Recently, to improve the applicability of transition-metal carbon/nitride (MXene) shielding devices by integrating with nanomaterials and polymers has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. Although the addition of insulation enhancement...

Abstract:To reveal the possible mechanism of silica deposition in higher plants, lignin was isolated from rice straw following a modified method to conduct a simulation experiment in vitro. UV and infrared absorption spectra showed that the substance had the unique characteristics of pure lignin. The presence of silicon in the precipitation was revealed by TEM (transmission electron microscopy) with EDXA (energy dispersive X-ray analysis) device. It was found that in the borax solution where lignin precipitation occurred silica-lignin co-precipitation was produced but not in the DMSO solution where lignin was broken into its composition compounds and did not precipitate. This means that it is macromolecular lignin itself but not its compounds that could induce silica deposition in higher plants.

2015):Biosorption of fluoride from drinking water using spent mushroom compost biochar coated with aluminum hydroxide, Desalination and Water Treatment, A low-cost and highly efficient biosorbent for the removal of fluoride from drinking water from spent mushroom compost (SMC) that was carbonized (spent mushroom compost biochar, SMCB) coated by aluminum hydroxide. Adsorption studies were performed to investigate the influence of adsorbent dosage, initial fluoride concentration, contact time, pH, and coexisting ions on fluoride adsorption. The fluoride adsorption capacity of the coated SMCB was greater than that of uncoated SMCB. Fluoride adsorption by coated SMCB followed the Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 36.5 mg/g. The fluoride concentration could be reduced to below 1 mg/L from an initial fluoride concentration of 10 mg/L. While the pH of the solution did play an important role in the fluoride removal capacity, with the SMCB performed well under a wide pH range, from 6.0 to 8.0. These findings indicate that fluoride can effectively be removed from drinking water using modified mushroom cultivation waste biomass.

Floral nectar can affect the fitness of insect-pollinated plants, through both attraction and manipulation of pollinators. Self-incompatible insect-pollinated plants receive more insect visits than their self-compatible relatives, and the nectar of such species might face increased risk of infestation by pathogens carried by pollinators than self-compatible plants. Proteins in nectar (nectarins) play an important role in protecting the nectar, but little is known regarding nectarins in self-incompatible species. The nectarins from a self-incompatible and insect-pollinated leguminous crop, Canavalia gladiata, were separated using two-dimensional electrophoresis and analysed using mass spectrometry. The predominant nectarin gene was cloned and the gene expression pattern investigated using quantitative real-time PCR. Chitinolytic activity in the nectar was tested with different substrates. The C. gladiata nectar proteome only has one predominant nectarin, an acidic class III chitinase (CaChi3). The full-length CaChi3 gene was cloned, coding for a protein of 298 amino acids with a predicted signal peptide. CaChi3 is very similar to members of the class III chitinase family, whose evolution is dominated by purifying selection. CaChi3 was expressed in both nectary and leaves. CaChi3 has thermostable chitinolytic activity according to glycol-chitin zymography or a fluorogenic substratem but has no lysozyme activity. Chitinase might be a critical protein component in nectar. The extremely simple nectar proteome in C. gladiata disproves the hypothesis that self-incompatible species always have more complex nectar proteomes. Accessibility of nectar might be a significant determinant of the evolutionary pressure to develop nectar defence mechanisms.

Floral nectar chitinase is a potential marker for monofloral honey botanical origin authentication: a case study from loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.

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Main conclusionThe tobacco nectar proteome mainly consists of pathogenesis-related proteins with two glycoproteins. Expression of nectarins was nonsynchronous, and not nectary specific. After secretion, tobacco nectar changed from sucrose-rich to hexose-rich.Floral nectar proteins (nectarins) play important roles in inhibiting microbial growth in nectar, and probably also tailoring nectar chemistry before or after secretion; however very few plant species have had their nectar proteomes thoroughly investigated. Nectarins from Nicotiana tabacum (NT) were separated using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and then analyzed using mass spectrometry. Seven nectarins were identified: acidic endochitinase, β-xylosidase, α-galactosidase, α-amylase, G-type lectin S-receptor-like serine/threonine-protein kinase, pathogenesis-related protein 5, and early nodulin-like protein 2. An eighth nectarin, a glycoprotein with unknown function, was identified following isolation from NT nectar using a Qproteome total glycoprotein kit, separation by SDS-PAGE, and identification by mass spectrometry. Expression of all identified nectarins, plus four invertase genes, were analysed by qRT PCR; none of these genes had nectary-specific expression, and none had synchronous expression. The total content of sucrose, hexoses, proteins, phenolics and hydrogen peroxide were determined at different time intervals in secreted nectar, both within the nectar tube (in vivo) and following extraction from it during incubation at 30 °C for up to 40 h in plastic tubes (in vitro). After secretion, the ratio of hexose to sucrose substantially increased for in vivo nectar, but no sugar composition changes were detected in vitro. This implies that sucrose hydrolysis in vivo might be done by fixed apoplastic invertase. In addition, both protein and hydrogen peroxide levels declined in vitro but not in vivo, implying that some factors other than nectarins act to maintain their levels in the flower, after secretion.

In this article Fig. 5c y-axis panel should read as "µg ml −1 ", not "mg ml −1 ". The corrected Fig. 5 is given below.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.