Cohesin is a functionally and evolutionarily conserved multi-subunit protein complex that is required for sister chromatid cohesion and chromatin loop structure in both mitosis and meiosis. The meiotic cell-cycle consisting of one DNA replication and two successive rounds of chromosome segregation completes the segregation of homologous chromosomes and sister chromatids. Cohesin is crucial for faithful and proper segregations. There is a group of distinctive cohesin subunits that are only expressed in meiotic cells. The study of meiosis-specific cohesin is of great significance for understanding chromosome architecture and dynamics in meiosis. REC8 is a typical meiosis-specific cohesin subunit that plays essential roles in sister chromatid cohesion and meiotic chromosome events. Here, we review the function and mechanism of meiotic cohesin REC8 based on the current study and hypothesize that phosphorylation modification and microRNAs (miRNAs) could be the subsequent research directions of REC8.

Ralstonia solanacearum causes bacterial wilt disease in multiple crops, which severely threatens the global crop safety production. This pathogen exhibits high genetic diversity and evolves rapidly, and there is a lack of effective disease-resistant varieties in production, which brings great challenges for effective disease control. Identifying receptor proteins in plants that recognize associated molecular patterns or effectors of R. solanacearum and elucidating their molecular recognition mechanisms can provide clues to understand the mechanisms of plant-pathogen interaction, and lay a basis for the development of broad-spectrum disease resistance in plants. This paper reviewed the recent progress on the molecular basis of plant-R. solanacearum recognition. We mainly focused on the identification and functional analysis of membrane and intracellular receptors that recognize R. solanacearum in plants, as well as the mechanism behind receptor recognition of the associated molecular patterns or effectors from R. solanacearum. Besides, we provide research prospects for the exploration and utilization of disease-resistant resources against R. solanacearum in the future.

Ralstonia solanacearum is a very harmful plant pathogenic bacterium, and the plant bacterial wilt caused by it seriously affects the healthy production of tomato and potato crops. It has broad host varieties and can acquire new virulence through horizontal gene transfer and gene recombination to extend the host range. The pathogenic mechanism of R. solanacearum is complex, type Ⅲ secretion system (T3SS) is the key pathogenic factor, and the type Ⅲ effectors (T3Es) secreted by it play important roles in the pathogenic processand inhibit innate immune response of hosts at different levels. Moreover, plant hosts can recognize R. solanacearum effectors and activate effector-triggered immunity (ETI) to achieve disease resistance. In this review, the virulence and avirulence mechanisms of R. solanacearum T3Es were discussed and summarized, providing insights for further understanding the pathogenesis of R. solanacearum and the mechanisms of plant resistance to bacterial wilt.

In plants, target of rapamycin (TOR) functions as a pivotal signaling and metabolic hub, integrating nutrient availability, energy status, and environmental cues through phosphorylation. This regulatory mechanism plays a crucial role in governing plant growth, development, and environmental adaptation. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive review of the discovery and characterization of TOR in plants. We summarize previous and recent studies on the signaling pathway of plant TOR, highlighting the identification of upstream effect factors and downstream substrates. Additionally, we discuss the diverse roles of TOR in plant embryogenesis, meristem formation, nutrient utilization, flowering, senescence, and responses to both abiotic and biotic stresses. Furthermore, we explore the potential research prospects for TOR kinase and its application in agriculture.

Bacterial wilt, a typical vascular disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is one of the most devastating diseases and dramatically reduces crop yield and quality. The most effective strategy for controlling wilt disease is breeding disease-resistant varieties, which requires understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant immune responses against R. solanacearum. However, more and more evidence suggests that vascular immune responses are cell type specific. After sensing of R. solanacearum, the cell wall lignification of vascular tissues plays a vital role in restricting the spread of R. solanacearum. Lignin biosynthesis pathway genes are strictly controlled at the transcriptional, translational, and spatial-temporal specific expression aspects. Here, we summarized the current understanding of the recognition and signal transductionupon R. solanacearum infection and the research progress of pathogen-induced vascular lignification on regulating resistance to R. solanacearum, including the expression of lignin biosynthesis genes, the transport and polymerization of monolignols, and the generation of different types of lignin. We hope that this review will provide a theoretical basis for breeding bacterial wilt disease-resistant cultivars by modifying vascular lignification.

Oil crop breeding programs generally aim to improve yield, quality, and stress resistance. Major oil crops include soybean, rape, sunflower and peanut according to their current production worldwide. This paper reviewed the molecular tools and technological innovation in oil crop breeding, including advanced technologies such as genome selection, genome editing, and molecular design breeding. Challenges exist in current genetic studies and breeding practices, and future perspectives of technological progress and application are also discussed for achieving high yield, high quality, and efficient breeding of oil crops.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein (Cas) (CRISPR/Cas) system, an ancient bacterial and archaeal immune system, has rapidly developed into a popular gene-editing tool, which largely promotes the development of several biology-related fields. By combining the CRISPR/Cas systems with the isothermal amplification techniques, the novel and effective detection methods with high sensitivity and independence of equipment have been established, such as DNA endonuclease-targeted CRISPR trans-reporter (DETECTR) and specific high-sensitivity enzymatic reporter unlocking (SHERLOCK). These new technologies not only improve the performance of the CRISPR/Cas system in different situations, but also inspire its application potential in the on-site detection. In this review, we summarized the nucleic acid detection methods developed on the three widely-used CRISPR/Cas systems (CRISPR/Cas9, CRISPR/Cas12a, and CRISPR/Cas13), and elucidated their biological significance and the principles of action. We also reviewed the recent studies on the applications of CRISPR/Cas systems in pathogen detection, and analyzed the characteristics and possible defects of different detection systems in practical applications. This review aims to provide more constructive advice on developing adaptable and efficient CRISPR/Cas-based detection methods for different pathogens in various practical scenarios.

Low reproductive efficiency of high-yielding dairy cows is a worldwide challenge, among which the high mortality rate of early embryos is one of the main reasons. Scientists have gained insightful knowledge into early embryonic development in mice while very little work has been performed in cattle. To better understand the early embryonic development in cattle, we compared early embryonic development in cattle and mice from the perspectives of embryo morphology, transcription factors and signaling pathways. It was found that after fertilization, degradation of maternal factors, zygotic genome activation, construction of cell polarity and asymmetric division occurred at different periods in the early embryos of cattle and mice. Eventually, embryos develop to blastocysts with three germ layers (trophectoderm, epiblast and primitive endoderm). Furthermore, multiple transcription factors and signaling pathways form complicated networks to regulate cell lineage differentiation during early embryonic development in cattle and mice. In summary, similar biological events occur one after another at the early embryonic development in cattle and mice, but the regulation of cell lineage differentiation is different, suggesting the limitations of using the early embryo of mouse as a research model. The study in this field plays a crucial role in improving reproductive efficiency of dairy cows and promoting the genetic improvement in cattle.

To explore the differences in flavor between flowers of ‘Zijuan’ and ‘Yingshuang’ tea varieties, the abundance of non-volatile metabolites in two light fermented tea flowers was tested, and the metabolites identified via widely targeted metabolomic technology based on ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The evaluation factors were evaluated by tea sensory evaluation methods and the contents of taste components, such as catechins and flavonoids, were detected by high performance liquid chromatography and colorimetric method. The results showed that ‘Zijuan’ tea flowers tasted sweet and fresh, and a little bitter and slightly astringent, while ‘Yingshuang’ tea flowers tasted sweet, slightly bitter and a little astringent. There were 219 kinds of significantly differential metabolites, including phenolic acids (56 kinds), flavonoids (46 kinds), lipids (26 kinds), tannins (19 kinds), amino acids and their derivatives (17 kinds) and others between the two varieties. Furthermore, metabolic pathway annotations revealed that amino acid-related metabolic pathways and flavone and flavonol metabolism pathways were the main differential metabolic pathways between ‘Zijuan’ and ‘Yingshuang’ tea flowers. In addition, the total contents of flavonoids and anthocyanins and the contents of catechins and some alkaloids between ‘Zijuan’ and ‘Yingshuang’ tea flowers were significantly different (P＜0.05), while the differences in the soluble sugar contents were not significant. The above results preliminarily showed that the flavonoids made the taste of tea flowers had a certain degree of bitterness and astringency, while compared with those in ‘Yingshuang’, the increase of contents of some amino acids and their derivatives in ‘Zijuan’ tea flowers was the main reason for its fresh taste.

Ornamental plants are widely used for beautifying the living environment because of their good ornamental value of flowers, leaves and fruits. Sugar transporters play critical roles in the growth and development, flowering and fruiting, and response to stress of ornamental plants. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the effects of sugar transporters on ornamental plants. Monosaccharide transporters, sucrose transporters/sucrose carriers and sugars will eventually be exported transporters are three major sugar transporters discovered in plants. The classification and basic characteristics of these sugar transporters in different ornamental plants were compared and discussed. We also summarized the function and regulation of these transporters in terms of recent research progress to provide a theoretical basis for the future use of genetic engineering technology to improve ornamental plants and enhance their ornamental and adaptive properties.

Anthracnose is a major disease caused by Colletotrichum Cordathat significantly reduces yield and quality of soybeans. This disease is prevalent in various regions, including the main production areas of fresh soybeans in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and South America. Based on the harm, classification and incidence cycle of soybean anthracnose, we reviewed the pathogenic identification, incidence prediction in the field, green prevention and control and other related research progress, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for field surveillance and comprehensive control of soybean anthracnose.

Influenza is an important zoonotic disease. The highly pathogenic avian influenza not only brings enormous losses to China’s livestock breeding industry but also seriously threatens the safety of public health. The ability of influenza viruses to recombine in swine and spread across species barriers poses significant challenges for influenza prevention. Due to the rapid mutation of influenza viruses, the differences between prevalent viruses and vaccine strains reduce the vaccine efficacy. It is necessary to improve the host’s immunity to influenza viruses. Probiotics regulate the balance of intestinal microbiota and promote body health, which is beneficial for protecting animal against influenza viruses. This paper reviewed the mechanisms of anti-influenza virus action of probiotics in animals. The mechanisms include direct or indirect interference with virus attacks by balancing the composition of intestinal flora, regulating the mucosal barrier function of body, and enhancing or suppressing Toll-like receptor-related molecular signaling pathways. This study provides scientific evidence for understanding the mechanisms by which different strains of probiotics combat influenza and for developing more effective anti-influenza strategies.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a cardiovascular disease characterized by one or both ventricular dilation and systolic dysfunction. Its pathogenesis involves inherited genetic mutations and various secondary factors. Human DCM animal models have been developed using a variety of experimental animals such as mice, rats, zebrafish, and pigs, and are generally constructed by gene editing, drug induction, autoimmune deficiency induction, and viral infection. The previous studies have utilized DCM animal models to thoroughly investigate the pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets of this disease. This paper briefly described the pathological features, clinical symptoms, and epidemiological characteristics of human DCM. Furthermore, it reviewed the types of DCM animal models and their construction methods used in recent years. This paper also presented new perspectives on optimizing modeling methods and promoting therapeutic research for DCM. Therapeutic studies based on DCM animal models can help us better understand the mechanisms of DCM and provide a basis for the development of new therapeutic approaches.

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.

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.

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.

This paper summarized the current status of soybean and oil crop production in Zhejiang Province and China in recent years, and focused on analyzing the characteristics of soybean and oil crop production and the problems and challenges faced by the industrial development in Zhejiang Province. Combining the actual situation of “nongrain” cultivated land remediation in Zhejiang Province, this paper proposed to fully utilize the winter fallow fields, deeply exploit the planting potential, expand the sown area of soybean and oil crops, and increase their production capacity, so as to realize the sustainable development of soybean and oil crop industries in Zhejiang Province by extending the multiple uses of oil crops, promoting new planting modes, and improving mechanization levels.

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the differences in the soluble expression level of the African swine fever virus (ASFV) CD2v protein by different prokaryotic expression vectors, and the immunoreactivities of the inclusion body and soluble CD2v proteins were compared using clinical anti-ASFV antibody-positive sera. Five prokaryotic expression vectors, namely, pCold-TF, pET28a, pMAL-C6T, pGEX-4T-1 and pET32a, were utilized to express the CD2v protein without the signal peptide and transmembrane region, respectively. The inclusion body CD2v protein expressed by the pET28a vector and the soluble CD2v protein expressed by the pCold-TF vector were purified by nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) affinity chromatography, and the immunoreactivity of the purified proteins was detected by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the CD2v protein expressed by the pCold-TF vector was soluble mainly, while the CD2v protein expressed by the pMAL-C6T vector was insoluble (inclusion body) and soluble, and the CD2v protein expressed by the other vectors was mainly as inclusion body. The indirect ELISA results for clinical anti-ASFV antibody-positive sera showed that the immunoreactivity of soluble protein was significantly better than that of the inclusion body protein (P＜0.05). The trigger factor (TF) tag of pCold-TF promoted the soluble expression of the CD2v protein, and the immunoreactivity of the expressed protein was greater than that of the inclusion body protein. This study lays the foundation for further immunogenicity research on the CD2v protein and provides a candidate strategy for the soluble expression of other important antigens.

The conventional approach to gathering field phenotypic data for oil crops is characterized by its time-consuming and labor-intensive nature, resulting in low work efficiency. Conversely, low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing offers numerous advantages, including rapidity, convenience, low cost, and ease of manipulation. This technology enhances the precision of morphological parameters and physiological and biochemical indicators of oil crops measured by remote sensing in small- and medium-scale areas, thereby enabling the initial attainment of field growth information for oil crops. Furthermore, it facilitates the swift acquisition, processing, and analysis of such data. This study provided a comprehensive overview of the advancements made in domestic and foreign low-altitude UAV remote sensing for oil crops, including rape, soybean, peanut, sunflower, and oil palm, and it introduced the prevailing UAV flight platforms, airborne sensors, and operating procedures, and it focused on combing the application of UAV remote sensing in morphological analysis, detection of physiological and biochemical indicators, yield estimation, and monitoring of adversity stress in recent years. Furthermore, it identified the limitations and future prospects of low-altitude UAV remote sensing in the domain of oil crop monitoring, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent development and accurate implementation of smart agriculture.

In this study, the whole fruit of Citrus×aurantium L.Changshanhuyou was divided into five parts, namely, the flavedo, albedo, segment membrane, juice sacs and seeds, from which polyphenols and pectin polysaccharides were extracted sequentially. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to determine 30 kinds of citrus polyphenols, and the compositions and molecular weights of pectin polysaccharides were compared to comprehensively analyze the compositions of the main functional components in different parts of Citrus×aurantium L.Changshanhuyou fruits. The results showed that flavonoids in various parts mainly existed in flavanones, and the contents of neohesperidin and neoeriocitrin in the albedo were the highest, reaching 13 700.72 μg/g and 6 270.24 μg/g (by dry mass and the same as below), respectively. The contents of cinnamic acids in various parts were higher than that of benzoic acids, and the contents of cinnamic acids in the flavedo were the highest. The yield of pectin polysaccharides extracted from albedo by amylase-assisted ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid solution was the highest (27.46%). The yield of pectin polysaccharides from the flavedo by the extraction of NaOH solution was the highest (11.30%), and the molecular weights (M_W) of pectin polysaccharides extracted by the two extraction methods in the flavedo were up to 6.888×10⁵ g/mol and 2.343×10⁵ g/mol, respectively. The flavedo, albedo and segment membrane of Citrus×aurantium L.Changshanhuyou can be used as the main processing sources of flavonoids and pectin, and their rich contents of neoeriocitrins provide new development direction for processing byproducts.