Main Methods Applied in Fertigation Technology

In order to better promote extension and application of fertigation technology, this paper elaborates major technical issues. It presents pipeline diameter control and increasing the uniformity in selection of methods of irrigation system types and in the process of system design. Besides, it introduces characteristics and use methods of main fertilizer application equipment, filter, and control devices. In addition, it lists amount of fertilizer application and irrigation according to target yield of crops, and describes major attentions for selection of fertilizers, irrigation, and soil moisture control

Identification, classification, and transcription profiles of the B-type response regulator family in pear

<div><p>Type-B response regulators (B-RRs) are transcription factors that function in the final step of two-component signaling systems. In model plants, B-RRs have been shown to play important roles in cytokinin signal transduction. However, the functions of B-RRs in pear have not been well studied. In this report, we conducted a genome-wide analysis and identified 11 putative genes encoding B-PpRR proteins based on the published genome sequence of <i>Pyrus bretschneideri</i>. A phylogenetic tree of the <i>B-PpRR</i> family was constructed, and the motif distribution, chromosome localization, and gene structure of <i>B-PpRR</i> family genes were determined. Gene transcript profiles, which were determined from transcriptome data, indicated that <i>B-PpRR</i> genes potentially function during pear fruit development, bud dormancy, and light/hormone-induced anthocyanin accumulation. Treatment of the fruitlets of ‘Cuiguan’ pear (<i>Pyrus pyrifolia</i>), which never accumulates anthocyanin, with the cytokinin N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)- N′-phenylurea (CPPU) clearly induced anthocyanin accumulation. Anthocyanins accumulated in the skin of fruitlets by 16 days after CPPU treatment, along with the significant activation of most anthocyanin biosynthetic genes. Analyses of <i>B-PpRR</i> transcript levels suggested that <i>B-PpRR</i> genes mediated this accumulation of anthocyanins. These findings enrich our understanding of the function of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes in the physiological processes of pear.</p></div

Transcript profiles of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes during bud dormancy.

<p>Transcription profiles during bud dormancy were determined from transcriptome data. Transcript levels were normalized with min-max method. Samples of <i>P</i>. <i>pyrifolia</i> white pear group cv. Suli were collected from Nov. 15 2011 to Feb. 15 2012. Transcription profiles of <i>P</i>. <i>pyrifolia</i> ‘Kosui’ corresponded to endo (endodormancy) and eco (transitional state of endodormancy and ecodormancy) stages.</p

Transcript profile of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes in different development stages of different pears.

<p>Transcription profiles in different fruits were determined from transcriptome data. Transcript levels were normalized with min-max method. Samples were collected at 0, 7, 35, and 85 days after full bloom and maturity. XQ, <i>Pyrifolia</i> cv. Xueqing.</p

Chromosomal distribution and structures of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes in pear.

<p>a. Distribution of nine <i>B-PpRR</i> genes on six pear chromosomes; remaining two <i>B-PpRR</i> genes were located on scaffolds that have not been mapped to chromosomes. b. Gene structure of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes. Gray rectangles represent exons, lines represent introns.</p

Phylogenetic and structural analysis of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes.

<p>a. Phylogenetic tree constructed with B-RR protein sequences from pear (B-PpRR), apple (MDP), strawberry (mma), and <i>Arabidopsis</i> (ARR). Protein sequences were obtained from the Plant Transcription Factor Database. Phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA5.0 by the neighbor-joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates. B-PpRR proteins clustered into four groups. b. Distribution of conserved motifs in B-PpRR protein sequences. Motifs (1–30) were identified using MEME search tool. Most important motifs are listed. Length and order of each motif corresponds to actual length and position in protein sequence. Motifs 7, 5, 4/17, 6, and 2 correspond to REC signal receiver domain; motifs 1 and 3 correspond to MYB domain.</p

Heat maps showing transcriptional profiles of <i>B-PpRR</i> genes after removing bags from fruit of <i>P</i>. <i>pyrifolia</i> Nakai ‘Meirensu’.

<p>Gene transcript profiles were determined from transcriptome data. Transcript levels were normalized with min-max method.</p

Anthocyanin induction in <i>P</i>. <i>pyrifolia cv</i>. Cuiguan by N-(2-chloro-4-pyridyl)- N′-phenylurea (CPPU) treatment.

<p>a. Anthocyanin accumulation and phenotypes of ‘Cuiguan’ at 0, 3, 7, 11, 16, 21, and 31 days after 30 mg/L CPPU or water treatment. b. Transcript levels of anthocyanin biosynthetic genes and regulatory genes. c. Transcript levels of cytokinin receptor genes. d. Transcript levels of group II <i>B-PpRR</i> genes after CPPU treatment. Values shown are mean ± standard error of three replicates.</p

Intranasal booster using an Omicron vaccine confers broad mucosal and systemic immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Abstract The highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants severely attenuated the effectiveness of currently licensed SARS-CoV-2 vaccines based on ancestral strains administered via intramuscular injection. In this study, we generated a recombinant, replication-incompetent human adenovirus type 5, Ad5-S-Omicron, that expresses Omicron BA.1 spike. Intranasal, but not intramuscular vaccination, elicited spike-specific respiratory mucosal IgA and residential T cell immune responses, in addition to systemic neutralizing antibodies and T cell immune responses against most Omicron subvariants. We tested intranasal Ad5-S-Omicron as a heterologous booster in mice that previously received intramuscular injection of inactivated ancestral vaccine. In addition to inducing serum broadly neutralizing antibodies, there was a significant induction of respiratory mucosal IgA and neutralizing activities against Omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, BA.2.75, BF.7 as well as pre-Omicron strains Wildtype, Beta, and Delta. Serum and mucosal neutralizing activities against recently emerged XBB, BQ.1, and BQ.1.1 could also be detected but were much lower. Nasal lavage fluids from intranasal vaccination contained multimeric IgA that can bind to at least 10 spike proteins, including Omicron subvariants and pre-Omicron strains, and possessed broadly neutralizing activities. Intranasal vaccination using Ad5-S-Omicron or instillation of intranasal vaccinee’s nasal lavage fluids in mouse nostrils protected mice against Omicron challenge. Taken together, intranasal Ad5-S-Omicron booster on the basis of ancestral vaccines can establish effective mucosal and systemic immunity against Omicron subvariants and multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants. This candidate vaccine warrants further development as a safe, effective, and user-friendly infection and transmission-blocking vaccine