Supervisor(s): Ministry of Agriculture Sponsor(s): Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences；Chinese Association of Agricultural Science Societies CN：11-1328/S
Scientia Agricultura Sinica, the 1st in Comprehensive Agricultural Science, is supervised by Ministry of Agriculture of PRC, and sponsored by Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Chinese Association of Agricultural Science Societies. Scientia Agricultura Sinica, launched in 1960, is a leading peer-reviewed and mufti-disciplinary journal and published semi-monthly in Chinese with English title, abstract, figures, tables and references. It aims to publish those papers that are influential and will significantly advance scientific understanding in agriculture fields worldwide. The scope covers Crop Genetics, Breeding, Germplasm Resources; Physiology, Biochemistry, Cultivation, Tillage Plant Protection; Soil & Fertilization, Agro-Ecology & Environment, Bio-energy; Animal Science, Veterinary Science, Agricultural Information Science; Food Science; Agricultural Economics and Management; Agricultural Sustainability.
The journal is included in JST, CA and CSCD.
Editor-in-Chief Wan Jianmin Associate Editor-in-Chief Zou Ruicang Tang HuaJun Wu Kongming Guo YuYuan Geng Xu Sun Tan Executive Editor Lu Wenru
[Objective] The objective of this study is to clone the pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) gene of pink bollworm (
Pectinophora gossypiella), analyze its sequence characteristics, clarify its expression patterns at different developmental stages as well as correlation with mating behavior and cotton volatiles, which will provide a scientific basis for further revealing the biosynthesis and release mechanisms of sex pheromone in
P. gossypiella. [Method] The full-length cDNA sequence of
PgosPBAN was cloned by RACE technique. Gene assembly and amino acid sequence analysis were conducted by the software DNAMAN 6.0, and the protein secondary structure and bioinformatics information of PgosPBAN were predicted using Protparam and Chou & Fasman. The expression patterns of
PgosPBAN at different developmental stages of
P. gossypiella were detected and the effects of mating behavior and cotton volatiles on the expression level of
PgosPBAN were analyzed using real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). [Result] The full-length cDNA sequence of
PgosPBAN (GenBank accession number: KY987647) was obtained, and the total length of cDNA was 1 461 bp. The open reading frame (ORF) was 618 bp, encoding 205 amino acid residues. The lengths of 5′-untranslated region (5′UTR) and 3′-untranslated region (3′UTR) were 121 bp and 722 bp, respectively. The amino acid sequence encoded by
PgosPBAN contained five peptides, including diapause hormone homolog, α-SGNP, β-SGNP, PBAN, and γ-SGNP. Besides, it contained a signal peptide of 23 amino acid residues at the N terminus. The predicted molecular mass and isoelectric point were 2.41 kD and 9.25, respectively. The homology and phylogenetic analysis showed that PgosPBAN and PBAN of 15 lepidopteran insect species were located in the same clade, and PgosPBAN had the closest relationship with
Chilo suppressalis PBAN (GenBank accession number: ALM30314.1), suggesting that the two genes were likely developed from a common ancestral gene. The expression of
PgosPBAN was specific at different developmental stages, which was higher at adult stage, second at larval stage, and the lowest at pupal stage.
PgosPBAN was expressed in both female and male adults, and the expression level of
PgosPBAN in male adults was significantly higher than that in female adults from the 1st-day to 5th-day old. The expression level of
PgosPBAN in
P. gossypiella 1–3 days after mating was significantly higher than that in virgin moth. After exposed to cotton volatiles for 1–5 days, the expression level of
PgosPBAN in male adults had no significant difference compared with the control, but the expression levels of
PgosPBAN on the 1st, 8th day of female adults and 8th day of male adults were significantly lower than that in control. [Conclusion] The nucleotides and amino acid sequence characteristics of
PgosPBAN were clarified, and the protein secondary structure characteristics were analyzed. According to the expression level of
PgosPBAN at different developmental stages of
P. gossypiella and its relationship with mating behavior and the regulation of cotton volatiles, it is speculated that this gene not only is involved in the synthesis and release of female pheromone in
P. gossypiella, but also plays an important role in regulating male pheromones as well as growth and development.
[Objective] In order to improve the molecular mechanism of salt stress, we studied several aspects of MdWRKY18 and MdWRKY40 in apple WRKY transcription factors, including the protein structure, the expression level and the function in salt stress. [Method] We cloned the
MdWRKY18 and
MdWRKY40 genes in ‘Hongcui No. 2’ apple and analyzed their protein structure. The expression levels of
MdWRKY18 and
MdWRKY40 were studied by the qRT-PCR under the salt stress, and their promoter activities were analyzed using the GUS staining. We analyzed the interaction relationship between MdWRKY18 and MdWRKY40 proteins by yeast two-hybrid and verified their function by transgenosis. [Result] The analysis of protein structure showed that both MdWRKY18 and MdWRKY40 proteins contained a WRKY structural domain, a Cx5C structural domain and a HxH structural domain. The expression levels and promoter activities of
MdWRKY18 and
MdWRKY40 were induced by the 150 mmol·L
−1 NaCl. The yeast two-hybrid experiments showed that MdWRKY18 and MdWRKY40 could respectively interact with itself to form homodimers, and MdWRKY18 could also interact with MdWRKY40 to form heterodimers. When
MdWRKY18 and
MdWRKY40 were overexpressed respectively in orin callus, they could increase the callus weight under salt stress and promote the expression of
MdSOS1 and
MdNHX1. When
MdWRKY18 and
MdWRKY40 were co-overexpressed in orin callus, it could also promote the expression of
MdSOS1 and
MdNHX1. However, the weight of callus was heavier than the weight of callus overexpressing
MdWRKY18 or
MdWRKY40. [Conclusion]
MdWRKY18 and
MdWRKY40 were induced by the salt stress, and they could form homodimers or heterodimers, the overexpressing
MdWRKY18 or
MdWRKY40 in orin callus could increase its salt tolerance.
[Objective] The objective of this study was to provide a theoretical reference for the disease diagnosis and mitigation measures for goats under high temperature and high humidity conditions. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of temperature and relative humidity (RH) on the growth performance, urine routine, blood routine, and serum biophysiological and biochemical indexes in goats. [Method] According to the 4 × 4 factorial design of four temperatures (26 °C, 30 °C, 34 °C, and 38 °C) and four RH levels (35%, 50%, 65%, and 80%), eight goats of one and a half years old from the first filial generation of healthy Boer goat × Sannen dairy goat with similar body weight were allotted, and randomly divided into two groups (each group contained four replicates with one goat per replicate). The adjustment period lasted for 30 days in the natural environment. The experiment period of each group was 5 days and the goats were treated 24 h a day. The experiment was carried out by turns in artificial environment chambers according to the processing method. The body weight of each goat was recorded before and after trial begin, and the feed intake and water intake were also recorded every day. On days 3 and 5, blood was drawn from the jugular vein to determine the blood routine, and the serum samples were used to determine the serum indexes. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 software. [Result] (1) The interaction between temperature and RH significantly affected the average daily feed intake (ADFI) and average daily water intake (ADWI) (
P < 0.05), but did not significantly affect the average daily gain (ADG), feed to gain ratio, or blood routine indexes (
P > 0.05). The ADG of goats in each treatment group of 38 °C was significantly lower than that of 26 °C (
P < 0.05). The ADFI of goats at 38 °C was significantly lower than that at 26 °C and 30 °C (
P < 0.05). The white blood cell counts (WBCs) of goats at 65% RH and 80% RH were significantly lower than that at 35% RH (
P < 0.05). (2) On day 3, the interaction between temperature and RH significantly affected the content of potassium (K) as well as the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspertate aminotransferase (AST) in serum of goats (
P < 0.05). The content of K in serum of goats at 38 °C and 80% RH was significantly lower than those in other groups (
P < 0.05). The glucose (GLU), globulin (GLO), urea nitrogen (BUN), calcium (Ca), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in serum of goats at 38 °C were significantly lower than those at 26 °C and 30 °C (
P < 0.05). The GLU and BUN in serum of goats at 80% RH were significantly lower than those at 35% RH (
P < 0.05). On day 5, the interaction between temperature and RH significantly affected the contents of total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), GLO, BUN, Ca, K, phosphorus (P), sodium (Na), and activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in serum of goats (
P < 0.05). The GLU, chlorine (Cl), ALT, AST, ALP and creatine kinase (CK) in serum of goats at 34 °C and 38 °C were significantly lower than those at 26 °C (
P < 0.05). The GLU and Cl in the serum of goats at 60% RH and 80% RH were significantly lower than those at 35% RH (
P < 0.05). (3) On days 3 and 5, the concentrations of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalsae (CAT) in serum of goats at 38 °C, 80% RH and 38 °C, 65% RH were significantly lower than those at 26 °C (
P < 0.05). The concentrations of malonaldehyde (MDA) in the serums of goats at 34 °C and 38 °C were significantly higher than that at 26 °C (
P < 0.05). (4) As the temperature rose, the ADFI, ADG, TP, GLO, BUN, GLU, ALT, T-AOC, SOD, and CAT in serum deceased, but the ADWI and MDA in serum increased. As the RH rose, the ADFI, GLU, Cl, T-AOC, and GSH-Px in serum deceased, but the TP, LDH, and MDA in serum increased. (5) The TP, ALB, GLO, BUN, GLU, TC, TG, Ca, P, ALT, AST, ALP, LDH, and CK in serum on day 5 were lower than those on day 3, but the MDA in serum was higher on day 3, and the T-AOC, SOD, and GSH-Px in serum at 34 °C and 38 °C on day 5 were higher than those on day 3. [Conclusion] Temperature, RH, and their interaction affected the ADFI, ADWI, serum biochemical indicators, and antioxidant indicators of goats. The high temperature and high humidity environment had adverse effects on the growth performance and antioxidation function of goats, and the effect was the most serious for the goats at 38 °C and 80% RH. Moreover, with the extended duration of high temperature and humidity, the goats showed more extensive stress response.
[Objective] Soybean (
Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seeds generally form vitality from their physiological maturity stage (R6 or R7 stage). However, the seed is susceptible to high temperature and humidity (HTH) stress during this stage, which will lead to a decline in seed vigor. The results will lay a foundation for further studying the mechanism of seed vigor formation under abiotic stress. [Method] Primer Premier 5.0 was used to design primers, and the full-length cDNA sequence of
GmLEA was isolated by using the cDNAs of leaves of cv. Ningzhen No. 1 and Xiangdou No. 3 as the templates. The homologous amino acid sequences of GmLEA were searched by BLAST in NCBI database, the multiple protein sequences were aligned using MEGA 6.0 and DNAMAN, and the phylogenetic tree was constructed using the N-J algorithm of MEGA 6.0. Yeast two-hybrid experiments were performed to verify the interaction between GmLEA and GmCDPKSK5 in yeast. A vector for subcellular localization and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) was constructed. The interaction between GmLEA and GmCDPKSK5 in tobacco leaf cells and the subcellular localization of the encoded protein were analyzed by particle bombardment transformation of tobacco leaves. In addition, the tissue-specific expression of
GmLEA gene and the expression pattern of
GmLEA gene under HTH were analyzed by qRT-PCR, respectively. The pBI121 fusion expression vector was constructed and three homozygous
Arabidopsis lines with overexpression of
GmLEA were obtained through
Agrobacterium-mediated method, and three independent homozygous T
3 transgenic lines were used for analysis. [Result] The cDNA sequence of
GmLEA gene contained a 1 377-bp open reading frame (ORF), and the subcellular localization result showed that the encoded protein was located on the cell membrane. The results of yeast two-hybrid rotation verification showed that GmLEA could interact with GmCDPKSK5 in yeast. In addition, the bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) experiment showed that GmLEA could interact with GmCDPKSK5 on cell membrane of tobacco leaf cells. The results of tissue-specific analysis showed that
GmLEA gene had higher expression levels in developing and mature seeds of both cultivars. The expression level of
GmLEA first increased and then decreased during the development of cv. Xiangdou No. 3 seeds. During the process of seed development of cv. Ningzhen No. 1, the level of
GmLEA expression was rising and reached the highest 60 days after flowering. After high temperature and humidity (HTH) stress, the expression of
GmLEA decreased at the time point of 96 h in cv. Xiangdou No. 3, and increased at the other time points. However, the expression decreased at 24 h in cv. Ningzhen No. 1. The germination potential, germination rate, and seed vigor of
GmLEA gene in transgenic
Arabidopsis thaliana were significantly (
P < 0.01) higher than those of the wild type plants under HTH stress. [Conclusion] GmLEA is involved in the formation of seed vigor under HTH stress, and has specific interaction with GmCDPKSK5. It is speculated that they may participate in the formation of seed vigor under HTH stress.
[Objective] The industrial system of straw pyrolysis-biochar compound fertilizer (BCF)-ecological agriculture is emerging in China. As a suggested measure which could promote the soil organic carbon pool and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions through replacing chemical fertilizer, BCF application has the potential to participate in China’s ongoing carbon trading of voluntary emission reduction (VER). Development of a measurable, reportable and verifiable net greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quantification methodology is the basis for the implementation of VER carbon trading. The objective of this study was to discuss and develop a methodology for quantifying carbon sequestration and GHG emission mitigation in BCF project, which might provide a scientific basis and methodology support for BCF project to attend the VER carbon trading. [Method] Based on the theoretical framework of the methodology for VER projects, the discussion of how to develop a methodology for BCF project was performed from the aspects of project eligibility, baseline, boundary, carbon pool, key GHG sources, leakage, and net carbon sink quantification by incorporating the recorded VER methodologies, the existing frameworks of carbon sequestration and GHG reduction quantification in cropland, and the BCF scientific research basis. In addition, a case study was conducted to quantify the net carbon sink in BCF project under different cropping systems by using the data from literature collection and field survey, which assessed the feasibility of the discussed methodology by this study. [Result] This study indicated that the baseline scenario of BCF project should be the local conventional fertilization management in the methodology, and the boundary could be determined according to the difference of farmland operation mode, such as the boundaries of smallholder operated farmland and factory-farmland system intensively operated by enterprises. The key GHG sources and carbon pool considered in the methodology were suggested as the farmland N
2O and CH
4 emissions, and soil organic carbon pools, respectively. The extra GHG emissions induced by the transportation of BCF or the changes in original straw utilization method could be considered as leakage. According to the case study, the net carbon sink of 1 439.77 kg CO
2-eq·hm
−2 and 281.58 kg CO
2-eq·hm
−2 for the growing seasons of winter wheat and rice production could be obtained, respectively, when the boundary was set as smallholder operated farmland. However, in the boundary of factory-farmland system intensively operated by enterprises, the carbon sink obtained in the farmland might offset by the GHG emissions in the process of BCF production, and the net carbon sink of 1 479.01 kg CO
2-eq·hm
−2 and 340.43 kg CO
2-eq·hm
−2 for the growing seasons of winter wheat and rice production could be obtained, respectively, once the BCF production process was optimized. Given these, the optimization of BCF production process by recycling the by-products would make the carbon trading of VER by BCF project feasible. [Conclusion] A theoretical framework and a set of methods were proposed to quantify the net carbon sink for BCF project. The case study indicated that the developed methodology could be well applied into the quantification of net carbon sink for BCF project, and it was found that the dry cropping system had the higher net carbon sink than paddy rice cropping system under BCF project, while optimizing the production process of BCF was an important pathway to obtain the considerable amount of carbon sink under the factory-farmland system operated by enterprises. This study indicated that a national or industry standard of BCF should be established as soon as possible to provide a theoretical basis for project eligibility identification. Meanwhile, the attention should be paid to the development of regional specific N
2O and CH
4 emission reduction factors and soil carbon sequestration factors for different types of BCFs applied.
