MeJA regulates the accumulation of baicalein and other 4’-hydroxyflavones during the hollowed root development in Scutellaria baicalensis

The dried roots of Scutellaria baicalensis are important traditional Chinese medicine used to treat liver and lung inflammation. An anomalous structure, hollowed root, was discovered in perennial cultivated Scutellaria baicalensis. The presence of the hollow may change the contents of bioactive metabolites, such as baicalein, and other 4’-hydroxyflavones in Scutellaria baicalensis roots, but the relationship between the hollowed root and bioactive metabolite contents is poorly understood. In this study, we identified the anatomical structure of the hollowed root and detected differentially accumulating flavonoid metabolites and enzymes related to 4’-hydroxyflavone biosynthesis in 3-year-old roots with a hollow. We confirmed that methyl jasmonate (MeJA) induced the accumulation of 4’-hydroxyflavones and the expression of enzymes related to 4’-hydroxyflavone biosynthesis in hydroponically cultured Scutellaria baicalensis roots. The development of the hollowed root were divided into 4 stages. The 4’-hydroxyflavone contents and expression of enzymes related to 4’-hydroxyflavone biosynthesis increased synchronously with the content of MeJA during the development of hollowed root. Pathogen and programed-cell-death related genes were induced during hollowed root development. Taken together, our results provide novel insight into the importance of MeJA in the development of hollowed root and the accumulation of 4’-hydroxyflavones in Scutellaria baicalensis roots. Our results suggest that a pathogen and senescence are the two major causes for the development of hollowed root in Scutellaria baicalensis roots

Rural Housing Rental Rates in China: Regional Differences, Influencing Factors, and Policy Implications

Through recognition and mastery of the regional differences and influencing factors of China’s rural housing rental rates, we can better understand changes in the functional attributes of homesteads and deepen the reform of “separating rural land ownership rights, contract rights, and management rights” of homesteads. Accordingly, this paper uses village residence data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey to measure the degree of regional differences in rural housing rental rates at the province level and empirically analyze the influencing factors with villages (residences) as measuring unit. The study yields four main findings. First, rural housing rental behavior exists to varying degrees in the vast majority of provinces nationwide. Second, according to the spatial distribution pattern, rural housing rental rates are generally high in the eastern coastal region and low in the central, western, and northeastern regions, mainly reflecting unique characteristics of the eastern region. Third, although the level of economic development is important, it is not the only factor explaining regional differences in rural housing rental rates. Fourth, rural housing rental rates are mainly influenced by a combination of three types of factors: physiographic, socioeconomic, and village governance factors. Among them, factors such as proximity to suburban areas, the proportion of non-local permanent residents, annual per capita income, and village infrastructure conditions have significant positive effects, whereas factors such as distance from administrative centers, reliance on funding from the higher-level authority of the village committee, and the degree of harmony between villages and cadres have significant negative effects. By interpreting the policy implications of these findings, we hope to provide a reference for localized, categorical reform of the homestead system

Two Types of mafic rocks in southern Tibet: A mark of tectonic setting change from Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust subduction to Indian continental crust subduction

We collated existing data for the Eocene Langshan mafic rocks (Eocene mafic rocks) and the Miocene potassic c-ultrapotassic mafic rocks (Miocene mafic rocks) in southern Tibet to investigate the tectonic transition from Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust subduction to Indian continental crust subduction. The Eocene mafic rocks have high Na2O contents (K2O/Na2O = 0.03-0.2) and show OIB-like trace element patterns (e.g., positive Nb and Ta anomalies) and depleted radiogenic Sr-Nd isotope compositions (Sr-87/Sr-86 of apatite = 0.7031, epsilon Nd-(t) = +5.1 to +6.1). In contrast, the Miocene mafic rocks have high K2O contents (K2O/Na2O = 1.9-8.5) and exhibit arc like trace element patterns (enrichment in LILEs and depletion in HFSEs) and enriched radiogenic Sr-Nd isotope compositions (Sr-87/Sr-86 = 0.7115-0.7362, epsilon Nd-(t) = -16 to -12.4). The mantle source for the Eocene mafic rocks was generated by reactions between asthenospheric mantle wedge and felsic melts from subducted Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust (outside the field of rutile stability). In contrast, the mantle source of the Miocene mafic rocks was generated by reactions between asthenospheric (or lithospheric) mantle wedge and felsic melts from subducted Indian continental crust. Taking into account the regional tectonic evolution, we propose that break-off of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab and roll-back and/or break-off of the Indian continental slab were the most likely geodynamic mechanisms that led to the production of the Eocene and Miocene mafic rocks, respectively. Therefore, the transition from the Eocene to Miocene mafic rocks in southern Tibet provides an opportunity to understand the tectonic transition from Neo-Tethyan oceanic to Indian continental crust subduction

Petrogenesis of the ca. 80Ma felsic-intermediate magmatism in the Zhongdian arc terrane and western Yangtze block: Implications for post-collisional metallogenesis

The Relin Mo-Cu deposit and Tongchanggou Mo polymetallic deposit located in the Zhongdian arc which is the southern part of the Yidun arc of Sanjiang Tethys Region. Mineralization is closely associated with the Relin monzonitic granites and Tongchanggou granodiorite-porphyry, which were formed at 79. 0 +/- 1. 4Ma and 81. 3 +/- 1. 1Ma, respectively, according to LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb dating. Geochemically, the Relin and Tongchanggou rocks have high SiO2 ( > 65%) and Al2O3 ( 13. 74% similar to 14. 91%) , low MgO (0. 86%similar to 1. 49% ) and Mg-#( 36. 3 similar to 47. 3) , and affinity of adakitic rocks given their high Sr (326 x 10(-6) similar to 1174 x 10(-6)) , Sr/Y (22 similar to 86) and La/Yb (30 similar to 70) ratios, and low Y (10. 2 x 10(-6) similar to 15. 6 x 10(-6)) and Yb (1. 00 x 10(-6) similar to 1. 51 x 10(-6)). These geochemical characters indicate that the Relin and Tongchanggou rocks were derived from partial melting of the thickened lower continental crust within garnet as residual minerals. Additionally, our zircon U-Pb dating reveals that the Dali granites in the western Yangtze block were formed at 76. 4 +/- 2. 3Ma, indicating that the Late Cretaceous magmatism are also developed in the western Yangtze block. We suggest that the western Yangtze block probably have the similar tectonic environment with the Zhongdian arc in the Late Cretaceous

Effects of Rice Straw Combined with Inorganic Fertilizer on Grain Filling and Yield of Common Buckwheat

This study aims to clarify the effect of rice straw combined with inorganic fertilizer on the grain-filling characteristics and yield formation of common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and provide a scientific basis for straw fertilizer utilization and the scientific fertilization of common buckwheat in Guizhou Province.Common buckwheat ‘Fengtian1’ was field-grown and treated with no straw and no fertilization (CK), no straw with normal fertilizer (SF), full straw with 20% reduction in conventional fertilization (SH), full straw with 40% reduction in conventional fertilization (SM), full straw with 80% reduction inconventional fertilization (SL), and full straw with no fertilization (HT). The results showed that the initial growth power (R0), maximum and average grain-filling rate, and starch synthase activity of the superior grains were higher than those of the inferior grains. Compared with CK, the treatments with straw and inorganic fertilizers remarkably increased the contents of available nitrogen, available potassium, available phosphorus, and organic matter in the rhizosphere of common buckwheat. SH and SF treatments remarkablyimproved the fertilizer contribution rate and fertilizer agronomic utilization rate, promoted root growth, and enhanced the starch branching enzyme and soluble starch synthase activities of superior and inferior grains. Compared with CK, SH treatment considerably increased the number of grains per plant, grain weight per plant, 100-grain weight, and final yield. Thus, straw combined with inorganic fertilizers, particularlythe SH treatment, should be recommended as an agronomic method for promoting grain filling and increasing the yield of common buckwheat

Identification of a co-segregative protein associated with the tillering trait in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Abstract Tillering is an important trait for grain production in rice. To understand the mechanism underlying tillering regulation in rice, a combined proteomic and genetic approach was taken to analyze potential protein markers associated with the high-tillering dwarf phenotype. Total proteins were extracted from basal internodes of rice plants and subjected to 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Proteomes were compared between control rice cultivars and tillering mutant lines that are known to have a reduced number of culms or contain the d10 allele. A total of 33 polymorphic protein markers were identified between the wild-type cultivar GLA4 and the mutant line JHCA with dwarf and high tillering phenotype. A protein spot was found to behave as a qualitative trait, cosegregating with the normal-tillering phenotype in the F 2 population. This protein was present in the wild-type plants, but was undetectable in the mutant line JHCA and the high-tillering dwarf F 2 plants. Mass spectrometry analysis identified the protein as putative carboxyvinyl-carboxyphosphonate phosphorylmutase (CPPM; EC 2.7.8.23), which may catalyze the formation of a unique C-P bond from phosphoenolpyruvate and may participate in the biosynthesis of unidentified compounds with an inhibitory effect on tillering in rice. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that the mRNA level of CPPM was down-regulated in the high-tillering d10 dwarf plants, suggesting that the expression of the CPPM gene requires the function of D10. We propose that CPPM may play a role that is related to the tillering regulation in rice