Azaleas (Ericaceae) comprise one of the most diverse ornamental plants, renowned for their cultural and economic importance. We present a chromosome-scale genome assembly for Rhododendron simsii, the primary ancestor of azalea cultivars. Genome analyses unveil the remnants of an ancient whole-genome duplication preceding the radiation of most Ericaceae, likely contributing to the genomic architecture of flowering time. Small-scale gene duplications contribute to the expansion of gene families involved in azalea pigment biosynthesis. We reconstruct entire metabolic pathways for anthocyanins and carotenoids and their potential regulatory networks by detailed analysis of time-ordered gene co-expression networks. MYB, bHLH, and WD40 transcription factors may collectively regulate anthocyanin accumulation in R. simsii, particularly at the initial stages of flower coloration, and with WRKY transcription factors controlling progressive flower coloring at later stages. This work provides a cornerstone for understanding the underlying genetics governing flower timing and coloration and could accelerate selective breeding in azalea.

The poor stability of lead (Pb)-free tin (Sn)-based perovskites under only oxygen (O2) condition has attracted extensive research, while their stability under simultaneous light and O2 (light/O2) conditions is unexplored....

A series of composite cross-linked membrane based on fluorine-containing polybenzimidazole (6FPBI) and a cross-linkable polymeric ionic liquid (cPIL) have been prepared for high temperature proton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) applications. Particularly, the obtained composite cross-linked membranes showed excellent phosphoric acid doping ability and proton conductivity. On the basis of the trade-off between mechanical strength and proton conductivity of composite membranes, the optimal content of cPIL is 20 wt % (6FPBI-cPIL 20 membrane). For instance, the 6FPBI-cPIL 20 membrane with a PA doping level of 27.8 exhibited a proton conductivity of 0.106 S cm −1 at 170 °C, which is much higher than that of pristine 6FPBI membrane. The most outstanding contribution of this work is that the 6FPBI-cPIL membranes showed improved phosphoric acid retention and long-term conductivity stability under harsh conditions (80 °C/40% RH) for 96 h. In particular, the proton conductivity and PA doping level of the 6FPBI-cPIL 20 membrane remained at a high level of 0.064 S cm −1 and 8.5 after 96 h of the test, respectively.

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Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is one of the most valued spice plants worldwide; it is prized for its culinary and folk medicinal applications and is therefore of high economic and cultural importance. Here, we present a haplotype-resolved, chromosome-scale assembly for diploid ginger anchored to 11 pseudochromosome pairs with a total length of 3.1 Gb. Remarkable structural variation was identified between haplotypes, and two inversions larger than 15 Mb on chromosome 4 may be associated with ginger infertility. We performed a comprehensive, spatiotemporal, genome-wide analysis of allelic expression patterns, revealing that most alleles are coordinately expressed. The alleles that exhibited the largest differences in expression showed closer proximity to transposable elements, greater coding sequence divergence, more relaxed selection pressure, and more transcription factor binding site differences. We also predicted the transcription factors potentially regulating 6-gingerol biosynthesis. Our allele-aware assembly provides a powerful platform for future functional genomics, molecular breeding, and genome editing in ginger.