Wheat, rice, maize, and soybean provide two-thirds of human caloric intake. Assessing the impact of global temperature increase on production of these crops is therefore critical to maintaining global food supply, but different studies have yielded different results. Here, we investigated the impacts of temperature on yields of the four crops by compiling extensive published results from four analytical methods: global grid-based and local point-based models, statistical regressions, and field-warming experiments. Results from the different methods consistently showed negative temperature impacts on crop yield at the global scale, generally underpinned by similar impacts at country and site scales. Without CO 2 fertilization, effective adaptation, and genetic improvement, each degree-Celsius increase in global mean temperature would, on average, reduce global yields of wheat by 6.0%, rice by 3.2%, maize by 7.4%, and soybean by 3.1%. Results are highly heterogeneous across crops and geographical areas, with some positive impact estimates. Multimethod analyses improved the confidence in assessments of future climate impacts on global major crops and suggest crop-and regionspecific adaptation strategies to ensure food security for an increasing world population.climate change impact | global food security | major food crops | temperature increase | yield C rops are sensitive to climate change, including changes in temperature and precipitation, and to rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration (1, 2). Among the changes, temperature increase has the most likely negative impact on crop yields (3, 4), and regional temperature changes can be projected from climate models with more certainty than precipitation. Meteorological records show that mean annual temperatures over areas where wheat, rice, maize, and soybean are grown have increased by ∼1°C during the last century (Fig. 1A) and are expected to continue to increase over the next century (Fig. 1B) -more so if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase. It is thus necessary to quantify the impact of temperature increase on global crop yields, including any spatial variations, to first assess the risk to world food security, and then to develop targeted adaptive strategies to feed a burgeoning world population (5).Several methods have been developed to assess the impact of temperature increase on crop yields (6). Process-based crop models characterize crop growth and development in daily time steps and can be used to simulate the temperature response of yield either in areas around the globe defined by grids or at selected field sites or points (1, 7). A third method, statistical modeling, uses observed regional yields and historical weather records to fit regression functions to predict crop responses (8,9). A fourth method is to artificially warm crops under nearnatural field conditions to directly measure the impact of increased Significance Agricultural production is vulnerable to climate change. Understanding climate change, especially the temperature impacts, is...

The existence of males and females, which are often strikingly different in morphology, reproductive strategies and behavior, is one of the most widespread phenomena in biology. However, the genetic mechanisms that generate this ubiquitous pattern are surprisingly diverse and do not follow a phylogenetic pattern. Sex-determination mechanisms can differ between even closely related species and arise frequently and independently. Fish provide a paradigmatic example, as their sex-determination mechanisms range from environmental to different modes of genetic determination. The evolutionary meaning of this remarkable plasticity is unknown. For genetic sex determination, where the trigger for female or male development comes from the genetic constitution of the individual, the evolution of sex-determination mechanisms is connected to a very peculiar genomic process, namely the formation of sex chromosomes [1][2][3][4] .To improve understanding of the function and evolution of sex chromosomes, their genetic organization must be deciphered.However, owing to their degenerate nature and high repetitive DNA content, sex chromosomes pose almost insurmountable problems in deciphering their gene content and organization. So far, only the human 5 , chimpanzee 6 and rhesus macaque Y chromosomes 7 and the male-specific region on the Y chromosome of one fish, the medaka 8 , have been sequenced. These analyses have nevertheless provided important insights into the evolution of Y chromosomes, their genomic organization and their degeneration processes, as well as predictions as to their likely evolutionary fate 9-12 .Much less genomic information exists on W chromosomes because, as with Y chromosomes, they are predominantly highly repetitive in nature. The prevailing theory of the evolution of sex chromosomes predicts that degeneration of the heterogametic sex chromosome is a stepwise process that occurs over an extended period of time. We therefore reasoned that an evolutionarily young W chromosome Whole-genome sequence of a flatfish provides insights into ZW sex chromosome evolution and adaptation to a benthic lifestyle Genetic sex determination by W and Z chromosomes has developed independently in different groups of organisms. To better understand the evolution of sex chromosomes and the plasticity of sex-determination mechanisms, we sequenced the whole genomes of a male (ZZ) and a female (ZW) half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). In addition to insights into adaptation to a benthic lifestyle, we find that the sex chromosomes of these fish are derived from the same ancestral vertebrate protochromosome as the avian W and Z chromosomes. Notably, the same gene on the Z chromosome, dmrt1, which is the male-determining gene in birds, showed convergent evolution of features that are compatible with a similar function in tongue sole. Comparison of the relatively young tongue sole sex chromosomes with those of mammals and birds identified events that occurred during the early phase of sex-chromosome evolution. Pertinent to...

Environmental sex determination (ESD) occurs in divergent, phylogenetically unrelated taxa, and in some species, cooccurs with genetic sex determination (GSD) mechanisms. Although epigenetic regulation in response to environmental effects has long been proposed to be associated with ESD, a systemic analysis on epigenetic regulation of ESD is still lacking. Using half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) as a model-a marine fish that has both ZW chromosomal GSD and temperature-dependent ESD-we investigated the role of DNA methylation in transition from GSD to ESD. Comparative analysis of the gonadal DNA methylomes of pseudomale, female, and normal male fish revealed that genes in the sex determination pathways are the major targets of substantial methylation modification during sexual reversal. Methylation modification in pseudomales is globally inherited in their ZW offspring, which can naturally develop into pseudomales without temperature incubation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that dosage compensation occurs in a restricted, methylated cytosine enriched Z chromosomal region in pseudomale testes, achieving equal expression level in normal male testes. In contrast, female-specific W chromosomal genes are suppressed in pseudomales by methylation regulation. We conclude that epigenetic regulation plays multiple crucial roles in sexual reversal of tongue sole fish. We also offer the first clues on the mechanisms behind gene dosage balancing in an organism that undergoes sexual reversal. Finally, we suggest a causal link between the bias sex chromosome assortment in the offspring of a pseudomale family and the transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of sexual reversal in tongue sole fish.

Changes in endocardial pressure (EP) have important clinical significance for heart failure patients with impaired cardiac function. As a vital parameter for evaluating cardiac function, EP is commonly monitored by invasive and expensive cardiac catheterization, which is not feasible for long-term and continuous data collection. In this work, a miniaturized, flexible, and selfpowered endocardial pressure sensor (SEPS) based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which is integrated with a surgical catheter for minimally invasive implantation, is reported. In a porcine model, SEPS is implanted into the left ventricle and the left atrium. The SEPS has a good response both in low-and high-pressure environments. The SEPS achieves the ultrasensitivity, real-time monitoring, and mechanical stability in vivo. An excellent linearity (R 2 = 0.997) with a sensitivity of 1.195 mV mmHg −1 is obtained. Furthermore, cardiac arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation and ventricular premature contraction can also be detected by SEPS. The device may promote the development of miniature implantable medical sensors for monitoring and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases.

Edited by Miguel De la RosaKeywords: DGAT2 Fatty acid Yeast Triacylglycerol Phaeodactylum tricornutum a b s t r a c t Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) plays a pivotal role in triacylglycerol (TAG) formation in some oleaginous organisms. We describe here the identification of a type 2 DGAT (PtDGAT2B) in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum that contains four putative type 2 acyl-CoA:DGATs, sharing little sequence similarity with each other. TAG synthesis and lipid body formation could be completely restored in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae TAG-deficient quadruple mutant by expressing PtDGAT2B. Up-regulation of PtDGAT2B precedes the accumulation of TAG. Functional analysis of enzyme activity in vivo demonstrated that expression of PtDGAT2B can increase the proportion of unsaturated C 16 and C 18 fatty acids in yeast TAG.

Background Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBaP) is a new physiological pacing strategy that produces comparable clinical effects to His bundle pacing (HBP). Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate clinical outcomes of LBBaP vs RVP. Methods and Results From April 2018 to September 2018, we included 44 patients under continuous pacemaker implantation. Patients were randomly divided into the LBBaP group and conventional RVP group. Compared to the RVP group, the LBBaP group displayed significantly increased operative (90.10 ± 19.68 minutes vs 61.57 ± 6.62 minutes, P < .001) and X‐ray exposure times (15.55 ± 5.62 minutes vs 4.67 ± 2.06 minutes, P < .001). The lead threshold of the LBBaP group was increased (0.68 ± 0.20 mV vs 0.51 ± 0.0 mV, P = .001), while the R‐wave amplitude and ventricular impedance did not significantly differ between the two groups. The conventional RVP procedure significantly widened the QRS complex (93.62 ± 8.28 ms vs 135.19 ± 12.21 ms, P = .001), whereas the LBBaP had no effect on QRS complex (130.13 ± 43.30 ms vs 112.63 ± 12.14 ms, P = .904). Furthermore, the LBBaP procedure significantly narrowed the QRS complex in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) (168.43 ± 38.870 ms vs 119.86 ± 6.69 ms, P = .019). Conclusion LBBaP is a new physiological, safe and effective pacing procedure with a high overall success rate. Compared to conventional RVP, LBBaP can correct LBBB, thereby improving cardiac electrical dyssynchrony.

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Alteration of lipid biosynthesis is one of important biochemical changes when oleaginous microalgae grow under varied environmental conditions. The effects of culture age and nutrient limitation on triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation and fatty acid content were investigated in four eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-rich marine microalgae. The amounts of TAGs in Chaetoceros sp., Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Nannochloropsis oculata increased sharply from day 4 to day 11, and then the former two remained nearly unchanged while the latter declined gradually during the batch culture. In contrast, no marked increase in TAG accumulation was observed in Pavlova viridis during the culture. Changes in total fatty acid (TFA) content mirrored those observed for TAG accumulation, while the EPA content reached a maximum generally at day 7 or 11 in the range of 11 - 32 mg g(-1) dry cell weight (DCW) and then declined. Nitrogen limitation led to a gradual increase in the amounts of TAGs from N. oculata pronouncedly but almost no change in other three species. The TFA content of the cultures after 5 days of nitrogen limitation was nearly twice that after 1 day in Chaetoceros sp., P. tricornutum and P. viridis, while the lowest increase (220 - 283 mg g(-1) DCW) was observed in N. oculata. TAGs increased gradually under phosphorus limitation in all four species but not sharply compared with that under nitrogen limitation in N. oculata. The TFA content increased gradually under phosphorus limitation and after 5 days of phosphorus limitation it was 1.5 - 2 times that after 1 day. The EPA content was generally not significantly affected by nitrogen or phosphorus limitation. Culture age and nutrient limitation could be useful variables for optimizing TAG accumulation and fatty acid content with potential for biodiesel production.