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Chloranthales remain the last major mesangiosperm lineage without a nuclear genome assembly. We therefore assemble a high-quality chromosome-level genome of Chloranthus spicatus to resolve enigmatic evolutionary relationships, as well as explore patterns of genome evolution among the major lineages of mesangiosperms (eudicots, monocots, magnoliids, Chloranthales, and Ceratophyllales). We find that synteny is highly conserved between genomic regions of Amborella , Vitis , and Chloranthus . We identify an ancient single whole-genome duplication (WGD) (κ) prior to the divergence of extant Chloranthales. Phylogenetic inference shows Chloranthales as sister to magnoliids. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that ancient hybridization may account for the incongruent phylogenetic placement of Chloranthales + magnoliids relative to monocots and eudicots in nuclear and chloroplast trees. Long genes and long introns are found to be prevalent in both Chloranthales and magnoliids compared to other angiosperms. Overall, our findings provide an improved context for understanding mesangiosperm relationships and evolution and contribute a valuable genomic resource for future investigations. Chloranthales remain the last lineage of core angiosperms that lacks a nuclear genome assembly. Here, the authors report the genome assembly of Chloranthus spicatus and show its contribution to deepen our understanding on diversification, phylogeny, and genome evolution in angiosperms.

The availability of viral entry factors is a prerequisite for the cross-species transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Large-scale single-cell screening of animal cells could reveal the expression patterns of viral entry genes in different hosts. However, such exploration for SARS-CoV-2 remains limited. Here, we perform single-nucleus RNA sequencing for 11 non-model species, including pets (cat, dog, hamster, and lizard), livestock (goat and rabbit), poultry (duck and pigeon), and wildlife (pangolin, tiger, and deer), and investigated the co-expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 . Furthermore, cross-species analysis of the lung cell atlas of the studied mammals, reptiles, and birds reveals core developmental programs, critical connectomes, and conserved regulatory circuits among these evolutionarily distant species. Overall, our work provides a compendium of gene expression profiles for non-model animals, which could be employed to identify potential SARS-CoV-2 target cells and putative zoonotic reservoirs. Here the authors report single-nucleus RNA sequencing for several anatomical locations in 11 species, including cat, dog, hamster, lizard, goat, rabbit, duck, pigeon, pangolin, tiger, and deer, highlighting coexpression of SARS-CoV-2 entry factors ACE2 and TMPRSS2 .

In recent decades, Moso bamboo has been largely increasing in the subtropical area of China, raising ecological concerns about its invasion into other native forest ecosystems. One concern is whether the invasion of Moso bamboo significantly simplifies forest community composition and structure and declines biomass. This study adopted the space-for-time method to investigate a secondary coniferous and broad-leaved mixed forest (SF) being invaded by an adjacent Moso bamboo forest (MB) in the Wuxie forest reserve, Zhejiang Province. Three plots were established in each SF, MB, and transitional forest. The results showed that the species composition and species dominance of the arborous layer changed significantly ( P < 0.05), which was indicated by the significantly decreased species richness (Margalef index, Shannon–Wiener index, and Simpson index) and evenness (Pielou evenness index). In contrast, the species richness of the shrub and herbaceous layers had two divergent indications (increasing or unchanged), and the evenness remained unchanged. The total and arborous-layer aboveground biomass of the forest community has had no noticeable change ( P < 0.05). However, the biomass of the shrub and herbaceous layers showed an increasing trend (shrub significant but herbaceous not), but they only occupied a small proportion (∼1%) of the total biomass. Finally, the aboveground biomass and the diversity index had no significant correlation in each layer and overall stands. We hope that the findings could provide a theoretical basis for the invasion mechanism and ecological consequences of the Moso bamboo invasion.

Acorales is the sister lineage to all the other extant monocot plants. Genomic resource enhancement of this genus can help to reveal early monocot genomic architecture and evolution. Here, we assemble the genome of Acorus gramineus and reveal that it has ~45% fewer genes than the majority of monocots, although they have similar genome size. Phylogenetic analyses based on both chloroplast and nuclear genes consistently support that A. gramineus is the sister to the remaining monocots. In addition, we assemble a 2.2 Mb mitochondrial genome and observe many genes exhibit higher mutation rates than that of most angiosperms, which could be the reason leading to the controversies of nuclear genes- and mitochondrial genes-based phylogenetic trees existing in the literature. Further, Acorales did not experience tau ( τ ) whole-genome duplication, unlike majority of monocot clades, and no large-scale gene expansion is observed. Moreover, we identify gene contractions and expansions likely linking to plant architecture, stress resistance, light harvesting, and essential oil metabolism. These findings shed light on the evolution of early monocots and genomic footprints of wetland plant adaptations. Monocots are one of the most diverse and dominant clades of flowering plants. Here, the authors assemble the genome of Acorus gramineus , confirm its phylogenetic position as sister to the rest of monocots and reveal the absence of tau (τ) whole-genome duplication observed in the majority of monocot clades.

Urban green spaces are crucial for regulating microclimates and enhancing human comfort. The study, conducted at Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, investigates the effects of plant communities with diverse canopy structures on campus microclimates and thermal comfort in summer and winter. Data on air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), and light intensity (LI) were collected over three consecutive sunny days in both summer and winter. Concurrently, plant community structural characteristics, including three-dimensional green biomass (3DGB), canopy density (CD), and sky-view factor (SVF), were measured and analyzed. Quantitative relationships between these plant characteristics and microclimate/thermal comfort indices were evaluated using statistical analyses. The results indicate that, in summer, plant communities produced significant cooling (daily average AT reduced by 2.3 °C) and humidifying effects, and decreased the daily maximum thermal humidity index (THI) by 1 °C compared to control areas without vegetation. In winter, the moderation of temperature and humidity was present but less pronounced, and no statistically significant temperature difference was observed. Communities with larger 3DGB, higher CD, and lower SVF provided more effective shading and improved microclimatic regulation. A regression analysis identified AT as the primary factor influencing outdoor thermal comfort across both seasons. Planting configurations such as “Tree-Shrub-Herb” and “Tree-Small Tree”, as well as the use of broad-crowned shade trees, were shown to be effective in optimizing microclimate and outdoor comfort. Overall, enhancing the vegetation structure may address outdoor thermal comfort requirements in campus environments throughout the year.

The subtropical regions in China are prone to recurrent summer droughts induced by the Western Pacific Subtropical High-Pressure, which has induced the death of tens of millions of culms of Moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis (Carriere) J. Houzeau), a widely distributed giant bamboo with high economic and ecological values. In the future, the intensity and frequency of the summer drought are projected to increase in these areas due to global climate change, which may lead to significant age-specific mortality of Moso bamboo. So far, it is still unclear about the age-specific response mechanisms of hydraulic traits and carbon balance of Moso bamboo when it is suffering to an ongoing summer drought. This study aimed to investigate the hydraulic and photosynthetic responses of newly sprouted (1 year old) and established (2-5 years old) culms of Moso bamboo to summer drought, which was manipulated by throughfall reduction in Lin’an of Zhejiang. The results showed that both newly sprouted and established culms had a gradually weakening hydraulic conductivity and photosynthesis during the whole drought process. In the early stage of the manipulated drought, the established culms had more loss of hydraulic conductivity than the newly sprouted culms. However, the newly sprouted culms had significant more loss of hydraulic conductivity and lower photosynthetic rates and stomatal conductance in the middle and late stages of the manipulated drought. The results suggest that the newly sprouted culms were more susceptible to summer drought than established culms due to the combined effects of hydraulic damage and photosynthetic restriction, explaining why the newly sprouted culms have higher mortality than elder culms when subjected to extreme drought. These findings provided insights into the mechanisms of Moso bamboo’s age-specific drought-induced mortality, which will help for the anti-drought management of bamboo.

Bamboo culms are connected to neighboring culms via rhizomes, which enable resource exchange between culms. We assessed water transfer between established and neighboring, freshly sprouted culms by thermal dissipation probes (TDP) inserted into culms and the connecting rhizome. During the early phase of sprouting, highest sap flux densities in freshly sprouted culms were observed at night, whereas neighboring established culms had high sap flux densities during daytime. After leaf flushing on freshly sprouted culms, the nighttime peaks disappeared and culms switched to the diurnal sap flux patterns with daytime maxima as observed in established culms. TDP in rhizomes indicated water flowing from the established to the freshly sprouted culms. When the established culms of a clump were cut, freshly sprouted culms without leaves reduced sap flux densities rates by 79%. Our findings thus suggest that bamboos exchange water via rhizomes and that nighttime fluxes are highly important for the support of freshly sprouted culms. The (water) resource support may facilitate the very fast growth of the bamboo shoots, and enable the colonizing of new places.

Hibiscus yunnanensis S.Y. Hu is an endangered species of the genus Hibiscus (Malvaceae), which has high potential economic value. However, the absence of a high-quality reference genome impedes the study of the ecology and molecular biology of H. yunnanensis . Here, we present a high-quality chromosome-level assembly of H. yunnanensis using BGI-DIPSEQ, Nanopore, and Hi-C sequencing. The assembled genome size is 2.2 Gb with a contig N50 of 12.1 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 137.1 Mb. Approximately 99.2% of the assembly is anchored into 17 pseudochromosomes, and a BUSCO analysis indicates a completeness score of 99.6%. Furthermore, we identify 42,085 protein-coding genes, of which 96.4% are functionally annotated. This genome resource provides a foundation for future studies on unique traits, including drought-tolerant, savanna-adapted, and long-flowering traits. Its ability to flower in winter, along with its automatic selfing and lack of delayed inbreeding depression, makes it an excellent model for studying style curvature mechanism and its adaptive significance in the Malvaceae.

Synaptic activity is fundamental to memory and learning in the nervous system. However, most artificial synaptic devices are limited to mimicking static plasticity, and tunable plasticity has not been achieved at the device level. Here, we introduce a dynamic all-optical synapse based on photonic crystal nanobeam cavities with a ferroelectric carrier injection valve. By leveraging the nonlinear and ferroelectric electrostatic doping effects in silicon, integrated with Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 (HZO) film as the ferroelectric layer and indium tin oxide (ITO) as the top electrode, we enhance linearity and reduce power consumption. Increasing the bias voltage further improves linearity while decreasing power consumption. This innovation offers a promising pathway for developing energy-efficient nanophotonic devices in neuromorphic computing.

Based on the China High-resolution Air Pollution near-surface air pollutant remote sensing dataset, the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of PM2.5 and four chemical components around 6 coal-fired power plants in fine particulate matter pollution hotspots in Jiangsu Province, China from 2016 to 2020 were analyzed. Combined with the power plant installed capacity and the power generation data is studied from three perspectives: inter-annual characteristics, seasonal changes and trend analysis. The results show that the concentrations of PM 2.5 and chemical components (Cl - , NH 4 + , SO 4 2- , NO 3 - ) around major coal-fired power plants in Jiangsu Province have dropped significantly, with an average annual reduction of 3.43, 0.12, 0.32, 0.54 and 0.54μg/m 3 respectively.The seasonal variation characteristics of chemical components are obvious, the seasonal variation of NO 3 - is the most significant, and the proportion of SO 4 2- reaches its peak in summer. Spatial heterogeneity is significant. Compared with the northern region, the proportion of NO 3 - in the three power plants in southern Jiangsu is 3 percentage points higher overall, and the concentrations of SO 4 2- and NO 3 - have dropped even more. In addition, secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA) represented by NH 4 + , SO 4 2- , and NO 3 - have become the main driving factors of PM2.5 pollution from coal-fired power plants in areas along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, among which NO3- is the main cause of PM2.5 pollution around coal-fired power plants in Jiangsu Province. The most important secondary components highlight the importance of NH 3 and NO X control for the future prevention and control of PM2.5 pollution from coal-fired power plants in Jiangsu Province, China.