A Novel F-Box Protein CaF-Box Is Involved in Responses to Plant Hormones and Abiotic Stress in

Abstract: The F-box protein family is characterized by an F-box motif that has been shown to play an important role in regulating various developmental processes and stress responses. In this study, a novel F-box-containing gene was isolated from leaves of pepper cultivar P70 (Capsicum annuum L.) and designated CaF-box. The full-length cDNA is 2088 bp and contains an open reading frame of 1914 bp encoding a putative polypeptide of 638 amino acids with a mass of 67.8 kDa. CaF-box was expressed predominantly in stems and seeds, and the transcript was markedly upregulated in response to cold stress, abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) treatment, and downregulated under osmotic and heavy metal stress. CaF-box expression was dramatically affected by salt stress, and was rapidly increased for the first hour, then sharply decreased thereafter. In order to further assess the role of CaF-box in the defense response to abiotic stress, a loss-of-function experiment in pepper plants was performed using a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique. Measurement of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and electrolyte leakage revealed stronger lipid peroxidation and cell death in the CaF-box-silenced plants than inInt. J. Mol. Sci. 2014, 15 2414 control plants, suggesting CaF-box plays an important role in regulating the defens

Genome-wide analysis of the TIFY family and function of CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b under cold stress in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

TIFY [TIF(F/Y)XG] proteins are a plant particular transcription factor family that regulates plant stress responses. Therefore, to fill this gap, we investigated CaTIFY genes in pepper. Gene structure and conserved motifs of the pepper TIFY gene family were systematically analyzed using sequence alignment analysis, Cis-acting element analysis, transcriptomic data, and RT-qPCR analysis, and their expression patterns were further analyzed using Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) and cold stress reactive oxygen species (ROS) response. We identified 16 CaTIFY genes in pepper, which were dispersed among seven subgroups (JAZI, JAZII, JAZIII, PPD, TIFY, and ZIM/ZML). Several CaTIFY members had stress-related harmonic-responsive elements, and four (CaTIFY7, CaTIFY10b, CaTIFY1b, and CaTIFY6b) had low-temperature-responsive elements. Transcriptomic data and RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the TIFY genes in pepper displayed different expression patterns in the roots, stems, leaves, flower fruits, and seeds. In particular, CaTIFY7 was highly expressed in young leaves, and CaTIFY10b was highly expressed in roots. CaTIFYs participated in the regulation of several different abiotic stresses and CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b were significantly induced by cold stress. Additionally, Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (targeting CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b) resulted in plants that were sensitive to cold stress. Conversely, overexpression of CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b enhanced plant cold tolerance by promoting the expression of genes related to cold stress and the ROS response. CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b interacted with themselves and CaTIFY7 also interacted with CaTIFY10b in the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system. Our data provide a basis for further analysis of the role of pepper TIFY genes in cold-stress responses in the future

A Novel F-Box Protein CaF-Box Is Involved in Responses to Plant Hormones and Abiotic Stress in Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

The F-box protein family is characterized by an F-box motif that has been shown to play an important role in regulating various developmental processes and stress responses. In this study, a novel F-box-containing gene was isolated from leaves of pepper cultivar P70 (Capsicum annuum L.) and designated CaF-box. The full-length cDNA is 2088 bp and contains an open reading frame of 1914 bp encoding a putative polypeptide of 638 amino acids with a mass of 67.8 kDa. CaF-box was expressed predominantly in stems and seeds, and the transcript was markedly upregulated in response to cold stress, abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) treatment, and downregulated under osmotic and heavy metal stress. CaF-box expression was dramatically affected by salt stress, and was rapidly increased for the first hour, then sharply decreased thereafter. In order to further assess the role of CaF-box in the defense response to abiotic stress, a loss-of-function experiment in pepper plants was performed using a virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique. Measurement of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and electrolyte leakage revealed stronger lipid peroxidation and cell death in the CaF-box-silenced plants than in control plants, suggesting CaF-box plays an important role in regulating the defense response to abiotic stress resistance in pepper plants

Numerical investigation on combined wave damping effect of pneumatic breakwater and submerged breakwater

This paper attempts to combine the pneumatic breakwater and submerged breakwater to increase the effectiveness of wave damping for long-period waves. A series of physical experiments concerning pneumatic breakwater, submerged breakwater and their joint breakwater was conducted and used to validate a mathematical model based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations, the RNG k-ε turbulence model and the VOF method. In addition, the mathematical model was used to investigate the wave transmission coefficients of three breakwaters. The nonlinear wave propagation behaviors and the energy transfer from lower frequencies to higher frequencies after the submerged breakwater were investigated in detail. Furthermore, an optimal arrangement between pneumatic breakwater and submerged breakwater was obtained for damping longer-period waves that cannot be damped effectively by the pneumatic breakwater alone. In addition, the reason for the appearance of the combination effect is that part of the energy of the transmitted waves over the submerged breakwater transfers to shorter-period waves. Finally, the impact of the joint breakwater on the wave field during wave propagation process was investigated. Keywords: Pneumatic breakwater, Submerged breakwater, Physical experiment, Numerical simulation, Wave transmission coefficien

Survey and Analysis of Vegetable Germplasm Resources in Hubei Province

Based on the general survey of crop germplasm resources in Hubei Province, the third survey and collection of crop germplasm resources was conducted in 199 villages of 19 counties (cities/districts) of Hubei Province during 2015-2017. A total of 1 072 accessions of vegetables were collected. The taxonomy, distribution, agronomic traits and preservation of the vegetable germplasm resources, as well as the main vegetable resources and characteristic resources in the 19 counties (cities/districts) were analyzed. The results showed that the local vegetable landraces cover 26 families. Hong'an County, Zhongxiang City, Gucheng County, Nanzhang County and Yuan'an County have more vegetable landraces than other counties (cities/districts). The local landraces are characterized by good quality, strong resistance and tolerance to barrenness, but most of them are distributed in remote areas with low purity, low yield and serious threat of degradation. The local vegetable landraces are mostly preserved by some well-educated elder farmers. The vegetable cultivars of Cruciferae, Solanaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Liliaceae and Leguminosae account for 71.46% of the total vegetable resources. The characteristic vegetable resources such as pearl flower (Staghylea bumalda DC.), scallion (Allium paepalanthoides) and elephant-foot yam (Amorphophallus spp.) are scattered in the mountainous areas of Hubei Province. This study can provide reference for the protection and utilization of local resources of vegetables in Hubei Province

3-D Numerical Investigation on Oxygen Transfer in a Horizontal Venturi Flow with Two Holes

In order to investigate the dissolved oxygen increase caused by air suction in a horizontal Venturi flow with two holes, a 3-D computational fluid dynamics model was used to explore the water and bubble mixture flow, coupled with a dissolved oxygen transfer model. A series of experiments were conducted to validate the mathematical model. A relative saturation coefficient correlation was examined factoring in dissolved oxygen concentration at the inlet, water velocity at the inlet, the hole’s diameter, contraction ratio at throat section, and the downstream length of Venturi pipe. It was found that the relative saturation coefficient increases with increasing dissolved oxygen concentration at the inlet and downstream length of Venturi pipe respectively. However, it increases with decreasing water velocity at the inlet and contraction ratio at the throat section to some extent. The hole’s diameter plays a complex role in the relative saturation coefficient. The dimensional analysis method and the least square method were used to deduce a simple formula for the relative saturation coefficient, and this was consistent with related data

Laboratory Investigation on Hydrodynamic Performance of an Innovative Aeration Device with a Wave-Driven Heaving Buoy

Coastal seawater quality is of significance for the environment, ecology and fisheries. In recent years, the hypoxia or anoxia problems of bottom seawater aggravated due mainly to the seawater stratification and eutrophication. This paper addresses an innovative aeration device with a wave-driven heaving buoy to enhance the dissolved oxygen concentration for bottom water. A series of physical experiments was conducted to investigate its hydrodynamic performance and air flow rate. The response amplitude of heaving components and the average value of air flow rate were examined with the related parameters, including incident wave height, incident wave steepness and aeration depth. It was found that with increasing incident wave height, the average heaving displacement and the average air flow rate increase respectively. With the increase of incident wave steepness, the relative value of average heaving displacement increases obviously for high wave period scenarios, it increases slightly for small wave period scenarios in comparison and the relative value of air flow rate increases evidently. With the increase of aeration depth, the average heaving displacement and the average air flow rate decrease respectively. With the increase of relative aeration depth, the relative value of average heaving displacement and the relative value of air flow rate decrease respectively. In addition, the dimensional analysis and the least squares methods were used to obtain the prediction formulas for the average heaving displacement and the average air flow rate, and they agreed well with the related experimental data

Computational Study of a Vertical Plunging Jet into Still Water

The behavior of a vertical plunging jet was numerically investigated using the coupled Level Set and Volume of Fluid method. The computational results were in good agreement with the experimental results reported in the related literature. Vertical plunging jet characteristics, including the liquid velocity field, air void fraction, and turbulence kinetic energy, were explored by varying the distance between the nozzle exit and the still water level. It was found that the velocity at the nozzle exit plays an unimportant role in the shape and size of ascending bubbles. A modified prediction equation between the centerline velocity ratio and the axial distance ratio was developed using the data of the coupled Level Set and Volume of Fluid method, and it showed a better predicting ability than the Level Set and Mixture methods. The characteristics of turbulence kinetic energy, including its maximum value location and its radial and vertical distribution, were also compared with that of submerged jets

The driving factors of mercury storage in the Tibetan grassland soils underlain by permafrost

Soils, especially permafrost in the Arctic and the Tibetan Plateau, are one of the largest reservoirs of mercury (Hg) in the global environment. The Hg concentration in the grassland soils over the Tibetan Plateau and its driving factors have been less studied. This study analyzes soil total mercury (STHg) concentrations and its vertical distribution in grassland soil samples collected from the Tibetan Plateau. We adopt a nested-grid high-resolution GEOS-Chem model to simulate atmospheric Hg deposition. The relationship between STHg and soil organic carbon (SOC), as well as atmospheric deposition, are explored. Our results show that the STHg concentrations in the Tibetan Plateau are 19.8 +/- 12.2 ng/g. The concentrations are higher in the south and lower in the north in the Tibetan Plateau, consistent with the previous results. Our model shows that the average deposition flux of Hg is 3.3 mu g m(-2) yr(-1), with 57% contributed by dry deposition of elemental mercury (Hg-0), followed by dry (19%) and wet (24%) deposition of divalent mercury. We calculate the Hg to carbon ratio (R-Hg:C) as 5.6 +/- 6.5 mu g Hg/g C, and the estimated STHg is 86.6 +/- 101.2 Gg in alpine grasslands in the Tibetan Plateau. We find a positive relationship between STHg and SOC in the Tibetan Plateau (r(2) = 0.36) and a similar positive relationship between STHg and atmospheric total Hg deposition (r(2) = 0.24). A multiple linear regression involving both variables better model the observed STHg (r(2) = 0.42). We conclude that SOC and atmospheric deposition influence STHg simultaneously in this region. The data provides information to quantify the size of the soil Hg pool in the Tibetan Plateau further, which has important implications for the Hg cycles in the permafrost regions as well as on the global scale. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved