PlantQTL-GE: a database system for identifying candidate genes in rice and Arabidopsis by gene expression and QTL information

We have designed and implemented a web-based database system, called PlantQTL-GE, to facilitate quantitatine traits locus (QTL) based candidate gene identification and gene function analysis. We collected a large number of genes, gene expression information in microarray data and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and genetic markers from multiple sources of Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana. The system integrates these diverse data sources and has a uniform web interface for easy access. It supports QTL queries specifying QTL marker intervals or genomic loci, and displays, on rice or Arabidopsis genome, known genes, microarray data, ESTs and candidate genes and similar putative genes in the other plant. Candidate genes in QTL intervals are further annotated based on matching ESTs, microarray gene expression data and cis-elements in regulatory sequences. The system is freely available at

The Technology of Mould Steel for Online Pre-hardening

AbstractThis article describes a production method of mould steel pre-hardening, and focus on the advantage of this method, The technical core of method is the variable frequency and variable amplitude pulse uniform high-precision temperature control, which achieved by using strong-medium-weak water cooling, gas-water cooling and gas mist cooling composite cooling control technology. Optimizing the cooling rate path is a good method of optimizing quenched organization and structure

Cs(I) Cation Enhanced Cu(II) Catalysis of Water Oxidation

We report here a new catalytic water oxidation system based on Cu­(II) ions and a remarkable countercation effect on the catalysis. In a concentrated fluoride solution at neutral to weakly basic pHs, simple Cu­(II) salts are highly active and robust in catalyzing water oxidation homogeneously. F^– in solution acts as a proton acceptor and an oxidatively robust ligand. F^– coordination prevents precipitation of Cu­(II) as CuF₂/Cu­(OH)₂ and lowers potentials for accessing high-oxidation-state Cu by delocalizing the oxidative charge over F^– ligands. Significantly, the catalytic current is greatly enhanced in a solution of CsF compared to those of KF and NaF. Although countercations are not directly involved in the catalytic redox cycle, UV–vis and ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance measurements reveal that coordination of F^– to Cu­(II) is dependent on countercations by Coulombic interaction. A less intense interaction between F^– and well-solvated Cs⁺ as compared with Na⁺ and K⁺ leads to a more intense coordination of F^– to Cu­(II), which accounts for the improved catalytic performance

A 48-bp deletion upstream of LIGULELESS 1 alters rice panicle architecture

Panicle architecture is an agronomic determinant of crop yield and a target for cereal crop improvement. To investigate its molecular mechanisms in rice, we performed map-based cloning and characterization of OPEN PANICLE 1 (OP1), a gain-of-function allele of LIGULELESS 1 (LG1), controlling the spread-panicle phenotype. This allele results from a 48-bp deletion in the LG1 upstream region and promotes pulvinus development at the base of the primary branch. Increased OP1 expression and altered panicle phenotype in chimeric transgenic plants and upstream-region knockout mutants indicated that the deletion regulates spread-panicle architecture in the mutant spread panicle 1 (sp1). Knocking out BRASSINOSTEROID UPREGULATED1 (BU1) gene in the background of OP1 complementary plants resulted in compact panicles, suggesting OP1 may regulate inflorescence architecture via the brassinosteroid signaling pathway. We regard that manipulating the upstream regulatory region of OP1 or genes involved in BR signal pathway could be an efficient way to improve rice inflorescence architecture

Genetic control of inflorescence architecture during rice domestication

Inflorescence architecture is a key agronomical factor determining grain yield, and thus has been a major target of cereal crop domestication. Transition from a spread panicle typical of ancestral wild rice (Oryza rufipogon Griff.) to the compact panicle of present cultivars (O. sativa L.) was a crucial event in rice domestication. Here we show that the spread panicle architecture of wild rice is controlled by a dominant gene, OsLG1, a previously reported SBP-domain transcription factor that controls rice ligule development. Association analysis indicates that a single-nucleotide polymorphism-6 in the OsLG1 regulatory region led to a compact panicle architecture in cultivars during rice domestication. We speculate that the cis-regulatory mutation can fine-tune the spatial expression of the target gene, and that selection of cis-regulatory mutations might be an efficient strategy for crop domestication

Association tests for <i>Ma</i>_<i>3</i>.

<p><b>Red dot – supposed synthetic association site; blue dashed line – 5% significance threshold.</b> Arrow bar—promoter region; thick line—the gene region from the start codon ATG to the stop codon TGA; thin line—the 3’ flanking region from the stop codon TGA to the black box.</p