Two additives (Silo Guard (SG) and propionic acid (PA)) were tested for their effects on the quality and aerobic security of sorghum–sudangrass hybrid silages (JC‐1 and WC‐2). Two sorghum–sudangrass hybrid varieties were harvested for ensiling without additives (CK) or after the following treatments: SG at 0·5% of fresh forage or PA at 0·5% of fresh forage, with three replicates per treatment. The addition of SG and PA both affected the fermentation quality and chemical composition of the silages by lowering pH and NH3‐N/TN and increasing lactic acid, the LA/TA ratio, WSC and CP concentrations compared with the untreated silages. In vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD), in vitro NDF digestibility (IVNDFD) and in vitro CP digestibility (IVCPD) were increased by SG in the JC‐1 silages and WC‐2 silages. Both additives improved the aerobic stability of sorghum–sudangrass hybrid silages. Furthermore, the additives reduced the mould counts and the aflatoxin and zearalenone levels compared with the untreated silages following aerobic exposure. Therefore, ensiling two sorghum–sudangrass hybrid varieties resulted in high‐quality silages. The addition of SG and PA improved silage quality, in vitro digestibility and aerobic security.

Warty fruit in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important quality trait that greatly affects fruit appearance and market value. The cucumber wart consists of fruit trichomes (spines) and underlying tubercules, in which the existence of spines is prerequisite for tubercule formation. Although several regulators have been reported to mediate spine or tubercule formation, the direct link between spine and tubercule development remains unknown. Here, we found that the basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) gene HECATE2 (CsHEC2) was highly expressed in cucumber fruit peels including spines and tubercules. Knockout of CsHEC2 by the CRISPR/Cas9 system resulted in reduced wart density and decreased cytokinin accumulation in the fruit peel, whereas overexpression of CsHEC2 led to elevated wart density and cytokinin level. CsHEC2 directly bound to the promoter of the cytokinin hydroxylase-like1 gene (CsCHL1) that catalyzes cytokinin biosynthesis, and activated CsCHL1 expression. Moreover, CsHEC2 physically interacted with GLABROUS3 (CsGL3, a key spine regulator) and Tuberculate fruit (CsTu, a core tubercule formation factor), and such interactions further enhanced CsHEC2-mediated CsCHL1 expression. These data suggested that CsHEC2 promotes wart formation by acting as an important cofactor for CsGL3 and CsTu to directly stimulate cytokinin biosynthesis in cucumber. Thus, CsHEC2 can serve as a valuable target for molecular breeding of cucumber varieties with different wart density requirements.

We detected seven QTLs for 100-grain weight in sorghum using an F 2 population, and delimited qGW1 to a 101-kb region on the short arm of chromosome 1, which contained 13 putative genes. Sorghum is one of the most important cereal crops. Breeding high-yielding sorghum varieties will have a profound impact on global food security. Grain weight is an important component of grain yield. It is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs); however, the genetic basis of grain weight in sorghum is not well understood. In the present study, using an F2 population derived from a cross between the grain sorghum variety SA2313 (Sorghum bicolor) and the Sudan-grass variety Hiro-1 (S. bicolor), we detected seven QTLs for 100-grain weight. One of them, qGW1, was detected consistently over 2 years and contributed between 20 and 40 % of the phenotypic variation across multiple genetic backgrounds. Using extreme recombinants from a fine-mapping F3 population, we delimited qGW1 to a 101-kb region on the short arm of chromosome 1, containing 13 predicted gene models, one of which was found to be under purifying selection during domestication. However, none of the grain size candidate genes shared sequence similarity with previously cloned grain weight-related genes from rice. This study will facilitate isolation of the gene underlying qGW1 and advance our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of grain weight. SSR markers linked to the qGW1 locus can be used for improving sorghum grain yield through marker-assisted selection.

Anther and ovule genesis preconditions crop fertilization and fruit production; however, coordinative regulation of anther and ovule development and underlying molecular pathways remain largely elusive. Here, we found that SPOROCYTELESS (SPL)/NOZZLE (NZZ) expression was nearly abolished in a Cucumis sativus (cucumber) mutant with severely defective anther and ovule development. CsSPL was expressed specifically in the developing anthers and ovules. Knock-down of CsSPL reduced male and female fertility with malformed pollen and suppressed ovule development. Importantly, CsSPL directly interacted with CsWUS (WUSCHEL) in the nucellus and YABBY family genes in integuments, and positively regulated CsWUS expression, meanwhile the HD-ZIP III gene CsPHB (PHABULOSA), expressed specifically in the nucellus, promoted CsSPL expression by binding to the CsSPL promoter. Thus, CsSPL acts as an adaptor to link CsPHB and CsWUS functioning, underpinning a previously unidentified regulatory pathway orchestrating sex organ development in planta. In addition, auxin accumulation was reduced in the reproductive organs of CsSPL knock-down plants. Biochemical analyses further showed that CsSPL stimulated the expression of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 3 (CsARF3), and was positively regulated by CsARF13 during reproductive organ development, indicating sequential interactions of CsSPL with auxin signaling components in orchestrating anther and ovule development.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) may be caused by a combination of environmental factors and genetic variants. The present study was to evaluate the association between haplotype-tagging SNPs (htSNPs) of lincRNA-NR_024015 and the risk of ESCC. We selected htSNPs across the whole 1469 bp lincRNA-NR_024015 locus and 2 kb upstream as well as 2 kb downstream regions of the gene and conducted a case-control study in 581 ESCC cases and 677 healthy controls to test the effects of functional lincRNA-NR_024015 htSNPs on ESCC susceptibility. Of the seven potential functional htSNPs, rs8506 AA genotype was found to be associated with increased risk of ESCC. Further stratification analysis showed that the risk effect was more pronounced in male patients and patients with TNM stage III and IV. LincRNA-NR_024015 was predominantly expressed in cytoplasm of esophageal cancer cells. The expression level of lincRNA-NR_024015 in ESCC tumor tissues was significantly higher than that in corresponding normal tissues and rs8506 genotype has a genotype-specific effect on lincRNA-NR_024015 expression. Furthermore, rs8506 G to A variant might influence lincRNA-NR_024015 expression and function by disrupting the binding of hsa-miR-526b to the site. High expression level of lincRNA-NR_024015 and rs8506 A allele were associated with poor ESCC patients' survival. These findings indicate that functional polymorphism rs8506 G>A in lincRNA-NR_024015 exon may be a genetic modifier for the development of ESCC and lincRNA-NR_024015 may be a useful marker for the prediction of the biological behavior of ESCC. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.