Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of CO2 Flux in Plateau Urban Wetlands and Their Influencing Factors Based on Eddy Covariance Technique

Urban wetlands, an important part of the urban ecosystem, play an important role in regional carbon cycles and the carbon balance. To analyze the CO2 source and sink effects of plateau urban wetlands, based on the data measured by an eddy covariance instrument, the temporal and spatial characteristics of CO2 flux and their influencing factors in the urban wetland of Xining City in the Qinghai Province of China during a warm season (July to September 2020) were studied. The results show that: (1) On the daily scale, the CO2 flux exhibited an obvious “U”-type variation, characterized by strong uptake in the daytime and weak emission at night, with an average daily flux of −0.05 mg·m−2·s−1. The CO2 uptake peak of the wetland took place at 13:00 (−0.62 mg·m−2·s−1), and the emission peak occurred at 23:30 (0.34 mg·m−2·s−1); (2) on the monthly scale, the CO2 flux of the wetland in the study period showed a net uptake each month. The flux increased month by month, and the maximum value occurred in September (−142.82 g·m−2·month−1); (3) from a spatial point of view, the river area showed a weak CO2 uptake (−0.07 ± 0.03 mg·m−2·s−1), while the artificial wetland area showed a strong CO2 uptake (−0.14 ± 0.03 mg·m−2·s−1). The former was significantly lower than the latter (p < 0.01); (4) the regression analysis results show that the CO2 flux was significantly correlated with PAR, VPD, Tsoil, and SWC (p < 0.01). The relationships between the flux and PAR, Tsoil, and SWC were rectangular hyperbola (y = 0.2304 − 2 × 10−3x/(0.9037 + 0.0022x), R2 = 0.64), exponential (y = 0.046exp(0.091x), R2 = 0.88), and quadratic (y = −0.0041x2 + 0.1784x − 1.6946, R2 = 0.83), respectively. Under the joint action of various environmental factors, the urban wetland ecosystem in plateau displayed a strong carbon sink function in warm seasons. This study can establish a data scaffold for the accurate estimation of carbon budget of this type of ecosystem

Expression pattern of GmLAX genes under different stresses in soybean drought sensitive cultivar and tolerant cultivar

Auxin has been reported to regulate plant growth and development, as well as to mediate plant adaption to abiotic stresses, including drought. AUX/LAX family displays auxin uptake functions and comprises four highly conserved genes AUX1 and LIKE AUX1 (LAX1, LAX2, and LAX3) in Arabidopsis. There are fifteen GmLAX family genes in the soybean genomes and several members were regulated by dehydration stress. In this study, the sequence differences and expression pattern of GmLAXs-I were analyzed under stress treatment between the soybean drought-tolerant Jindou 21 and drought-sensitive varieties Zhongdou 33. Five homologous genes of AUX1 were all responsive to PEG, salt, ABA and IAA stimuli. There were two SNPs in the promoter region of GmLAX4 gene, and this gene was differentially expressed in two cultivars. Moreover, our results showed YFP-GmLAXs are predominantly localized in plasma membrane. Taken together, our results suggest that GmLAXs are involved in abiotic response, which can provide theoretical and technical support for the genetic improvement of soybean drought tolerance

Anti-NSP4 antibody can block rotavirus-induced diarrhea in mice.

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea and gastroenteritis among children worldwide. The viral proteins (VP), especially VP4- and VP7-induced neutralizing antibodies, were considered to be critical in protective immunity to rotavirus disease. However, whether the antibody to rotavirus nonstructural protein 4 (NSP4) protects against rotavirus-induced diarrhea directly is not completely clear, especially for the protective time course. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To obtain direct evidence, 12-day-old ICR mice were treated with NSP4 and entire rotavirus to induce diarrhea. RESULTS: Both NSP4 and rotavirus-treated mice developed diarrhea, which was accompanied by histological changes in the small intestine compared to age-matched control mice. Anti-NSP4 antibody demonstrated protection against both entire rotavirus-induced diarrhea and NSP4-induced diarrhea. The histological changes in the small intestinal were reversible. These data show that early intervention with anti-NSP4 antibody can prevent rotavirus-induced diarrhea in mice; late intervention with anti-NSP4 antibody could halt diarrhea progression in mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate for the first time that administration of anti-NSP4 antibody is effective both prior to and during the time course of rotavirus infection. These observations extend our knowledge of rotavirus infection and its therapeutic options

Identification of Quantitative Trait Locus and Candidate Genes for Drought Tolerance in a Soybean Recombinant Inbred Line Population

With global warming and regional decreases in precipitation, drought has become a problem worldwide. As the number of arid regions in the world is increasing, drought has become a major factor leading to significant crop yield reductions and food crises. Soybean is a crop that is relatively sensitive to drought. It is also a crop that requires more water during growth and development. The aim of this study was to identify the quantitative trait locus (QTL) that affects drought tolerance in soybean by using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population from a cross between the drought-tolerant cultivar ‘Jindou21’ and the drought-sensitive cultivar ‘Zhongdou33’. Nine agronomic and physiological traits were identified under drought and well-watered conditions. Genetic maps were constructed with 923,420 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers distributed on 20 chromosomes at an average genetic distance of 0.57 centimorgan (cM) between markers. A total of five QTLs with a logarithm of odds (LOD) value of 4.035–8.681 were identified on five chromosomes. Under well-watered conditions and drought-stress conditions, one QTL related to the main stem node number was located on chromosome 16, accounting for 17.177% of the phenotypic variation. Nine candidate genes for drought resistance were screened from this QTL, namely Glyma.16G036700, Glyma.16G036400, Glyma.16G036600, Glyma.16G036800, Glyma.13G312700, Glyma.13G312800, Glyma.16G042900, Glyma.16G043200, and Glyma.15G100700. These genes were annotated as NAC transport factor, GATA transport factor, and BTB/POZ-MATH proteins. This result can be used for molecular marker-assisted selection and provide a reference for breeding for drought tolerance in soybean

Formation of protein kinase Cε-Lck signaling modules confers cardioprotection

The ε isoform of protein kinase C (PKCε) is a member of the PKC family of serine/threonine kinases and plays a critical role in protection against ischemic injury in multiple organs. Functional proteomic analyses of PKCε signaling show that this isozyme forms multiprotein complexes in the heart; however, the precise signaling mechanisms whereby PKCε orchestrates cardioprotection are poorly understood. Here we report that Lck, a member of the Src family of tyrosine kinases, forms a functional signaling module with PKCε. In cardiac cells, PKCε interacts with, phosphorylates, and activates Lck. In vivo studies showed that cardioprotection elicited either by cardiac-specific transgenic activation of PKCε or by ischemic preconditioning enhances the formation of PKCε-Lck modules. Disruption of these modules, via ablation of the Lck gene, abrogated the infarct-sparing effects of these two forms of cardioprotection, indicating that the formation of PKCε-Lck signaling modules is required for the manifestation of a cardioprotective phenotype. These findings demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, that the assembly of a module (PKCε-Lck) is an obligatory step in the signal transduction that results in a specific phenotype. Thus, PKCε-Lck modules may serve as novel therapeutic targets for the prevention of ischemic injury