The bracteatus pineapple genome and domestication of clonally propagated crops

Domestication of clonally propagated crops such as pineapple from South America was hypothesized to be a 'one-step operation'. We sequenced the genome of Ananas comosus var. bracteatus CB5 and assembled 513 Mb into 25 chromosomes with 29,412 genes. Comparison of the genomes of CB5, F153 and MD2 elucidated the genomic basis of fiber production, color formation, sugar accumulation and fruit maturation. We also resequenced 89 Ananas genomes. Cultivars 'Smooth Cayenne' and 'Queen' exhibited ancient and recent admixture, while 'Singapore Spanish' supported a one-step operation of domestication. We identified 25 selective sweeps, including a strong sweep containing a pair of tandemly duplicated bromelain inhibitors. Four candidate genes for self-incompatibility were linked in F153, but were not functional in self-compatible CB5. Our findings support the coexistence of sexual recombination and a one-step operation in the domestication of clonally propagated crops. This work guides the exploration of sexual and asexual domestication trajectories in other clonally propagated crops

Solution processed F doped ZnO (ZnO:F) for thin film transistors and improved stability through co-doping with alkali metals

10.1039/c4tc02257bJournal of Materials Chemistry C381787-179

The complete mitochondrial genome of the blue-crested lizard, Calotes mystaceus (Squamata, Agamidae) in China

A complete mitogenome sequence of the blue-crested lizard (Calotes mystaceus) was determined in this study. The 16,506 bp genome consists 13 protein-coding genes (PCG), two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and a control region. The phylogenetic tree reveals that the Calotes mystaceus is closely related to the C. versicolor. This report provides the basic data for further studies of Calotes species classification and phylogeny

Allele specific expression of Dof genes responding to hormones and abiotic stresses in sugarcane.

Dof transcription factors plant-specific and associates with growth and development in plants. We conducted comprehensive and systematic analyses of Dof transcription factors in sugarcane, and identified 29 SsDof transcription factors in sugarcane genome. Those SsDof genes were divided into five groups, with similar gene structures and conserved motifs within the same groups. Segmental duplications are predominant in the evolution of Dof in sugarcane. Cis-element analysis suggested that the functions of SsDofs were involved in growth and development, hormones and abiotic stresses responses in sugarcane. Expression patterns indicated that SsDof7, SsDof23 and SsDof24 had a comparatively high expression in all detected tissues, indicating these genes are crucial in sugarcane growth and development. Moreover, we examined the transcription levels of SsDofs under four plant hormone treatments, SsDof7-3 and SsDof7-4 were down-regulated after ABA treatment, while SsDof7-1 and SsDof7-2 were induced after the same treatment, indicating different alleles may play different roles in response to plant hormones. We also analyzed SsDofs' expression profiling under four abiotic stresses, SsDof5 and SsDof28 significantly responded to these four stresses, indicating they are associate with abiotic stresses responses. Collectively, our results yielded allele specific expression of Dof genes responding to hormones and abiotic stresses in sugarcane, and their cis-elements could be crucial for sugarcane improvement

Triphenylethylene- and Tetraphenylethylene-Functionalized 1,3-Bis(pyrrol-2-yl)squaraine Dyes: Synthesis, Aggregation-Caused Quenching to Aggregation-Induced Emission, and Thiol Detection

10.1021/acsomega.8b02479ACS Omega31216424-1643

Controlling aggregation and crystallization of solution processed diketopyrrolopyrrole based polymer for high performance thin film transistors by pre-metered slot die coating process

The organic semiconductors have attracted much attention for plastic electronics due to their good solution processability, low temperature deposition, and compatible with large-area printing technology. The charge transport properties of polymer based field effect transistors are limited by their amorphous domains and weakly interaction between polymer chains. In this study, antisolvent like methanol is introduced to promote polymer chain aggregation, and slot die coating is used to finely tune the film morphology. The effects of anti-solvent introduction and slot die coating process on the device performance, e.g. charge transport, surface morphology, and solid state packing, were investigated in details. By optimizing the antisolvent ratio and polymer chain aggregation, the charge transport properties of the polymer devices were observed to be significantly improved. An average charge carrier mobility of 3.76 cm2 V−1 s−1 and a maximum mobility of 4.10 cm2 V−1 s−1 were achieved under optimized conditions. The controlling the aggregation degree by combining the mixed solvent system and slot die coating technique provides a convenient and practical approach to achieve high performance polymer field effect transistor

Enhanced Performance and Stability of Polymer Solar Cells by In Situ Formed AlO_<i>x</i> Passivation and Doping

In this paper, aqueous solution-processed zinc oxide (ZnO) layer modified by ultrathin aluminum (Al) layer was applied to act as the electron transport layer for inverted organic solar cells (OSCs). Compared to devices fabricated with pristine ZnO transport layer, applying an ultrathin Al layer (1.2 nm) on ZnO surface simultaneously enhanced the open circuit voltage (<i>V</i>_oc) from 0.54 to 0.60 V, short circuit current density (<i>J</i>_sc) from 8.82 to 9.73 mA/cm², and fill factor (FF) from 0.56 to 0.66, resulting in better device performance from 2.7% to 3.9% based on poly­(3-hexylthiophene):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PC₆₁BM) blend. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as 8.0% was reached by applying Poly­({4,8-bis­[(2-ethylhexyl)­oxy]­benzo­[1,2-<i>b</i>:4,5-<i>b</i>′]­dithiophene-2,6-diyl}­{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexy)­carbonyl]­thieno­[3,4-<i>b</i>]­thiophenediyl}):[6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PTB-7:PC₇₁BM) active layer. The <i>V</i>_oc increase was due to the increased build-in potential and the decreased cathode surface work-function. The enhanced <i>J</i>_sc and FF were due to the significantly increased charge carrier mobility and reduced surface defects. Meanwhile, the device stability was also much enhanced