Key message Map-based cloning, subcellular localization, virus-induced-gene-silencing and transcriptomic analysis reveal HvTUB8 as a candidate gene with pleiotropic effects on barley spike and leaf development via ethylene and chlorophyll metabolism. Abstract Barley lateral spikelet morphology and grain shape play key roles in grain physical quality and yield. Several genes and QTLs for these traits have been cloned or fine ma...

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered form of cell death accompanied by iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Both biotic and abiotic stresses can induce ferroptosis in plant cells. In the case of plant interactions with pathogenic Phytophthora oomycetes, the roles of ferroptosis are still largely unknown. Here, we performed transcriptome analysis on soybean plants treated with the biocontrol agent Pythium oligandrum , a soilb...

The keel brick wall belongs to the rural residential exterior wall unique to the southeast coastal region of China. The wooden keel inside the wall and the external tie members can improve the stability of the whole wall. However, due to the age of construction, the wooden keel inside the existing residential keel brick walls has basically rotted and lost the tie with the external members, which seriously reduces the stability...

Oysters and barnacles are dominant inhabitants of natural and restored oyster reefs around the world, and high areal coverage of barnacles at natural or restored reefs commonly decreases substrate accessibility for oyster settlement. The overall understanding of oyster and barnacle recruitment dynamics provides invaluable information on site selection and strategies employed for oyster reef restoration. This study documented t...

Haloxylon ammodendron is an excellent windproof and sand-fixing species whose shrubs are widely cultivated in arid desert areas of northwest China but are now at risk of degradation and shrinkage. Using the chlorophyll fluorescence image analysis technique, the response of photosystem II (PSII) photochemical efficiency and non-photochemical quenching capacity to sediment-carrying wind and sand-free wind (both 12 m s −1 ) lasti...