Purpose The highly efficient degradation bacteria were selected from the humus from the very cold straw in China for many years to construct the in situ degradation bacteria, and the degradation efficiency of corn straw was determined by process optimization. Methods According to the main components of corn straw, through morphological, physiological, and biochemical screening, three highly efficient complementary degradation strains were selected to construct the compound flora, and the degradation efficiency was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffractometer. Result The corn straw selected in this paper is mainly composed of cellulose (31.99%), hemicellulose (25.33%), and lignin (14.67%). Through the determination of enzyme activity, strain Streptomyces sp. G1T has high decomposition ability to cellulose and hemicellulose but weak utilization ability to lignin; strain Streptomyces sp. G2T has the strongest decomposition ability to cellulose and hemicellulose among the three strains. The decomposition ability of strain Streptomyces sp. G3T to lignin was the strongest among the three strains. Therefore, by compounding the three strains, the decomposition ability has been greatly improved. The optimal process conditions obtained by single factor and response surface method are as follows: pH is 7, temperature is 30 °C, inoculation amount is 5%, rotational speed is 210 rpm, and the weight loss rate of straw is 60.55% after decomposing for 7 days. A large amount of degradation of corn straw can be seen by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffractometer. Conclusion Streptomyces sp. G1T, Streptomyces sp. G2T, and Streptomyces sp. G3T screened from straw humus in very cold areas were used to construct in situ degradation bacteria, which had good straw degradation activity and had the potential to be used for straw treatment in cold areas after harvest. This characteristic makes the complex bacteria become a strong competitive candidate for industrial production, and it is also an effective biotechnology in line with the current recycling of resources.

More efficient photosynthesis has allowed C4 plants to adapt to more diverse ecosystems (such as hot and arid conditions) than C3 plants. To better understand C4 photosynthesis, we investigated the expression patterns of C4 genes (C4PPDK and PCK1) and their non-C4 homologous genes (CyPPDK1, CyPPDK2, and PCK2) in the different organs of maize (Zea mays). Both C4 genes and non-C4 genes showed organ-dependent expression patterns. The mRNA levels of C4 genes were more abundant in leaf organ than in seeds at 25 days after pollination (DAP), while non-C4 genes were mainly expressed in developing seeds. Further, acetylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9ac) positively correlates with mRNA levels of C4 genes (C4PPDK and PCK1) in roots, stems, leaves, and seeds at 25 DAP, acetylation of histone H4 lysine 5 (H4K5ac) in the promoter regions of both C4 (C4PPDK and PCK1) and non-C4 genes (CyPPDK1, CyPPDK2, and PCK2) correlated well with their transcripts abundance in stems. In photosynthetic organs (stems and leaves), dimethylation of histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9me2) negatively correlated with mRNA levels of both C4 and non-C4 genes. Taken together, our data suggest that histone modification was involved in the transcription regulation of both C4 genes and non-C4 genes, which might provide a clue of the functional evolution of C4 genes.

No abstract