Legumes form a root structure, the nodule, in which nitrogen-fixing bacteria (rhizobia) reside. In this symbiotic relationship, the bacteria provide nitrogen to the plant and in return obtain fixed carbon from the host. Once released into the cytoplasm of the host cell, the rhizobia undergo a remarkable transformation, including genome amplification and cell elongation

In certain legume–rhizobia symbioses, the host plant is thought to control the terminal differentiation of its bacterial partner leading to nitrogen fixation. In Medicago truncatula, over 600 genes coding for nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) peptides are expressed during nodule development and have been implicated in bacteroid differentiation. Up to now it was generally assumed that most of these peptides, if not all, act redundantly.

Rice is a staple and most important security food crop consumed by almost half of the world's population. More rice production is needed due to the rapid population growth in the world. Rice blast caused by the fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most destructive diseases of this crop in different part of the world. Breakdown of blast resistance is the major cause of yield instability in several rice growing areas.

It is currently unclear how biodiversity loss affects ecosystem functioning. The concept of functional redundancy implies that species loss is compensated by other species contributing similarly to functioning. Functional redundancy can be revealed by the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (e.g., biomass growth).

The skin color of immature fruit is a crucial external trait of cucumbers, and white skin is shared by limited numbers of commercial cultivars. Herein, one BC₁ population and two F₂ segregating populations were constructed using four inbred parental lines (WD3 × B-2-2 and Q30 × Q24) to investigate the inheritance patterns and chromosomal locations of immature fruit color genes in cucumbers. Consequently, a single recessive gene, w, was identified that controls white immature fruit color.

The doubled-haploid (DH) technology has become an important tool for line development in modern maize breeding. However, the genetic basis of haploid induction remains elusive. In previous QTL mapping research, qhir8 besides qhir1 significantly affected haploid induction rate (HIR). Our objective was to fine map qhir8 and assess its effect on HIR, segregation distortion (SD) and embryo abortion (EmA). A total of 3989 F₂ plants from the cross of inducers CAUHOI and UH400 were screened for recombinants in the qhir8 region.

The Clp protease  composed of more than 15 proteins,  is the central protein degradation machinery in the plastids  of a plant cell which  plays  a  similar role  as  proteasomes  in cytoplasm  and nucleus.  ClpC1 and ClpC2  are  two chaperonic proteins  for the Clp protease  and  share  more than 90%  similarities in the  nucleotide  and amino acid sequences.  In this study, we investigated the functions of ClpC1 and ClpC2 in photosynthesis by co-suppression of both genes (NbClpC1  and  NbClpC2,  NbClpC1/C2)  in Nicotiana benthamiana  using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) technique. 

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins were confirmed to be involved in the acquisition of tolerance to drought, cold and high salinity in many different organisms.  In this paper, we  report  on  the isolation and characterization of the cDNA clone for a  LEA protein (CsLEA) and its putative promoter sequence from Cleistogenes songorica, a xerophytic desert grass. CsLEA was predicted as a hydrophilic LEA protein.

Few individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) go on to achieve high levels of independence or what are considered “very good” outcomes. As such, there is a need to identify predictors of outcomes to improve treatment and services for these individuals. Although behavioral and cognitive variables can predict substantial variance in outcomes, the majority of the variance remains unexplained.

Plant cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and sterility restoration by nuclear restorer-of-fertility (Rf) genes provide a crucial breeding tool to harness hybrid vigor in many crops. Here, we identify RF6 as a novel pentatricopeptide repeat family protein that restores the fertility of Honglian CMS (HL-CMS), a major type of rice CMS used in breeding. We demonstrated that RF6 and hexokinase 6 function together in mitochondria to promote the processing of the aberrant CMS-associated transcript atp6-orfH79, thereby restoring the fertility of HL-CMS rice