ZmGCT1/2 negatively regulate drought tolerance in maize by inhibiting ZmSLAC1 to maintain guard cell turgor.

Stomata, which are essential for the exchange of CO and water vapor between plant leaves and the atmosphere, are regulated by a variety of environmental and internal factors. In this study, we identified and characterized two genes, () and its closest homolog , which encode rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (RAF)-like protein kinases that play a critical role in maintaining guard cell turgor in . We found that overexpression of and confers resistance to abscisic acid (ABA)-promoted stomatal closure, whereas the double loss-of-function mutants exhibit a loss of guard cell turgor, resulting in nearly closed stomata even under favorable growth conditions.

ZmCRK1 negatively regulates maize's response to drought stress by phosphorylating plasma membrane H-ATPase ZmMHA2.

Drought severely affects crop growth and yields. Stomatal regulation plays an important role in plant response to drought stress. Light-activated plasma membrane-localized proton ATPase (PM H-ATPase) mainly promoted the stomatal opening.

Phosphorylation of ZmAL14 by ZmSnRK2.2 regulates drought resistance through derepressing ZmROP8 expression.

Drought stress has negative effects on crop growth and production. Characterization of transcription factors that regulate the expression of drought-responsive genes is critical for understanding the transcriptional regulatory networks in response to drought, which facilitates the improvement of crop drought tolerance. Here, we identified an Alfin-like (AL) family gene ZmAL14 that negatively regulates drought resistance.

Ca-independent ZmCPK2 is inhibited by Ca-dependent ZmCPK17 during drought response in maize.

Calcium oscillations are induced by different stresses. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs/CPKs) are one major group of the plant calcium decoders that are involved in various processes including drought response. Some CPKs are calcium-independent.

AtMCM10 promotes DNA replication-coupled nucleosome assembly in Arabidopsis.

Minichromosome Maintenance protein 10 (MCM10) is essential for DNA replication initiation and DNA elongation in yeasts and animals. Although the functions of MCM10 in DNA replication and repair have been well documented, the detailed mechanisms for MCM10 in these processes are not well known. Here, we identified AtMCM10 gene through a forward genetic screening for releasing a silenced marker gene.

Nitrate availability controls translocation of the transcription factor NAC075 for cell-type-specific reprogramming of root growth.

Plant root architecture flexibly adapts to changing nitrate (NO) availability in the soil; however, the underlying molecular mechanism of this adaptive development remains under-studied. To explore the regulation of NO-mediated root growth, we screened for low-nitrate-resistant mutant (lonr) and identified mutants that were defective in the NAC transcription factor NAC075 (lonr1) as being less sensitive to low NO in terms of primary root growth. We show that NAC075 is a mobile transcription factor relocating from the root stele tissues to the endodermis based on NO availability.

The transcriptional co-repressor SEED DORMANCY 4-LIKE (AtSDR4L) promotes the embryonic-to-vegetative transition in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Repression of embryonic traits during the seed-to-seedling phase transition requires the inactivation of master transcription factors associated with embryogenesis. How the timing of such inactivation is controlled is unclear. Here, we report on a novel transcriptional co-repressor, Arabidopsis thaliana SDR4L, that forms a feedback inhibition loop with the master transcription factors LEC1 and ABI3 to repress embryonic traits post-imbibition.

Chl1 coordinates with H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4 to reduce the accumulation of RNA-DNA hybrids and maintain genome stability.

A genome-wide analysis in indicated that double-deletion mutants of Chl1 and histone H3K9 methyltransferase complex factors are synthetically sick. Here, we show that loss of Chl1 increases the accumulation of RNA-DNA hybrids at pericentromeric dg and dh repeats in the absence of the H3K9 methyltransferase Clr4, which leads to genome instability, including more severe defects in chromosome segregation and increased chromatin accessibility. Localization of Chl1 at pericentromeric regions depends on a subunit of replication protein A (RPA), Ssb1.

Convergent selection of a WD40 protein that enhances grain yield in maize and rice.

A better understanding of the extent of convergent selection among crops could greatly improve breeding programs. We found that the quantitative trait locus in maize and its rice ortholog, , experienced convergent selection. These orthologs encode WD40 proteins and interact with a gene of unknown function, DUF1644, to negatively regulate grain number in both crops.

Detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in a population at risk: iodine-enhanced multidetector CT and/or gadoxetic acid-enhanced 3.0 T MRI.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of iodine-enhanced multidetector CT and gadoxetic acid-enhanced 3.0 Tesla (T) MRI for detection of hepatocellular carcinoma of patients.

Design: Retrospective, multicentre cohort study.

High-Throughput and Accurate Determination of Transgene Copy Number and Zygosity in Transgenic Maize: From DNA Extraction to Data Analysis.

It is vital to develop high-throughput methods to determine transgene copy numbers initially and zygosity during subsequent breeding. In this study, the target sequence of the previously reported endogenous reference gene was analyzed using 633 maize inbred lines, and two SNPs were observed. These SNPs significantly increased the PCR efficiency, while the newly developed gene assay (hmg-taq-F2/R2) excluding these SNPs reduced the efficiency into normal ranges.

Mutual upregulation of HY5 and TZP in mediating phytochrome A signaling.

Phytochrome A (phyA) is the far-red (FR) light photoreceptor in plants that is essential for seedling de-etiolation under FR-rich environments, such as canopy shade. TANDEM ZINC-FINGER/PLUS3 (TZP) was recently identified as a key component of phyA signal transduction in Arabidopsis thaliana; however, how TZP is integrated into the phyA signaling networks remains largely obscure. Here, we demonstrate that ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL5 (HY5), a well-characterized transcription factor promoting photomorphogenesis, mediates FR light induction of TZP expression by directly binding to a G-box motif in the TZP promoter.

Verticillium dahliae effector VDAL protects MYB6 from degradation by interacting with PUB25 and PUB26 E3 ligases to enhance Verticillium wilt resistance.

Verticillium wilt is a severe plant disease that causes massive losses in multiple crops. Increasing the plant resistance to Verticillium wilt is a critical challenge worldwide. Here, we report that the hemibiotrophic Verticillium dahliae-secreted Asp f2-like protein VDAL causes leaf wilting when applied to cotton leaves in vitro but enhances the resistance to V.

Natural variation in a type-A response regulator confers maize chilling tolerance.

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a cold-sensitive species that often faces chilling stress, which adversely affects growth and reproduction. However, the genetic basis of low-temperature adaptation in maize remains unclear.

ZMK1 Is Involved in K Uptake and Regulated by Protein Kinase ZmCIPK23 in .

Potassium (K) is one of essential mineral elements for plant growth and development. K channels, especially AKT1-like channels, play crucial roles in K uptake in plant roots. Maize is one of important crops; however, the K uptake mechanism in maize is little known.

Metabolomics-driven gene mining and genetic improvement of tolerance to salt-induced osmotic stress in maize.

The farmland of the world's main corn-producing area is increasingly affected by salt stress. Therefore, the breeding of salt-tolerant cultivars is necessary for the long-term sustainability of global corn production. Previous studies have shown that natural maize varieties display a large diversity of salt tolerance, yet the genetic variants underlying such diversity remain poorly discovered and applied, especially those mediating the tolerance to salt-induced osmotic stress (SIOS).

Survey report on keratoplasty in China: A 5-year review from 2014 to 2018.

To provide the general information on corneal transplantation (CT) in China, China Cornea Society designed a questionnaire on CT from 2014 to 2018 and entrusted it to 31 committee members for implementation of the survey nationwide. This article presents the results of the survey and compares the indicators used in the survey and those in the annual statistical report released by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). The number of corneal transplantations completed by the 64 hospitals from 2014 to 2018 was respectively 5377, 6394, 7595, 8270 and 8980, totally 36,616 (22,959 male and 13,657 female).

The cold response regulator CBF1 promotes Arabidopsis hypocotyl growth at ambient temperatures.

Light and temperature are two core environmental factors that coordinately regulate plant growth and survival throughout their entire life cycle. However, the mechanisms integrating light and temperature signaling pathways in plants remain poorly understood. Here, we report that CBF1, an AP2/ERF-family transcription factor essential for plant cold acclimation, promotes hypocotyl growth under ambient temperatures in Arabidopsis.

MYB30 Is a Key Negative Regulator of Arabidopsis Photomorphogenic Development That Promotes PIF4 and PIF5 Protein Accumulation in the Light.

Phytochromes are red (R) and far-red (FR) light photoreceptors in plants, and PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) are a group of basic helix-loop-helix family transcription factors that play central roles in repressing photomorphogenesis. Here, we report that MYB30, an R2R3-MYB family transcription factor, acts as a negative regulator of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis (). We show that MYB30 preferentially interacts with the Pfr (active) forms of the phytochrome A (phyA) and phytochrome B (phyB) holoproteins and that MYB30 levels are induced by phyA and phyB in the light.

PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS Interact with the ABA Receptors PYL8 and PYL9 to Orchestrate ABA Signaling in Darkness.

PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) are a group of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors that can physically interact with photoreceptors, including phytochromes and cryptochromes. It was previously demonstrated that PIFs accumulated in darkness and repressed seedling photomorphogenesis, and that PIFs linked different photosensory and hormonal pathways to control plant growth and development. In this study, we show that PIFs positively regulate the ABA signaling pathway during the seedling stage specifically in darkness.

LINC00858 promotes retinoblastoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion by inhibiting miR-3182.

The aim of the present study was to determine the role of long intergenic non-protein coding RNA 858 (LINC00858) in retinoblastoma (RB) and investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms. RB tissues and paracancerous tissues of 27 RB cases were obtained. RB cell lines (SO-RB50, Y79, HXO-RB44 and WERI-Rb1) and a normal retinal epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) were cultured for experiments.

METHIONINE SYNTHASE1 Is Involved in Chromatin Silencing by Maintaining DNA and Histone Methylation.

DNA methylation and histone modification are important epigenetic marks that coregulate gene expression and genome stability. To identify factors involved in chromatin silencing, we carried out a forward genetic screen for mutants that release the silenced : () in Arabidopsis (). We identified an epigenetic regulator, METHIONINE SYNTHASE1 (ATMS1), which catalyzes the synthesis of methionine (Met) in the one-carbon metabolism pathway.

Peroxisomal β-oxidation regulates histone acetylation and DNA methylation in .

Epigenetic markers, such as histone acetylation and DNA methylation, determine chromatin organization. In eukaryotic cells, metabolites from organelles or the cytosol affect epigenetic modifications. However, the relationships between metabolites and epigenetic modifications are not well understood in plants.

The involvement of the mGluR5-mediated JNK signaling pathway in rats with diabetic retinopathy.

Objective: To understand the involvement of the mGluR5-mediated JNK signaling pathway in rats with diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: This study established rat models of diabetes mellitus (DM), which were divided into Normal, DM, DM + CHPG (mGluR5 agonist CHPG), and DM + MTEP (mGluR5 antagonist MTEP) groups. The blood glucose and weight of rats were recorded.