Vernalization shapes shoot architecture and ensures the maintenance of dormant buds in the perennial Arabis alpina

Perennials have a complex shoot architecture with axillary meristems organized in zones of differential bud activity and fate. This includes zones of buds maintained dormant for multiple seasons and used as reservoirs for potential growth in case of damage. The shoot of Arabis alpina, a perennial relative of Arabidopsis thaliana, consists of a zone of dormant buds placed between subapical vegetative and basal flowering branches. This shoot architecture is shaped after exposure to prolonged cold, required for flowering.To understand how vernalization ensures the maintenance of dormant buds, we performed physiological and transcriptome studies, followed the spatiotemporal changes of auxin, and generated transgenic plants.Our results demonstrate that the complex shoot architecture in A. alpina is shaped by its flowering behavior, specifically the initiation of inflorescences during cold treatment and rapid flowering after subsequent exposure to growth-promoting conditions. Dormant buds are already formed before cold treatment. However, dormancy in these buds is enhanced during, and stably maintained after, vernalization by a BRC1-dependent mechanism. Post-vernalization, stable maintenance of dormant buds is correlated with increased auxin response, transport, and endogenous indole-3-acetic acid levels in the stem.Here, we provide a functional link between flowering and the maintenance of dormant buds in perennials

Morphology-Controllable Synthesis of CeO2on a Pt Electrode

Nanoscale cerium dioxides with shape of nanoparticles, nanorods, and nanotubes were electrochemically synthesized. The morphology of CeO2was modulated by changing electrode potential and potential direction. CeO2nanorods and CeO2nanotubes were synthesized via the potentiostatic and cyclic voltammeteric methods, respectively. The morphology and structure of the obtained CeO2were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). A possible formation mechanism has been suggested to illuminate the relationship between the preparation condition and the morphology of CeO2

Developing 1D nanostructure arrays for future nanophotonics

There is intense and growing interest in one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures from the perspective of their synthesis and unique properties, especially with respect to their excellent optical response and an ability to form heterostructures. This review discusses alternative approaches to preparation and organization of such structures, and their potential properties. In particular, molecular-scale printing is highlighted as a method for creating organized pre-cursor structure for locating nanowires, as well as vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) templated growth using nano-channel alumina (NCA), and deposition of 1-D structures with glancing angle deposition (GLAD). As regards novel optical properties, we discuss as an example, finite size photonic crystal cavity structures formed from such nanostructure arrays possessing highQand small mode volume, and being ideal for developing future nanolasers

Hydrothermally Grown ZnO Micro/Nanotube Arrays and Their Properties

We reported the optical and wettability properties of aligned zinc oxide micro/nanotube arrays, which were synthesized on zinc foil via a simple hydrothermal method. As-synthesized ZnO micro/nanotubes have uniform growth directions along the [0001] orientations with diameters in the range of 100–700 nm. These micro/nanotubes showed a strong emission peak at 387 nm and two weak emission peaks at 422 and 485 nm, respectively, and have the hydrophobic properties with a contact angle of 121°. Single ZnO micro/nanotube-based field-effect transistor was also fabricated, which shows typical n-type semiconducting behavior