Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most widely grown oil crops and ranks the top-one edible oil in China. However, a significant proportion of the rapeseed oil in China relies on importation from abroad. In recent years, the planting area of oilseed rape in China continuously decreased and there was a paucity of cultivars which have wide adaption to adverse environment and resistance against a range of diseases. Above all, low seed oil content became a prominent problem. In order to improve rapeseed quality especially the seed oil content and change the passive situation of the country on international edible oil market, reinforcing the fundamental basic on the mechanism of seed oil formation seems necessary. In this review, we highlighted the influence of lipid decomposition during seed maturation on final seed oil content, and the phenomenon that seed oil rapidly decreases after reaching to a peak point about one week before harvest in rainy years. Some aspects, such as the metabolism of fatty acid in seeds, the acquisition of seed dormancy, and the association between post-peak seed oil decomposition and the acquisition of seed dormancy, were well illustrated to clarify the impact of seed dormancy on fatty acid accumulation. Finally, some constructive suggestions referring to the enhancement of rapeseed oil content in breeding practice were discussed.

Sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) is one of the top ten famous native horticultural plants in China. According to different flowering seasons, flower colors and inflorescence types, the cultivars are divided into four groups: O. fragrans Asiaticus Group, O. fragrans Albus Group, O. fragrans Luteus Group and O. fragrans Aurantiacus Group. Despite long-term cultivation of Osmanthus, little information was recorded on the formation of so many cultivars. O. fragrans Asiaticus Group was considered as the most primitive cultivars, and the ones with light color flowers formed earlier, then followed by deep color flowers. The cluster results based on various types of molecular markers were quite different from traditional classification system, indicating diversity of phenotypic traits might account for a tiny part of the whole genetic diversity of sweet osmanthus. However, at present, few studies can give evidence to further understand the evolution process of sweet osmanthus cultivars.
In this study, to further understand the evolution theory, a rooted phylogenetic tree for the cultivars of sweet osmanthus was constructed based on population structure analysis through sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) technology. Forty-five cultivars were used as plant materials; O. heterophyllus, O. fordii, O. cooperi “Yujie” and O. cooperi “Xuegui” were used as controls, and O. matsumuranus was used as an outgroup. Ten pairs of SRAP primers with high polymorphism were applied to amplify DNA of all samples, and the fragments were examined by capillary electrophoresis. POPGENE 1.32 software was applied to analyze genetic diversity and genetic differentiation. Structure 2.34 software was used to analyze population structure and divide cultivars into subgroups. Nei’s genetic distance among subgroups was calculated by NTSYSpc, then applied to construct a rooted phylogenetic tree by MEGA 6. The rate of hermaphrodite flower cultivars on each level of the phylogenetic tree was calculated to understand the sexual system evolution. Moreover, the genetic mechanism of flower color variation for sweet osmanthus was further speculated based on the result.
Results showed that the 10 pairs of SRAP primers produced 137 polymorphic bands among all the samples with an average of 13.7 bands per primer. Polymorphism information content ranged from 0.202 8 to 0.302 7, with an average of 0.250 7. Nei’s genetic diversity index ranged from 0.220 3 to 0.350 2, with an average of 0.283 5. The Shannon’s genetic diversity index ranged from 0.348 3 to 0.519 3, with an average of 0.436 4. There was significant population structure among sweet osmanthus cultivars, and 36 cultivars could be divided into seven subgroups with simple genetic background. Nine cultivars had complicated genetic background, which were identified as a mixed group. Gene differentiation coefficient (Gst) was 51.32% among subgroups, much higher than that of four cultivar groups. Moreover, less gene flow was observed among subgroups than that of four cultivar groups. These results indicated that the cultivars in the same subgroup had much closer genetic relationship than those in the same cultivar group. Using subgroups as the unit of evolution, a rooted phylogenetic tree was constructed. The sweet osmanthus cultivation had experienced about 10 stages (A-J level): subgroup 3 composed of major cultivars in O. fragrans Asiaticus Group and O. fragrans Albus Group formed first, and subgroup 5 composed of the male cultivars in O. fragrans Aurantiacus Group formed the latest, and the cultivars in O. fragrans Luteus Group formed in each stage after D level. With the evolution process, the rate of hermaphrodite flower cultivars dramatically reduced, proving that androdioecy sexual

Echinocandins are the first class of antifungals to target fungal cell wall. Two antifungals, including micafungin and anidulafungin, have been widely used in clinic. The synthesis of them includes an essential process: hydrolytic removal of fatty acyl side chains from FR901379 and echinocandin B (ECB) to generate cyclic hexapeptide nuclei. In this study, Actinoplanes utahensis SW1311 with acylase activity was isolated for both FR901379 and penicillin V. Then a recombinant Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) harboring aculeacin A acylase (AAC) gene from A. utahensis SW1311 was constructed. The result showed that the AAC activity produced by the recombinant strain was 4.6-fold higher than that of A. utahensis SW1311. Additionally, the fermentation time of the recombinant strain was 30% shorter than that of A. utahensis SW1311. The results not only provide a new application of AAC for micafungin synthesis but also identify a new
suitable host for AAC gene.

Apis cerana cerana is a native honeybee species in China, which is widely distributed in all parts of the country, especially in the hills and mountains of the South China. Apis mellifera was introduced into China in the end of the 19th century. With interspecific competition and destruction of ecological environment, the number of Apis cerana cerana colonies in China declined sharply. In 2006, Apis cerana cerana was among the List of the Genetic Resources of Livestock and Poultry under Protection in China.
Located in the southwest of Zhejiang Province, China, Lishui City is a mountainous area and known as “the first ecological city in China” with the forest coverage rate of 80.8% and a variety of climate and vegetation. Lishui has a long history of raising Apis cerana cerana. In recent years, the number of Apis cerana cerana colonies in Lishui increased significantly. In order to understand the genetic diversity and taxonomic status of Apis cerana cerana in Lishui, the mitochondrial DNA tRNAleu-COⅡ sequences of 94 samples from each district and county of Lishui were determined and further analyzed in the study.
It was shown that the nucleotide polymorphism (Pi) was 0.003 52 and the haplotype diversity (Hd) was 0.772±0.036, which indicated that the genetic diversity of Apis cerana cerana in Lishui was high. Twenty haplotypes were found in 94 honeybee colonies. The main haplotype was found in 41.5% of the honeybee colonies and was identical to the main haplotype which was found in Apis cerana cerana in Fujian Province and also was identical to the sequence found in Guangzhou. Therefore, the results support Apis cerana cerana in Lishui belongs to the honeybee type of South China. However, the second most common haplotype in Lishui was different from that in Fujian Province. There were also two new haplotypes found in Lishui. The results indicated that Apis cerana cerana in Lishui had a unique genetic background. Furthermore, cluster analysis showed that the clusters of the haplotypes were closely associated with their geographical distribution, which indicated that different geographic Apis cerana cerana populations had been possibly differentiated by the geographical isolation in mountainous areas of Lishui. The above results are of great significance to the protection and reasonable use of the genetic resources of Apis cerana cerana in Lishui.

Chaetomium Kunze is mainly distributed in cellulose-containing substrates in the nature, including soil, plant residue, excrement of birds, omnivorous animals and rodents. Persistent organic compounds can be degraded by cellulase produced by Chaetomium Kunze, which also has antagonistic effects on certain microorganisms in the soil. However, littlehas been known about Chaetomium in Tibet. Therefore, a systematic research on resource distribution of Chaetomium in Tibet is necessary and urgent.
In this study, 355 samples of soil, plant residue and animal manure were collected from five regions of southeastern Tibet, in which plant residue and animal manure were separated by tissue separation, and soil samples were separated by dilution separation method. SPSS 13.5 software was used to analyze the diversity index of Chaetomium spp. from different regions, and 36 strains were preliminarily classified according to Arx system. The nucleotide sequence polymorphisms of rDNA-ITS and β-tubulin gene were analyzed by DnaSP version 5.0. The rDNA-ITS and β-tubulin gene sequences were used to analyze the diversity of Chaetomium species in southeastern Tibet.
The results showed that a total of 36 strains were successfully isolated from the 355 samples, and the average isolation rate was 10.14%. The diversity index data indicated that both the diversity index and species evenness index of Chaetomium spp. in Nyingchi was the highest, with the value of 1.178 5 and 0.605 6 respectively. But the richness index of Chaetomium was the highest in Chamdo, with the value of 0.861 4. Differences of dominant populations of Chaetomium were observed among the five regions: the dominant population in Gongbogyamda County, Medog County and Chamdo City, Zayü County, and Nyingchi County was C. globosum, C. funicola, C. bostrychodes, and C. convolutum, respectively. According to the morphological characteristics, the 36 strains were assigned to eight species. Moreover, rDNA-ITS sequences and β-tubulin gene were applied to conduct the diversity analysis, and the result showed that the variation sites, haplotype numbers, haplotype diversity, nucleotide diversity index and nucleotide difference of β-tubulin gene were significantly different from rDNA-ITS sequences, while β-tubulin gene showed greater base variability. The phylogenetic tree of rDNA-ITS and β-tubulin genes indicated that the 36 isolates were divided into seven groups. The two gene fragments can not only distinguish the species of Chaetomium with different morphologies (such as C. indicum, C. megalocarpum, C. globosum and C. funicola), but also those with very similar morphological characteristics (such as C. indicum and C. erectum) and some species hard to distinguish. However, several species such as C. convolutum, C. bostrychodes and C. nigricolor can’t be distinguished by rDNA-ITS and β-tubulin genes, which still need combining more gene fragments to differentiate.
In conclusion, the results confirm the rich resources of Chaetomium fungus in southeastern region of Tibet, providing data for abundant resources of Chaetomium in Tibet, and laying a foundation for the exploitation of the metabolites of Chaetomium.

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most important inorganic pollutants in the soil of China and can be readily assimilated into plants and transported to human bodies through food chain. Rice is the staple food in China and also the major source of dietary Cd intake by people. Therefore, it’s important to decrease the uptake and accumulation of Cd in rice for human health. The capacity of iron plaque to sequester heavy metals is well known, besides its possible role as a buffer and reservoir in heavy metal uptake. It is well documented that exogenous Na₂SeO₃ or Na₂SiO₃ can depress the Cd absorption in rice by changing its content in the iron plaque, but the comparative study of exogenous Na₂SeO₃ or Na₂SiO₃ on Cd uptake in different rice cultivars is limited. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of Na₂SeO₃ and Na₂SiO₃ on depressing Cd assimilation in different rice cultivars.
In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to explore the effects of Na₂SeO₃ or Na₂SiO₃ on Cd uptake in two rice cultivars with different grain Cd accumulation abilities. The seedlings were cultured in the soil with 5 mg/kg Cd (CdCl₂·2.5H₂O) coupled with or without 1 mg/kg selenium (supplied as Na₂SeO₃) or 150 mg/kg silicon (supplied as Na₂SiO₃·9H₂O), and were sampled at 42 days after transplanting and at mature stage, respectively. The biomass of roots and shoots, soil pH, Cd contents in the iron plaque, roots, shoots and grains at mature stage were measured.
The results showed that exogenous Na₂SiO₃ significantly increased the pH of rhizosphere and depressed the root growth of the two rice cultivars. Exogenous Na₂SeO₃ improved the root biomass of Chuanguyou2348, but had no significant effect on the root biomass of Yixiangyou2115. The Cd content in the iron plaque of Chuanguyou2348 was significantly higher than that in Yixiangyou2115. The Cd content in the iron plaque was decreased by 8.5% and 14.1% in Yixiangyou2115, 12.9% and 39.4% in Chuanguyou2348 with the application of Na₂SeO₃ and Na₂SiO₃, respectively. Exogenous Na₂SeO₃ or Na₂SiO₃ also decreased the Cd content in the root and shoot of the two rice cultivars, and the Cd translocation coefficient from root to shoot decreased as well. Compared with the control, exogenous Na₂SeO₃ or Na₂SiO₃ also decreased the total Cd accumulation significantly, but their effects on the percentage distribution in different parts of rice were quite different. In Yixiangyou2115, Na₂SeO₃ and Na₂SiO₃ mainly increased the percentage of Cd in the iron plaque, but increased the Cd accumulation percentage in both the iron plaque and roots of Chuanguyou2348. Correlation analysis showed that Cd content in the iron plaque had positive correlation with Cd accumulation in rice roots and shoots, which indicated that iron plaque was a reservoir for Cd.
It is concluded that exogenous Na₂SeO₃ or Na₂SiO₃ significantly affects the root growth of rice, decreases the Cd content and accumulation in rice root and shoot, then decreases the Cd content of the grain at mature stage in both the cultivars. Chuanguyou2348 has a larger decline than Yixiangyou2115 under the two treatments, and Na₂SiO₃ treatment shows better effect than Na₂SeO₃.

Soybean is an important grain and oil crop in China. However, with the decrease of economic benefits and cultivated area, it depends on imports heavily due to the unbalanced supply and demand. Intercropping systems are widely used because they can increase crop yield, nutrient use efficiency, and land productivity. In particular, legume/crop intercropping systems can increase nitrogen fixation, reduce nitrogen input, enhance nitrogen use efficiency, and thereby increase crop yield. Maize/soybean relay strip intercropping system is the major planting pattern in the southwest of China, which can increase soybean yield and land output. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of different interspecific spacings of maize/soybean intercropping on biomass, dry matter allocation and yield of soybean with different nodulation characteristics, and make a progress for the research of yield and nutrient utilization in maize/soybean relay strip intercropping system.
To explore the effects of soybean varieties and row spacings on soybean nodule growth, biomass accumulation and distribution, we carried out a field experiment with two-factor randomized block design, and applied three kinds of row spacing between maize and soybean (B₁: 45 cm, marked as IS45; B₂: 60 cm, marked as IS60; B₃: 75 cm, marked as IS75) and two soybean varieties (A₁: weak-nodulation Gongxuan No. 1, A₂: strong-nodulation Nandou No. 25).
The results revealed that the effects of shade on soybean decreased with the increase of row spacing between maize and soybean. With the increase of row spacing, the nodule number and dry mass of soybean increased from the third trifoliolate stage to full bloom stage of soybean. The soybean nodule number and dry mass reached its maximum at beginning seed stage, with the following order: IS60＞IS75＞IS45. Compared with A₁, the nodule number was lower and the nodule dry mass was greater in A₂. From the third trifoliolate stage to full bloom stage, shoot dry matter accumulation declined with the decrease of row spacing and mainly distributed to stems and leaves; in addition, the dry matter accumulation of stems, leaves and shoots was lower in A₂ in comparison with A₁. From beginning seed stage to full maturity stage, the shoot dry matter increased rapidly, but the allocated rate of stems and leaves decreased; however, the allocated rate of pods increased and reached its peak at full maturity stage and B2 treatment. The output rate and contribution rate of vegetative organ for A₂ were greater in contrast with A₁, and the grain yield of A₂ was 2.94% higher than that of A₁. In addition, under different row spacing treatments, the grain yield of B₂ was 9.77% and 2.67% higher than that of B₁ and B₃, respectively.
In sum, the yield of soybean reaches the maximum under the 60 cm row spacing. In contrast to weak-nodulation soybean cultivar, the grain yield increase of strong-nodulation soybean can be responsible for the increase of pod per plant and 100-grain mass.

Ganoderma lingzhi is one of the important edible and medicinal fungi with broad pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, immunity improvement and anti- oxidation, and also rich in selenium. Selenium is an essential trace element. Selenium-deficiency can cause diseases such as Keshan disease and thyroid disease. Selenium from organic sources was more bioavailable and less toxic than inorganic selenium. Due to the limitations of selenium production in plants and animals, microorganisms have become an important source of selenium in the commercial scale. G. lingzhi can convert inorganic selenium into organic selenium effectively. Therefore, G. lingzhi can be explored as a new source of organic selenium.
By supplying sodium selenite in culture media, we investigated the effects of exogenous selenium selenite on the contents of selenium, polysaccharide and triterpenoids in G. lingzhi in different periods after inoculation. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was applied to compare the similarity of triterpenoids in different periods and to measure the content of ganoderic adid A, E and F. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of key enzyme gene involved in triterpenoid biosynthesis.
The results showed that sodium selenite supply effectively improved the selenium content in G. lingzhi. Selenium content (57.8 μg/kg) was the highest in G. lingzhi at 50 days after inoculation, which was 34.42% higher than the control. Organic selenium content was 35.95% higher in fruiting bodies supplied with 50 mg/kg sodium selenite than that of the control. Sodium selenite supply also enhanced the content of polysaccharide in fruiting bodies at 40-70 days after inoculation. Fruiting bodies at 60 days after inoculation had the highest content of polysaccharide (13.24 mg/g), which was 53.95% higher than that of the control. Sodium selenite supply decreased the content of triterpenoids in different periods after inoculation. We found that the spectra of triterpenoids in fruiting bodies at different bag opening time shared about 98% similarity, indicating that the compositions of triterpenoids in fruiting bodies from different periods after inoculation were similar. Sodium selenite supply significantly decreased the contents of ganoderic acid A, E and F in fruiting bodies. qRT-PCR analysis showed sodium selenite supply significantly decreased the expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A (HMGR) gene in fruiting bodies.
To conclude, sodium selenite supply effectively improved the contents of selenium and polysaccharides in G. lingzhi, but reduced the contents of triterpenoids and ganoderic acids. However, the compositions of ganoderic acids were not altered by sodium selenite supply.

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) is well known for its rich anthocyanins and other bioactive compounds, which contributes to prevent from cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses. Thereby, many countries including China have attached great importance to the economic value and development prospect of blueberry. However, the main root of blueberry tree is not obvious but exceedingly slender, intertwined and lack of root hair. Meanwhile, blueberry prefers acidic even strongly acidic soil, and its most suitable pH value of culture is from 3.8 to 5.0. As the soil pH value of cultivating blueberry is generally higher than 5.0, large amounts of sulfur powder are applied to reduce the soil pH value. Wufanshu (Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb.), belonging to the same family and genus with blueberry, is a stock with developed root system, strong barren tolerance and extensively ecological adaptability, which has been cultivated as a kind of economic or landscaping plant species. There are many examples of grafting and improving native blueberry with Wufanshu scion in folk. Grafting blueberry with Wufanshu is well worth popularizing in blueberry cultivation at least in the Yangtze River area of China. However, few studies have been reported on the effects of soil pH values on the growth of different Vaccinium plants.
To evaluate the effects of different soil pH values on the growth and relative physiological indices of Wufanshu (V. bracteatum) and rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade) cv. Brightwell plants, three different soil pH values (4.2, 5.2 and 6.2) were applied to the 9-month-old plants of Wufanshu and rabbiteye blueberry under greenhouse conditions. Plants were grown in the medium of V(sand):V(perlite)=1:1 and irrigated every 2 days with half-strength Hoagland’s No. 2 nutrient solutions with different pH values (4.2, 5.2, and 6.2). Leaves, stems and roots were separately sampled after 187 days to determine their relative physiological indices.
The results showed that the biomass, chlorophyll content and root activity of Wufanshu and blueberry were the lowest at pH 6.2 level, but the maxima of the biomass and root activity in Wufanshu and blueberry were found at pH 5.2 and 4.2 levels, respectively. The soluble sugar and protein contents of Wufanshu and blueberry were the highest at pH 6.2, and the lowest ones were detected at pH 5.2 and 4.2, respectively. The contents of phosphorus (P), ferrum (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in the roots, stems and leaves of Wufanshu were the highest at pH 5.2 level; however, the contents of P and Fe in the roots, Fe in the stems, and Fe and Zn in the leaves of blueberry were the highest at pH 4.2 level. The activities of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of Wufanshu and blueberry were the highest at pH 6.2 level, while the minima of them were presented at pH 5.2 and 4.2, respectively.
These results indicate that pH 5.2 and pH 4.2 are the optimal soil pH values for the growth of Wufanshu and blueberry plants, respectively; however, soil pH 6.2 will inhibit their growth, especially the blueberry.

Cinnamomum camphora, also known as camphor tree, is a kind of excellent tree for afforestation, street and shade, which is of great use to water conservation, making environment green and beauty. Cinnamomum camphora prefers warm and humid climate, and has strong taproot, deep-rootedness and strong sprouting ability, which is of considerable application value in southern coastal areas of China. However, camphor is intolerant to drought, barren and saline soil, and its requirement for soil salinity should be within 0.2%. Camphor grows well in acid yellow soil, but is susceptible to yellow leaf disease in alkaline soil. Moreover, some other elements such as low temperature, weak light and soil secondary salt damage of high concentration would lead to growth failure, fertility inhibition, and even death of camphor. In coastal areas of Jiangsu Province, high soil pH and low organic matter content are not beneficial to the growth and development of camphor, which seriously affect the greening cultivation, introduction and popularization. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the mechanism of salinity tolerance of C. camphora.
In this study, two application methods (soaking seed, soaking seed and spraying leaf) of 2,4-epibrassinolide (EBR) were designed to reveal the effect of EBR on the salt-tolerance of C. camphora. Different concentrations of EBR (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5 mg/L) were used for soaking seeds and spraying leaf under a steadfast salt concentration at 4‰, respectively; meanwhile, distilled water treatment (CK₁) and distilled water ＋ 4‰ salt treatment (CK₂) were used as controls. Then soluble sugar, soluble protein, malondialdehyde (MDA) contents and antioxidant enzyme activities were analyzed to reveal the variation characteristics of C. camphora under the salt stress.
The result showed that: under the 4‰ salt stress, the external application of EBR (soaking seed and spraying leaf) could decrease MDA content, and when the concentration of EBR was 0.4 mg/L, MDA content reached the minimum. Additionally, soaking seed treatment with EBR could increase the contents of soluble protein and soluble sugar. Compared with the CK₂, when the concentration of EBR (soaking seed) was 0.5 mg/L, soluble protein content increased by 31.80% with significant difference; when the concentration of EBR (soaking seed and spraying leaf) was 0.5 mg/L, soluble sugar content significantly increased by 24.80% . Compared with the CK₁, the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities of camphor seedlings under the CK₂ increased by 21.48%, 13.30% and 8.65%, respectively. Moreover, 0.5 mg/L EBR applied by soaking seed, soaking seed and spraying leaf had the best effect to improve SOD content under the 4‰ salt stress, which was significantly improved by 49.49% and 55.11% (P＜0.05), respectively. Under the same condition, the activities of SOD and POD showed a fluctuating upward trend with the increase of EBR concentration, but the difference was not significant; however, the activity of CAT increased first and then decreased under the treatment of soaking seed and spraying leaf, and 0.4 mg/L EBR had the best effect. Above all, the variation trend of SOD, POD and CAT activities was basically the same under various conditions, which indicates that their mutual cooperation can alleviate the damage of reactive oxygen species caused by salt stress. Among the three antioxidant enzymes, SOD activity changed most remarkably, and POD was second, but CAT changed least, indicating SOD has a relatively greater impact on antioxidant enzyme system.
In summary, under the salt stress, a certain concentration of EBR can improve antioxidant status, scavenge reactive oxygen species and membrane stability, and enhance salt resistance of camphor seedlings. Moreove

Verticillium spp. is a group of soil-borne pathogen causing a yellow wilt disease on different kinds of hosts, such as cottons, potatoes, sunflowers and egg-plants, etc. So far, Verticillium dahliae and Verticillium alboatrum have been the most dominant species isolated from different diseased hosts.
In this study, V. dahliae from sunflower, cotton, eggplant, lettuce and potato and V. alboatrum from potato were selected to study the colonial morphology, growth speed, and pathogenic specificity. Their race and mating types were also identified by specific primers.
The results showed that variable colonial morphology and growth speed were observed in all the tested isolates. Four different kinds of colonial morphologies were classified based on the amount of aerial mycelium and the number of microsclerotia. However, the difference on the morphology of conidiophores and conidia was not obvious among all the tested isolates. The growth speed was also variable after 10 d of culture on potato D-glucose agar (PDA) medium. The strain Ls17-6 from lettuce grew the fastest, while Hn-1 from cotton grew the slowest. The difference of growth speed was also compared with the other two isolates. All the tested isolates were characterized as race 2, except for Ls16-1 isolated from lettuce as race 1; the mating type of all the tested strains was MAT1-2-1. The pathogenic specificity was studied using root dipping inoculation way. Twenty-one days post-inoculation (dpi), the pathogenicity of isolates always showed the highest virulence on its own host. For example, Sx5 which was isolated from sunflower showed the highest disease index of 52.50, followed by the isolate V991 from cotton with the disease index of 41.25. The same result was also obtained on cotton. For example, the isolate V991 showed the highest pathogenicity, and Icd3-33 also from cotton listed in the second position among all the tested isolates.
In conclusion, the pathogenicity of Verticillium spp. on the different hosts is variable, but shows the strongest pathogenicity in the specific host. Besides, the isolates from lettuce always showed the lowest virulence on all the tested hosts, indicating lettuce may be used as a rotation host for other crops to control the yellow wilt in the future.

Malachite green (MG) is a typical triphenylmethane dye that has been extensively used in ceramics, dyeing, textile and leather industries, etc. Meanwhile, MG can also be used as insect repellant, insecticide and anti-microbial agents in aquaculture industry. However, it has been reported that MG is difficult to degrade and has potential carcinogenicity and genotoxicity for humans, animals, and microorganisms. As a result, MG has been prohibited from being used in aquaculture by Food and Drug Administration of the United States, United Kingdom, China, European Union, and some other countries. Therefore, to remove MG residue in the aquatic environment, protect human beings and maintain the ecological balance, screening of microorganisms for biodegradation of MG is very necessary and important. Biodegradation of MG by microorganisms has gained more and more attention due to its inexpensive and eco-friendly feature. Raoultella sp., Pandoraea sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Arthrobacter sp. have been reported to have potential ability for biodegradation of MG. The degradation behavior was distinctly affected by culture condition and environmental factors.
In this study, a bacterial strain named as Enterobacter sp. CV-b was isolated, and the characteristics of MG decolorization by Enterobacter sp. CV-b were investigated using single-factor experiments, then the enzymes and metabolites related to MG degradation were detected by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technologies, to screen for in situ bacteria with stronger environmental adaptability.
The results indicated that most of the tested carbon sources had no significant effect on decolorization, and starch was the optimal carbon source for promotion of decolorization. In the initial incubation period, the inorganic nitrogen source NH₄Cl slightly inhibited the decolorization of MG, and the inhibition effect became weaker with time. Meanwhile, the inorganic nitrogenm source NaNO₃ could slightly enhance the decolorization of MG. However, most of the organic nitrogen sources significantly enhanced decolorization, and peptone was the optimal nitrogen source for MG decolorization. Under the condition of pH 5.0-10.0 and 20-50 ℃, MG decolorization percentage by the strain CV-b was over 92% after 6 h incubation, indicating this strain has strong environmental adaptability with broad pH and temperature range. After 6 h incubation, MG decolorization percentage by the strain reached 90% with the initial MG concentration below 900 mg/L, suggesting its great potential in highly efficient biodegradation of MG. Besides, Cu²⁺ was observed to inhibit MG decolorization significantly. Enzyme activity data showed that, tyrosinase might be involved in the MG degradation by the strain CV-b. Meanwhile, the results of metabolite analysis indicated that (dimethylamino-phenyl)-phenyl-methanone was one of the major products of MG degradation by the strain CV-b.
In conclusion, this strain has a great potential in the application of MG bioremediation due to its strong environmental adaptability with broad pH and temperature range, and high degradation percentage of MG with high initial dye concentration. Moreover, the related enzyme analysis and metabolite detection will be helpful to understand the mechanism of MG decolorization by the strain CV-b.

It is important to improve the health level and production performance of poultry through nutritional regulation and control techniques. Adding antioxidants to diets is becoming an economical and effective nutritional regulation method to improve the antioxidant capacity and meat quality of poultry.
The objective of this experiment is to study the effects of selenium-enriched yeast, astragalus polysaccharide, and their mixture on the slaughter performance, serum biochemical indexes, and serum antioxidant indexes of mule duck.
Two hundred and eighty one-day-old healthy mule ducks were fed under the same condition, and the pre-trial period was 1-21 d. Then 144 mule ducks with similar initial body mass were selected and divided into four groups with three replications per group according to a completely randomized design. The control group was fed with a basal diet, and the experimental groups were fed the basal diet added with 0.3% selenium-enriched yeast (SY group), 300 mg/kg astragalus [Astragalus membranaceus (Ffisch.) Bge.] polysaccharide (APS group), and 0.3% selenium-enriched yeast + 300 mg/kg astragalus polysaccharide(mixture group), respectively. Twelve ducks with similar body mass from each group were randomly selected for slaughter to determine the slaughter performance, serum biochemical indexes and serum antioxidant indexes at the 70th day. The results showed that, except the semi-eviscerated rate of the mixture group was higher than that of the control group (P＜0.05), the carcass rate, eviscerated rate, breast muscle rate and leg muscle rate in experimental groups were higher than those of the control group with no significant difference (P＞0.05), and the abdominal fat rate and sebum rate were lower than those of the control group with no significant difference (P＞0.05). The serum uric acid level of the mixture group was significantly lower than the control group (P＜0.01), but significantly higher than the APS group (P＜0.05). The serum urea nitrogen content of the mixture group was significantly lower than that of the control group and APS group (P＜0.05). The activity of serum lactate dehydrogenase in the experimental groups significantly decreased (P＜0.05), and there was no significant difference among the three experimental groups (P＞0.05). Compared with the control group, the serum albumin and globulin contents of experimental groups showed an increase trend (P＞0.05), while the total protein content, ratio of albumin to globulin, cholesterol content, glutamic oxalacetic transaminase and alkaline phosphatase activity exhibited a decrease trend (P＞0.05). The activity of serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) of the mixture group significantly increased compared with the control group (P＜0.05), and the serum T-AOC activity of the mixture group was significantly higher than that of the APS group (P＜0.05). The serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of the experimental groups increased compared with the control group, but with no significant difference (P＞0.05). The content of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) of the mixture group and SY group were significantly lower than the control group (P＜0.05).
In conclusion, adding selenium-enriched yeast, astragalus polysaccharide, and their mixture to the basal diet of mule ducks have no significant effects on their slaughter performance, but can decrease abdominal fat rate and sebum rate to some extent, reduce the content of serum urea nitrogen and uric acid, and improve the serum immune biochemical indicators and antioxidant capacity of mule ducks.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease with an obviously increasing morbidity as age increases, which seriously affects old people’s joint function and life quality. The key to pathological changes in OA is the damage and loss of articular cartilage. Inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β), could induce cartilage degeneration and inflammatory reaction through a series of cascade reactions, especially in cartilage lesions. Theaflavins (TFs) are the main active ingredients of black tea polyphenols with anti-inflammation and antioxidant functions. This study focuses on the protective effects of TFs against inflammatory degeneration of rat chondrocytes and evaluates the feasibility of TFs in the treatment of OA.
Male Sprague-Dawley rat’s knee articular chondrocytes were isolated and cultured in vitro, which were identified by toluidine blue staining and type Ⅱ collagen immunofluorescence staining. To select the concentration levels of TFs, cell viability was analyzed with a cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Three groups were set in this experiment according to different cultures: blank control group G₀, model group G₁ (10 ng/mL IL-1β) and TFs group G₂ (different concentrations of TFs+10 ng/mL IL-1β). The changes in the mRNA expression levels of two anabolic factors Col Ⅱ (type Ⅱ collagen) and ACAN (aggrecan), the main catabolic factors MMP-13 (matrix metalloproteinases-13), IL-1β, and COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2) in rat chondrocytes were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).
It can be found from the inverted phase contrast microscopy that IL-1β obviously impaired normal rat chondrocyte morphology. It can be seen from the fluorescent microscope that the cell nucleus was stained to be blue and cytoplasm was stained to be green by type Ⅱ collagen immunofluorescence staining, and the extracellular matrix of cells was stained to be blue-purple by toluidine blue staining, which means the cultured cells in the experiment are chondrocytes. The CCK-8 assay indicated that 100 μg/mL TFs significantly decreased the cell viability of normal rat chondrocytes (P＜0.05), but 0-75 μg/mL TFs had no significant cytotoxicity to chondrocytes. The results of qRT-PCR showed that compared with the control group, the mRNA expression levels of chondrocyte markers (Col Ⅱ and ACAN) were obviously down-regulated in the model group (P＜0.01), and the mRNA expression levels of MMP-13, IL-1β and COX-2 increased obviously in the model group (P＜0.05). For the changes, however, the gene expressions of these inflammatory related factors were significantly inhibited by TFs in a dose-dependent manner compared with the model group (P＜0.05).
In conclusion, TFs could effectively alleviate the inflammatory degeneration of rat chondrocytes, via up-regulating anabolic activity, down-regulating catabolic activity and inhibiting inflammatory reaction, so as to protect rat chondrocyts from OA induced by IL-1β. This study provides the first evidence that TFs can significantly inhibit OA disease progression and exert a palliative effect.

The area of facility agriculture in China ranks forefront in the world. In recent years, as an emerging technology of environmental management inside the greenhouse, ground source heat pump (GSHP) is sufficiently emphasized by many scholars. While most of them only focus on heating effect of greenhouse rather than its cooling effect, due to some severe crop problems induced by relatively high temperature in South Jiangsu during summer. In this study, some related indexes were analyzed from the perspective of cooling effect, and the effectiveness and practicability of the cooling system were evaluated in the experimental greenhouse.
The experiment was conducted in two plastic greenhouses in Zhangjiagang City from May 5 to July 17, 2016. The greenhouses were located from north to south, with 88 m long, 7 m wide, and 3 m high, which were assembled with steel tubes and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) films. Two greenhouses with similar external environmental conditions and specifications were selected for treatment and control sets, respectively. The air inlet was set at the ridge and the air outlet was on the west side of greenhouse with 20 cm vertical distance from the ground. The buried depth of pipe processing heat exchange in the treatment greenhouse was 60 cm, including 14 groups of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes with the diameter of 110 mm. With 160 W of the input power, 0.2 m³/s of the measured air quantity, and 40 r/s of the rotation, the fan was turned on at 6:00 a.m. and turned off at 6:00 p.m. in the same day. The bottom ventilation was set at 80 cm from east and west side along the greenhouses. The greenhouses were planted with watermelon and ventilated normally from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day without using sunshade net. The ambient temperature and humidity, and the soil temperature at 60 cm, 40 cm and 15 cm were tested, and the processing humiture at inlet and outlet of heat exchange pipe of greenhouse was calculated at a 10-minute frequency. Then enthalpy difference, heat accumulation capacity, average heat flux, average density of heat flow, and energy efficiency and consumption were analyzed.
The result indicated that from May 5 to July 17, the average temperature reduction in the treatment greenhouse with heat exchange pipe was 3.4 ℃ in sunny days, 1.5 ℃ in cloudy days and 0.8 ℃ in rainy days, compared with the control without heat exchange pipe. The change in humidity was comparatively insignificant between the treatment and control, which were both 40%-90% in sunny days, 60%-100% in cloudy days, and 80%-100% in rainy days. In three continuous sunny days, the ground temperature at the depth of 60 cm was basically at the constant temperature of 21.3 ℃ in the control greenhouse, and it fluctuated at 21.8 ℃±0.4 ℃ in the treatment greenhouse; the average daily temperature at the depth of 40 cm was basically at 22.7 ℃, rising at 0.1 ℃/d for the control, and it was 23.9 ℃, rising at 0.4 ℃/d in a wave mode for the treatment; the average daily temperature at the depth of 15 cm was basically at 24.8 ℃ for the control, and it was 25.7 ℃, rising at 0.5 ℃/d in a wave mode for the treatment. In heat exchange, enthalpy difference was 0.166-9.560 kJ/kg; the heat accumulation capacity was 3.94×10⁵ kJ; the daily electricity consumption was 0.8×10⁵ kJ, and the coefficient of performance (COP) was 4.21 in the treatment greenhouse. Compared with the investment cost of air condition (AC) with the highest energy efficiency standard, the investment cost of the shallow geothermal exchange system was only 15.5% and the energy consumption ratio was 1.4 times higher than that of AC.
Therefore, we conclude that the coolingeffect using the heat exchange system at superficial layer is significant and promising in south Jiangsu in summer.