Genome-Wide Characterization and Analysis of bHLH Transcription Factors Related to Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Cinnamomum camphora ('Gantong 1')

Cinnamomum camphora is one of the most commonly used tree species in landscaping. Improving its ornamental traits, particularly bark and leaf colors, is one of the key breeding goals. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) are crucial in controlling anthocyanin biosynthesis in many plants. However, their role in C. camphora remains largely unknown. In this study, we identified 150 bHLH TFs (CcbHLHs) using natural mutant C. camphora 'Gantong 1', which has unusual bark and leaf colors. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 150 CcbHLHs were divided into 26 subfamilies which shared similar gene structures and conserved motifs. According to the protein homology analysis, we identified four candidate CcbHLHs that were highly conserved compared to the TT8 protein in A. thaliana. These TFs are potentially involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in C. camphora. RNA-seq analysis revealed specific expression patterns of CcbHLHs in different tissue types. Furthermore, we verified expression patterns of seven CcbHLHs (CcbHLH001, CcbHLH015, CcbHLH017, CcbHLH022, CcbHLH101, CcbHLH118, and CcbHLH134) in various tissue types at different growth stages using qRT-PCR. This study opens a new avenue for subsequent research on anthocyanin biosynthesis regulated by CcbHLH TFs in C. camphora

Evaluation of the synergetic gas-enrichment and higher-permeability regions for coalbed methane recovery with a fuzzy model

Determination of the synergetic region with both coalbed methane (CBM) enrichment and higher permeability and its distribution is fundamentally crucial to optimize well design and pattern arrangement for CBM recovery from coal. To address this issue, a predictive model was developed based on fuzzy theory by taking into account the main geological factors that affect the gas enrichment and permeability in coal reservoirs. Following the statistical analysis on a number of geological parameters, Euclid approach degree (a comprehensive evaluation coefficient) and fuzzy matter-elements were determined and integrated into the model. The information entropy method was used to evaluate the effect weight of each geologic factor on overall object of the synergetic gas-enrichment and higher-permeability region. The model was applied to the coal seam No. 3 of a developing coal block in the south of Qinshui basin as an example. The results show that the geological factors such as coal rank, gas saturation, coping thickness, transitional coal structure, and volatile content determine the distributions of the synergetic gas-enrichment and higher-permeability region with higher weight coefficients over 9%. Compared with these key factors, the factors such as coal thickness, gas content, methane concentration, ash content, principal stress difference, fracture density, porosity, and burial depth have only the weight coefficients o

Genome-Wide Characterization and Analysis of bHLH Transcription Factors Related to Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in <i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> (‘Gantong 1’)

Cinnamomum camphora is one of the most commonly used tree species in landscaping. Improving its ornamental traits, particularly bark and leaf colors, is one of the key breeding goals. The basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) are crucial in controlling anthocyanin biosynthesis in many plants. However, their role in C. camphora remains largely unknown. In this study, we identified 150 bHLH TFs (CcbHLHs) using natural mutant C. camphora ‘Gantong 1’, which has unusual bark and leaf colors. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 150 CcbHLHs were divided into 26 subfamilies which shared similar gene structures and conserved motifs. According to the protein homology analysis, we identified four candidate CcbHLHs that were highly conserved compared to the TT8 protein in A. thaliana. These TFs are potentially involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in C. camphora. RNA-seq analysis revealed specific expression patterns of CcbHLHs in different tissue types. Furthermore, we verified expression patterns of seven CcbHLHs (CcbHLH001, CcbHLH015, CcbHLH017, CcbHLH022, CcbHLH101, CcbHLH118, and CcbHLH134) in various tissue types at different growth stages using qRT-PCR. This study opens a new avenue for subsequent research on anthocyanin biosynthesis regulated by CcbHLH TFs in C. camphora

Block scale investigation on gas content of coalbed methane reservoirs in southern Qinshui basin with statistical model and visual map

This study performs a block scale investigation on gas content of a coal reservoir in Zhengzhuang Block of the southern Qinshui basin in China. The gas content of Coal Seam No. 3 in this coal reservoir was measured in field and laboratory in conjunction with tests on coal properties such as adsorption isotherm, maximum vitrinite reflectance, coal composition and maceral component etc. Total 36 coal cores collected from 3 adjacent coalmines in the southern Qinshui basin were investigated, including analysis of logging data from the drilling wells. The investigations provided experimental data for block scale modeling and visualization analyses on the correlation between gas content and the key factors such as coal properties and geological conditions of the coal reservoir. Data obtained by field and lab tests were analyzed by statistical models in order to correlate gas content and individual type of coal properties and geological variables. The statistical model was then used to map the gas content of the target coal seam in the studied area, resulting in a flood map of gas content at a 1:50000 scale. The flood map was further visualized with other variables in terms of the properties of coal and coal reservoir and its geological conditions. These visualized maps provide useful geological interpretation for block scale investigation of the comprehensive relationships between the gas content and the coal properties and regional structure in the given coal reservoir. The results show that gas content has little correlation with coal rank, maceral composition, coal thickness, cap and bottom lithology, while it is highly related to the structural properties such as burial depth and effective cover thickness. A stagnant hydrodynamic condition is favorable to the higher gas content on the whole but does not contribute to gas lateral and local variation. Canonical correlation and principal component analysis on the statistical model reveal the key factors that control the gas content are burial depth, effective thickness of overlying strata, groundwater level and moisture content in coal seam

Characterization and pathogenicity evaluation of recombinant novel duck reovirus isolated from Southeast China

The novel duck reovirus (NDRV) emerged in southeast China in 2005. The virus causes severe liver and spleen hemorrhage and necrosis in various duck species, bringing serious harm to waterfowl farming. In this study, three strains of NDRV designated as NDRV-ZSS-FJ20, NDRV-LRS-GD20, and NDRV-FJ19 were isolated from diseased Muscovy ducks in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Pairwise sequence comparisons revealed that the three strains were closely related to NDRV, with nucleotide sequence identities for 10 genomic fragments ranging between 84.8 and 99.8%. In contrast, the nucleotide sequences of the three strains were only 38.9–80.9% similar to the chicken-origin reovirus and only 37.6–98.9% similar to the classical waterfowl-origin reovirus. Similarly, phylogenetic analysis revealed that the three strains clustered together with NDRV and were significantly different from classical waterfowl-origin reovirus and chicken-origin reovirus. In addition, the analyses showed that the L1 segment of the NDRV-FJ19 strain was a recombinant of 03G and J18 strains. Experimental reproduction of the disease showed that the NDRV-FJ19 strain was pathogenic to both ducks and chickens and could lead to symptoms of hemorrhage and necrosis in the liver and spleen. This was somewhat different from previous reports that NDRV is less pathogenic to chickens. In conclusion, we speculated that the NDRV-FJ19 causing duck liver and spleen necrosis is a new variant of a duck orthoreovirus that is significantly different in pathogenicity from any previously reported waterfowl-origin orthoreovirus