in 80–120 cm soil layer was beneficial to high yield of cotton. By optimizing the structure of different plant types, the temporal and spatial distribution of water consumption of cotton can be adjusted, and the yield of cotton can be effectively improved. The results can provide a basis for cotton cultivar selection and precision irrigation management.

Topics and trends in fresh tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf research: A comprehensive bibliometric study.

Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a widely cultivated cash crop and tea is a favorite functional food in the world. Fresh tea leaves (FTLs) play a critical role in bridging the two fields closely related to tea cultivation and tea processing, those are, tea plant biology and tea biochemistry. To provide a comprehensive overview of the development stages, authorship collaboration, research topics, and hotspots and their temporal evolution trends in the field of FTLs research, we conducted a bibliometric analysis, based on 971 publications on FTLs-related research published during 2001-2021 from Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace, R package Bibliometrix, and VOSviewer were employed in this research. The results revealed that the development history can be roughly divided into three stages, namely initial stage, slow development stage and rapid development stage. Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry published most articles in this field, while Frontiers in Plant Science held the highest total citations and h-index. The most influential country, institution, and author in this field was identified as China, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and Xiaochun Wan, respectively. FTLs-related research can be categorized into three main topics: the regulation mechanism of key genes, the metabolism and features of essential compounds, and tea plants' growth and stress responses. The most concerning hotspots are the application of advanced technologies, essential metabolites, leaf color variants, and effective cultivation treatments. There has been a shift from basic biochemical and enzymatic studies to studies of molecular mechanisms that depend on multi-omics technologies. We also discussed the future development in this field. This study provides a comprehensive summary of the research field, making it easier for researchers to be informed about its development history, status, and trends.

Embracing diversity: a genetic marker dataset with increased marker density facilitates association studies in maize

Embracing diversity: a genetic marker dataset with increased marker density facilitates association studies in maize

Targeting staphylococcal bone infections

A novel quinolone antibiotic was developed by Shiladitya Sengupta and colleagues using molecular-docking simulation, and one lead compound, VCD-077, was selected based on this strategy.1 Antimicrobial resistance is increasing, driven by widespread antibiotic overuse in medical and agricultural settings.2 Paradoxically, despite the urgent need to develop a new generation of antibiotics, their marketability is suppressed, partly because the new antibacterial drug may quickly develop new resistance and the development of new antibiotics is sluggish.3, 4 The ideal next-generation antibiotic should demonstrate excellent activity against drug-resistant bacteria, good biosafety, flexible drug delivery, and the ability to retard the development of resistance. In this regard, recently researchers have focused on developing novel antibiotics by improving drug performance, availability, targeted enrichment, and reducing systemic toxicity. Reporting in Nature Biomedical Engineering, Shiladitya Sengupta and colleagues now show that VCD-077 screened by molecular-docking simulations exhibits excellent activity against drug-resistant bacteria and its biofilms, reduces the development of bacterial resistance and is compatible with bone cement for local delivery and treatment of staphylococcal bone infections in rats (Figure 1).1 Bone infections are rising rapidly due to accidental fractures and the global aging population.5 Sengupta and co-authors designed a series of quinolone antibiotics using molecular-docking simulation. They selected VCD-077 from 17 candidate antibiotics, which can effectively against clinical drug-resistant staphylococcal and retard the development of resistance. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ciprofloxacin, Staphylococcus aureus sensitive antibiotics, increased stepwise to 64.0 μg/ml by the 20th passage to S. aureus. While S. aureus were still sensitive to VCD-077 even at the 28th passage. Specifically, VCD-077 is potent against S. aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilms because it is a weak acid with a single pKa of 5.8, that is, it still maintains antibacterial activity at pH 5.5–7.4. In contrast, gentamicin lost part of its activity at acid pH 5.5. Therefore, VCD-077 has a unique advantage in the prevailing weakly acidic infected bone environment. Notably, VCD-077 is physicochemically compatible with polymethylmethacrylate bone cement, exhibits desired pharmacokinetics without loss of mechanical properties of bone cement. VCD-077-impregnated bone cement showed more powerful anti-infective activity compared with either FDA-approved rifampin or gentamicin-impregnated bone cement. Overall, the authors show that VCD-077-impregnated bone cement could be used as rational next-generation drugs or coatings to treat bone infections. The high efficacy of Sengupta and co-authors' VCD-077-impregnated bone cement suggests that flexible local administration can be achieved at ideal safe concentration, and is effective against resistant strains, as well as delaying the development of new resistance. However, before VCD-077-impregnated bone cement can be considered for the treatment of clinical bone infection, three main challenges were compelled to be discussed. First, the authors used rodents in this experiment, which may be differences between the efficacy of antibiotics-impregnated bone cement in rodents and human bones. Studies using larger animal infection models (such as pigs and monkeys) would employ to corroborate the impressive antimicrobial activity in rat models. Second, significant biosafety assessment under good laboratory practice guidelines should be performed. And third, new antibiotic development should focus on specific screening molecules and combinations with emerging nanoparticle-based delivery systems that can target both resistant and persistent bacterial populations.6 Developing novel antibacterial agent delivery systems to improve the bioavailability of antibiotics is a promising strategy for increasing the lifespan of newly developed antibiotics. Integration of such novel antibiotics and combinations into nanoparticle-based delivery systems or coating implants might transform the landscape of infectious diseases. Drafting the article: Zhang Xiangchun. Revising the manuscript: Xulin Hu and Hongping Chen. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD1601102), Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (No. Y2022QC24), and Innovative Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-ASTIP-2021-TRI, CAAS-ZDRW202011). The authors declare no conflict of interest. Not applicable. Not applicable.

Competition for Light Interception in Different Plant Canopy Characteristics of Diverse Cotton Cultivars.

Identifying the ideal plant nature and canopy structure is of great importance for improving photosynthetic production and the potential action of plants. To address this challenge, an investigation was accomplished in 2018 and 2019 at the Institute of Cotton Research (ICR) of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science (CAAS), Henan Province, China. Six cotton varieties with diverse maturities and plant canopy structures were used to evaluate the light interception (LI) in cotton, the leaf area index (LAI), the biomass, and the yield throughout the two years of study. The light spatial distribution in the plant canopy was evaluated using a geographic statistical method, following the increasing quantity of radiation intercepted, which was determined using the rules of Simpson. Compared to the cotton plants with a compact structure, varieties with both a loose and tower design captured a comparatively higher amount of light (average 31.3%) and achieved a higher LAI (average 32.4%), eventually achieving a high yield (average 10.1%). Furthermore, the polynomial correlation revealed a positive relationship between the biomass accumulation in the reproductive parts and canopy-accrued light interception (LI), signifying that light interception is critical for the yield development of cotton. Furthermore, when the leaf area index (LAI) was peaked, radiation interception and biomass reached the highest during the boll-forming stage. These findings will provide guidance on the light distribution in cotton cultivars with an ideal plant structure for light capture development, providing an important foundation for researchers to better manage light and canopies.

CRISPR/Cas9-guided knockout of eIF4E improves Wheat yellow mosaic virus resistance without yield penalty.

CRISPR/Cas9-guided knockout of eIF4E improves Wheat yellow mosaic virus resistance without yield penalty.