To improve transgene expression level, we synthesized a truncated insecticidal gene m-cry1Ac by increasing its GC content from 37.4 to 54.8%, based on the codon usage pattern of sugarcane genes, and transferred it into two sugarcane cultivars (ROC16 and YT79-177) by microprojectile bombardment. The integration sites and expression pattern of the transgene were determined, respectively, by Southern, northern and western blot analyses. The transgenic sugarcane lines produced up to 50 ng Cry1Ac protein per mg soluble proteins, which was about fivefold higher than that produced by the partially modified s-cry1Ac (GC% = 47.5%). In greenhouse plant assay, about 62% of the transgenic lines exhibited excellent resistance to heavy infestation by stem borers. In field trials, the m-cry1Ac transgenic sugarcane lines expressing high levels of Cry1Ac were immune from insect attack. In contrast, expression of s-cry1Ac in transgenic sugarcane plants resulted in moderately decreased damages in internodes (0.4-1.7%) and stalks (13.3-26.7%) in comparison with the untransformed sugarcane controls, which showed about 4 and 26-40% damaged internodes and stalks, respectively. Significantly, these transgenic sugarcane lines with high levels of insect resistance showed similar agronomic and industrial traits as untransformed control plants. Taken together, the findings from this study indicate a promising potential of engineering an insect-resistant gene to tailor its protein expression levels in transgenic sugarcane to combat insect infestations.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses through the receptor, Brassinosteroid-insensitive 1 (BRI1), which perceives BRs and initiates BR signaling. There is considerable potential agricultural value in regulating BR signaling in crops. In this study, we investigated the effects of overexpressing the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) BRI1 gene, SlBRI1, on major agronomic traits, such as seed germination, vegetative growth, fruit ethylene production, carotenoid accumulation, yield, and quality attributes. SlBRI1 overexpression enhanced the endogenous BR signaling intensity thereby increasing the seed germination rate, lateral root number, hypocotyl length, CO2 assimilation, plant height, and flower size. The transgenic plants also showed an increase in fruit yield and fruit number per plant, although the mean weight of individual fruit was reduced, compared with wild type. SlBRI1 overexpression also promoted fruit ripening and ethylene production, and caused an increase in levels of carotenoids, ascorbic acid, soluble solids, and soluble sugars during fruit ripening. An increased BR signaling intensity mediated by SlBRI1 overexpression was therefore positively correlated with carotenoid accumulation and fruit nutritional quality. Our results indicate that enhancing BR signaling by overexpression of SlBRI1 in tomato has the potential to improve multiple major agronomic traits.

Human beings expose to ultraviolet usually and utilize ultraviolet to make a better life such as sterilization and flame sensing. Thus, precise sensing of ultraviolet, especially weak ultraviolet, is of great importance to take advantage of invisible ultraviolet light safely and reliably. [1] The performance of a photodetector is strongly dependent on sensing materials. ZnO, a wide bandgap semiconductor (3.37 eV), possesses large exciton binding energy (≈60 meV), at room temperature and is an environmentally-friendly material that is tolerant of chemicals and radiation. [2][3][4][5] Accordingly, ZnO is an excellent candidate for manufacturing UV photodetectors. However, ZnO-based photodetectors are still confronted with the low responsivity for UV light with low power density. Furthermore, there is also some weakness for fabricating ZnO-based photodetectors. For example, persistent photoconductivity (PPC) prolongs the recovery time noticeably owing to inherent oxygen vacancies in ZnO. [6,7] To solve those issues above mentioned are beneficial to constructing high performance ZnO-based photodetectors that have high responsivity, high detectivity, and fast response and recovery.Two strategies, including piezoelectric effect and pyroelectric effect, are used to address the above issues. Piezoelectric effect and pyroelectric effect are inherent characteristics of ZnO, owing to the noncentral-symmetric crystal structure. [8,9] Piezoelectric polarization charges within the interface are able to modulate the charge carriers' separation and recombination effectively. [10] This phenomenon is known as the piezophototronic effect and can be used to promote the performance of ZnO-based photodetectors such as sensitivity and responsivity. [11][12][13][14] Photothermal conversion in ZnO will contribute to pyroelectric effect during illumination. Hence, pyro-phototronic effect is also utilized to develop ZnO photodetectors, for combining pyroelectric effect and photoexcitation effect. [2,[15][16][17] Coupling pyro-phototronic effect and piezo-phototronic effect is an useful method to further improve performance of ZnO-based photodetectors. [18][19][20] Because pyroelectric and piezoelectric effects are both based on the polarization charges generated Ultraviolet detection is overriding priority in many military and civilian fields. A photodetector can be effectively enhanced by introducing piezophototronic effect, pyro-phototronic effect, and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Coupling piezo-phototronic, pyro-phototronic, and LSPR effect can be realized in a self-powered photodetector based on ZnO/CuO nanorods covered with Au nanoparticles (NPs). The influences of LSPR, pyroelectric and external pressure on the performance of devices are thoroughly investigated, respectively. ZnO/CuO/Au devices display the most attractive performance under pressure of 73.7 N. The maxima of responsivity and detectivity are obtained as 0.81 mA W -1 and 3.3 × 10 13 Jones, respectively, under pressure of 73.7 N when detecting weak ultravio...