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Paeonia ostii seeds have recently been identified as a new source of α-linolenic acid in China. Studying the gene expression patterns of unsaturated fatty acid-related genes would be helpful for understanding the mechanism of α-linolenic acid accumulation. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is a useful method for reliably evaluating gene expression, and it is necessary to select reliable reference genes for data normalization in qRT-PCR analysis. In this study, we evaluated the expression stability of 12 candidate reference genes using four mathematical algorithms (∆Ct, BestKeeper, NormFinder, and geNorm). The web-based tool RefFinder was used to integrate the results and to provide a comprehensive ranking order. The expression stability ranking orders of reference genes were different caculated by these four algorithms, and the ranking order analyzed by the RefFinder was UBQ > Tip41 > UCE > EF-1α > α-TUB > PP2A > ACT > GAPDH > SAM > CYP > β-TUB > 18S at the different seed development stages, and UBQ > Tip41 > EF-1α > α-TUB > PP2A > UCE > GAPDH > SAM > ACT > CYP > 18S > β-TUB in P. ostii tissues. UBQ and Tip41 are the two most stable whereas 18S and β-TUB are the two least stable reference genes for gene expression in various tissues and seeds at different developmental stages in P. ostii.

Global warming will have a negative effect on agricultural production as high temperature (HT) stress can seriously threaten plant growth and reproduction. Male sterility caused by HT may be exploited by the creation of a male-sterile line, which has great potential for application in crop heterosis. Therefore, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of anther abortion induced by HT in wheat, which remain unclear at present. In this study, we performed phenotype improve language in the abstract and comparative transcriptome analysis of the male sterile anthers induced by HT in wheat. Compared with Normal anthers, the cytological analysis indicated that HT-induced male sterile anthers were smaller and had no starch accumulation in pollen grains, which is consistent with the results observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The 9601 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified by transcriptome sequencing compared with the Normal anthers were noticeably involved in the following pathways: starch and sucrose metabolism, phosphatidylinositol (PI) signaling system, peroxidase activity and response to oxidative stress, and heme binding. In addition, TUNEL assays were performed and the results further confirmed the excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in sterile anthers. Moreover, a total of 38 hub genes were obtained from the protein-protein interaction network analysis of these pathways, including genes, for example, heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), thioredoxin-like protein 1, peroxidase (POD), calreticulin, UDP glucose pyrophosphorylase (UGPase), sucrose synthase, phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-Kinase (PIP5K), cytochrome c, and Cystathionine beta-synthase X6-like (CBSX6-like). These findings provide insights for predicting the functions of the candidate genes, and the comprehensive analysis of our results is helpful for studying the abortive interaction mechanism induced by HT in wheat.

Cysteine-rich receptor-like kinases (CRKs) play many important roles during plant development, including defense responses under both biotic and abiotic stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis, callose deposition and programmed cell death (PCD). However, there are few studies on the involvement of the CRK family in male sterility due to heat stress in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, a genome-wide characterization of the CRK family was performed to investigate the structural and functional attributes of the wheat CRKs in anther sterility caused by heat stress. A total of 95 CRK genes were unevenly distributed on 18 chromosomes, with the most genes distributed on chromosome 2B. Paralogous homologous genes with Ka/Ks ratios less than 1 may have undergone strong purifying selection during evolution and are more functionally conserved. The collinearity analysis results of CRK genes showed that wheat and Arabidopsis ( A. thaliana ), foxtail millet, Brachypodium distachyon ( B. distachyon ), and rice have three, 12, 15, and 11 pairs of orthologous genes, respectively. In addition, the results of the network interactions of genes and miRNAs showed that five miRNAs were in the hub of the interactions map, namely tae-miR9657b-5p, tae-miR9780, tae-miR9676-5p, tae-miR164, and tae-miR531. Furthermore, qRT-PCR validation of the six TaCRK genes showed that they play key roles in the development of the mononuclear stage anthers, as all six genes were expressed at highly significant levels in heat-stressed male sterile mononuclear stage anthers compared to normal anthers. We hypothesized that the TaCRK gene is significant in the process of high-temperature-induced sterility in wheat based on the combination of anther phenotypes, paraffin sections, and qRT-PCR data. These results improve our understanding of their relationship.

The sugar transporter protein (STP) plays a crucial role in regulating plant growth and stress tolerance. We performed genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the STP gene family to investigate the STPSs’ potential roles in the growth of wheat seedlings under stress. Here, a total of 81 TaSTP genes containing the Sugar_tr conserved motif were identified within the wheat genome. Bioinformatic studies including phylogenetic tree, chromosome position, and tandem repeat were performed to analyze the identified genes. The 81 TaSTP genes can be classified into five main groups according to their structural and phylogenetic features, with several subgroups, which were located separately on chromosomes A, B, and D. Moreover, six gene clusters were formed with more than three genes each. The results of three comparative syntenic maps of wheat associated with three representative species suggested that STP genes have strong relationships in monocots. qRT-PCR analysis confirmed that most TaSTP genes displayed different expression profiles after seedlings were subjected to six days of different stress (10% PEG6000, 150 mM NaCl, and their combination, respectively), suggesting that these genes may be involved in regulating plant growth and stress tolerance. In conclusion, 81 TaSTP genes were identified and their expressions changed under stress, indicating TaSTP’s potential roles in wheat growth monosaccharide distribution is regulated.

Agricultural green production (AGP) and efficiency improvement of smallholders’ management are the objective requirements for the development of China’s modernized agriculture and the understanding of the rural vitalization strategy. Based on field survey data of 582 rice farmers in Shaanxi Province, this study used the Logit model to analyze the determinants of smallholders’ adoption of agricultural green production technology (AGPT) and used the propensity score matching (PSM) method to measure the effect of AGPT on the technical efficiency (TE) of rice production and the heterogeneity of this influence among smallholders. Results showed that the AGPT adoption rate and the mean of rice production TE were 15.1% and 0.312, both had a lot of room for improvement. Furthermore, it was found that household’s characteristics, family characteristics, agricultural management characteristics, social characteristics, and cognitive characteristics significantly affect smallholders’ AGPT adoption, and the AGPT adoption significantly increased the TE of rice production by 18.8 to 24.5%. Besides, farmers with older age, less education, more specialized planting, more fragmented land, and more off-farm employment adopting AGPT could significantly improve the TE; the increase proportion was 29.8%, 29.5%, 21.3%, 27.2%, and 16.8%. The study also showed that the AGPT could not significantly increase the rice output value of smallholders. In addition, considering the endogeneity problem caused by sample selection bias, the study re-estimated using the endogenous transformation regression (ESR) model which showed that the promotion of AGPT to TE was still robust. The study puts forward policy recommendations on how to further promote the adoption of AGPT and improve the TE by farmers.

Grassland property rights privatization has alleviated the problem of ‘the tragedy of the commons’ but led to an unintended ecological consequence—traditional nomadic modes declination. However, with the grassland rental market formation in countries with property rights privatization, grassland rental has reshaped the pattern of grassland allocation and provided opportunities for herders to optimize their grazing modes. Based on the survey data of herders in northern China, we theoretically analyze and empirically test grassland rental’s impact on herders’ rotational grazing behavior under the household responsibility system. The results show that grassland rental promotes herders’ rotational grazing, and the probability of individual rotational grazing is increased by 58.27%. By increasing the operated grazing grassland area and the number of grassland plots fenced, grassland rental promotes herders’ grassland endowment match with the large-scale livestock activity space and the number of grazing blocks required for rotational grazing, reduces the input cost and operation difficulty required for rotational grazing, and increase herders rotational grazing probability. Grassland rental’s impact on herder’s rotational grazing is heterogeneous, showing the dependence of the number of plots fenced and the scale of grazing grassland. It has a higher promotion effect on herders with more plots fenced; It cannot promote the generation of herders’ rotational grazing behavior when the rented grassland area fails to make the grassland operation scale reach the minimum threshold of rotational grazing. The study emphasizes the importance of developing a grassland rental market to promote the optimization of grazing modes in grassland privatization countries.

The conflict between grassland degradation and livestock production is a global problem. Raising technical efficiency (TE) is simultaneously conducive to livestock production and grassland restoration. However, production factors allocation imbalance caused by the grassland shortage in countries that implemented private grassland property rights has inhibited the improvement of TE. As herders' primary way to reallocate grassland spontaneously, grassland rental becomes prevalent, but its conduciveness in improving herders' TE and its mechanism has not been strictly confirmed. Using survey data of herders in Northern China as an example, this study empirically analyzed grassland renting-in’s impact on TE after considering the endogeneity. Results show that grassland renting-in is conducive to improving TE, and its effect comes from the resource balance effect rather than the ability effect. Renting-in grassland and each 100-mu increment of rent-in grassland leads to a TE increase of 2.34% and 0.056%. Meanwhile, its effect on TE is heterogeneous; herders with lower TE can achieve greater TE improvements. Thus, the current grassland rental market promotes the inclusive growth of livestock production because small- and medium-sized herders are the main components of herders and the main participants in the grassland rental market; meanwhile, grassland renting-in narrows down the efficiency gap between low-efficiency and high-efficiency herders. Our results emphasize the importance of optimizing resource allocation through the grassland rental market to improve the TE in grassland privatization countries. Therefore, grassland rental should be encouraged without exploiting new grassland resources, and policymakers should concentrate more on reducing the grassland rental market’s friction rather than overemphasizing transferring grassland to capable individuals.

Under the framework of payment for transboundary watershed ecosystem services (ESs), identifying midstream and downstream residents’ preference and willingness to pay (WTP) for ESs provided by the upstream is crucial for sustainable watershed management. The residents’ preferences and WTP are not evenly distributed within the watershed. This study uses a choice experiment assessing the spatial impact of physical distance (including residents’ watershed location and distance to waterbody) and psychological distance on residents’ preference and WTP for the Wei River Basin ESs. The results showed that midstream and downstream residents’ preference and WTP for the ecological attributes have a significant distance-decay effect, either the physical distance to the upstream exit or physical and psychological distance to the waterbody. However, compared with the residents in the midstream, the residents downstream have a stronger preference and WTP for upstream ecological governance. Besides, the distance-decay effect differs between urban and rural residents. There is a psychological distance-decay effect in rural residents’ preference for water quality and a physical distance-decay effect in their preference for water quantity, entertainment area, and cost; there is a physical distance decay effect in urban residents’ preference for entertainment areas. The above differences lead to heterogeneity in WTP and total economic value (TEV) for ESs. When calculating the TEV of the transboundary watershed ES and charging the public, policymakers should consider the location of the residents, the physical and psychological distance to the water body, and the difference between urban and rural areas.

Jatropha curcas is considered a potential biodiesel feedstock crop. Currently, the value of J. curcas is limited because its seed yield is generally low. Transgenic modification is a promising approach to improve the seed yield of J. curcas. Although Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of J. curcas has been pursued for several years, the transformation efficiency remains unsatisfying. Therefore, a highly efficient and simple Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation method for J. curcas should be developed. We examined and optimized several key factors that affect genetic transformation of J. curcas in this study. The results showed that the EHA105 strain was superior to the other three Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains for infecting J. curcas cotyledons, and the supplementation of 100 mM acetosyringone slightly increased the transient transformation frequency. Use of the appropriate inoculation method, optimal kanamycin concentration and appropriate duration of delayed selection also improved the efficiency of stable genetic transformation of J. curcas. The percentage of β-glucuronidase positive J. curcas shoots reached as high as 56.0 %, and 1.70 transformants per explant were obtained with this protocol. Furthermore, we optimized the root-inducing medium to achieve a rooting rate of 84.9 %. Stable integration of the T-DNA into the genomes of putative transgenic lines was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis. Using this improved protocol, a large number of transgenic J. curcas plantlets can be routinely obtained within approximately 4 months. The detailed information provided here for each step of J. curcas transformation should enable successful implementation of this transgenic technology in other laboratories.

Chinese herders’ most typical goal-oriented pro-environmental behavior is forage-livestock balance (FLB) maintenance behavior. Existing studies seek to explain its low incidence from the perspective of rational choice based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) but ignore the effects of emotion and desire, which are considered to have an impact on goal-oriented pro-environmental behavior. To analyze herders’ FLB maintenance behavior, we constructed an extended TPB (ETPB) framework incorporating desire and emotion regarding achieving FLB. Using data from 820 herders in northern China, a structural equation model was employed to test the framework’s applicability. The ETPB framework has better explanatory power than the original TPB framework in herders’ FLB maintenance behavior, especially for Mongolian and middle-income herders. Anticipated emotion and desire are antecedent factors of herders’ FLB behavioral intentions, and the former can influence behavioral intention through desire. Desire is an antecedent factor of herders’ FLB maintenance behavior. The indirect effect of desire on behavior through behavioral intention is greater than the direct effect of desire on behavior. Furthermore, income gaps and cultural differences moderate the effects of desire and emotion. The practical implications of the findings were discussed in terms of promoting herders’ FLB maintenance behavior.