Due to their nanoscale effects and excellent physicochemical properties, engineering nanomaterials (ENMs) have been increasingly applied in various fields during the last decade. The biological effects of these ENMs on higher plants and the risk assessment of their ecological effects have become research hotspots. To comprehensively understand the effects of ENMs on higher plants in ecosystems, this paper reviews the effects of several ENMs (metal nanomaterials, metal oxide nanomaterials, carbon-based nanomaterials) on the growth of higher plants and their mechanisms. These ENMs could inhibit plant growth by reducing the seed germination rate, inducing relative reactive oxygen production, enhancing cell membrane permeability and directly damaging roots and can also promote plant growth by enhancing photosynthesis, increasing root activity, strengthening water absorption and enhancing plant metabolic enzyme activity. The influencing factors of ENMs on plant biological effects were further analyzed, including plant species, nanomaterial size and shape, nanomaterial surface characteristics, nanomaterial concentration and treatment time, and plant growth medium. Finally, based on the real soil environment, long-term and low-dose effects, and plant absorption and transportation, we propose the future research associated with the interaction between ENMs and higher plants, aiming to provide a reference for the efficient use of ENMs in agricultural production.

Aims: To comprehensively understand the current status of vascular plants and provide background materials for the conservation of plant diversity in Fujian Province, the list of vascular plants in the region needs to be updated. This study revises and updates the species list of vascular plants in Fujian Province in the post-flora era.

Methods: Based on Flora of Fujian, we refered to related literature, examined herbarium specimens, consulted relevant lists and databases, and incorporated the results of field investigations conducted by the authors and other front-line peers. The checklist of vascular plants in Fujian Province was sorted according to the latest classification systems of vascular plants (APG IV system, Yang system, and PPG I system). The list included the family and genus information, Chinese name and Latin name, and the county and city distribution information data sources for each species.

Results: In total, there were 5,587 species belonging to 256 families and 1,807 genera of wild, naturalized, and cultivated vascular plants in Fujian Province (wild: 231 families, 1,402 genera, and 4,550 species). This included 414 species of lycophytes and ferns belonging to 102 genera and 32 families, 76 species of gymnosperms belonging to 38 genera and 10 families, and 5,097 species of angiosperms belonging to 1,667 genera and 214 families, respectively. Compared with Flora of Fujian, 8 families, 216 genera, and 1,107 species were newly added. The five largest families of lycophytes and ferns species were Dryopteridaceae (67), Polypodiaceae (51), Pteridaceae (51), Thelypteridaceae (42), and Athyriaceae (38). Among the gymnosperms, the families and the genera with the largest number of species were Cupressaceae (15 genera, 25 species) and Pinus (14 species), respectively. The top 10 largest families of angiosperms are Poaceae (452), Leguminosae (305), Compositae (279), Orchidaceae (244), Cyperaceae (225), Rosaceae (198), Labiata (188), Rubiaceae (126), Malvaceae (85), and Lauraceae (80), with a total of 2,180 species, accounting for 39.0% of the total number of vascular plant species in Fujian Province. The top five largest genera were Carex (94), Rubus (58), Ilex (54), Phyllostachys (38) and Persicaria (36).

Conclusions: This work improves the species distribution profile and specimen information, thus providing basic information for the survey, assessment, and conservation of plant diversity in Fujian Province. Additionally, this study can be used to further develop botany-related disciplines, and the revision of Flora of Fujian.

Aims: The List of State Key Protected Wild Animals is a crucial legal foundation that guides the implementation of species conservation efforts, especially rescue plans for endangered species. The recently published and implement 2021 version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals, represents the first major revision in 32 years and is of immense importance for biodiversity conservation in China. Our study aims to assess the efficacy of its species conservation measures dictated by the List, offer insights, and aid future revisions.

Methods: Our study has summarized and organized a total of 1,520 species (with subspecies) based on the new version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals. We then selected four wildlife lists that are representative and relevant to conservation and conducted a statistical analysis of the conservation status and level of threat for the same species across different lists.

Results: The results indicate that the new version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals has broadened the scope of wildlife protection by adding 1,038 species to the previous list of 482 species (with subspecies) which was compiled in 1989, as we previously summarized. Of the new additions, 43 species have been categorized as national category I and 995 as national category II. Moreover, the protection category of some species has also been revised (3 species downgraded to national category I, 66 species upgraded to national category II, and 413 species in total maintaining the same category). However, despite these positive changes, according to China’s Red List of Biodiversity: Vertebrates (2021 Edition) more than half of the endangered species in China are still not covered in the new version of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals.

Conclusion: To promote the comprehensive and effective protection of endangered species in China, it is recommended that future adjustments to the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals give comprehensive attention to the endangered species on the list. If species in the Critically Endangered and Endangered categories are listed as national category I key protected wildlife, the existing 164 national category II key protected wildlife should be upgraded to national category I key protected wildlife, and 162 new wildlife species should be added to national category I key protected wildlife. Additionally, if species in the Vulnerable category are listed as national category II key protected wildlife, 340 new national category II key protected wildlife should be added. A comprehensive database of the List of State Key Protected Wild Animals can be established to achieve standardized and dynamic management of the list.

Background & Aim: Marine biogeography is a subject investigating the spatiotemporal distributions of marine organisms and the processes and drivers of changes in species distributions. Research in marine biogeography is promising for the conservation of marine biodiversity and the stability of ecosystem functioning and crucial for the sustainability of utilizing marine resources. Species distribution models (SDMs) are an important tool for assessing and predicting the biogeographical changes in marine species distributions.

Progresses: This review consists of three main parts: (1) the development process and current status of marine biogeography studies in China; (2) the commonly used approaches to answer the questions related to marine biogeography with a special focus on SDMs; (3) the research trends and hotspots of marine biogeography studies in China, mainly concerning the shifts in species distribution under global changes, phylogeography of marine species, biological invasion, population connectivity, marine conservation planning, marine ecological restoration and recovery, adaptation of marine species to extreme environments, as well as management of marine fisheries and mariculture planning.

Prospects: In this review, we further outlined the prospects for the future development of marine biogeography and emphasized the importance of optimizing SDMs. We also called for developing comprehensive databases of marine environments and organisms to strengthen the integration of marine biogeography with other disciplines. We hope this review will provide useful insights for the studies of marine biogeography in China.

Chitin, a major component of the fungal cell wall, is a kind of typical microbe associated molecular pattern (MAMP) that is recognized by two plasma membrane located LysM receptors, CERK1 and LYK5, and trigger immune response in plants. In this study, the intracellular kinase domain of CERK1 was cloned and used to screen the yeast cDNA library, and identify its interaction with HSP1. Using CRISPR-Cas-mediated gene editing technology, we knocked out the HSP1 gene in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and obtained hsp1 v63 deletion mutant. We showed that the expression of downstream defense-related genes and the phosphorylation pathway of mitogen-activated protein kinase were inhibited in the hsp1 v63 deletion mutant compared to the wild type Col-0. We also showed that the protein level of CERK1 in hsp1 v63 mutants was lower than that in the Col-0, and that reduced CERK1 levels in this mutant were associated with the endoplasmic reticulum degradation system. These results indicate that HSP1 is a key gene in the chitin-induced defense response pathway, thus revealing the important roles of molecular chaperone in regulating receptor protein level and improvement in crop resistance.

Lutein can effectively reduce incidence of atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer and multiple eye diseases. The lutein biofortification through food crop has gained more attention with improvement of daily diet. In this paper, 194 Shanxi wheat cultivars planted in three environments were used to extract lutein by organic solvent extraction, and the content of lutein in different germplasms was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The broad-sense heritability of lutein content in wheat and its relationship with grain color, winter/spring types, geographical origin, accession types, and main agronomic traits were analyzed, and the genetic loci associated with lutein content were identified through genome-wide association analysis. Results showed that significant variation in lutein contents occurred among Shanxi wheat accessions, the coefficient of variation was 33.12%-48.57%. Genotype was the main factor affecting lutein content. The average lutein content in three environments was 0.67-4.03 μg·g^-1, 0.16-5.05 μg·g^-1 and 0.16-3.63 μg·g^-1, respectively. The average lutein content of winter types and irrigated-wheat accessions were higher than those of spring types and dryland-wheat, respectively. There was no significant effect of grain color and released years on lutein content. Heading date, plant height and 1 000 kernel weight were significantly negative correlated with lutein content. The other agronomic traits had no significant effect on lutein. Genome-wide association analysis found four major loci related to lutein content on chromosomes 1B, 3A and 7A, among them, QLuc.3A and QLuc.7A.1 are new loci affecting the lutein content. These results provide valuable information for breeding and cultivation of wheat lutein bioaugmentation varieties.

The secondary metabolites produced by plants provide human beings with a wealth of pharmaceutical, perfume and industrial raw materials. With the rapid development of molecular biology and genomics research, the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) of secondary metabolites of various plants have been analyzed, which opens a new path for us to quickly obtain the biosynthetic pathways of target products and discover novel natural products. This paper focuses on the definition and characteristics of plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters, and its basic structural models, evolution and regulatory mechanisms, in order to provide theoretical basis and reference for related research.

Aims: Henan Province is located in the central part of China. Its complex and diverse geographical environment play an important role in the region’s rich plant diversity. A large number of plant specimens collected by predecessors have provided strong support for the publication of Flora of Henan. However, the Flora of Henan (Supplement and Revision) lacked a great deal of field investigation and omitted some previously published new records. We have updated the catalog to clarify the wild woody plant resources in Henan Province.

Methods: Based on a review of published literature, including all specimens from Henan Province preserved in all the herbariums in China, and continuous field survey of all mountains in Henan Province during the past 5 years, this paper updates the checklist of wild woody plants in Henan Province, China. In this new checklist, the delimitation and arrangement of plant families followed new systems primarily based on molecular phylogenetics.

Results: According to the revision of Flora of China, we recorded a total of 984 species with 32 subspecies, 148 varieties and 11 forms of wild woody plants in this checklist. This included synonyms of 5 genera, 102 species, 21 subspecies and 24 varieties from Flora of China, together with 6 genera, 194 species, 20 subspecies, 35 varieties and 1 form from Flora of Henan. 168 new records and 50 problematical taxa of wild woody plants from Flora of Henan were also listed in this checklist.

Conclusion: Our results show that continuous field survey of plant diversity is still important in the Shangcheng, Xinxian, Tongbai, Xichuan, Lushi, and Lingbao in provincial boundary counties in Henan Province.

Aim: Brachyuran crabs are one of the important representatives of large benthic invertebrates in intertidal habitats and also an important component of mangrove wetland ecosystem. Dongzhaigang National Nature Reserve (DZGNNR) in Hainan preserves the most typical mangrove wetland ecosystem in China. It is also one of the key areas in the marine biogeographic division of East Asia. However, limited knowledge on intertidal crab species richness and unclear fauna characteristics in this area. Based on a comprehensive field survey combined with previous studies, we have cataloged an updated checklist of intertidal crabs of DZGNNR.

Method: The field survey was conducted in the intertidal zone of DZGNNR between September and November of 2022. During this time, 16 sampling sites were investigated and a total of 207 specimens were collected and identified. The species recorded in previous documents were reassessed and each taxon was revised according to the recent researches.

Results: During the field survey, we collected a total of 64 species of brachyuran crabs from 17 families and 39 genera. Out of these, 22 species were previously undocumented in DZGNNR, and two species were newly discovered in Hainan Province (Elamena rostrata and Parasesarma ungulatum). The updated checklist of brachyuran fauna of DZGNNR now includes 115 species belonging to 22 families and 63 genera.

Conclusions The intertidal brachyuran fauna of DZGNNR is mainly composed of East Asian warm water species, with Indo-West Pacific warm water elements being the most prevalent. This indicates that the DZGNNR is part of the northern South China Sea Subtropical Provinces in terms of its zoobenthic fauna, similar to the intertidal brachyuran fauna found in Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian. Our study provides new insights on the brachyuran fauna of DZGNNR and north Hainan Island, which improve our understanding of zoobenthic biogeographical patterns in northern South China Sea.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is one of the oldest symbionts between plants and soil microorganisms, and about 80% terrestrial plant species can associate with AM fungi on earth. Because of the stable climate and poor soil phosphorus content in tropical and subtropical forests, this mutualistic symbiosis is much more common there. Previous studies have extensively investigated the diversity of AM fungi in tropical and subtropical forests, and have shown that AM fungi can promote plant recruitment and growth. However, this positive effect of AM fungi on plants (i.e., the positive plant-soil feedback) can weaken the contribution of the negative plant-soil feedback (caused by soil-borne pathogens) to maintaining tree species diversity, which appears to contradict with the surprisingly high tree diversity and high proportion of rare tree species in tropical and subtropical forests. Recently, a mounting number of empirical studies have found that the diversity of AM fungi varies significantly in different habitats and AM colonization depends on the identity of host species, thereby affecting the fitness of plants and further shaping the plant community structure. Through synthesizing the current research about the diversity of AM fungi in promoting plant coexistence and maintaining community diversity, we expect to put forward a promising study direction for testing the “rare species advantage” hypothesis, therefore improving the conservation of rare plant species.

Tn5 is a bacterial transposon. The engineered Tn5 can efficiently tag DNA while adding the adapter sequences. Therefore, it has been widely used in the preparation of high-throughput sequencing libraries. Cleavage Under Target & Tagmentation (CUT&Tag) is an improved technology for studying the interaction between protein and DNA, which has the advantages of good repeatability, high signal-to-noise ratio, and easy operation. This technology uses Protein A (pA) or Protein G (pG) and Tn5 to form a fusion protein, which can locate specific antibodies (the antibody is used to identify the target protein) and break the DNA near the target site while introducing sequencing adapters. Then, DNA was extracted, followed by PCR amplification to obtain the sequencing library. However, different types of antibodies have different affinities for pA and pG, thus limiting the application of CUT&Tag for some antibodies. To overcome this limitation, the expression vector of pG-Tn5 was constructed by recombination, and pG-Tn5 recombinant protein was obtained by prokaryotic expression and affinity purification. We used RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-specific antibodies (Pol II Ser5P, mouse IgG1 and rabbit IgG) to compare the efficiency of pA-Tn5 and pG-Tn5 in library preparation of CUT&Tag in Arabidopsis. The results showed that the IgG1 antibody had higher affinity for pG-Tn5, and the quality of the constructed library was better when pG-Tn5 was used. The rabbit IgG antibody has comparable affinities to the two enzymes. A lower starting amount of plant material can be applicable in CUT&Tag. This study provides a reference for the selection of Tn5 fusion proteins against different antibodies in future CUT&Tag experiments.

Aims Haloxylon ammodendron is the major dominated species in the Gurbantünggüt Desert, which plays a key role in ecosystem services: such as biodiversity conservation and prevention of dryland degradation. Frequent droughts have a significant impact on the survival of H. ammodendron, thus understanding the drought resistant strategies of H. ammodendron is essential for the sustainability and stability of desert ecosystems. Robust hydraulic system and carbon balance are important parts of the drought resistance mechanism, but the hydraulic threshold for survival of H. ammodendron under drought stress are still unquantified.

Methods We set up a control group and a drought treatment group for adult H. ammodendron, and determined the water status of assimilation twigs, the loss rate of xylem hydraulic conductivity in branches, gas exchange characteristics, nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) contents and morphological characteristics at upper, lower and middle branches of H. ammodendron. We used one-way ANOVA for each trait among different treatments and heights, linear regression for stomatal sensitivity and principal component analysis for drought resistance of H. ammodendron, respectively.

Important findings (1) The predawn and midday water potential of assimilation twig, assimilation twig water content and branch water content of H. ammodendron decreased under drought stress, but did not affected by the increase of height; P50 and P88 (xylem tension causing 50% and 88% loss of maximum hydraulic conductivity) did not change significantly under drought and with increasing height, and the mean value of P50 was -4.12 MPa and P88 was -7.10 MPa for each height and treatment groups, while the hydraulic safety margin was significantly reduced under drought. (2) The stomatal opening of H. ammodendron was not sensitive to drought stress, and thus drought stress and branch height increase did not significantly affect net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance in general. (3) The NSC contents of assimilation twigs and branches did not decrease under drought stress or with increasing branch height; the value of NSC contents in the assimilation twigs and branches were 22.11% and 13.10% higher, compared to the control group. (4) The Huber value of H. ammodendron increased by 73.78% in the drought treatment group compared to the control group; the specific leaf area decreased by 14.60% compared to the control group, but there were no significant difference between the two treatment groups. In conclusion, the hydraulic traits of H. ammodendron were significantly affected by drought stress, but not by the increase of branch height, and there was no hydraulic limitation with increasing branch height. Under drought stress, the risk of simultaneous hydraulic failure of the peripheral branches at the crown edge was high, the hydraulic safety margin (difference between midday assimilation twig water potential and P88) was only 40.85% of that of the control group. Due to the low sensitivity of stomata to water stress, the shrub can maintain the capacity of photosynthetic carbon fixation under drought stress, and even slightly increased NSC contents of the assimilation twigs and branches.

Photosynthesis of plants depends on the green leaves, and the most intuitive feature of leaf growth and development is its color. At present, more than 200 genes related to rice leaf color have been cloned. The regulatory mechanisms of rice leaf color are complex and diverse, which involve multiple regulatory pathways, including biosynthesis and degradation of photosynthetic pigments, pathway of nucleus-plastid signaling, and heme synthesis. In addition, external environment such as temperature and light intensity can also affect the color changes of rice leaves. Here we reviewed the molecular pathways of rice leaf color, environmental factors and leaf color related genes, as well as the genetic regulatory mechanisms of rice leaf color was revealed, which will provide theoretical basis for rice high photosynthetic breeding and application, and future research in addressing some scientific problems in this field.

Aims Grazing, one of the primary ways of grassland utilization in Nei Mongol, has essential influences on plant community properties of grasslands. However, the comprehensive response patterns of Nei Mongol grassland plant community properties to grazing remain unclear.
Methods Based on a dataset derived from 76 studies, the plant community characteristics and soil physicochemical properties of Nei Mongol grasslands under different grazing intensities, different grassland types and different grazing years were integrated and analyzed in order to comprehensively evaluate the response patterns of Nei Mongol grasslands to grazing.
Important findings Our results showed that grazing significantly reduced plant above/below ground biomass, cover, height, density, species richness, Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Pielou evenness index, Simpson diversity index, and soil water content. The negative effects of grazing were strengthened with increasing of grazing intensity and duration. Moreover, grazing had a greater negative effect on the grasslands with sparse vegetation and low environmental carrying capacity (e.g., desert grasslands, sandy areas, etc.). This study shows that the responses of plant community characteristics to grazing in Nei Mongol grasslands are regulated by multiple factors, and appropriate grazing intensity and grazing time should be set according to different types of grasslands to achieve sustainable utilization of grasslands. The standards of grazing intensity in current grazing studies are not uniform, making it difficult to compare different studies, and the results from some studies do not have statistical significance due to a lack of replications in the experiment. The exploration of uniform quantitative standards for grazing intensity will be an important and challenging issue in future grazing studies, and the rationality of experimental design should also be emphasized.

Background & Aims: At the landscape scale, multiple local communities are distributed along environmental gradients, and these local communities are interconnected through species dispersal, together forming metacommunity. When considering both the species composition and interspecific interactions of metacommunity, the concept of metanetwork emerges. With methods in network analysis, metanetwork illustrate the distribution of species interactions across multiple communities. The research scale and numerous network metrics corresponding to different data types often confuse researchers.
Progress: We begin by categorizing and organizing network metrics, and then proceed to differentiate between global and local network metrics. This provides explanations for their application scenarios, computation processes, and ecological significance, while also discussing the impact of sampling intensity on these metrics and exploring their relationships. We introduce the network β-diversity metrics that are computed based on interaction diversity. Subsequently, we outline the statistical inference approaches used in network analysis, incorporating both individual network metrics and network β-diversity metrics. Finally, we provide a summary of the recent research trends, which has shifted from metacommunity to metanetwork.
Prospects: We stress the significance of taking into account the influence of phylogenetic relationships on network composition and interactions in research papers. Multilayer networks offer the capability to represent community structures at a wider scale of species interactions, thus revealing more comprehensive community dynamics. Consistency in the analytical approach of metanetworks is vital for facilitating comparisons across diverse studies.

Aim: Shanghai has been acknowledged for its remarkable achievement in accommodating a dense population and effectively utilizing its land. However, the native plant species within the city have faced significant disruptions due to human interference, resulting in a decline in species diversity. Nevertheless, Shanghai boasts an area of immense botanical value, featuring a wide array of cultivated plants. In fact, it stands as the only region in China where the number of cultivated plants exceeds that of native plants. In order to safeguard the diversity of plants and promote the sustainable utilization of these invaluable botanical resources in Shanghai, especially in preparation for the forthcoming comprehensive regional biodiversity survey, we have taken on the task of updating the checklist of Shanghai vascular plants.

Methods: This paper utilized the plant specimens and image information collected during extensive field surveys conducted over the years. Furthermore, collections and literature data were incorporated to supplement the cataloging data of species. Especially, the time when species were first discovered or recorded in Shanghai was determined based on the original records found in literature and specimens. Additionally, the names and systems of the included species were revised based on the classification revision literature of specific taxa and the latest advancements in molecular systematics.

Results: The resulting checklist included a total of 4,126 species, infra-species taxa and cultivars of vascular plants. This included 1,238 wild and escaped plants and 2,888 cultivated plants from 211 families, 1,176 genera, and 2,782 species with 38 subspecies, 107 varieties, and 5 forms. Additionally, there were 1,194 cultivated varieties listed. The number of taxa included in the current version of the list has increased by 914 compared to the checklist of Shanghai vascular plants (2013 version), largely due to the inclusion of newly cultivated varieties. While only 34 new wild species were added, native plants saw an even smaller increase, with only 5 new species included. The survey revealed that 92 native plants were no longer present in the area, which suggested that the number of native plants in Shanghai has declined for the first time. This underscores the importance of conducting specialized surveys of native plants in Shanghai, particularly for those that have not been observed in several years. The history of the substantial increase in cultivated plant diversity in Shanghai was relatively short, spanning only 40 years. The number of original species of cultivated plants started to increase in 1980, and since 2010, there has been a significant surge in cultivated plants, with the majority being artificially selected varieties. This trend was largely influenced by factors such as socioeconomic status, human preferences, and cultivation management practices. The updated vascular plant checklist adopted new systems of delimitation and arrangement of plant families, which were primarily based on molecular phylogenetics. The reasons and references for scientific name changes were also provided. Additionally, an online dataset of the checklist was readily available to the public in Excel format, facilitating easy access, retrieval, and utilization of the data.

Conclusions: Based on our results, we recommend that field surveys continue, with a particular focus on species missing from the recent survey. Additionally, since more than half of the newly added alien plants are invasive species, it is crucial to strengthen the investigation and monitoring of these plants.

Litter often decomposes more rapidly in its native habitat (“home”) than in non-native habitats (“away”), a phenomenon called the “home-field advantage”. To explore the driving mechanism of home-field advantage of litter decomposition is important to predict the process of plant nutrient return and ecosystem carbon budget. This study reviewed the research progress on the home-field advantage of litter decomposition in recent years by discussing the quantification of home-field advantage, the controlling factors, and related driving mechanisms. There are four common metrics to describe home-field advantage in litter decomposition, and the use of linear model analysis to calculate home-field advantage is more appropriate. Litter quality (chemical composition, etc.) and soil microbial community structure are the main factors influencing the home-field advantage of litter decomposition, and soil fauna, climatic conditions, decomposition time, plant life form and growth form can also influence the intensity of the home-field advantage. Greater differences in litter quality usually generate stronger home-field advantage. Microbial taxa in the soil drive the home-field advantage of litter decomposition, but the role of soil microbes is often mediated by animal and climatic disturbances. In addition, the existence of phyllosphere microbes makes the home-field advantage of litter decomposition stronger. The litter chemical convergence hypothesis, decomposer control hypothesis and substrate quality-matrix quality interaction hypothesis are major hypotheses explaining the home-field advantage in litter decomposition, but they are not impeccable. We believe that the association between litter and soil microbial community is the driving force behind home-field advantage. The current researches on the factors and relative contribution of home-field advantage are not deep enough and usually focusing on a single ecosystem. Future investigations should explore deeper on the factors and their relative contributions of home-field advantage, and focus on more ecosystem types to improve the understandings of the mechanism of home-field advantage.

Promoter is an indispensable regulatory sequence for driving gene expression in higher plants. Different promoter elements cause diverse driving efficiency and space-time specificity. Identifying the structures and functions of promoter elements contributes to a better understanding of the growth and development, multi-stress tolerance, and evolution of plants. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, the techniques for identifying cis-acting elements and constructing artificial biological components that meet the design requirements has gradually emerged, providing a foundation for efficient, precise, and diverse gene regulation in molecular breeding. This article targets on the application of promoter reconstruction in molecular design, introducing the detailed structure and function of higher plant promoters and the methods of cis-acting element identification. We summarized a total of 174 inducible, tissue-specific promoter elements in 27 categories and their applications on artificial modification and synthesis. At the end, we proposed the future directions and methods of the promoter designs. This review will be helpful for the further functional analyses of promoters in higher plants and their applications on molecular design breeding.

Flavonoids are polyphenols compounds produced during the secondary metabolism of plants, which are widely present in plants and have various functions. Flavonoids biosynthesis takes place at the cytosolic side of the en- doplasmic reticulum (ER), but accumulation of various flavonoids is observed in the vacuole. Efficient transport and ac- cumulation systems are therefore required to transfer flavonoids from the ER into the vacuole. Certain researches for the transport of flavonoids has been done for decades. Current research results showed that: there are three transport mechanisms in plants, including glutathione S-transferase (GST), membrane transporters, and vesicle trafficking. Here, we reviewed the three transport mechanisms and advances of plant flavonoids transport in recent years. The functional cooperation of three distinct but nonexclusive mechanisms were summarized. While the biosynthesis of the flavonoids is well characterized across species, the research on flavonoids transport and accumulation is still relatively insufficient. For better understand the flavonoids transport and accumulation mechanism in plant, the relationship between flavonoids modification and transport, flavonoids transport substrate specificity and preference, and transcriptional regulation of flavonoids transport remain deeply unexplored.

Background & Aims: The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) has been listed as the Grade 1 National Key Protected Animal in China. As the top predator of the inshore marine food chain, S. chinensis is an indicator species of the health status of the inshore ecosystem. Due to the important ecological, scientific and cultural values, it is also used as the flagship species for marine biodiversity conservation. Since the 1990s, the studies on S. chinensis have gradually risen, and developed to a new period in recent years along with the application of 3S (RS, GPS, GIS), ecological models, and molecular biological techniques. We summarized the studies of S. chinensis from the aspects of population ecology, behavioral ecology, molecular ecology and the threats that the species faced so far, aiming to clarify the advances in the ecological studies and the contributions to conservation of S. chinensis.
Progress: Ecological information such as distribution and abundance of S. chinensis population known globally in the world has been investigated by domestic and foreign scholars using line-transect sampling and capture-mark-recapture methods. In the context of species conservation, studies on habitat selection preference, habitat quality evaluation and potential habitat prediction of S. chinensis were performed. The rules of foraging behavior and reproduction behavior of S. chinensis were preliminarily understood, and the ecological significance of other behaviors were also explored. With the application of molecular biotechnology, the genetic differentiation of S. chinensis and its vulnerability to climate change have been preliminarily revealed. Human activities such as marine construction projects, underwater noise, marine pollution, and fishery activities are still the main threats to S. chinensis.
Perspectives: Based on the summary of existing studies, we propose the following prospects for the future ecological research and conservation of S. chinensis: (1) Establish a dynamic baseline database at the national level to better track the population dynamics and habitat environment changes of S. chinensis. (2) Establish a habitat identification and conservation evaluation system, and carry out identification and hierarchical management of critical and potential habitats of S. chinensis. (3) Study the habitat selection mechanism from the ecosystem level, combined with the ecological model to explore the carrying capacity of the current habitat to the S. chinensis, and further explore the impact of habitat hydrological factors, biological resources and human activities on the habitat selection of S. chinensis. (4) Construct a genetic resource database for S. chinensis, and explore the links among natural selection, ecological impact and genetic evolution, so as to reveal the molecular mechanisms of species evolution, adaptation and endangerment. (5) In order to effectively deal with the impact of global marine environmental changes on the S. chinensis, it is recommended to establish a scientific research cooperation platform and protection management network among the S. chinensis distribution countries.

Aims The southwestern China is a region with complex topography and diverse ecosystem and vegetation types. However, its role as an ecological barrier is being weakened by the effects of climate change and increasing pressure of human activities. This study examines the temporal dynamics of vegetation carbon use efficiency (CUE) in this region using the CMIP6 models, aiming to effectively reducing the uncertainties in prognostic results of future predictions.
Methods We used MODIS remote sensing data for the period 2001-2014 and simulations from 15 models in the Phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6), to determine the capability of the new generation models in simulating the seasonal and annual vegetation CUE in the southwestern China. The performance of the models was ranked based on the composite rating index (MR).
Important findings Most of the models used in this study underestimated the annual vegetation CUE, and their ability to simulate the spatial patterns in the trends of vegetation CUE is generally poor. However, some models performed relatively well in simulating the spatial distribution of multi-year average vegetation CUE; the top 1/3 tier included BCC-CSM2-MR, CMCC-ESM2, TaiESM, EC-Earth3-Veg and CAS-ESM2-0 in the order of performance. Among the seasons, the models best simulated the spatial distribution of vegetation CUE in summer, with better results from BCC-CSM2-MR, EC-Earth3-Veg, TaiESM, CMCC-ESM2 and CAS-ESM2-0. The simulation capability of the models for winter is second only to that for summer, and relatively poor for spring and autumn. Compared to the simulations by individual models, the multi-model ensemble mean (MME-S) reduced the uncertainties and exhibited a strong simulation capability, especially in the spatial distribution of vegetation CUE in local areas such as the Sichuan Basin. There was a lack of good simulation capability for the spatial distribution of vegetation CUE in Qingzang Plateau, Hengduan Mountains and other topographically complex areas. In general, before applying the CMIP6 models for regional vegetation CUE simulation, it is necessary to comprehensively evaluate the specific models from multiple perspectives to select the models with better simulation performance.

Background and AimsDriven by China’s carbon neutrality goals, renewable energy is growing drastically, spurring the large-scale development of photovoltaics (PVs) and wind power. Despite this prevalence, systematic reviews detailing the ecological concerns associated with these technologies are scarce.

Method We provide an overview of domestic and international research on the environmental impact of centralized PV and onshore wind farms, focusing on species diversity and ecosystem services.

Results PVs and wind farms both alter climate factors, including temperature, humidity and wind speed. The construction of PVs and wind farms damages vegetation, causing soil erosion and water loss. Construction also results in solid waste and wastewater, contributing to pollution around the site. The ecological impact of PVs is mainly reflected by changes in vegetation and habitat quality, which can have adverse effects on certain species. In relatively arid areas, PVs can play a role in lowering temperatures and increasing humidity, promoting vegetation recovery. In desert areas, they can act as windbreaks. Wind farms can result in soil and vegetation disturbances, bird collisions and mortality, and habitat fragmentation, all of which affect species migration and regional ecosystem services. Despite these potential issues, current research remains insufficient in assessing ecological impact systematically.

Prospects We recommend research focusing on three particular areas: (1) Improving and unifying survey methods for accessing ecological impacts on centralized PVs and wind farms; (2) Adopting advanced ecological survey techniques; and (3) Strengthening systematic studies on ecological impacts at the species and ecosystem levels. Moving forward, it is necessary to study the ecological impacts of PVs and wind farms in depth. Biodiversity assessments should be implemented at the early stages of energy planning, and corresponding mitigation strategies should be adopted.

Hainan Province is an area with a large contiguous area of tropical rainforest in China. It is one of the key areas of biodiversity with the largest tropical rainforest area and the most abundant species diversity in China. During 2012-2015, the Inventory of Plant Species Diversity of Hainan, List of Species in Hainan, and Illustrated Handbook of Plants in Hainan were published in succession. The progress of related cataloging is relatively advanced in China. However, with the in-depth study of Hainan plants, the names of some vascular plant taxa originally recorded have changed after new taxonomic revision. The classification of families and genera and their names need to be adjusted. At the same time, the original classification system also need to be updated. Based on the List of Species in Hainan and Illustrated Handbook of Plants in Hainan, combined with experience from many years of practical field investigation, we systematically searched the literature to fill the gaps in the existing catalog data, checking for omissions and deficiencies. The name was revised, the classification system updated, and relevant information such as plant distribution areas and protection levels improved. Finally, the cataloging and distribution dataset of wild vascular plants in Hainan Province was complete. As of February 2023, the dataset had 4,945 records, including 39 species of lychophytes belonging to 6 genera of 2 families; 531 species of ferns belonging to 121 genera of 32 families; 27 species of gymnosperms belonging to 10 genera of 6 families, and 4,348 species of angiosperms belonging to 1,380 genera of 181 families. Among them, there were 173 species listed in the List of National Key Protected Wild Plants (2021) (8 species in the first class and 165 species in the second class); there were 4,769 species of native wild plants belonging to 1,448 genera and 216 families (including 516 endemic species of Hainan) and 176 species of exotic and naturalized plants (including 63 invasive species). Compared with the first edition of the List of Species in Hainan, the total number of wild vascular plants increased by 225 species. This dataset can be used as important basic data for vascular plant diversity monitoring and protection in Hainan Province.