Search Results (25)

China faces the dual challenges of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring food security. Given that crop cultivation constitutes a major source of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, analyzing the emission reduction impact of China’s high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) policy, a crucial food security initiative, holds significant importance. This study calculates greenhouse gas emissions from crop cultivation (CGHGE) from a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective and evaluates the agricultural new-quality productivity level across 31 regions in China from 2005 to 2022. Subsequently, this study utilizes the continuous difference-in-differences (DID) model to examine the impact of the HSFC policy on CGHGE per unit area. Furthermore, the mediating role of agricultural new-quality productivity in the relationship between HSFC policies and CGHGE per unit area was examined. The results show that HSFC can significantly mitigate the growth of CGHGE per unit area, with an average annual reduction of 62.88%. The regional heterogeneity analysis indicates that HSFC exerts statistically significant negative effects on CGHGE per unit area across both western and eastern China. Furthermore, heterogeneity tests demonstrate that HSFC’s emission reduction effects are particularly pronounced in major grain-producing regions. HSFC contributes to emission reductions by enhancing agricultural new-quality productive forces, which subsequently lead to lower CGHGE. The findings of this study suggest that governments should implement differentiated and targeted policies for HSFC, with particular emphasis on the crucial role of new-quality agricultural productivity in reducing CGHGE. Full article

Studying the policy effectiveness and impact process of the high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) on the green agricultural development (GAD) provides reference for sustainable development of agriculture. Based on the quasi experimental conditions for the sub regional promotion of China’ s HSFC policy and making use of the balanced panel data from 2004 to 2022 in China, this article diagnoses the level and evolution characteristics of GAD in China, empirically tests the effects of the China’s HSFC policy on the GAD level by the continuous difference-in-differences (DID) model, and then further analyzes the mediating roles of horizontal agricultural production division and land management scale efficiency. The research results indicate that (1) the GAD level of China continues to improve form 2004 to 2022; (2) the HSFC policy has been positively influencing the GAD level, and has gone through a significance level test of 0.01; (3) further study reveals that the HSFC policy promotes the GAD level primarily through the agricultural green technology progress (AGTP) and the agricultural green efficiency change (AGEC), with the AGTP being the main contributor; and (4) the HSFC policy positively influences the GAD level by enhancing horizontal agricultural production division and land management scale efficiency. To improve the level of GAD, it is essential to continuously optimize policy for the HSFC, promote the AGTP and the improvement of the AGEC, and effectively improve the horizontal agricultural production division level and land management scale efficiency. Full article

In response to climate change, the reduction of carbon emissions during agricultural production has garnered increasing global focus. This study takes high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) implemented in 2011 as the standard natural experiment and adopts the continuous differences-in-differences (DID) model to explore the impact and internal mechanism of HSFC on agricultural carbon emissions based on a panel data of 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China from 2003 to 2021. The results show that HSFC can effectively reduce the carbon emissions in agricultural production, and the average annual reduction can reach 53.8%. The effects of HSFC on agriculture carbon emissions could be associated with reducing agricultural fossil energy consumption and reducing agricultural chemical use. Further, the heterogeneity study shows that the carbon reduction effect of HSFC was mainly reflected in non-major grain-producing areas, while there was no significant impact in major grain-producing areas. Policymakers should unswervingly continue to promote HSFC, considering their own economic and geographical conditions. This study can provide valuable information and references for developing countries similar to China to formulate policies on agricultural carbon reduction. Full article

Heat stress transcription factors (HSFs) play a critical role in orchestrating cellular responses to elevated temperatures and various stress conditions. While extensively studied in model plants, the HSF gene family in Betula platyphylla remains unexplored, despite the availability of its sequenced genome. In this study, we employed bioinformatics approaches to identify 21 BpHSF genes within the Betula platyphylla genome, revealing their uneven distribution across chromosomes. These genes were categorized into three subfamilies: A, B, and C. Each was characterized by conserved protein motifs and gene structures, with notable divergence observed between subfamilies. Collinearity analysis suggested that segmental duplication events have driven the evolutionary expansion of the BpHSF gene family. Promoter region analysis identified an array of cis-acting elements linked to growth, development, hormonal regulation, and stress responses. Subcellular localization experiments confirmed the nuclear localization of BpHSFA2a, BpHSFB1a, and BpHSFC1a, consistent with in silico predictions. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses revealed tissue-specific expression patterns of BpHSF genes and their dynamic responses to heat stress, with qPCR validation highlighting a significant upregulation of BpHSFA2a under high-temperature conditions. In summary, this study provided a comprehensive characterization of the HSF gene family in Betula platyphylla, laying a solid foundation for future functional studies. Particularly, BpHSFA2a emerges as a promising candidate gene for enhancing heat tolerance in Betula platyphylla, warranting further detailed investigation. Full article

Background: Hazelnut (Corylus), a significant woody oil tree species in economic forests, faces production constraints due to biotic stresses, with Hazelnut Husk Brown Rot, caused by the pathogenic necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea), being the most severe. To date, limited information is available regarding the resistance of hazelnuts to B. cinerea. To better understand the mechanisms of resistance to B. cinerea. in hazelnut, we conducted metabolomics and WGCNA analyses of a B. cinerea-resistant Ping’ou hybrid hazelnut variety (Dawei; DW) and a susceptible variety (Qiuxiang; QX). Methods: In this study, metabolomics and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA, weighted correlation network analysis) were applied to elucidate the resistance mechanisms underlying different hazelnut varieties to B. cinerea. Our study focused on the metabolome profiles of DW and QX plants after 72 h of B. cinerea infection. Results: Venn analysis of QX_0 vs. DW_0 and QX_72 vs. DW_72 revealed 120 differential accumulation metabolites (DAMs) that were upregulated. Among these metabolites, the concentrations of flavonoids and phenolic acids in DW were significantly higher than those in QX, respectively, suggesting that the elevated levels of these compounds contribute substantially to the resistance of hazelnut against B. cinerea. 3,4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid and phloretin were significantly more abundant in accumulation in DW than in QX after infection by B. cinerea. Conclusions: This study provides that the elevated levels of these compounds (flavonoids and phenolic acids) contribute substantially to the resistance of hazelnut against B. cinerea. Furthermore, 3,4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid and phloretin were identified as pivotal metabolites in modulating the resistance of hazelnut to B. cinerea. Through WGCNA analyses, we identified four transcription factors (WRKY19, HSFC1, ERF071, and RAP2-1) that are most likely to regulate the synthesis of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid and phloretin. This study provides crucial insights for further investigation into the regulatory network of metabolites associated with hazelnut resistance to B. cinerea. Full article

Echocardiography (ECG) is a noninvasive technology that is widely used for recording heartbeats and diagnosing cardiac arrhythmias. However, interpreting ECG signals is challenging and may require substantial time from medical specialists. The evolution of technology and artificial intelligence has led to advances in the study and development of automatic arrhythmia classification systems to aid in medical diagnoses. Within this context, this paper introduces a framework for classifying cardiac arrhythmias on the basis of a multimodal convolutional neural network (CNN) with an adaptive attention mechanism. ECG signal segments are transformed into images via the Hilbert space-filling curve (HSFC) and recurrence plot (RP) techniques. The framework is developed and evaluated using the MIT-BIH public database in alignment with AAMI guidelines (ANSI/AAMI EC57). The evaluations accounted for interpatient and intrapatient paradigms, considering variations in the input structure related to the number of ECG leads (lead MLII and V1 + MLII). The results indicate that the framework is competitive with those in state-of-the-art studies, particularly for two ECG leads. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity and F1 score are 98.48%, 94.15%, 80.23%, 96.34% and 81.91%, respectively, for the interpatient paradigm and 99.70%, 98.01%, 97.26%, 99.28% and 97.64%, respectively, for the intrapatient paradigm. Full article

At present, farmland abandonment (FA) is a serious problem in China, severely restricting agricultural production. In this context, it is of great significance to explore the logical relationship between high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) and FA to optimize land resource allocation and guarantee national food security. Based on a sample of 838 farmers in the main rice production area of the Yangtze River Basin in China, this study employed the Tobit model, the mediating effect model, and the moderated mediating effect model to analyze the impact of HSFC on FA at the micro level. The results show the following: (1) HSFC inhibits FA and the FA proportion decreases by 1.15% for every 1% increase in the HSFC proportion; the robustness test and endogeneity treatment also yield consistent conclusions. (2) The inhibitory effect of HSFC on FA varies greatly among different farmers and is more significant for part-time farmers and those with a higher degree of land fragmentation. (3) Agricultural socialization services (ASS) play a positive mediating role in the influence path. HSFC promotes the farmers’ purchase of ASS, which in turn inhibits FA. (4) The agricultural labor transfer distance (ALTD) plays a positive moderating role in the relationship between HSFC and FA. The farther the distance, the more likely it is that HSFC can promote the farmers’ purchase of ASS and inhibit FA. The results provide insights regarding how to precisely implement the HSFC policy, i.e., to inhibit FA by improving the construction of high-standard farmland and the post-construction management and protection system. Building targeted construction programs and operational systems that consider the differences in the target groups, improving the standard and capacity of ASS to ensure sustainable benefits for farmers, and promoting the non-agricultural transfer of surplus agricultural labor can create conditions for the modern transformation of the traditional rural economy. Full article

Agricultural activities are the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon emissions from agricultural land use (CEALU) have become a hot issue across the world. Although there are some studies on the impact of high-standard farmland construction policies on carbon emissions, they focus on quantitative analysis and do not give sufficient consideration to the relationship between HSFC and CEALU. Therefore, in this study, by relying on provincial panel data of China for the period 2005–2017, the effect of the high-standard basic farmland construction policy on carbon emissions from agricultural land use per unit area and its regional differences were quantitatively analyzed using the difference-in-difference (DID) model. The results showed that: (1) China’s CEALU per unit area presented a fluctuating upward change, but the growth rate slowed down during the period 2005–2017, from 392.58 kg/ha to 457.72 kg/ha, with an average annual growth rate of 1.31%; (2) the high-standard farmland construction (HSFC) policy led a significant carbon emission reduction effect in agricultural land use and reduced the CEALU per unit area by 10.80% on average. With the promotion of this policy, its carbon emission reduction effect in agricultural land use presented an overall increasing change; (3) the carbon emission reduction effect of the high-standard farmland construction policy in agricultural land use was significant in central China, but non-significant in eastern China and western China. Full article

Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) are an essential plant-specific transcription factor family that regulates the developmental and growth stages of plants, their signal transduction, and their response to different abiotic and biotic stresses. The HSF gene family has been characterized and systematically observed in various species; however, research on its association with Lycoris radiata is limited. This study identified 22 HSF genes (LrHSFs) in the transcriptome-sequencing data of L. radiata and categorized them into three classes including HSFA, HSFB, and HSFC, comprising 10, 8, and 4 genes, respectively. This research comprises basic bioinformatics analyses, such as protein sequence length, molecular weight, and the identification of its conserved motifs. According to the subcellular localization assessment, most LrHSFs were present in the nucleus. Furthermore, the LrHSF gene expression in various tissues, flower developmental stages, two hormones stress, and under four different abiotic stresses were characterized. The data indicated that LrHSF genes, especially LrHSF5, were essentially involved in L. radiata development and its response to different abiotic and hormone stresses. The gene–gene interaction network analysis revealed the presence of synergistic effects between various LrHSF genes’ responses against abiotic stresses. In conclusion, these results provided crucial data for further functional analyses of LrHSF genes, which could help successful molecular breeding in L. radiata. Full article

Heat shock factors (HSFs) are the key regulators of heat stress responses and play pivotal roles in tissue development and the temperature-induced regulation of secondary metabolites. In order to elucidate the roles of HSFs in Cymbidium ensifolium, we conducted a genome-wide identification of CeHSF genes and predicted their functions based on their structural features and splicing patterns. Our results revealed 22 HSF family members, with each gene containing more than one intron. According to phylogenetic analysis, 59.1% of HSFs were grouped into the A subfamily, while subfamily HSFC contained only two HSFs. And the HSF gene families were differentiated evolutionarily between plant species. Two tandem repeats were found on Chr02, and two segmental duplication pairs were observed on Chr12, Chr17, and Chr19; this provided evidence for whole-genome duplication (WGD) events in C. ensifolium. The core region of the promoter in most CeHSF genes contained cis-acting elements such as AP2/ERF and bHLH, which were associated with plant growth, development, and stress responses. Except for CeHSF11, 14, and 19, each of the remaining CeHSFs contained at least one miRNA binding site. This included binding sites for miR156, miR393, and miR319, which were responsive to temperature and other stresses. The HSF gene family exhibited significant tissue specificity in both vegetative and floral organs of C. ensifolium. CeHSF13 and CeHSF15 showed relatively significant expression in flowers compared to other genes. During flower development, CeHSF15 exhibited markedly elevated expression in the early stages of flower opening, implicating critical regulatory functions in organ development and floral scent-related regulations. During the poikilothermic treatment, CeHSF14 was upregulated over 200-fold after 6 h of heat treatment. CeHSF13 and CeHSF14 showed the highest expression at 6 h of low temperature, while the expression of CeHSF15 and CeHSF21 continuously decreased at a low temperature. The expression patterns of CeHSFs further confirmed their role in responding to temperature stress. Our study may help reveal the important roles of HSFs in plant development and metabolic regulation and show insight for the further molecular design breeding of C. ensifolium. Full article

Drought stress can seriously affect the yield and quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum). So far, although few wheat heat shock transcription factors (Hsfs) have been found to be involved in the stress response, the biological functions of them, especially the members of the HsfC (heat shock transcription factor C) subclass, remain largely unknown. Here, we identified a class C encoding gene, TaHsfC3-4, based on our previous omics data and analyzed its biological function in transgenic plants. TaHsfC3-4 encodes a protein containing 274 amino acids and shows the basic characteristics of the HsfC class. Gene expression profiles revealed that TaHsfC3-4 was constitutively expressed in many tissues of wheat and was induced during seed maturation. TaHsfC3-4 could be upregulated by PEG and abscisic acid (ABA), suggesting that this Hsf may be involved in the regulation pathway depending on ABA in drought resistance. Further results represented that TaHsfC3-4 was localized in the nucleus but had no transcriptional activation activity. Notably, overexpression of TaHsfC3-4 in Arabidopsis thaliana pyr1pyl1pyl2pyl4 (pyr1pyl124) quadruple mutant plants complemented the ABA-hyposensitive phenotypes of the quadruple mutant including cotyledon greening, root elongation, seedling growth, and increased tolerance to drought, indicating positive roles of TaHsfC3-4 in the ABA signaling pathway and drought tolerance. Furthermore, we identified TaHsfA2-11 as a TaHsfC3-4-interacting protein by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screening. The experimental data show that TaHsfC3-4 can indeed interact with TaHsfA2-11 in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, transgenic Arabidopsis TaHsfA2-11 overexpression lines exhibited enhanced drought tolerance, too. In summary, our study confirmed the role of TaHsfC3-4 in response to drought stress and provided a target locus for marker-assisted selection breeding to improve drought tolerance in wheat. Full article

Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) play a crucial role in regulating plant growth and response to various abiotic stresses. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the AeHSF gene family at genome-wide level in kiwifruit (Actinidia eriantha), focusing on their functions in the response to abiotic stresses. A total of 41 AeHSF genes were identified and categorized into three primary groups, namely, HSFA, HSFB, and HSFC. Further transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression of AeHSFA2b/2c and AeHSFB1c/1d/2c/3b was strongly induced by salt, which was confirmed by qRT-PCR assays. The overexpression of AeHSFA2b in Arabidopsis significantly improved the tolerance to salt stress by increasing AtRS5, AtGolS1 and AtGolS2 expression. Furthermore, yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that AeHSFA2b could bind to the AeRFS4 promoter directly. Therefore, we speculated that AeHSFA2b may activate AeRFS4 expression by directly binding its promoter to enhance the kiwifruit’s tolerance to salt stress. These results will provide a new insight into the evolutionary and functional mechanisms of AeHSF genes in kiwifruit. Full article

Drought poses a significant challenge to global wheat production, and the application of exogenous phytohormones offers a convenient approach to enhancing drought tolerance of wheat. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism by which strigolactones (SLs), newly discovered phytohormones, alleviate drought stress in wheat. Therefore, this study is aimed at elucidating the physiological and molecular mechanisms operating in wheat and gaining insights into the specific role of SLs in ameliorating responses to the stress. The results showed that SLs application upregulated the expression of genes associated with the antioxidant defense system (Fe/Mn-SOD, PER1, PER22, SPC4, CAT2, APX1, APX7, GSTU6, GST4, GOR, GRXC1, and GRXC15), chlorophyll biogenesis (CHLH, and CPX), light-harvesting chlorophyll A-B binding proteins (WHAB1.6, and LHC Ib-21), electron transfer (PNSL2), E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase (BB, CHIP, and RHY1A), heat stress transcription factor (HSFA1, HSFA4D, and HSFC2B), heat shock proteins (HSP23.2, HSP16.9A, HSP17.9A, HSP21, HSP70, HSP70-16, HSP70-17, HSP70-8, HSP90-5, and HSP90-6), DnaJ family members (ATJ1, ATJ3, and DJA6), as well as other chaperones (BAG1, CIP73, CIPB1, and CPN60I). but the expression level of genes involved in chlorophyll degradation (SGR, NOL, PPH, PAO, TIC55, and PTC52) as well as photorespiration (AGT2) was found to be downregulated by SLs priming. As a result, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) were enhanced, and chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate were increased, which indicated the alleviation of drought stress in wheat. These findings demonstrated that SLs alleviate drought stress by promoting photosynthesis through enhancing chlorophyll levels, and by facilitating ROS scavenging through modulation of the antioxidant system. The study advances understandings of the molecular mechanism underlying SLs-mediated drought alleviation and provides valuable insights for implementing sustainable farming practice under water restriction. Full article

Ginger is a valuable crop known for its nutritional, seasoning, and health benefits. However, abiotic stresses, such as high temperature and drought, can adversely affect its growth and development. Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) have been recognized as crucial elements for enhancing heat and drought resistance in plants. Nevertheless, no previous study has investigated the HSF gene family in ginger. In this research, a total of 25 ZoHSF members were identified in the ginger genome, which were unevenly distributed across ten chromosomes. The ZoHSF members were divided into three groups (HSFA, HSFB, and HSFC) based on their gene structure, protein motifs, and phylogenetic relationships with Arabidopsis. Interestingly, we found more collinear gene pairs between ZoHSF and HSF genes from monocots, such as rice, wheat, and banana, than dicots like Arabidopsis thaliana. Additionally, we identified 12 ZoHSF genes that likely arose from duplication events. Promoter analysis revealed that the hormone response elements (MEJA-responsiveness and abscisic acid responsiveness) were dominant among the various cis-elements related to the abiotic stress response in ZoHSF promoters. Expression pattern analysis confirmed differential expression of ZoHSF members across different tissues, with most showing responsiveness to heat and drought stress. This study lays the foundation for further investigations into the functional role of ZoHSFs in regulating abiotic stress responses in ginger. Full article

Heat shock transcription factors (HSFs) are important regulatory factors in plant stress responses to various biotic and abiotic stresses and play important roles in growth and development. The HSF gene family has been systematically identified and analyzed in many plants but it is not in the tetraploid alfalfa genome. We detected 104 HSF genes (MsHSFs) in the tetraploid alfalfa genome (“Xinjiangdaye” reference genome) and classified them into three subgroups: 68 in HSFA, 35 in HSFB and 1 in HSFC subgroups. Basic bioinformatics analysis, including genome location, protein sequence length, protein molecular weight and conserved motif identification, was conducted. Gene expression analysis revealed tissue-specific expression for 13 MsHSFs and tissue-wide expression for 28 MsHSFs. Based on transcriptomic data analysis, 21, 11 and 27 MsHSFs responded to drought stress, cold stress and salt stress, respectively, with seven responding to all three. According to RT–PCR, MsHSF27/33 expression gradually increased with cold, salt and drought stress condition duration; MsHSF6 expression increased over time under salt and drought stress conditions but decreased under cold stress. Our results provide key information for further functional analysis of MsHSFs and for genetic improvement of stress resistance in alfalfa. Full article