PagMYB73A enhances poplar salt tolerance by facilitating adventitious roots elongation and stomata density

MYB transcription factors (TF) are recognized as significant regulators in facilitating plant adaptation to various biotic and abiotic stresses. In order to elucidate the involvement of MYB TFs in the growth, development, and salt tolerance of poplar, PagMYB73A was cloned from 84K poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa) and utilized as the target gene for generating PagMYB73A overexpressing transgenic lines (OE-1 , OE-8 , OE-12). Compared to the wild type (WT) plants under normal conditions, the OE lines exhibited enhanced plant height and increased leaf number. While under NaCl treatment, the OE lines displayed elongated adventitious roots but reduced plant height compared to WT. At the transcriptional level, the expression of four genes associated with adventitious root growth and development was examined, revealing higher expression levels in WT compared to OE under normal conditions, but the opposite pattern was observed under salt stress. Physiological index analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in stomatal density of WT under salt stress, whereas the reduction was not significant in OE lines. Furthermore, OE lines exhibited decreased content of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of cellular membrane damage, compared to WT under salt stress. In summary, this study preliminarily revealed the regulatory function of PagMYB73A in poplar growth and salt stress resistance, highlighting its active role in the adaptation of poplar to salt stress

Preparation of Cross-Linked Graphene Oxide on Polyethersulfone Membrane for Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products Removal

The unique two-dimensional structure and chemical properties of graphene oxide (GO) provide a convenient method for preparing novel membranes. In this study, GO membranes were prepared through filtration by a pressure-assisted self-assembly method involving the cross-linking of three diamine monomers on a polyethersulfone (PES) support. The different small molecular diamines, ethylenediamine, butanediamine, and p-phenylenediamine, were introduced as cross-linking agents to investigate the effect of diamine on the properties of GO membranes. The hydrophobic substances ibuprofen, gemfibrozil, and triclosan were selected as target pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). The adsorption and molecular sieving activities of PPCPs by cross-linked GO membranes at a pH of 3 were investigated. The permeate water was analyzed for dissolved organic carbon, ultraviolet absorption at 254 nm, molecular weight distribution, and fluorescence excitation–emission matrices. The results showed that the removal of hydrophobic PPCPs by GO membranes was mainly due to their adsorption and molecular sieving activities. Adsorption was mainly determined by the hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties of the membranes and PPCPs. The interception effect was mainly determined by the interlayer spacing between the GO membranes and the molecular weight and steric hindrance of the PPCPs. A smaller spacing of the GO membrane layers resulted in greater steric hindrance and a higher removal rate

Effect of Pre-Oxidation on Coagulation/Ceramic Membrane Treatment of Yangtze River Water

The membrane separation process is being widely used in water treatment. It is very important to control membrane fouling in the process of water treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of a pre-oxidation-coagulation flat ceramic membrane filtration process using different oxidant types and dosages in water treatment and membrane fouling control. The results showed that under suitable concentration conditions, the effect on membrane fouling control of a NaClO pre-oxidation combined with a coagulation/ceramic membrane system was better than that of an O3 system. The oxidation process changed the structure of pollutants, reduced the pollution load and enhanced the coagulation process in a pre-oxidation-coagulation system as well. The influence of the oxidant on the filtration system was related to its oxidizability and other characteristics. NaClO and O3 performed more efficiently than KMnO4. NaClO was more conducive to the removal of DOC, and O3 was more conducive to the removal of UV254

The Impact of Extreme Weather Events on Bacterial Communities and Opportunistic Pathogens in a Drinking Water Treatment Plant

Drinking water treatment processes are highly effective at improving water quality, but pathogens can still persist in treated water, especially after extreme weather events. To identify how extreme weather events affected bacterial populations in source and treated water, water samples were collected from the Yangtze River Delta area and a local full-scale drinking water treatment plant. Bacterial community structure and the occurrence of pathogens were investigated in samples using 16S rRNA sequencing and qPCR techniques. In this study, the results show that intense rainfall can significantly increase levels of bacteria and opportunistic pathogens in river and drinking water treatment processes (p p < 0.05). The biological activated carbon (BAC) tank was identified as a potential pathogen reservoir and was responsible for 52 ± 6% of the bacteria released downstream, according to Bayesian-based SourceTracker analysis. Our results provide an insight into the challenges faced by maintaining finished water quality under changing weather conditions

PagMYB151 facilitates proline accumulation to enhance salt tolerance of poplar

Abstract Poplar is one of the main urban and rural greening and shade tree species in the northern hemisphere, but its growth and development is always restricted by salt stress. R2R3-MYB transcription factor family is commonly involved in many biological processes during plant growth and stress endurance. In this study, PagMYB151 (Potri.014G035100) one of R2R3-MYB members related to salt stress and expressed in both nucleus and cell membrane was cloned from Populus alba × P. glandulosa to perfect the salt tolerance mechanism. Morphological and physiological indexes regulated by PagMYB151 were detected using the PagMYB151 overexpression (OX) and RNA interference (RNAi) transgenic poplar lines. Under salt stress conditions, compared with RNAi and the non-transgenic wild-type (WT) plants, the plant height, both aboveground and underground part fresh weight of OX was significantly increased. In addition, OX has a longer and finer root structure and a larger root surface area. The root activity of OX was also enhanced, which was significantly different from RNAi but not from WT under salt treatment. Under normal conditions, the stomatal aperture of OX was larger than WT, whereas this phenotype was not obvious after salt stress treatment. In terms of physiological indices, OX enhanced the accumulation of proline but reduced the toxicity of malondialdehyde to plants under salt stress. Combing with the transcriptome sequencing data, 6 transcription factors induced by salt stress and co-expressed with PagMYB151 were identified that may cooperate with PagMYB151 to function in salt stress responding process. This study provides a basis for further exploring the molecular mechanism of poplar PagMYB151 transcription factor under abiotic stress

Comprehensive Analysis and Characterization of the GATA Gene Family, with Emphasis on the GATA6 Transcription Factor in Poplar

GATA transcription factors are ubiquitously present in eukaryotic organisms and play a crucial role in multiple biological processes, such as plant growth, stress response, and hormone signaling. However, the study of GATA factors in poplar is currently limited to a small number of proteins, despite their evident functional importance. In this investigation, we utilized the most recent genome annotation and stringent criteria to identify 38 GATA transcription factor genes in poplar. Subsequently, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of this gene family, encompassing phylogenetic classification, protein characterization, analysis of promoter cis-acting elements, and determination of chromosomal location. Our examination of gene duplication events indicated that both tandem and segmental duplications have contributed to the expansion of the GATA gene family in poplar, with segmental duplication potentially being a major driving force. By performing collinearity analysis of genes across six different species, we identified 74 pairs of co-linear genes, which provide valuable insights for predicting gene functions from a comparative genomics perspective. Furthermore, through the analysis of gene expression patterns, we identified five GATA genes that exhibited differential expression in leaf–stem–root tissues and eight genes that were responsive to salt stress. Of particular interest was GATA6, which displayed strong induction by salt stress and overlapped between the two gene sets. We discovered that GATA6 encodes a nuclear-localized protein with transcription activation activity, which is continuously induced by salt stress in leaf and root tissues. Moreover, we constructed a co-expression network centered around GATA6, suggesting the potential involvement of these genes in the growth, development, and response to abiotic stress processes in poplar through cell transport systems and protein modification mechanisms, such as vesicle-mediated transport, intracellular transport, ubiquitination, and deubiquitination. This research provides a foundation for further exploration of the functions and mechanisms of GATA transcription factors in poplar

DataSheet1_Occurrence and risk assessment of organotin compounds in the surface water of the upper Yangtze River Estuary.docx

Organotin compounds (OTCs) are a category of persistent toxic substances with endocrine disrupting effects and may pose a risk to aquatic organisms and human health via water. This study collected 78 surface water samples from the drinking water source in the upper Yangtze River Estuary from July 2018 to November 2019. Out of the nine OTC targets, tributyltin (TBT), dimethyltin (DMT), trimethyltin (TMT), dibutyltin (DBT), and monobutyltin (MBT) were detected from more than 50% of the water samples, with cumulative concentrations of OTCs ranging from 42.5 ± 54.0 to 421 ± 176 ng Sn L−1. The composition and concentrations of OTCs in the stormy months were different from those in other months. The concentrations of OTCs with the ebbing tide exceeded those in the flooding tide and increased when the flooding tide transitioned to the ebbing tide. A pulsed trend in concentrations of OTCs in river water was evident due to the impact of rainfall runoff and tidal currents. Identified sources of OTCs included ship antifouling paints, agricultural pesticides, and plastic waste. TBT in water sources poses a low risk to human health and a risk to the ecosystem, particularly during the stormy months.</p

A &ldquo;Square Box&rdquo;-Structured Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Road Transportation Monitoring

Nowadays, with the rapid development of e-commerce, the transportation of products has become more and more frequent. However, how to monitor the situation of products effectively and conveniently during road transportation is a long-standing problem. In order to meet this problem in practical applications, we fabricated a triboelectric nanogenerator sensor with a &ldquo;square box&rdquo; structure (S-TENG) for detecting the vibration suffered by vehicles. Specifically, with the spring installed in the S-TENG as a trigger, the two friction layers can contact and then separate to generate the real-time electrical signals when the S-TENG receives external excitation. The output voltage signals of the S-TENG under different vibration states were tested and the results demonstrated that the peak and zero positions of the open-circuit voltage&ndash;output curve are related to amplitude and frequency, respectively. In addition, the subsequent simulation results, obtained by ANSYS and COMSOL software, were highly consistent with the experimental results. Furthermore, we built a platform to simulate the scene of the car passing through speed bumps, and the difference in height and the number of speed bumps were significantly distinguished according to the output voltage signals. Therefore, the S-TENG has broad application prospects in road transportation