Low temperature is an abiotic stress that adversely affects the growth and production of plants. Resistance and adaptation of plants to cold stress is dependent upon the activation of molecular networks and pathways involved in signal transduction and the regulation of cold-stress related genes. Because it has numerous and complex genes, regulation factors, and pathways, research on the ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathway is the most studied and detailed, which is thought to be rather important for cold resistance of plants. In this review, we focus on the function of each member, interrelation among members, and the influence of manipulators and repressors in the ICE-CBF-COR pathway. In addition, regulation and signal transduction concerning plant hormones, circadian clock, and light are discussed. The studies presented provide a detailed picture of the ICE-CBF-COR pathway.

Adverse environmental conditions limit various aspects of plant growth, productivity, and ecological distribution. To get more insights into the signaling pathways under low temperature, we identified 10 C-repeat binding factors (), 9 inducer of CBF expression () and 10 cold-responsive () genes from - composite group under cold stress. Conserved amino acids analysis revealed that all CBF, ICE, COR contained specific and typical functional domains. Phylogenetic analysis of CBF proteins from showed that these CBF homologs were divided into 11 groups. CBFs from were found in every group, which shows that these CBFs generated prior to the divergence of the subfamilies of . The evolutionary relationship among the ICE and COR proteins in were divided into four groups with high multispecies specificity, respectively. Moreover, expression analysis revealed that mRNA accumulation was altered by cold treatment and the genes of three types involved in the ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathway were induced by cold stress. Together, the results make ,, genes family in more abundant, and provide a starting point for future studies on transcriptional regulatory network for improvement of chilling tolerance in crop.

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum genus, Polygonaceae), is an annual or perennial, herbaceous or semi-shrub dicotyledonous plant. There are mainly three cultivated buckwheat species, common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is widely cultivated in Asia, Europe, and America, while Tartary buckwheat (F. tataricum) and F. cymosum (also known as F. dibotrys) are mainly cultivated in China. The genus Fagopyrum is taxonomically confusing due to the complex phenotypes of different Fagopyrum species. In this study, the chloroplast (cp) genomes of three Fagopyrum species, F. longistylum, F. leptopodum, F. urophyllum, were sequenced, and five published cp genomes of Fagopyrum were retrieved for comparative analyses. We determined the sequence differentiation, repeated sequences of the cp genomes, and the phylogeny of Fagopyrum species. The eight cp genomes ranged, gene number, gene order, and GC content were presented. Most of variations of Fagopyrum species cp genomes existed in the LSC and SSC regions. Among eight Fagopyrum chloroplast genomes, six variable regions (ndhF-rpl32, trnS-trnG, trnC, trnE-trnT, psbD, and trnV) were detected as promising DNA barcodes. In addition, a total of 66 different SSR (simple sequence repeats) types were found in the eight Fagopyrum species, ranging from 8 to 16 bp. Interestingly, many SSRs showed significant differences especially in some photosystem genes, which provided valuable information for understanding the differences in light adaptation among different Fagopyrum species. Genus Fagopyrum has shown a typical branch that is distinguished from the Rumex, Rheum, and Reynoutria, which supports the unique taxonomic status in Fagopyrum among the Polygonaceae. In addition, phylogenetic analysis based on the cp genomes strongly supported the division of eight Fagopyrum species into two independent evolutionary directions, suggesting that the separation of cymosum group and urophyllum group may be earlier than the flower type differentiation in Fagopyrum plants. The results of the chloroplast-based phylogenetic tree were further supported by the matK and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) sequences of 17 Fagopyrum species, which may help to further anchor the taxonomic status of other members in the urophyllum group in Fagopyrum. This study provides valuable information and high-quality cp genomes for identifying species and evolutionary analysis for future Fagopyrum research.

N6-methyladenosine (m 6 A) is among the most abundant mRNA modifications, particularly in eukaryotes, and is found in mammals, plants, and even some viruses. Although essential for the regulation of many biological processes, the exact role of m 6 A modification in virus–host interaction remains largely unknown. Here, using m 6 A -immunoprecipitation and sequencing, we find that Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection decreases the m 6 A modification of transcriptional factor KLF4 mRNA and subsequently increases its protein level. Mechanistically, EBV immediate-early protein BZLF1 interacts with the promoter of m 6 A methyltransferase METTL3, inhibiting its expression. Subsequently, the decrease of METTL3 reduces the level of KLF4 mRNA m 6 A modification, preventing its decay by the m 6 A reader protein YTHDF2. As a result, KLF4 protein level is upregulated and, in turn, promotes EBV infection of nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. Thus, our results suggest the existence of a positive feedback loop formed between EBV and host molecules via cellular mRNA m 6 A levels, and this feedback loop acts to facilitate viral infection. This mechanism contains multiple potential targets for controlling viral infectious diseases.

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Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly transmissible coronavirus that causes a severe enteric disease particularly in neonatal piglets. In this study, a rapid method for detecting PEDV was developed based on cross-priming amplification and nucleic acid test strip(CPA-NATS). Five primers specific for the N gene sequence of PEDV were used for the cross-priming amplification. Detection of amplification products based on labeled probe primers was conducted with strip binding antibody of labeled markers. The CPA method was evaluated and compared with a PCR method. The reverse transcription CPA system was further optimized for detecting PEDV RNA in clinical specimens. Results showed that the method was highly specific for the detection of PEDV, and had the same sensitivity as PCR, with detection limit of 10−6 diluted plasmid containing the target gene of PEDV. It was also successfully applied to detecting PEDV in clinical specimens. The reverse transcription CPA-NATS detection system established in this study offers a specific, sensitive, rapid, and simple detection tool for screening PEDV, which can contribute to strategies in the effective control of PEDV in swine.

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