The Current Status and Development of Insect-Resistant Genetically Engineered Poplar in China

Poplar is one of the main afforestation tree species in China, and the use of a single, or only a few, clones with low genetic diversity in poplar plantations has led to increasing problems with insect pests. The use of genetic engineering to cultivate insect-resistant poplar varieties has become a hot topic. Over the past 20 years, there have been remarkable achievements in this area. To date, nearly 22 insect-resistant poplar varieties have been created and approved for small-scale field testing, environmental release, or pilot-scale production. Here, we comprehensively review the development of insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) poplars in China. This review mostly addresses issues surrounding the regulation and commercialization of Bt poplar in China, the various insecticidal genes used, the effects of transgenic poplars on insects, toxic protein expression, multigene transformation, the stability of insect resistance, and biosafety. The efficacy of GM poplars for pest control differed among different transgenic poplar clones, larval instars, and insect species. The Bt protein analysis revealed that the expression level of Cry3A was significantly higher than that of Cry1Ac. Temporal and spatial studies of Bt protein showed that its expression varied with the developmental stage and tissue. The inheritance and expression of the exogenous gene were reviewed in transgenic hybrid poplar progeny lines and grafted sections. Biosafety issues, in terms of transgene stability and the effects on soil microorganisms, natural enemies of insects, and arthropod communities are also discussed

Practices In Instructional System Design For Effective Open And Distance Learning Materials

The aim of this study is to analyse different practices of implementing the procedures of instructional system design in creating effective open and distance learning materials. Instructional system design consists of several systematic and systemic phases which are commonly used in designing and developing learning materials to facilitate students’ learning. Research fellows of the Universitas Terbuka Indonesia, the Open University of China and the Open University of Sri Lanka were involved in the study of analysing the practices of implementing instructional design procedures in designing and developing open and distance learning instructional materials in each institutions. Focus group discussion and document analysis were used to find the essence of using the Instructional System Design to design and produce learning materials. It was found that the implementation of the instructional system design procedures has common important components that can be shared to create a high quality open and distance learning instructional materials

Solenoid-free current drive via ECRH in EXL-50 spherical torus plasmas

As a new spherical tokamak (ST) designed to simplify engineering requirements of a possible future fusion power source, the EXL-50 experiment features a low aspect ratio (A) vacuum vessel (VV), encircling a central post assembly containing the toroidal field coil conductors without a central solenoid. Multiple electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) resonances are located within the VV to improve current drive effectiveness. Copious energetic electrons are produced and measured with hard X-ray detectors, carry the bulk of the plasma current ranging from 50kA to 150kA, which is maintained for more than 1s duration. It is observed that over one Ampere current can be maintained per Watt of ECRH power issued from the 28-GHz gyrotrons. The plasma current reaches Ip>80kA for high density (>5e18me-2) discharge with 150kW ECHR heating. An analysis was carried out combining reconstructed multi-fluid equilibrium, guiding-center orbits of energetic electrons, and resonant heating mechanisms. It is verified that in EXL-50 a broadly distributed current of energetic electrons creates smaller closed magnetic-flux surfaces of low aspect ratio that in turn confine the thermal plasma electrons and ions and participate in maintaining the equilibrium force-balance

A heterozygous moth genome provides insights into herbivory and detoxification

How an insect evolves to become a successful herbivore is of profound biological and practical importance. Herbivores are often adapted to feed on a specific group of evolutionarily and biochemically related host plants1, but the genetic and molecular bases for adaptation to plant defense compounds remain poorly understood2. We report the first whole-genome sequence of a basal lepidopteran species, Plutella xylostella, which contains 18,071 protein-coding and 1,412 unique genes with an expansion of gene families associated with perception and the detoxification of plant defense compounds. A recent expansion of retrotransposons near detoxification-related genes and a wider system used in the metabolism of plant defense compounds are shown to also be involved in the development of insecticide resistance. This work shows the genetic and molecular bases for the evolutionary success of this worldwide herbivore and offers wider insights into insect adaptation to plant feeding, as well as opening avenues for more sustainable pest management.Minsheng You … Simon W Baxter … et al

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of PtJAZ gene family in poplar (Populus trichocarpa)

Abstract Background The jasmonate ZIM domain (JAZ) protein is a key repressor of the jasmonate signal transduction pathway, which plays an important role in plant growth and development and defense responses. In this study, based on the published whole-genome data, we identified members of the JAZ gene family in Populus trichocarpa. Through a series of bioinformatic approaches, their expression patterns under various stress conditions have been analyzed to explore and excavate the endogenous resistance genes of poplar and provide a theoretical basis for breeding new varieties of poplar resistance. Results A total of 13 PtJAZ genes have been identified in P. trichocarpa and designated as PtJAZ1–PtJAZ13. Those 13 PtJAZ genes were unevenly distributed on nine chromosomes, and they could be divided into four subfamilies. The gene structures and motif composition of the members derived from the same subfamily were similar. Collinearity analysis demonstrated that, compared with Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa, the most collinear pairs (13) were found in P. trichocarpa and Eucalyptus robusta. Cis-acting element analysis suggested that the promoter regions of PtJAZs contained a large number of hormones and stress response elements, of which abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) hormone response elements were the most abundant. The PtJAZ genes not only had diverse expression patterns in different tissues, but they also responded to various abiotic and biotic stress conditions. The co-expression network and GO and KEGG analyses showed that JAZ genes were closely related to insect resistance. Conclusions In this study, applying bioinformatic methods, 13 PtJAZ gene family members from P. trichocarpa were identified and comprehensively analyzed. By further studying the function of the poplar JAZ gene family, the aim is to select genes with better insect resistance and stress resistance so as to lay a solid foundation for the subsequent breeding of new poplar varieties

Simplistic, Efficient, and Low-Cost Crack Detection of Dielectric Materials Based on Millimeter-Wave Interference

This paper proposes a simplistic, efficient, and low-cost method of millimeter-wave nondestructive testing (NDT) of dielectric material cracks based on millimeter-wave interference. A relationship between combining efficiency, phase difference, and amplitude difference was analyzed. We found that phase difference was the main factor that affects combining efficiency. A change in combining efficiency of more than 1% was caused by a phase-difference altering of greater than 1.2° in a specific range. A relevant model was simulated with CST, and the operating frequency and antenna spacing were optimized to enhance sensitivity of the measuring system. Then, a Ka-band NDT system was built to test the combining efficiencies of different cracks. The experimental results showed that for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) plates with a thickness of 5 mm, cracks with a width of about 0.4 mm, which is about 0.07 λg, could be detected at 35 GHz. Experimental results, simulation results, and theoretical derivation are basically consistent. Large-scale online applications of this NDT method in various industries appear feasible due to the above characteristics

Functional identification of C-type lectin in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) innate immunity

C-type lectins (CTLs) are a superfamily of Ca2+-dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins, and an important pattern recognition receptor (PRR) in insect innate immunity which can mediate humoral and cellular immunity in insects. In this study, we report a novel dual carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) CTL from Plutella xylostella which we designate PxIML. PxIML is a protein with a 969 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 322 amino acids, containing a signal peptide and a dual-CRD with EPN (Glu124-Pro125-Asn126) and QPD (Gln274-Pro275-Asp276) motifs. The expression of PxIML mRNA in the fat body was significantly higher than in hemocytes and midgut. The relative expression levels of PxIML in the whole insect and the fat body were significantly inhibited after infection with Bacillus thuringiensis 8010 (Bt8010) at 18 h, while they were significantly upregulated after infection with Serratia marcescens IAE6 or Pichia pastoris. The recombinant PxIML (rPxIML) protein could bind to the tested pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), and the bacteria of Enterobacter sp. IAE5, S. marcescens IAE6, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli BL21, and Bt8010 in a Ca2+-dependent manner, however, it showed limited binding to the fungus, P. pastoris. The rPxIML exhibited strong activity in the presence of Ca2+ to agglutinate Bt8010, Enterobacter sp. IAE5 and S. aureus, but it only weakly agglutinated with E. coli BL21, and could not agglutinate with S. marcescens IAE6 or P. pastoris. Furthermore, the rPxIML could bind to hemocytes, promote the adsorption of hemocytes to beads, and enhance the phenoloxidase (PO) activity and melanization of P. xylostella. Our results suggest that PxIML plays an important role in pathogen recognition and in mediating subsequent humoral and cellular immunity of P. xylostella

Particle-in-Cell Simulations on High-Efficiency Phase-Locking Millimeter-Wave Magnetrons with Unsynchronized High-Voltage Pulses

Phase locking is an essential choice for building a coherent array, and a system of phase-locked magnetrons is relatively compact and cheaper than other microwave sources. Previous theoretical and experimental studies on phase locking are conducted using synchronized high-voltage pulses. Here, we investigate the characteristics of two phase-locked magnetrons using particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation software (CST STUDIO SUITE 2020) when two high-voltage pulses have delays. The results show that the magnetrons produced two-level RF signals because the operation could be divided into two stages. The first stage happened when one cathode emitted electrons; then, the electrons formed one spoke, traveling in synchronism with the 0-phase difference mode. Two output ports both produced half the output power of a free-running magnetron. The second stage happened after another cathode started to emit electrons, which were instantly pre-modulated by the electromagnetic field of the 0-phase difference mode produced during the first stage. In the second stage, simulations showed that pre-modulation accelerated the process of electron bunching. Eventually, two magnetrons were phase-locked, and the total output power of the two identical magnetrons nearly doubled the output power of the free-running magnetron, which demonstrated that the magnetrons were phase-locked in the high-efficiency phase-locking regime

Development and Characterization of VEGF165-Chitosan Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Radiation-Induced Skin Injury in Rats

Radiation-induced skin injury, which remains a serious concern in radiation therapy, is currently believed to be the result of vascular endothelial cell injury and apoptosis. Here, we established a model of acute radiation-induced skin injury and compared the effect of different vascular growth factors on skin healing by observing the changes of microcirculation and cell apoptosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was more effective at inhibiting apoptosis and preventing injury progression than other factors. A new strategy for improving the bioavailability of vascular growth factors was developed by loading VEGF with chitosan nanoparticles. The VEGF-chitosan nanoparticles showed a protective effect on vascular endothelial cells, improved the local microcirculation, and delayed the development of radioactive skin damage