Overexpression of Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) CAD2 in Tomato Affects Lignin Content

PpCAD2 was originally isolated from the ‘Wangkumbae’ pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai), and it encodes for cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD), which is a key enzyme in the lignin biosynthesis pathway. In order to verify the function of PpCAD2, transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) ‘Micro-Tom’ plants were generated using over-expression constructs via the agrobacterium-mediated transformation method. The results showed that the PpCAD2 over-expression transgenic tomato plant had a strong growth vigor. Furthermore, these PpCAD2 over-expression transgenic tomato plants contained a higher lignin content and CAD enzymatic activity in the stem, leaf and fruit pericarp tissues, and formed a greater number of vessel elements in the stem and leaf vein, compared to wild type tomato plants. This study clearly indicated that overexpressing PpCAD2 increased the lignin deposition of transgenic tomato plants, and thus validated the function of PpCAD2 in lignin biosynthesis

Long time behavior of solutions of a reaction–diffusion equation on unbounded intervals with Robin boundary conditions

International audienceWe study the long time behavior, as $t\to\infty$, of solutions of$$\left\{\begin{array}{ll}u_t = u_{xx} + f(u), & x>0, \ t >0,\\u(0,t) = b u_x(0,t), & t>0,\\u(x,0) = u_0 (x)\geqslant 0 , & x\geqslant 0,\end{array}\right.$$where $b\geqslant 0$ and $f$ is an unbalanced bistable nonlinearity. By investigating families of initial data of the type $\{ \sigma \phi \}_{\sigma >0}$, where $\phi$ belongs to an appropriate class of nonnegative compactly supported functions, we exhibit the sharp threshold between vanishing and spreading. More specifically, there exists some value $\sigma^*$ such that the solution converges uniformly to 0 for any $0 < \sigma < \sigma^*$, and locally uniformly to a positive stationary state for any $\sigma > \sigma^*$. In the threshold case $\sigma= \sigma^*$, the profile of the solution approaches the symmetrically decreasing ground state with some shift, which may be either finite or infinite. In the latter case, the shift evolves as $C \ln t$ where~$C$ is a positive constant we compute explicitly, so that the solution is traveling with a pulse-like shape albeit with an asymptotically zero speed. Depending on $b$, but also in some cases on the choice of the initial datum, we prove that one or both of the situations may happen

PpNAC187 Enhances Lignin Synthesis in ‘Whangkeumbae’ Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) ‘Hard-End’ Fruit

A disorder in pears that is known as ‘hard-end’ fruit affects the appearance, edible quality, and market value of pear fruit. RNA-Seq was carried out on the calyx end of ‘Whangkeumbae’ pear fruit with and without the hard-end symptom to explore the mechanism underlying the formation of hard-end. The results indicated that the genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway affecting lignification were up-regulated in hard-end fruit. An analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified three NAC transcription factors, and RT-qPCR analysis of PpNAC138, PpNAC186, and PpNAC187 confirmed that PpNAC187 gene expression was correlated with the hard-end disorder in pear fruit. A transient increase in PpNAC187 was observed in the calyx end of ‘Whangkeumbae’ fruit when they began to exhibit hard-end symptom. Concomitantly, the higher level of PpCCR and PpCOMT transcripts was observed, which are the key genes in lignin biosynthesis. Notably, lignin content in the stem and leaf tissues of transgenic tobacco overexpressing PpNAC187 was significantly higher than in the control plants that were transformed with an empty vector. Furthermore, transgenic tobacco overexpressing PpNAC187 had a larger number of xylem vessel elements. The results of this study confirmed that PpNAC187 functions in inducing lignification in pear fruit during the development of the hard-end disorder. View Full-Tex

Research on Wideband Differential-Mode Current Injection Testing Technique Based on Directional Coupling Device

This paper presents a new kind of differential-mode current injection test method. The equal response voltage on the cable or the antenna port of the equipment under test (EUT) is regarded as equivalent principle for radiation and injection test. The injection and radiation response analysis model and the injection voltage source extrapolation model in high intensity radiated field are established. The conditions of using differential-mode current injection as a substitute for radiation are confirmed. On the basis of the theoretical analysis, the function and structure design scheme of the directional coupling device is proposed. The implementation techniques for the single differential-mode current injection method (SDMCI) and the double differential-mode current injection method (DDMCI) are discussed in detail. The typical nonlinear response interconnected systems are selected as the EUT. The test results verify the validity of the SDMCI and DDMCI test methods

Influence Mechanism of Different Flow Patterns on the Softening of Red-Bed Soft Rock

As a typical representative of red beds, the softening and disintegration of red sandstone when it encounters water is an important cause of initiated engineering disasters. However, research on the softening of this kind of rock has mainly focused on the still water&#8722;rock interaction. There is still a lack of quantitative analysis and a mechanistic explanation for the basic experimental study of dynamic water&#8722;rock interactions. Therefore, based on the independently developed multifunctional open channel hydraulic test equipment, the still water was used as the reference by designing the saturation test of red sandstone under two typical flow patterns&#8212;laminar flow and turbulent flow&#8212;and combined with a three-dimensional numerical simulation; specifically, the chemical, physical and mechanical effects of different flow patterns on the softening of red sandstone are discussed, and the mechanism of the influence of different flow patterns on the softening of red sandstone was further revealed. The results show that under different flow patterns, as the flow of water increased, the alkalinity of the circulating solution became stronger, the speed of stabilization of the ion concentration became faster, the development of the microscopic structure of the corresponding rock became higher and the decrease in mechanical strength became greater. The flow state affects the processes of rock softening and breaking by acting on the rock from the three aspects of chemistry, physics and mechanics. The study makes up for the deficiency of the quantitative analysis index of rock softening under dynamic water conditions and further improves the influence mechanism of different flow patterns on soft rock softening in red beds under dynamic water conditions. This research also provides a specific method for the protection of estuarine and coastal bank slopes with rich red-bed soft rock dissection under different flow patterns

Conversion of Mixtures of Soybean Curd Residue and Kitchen Waste by Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens L.)

The production of insect biomass from organic waste is a major challenge in terms of reducing the environmental impacts of waste and maintaining feed and food security. The feasibility of the co-conversion of soybean curd residue (SCR) and kitchen waste (KW) to breed black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) larvae was evaluated so as to enhance biomass conversion efficiency and supply animal feed and allow it to be used in biodiesel production. Co-digestion was found to significantly increase larval yield, bioconversion rate, and bioaccumulation of lipid. Partial least squares regression showed that the conversion of 30% SCR with 70% KW is an appropriate proportion. The appropriate performance parameters of BSF were: survival rate (98.75%), prepupal rate (88.61%), larval biomass (30.32 g fresh and 11.38 g dry mass), bioconversion rate (18.45%), efficiency conversion of ingested food (ECI) (28.30%), and FCR (2.51). Our results show that conversion of mixtures (e.g., SCR with KW) by BSF larvae (BSFL) could play an important role in various organic materials management

Long time behavior of solutions of a reaction-diffusion equation on unbounded intervals with Robin boundary conditions

We study the long time behavior, as t leads to ∞ ..

Study on the Softening Mechanism and Control of Red-Bed Soft Rock under Seawater Conditions

Red-bed soft rock easily softens and disintegrates when it comes into contact with water, which is the main factor restricting the application of soft rock as an engineering filler. Therefore, research on the influence of seawater on soft rock softening has great significance for the application of soft rock in marine engineering. To examine the softening mechanism of soft rock under seawater conditions, two kinds of soft rock softening experiments, as well as ion inhibition tests of soft rock softening, were performed under seawater and pure water conditions, and the results were compared. The variation in the soft rock composition, the deformation and failure characteristics of soft rock under the influence of sea water, and the variation in main cations in the softening process of soft rock are examined successively; the influences of different ions on soft rock softening are further analysed. Based on the analyses, the softening mechanism and control method of soft rock under sea water conditions are expounded. The study showed that soft rock softening was inhibited by seawater, which decreased the softening degree of soft rock. The main cations in seawater had an inhibitory effect on soft rock softening, and the order of inhibition was Ca2+ &gt; Mg2+ &gt; Na+. According to the inhibitory effect of ions on soft rock softening, we propose that seawater or calcium salt should be added to reduce the softening of soft rock in soft rock engineering and improve the mechanical strength of soft rock; in addition, soft rock can be considered a raw material in marine engineering. The experimental results have great significance for studies of the disintegration mechanism and inhibitory rules of soft rock under the influence of seawater and provide a theoretical basis for the application of soft rock in marine engineering, such as in artificial reef engineering and coastal dike engineering

Existence Of Traveling Waves Of General Gray-Scott Models

This work gives a rigorous proof of the existence of propagating traveling waves of a nonlinear reaction–diffusion system which is a general Gray-Scott model of the pre-mixed isothermal autocatalytic chemical reaction of order m (m\u3e 1) between two chemical species, a reactant A and an auto-catalyst B, A+ mB→ (m+ 1) B, and a super-linear decay of order n\u3e 1 , B→ C, where 1 \u3c n\u3c m. Here C is an inert product. Moreover, we establish that the speed set for existence must lie in a bounded interval for a given initial value u0 at - ∞. The explicit bound is also derived in terms of u0 and other parameters. The same system also appears in a mathematical model of SIR type in infectious diseases