Comparative Analysis of Y Chromosome Data from Xinjiang and Ningxia Hui Populations with Hui Population Nationwide

The Hui population, one of China’s ethnic minorities, is dispersed throughout the country and has a history of assimilation with indigenous East Asians. Previous studies have primarily focused on Hui populations in specific regions, lacking comprehensive comparative analyses. In this study, we analyzed 338 unrelated male individuals from Hui populations in Altay, Xinjiang, and Haiyuan or Tongxin, Ningxia, using 108 Y-chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (Y-SNPs) and 24 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (Y-STRs). We compared our findings with data from 749 published individuals from Hui populations in 11 provinces and 997 published Eurasian populations. Our analysis revealed that the national Hui population can be categorized into three groups: Hui_Northwestern, Hui_Northern, and Hui_Southern, supported by AMOVA and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In Altay, Xinjiang, and Haiyuan or Tongxin, Ningxia, the most prevalent Y-haplogroups in East Asian populations accounted for 53.8% and 59.1%, respectively, while common haplogroups in West Eurasian populations accounted for 46.2% and 40.9%, respectively. This suggests a mixed paternal origin from both East Asian and Eurasian populations in both study regions. High frequencies of haplogroups R1a1a1b2-Z93 and J-M304 were observed in the Hui populations studied, with the network of Haplogroup J-M304 indicating a unique cluster within the western Asian sub-haplogroup J2a-M410. The most recent common ancestor for this cluster was estimated to be approximately 1341.9 years ago. Additionally, the network of haplogroup R1a1a1b2-Z93 revealed similarities between northwestern Hui populations and Iranian/Turkic-speaking populations. Our study provides insight into the complexity of Hui populations on a national scale and sheds light on potential events and ancestral origins related to the formation of the Hui population

A novel Brassica–rhizotron system to unravel the dynamic changes in root system architecture of oilseed rape under phosphorus deficiency

Background and Aims: An important adaptation of plants to phosphorus (P) deficiency is to alter root system architecture (RSA) to increase P acquisition from the soil, but soil-based observations of RSA are technically challenging, especially in mature plants. The aim of this study was to investigate the root development and RSA of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) under low and high soil P conditions during an entire growth cycle. Methods: A new large Brassica–rhizotron system (approx. 118-litre volume) was developed to study the RSA dynamics of B. napus ‘Zhongshuang11’ in soils, using top-soils supplemented with low P (LP) or high P (HP) for a full plant growth period. Total root length (TRL), root tip number (RTN), root length density (RLD), biomass and seed yield traits were measured. Key Results: TRL and RTN increased more rapidly in HP than LP plants from seedling to flowering stages. Both traits declined from flowering to silique stages, and then increased slightly in HP plants; in contrast, root senescence was observed in LP plants. RSA parameters measured from the polycarbonate plates were empirically consistent with analyses of excavated roots. Seed yield and shoot dry weights were closely associated positively with root dry weights, TRL, RLD and RTN at both HP and LP. Conclusions: The Brassica–rhizotron system is an effective method for soil-based root phenotyping across an entire growth cycle. Given that root senescence is likely to occur earlier under low P conditions, crop P deficiency is likely to affect late water and nitrogen uptake, which is critical for efficient resource use and optimal crop yields

The MAPK Kinase Kinase GmMEKK1 Regulates Cell Death and Defense Responses

MAPK signaling pathways play critical roles in plant immunity. Here, we silenced multiple genes encoding MAPKs using virus-induced gene silencing mediated by Bean pod mottle virus to identify MAPK genes involved in soybean (Glycine max) immunity. Surprisingly, a strong hypersensitive response (HR) cell death was observed when soybean MAPK KINASE KINASE1 (GmMEKK1), a homolog of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) MEKK1, was silenced. The HR was accompanied by the overaccumulation of defense signaling molecules, salicylic acid (SA) and hydrogen peroxide. Genes involved in primary metabolism, translation/transcription, photosynthesis, and growth/development were down-regulated in GmMEKK1-silenced plants, while the expression of defense-related genes was activated. Accordingly, GmMEKK1-silenced plants were more resistant to downy mildew (Peronospora manshurica) and Soybean mosaic virus compared with control plants. Silencing GmMEKK1 reduced the activation of GmMPK6 but enhanced the activation of GmMPK3 in response to flg22 peptide. Unlike Arabidopsis MPK4, GmMPK4 was not activated by either flg22 or SA. Interestingly, transient overexpression of GmMEKK1 in Nicotiana benthamiana also induced HR. Our results indicate that GmMEKK1 plays both positive and negative roles in immunity and appears to differentially activate downstream MPKs by promoting GmMPK6 activation but suppressing GmMPK3 activation in response to flg22. The involvement of GmMPK4 kinase activity in cell death and in flg22- or SA-triggered defense responses in soybean requires further investigation

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum