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Presbyopia is highly prevalent in rural China, and nearly half of affected persons have no access to correction. Interventions should focus on education and improvement in the quality of refractive services.

Background Natural model systems are indispensable for exploring adaptations in response to environmental pressures. Sinocyclocheilus of China, the most diverse cavefish clade in the world (75 species), provide unique opportunities to understand recurrent evolution of stereotypic traits (such as eye loss and sensory expansion) in the context of a deep and diverse phylogenetic group. However, they remain poorly understood in terms of their morphological evolution. Therefore, we explore key patterns of morphological evolution, habitat utilization and geographic distribution in these fishes. Results We constructed phylogenies and categorized 49 species based on eye-related condition (Blind, Micro-eyed, and Normal-eyed), habitat types (Troglobitic—cave-restricted; Troglophilic—cave-associated; Surface—outside caves) and existence of horns. Geometric-morphometric analyses show Normal-eyed morphs with fusiform shapes segregating from Blind/Micro-eyed deeper bodied morphs along the first principal-component axis; second axis accounts for shape complexity related to horns. The body shapes showed a significant association with eye-related condition and horn, but not habitat types. Ancestral reconstructions suggest at least three independent origins of Blind morphs, each with different levels of modification in relation to their ancestral Normal-eyed morphs; Sinocyclocheilus are also pre-adapted for cave dwelling. Our geophylogeny shows an east-to-west diversification spanning Pliocene and Pleistocene, with early-diversifying Troglobitic species dominating subterranean habitats of karstic plains whereas predominantly Surface forms inhabit hills to the west. Evolutionary rates analyses suggest that lineages leading to Blind morphs were characterized by significant rate shifts, such as a slowdown in body size evolution and a 5–20 fold increase in rate of eye regression, possibly explained by limited resource availability. Body size and eye size have undergone reversals, but not horns, a trait entailing considerable time to form. Conclusions Sinocyclocheilus occupied cave habitats in response to drying associated with aridification of China during late Miocene and the Pliocene. The prominent cave-adaptations (eye-regression, horn-evolution) occur in clades associated with the extensive subterranean cave system in Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. Integration of morphology, phylogeny, rate analyses, molecular-dating and distribution show not only several remarkable patterns of evolution, but also interesting exceptions to these patterns signifying the diversification of Sinocyclocheilus as an invaluable model system to explore evolutionary novelty.

Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS), the germination of grain before harvest, is a serious problem resulting in wheat yield and quality losses.Here, we mapped the PHS resistance gene PHS-3D from synthetic hexaploid wheat to a 2.4 Mb presence-absence variation (PAV) region and found that its resistance effect was attributed to the pleiotropic Myb10-D by integrated omics and functional analyses.Three haplotypes were detected in this PAV region among 262 worldwide wheat lines and 16 Aegilops tauschii, and the germination percentages of wheat lines containing Myb10-D was approximately 40% lower than that of the other lines. Transcriptome and metabolome profiling indicated that Myb10-D affected the transcription of genes in both the flavonoid and abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis pathways, which resulted in increases in flavonoids and ABA in transgenic wheat lines. Myb10-D activates 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (NCED) by biding the secondary wall MYB-responsive element (SMRE) to promote ABA biosynthesis in early wheat seed development stages.We revealed that the newly discovered function of Myb10-D confers PHS resistance by enhancing ABA biosynthesis to delay germination in wheat. The PAV harboring Myb10-D associated with grain color and PHS will be useful for understanding and selecting white grained PHS resistant wheat cultivars.

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Pogostemon cablin, the natural source of patchouli alcohol, is an important herb in the Lamiaceae family. Here, we present the entire chloroplast genome of P. cablin. This genome, with 38.24% GC content, is 152,460 bp in length. The genome presents a typical quadripartite structure with two inverted repeats (each 25,417 bp in length), separated by one small and one large single-copy region (17,652 and 83,974 bp in length, respectively). The chloroplast genome encodes 127 genes, of which 107 genes are single-copy, including 79 protein-coding genes, four rRNA genes, and 24 tRNA genes. The genome structure, GC content, and codon usage of this chloroplast genome are similar to those of other species in the family, except that it encodes less protein-coding genes and tRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that P. cablin diverged from the Scutellarioideae clade about 29.45 million years ago (Mya). Furthermore, most of the simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are short polyadenine or polythymine repeats that contribute to high AT content in the chloroplast genome. Complete sequences and annotation of P. cablin chloroplast genome will facilitate phylogenic, population and genetic engineering research investigations involving this particular species.

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