农学最新文献

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis), native to warm and humid low-latitude regions of southwestern China, has expanded to higher altitudes, including southeastern Xizang, where cultivation above 2500 m poses challenges due to low accumulated temperatures. However, the impact of high-altitude climatic conditions, particularly temperature, on tea growth remains underexplored. To investigate, weather stations were deployed at three altitudes in southeastern Xizang to monitor spring temperature fluctuations: Medog (MD, 1200 m), Zayü (ZY, 1720 m), and Layue in Bayi District (BY, 2600 m). Field observations and meteorological data indicated that the milder spring temperatures in MD and ZY facilitated normal budburst and growth, whereas the lower temperatures in BY delayed budburst and resulted in leaf yellowing and browning. Comparative experiments revealed that seedlings exposed to fluctuating low temperatures (10°C/4°C) experienced the most severe cold injury and exhibited the lowest germination rates compared to seedlings under constant-temperature treatments. Transcriptome analysis uncovered differential expression of genes involved in chlorophyll degradation, lignin biosynthesis, and flavonoid pathways under cold stress. Functional characterization of the cold-induced transcription factor CsABF2 revealed its central role in activating these pathways, as evidenced by antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AsODN) silencing and promoter activation assays, to activate key downstream genes: CsSGR1 (chlorophyll degradation), CsPALa (phenylpropanoid pathway), and CsMYB6c (flavonoid biosynthesis). These results provide mechanistic insights into how spring temperature variability at high altitudes impairs tea plant development and alters quality-related metabolites, offering a molecular basis for improving cold resilience in tea cultivation.

Nitrogen is an indispensable macronutrient for plant growth, and nitrate is the main source of nitrogen for plants. The relationship between supply and demand of nitrate has a decisive impact on plant development. The NRT1/PTR family (nitrate transporter 1/peptide transporter family, NPF) is a major nitrate transporter family, playing a key role in nitrate uptake. In plant research, this type of protein can regulate its function through post-translational modification, thereby regulating nitrate sense, uptake, and plant development. NRT1.1 (NPF6.3/CHL1), a key member of the NPF family, functions both as a nitrate transporter and a nitrate sensor. In this review, we elucidate the role of NPF nitrate transporter proteins in regulating nitrate uptake and utilization in Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa, and Zea mays, and summarize the effects of post-translational modification on nitrate transport and plant development. Finally, the prospect of related research in trees is discussed, in order to provide scientific basis and technical support for improving nitrogen fertilizer utilization efficiency, enhancing plant resistance to adverse conditions, and protecting ecological environment.

Genetic related technologies are increasingly influencing human health and life. From theory to practice, teaching through typical cases of disciplinary applications has become a popular new model in the field of genetics education. This experiment takes the phenotype case of "alcohol flush" as an example, organically integrating genetic knowledge from multiple perspectives and levels such as phenotypic analysis, population genetic analysis and pedigree analysis with experimental cases. In teaching practice, the "alcohol flush" case study can greatly stimulate students' interest in active learning, cultivate students' ability to connect theory with practice, discover and solve problems from practice, and further expand their learning of genetic testing related bioethics, genetic information protection, genetic resource protection, and other knowledge through personal practical teaching, thus cultivate students' scientific thinking ability and scientific literacy.

Extracellular vesicles are membrane-enclosed structures released by cells into the extracellular space, containing various biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. Extracellular vesicles exhibit broad cellular origins, diverse types, and high heterogeneity. They are involved in intercellular material transport, mediate intercellular communication, and play important roles in various cellular biological processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration. This review summarizes recent advances in research on the isolation and identification, biogenesis mechanisms, and fate of extracellular vesicles, aiming to provide a reference for advancing research in this field.

To investigate the microbial composition and diversity across distinct anatomical regions of the porcine stomach, this study took adult "Landrace×Yorkshire" hybrid pigs as the research subjects. Mucosal samples were collected from eight regions, including gastroesophageal groove, gastric fundus, lesser curvature of the gastric body, greater curvature of the gastric body, middle antrum of the gastric antrum, gastric diverticulum, round pillow of the pylorus, and pylorus, and subjected by high-throughput sequencing targeting the microbial 16S rRNA V3-V4 hypervariable regions. The results showed obvious difference in microbial diversity among the eight stomach regions. The gastric fundus and gastric body greater curvature exhibited higher microbial diversity and richness, while the esophageal groove, gastric body lesser curvature, gastric antrum middle section, gastric diverticulum, pyloric bulge, and pylorus showed lower diversity and richness. Firmicutes and Proteobacteria constituted the predominant phyla across all eight regions of the pig stomach. A` relatively high abundance of Cyanobacteria was also detected in the esophageal groove and gastric antrum middle section. However, the dominant genera varied substantially across regions. Lactobacillus predominated in the esophageal groove, fundus, lesser curvature, and greater curvature. Delftia and Chryseobacterium were dominant in the mid-antrum. Bacteroides dominated in the gastric diverticulum and pylorus. Proteus was the dominant genus in the pyloric torus. Further functional analysis of stomach microbiome indicated the regions with the most active metabolic processes and cellular activity within the stomach were the esophageal groove and lesser curvature of the gastric body. These findings provide valuable reference data for future research on the physiological structure and function of the stomach.

Postdoctoral researchers in life sciences confront distinct challenges, including extended training duration resulting from the inherently lengthy research cycles associated with their specialized research subjects and experimental materials. Based on national postdoctoral policies and comparison of funding policies between China and the United States, we focus on postdoctoral researchers in life sciences at the School of Life Sciences, Shandong University. Our analysis reveals how current university funding policies constrain the training process of postdoctoral researchers in this field. To address these limitations, we propose a coordinated reform strategy, including reinforcing ideological and political guidance, extending funding durations, establishing cost-sharing mechanisms, and implementing incentives for major achievements. These reforms aim to improve the quality of postdoctoral training and provide policy insights for optimizing the research talent development system in "Double First-Class" universities.

Munage, an ancient grape variety that has been cultivated for thousands of years in Xinjiang, China, is renowned for its exceptional fruit traits. There are two main types of Munage: white fruit (WM) and red fruit (RM). However, the lack of a high-quality genomic resources has impeded effective breeding and restricted the potential for expanding these varieties to other growing regions. In this study, we assembled haplotype-resolved genome assemblies for WM and RM, alongside integrated whole genome resequencing (WGS) data and transcriptome data to illuminate the origin, private mutations and selection in Munage. Our analyses suggest that Munage likely shares a common ancestor with Eurasian grapes that originated in West Asia. Selective analysis between Munage clones and Eurasian grapes mapped genomic signals of selection in Munage grapes, with genes enriched in processes including cell maturation, plant epidermal cell differentiation, and root epidermal cell differentiation. We also identified 283 somatic mutation sites between WM and RM, along with differential selection on genome and expressed genes. These findings provide crucial genetic resources for investigating the genetics of the ancient Chinese grape variety, Munage, and will facilitate the genetic improvement in grapevine using this ancient cultivar as a gene donor.