Nanxun District of Huzhou City in Zhejiang Province is one of the most complete and largest areas of mulberry-dykes and fish-ponds, and the mulberry-dyke and fish-pond system in this area has been listed in the globally important agricultural heritage systems. With the development of the social economy, the change of consumer demand and the modernization of agricultural production, the production modes, economies and service values of mulberry-dyke and fish-pond system have undergone great changes. Using remote sensing images, socio-economic data and other data, we analyzed the spatio-temporal pattern evolution and driving factors of mulberry-dykes and fish-ponds in Nanxun District from 1975 to 2019. The results were as follows: 1) In terms of scale changes, fish ponds expanded rapidly; mulberry fields decreased significantly; paddy fields shrank dramatically; the scale of mulberry-dykes and fish-ponds decreased significantly; and the proportion of dyke-pond decreased seriously. In terms of morphological changes, fish ponds showed a trend of agglomeration and scaling, while mulberry fields and paddy fields showed a trend of fragmentation, and fish ponds gradually separated from the traditional mulberry-dyke and fish-pond system layout characteristics and existed independently. 2) From 2012 to 2019, the economic benefits of fish pond farming were much greater than those of silkworm breeding and rice planting, which was the main driving force leading to the obvious shrinkage of mulberry fields and paddy fields and the large-scale expansion of fish ponds. Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen the protection and inheritance of the mulberry-dyke and fish-pond system through the establishment of globally important agricultural heritage systems, and it is also an important measure to support sustainable agricultural development in Nanxun District of Huzhou City.

Soil moisture is the basic condition for crop growth. A new retrieval algorithm for soil moisture was proposed based on C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from Gaofen-3 (GF-3) satellite, and soil moisture of agricultural fields with a regional scale spatial resolution of 8 m was obtained. First, the algorithm selected the optical vegetation water index based on PROSAIL model, measured vegetation canopy water content and Landsat-8 optical data. The parameters of water cloud model were calculated， and soil direct backscattering coefficients were obtained. Second, the radar backscattering influence mechanism was simulated using an advanced integral equation model (AIEM), and the combined roughness of soil surface was calculated based on the characteristics of radar data at high and low incidence angles. Finally, soil moisture was retrieved using co-polarization radar data from GF-3 satellite over agricultural fields, and this was verified with measured data. The results showed that there was a high consistency between the measured soil moisture and estimated soil moisture, and vertical-vertical (VV) polarization exhibited higher retrieval accuracy, with a determination coefficient of 0.595 6 and a root mean square error of 0.041 5 m³/m³. The results can provide algorithmic references for the GF-3 satellite to obtain high-resolution soil moisture information.

Green agriculture is a new model of modern agricultural development. The level of agricultural green development reflects the comprehensive strength of modern agriculture. By evaluating the level of agricultural green development in Henan Province, it can provide guidance for building a strong province of modern agriculture. The TOPSIS model based on the entropy-weighted method was used to construct a comprehensive evaluation index for agricultural green development, which included 14 indexes from the four dimensions of resource conservation, environmental friendliness, ecological conservation, and quality and efficiency. The dynamic changes of agricultural green development level were analyzed in Henan Province from 2007 to 2021, as well as the level of agricultural green development (based on the average values of 2019, 2020, and 2021) in its 18 jurisdiction cities. The results indicated that the comprehensive evaluation index of agricultural green development in Henan Province showed a fluctuating upward trend, but the index was still at a low level. In addition, the levels of agricultural green development among different cities in Henan Province were quite different, and those in the western regions were significantly lower than those in the other regions. According to the cluster analysis results, different cities in Henan Province could be divided into three types: zone Ⅰ (modern agricultural regions), zone Ⅱ (traditional agricultural regions), and zone Ⅲ (urban agricultural development regions). In summary, all regions should be based on local resource endowments and in response to the needs of national development strategies, adapt to local conditions, focus on breaking through weak links, and further promote the process of agricultural green development in Henan Province.

This study investigated the impact mechanism of rotational grazing on vegetation communities and soil arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in mixed-sown artificial grassland ecosystems. Taking the mixed-sown artificial grasslands in Yanchi County of Ningxia as the experimental subject, we set up three different patterns of mixed-sown combinations using a one-way randomized block design: T1 (Bromus inermis Leyss.+Psathyrostachys juncea Nevski+Festuca rubra+Medicago sativa L.+Cichorium intybus L.), T2 (Elymus nutans Griseb.+Psathyrostachys juncea Nevski+Poa annua L.+Medicago sativa L.+Astragalus cicer L.), and T3 (Agropyron cristatum+Psathyrostachys juncea Nevski+Agropyron mongolioum Keng+Medicago sativa L.). Illumina high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were conducted to investigate the differences of AM fungal communities in the three mixed-sown artificial grassland ecosystems under grazing disturbance, and to analyze the relationships among the vegetation communities, soil physicochemical properties and AM fungal communities. The results indicated that two consecutive years of rotational grazing had a significant impact on the biomass of the vegetation communities. Compared with those after the first year of rotational grazing, the relative importance values of the leguminous vegetation communities decreased, but the relative importance values of the gramineous vegetation communities increased by 51.16%, 81.25% and 33.33%, respectively. Throughout both years, Glomus and Paraglomus were the dominant genera of AM fungi in the soil. Compared with that after the first year of rotational grazing, the Chao 1 index of the soil AM fungal community in the T1 treatment significantly decreased by 12.35% after two consecutive years of rotational grazing. Nevertheless, the Chao 1 index, Shannon-Wiener index, evenness index and species number of the soil AM fungal community in the T3 treatment significantly increased by 20.73%, 12.80%, 7.69% and 31.16%, respectively (P＜0.05), which indicates that the soil AM fungal community is more sensitive to grazing intensity during the T3 treatment. The soil AM fungal community structures spatially overlapped between the T1 and T2 treatments and separated between the T1 and T3 treatments with the increase of rotational grazing years. The environmental factors attributed to the alteration of AM fungal communities shifted from available phosphorus (p=0.006) and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen (p=0.016) to vegetation community biomass (p=0.036) with the increase of rotational grazing years. After two consecutive years of rotational grazing disturbance, the effects of soil nutrients on soil AM fungal community richness diminished, whereas the effects of vegetation community diversity and biomass on soil AM fungal community richness and composition enhanced. In summary, different types of mixed-sown artificial grassland vegetation communities and soil AM fungal communities exhibit different response characteristics to rotational grazing. Among the three types of mixed-sown artificial grasslands, the combination of T3 is superior.

Camellia oleifera is the woody oil crop with the highest total oil production and the largest cultivated area in China. To improve the mining and utilization of C. oleifera excellent germplasm resources in China, this study used principal component analysis, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, nested analysis of variance, multiple regression analysis, the coefficient of variation, the phenotypic differentiation coefficient, and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index to explore the diversity of phenotypic traits of 560 C. oleifera excellent germplasm resources and the correlation between the phenotypic traits and environmental factors. The 560 C. oleifera excellent germplasm resources were comprehensively evaluated and ranked using the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method. The results showed that there was abundant genetic variation in the 560 C. oleifera excellent germplasm resources, and the Shannon-Wiener diversity indexes of 34 phenotypic traits ranged from 0.05 to 2.35, with a mean value of 1.06, while the coefficients of variation for quantitative traits ranged from 3.02% to 53.33%, with a mean value of 23.25%. The mean values of the variance components among and within provenances of C. oleifera were 53.591% and 32.382%, respectively, indicating that the phenotypic trait similarity within provenances of C. oleifera excellent germplasm resources was high and that its variation mainly originated from within provenances. With the increase of latitude and decrease of annual mean temperature, the single fruit mass, seed kernel oil content and saturated fatty acid content of C. oleifera showed a decreasing trend, while the unsaturated fatty acid content showed an increasing trend, indicating that latitude and annual mean temperature were the main environmental factors limiting the growth of C. oleifera. The comprehensive evaluation and ranking results of the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method showed that Changlin 4 had the highest comprehensive score index, and Zhejiang, Yunnan, Anhui, Hunan regions had several selected excellent germplasms in the rank of top 30. These results can provide data support for breeding and seed promotionof C. oleifera.

Aquatic vegetable crops are a unique group of domesticated crops from the farming civilization of the Yangtze River Basin, and their wild relatives are valuable genetic resources for breeding and variety improvement. This study utilized online database information from the iPlant and the Chinese Virtual Herbarium to obtain the geographical distribution data of 36 wild relatives of 10 aquatic vegetable crops. We used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to construct an ecological niche model in conjunction with climatic factor data to predict future changes in species distributions. The results revealed that diversity hotspots for these wild relatives are concentrated in the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake basins, aligning with the origin of the Yangtze River Basin farming civilization, indicating a historical proximity between the civilization and its plant resources. Under the climate scenario of future warming, the suitable distribution hotspots of wild relatives of aquatic vegetable crops may expand further, and the centers of diversity hotspots may migrate to high latitudes. This scenario could favor the maintenance and enhancement of wild relatives’ diversity, providing a theoretical basis for their conservation.

Diversified farming of crop cultivars is an effective measure for improving agroecosystem functions. However, there is still a lack of research on the effects of mixed planting of different cultivars on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, rice was used as an example to explore the impact of intercropping of different cultivars on methane (CH₄) emissions through an in situ pot experiment. The cultivars Changnongjing No. 8 and Wandao No. 153, which have high CH₄ emissions, and the cultivars Suxiangjing No. 100 and Ⅱ-you No. 084, which have low CH₄ emissions, were selected as experimental materials. A total of eight treatments were set up in this study. The monocultures of four cultivars were as follows: the monoculture of Changnongjing No. 8 (referred to as CN), the monoculture of Wandao No. 153 (WD), the monoculture of Suxiangjing No. 100 (SX) and the monoculture of Ⅱ?you No. 084 (ⅡY). Additionally, intercropping systems were set up between two CH₄ high-emission cultivars and two CH₄ low-emission cultivars: intercropping of Changnongjing No. 8 and Suxiangjing No. 100 (CN+SX), intercropping of Changnongjing No. 8 and Ⅱ?you No. 084 (CN+ⅡY), intercropping of Wandao No. 153 and Suxiangjing No. 100 (WD+SX), and intercropping of Wandao No. 153 and Ⅱ?you No. 084 (WD+ⅡY). In the intercropping treatments, the two cultivars were planted at a ratio of 1∶1. The results showed that all the intercropping treatments either significantly increased or maintained rice yield, and that the CH₄ emissions varied significantly among the different intercropping treatments. Compared with the expected values, the CN+SX treatment resulted in a significant reduction in CH₄ emissions, while the CN+ⅡY and WD+ⅡY treatments significantly increased the CH₄ emissions. Compared with the monoculture of CH₄ high-emission cultivars, the intercropping of Suxiangjing No. 100 with two CH₄ high-emission cultivars significantly reduced the average abundance of the methanogenic archaeal mcrA gene during the growing season, but Ⅱ?you No. 084 had a significant effect only when intercropped with Wandao No. 153. For the intercropping treatments except CN+SX, the average abundance of the methanotrophic bacterial pmoA gene during the growing season was significantly lower than that of the corresponding monoculture. This study suggested that the intercropping of rice cultivars can enhance rice yield and also reduce CH₄ emissions, but the appropriate combinations of intercropped cultivars should be selected carefully.

Current agriculture faces the challenge of significantly increasing production to meet the needs of a large human population. Abiotic stresses, such as salinity, drought, and temperature extremes, severely impact plant growth, development and production. Brassica species, particularly Brassica napus L., are important worldwide sources of edible oil, biodiesel and animal feed. Understanding the genetic variation within the Brassica genus is crucial for developing new varieties (genotypes) adapted to different environmental conditions. This paper reviewed the recent advances on stress-resistant genes in B. napus both domestically and internationally, with a particular focus on emerging molecular breeding tools and technologies, including whole-genome association analysis, gene editing and other technologies. This study aimed to contribute to the exploration of high-yielding and stress-resistant genes in B. napus and to provide a research foundation and technical support for molecular breeding.

The infection of Nicotiana tabacum with potato virus Y (PVY) can cause tobacco vein disease, leading to a decrease in the tobacco leaf quality. The broad complex, tramtrack, and bric-à-brac/pox virus and zinc finger (BTB/POZ) family exists widely in plants and animals. It plays a very important role in various stages of plant growth and development. In this study, 90 proteins in the BTB/POZ family of N. tabacum were identified, corresponding to 71 genes. Among these protein sequences, nine conserved motifs were identified, and the members of the BTB/POZ family were divided into six subfamilies according to the order of their appearance. Domain analysis showed that the domains of members of the same subfamily in BTB/POZ are consistent. The three-dimensional (3D) conformation of the BTB/POZ protein was predicted based on the amino acid sequence. All the members of the subfamily are mainly structured with α helixes, and the 3D conformations of members of the same subfamily are similar. Analysis of the BTB/POZ family gene expression patterns of N. tabacum K326 and mutant M867 (anti-PVY) showed that the expression levels of NtBTB2K, NtBTB2L, NtBTB2M and NtBTB6E increased significantly after inoculation with PVY, which may be related to the strong resistance of N. tabacum M867 to PVY. Cis-acting element analysis showed that the 2 000 bp upstream region of NtBTB2K, NtBTB2L, NtBTB2M and NtBTB6E contained several stress responsive elements, including TCA-element and MYB-binding site, which may be related to the upregulated expression of these genes. This study provides a theoretical basis for the study of BTB/POZ protein function, and provides a reference for disease resistance of tobacco breeding.

With the continuous advancement of ecological and green agricultural construction, environmentally friendly and low-toxicity biopesticides have been widely developed and utilized. This study investigated the control efficiencies of different active ingredient dosages of avermectin and jinggangmycin (A&J) mixture on major rice diseases and pests via both laboratory tests and field tests. The results revealed significant synergistic effects of the A&J mixture on killing Rhizoctonia solani Kühn, rice planthoppers (Sogatella furcifera and Nilaparvata lugens), Chilo suppressalis, Tryporyza incertulas and Nephotettix bipunctatus. This synergism can partially neutralize the resistance of pathogenic fungus and pests, thereby prolonging the duration of pesticide use. The toxic effects of the A&J mixture on Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Naranga aenescens were found to be similar to those of avermectin alone. Therefore, the A&J mixture has the potential to improve the prevention and control capacities to major rice diseases and pests, and it is a green prevention and control method that is worthy of widespread promotion and application.

Myo-inositol oxygenase (MIOX) catalyzes the conversion of myo-inositol to glucuronic acid and plays an important role in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, the genome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis of the MIOX family gene in Brassica napus L.(BnMIOX) were conducted. The results showed that the BnMIOX family included 12 members distributed across nine chromosomes. According to the characteristics of MIOX gene domain, the phylogenetic tree of B. napus, Arabidopsisthaliana, B. rapa and B. oleracea could be divided into subfamilies Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ. No tandem repeat gene pairs were found in the collinearity analysis, and all of them were large segment replication genes, demonstrating that segmental duplication and whole-genome duplication were the main driving forces for the MIOX gene family amplification in B. napus. The transcriptomic data indicated that BnMIOX genes showed different temporal and spatial expression patterns in different tissues and different growth and development processes. Expression profiles under different stresses demonstrated that the expression of BnMIOX1 gene was obviously induced under drought and salt stresses, while BnMIOX1, BnMIOX2, and BnMIOX9 genes had significant responses to drought, salt, abscisic acid (ABA), and cold stresses. The results of the protein interaction network analysis further showed that the BnMIOX interacted with proteins including GLCAK, PIS1, VTC2, VTC4, and PDF2.1, implying that BnMIOX genes play key roles in improving the resistance of B. napus. This study provides an important basis for further investigation of the function of BnMIOX genes.

Epicuticular wax in the rape is one of the protective barriers in stress environments. We previously reported one glossy mutant DL22B077-1 in Brassica napus L. controlled by a pair of dominant genes. In order to further understand its genetic mechanism, the glossy genes in the F₂ population were mapped by whole genome resequencing technology and bulk segregated analysis (BSA) in this study. A total of 1 0661.75 Mb of clean bases were obtained, with an average Q₃₀ of 92.99%, an average mapping ratio of 97.73%, an average sequencing depth of 24×, and an average coverage ratio of 82.06%, which indicated that the sequencing quality was high. In addition, the correlations between the glossy characters and markers of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and insertion-deletion (In-Del) in genomic domains were analyzed. In the SNP marker, seven associated regions and 1 509 genes on five chromosomes were obtained. In the In-Del marker, 15 associated regions and 2 633 genes on 11 chromosomes were obtained. The final association results were the intersection of two kinds of markers, which was the 1.79 Mb associated region from 8.60 Mb to 10.39 Mb on chromosome C8, and there were a total of 130 candidate genes in this region. A total of 119 genes in the 130 candidate genes were annotated, which participated in the construction of cellular components and were involved in molecular functions and biological processes. In B. napus, DL22B077-1 was the first glossy mutant whose glossy genes were located on chromosome C8, so it was a novel glossy mutant. The above results lay a theoretical foundation for breeding rape varieties with high and stable yields and improving resistance cultivation techniques.

In order to make full use of the advantages of genic male sterility (GMS), the commercial rapeseed ‘Q1012’ of Brassica napus L. was used as the source to select the double-low and high-quality recessive GMS line LY31AB of B. napus by the pedigree breeding method. LY31AB fertility, resistance, combining ability and other characteristics were analyzed and its heterosis was utilized. The results indicated that the sterility of LY31AB was genetically stable, which was controlled by two pairs of recessive overlapping genes, and showed good resistance to sclerotiniadisease and lodging resistance in the field. LY31AB had high combining ability, wide recovery sources and strong heterosis, and most of its combinations showed obvious heterosis. Four new double-low and high-quality rape varieties, Leyou 8, Deleyou 1632, Wanjiayou 520 and Leyou 7, which were bred using LY31AB and registered, also showed good resistance tosclerotiniadisease and lodging resistance, and were widely in promotion and application. To sum up, LY31AB is a sterile line with clear pedigree, stable genetic characters, good quality, good fertility, good resistance, high combining ability, wide recovery sources and good heterosis utilization value, and has broad application prospects.

To evaluate the effect of CaO₂ on alleviating waterlogging stress of winter rape at seedling stage, a pot experiment was conducted with Fengyou 958 (FY958) as experimental material. There were six application amounts of CaO₂ (0, 0.7, 1.2, 1.7, 2.2, and 2.7 g/kg) treatments in this study, and the effects of different application amounts of CaO₂ on the survival rates, activities of antioxidant enzymes in leaves and fermentative enzymes in roots, and root activity of rape seedlings under waterlogging condition were studied. The results showed that waterlogging stress seriously affected the growth of rape, resulting in a significant decrease in the survival rate, fresh mass and leaf SPAD value of rape seedlings. The application of CaO₂ can significantly alleviate the effect of waterlogging stress on rape. Compared with plants without CaO₂ treatment under waterlogging condition, the fresh mass and leaf SPAD values of rape seedlings treated with CaO₂ significantly increased by 85.4%-108.0% and 24.3%-43.0%, respectively. The activities of antioxidant enzymes in leaves and fermentative enzymes in roots were both significantly reduced. The root activity was significantly increased by 66.7%-316.7%. Moreover, with the increase of the application amounts of CaO₂, the effect of alleviating waterlogging stress became more obvious. In summary, waterlogging stress inhibited the normal growth of rape seedlings. The appropriate application amounts of CaO₂ (1.7-2.7 g/kg) could reduce the anaerobic respiration of roots, alleviate the effect of peroxidation stress on rape, and increase the root activity and chlorophyll contents (SPAD values) of leaves, so as to improve carbohydrate synthesis in leaves, and thus restore rape seedling growth and ensure later rape yields. This study verified the feasibility of CaO₂ in alleviating waterlogging stress of winter rape at seedling stage.

Shading directly affects the growth and development of crops, which includes decreases in light intensity and changes in light quality. An indoor pot experiment was conducted with soybeans and peanuts under three light environments, including normal light (N) treatment [light intensity of 433.83 μmol/(m²·s), ratio of red to far-red light (R/Fr) of 4.26], low light (L) treatment [light intensity of 154.73 μmol/(m²·s), R/Fr of 4.25], and shading (S) treatment [light intensity of 159.43 μmol/(m²·s), R/Fr of 0.45), to study the response of soybean and peanut plant morphology, biomass, and photosynthetic fluorescence characteristics to shading. The results showed that the stem diameter and photosynthetic pigment content increased obviously in soybeans under the S treatment as compared with the L treatment, while the plant heights of soybeans and peanuts significantly decreased, and the net photosynthetic rates of the two crops increased by 60.70% and 19.72%, respectively (P＜0.05). Compared with the N treatment, the plant height of soybeans increased significantly, and the stem diameter, total biomass, leaf area, specific leaf mass, photosynthetic pigment content, net photosynthetic rate and yield of soybeans decreased significantly under the L treatment; peanuts also showed a significant decrease in leaf area, net photosynthetic rate and yield, and a decreasing trend in total biomass and photosynthetic pigment content. In conclusion, the two crops have different adaptabilities to light intensity and light quality in terms of morphology and photosynthetic fluorescence characteristics.

In order to investigate the suitability of different soybean varieties at seedling stage under a photovoltaic environment, the suitability evaluation of 31 soybean varieties (mainly promoted varieties in Zhejiang Province) was conducted under photovoltaic panels in a solar greenhouse (taking no photovoltaic panels as a control), and the effects of photovoltaic shading on soybean seedling growth were analyzed. The adaptability of soybean varieties to photovoltaic environments was comprehensively evaluated by shade tolerance evaluation model and cluster analysis. After 30 days of transplantation, 20 morphological, physiological and biomass indexes of soybeans were measured, and the shade tolerance coefficient of each trait was calculated. Through principal component analysis, membership function method and cluster analysis, the multiple traits of soybeans were transformed into six new comprehensive and independent indexes with weights of 0.251, 0.229, 0.170, 0.138, 0.126, and 0.115. According to the comprehensive evaluation value (D value), 31 soybean varieties were divided into three types: 9 materials were highly suitable, and 12 materials were moderately suitable, and 10 materials were poorly suitable. The highly suitable varieties included Bayueba, Dongshanbaimadou, Lanxidaqingdou, Jiafenglüpidou, Shaxindou, Tefandou 1, Zhexian 9, Zhexian 12, and Zhechun 14. The study provides a theoretical reference and suitable varieties for ensuring soybean growth and yield under an agriculture-light complementary system.

To enrich low-phenylalanine formula food for special medical purposes, this study used perilla defatted seed meal as the raw material to optimize the double enzymatic hydrolysis process through single factor and response surface analysis, while exploring the conditions for the adsorption of free phenylalanine by activated carbon. The results showed that the optimum conditions for the preparation of low-phenylalanine peptide by double enzymatic hydrolysis of perilla protein were as follows: the neutral complex protease (pH 7.0) and aminopeptidase (pH 8.0) were used to hydrolyze perilla seed meal at 55 ℃ for 5.0 h and 5.5 h, respectively. Then, the free phenylalanine was adsorbed by 200 mesh activated carbon. Finally, the product was detected by high performance liquid chromatography, and the phenylalanine release rate in perilla protein was 96.54%, and the phenylalanine removal rate was 97.64%, and the phenylalanine content in the product was 1.10 mg/g, which could meet the national standard of National Standard for Food Safety-General Rules for Formula Food for Special Medical Purposes (GB 29922—2013). Therefore, this study provides an effective method for the preparation of low-phenylalanine formula food for special medical purposes, which is of great practical significance to promote it.

Fructose (FRU), dextran (DEX), and maltodextrin (MD) with different molecular weights were used as inducers to modify perilla seed meal protein (PSMP) using a wet heating method, in order to explore their effects on the structural and functional properties of PSMP glycosylated products. The detection results of grafting degree and browning degree showed that all three kinds of sugars underwent glycosylation reactions with PSMP. Compared with PSMP, the solubility of the three PSMP glycosylated products was improved under medium and alkaline conditions, with the solubility of P-DEX showing an increase of about 9% at pH 7.0. Meanwhile, the emulsifying, foaming, thermal properties, and oil-holding capacity of the three PSMP glycosylated products were significantly improved, with P-DEX showing the best performance. The detection results of Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR) and endogenous fluorescence spectra confirmed that both the secondary and tertiary structures of PSMP glycosylated products were altered. The internal conformational unfolding of the modified products was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), indicating that the structural changes were the main reason for the functional properties of the proteins. In summary, the glycosylation of PSMP significantly improved both its structural and functional properties. This study offers new ideas and methods for the applications of PSMP, as well as some theoretical and practical support for research into the structural relationships of glycosylated proteins.

negevirus (nege-like virus) is a newly proposed virus taxon of insect-specific RNA viruses and has been found in various insect species. In this study, the complete genome of a novel nege-like virus, named as “Nbu Aulacophora lewisii nege-like virus 1” (NbuALNV-1), was identified from a single leaf beetle, Aulacophora lewisii. NbuALNV-1 is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus with the genome of 9 832 nucleotide (nt) in length (excluding the polyA tail), with a 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of 292 nt and a 3′ UTR of 77 nt, and six open reading frames (ORFs). Five conserved domains of negeviruses were predicted to be encoded by the genome of NbuALNV-1, consisting of the viral methyltransferase domain, RNA virus helicase domain, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) domain in ORF1, and the DISB-ORF2_chro domain and SP24 domain in the other two ORFs. Phylogenetic analysis of RdRp amino acid sequences of NbuALNV-1, together with Hubei Wuhan insect virus 9, Aphis glycines virus 3, and Fort Crockett virus showed that they formed as an “unclassified” clade and closely related to members in plant viruses of the family Kitaviridae. Furthermore, typical characteristics of virus-derived small interfering RNAs were observed by NbuALNV-1-derived small interfering RNAs, indicating that NbuALNV-1 might induce the host RNA interfering antiviral immune response. In summary, a nege-like virus was identified in A. lewisii, and NbuALNV-1 is the first negevirus discovered in the insect order Coleoptera.

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci, an important agricultural insect pest, secretes saliva into plants while feeding on them. Our previous study found that the whitefly secretes the salivary effector protein BtArmet (Bemisia tabaci arginine rich, mutated in early stage of tumors) to inhibit plant resistance by targeting tobacco cystatin. In this study, we continued to screen tobacco proteins that interact with the salivary effector protein BtArmet. Yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays showed that Nicotiana tabacum WRKY51 interacted with BtArmet. The up-regulation of NtWRKY51 gene in tobacco was significantly induced by whitefly infestation. However, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assays combined with bioassay of whiteflies showed that the fecundity of NtWRKY51-silenced tobacco plants by female whiteflies was significantly lower than that of the negative control (tobacco with silenced empty vector). Silencing NtWRKY51 gene had no effect on phytohormone signaling pathways mediated by salicylic acid or jasmonic acid in tobacco plants. These results provide references for further investigations on the molecular mechanisms underlying plant resistance to whiteflies.

Siniphanerotomella He, Chen et van Achterberg, 1994 is an endemic genus to China with only two species currently known worldwide. A third species from Guangdong Province in China, S. chengjiaani Tang et Chen, sp. nov., is described and illustrated. A key to all known species of the genus is also provided in this study.

Neuropeptides are crucial for life activities and environmental fitness of insects, which are potential targets for pest control. The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) is an important pest on rice in Asia. Thus, functional screening analysis of genes encoding neuropeptides and their receptors in N. lugens were conducted. The cDNA sequences of 41 neuropeptides (containing one alternative splicing transcript) and 44 receptors were verified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Four neuropeptide genes (NlCCAP, NlETH, NlOKA and NlPK) and two receptor genes (NlA36 and NlA46) were identified to cause high mortality through RNA interference (RNAi), showing potential in pest control. These genes knockdown resulted in the relative survival rate of adult less than 0.2 when injected with double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) at the third instar, and had the potential to be target genes for pest control. The results of RNAi also demonstrated that neuropeptides, such as crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP), ecdysis triggering hormone (ETH) and bursicon were conserved in physiological function, while other neuropeptides (eg. prothoracicotropic hormone, eclosion hormone) which related to ecdysis in other insects were undefined in physiological function in N. lugens. Our study provides a basis for further exploration of neuropeptides’ physiological function in N. lugens.

In order to establish an accurate detection method for royal jelly freshness, the major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) in royal jelly by trypsin enzymatic hydrolysis were identified by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS). The primary sequence data of eight MRJPs (MRJP1-7 and MRJP9) were identified by proteomics analysis platform. Then three specific marker polypeptides were obtained according to the criteria of highly easy enzymolysis and high stability, including YNGVPSSLNVISK (MRJP1), TLQMIAGMK (MRJP2), and LTVAGESFTVK (MRJP3). The three specific marker polypeptides of MRJP1-3 and their isotopic marker peptides were synthesized, respectively, and an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQMS) method for the quantitative detection of MRJP1-3 in royal jelly was established. The results showed that the MRJP1 polypeptide had a good linear relationship in the range of 10-1 600 ng/mL, and MRJP2 and MRJP3 polypeptides had a good linear relationship in the range of 10-600 ng/mL, and the correlations of determination (R²) were all more than 0.99. Finally, by analyzing the degradation degrees of MRJP1-3 in royal jelly with the aging time, it was confirmed that the degradation rates of MRJP1-3 were all positively correlated with the aging time at 40 ℃ (R²＞0.9). It is indicated that the MRJP1-3 detection method established in this study is highly specific, which provides technical support for the quality evaluation of royal jelly.

To explore the courtship, mating and oviposition behavior of Chilo suppressalis (Walker) in a high dose sex pheromone environment, the mating disruption was simulated in a wind tunnel, and the sex pheromone titers were analyzed in combination with behavioral observation and chemical methods. The results showed that in the wind tunnel, the high dose of Z11-16:Ald and the ternary blend [m(Z11-16:Ald)∶ m(Z9-16:Ald)∶m(Z13-18:Ald)=10∶1∶1.2] of 3.1 mg per spraying significantly inhibited the mating rates and sex pheromone titers of female moths, but no significant differences were found between the two treatments. There were no significant differences in the number of mating pairs of male and female moths and the time interval between each spraying. The mating rates of male moths with the removal of antennae decreased to (8.3±1.1)% and (10.0±8.9)%, respectively, in the environment of spraying or not spraying high dose Z11-16:Ald. The number of laid eggs and egg hatching rates were not affected in the high dose sex pheromone environment. The ages of female moths significantly affected the mating rates with male moths. The mating rates of 1, 3 and 5 day-old female moths with 1 day-old male moths were (60.0±5.2)%, (31.7±6.0)%, and (8.3±3.1)%, respectively. The number of laid eggs and egg hatching rates of female moths decreased with the ages. In conclusion, the high dose sex pheromone Z11-16:Ald and complete blend can inhibit the mating rates and sex pheromone titers of C. suppressalis, and have no impact on the number of laid eggs and egg hatching rates of female moths, but the ages of female moths can affect the number of laid eggs and egg hatching rates; and the decrease in mating rates might be related to the inactivation of olfactory system of male moths.

The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) is an important rice pest. In this study, the tomographic images of adult brown planthopper were obtained by using micro-computer tomography technology (Micro CT). Three-dimensional models of internal tissues and organs of the brown planthopper were established by combining manual modeling and deep learning. Three-dimensional models of the central nervous system, muscle tissue, alimentary canal and reproductive system of the brown planthopper were obtained. These models preserved the original morphologies of these structures and accurately restored the spatial arrangement of all tissues and organs within the brown planthopper. Measurements of the internal organization of insects were analyzed using Dragonfly software. This study established and refined the three-dimensional reconstruction technique of insect tissues and organs, which can contribute to a more precise view of the internal organization structure of insects and can be used for phenotypic observation of insect morphology and organ development. It provides a new technique for insect development investigation and gene function analysis in entomology.

The intraguild predation (IGP) level among the main generalist natural enemies is related to their population occurrence and the effectiveness of “green control” strategies for insect pests in agroecosystem. In this study, the detection systems of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) probe were first established and then optimized for analyzing the DNA of Pardosa pseudoannulata and Paederus fuscipes in ratoon rice fields. Then the detection systems were used to analyze the IGP levels between the two predators in ratoon rice fields. On this basis, the IGP and their biological and abiotic factors affecting the IGP level were studied under indoor conditions. The results showed that the primers and probes designed for the two predators had strong specificity. The established and optimized qPCR detection systems had good amplification repeatability and high sensitivity for the target genes of the two predators. After the system was used to detect 1 527 individuals of the two predators from ratoon rice fields and the indoor IGP tests, it was found that there was a ubiquitous and strong bidirectional IGP between the two predators in the rice field. The role transformation of intraguild predator or prey in the IGP and the influence of ambient temperature on the IGP level were closely related to their relative body sizes (developmental stages). The IGP level can be affected through extraguild preys and abiotic factors and their combination to various extents. These results enrich the IGP theory among arthropod predators in the rice ecosystem, and lay good foundations for further IGP study of natural enemies.

As an important quarantine pest in the world, it is extremely crucial to identify some mosquitoes at ports in China through online image comparisons. The typical morphometric characters of head, thorax and abdomen of adult female mosquitoes were divided into multiple anatomical features under the frame of the current taxonomic system in China, and these features were further split into two sub-selections in the dichotomous parallel mode, and then these features and sub-selections were linked with relative entities of mosquito genera by the internationally popular insect classification diagnostic software Lucid Professional v3.5. Finally, a latest online key to mosquito taxonomy of China (Diptera: Culicidae) was generated by a classification and diagnosis network service system Lucid Key Server v1.0. This key was based on a matrix of 34 candidate features, 68 alternative sub-selections, 89 precise illustrations of the representatives of each genus, along with the quality database of mosquito genera created by a biodiversity automatic database building software Fact Sheet Fusion v1.0. The users could distinguish the unknown specimen from 2 subfamilies Anophelinae and Culicinae, 10 tribes, 21 genera (including 2 subgenera) by clicking on any of the alternative features or sub-selections. To sum up, this interactive multiplex intelligence identification system to mosquito genera has good image comparison and recognition functions, and can provide an effective tool in the morphological identification of important vectors of mosquito-borne diseases.

The Chinese banana industry is under grave threat by Fusarium wilt of banana caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). However, it is still obscure how to control this devastating disease effectively. In this study, the fungicidal activities of four triazole fungicides were tested by hyphae growth rates of Foc tropical race 4 (Foc TR4). The results showed that the fungicidal activities of these four fungicides were prothioconazole＞tebuconazole＞propiconazole＞myclobutanil. The morphology changes and membrane integrity of Foc TR4 in response to these four fungicides were evaluated by morphological observation of hyphae, and detection of relative conductivity and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations. Compared with the control group, all these four fungicides can cause abnormalities including increased hyphae branching, irregular distorted, shrivelled, sunken and flattened in hypha cells of Foc TR4. The MDA concentrations and membrane permeability of hypha cells were significantly elevated in all treatment groups. The activities of the cytochrome P450 enzymes were increased significantly so were the expression levels of cytochrome P450 sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) genes CYP51-1 and CYP51-3 upon treatment with these fungicides. Molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays were employed to demonstrate interaction modes of four fungicides with CYP51 of Foc TR4. Even though prothioconazole showed less binding affinity with CYP51 than other three fungicides, it showed the strongest fungicidal activity against Foc TR4, which indicated the specificity of its mode of interaction with CYP51. This study can provide some theoretical references for the screening and rational design of novel fungicides for controlling Fusarium wilt of banana pathogen of Foc.

Representative varieties of six different citrus types including ‘Yuhuan Wendan’ (pomelo), ‘Huyou’ (grapefruit), ‘Lunwan navel orange’ (sweet orange), ‘Daidai’ (bitter orange), ‘Ougan’ (mandarin) and ‘Ponkan’ (tangerine) were selected as materials. The main antioxidant active substances of different citrus varieties were identified and purified. The antioxidant activities of citrus extracts from different varieties were compared. By establishing a step-fraction extraction method and purification system, compositions of flavones, flavanones and polymethoxylated flavonoids were purified simultaneously, and 15 monomers were acquired. The results showed that the chemical antioxidant capacities of different segmented products and purified monomers were quite different. The fraction products dominated by flavonoids and flavanones had strong antioxidant capacities, while the fraction products dominated by polymethoxylated flavonoids had poor antioxidant capacities. The flavonoids from the pomelo variety ‘Yuhuan Wendan’ and purities were vicenin-2 (98.72%), rhoifolin (95.78%) and naringin (99.56%); the flavonoids from the grapefruit variety ‘Huyou’ and purities were narirutin-4\mathrm{\prime }-O-glucoside (98.42%), eriocitrin (98.74%) and neoeriocitrin (99.17%); the flavonoid from the sweet orange variety ‘Lunwan navel orange’ and purity was narirutin (98.12%); the flavonoid from the tangerine variety ‘Ponkan’ and the purity was hesperidin (98.00%); the flavonoids from the mandarin variety ‘Ougan’ and purities were neohesperidin (98.56%), poncirin (98.03%), isosinensetin (98.76%), sinensetin (98.77%), nobiletin (99.15%), tangeretin (99.20%) and 5-demethylnobiletin (97.63%). Among the purified monomers, the antioxidant capacities of neoeriocitrin, eriocitrin, hesperidin and neohesperidin were stronger, and they were poorer for nobiletin and tangeretin.

In order to explore the genetic regulation mechanism of citrus fruit size and mass, mapping analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of fruit size and mass was carried out to find regulatory genes. The segregating population in this study was the F₁ generation with a total of 94 plants, from the cross of ‘Wanmi 2’ [Citrus unshiu (Mark.) Marc.×C. sinensis (L.) Osb.] and a local sweet orange cultivar ‘Licheng 2’ [C. sinensis (L.) Osb.]. Conserved ortholog sequence (COS) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to construct a genetic linkage map of the segregating population. Fruit size and mass were measured at the full maturing stage. Genetic transmitting ability analysis and QTL mapping were carried out. The results showed that this study constructed a genetic linkage map, which contained 201 markers, 10 linkage groups, with a total length of 1 194.5 cM. Four QTLs related to citrus fruit mass, three QTLs related to citrus transverse diameter, and four QTLs related to citrus longitudinal diameter were detected. All the QTLs were distributed on WL3 and WL8 linkage groups. A batch of functional genes (GATA transcription factor, auxin response factor and GDSL esterase) related to the development of citrus fruits were identified according to the functional annotations of the genes in the genome defined by the markers. The QTLs located and the candidate genes identified in this study will be helpful for citrus breeding and theoretical research.