Plant Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals Functional Mechanisms and Gene Regulatory Networks Involved in Anther Development and Male Sterility

Gene transcription and transcriptional regulation are crucial biological processes in all cellular life. Through the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, transcriptome data from different tissues and developmental stages can be easily obtained, which provides us a powerful tool to reveal the transcriptional landscape of investigated tissue(s) at special developmental stage(s). Anther development is an important process not only for sexual plant reproduction but also for genic male sterility (GMS) used in agriculture production. Plant comparative transcriptomics has been widely used to uncover molecular mechanism of GMS. Here, we focused on researches of anther developmental process and plant GMS genes by using comparative transcriptomics method. In detail, the contents include the following: (1) we described the commonly used flowchart in comparative transcriptomics; (2) we summarized the comparative strategies used to analyze transcriptome data; (3) we presented a case study on a maize GMS gene, ZmMs33; (4) we described the methods and results previously reported on gene co-expression and gene regulatory networks; (5) we presented the workflow of a case study on gene regulatory network reconstruction. The further development of comparative transcriptomics will provide us more powerful theoretical and application tools to investigate molecular mechanism underlying anther development and plant male sterility

The influence of cultural exchange on international trade: an empirical test of Confucius Institutes based on China and the ‘Belt and Road’ areas

With the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative, the development of trade governance between China and countries along the line has expanded. Firstly, this paper analyzes the impact of cultural exchanges through Confucius Institutes on regional trade cooperation from three dimensions: improving cultural identity, reducing trade costs and sharing information. Secondly, we utilise data trade data from the 64 countries along the line from 2004 to 2015 to examine the effects of Confucius Institutes in regional trade cooperation with China. Overall, we found that Confucius Institutes have significantly promoted the trade growth of China and those countries. Compared to exports, Confucius Institutes promote greater growth imports to the Belt and Road countries from China. Compared to countries in the Road, Confucius Institutes better promoted trade growth between China and countries in the Belt. This empirical conclusion stands under various robustness tests. Forth, after the 12th five-yearplan, the promoting effects of the Confucius Institute has been strengthening. Fifth, the smaller the cultural distance, the stronger the promoting effects of the Confucius Institute on the trade in BRI countries. However, the effect of language similarity is not significant. This study indicates that the Chinese government should pay more attention to the economic effects of cultural factors, such as the Confucius Institute, in policy design

Traces Under the Surface

‘Traces Under the Surface’ is a research-led exhibition commissioned for the opening of the Red-River Culture Art Museum in Beijing, China. The exhibition investigated the transformation of everyday urban space during the Covid lockdown in Chinese cities. It explored how urban visual media can serve as an alternative observation tool for critically understanding the living experience during the pandemic via the lens of students in Beijing. Through a site-specific curation, the exhibition included a group of installations and a film produced in 2022. The co-curators are currently working on a publication with the Beijing Institute of Technology Press. The exhibition and the film examine the idea of a 'virtual field-trip' to map out a psychogeographic guide of Beijing during the pandemic lockdown. It foregrounds personal stories, as well as their social, spatial, and psychological connections with other people, objects, and spaces in the city. It resonates with the philosopher Judith Butler's writings on pandemic, to highlight how the pandemic illuminated the everyday object as a 'social form' that bears invisible traces. The exhibition aims to register and document the 'unnoticed' stories of grassroots who traverse, resist and negotiate with the authoritative restrictions - stories that would be struggling to find a place in official records but demonstrating an important layer of urban life in the city

Phytochemical Profiles and Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of the Leaves of Zanthoxylum bungeanum

The ethanol crude extracts (ECE) and their subfractions from Zanthoxylum bungeanum leaves were prepared and their phytochemical profiles and antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were investigated. Moreover, the effective HPLC procedure for simultaneous quantification of twelve compounds in Z. bungeanum leaves was established. The correlation between the phytochemicals and antioxidant activity was also discussed. The ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) had the highest total phenolic (97.29 mmol GAE/100 g) and flavonoid content (67.93 mmol QE/100 g), while the greatest total alkaloid content (4.39 mmol GAE/100 g) was observed in the chloroform fraction (CF). Twelve compounds were quantified by RP-HPLC assay. EAF exhibited the highest content of quercitrin, kaempferol-3-rhamnoside, quercetin, sesamin, and nitidine chloride (125.21, 54.95, 24.36, 26.24, and 0.20 mg/g); acetone fraction (AF) contained the highest content of chlorogenic acid, rutin, hyperoside, and trifolin (5.87, 29.94, 98.33, and 31.24 mg/g), while kaempferol-3-rhamnoside, xanthyletin, and sesamin were rich in CF. EAF and AF exhibited significant DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging abilities and reducing power (FRAP), whereas CF exhibited significant antifungal activity. Moreover, EAF also showed stronger antibacterial activity. In conclusion, Z. bungeanum leaves have health benefits when consumed and could be served as an accessible source for production of functional food ingredients and medicinal exploration

Two \u3ci\u3eMagnaporthe\u3c/i\u3e appressoria-specific (MAS) proteins, MoMas3 and MoMas5, are required for suppressing host innate immunity and promoting biotrophic growth in rice cells

In the devastating rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, six Magnaporthe appressoria-specific (MAS) proteins are encoded by MoGAS1, MoGAS2 and MoMAS3–MoMAS6. MoGAS1 and MoGAS2 were previously characterized as M. oryzae virulence factors; however, the roles of the other four genes are unknown. Here, we found that, although the loss of any MAS gene did not affect appressorial formation or vegetative growth, ΔMomas3 and ΔMomas5 mutant strains (but not the others) were reduced in virulence on susceptible CO-39 rice seedlings. Focusing on ΔMomas3 and ΔMomas5 mutant strains, we found that they could penetrate host leaf surfaces and fill the first infected rice cell but did not spread readily to neighbouring cells, suggesting they were impaired for biotrophic growth. Live-cell imaging of fluorescently labelled MoMas3 and MoMas5 proteins showed that during biotrophy, MoMas3 localized to the apoplastic compartment formed between fungal invasive hyphae and the plant-derived extra-invasive hyphal membrane while MoMas5 localized to the appressoria and the penetration peg. The loss of either MoMAS3 or MoMAS5 resulted in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in infected rice cells, resulting in the triggering of plant defences that inhibited mutant growth in planta. ΔMomas3 a nd ΔMomas5 biotrophic growth could be remediated by inhibiting host NADPH oxidases and suppressing ROS accumulation. Thus, MoMas3 and MoMas5 are novel virulence factors involved in suppressing host plant innate immunity to promote biotrophic growth