Methodologies for Improving HDR Efficiency

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein 9 (Cas9) is a precise genome manipulating technology that can be programmed to induce double-strand break (DSB) in the genome wherever needed. After nuclease cleavage, DSBs can be repaired by non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway. For producing targeted gene knock-in or other specific mutations, DSBs should be repaired by the HDR pathway. While NHEJ can cause various length insertions/deletion mutations (indels), which can lead the targeted gene to lose its function by shifting the open reading frame (ORF). Furthermore, HDR has low efficiency compared with the NHEJ pathway. In order to modify the gene precisely, numerous methods arose by inhibiting NHEJ or enhancing HDR, such as chemical modulation, synchronized expression, and overlapping homology arm. Here we focus on the efficiency and other considerations of these methodologies

Rapid analysis of fragrance allergens by dielectric barrier discharge ionization mass spectrometry

ISSN:1097-0231ISSN:0951-419

Hybrid Ionization Source Combining Nano-electrospray and Dielectric Barrier Discharge Ionization for Simultaneous Detection of Polar and Non-polar Compounds in Single Cells

ISSN:1520-6882ISSN:0003-270

Effects of inorganic and organic amendment on soil chemical properties, enzyme activities, microbial community and soil quality in yellow clayey soil

<div><p>Understanding the effects of external organic and inorganic components on soil fertility and quality is essential for improving low-yielding soils. We conducted a field study over two consecutive rice growing seasons to investigate the effect of applying chemical fertilizer (NPK), NPK plus green manure (NPKG), NPK plus pig manure (NPKM), and NPK plus straw (NPKS) on the soil nutrient status, enzyme activities involved in C, N, P, and S cycling, microbial community and rice yields of yellow clayey soil. Results showed that the fertilized treatments significantly improved rice yields over the first three experimental seasons. Compared with the NPK treatment, organic amendments produced more favorable effects on soil productivity. Notably, the NPKM treatment exhibited the highest levels of nutrient availability, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), activities of most enzymes and the microbial community. This resulted in the highest soil quality index (SQI) and rice yield, indicating better soil fertility and quality. Significant differences in enzyme activities and the microbial community were observed among the treatments, and redundancy analysis showed that MBC and available N were the key determinants affecting the soil enzyme activities and microbial community. The SQI score of the non-fertilized control (0.72) was comparable to that of the NPK (0.77), NPKG (0.81) and NPKS (0.79) treatments but significantly lower compared with NPKM (0.85). The significant correlation between rice yield and SQI suggests that SQI can be a useful to quantify soil quality changes caused by different agricultural management practices. The results indicate that application of NPK plus pig manure is the preferred option to enhance SOC accumulation, improve soil fertility and quality, and increase rice yield in yellow clayey soil.</p></div

Study on Morph-genetic Materials Derived from Natural Materials

The way to fabricate novel morph-genetic functional materials based on nature bio-structures is reviewed. We present the idea and methods of obtaining multi-scale porous materials by using wood, agricultural wastes and butterfly wing scales as bio-templates

Variations in soil chemical properties under different fertilizations in 2012 and 2013.

<p>Variations in soil chemical properties under different fertilizations in 2012 and 2013.</p

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of microbial community composition (relative content of individual PLFA molecules) in soils under different fertilizations in the late rice season of 2012 (a) and the early rice season of 2013 (c), and Redundancy Analysis (RDA) of the correlations between soil parameters (chemical properties and microbial biomass C/N) and microbial community composition in the late rice season of 2012 (b) and the early rice season of 2013 (d).

<p>The red arrows indicate the soil parameters that had a strong and significant impact on the microbial community composition (<i>P</i><0.05), and the corresponding explained proportion of variability is shown in the lower left corner. Abbreviations: <i>Avail</i>. available, <i>MBC</i> microbial biomass carbon, <i>MBN</i> microbial biomass nitrogen, <i>SOM</i> soil organic matter.</p

Variations in rice yield under different fertilizations in 2012 and 2013.

<p>Variations in rice yield under different fertilizations in 2012 and 2013.</p