of Botany,Chinese Academy Of Sciences
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Direct and indirect impacts of synthetic biology on biodiversity conservation
No full textThe world's biodiversity is in crisis. Synthetic biology has the potential to transform biodiversity conservation, both directly and indirectly, in ways that are negative and positive. However, applying these biotechnology tools to environmental questions is fraught with uncertainty and could harm cultures, rights, livelihoods, and nature. Decisions about whether or not to use synthetic biology for conservation should be understood alongside the reality of ongoing biodiversity loss. In 2022, the 196 Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity are negotiating the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that will guide action by governments and other stakeholders for the next decade to conserve the worlds' biodiversity. To date, synthetic biologists, conservationists, and policy makers have operated in isolation. At this critical time, this review brings these diverse perspectives together and emerges out of the need for a balanced and inclusive examination of the potential application of these technologies to biodiversity conservation
Paleopolyploidies and Genomic Fractionation in Major Eudicot Clades
No full textEudicots account for ~75% of living angiosperms, containing important food and energy crops. Recently, high-quality genome sequences of several eudicots including Aquilegia coerulea and Nelumbo nucifera have become available, providing an opportunity to investigate the early evolutionary characteristics of eudicots. We performed genomic hierarchical and event-related alignments to infer homology within and between representative species of eudicots. The results provide strong evidence for multiple independent polyploidization events during the early diversification of eudicots, three of which are likely to be allopolyploids: The core eudicot-common hexaploidy (ECH), Nelumbo-specific tetraploidy (NST), and Ranunculales-common tetraploidy (RCT). Using different genomes as references, we constructed genomic alignment to list the orthologous and paralogous genes produced by polyploidization and speciation. This could provide a fundamental framework for studying other eudicot genomes and gene(s) evolution. Further, we revealed significantly divergent evolutionary rates among these species. By performing evolutionary rate correction, we dated RCT to be ~118-134 million years ago (Mya), after Ranunculales diverged with core eudicots at ~123-139 Mya. Moreover, we characterized genomic fractionation resulting from gene loss and retention after polyploidizations. Notably, we revealed a high degree of divergence between subgenomes. In particular, synonymous nucleotide substitutions at synonymous sites (Ks) and phylogenomic analyses implied that A. coerulea might provide the subgenome(s) for the gamma-hexaploid hybridization
Regulation of immune complex formation and signalling by FERONIA, a busy goddess in plant-microbe interactions
No full textBeing sessile in soil, plant cells rely on cell-surface receptors to sense and transduce environmental stimulus signals into intracellular responses. FERONIA (FER), a Catharanthus roseus receptor-like kinase 1-like protein, has emerged as a versatile regulator of plant growth, development, and stress responses. In recent years, accumulating studies have witnessed rapid advances in dissecting the mechanisms underlying the interaction between FER and its partners in response to pathogen invasion, particularly regulation of immune complex formation and signalling. Moreover, hormonal signalling, rhizosphere microbiota and other constituents are also extensively involved in these processes
Variations in the traits of fine roots of different orders and their associations with leaf traits in 12 co-occuring plant species in a semiarid inland dune
No full textAim Variations in plant traits are closely linked to the functional trade-off between resource acquisition and conservation. However, there has been little research on interspecific variations in the traits of fine roots with different orders and their associations with leaf traits in semiarid inland dunes. Methods We examined the first four root orders and leaves of 12 species (seven herbs and five shrubs), representing a broad range of taxa, co-occurring in a semiarid inland dune and evaluated their root biomass ratio and nine key morphological and chemical traits. Results We observed substantial variations in root traits among species and among root orders within species. The root economics spectrum (RES) spanned across the first three orders, representing a resource acquisition and conservation strategy in which specific root length, specific root area and root N concentration decreased and root diameter increased with root order. Most of the fine root and leaf traits were primarily loaded on the first and second axes of the principal component analysis. Herbs and shrubs presented resource acquisitive and conservative strategies, respectively, due to their contrasting leaf and fine root traits. Phylogenetic conservatism was stronger in roots than in leaves. Conclusions The leading RES in the fine roots of different orders existed in the semiarid inland dune, emphasizing the importance of interspecific and intraspecific variations in the traits of fine roots of different orders in understanding root structure, function and their coordination. Partial trait integration across leaves and fine roots implies limited support to the plant economics spectrum
Intra-annual species gain overrides species loss in determining species richness in a typical steppe ecosystem after a decade of nitrogen enrichment
No full textIncreasing deposition of atmospheric nitrogen (N) due to accelerated human activities is a threat to various ecosystems. However, there is a lack of long-term experimental evidence demonstrating the seasonal dynamics of plant species turnover that ultimately determines species richness in natural ecosystems under N enrichment. Moreover, the frequency of N addition also may affect species turnover in a community, but it is rarely studied. To assess the responses of a plant community to N addition, we manipulated the amounts (0-50 g N m(-2) year(-1)) and frequency (2 vs. 12 times year(-1)) of N addition in an Inner Mongolian typical steppe ecosystem in northern China for 12 consecutive years (2008-2020). We measured species richness and density of plant in the growing seasons (May-September) from 2018 to 2020, starting 10 years after the initial N addition treatment. Both species gain and species loss decreased with increasing amounts of N addition, resulting in a lower plant species turnover rate and greater similarity in the community between two adjacent months throughout the growing season. Species loss and species gain increased modestly under high N addition frequency. Species gain was more important than species loss in determining species richness after a decade of N application. In addition, plant density increased at high N amounts, mainly driven by enhanced clonal growth of the dominant species, Leymus chinensis. Synthesis. Together, these results suggest that high levels of N deposition may suppress species richness due to aggravated soil chemical properties and may favour growth of a limited number of N-tolerant species compared to systems that experience low levels of N deposition. To conserve biodivewwrsity and to facilitate restoration of degraded grassland ecosystems exposed to long-term N deposition, amelioration of the acidified soils induced by N deposition may be an important strategy to use
Community response of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to extreme drought in a cold-temperate grassland
No full textClimate extremes pose enormous threats to natural ecosystems. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are key plant symbionts that can affect plant community dynamics and ecosystem stability. However, knowledge about how AM fungal communities respond to climate extremes in natural ecosystems remains elusive. Based on a grassland extreme drought experiment in Inner Mongolia, we investigated the response of AM fungal communities to extreme drought in association with plant communities. The experiment simulated two types of extreme drought (chronic/intense) of once-in-20-year occurrence. AM fungal richness and community composition exhibited high sensitivity to extreme drought and were more sensitive to intense drought than chronic drought. This community sensitivity (i.e. decline in richness and shifts in community composition) of AM fungi can be jointly explained by soil moisture, plant richness, and aboveground productivity. Notably, the robustness of the plant-AM fungal community co-response increased with drought intensity. Our results indicate that AM fungal communities are sensitive to climate extremes, and we propose that the plant community mediates AM fungal community responses. Given the ubiquitous nature of AM associations, their climate sensitivity may have profound consequences on plant communities and ecosystem stability under climate change
Comparative analysis of physiological, agronomic and transcriptional responses to drought stress in wheat local varieties from Mongolia and Northern China
No full textDrought is one of the major abiotic stresses that threaten wheat production worldwide, especially in the Mongolian Plateau and adjacent regions. This study aims to find local wheat varieties with high yields and drought resistance at various developmental stages based on agronomic traits and drought resistance indices analysis and explore the underlining molecular mechanisms by transcriptome analysis. Our results revealed that drought stress started at the seedling stage has a greater impact on crop yields. Four types of drought responses were found among the tested varieties. Type 1 and type 2 show low tolerance to drought stress despite high or low yield in control condition, type 3 exhibits high yield under control condition but dropped significantly after drought, and type 4 displays relatively high and stable yields under control and drought conditions. Transcriptome analysis performed with the representative varieties of the four types revealed GO terms and KEGG pathways enriched among drought-triggered differential expressed genes (DEGs). A network containing 18 modules was constructed using weighted gene co-expression analysis (WGCNA). Ten modules were significantly correlated to yield by module-trait correlation, and 3 modules showed Darkhan 144 specific gene expression patterns. C2H2 zinc finger factor-recognized motifs were identified from the promoters of genes in these modules. qRT-PCR confirmed several key DEGs with specific expression patterns and physiological measurements validated the relatively low oxidative damage and high antioxidant capacity in the drought tolerant variety Dankhan 144. These findings provide an important basis for local agriculture and breeding of drought-tolerant high yield wheat varieties
Drought has inconsistent effects on seed trait composition despite their strong association with ecosystem drought sensitivity
No full textSeeds provide the basis of genetic diversity in perennial grassland communities and their traits may influence ecosystem resistance to extreme drought. However, we know little about how drought effects the community functional composition of seed traits and the corresponding implications for ecosystem resistance to drought. We experimentally removed 66% of growing season precipitation for 4 years across five arid and semi-arid grasslands in northern China and assessed how this multi-year drought impacted community-weighted means (CWMs) of seed traits, seed trait functional diversity and above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP). Experimental drought had limited effects on CWM traits and the few effects that did occur varied by site and year. For three separate sites, and in different years, drought reduced seed length and phosphorus content but increased both seed and seed-coat thickness. Additionally, drought led to increased seed functional evenness, divergence, dispersion and richness, but only in some sites, and mostly in later years following cumulative effects of water limitation. However, we observed a strong negative relationship between drought-induced reductions in ANPP and CWMs of seed-coat thickness, indicating that a high abundance of dominant species with thick seeds may increase ecosystem resistance to drought. Seed trait functional diversity was not significantly predictive of ANPP, providing little evidence for a diversity effect. Our results suggest that monitoring community composition with a focus on seed traits may provide a valuable indicator of ecosystem resistance to future droughts despite inconsistent responses of seed trait composition overall. This highlights the importance of developing a comprehensive seed and reproductive traits database for arid and semi-arid grassland biomes. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog
Neutral responses of plant community Ca concentration to nitrogen enrichment in a semiarid grassland
No full textCalcium (Ca) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and Ca concentrations in forage have important implications for ruminant diet and health. It remains an open question whether forage Ca concentration would be decreased by increasing nitrogen (N) deposition. We manipulated the increasing rates of N addition (2008-2015) in a semiarid grassland, northern China. Plant Ca concentrations for all species were examined in each plot under N treatment. The Ca concentrations at functional group and community levels were calculated based on the concentration of each species presented and their relative biomass in each plot. We found that community-level Ca concentration remained stable across a gradient of wide-ranged N addition rates, although Ca concentration at both species and functional group levels showed negative responses to N enrichment. Given that forbs had higher Ca concentration than grasses, the increasing relative biomass of forbs canceled out the negative responses of species-level and functional group-level Ca concentration. Our results further showed that community Ca pool showed a positive but saturating response to N addition, with a threshold at the rate of 10 g N m(-2) yr(-1). Our findings highlight the role of changes in plant relative biomass in controlling the responses of forage Ca concentration and stock to N enrichment