Deciduous shrubs are expanding across the graminoid-dominated nutrient-poor arctic tundra Absorptive root traits of shrubs are key determinants of nutrient acquisition strategy from tundra soils, but the variations of shrub root traits within and among common shrub genera across the arctic climatic gradient are not well resolved Consequently, the impacts of arctic shrub expansion on belowground nutrient cycling remain largely unclear Here, we collected roots from 170 plots of three commonly distributed shrub genera Alnus, Betula, and Salix and a widespread sedge Eriophorum vaginatum along a climatic gradient in northern Alaska Absorptive root traits that are relevant to the strategy of plant nutrient acquisition were determined The influence of aboveground dominant vegetation cover on the standing root biomass, root productivity, vertical rooting profile, as well as the soil nitrogen N pool in the active soil layer was examined We found consistent root trait variation among arctic plant genera along the sampling transect Alnus and Betula had relatively thicker and less branched, but more frequently ectomycorrhizal colonized absorptive roots than Salix, suggesting complementarity between root efficiency and ectomycorrhizal dependence among the co-existing shrubs Shrub-dominated plots tended to have more productive absorptive roots than sedge-dominated plots At the northern sites, deep absorptive roots gt;20 cm depth were more frequent in birch-dominated plots  https//wwwselleckchemcom/products/dtnbhtml  We also found shrub roots extensively proliferated into the adjacent sedge-dominated plots The soil N pool in the active layer generally decreased from south to north but did not vary among plots dominated by different shrub or sedge genera Our results reveal diverse nutrient acquisition strategies and belowground impacts among different arctic shrubs, suggesting that further identifying the specific shrub genera in the tundra landscape will ultimately provide better predictions of belowground dynamics across the changing arcticFlavor is an important quality of mature tomato fruits Compared with heirloom tomatoes, modern commercial tomato cultivars are considerably less flavorful This study aimed to compare the flavor of 71 tomato accessions 8 pink cherry, PC; 11 red cherry, RC; 15 pink large-fruited, PL; and 37 red large-fruited, RL using hedonism scores and odor activity values Taste compounds were detected using high-performance liquid chromatography Volatiles were detected using gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry The flavor of tomato accessions can be evaluated using the DTOPSIS analysis method According to the results of DTOPSIS analysis, 71 tomato accessions can be divided into 4 classes Tomato accessions PL11, PC4, PC2, PC8, RL35, RC6, and RC10 had better flavor; accessions PC4, PC8, RC10, RL2, and RL35 had better tomato taste; and accessions PL11, PC2, and RC6 had better tomato odor The concentrations of total soluble solids, fructose, glucose, and citric acid were shown to positively contribute to tomato taste Tomato odor was mainly derived from 15 volatiles, namely, 1-hexanol, Z-3-hexen-1-ol, hexanal, E-2-hexenal, E-2-heptenal, E-2-octenal, E,E-2,4-decadienal, Z-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadieal, 2,6,6-timethyl-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxaldehyde, 2E-3-3-pentyl-2-oxiranylacrylaldehyde, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, E-6,10-dimetyl-5,9-undecadien-2-one, methyl salicylate, 4-allyl-2-methoxyphenol, and 2-isobutylthiazole Significant positive correlations P less then 005 were detected between the compound concentrations and flavor scores The above-mentioned compounds can be used as parameters for the evaluation of flavor characteristics and as potential targets to improve the flavor quality of tomato varietiesPlant species may acquire different forms of nitrogen N to reduce competition for the same resource, but how plants respond to neighbors with different densities in their N uptake is still poorly understood We investigated the effects of competition regime on the uptake of different N forms by two hygrophytes, Carex thunbergii and Polygonum criopolitanum, by conducting a hydroponic test of excised roots and an in situ experiment in a subtropical wetland ecosystem link2 The two species were grown either in monocultures or mixtures with various neighbor densities Root functional traits and N uptake rates of different N forms were measured Our results showed that N uptake was mainly determined by N form, rather than species identity Both species were able to use organic N sources, but they took up relatively more N supplied as NO 3 - than as NH 4 + or glycine, irrespective of competition treatments Both species preferred NO 3 - when grown in monoculture, but in the presence of competitors, the preference of fast-growing C thunbergii persisted while P criopolitanum acquired more NH 4 + and glycine, with stronger responses being observed at the highest neighbor density The hydroponic test suggested that these divergences in N acquisition between two species might be partially explained by different root functional traits To be specific, N uptake rates were significantly positively correlated with root N concentration and specific root length, but negatively correlated with root dry matter content Our results implicated that C thunbergii has a competitive advantage with relatively more stable N acquisition strategy despite a lower N recovery than P criopolitanum, whereas P criopolitanum could avoid competition with C thunbergii via a better access to organic N sources, partly mediated by competition regimesAleppo pine Pinus halepensis is widely distributed in the Mediterranean region and in other areas of the world, where it has been introduced due to its adaptive capacity to xerothermic conditions The giant pine scale Marchalina hellenica often infests Aleppo pine, as well as other pines, in several southeastern European countries, causing pine declines When combined with the expected intensified heat and drought events in eastern Mediterranean, the impact of this biotic parameter on the host pines may be exacerbated The importance of understanding the defense mechanisms of Aleppo pine is emphasized by the recent invasion of the pine scale in new regions, like Australia, lacking the insect's natural enemies, where more intense negative effects on pine species may occur To date, Aleppo pine's physiological responses to the infestation by M hellenica are largely unknown This study aimed at assessing the responses of Aleppo pine to the giant pine scale attack, both on an ecophysiological and a metabolic lmate, Aleppo pine is resilient to the infestation by the giant pine scale Future research should assess whether these promising defense mechanisms are also employed by other host pines, particularly in regions of the world recently invaded by the giant pine scale, as well as under more xerothermic regimesGlyphosate GP-based herbicides have been widely applied to crops for weed control and pre-harvest desiccation The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of pre-harvest GP application on maize or how it physiologically alters this crop Here, we applied four GP treatment Control, GP150, GP200, and GP250 on maize lines of Z58 and PH6WC belonging to different maturity groups at grain-filling stages form DAP30 to DAP45 GP application significantly decreased the grain moisture content at harvest by 22-35 for Z58 and by 15-41 for PH6WC However, the responses of grain weight to glyphosate vary with inbred lines and application time A high concentration of glyphosate GP250 reduced the grain weight of Z58 and low concentrations GP150 and GP200 did not affect, while the grain weight of PH6WC significantly decreased under glyphosate treatment In summary, our results revealed that timely and appropriate GP application lowers grain moisture content without causing seed yield and quality loss GP application adversely affected photosynthesis by promoting maturation and leaf senescence Meanwhile, it also enhanced non-structural carbohydrate soluble sugars and starch remobilization from the vegetative organs to the grains Hence, GP treatment coordinates plant senescence and assimilate remobilization RNA sequencing revealed that glyphosate regulated the transcript levels of sugar signaling-related genes and induced assimilate repartitioning in grains This work indicates the practical significance of GP application for maize seed production and harvest, which highlights the contributions of source-sink communication to maize yield in response to external stress or pre-harvest desiccant applicationPhosphoglucoisomerase PGI isomerizes fructose 6-phosphate F6P and glucose 6-phosphate G6P in starch and sucrose biosynthesis Both plastidic and cytosolic isoforms are found in plant leaves Using recombinant enzymes and isolated chloroplasts, we have characterized the plastidic and cytosolic isoforms of PGI We have found that the Arabidopsis plastidic PGI K m for G6P is three-fold greater compared to that for F6P and that erythrose 4-phosphate is a key regulator of PGI activity Additionally, the K m of spinach plastidic PGI can be dynamically regulated in the dark compared to the light and increases by 200 in the dark We also found that targeting Arabidopsis cytosolic PGI into plastids of Nicotiana tabacum disrupts starch accumulation and degradation Our results, in combination with the observation that plastidic PGI is not in equilibrium, indicates that PGI is an important regulatory enzyme that restricts flow and acts as a one-way valve preventing backflow of G6P into the Calvin-Benson cycle We propose the PGI may be manipulated to improve flow of carbon to desired targets of biotechnologyWheat Triticum aestivum L is a self-pollinating crop whose hybrids offer the potential to provide a major boost in yield Male sterility induced by the cytoplasm of Triticum timopheevii is a powerful method for hybrid seed production Hybrids produced by this method are often partially sterile, and full fertility restoration is crucial for wheat production using hybrid cultivars To identify the genetic loci controlling fertility restoration in wheat, we produced two cytoplasmic male-sterile CMS backcross BC1 mapping populations The restorer lines Gerek 79 and 71R1203 were used to pollinate the male-sterile winter wheat line CMS-Sperber Seed set and numbers of sterile spikelets per spike were evaluated in 340 and 206 individuals of the populations derived from Gerek 79 and 71R1203, respectively Genetic maps were constructed using 930 and 994 single nucleotide polymorphism SNP markers, spanning 2,160 and 2,328 cM over 21 linkage groups in the two populations, respectively link3 Twelve quantitative trait loci QTL controlled fertility restoration in both BC1 populations, including a novel restorer-of-fertility Rf locus flanked by the SNP markers IWB72413 and IWB1550 on chromosome 6AS The locus was mapped as a qualitative trait in the BC1 Gerek 79 population and was designated Rf9 One hundred-nineteen putative candidate genes were predicted within the QTL region on chromosome 6AS Among them were genes encoding mitochondrial transcription termination factor and pentatricopeptide repeat-containing proteins that are known to be associated with fertility restoration This finding is a promising step to better understand the functions of genes for improving fertility restoration in hybrid wheat