Grain size is one of the key determinants of grain yield. Although a number of genes that control grain size in rice (Oryza sativa) have been identified, the overall regulatory networks behind this process remain poorly understood. Here, we report the mapbased cloning and functional characterization of the quantitative trait locus GL6, which encodes a plant-specific plant AT-rich sequence-and zinc-binding transcription factor that regulates rice grain length and spikelet number. GL6 positively controls grain length by promoting cell proliferation in young panicles and grains. The null gl6 mutant possesses short grains, whereas overexpression of GL6 results in large grains and decreased grain number per panicle. We demonstrate that GL6 participates in RNA polymerase III transcription machinery by interacting with RNA polymerase III subunit C53 and transcription factor class C1 to regulate the expression of genes involved in rice grain development. Our findings reveal a further player involved in the regulation of rice grain size that may be exploited in future rice breeding.

The chloroplast-localized SIB1 protein was previously identified by its interaction with SIGMA FACTOR 1 (SIG1), a component of the RNA polymerase machinery responsible for transcription of plastid genes. The physiological function of SIB1 is little known. We found that expression of SIB1 is induced by infection with Pseudomonas syringae, suggesting its possible involvement in the defence response. The sib1 loss-of-function mutation compromises induction of some defence-related genes triggered by pathogen infection and the treatments with salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), two key signalling molecules in the defence response. Conversely, constitutive over-expression of SIB1 causes the plants to hyper-activate defence-related genes following pathogen infection or the SA and JA treatments, leading to enhanced resistance to infection by P. syringae. SIB1 is a member of the large plant-specific VQ motif-containing protein family, and might act as a link to connect defence signalling with chloroplast function.

Short tandem repeats (STRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been already used to perform noninvasive prenatal paternity testing from maternal plasma DNA. The frequently used technologies were PCR followed by capillary electrophoresis and SNP typing array, respectively. Here, we developed a noninvasive prenatal paternity testing (NIPAT) based on SNP typing with maternal plasma DNA sequencing. We evaluated the influence factors (minor allele frequency (MAF), the number of total SNP, fetal fraction and effective sequencing depth) and designed three different selective SNP panels in order to verify the performance in clinical cases. Combining targeted deep sequencing of selective SNP and informative bioinformatics pipeline, we calculated the combined paternity index (CPI) of 17 cases to determine paternity. Sequencing-based NIPAT results fully agreed with invasive prenatal paternity test using STR multiplex system. Our study here proved that the maternal plasma DNA sequencing-based technology is feasible and accurate in determining paternity, which may provide an alternative in forensic application in the future.

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Our study illustrates that the Bayesian approach represents the better choice in NIPAT data interpretation. Further, the adoption of more informative markers (e.g., tri-allelic SNPs, tetra-allelic SNPs, and micro-haplotypes) or deeper sequencing is recommended for the improvement of the testing efficiency.

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C-repeat-binding factor dehydration-responsive element-binding factor 1C (CBF2/DREB1C) gene encodes a small family of transcriptional activator that has been described as playing an important role in freezing tolerance and cold acclimation of plants. We here report that CBF2 gene also plays an important role in the early response to the pathogen infection of grapevine downy mildew disease. The expression level of CBF2 increased dramatically and reached a peak at 7 h after infection in immune grapevine Muscadinia rotundifolia 'Noble', which was much faster than moderate resistant Vitis amurensis 'PI1288' and susceptible Vitis vinifera 'Cabernet Sauvignon'. Muscadinia rotundifolia MrCBF2 exhibited amino acid domains characteristic of Vitis CBF2 proteins with unique features including rich serine repeats and slight differences in NLS, DSAWRL, and AP2 domains. The MrCBF2 gene was introduced to Arabidopsis 'COL0' which are susceptible to downy mildew pathogen. The transgenic lines showed an increased resistance to downy mildew disease and more accumulation of SA as well as higher expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes (AtPR1, AtPR4, and AtPR5) as a consequence of MrCBF2 overexpression. Besides, constitutive expression of MrCBF2 enhanced phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA)-independent drought tolerance of transgenic plants. Freezing tolerance of transgenic lines was also enhanced accompanied with an increase in the expression of the cold-regulated genes AtCOR, AtCOR15A, AtKIN1, AtRD29A, and AtSuSy. In addition, the development of MrCBF2-overexpressing plants was seen to be altered and resulted in growth retardation, dwarfism, late flowering, and prone rosette leaves, which may be because of an increase in the gene expression of partial DELLA proteins and DDF1.

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