The spread of antimicrobial resistance and global change in air temperature represent two major phenomena that are exerting a disastrous impact on natural and social issues but investigation of the interaction between these phenomena in an evolutionary context is limited. In this study, a statistical genetic approach was used to investigate the evolution of antimicrobial resistance in agricultural ecosystem and its association with local air temperature. We found no resistance to mancozeb, a non-specific fungicide...

Gnetophytes are an enigmatic gymnosperm lineage comprising three genera, Gnetum, Welwitschia and Ephedra, which are morphologically distinct from all other seed plants. Their distinctiveness has triggered much debate as to their origin, evolution and phylogenetic placement among seed plants. To increase our understanding of the evolution of gnetophytes, and their relation to other seed plants, we report here a high-quality draft genome sequence for Gnetum montanum, the first for any gnetophyte. By using a novel...

Sexual system is a key determinant of genetic variation and reproductive success, affecting evolution within populations and within clades. Much research in plants has focused on evolutionary transitions away from the most common state of hermaphroditism and toward the rare state of dioecy (separate sexes). Rather than transitions predominantly toward greater sexual differentiation, however, evolution may proceed in the direction of lesser sexual differentiation. We analyzed the macroevolutionary dynamics of sexual system in angiosperm genera...

Nano-Mg(OH)2, with low biological toxicity, is an ideal nano-carrier for insecticidal protein to improve the bioactivity. In this work, the adsorption features of insecticidal protein by nano-Mg(OH)2 have been studied. The adsorption capacity could achieve as high as 136 mg/g, and the adsorption isotherm had been fitted with Freundlich model. Moreover, the adsorption kinetics followed pseudo-first or -second order rate model, and the adsorption was spontaneous and exothermic process. However, the high temperatures are not...

Camellia seed oil has been used as high quality and healthy food for over two thousand years. Seed drying management effects oil quality and quantity. however, the molecular mechanisms of fatty acid biosynthesis and accumulation during the drying process remain unknown. In this study, the transcriptomes of Camellia meiocarpa and C. oleifera seed were characterized at five moisture content levels (10 - 50%) to identify the major processes and reveal genes affecting lipid metabolism in...

The red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), was initially reported in China in the 1990s and is now considered one of the most successful invasive pests of palm plants in the country. A total of 14 microsatellite loci and one mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit Ι (cox I) gene fragment were used to investigate the genetic characteristics and structure of R. ferrugineus in southern China. High levels of genetic differentiation among populations and significant correlations...

Background: Camellia species are ancient oilseed plants with a history of cultivation over two thousand years. Prior to oil extraction, natural seed drying is often practiced, a process affecting fatty acid quality and quantity. MicroRNAs (miRNA) of lipid metabolism associated with camellia seed natural drying are unexplored. To obtain insight into the function of miRNAs in lipid metabolism during natural drying, Illumina sequencing of C. oleifera and C. meiocarpa small-RNA was conducted. Results: A total...

1.An increasing number of studies indicate that microbial diversity plays a crucial role in the mediation of ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) in natural ecosystems. However, this point remains mostly overlooked in managed ecosystems, especially in agriculture. 2.Here, we compiled promising strategies for the targeted exploitation of the associations between microbial diversity and EMF of agricultural soils using samples from two long-term (more than 30 years) experimental field sites in southern China. The two sites experienced a...