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To elucidate the mechanisms underlying seed development in maize, comprehensive RNA-seq analyses were conducted on Zhengdan1002 (ZD1002), Zhengdan958 (ZD958), and their parental lines during seven seed developmental stages. We found that gene expression levels were largely nonadditive in hybrids and that cis-only or trans × cis pattern played a large role in hybrid gene regulation during seed developmental stage. Weighted gene co-expression network (WGCNA) analysis showed that 36 modules were highly correlated (r = −0.90–0.92, p < 0.05) with kernel weight, length, and width during seed development. Forty-five transcription factors and 38 ribosomal protein genes were identified as major hub genes determining seed size/weight. We also described a network hub, Auxin Response Factor 12 of maize (ZmARF12), a member of a family of transcription factor that mediate gene expression in response to auxin, potentially links auxin signal pathways, cell division, and the size of the seeds. The ZmARF12 mutant exhibited larger seed size and higher grain weight. ZmARF12 transcription was negatively associated with cell division during seed development, which was confirmed by evaluating the yield of protoplasts that isolated from the kernels of the mutant and other inbred lines. Transient knock-down of ZmARF12 in maize plants facilitated cell expansion and division, whereas transient silencing of its potential interactor ZmIAA8 impaired cell division. ZmIAA8 expression was repressed in the ZmARF12 over-expressed protoplasts. The mutant phenotype and the genetics studies presented here illustrated evidence that ZmARF12 is a cell division repressor, and potentially determines the final seed size.

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Recently, the reported Perovskite/Ruddlesden-Popper composite with significant improvement of oxygen surface kinetics has been adopted into gas separation process. Here, we report a novel La 0.7 Sr 0.3 FeO 3 − δ /(La 0.5 Sr 0.5 ) 2 CoO 4 + δ (LSF-LSC) composite hollow fiber membrane (HFM), which was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and thermal expansion test, etc. The O 2 permeation test results indicated that, under sweeping gas of pure He (100 mL min −1 ), the composite HFM exhibited the superior O 2 permeability (0.72 mL min −1 cm −2 ) at the temperature of 950°C with respect to the single La 0.7 Sr 0.3 FeO 3 − δ (LSF) membrane, acid-etched membrane, and (La 0.5 Sr 0.5 ) 2 CoO 4 + δ (LSC)-coated membrane. Moreover, the composite membrane exhibited high CO 2 tolerance as well as phase stability. The generation of hetero-interface between Ruddlesden-Popper phase and perovskite phase could be responsible for the improvement of the oxygen transportation over the fabricated composite membrane.

Verticillium wilt (VW) is a soil borne fungal diseases caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb, and lead to serious damage to cotton production annually in the world. In our previous study, a transmembrane protein 214 protein (TMEM214) gene associated with VW resistance was map-based cloned from Gossypium barbadense (G. barbadense). TMEM214 proteins are a kind of transmembrane protein, but their function in plants is rarely studied. To reveal the function of TMEM214s in VW resistance, all six TMEM214s were cloned from G. barbadense in this study. These genes were named as GbTMEM214-1, GbTMEM214-4 and GbTMEM214-7 according to their location on the chromosomes, and the encoded proteins are all located on cell membrane. TMEM214 genes were all induced by Verticillium dahliae inoculation and showed significant differences between resistant and susceptible varieties, but the expression patterns of GbTMEM214s under different hormone treatments were significantly different. Virus-induced gene silencing analysis showed the resistance to VW of GbTMEM214s-silenced lines decreased significantly, which further proves the important role of GbTMEM214s in the resistance to Verticillium dahliae. Our study provides an insight into the involvement of GbTMEM214s in VW resistance, which was helpful to better understand the disease resistance mechanism of plants.