Fajun Li

The duckweed family Lemnaceae, aquatic plants within the early‐diverging monocot order Alismatales, are model organisms in plant biology. Owing to their exceptionally rapid growth rates, high protein content, notable capacity for starch accumulation, and demonstrated utility in phytoremediation, duckweeds are increasingly recognized as promising candidates for diverse biotechnological applications spanning environmental remediation, bioenergy production, and sustainable biomass generation. Mixotrophy‐the capacity of autotrophic plants to utilize exogenous organic carbon‐is increasingly recognized as widespread in aquatic ecosystems, yet it has been less studied in duckweeds compared to microalgae and cyanobacteria. Here, we compile evidence from physiological, structural, and environmental perspectives supporting mixotrophy and heterotrophy in duckweeds, a clonal, genomically tractable angiosperm with rapid vegetative growth and direct environmental exchange, offering advantages beyond microalgal models. We emphasize mechanisms that enable mixotrophy to achieve synergistic outcomes beyond the additive effects of autotrophy and heterotrophy. Additionally, we explore the ecological and biotechnological significance of these trophic strategies and propose that duckweeds represent a valuable model for understanding mixotrophy across aquatic plants and for linking microalgal findings with higher‐plant physiology.

As part of one of the main ruminants, goat salivary glands hardly secrete digestive enzymes, but play an important role in immunity. The immune function of goat salivary glands significantly changes with age, while the expression profile and specific function of non-coding RNA during this process are unknown. In this study, transcriptome sequencing was performed on submandibular gland (SMG) tissues of 1-month-old, 12-month-old, and 24-month-old goats, revealing the expression patterns of lncRNA and circRNA at different ages. A total of 369 lncRNAs and 1699 circRNAs were found to be differentially expressed. Functional enrichment analyses showed that the lncRNA regulated target mRNAs and circRNA host genes were significantly enriched in immune-related GO terms and pathways. CeRNA network analysis showed that the key differentially expressed circRNAs and lncRNAs mainly regulate the key immune-related genes ITGB2, LCP2, PTPRC, SYK, and ZAP70 through competitive binding with miR-141-x, miR-29-y, and chi-miR-29b-3p, thereby affecting the natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathway, the T cell receptor signaling pathway, and other immune-related pathways. It should be noted that the expression of key circRNAs, lncRNAs, and key immune-related genes in goat SMGs decreased significantly with the growth of the goat. This is the first reporting of lncRNAs, circRNAs, and ceRNA network regulation in goat SMGs. Our study contributes to the knowledge of changes in the expression of non-coding RNAs during SMG development in goats and provides new insights into the relationship between non-coding RNAs and salivary gland immune function in goats.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) gray leaf spot disease is a predominant foliar disease of tomato in China that is caused mainly by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Stemphylium lycopersici. Little is known regarding the pathogenic mechanisms of this broad-host-range pathogen. In this study, a comparative transcriptomic analysis was performed and more genetic information on the pathogenicity determinants of S. lycopersici during the infection process in tomato were obtained. Through an RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis, 1,642 and 1,875 genes upregulated during the early infection and necrotrophic phases, respectively, were identified and significantly enriched in 44 and 24 pathways, respectively. The induction of genes associated with pectin degradation, adhesion, and colonization was notable during the early infection phase, whereas during the necrotrophic phase, some structural molecule activity-related genes were prominently induced. Additionally, some genes involved in signal regulation or encoding hemicellulose- and cellulose-degrading enzymes and extracellular proteases were commonly upregulated during pathogenesis. Overall, we present some putative key genes and processes that may be crucial for S. lycopersici pathogenesis. The abilities to adhere and colonize a host surface, effectively damage host cell walls, regulate signal transduction to manage infection, and survive in a hostile plant environment are proposed as important factors for the pathogenesis of S. lycopersici in tomato. The functional characterization of these genes provides an invaluable resource for analyses of this important pathosystem between S. lycopersici and tomato, and it may facilitate the generation of control strategies against this devastating disease.

Background: Genome walking is a DNA-cloning methodology that is used to isolate unknown genomic regions adjacent to known sequences. However, the existing genome-walking methods have their own limitations. Objectives: Our aim was to provide a simple and efficient genome-walking technology. Material and Methods: In this paper, we developed a novel PCR strategy (termed SLRA PCR) that uses a single long primer (SLP), a set of gene specific primers (GSP), and a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primer for genome walking. SLRA PCR consists of two processes: the first amplification using SLP, and three successive rounds of nested PCR amplified by GSP and RAPD primer. The novelty of the approach lies in the use of long primers (SLP and GSP) and same annealing and extension temperature 68℃ in combination. This method offers higher amplification efficiency, superior versatility, and greater simplicity compared with conventional randomly primed PCR methods for genome walking. Results: The promoter regions and the first introns of theinsulin-like androgenic gland hormone (IAG) gene and the hemocyanin gene of Macrobrachium nipponense were cloned using SLRA PCR, respectively. Conclusions: This genome walking strategy can be applied to a wide range of genomes.