Brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens Stål, is one of the most devastating insect pests of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Currently, 30 BPHresistance genes have been genetically defined, most of which are clustered on specific chromosome regions. Here, we describe molecular cloning and characterization of a BPH-resistance gene, BPH9, mapped on the long arm of rice chromosome 12 (12L). BPH9 encodes a rare type of nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat (NLR)-containing protein that localizes to the endomembrane system and causes a cell death phenotype. BPH9 activates salicylic acidand jasmonic acid-signaling pathways in rice plants and confers both antixenosis and antibiosis to BPH. We further demonstrated that the eight BPH-resistance genes that are clustered on chromosome 12L, including the widely used BPH1, are allelic with each other. To honor the priority in the literature, we thus designated this locus as BPH1/9. These eight genes can be classified into four allelotypes, BPH1/9-1, -2, -7, and -9. These allelotypes confer varying levels of resistance to different biotypes of BPH. The coding region of BPH1/9 shows a high level of diversity in rice germplasm. Homologous fragments of the nucleotide-binding (NB) and leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains exist, which might have served as a repository for generating allele diversity. Our findings reveal a rice plant strategy for modifying the genetic information to gain the upper hand in the struggle against insect herbivores. Further exploration of natural allelic variation and artificial shuffling within this gene may allow breeding to be tailored to control emerging biotypes of BPH.brown planthopper | plant-insect interaction | CNL protein | allelotype | evolution
With its excellent mechanical flexibility, low-cost and low-temperature processing, the solution processed organic field-effect transistor (OFET) is a promising platform technology for developing ubiquitous sensor applications in digital health, environment monitoring and Internet of Things. However, a contradiction between achieving low voltage operation and having stable performance severely hinder the technology to become commercially viable. This work shows that, by reducing the sub-gap density of states (DOS) at the channel for low operation voltage and using a proper low-k non-polar polymer dielectric layer, such an issue can be addressed. Stable electrical properties after either being placed for weeks or continuously prolonged bias stressing for hours in ambient air are achieved for all solution processed unencapsulated OFETs with the channel being exposed to the ambient air for analyte detection. The fabricated device presents a steep subthreshold swing less than 100 mV/decade, and an ON/OFF ratio of 106 at a voltage swing of 3 V. The low voltage and stable operation allows the sensor made of the OFET to be incorporated into a battery-powered electronic system for continuously reliable sensing of ammonia vapor in ambient air with very small power consumption of about 50 nW.
Self-assembled polydiacetylene (PDA) vesicles, with the
distinct
advantages of low-cost materials, simple preparation, and excellent
chromatic properties, can be perfectly combined with a colorimetric
strip for on-site inspection. Herein, without involving expensive
reagents and instruments, a visual colorimetric strip based on well-prepared
PDA vesicles was developed to analyze and monitor histamine in deep-sea
fish and its canned food. The standard calorimetric card for semiquantitative
detection of histamine was successfully prepared and the quantitative
detection can be further realized by analyzing the gray value using
ImageJ and “Color Grab” in a smart phone. After optimizing
the assembly conditions, this assay exhibited a linear response to
histamine within the range from 70 to 2240 ppm. With excellent stability
and sensitivity, this strip can be used to monitor the quality change
of canned fish at different temperatures, so that people can avoid
suffering from histamine poisoning, suggesting that it holds great
potential in the intelligent system for on-site detection and real-time
monitoring.
By inducing tumor-specific immune
responses, tumor vaccines have
recently aroused great research interest. Herein, we design a targeted
nanovaccine by equipping cell membrane vesicles (CMVs) harvested from
tumor cells with functional DNA including CpG oligonucleotide, an
agonist for toll-like receptor 9, as well as an aptamer targeting
the dendritic cell (DC)-specific intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-3
grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) receptor overexpressed on DCs. Such
DNA-modified CMVs could target DCs and further stimulate their maturation.
Notably, our nanovaccines could trigger robust antitumor immune responses
to effective delay the tumor growth. Moreover, the combination of
CMV-based nanovaccines with an immune checkpoint blockade could result
in improved therapeutic responses by eliminating the majority of the
tumors as well as long-term immune memory to prevent tumor recurrence.
Therefore, by simply assembling functional DNA on CMVs harvested from
tumor cells, we propose a general platform of DC-targeted personalized
cancer vaccines for effective and specific cancer immunotherapy.
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