In close agreement with visible germination, orthodox seeds lose desiccation tolerance (DT). This trait can be regained under osmotic stress, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, germinating seeds of Caragana korshinskii Kom. were investigated, focusing on the potential modulating roles of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the re-establishment of DT. Germinating seeds with 2 mm long radicles can be rendered tolerant to desiccation by incubation in a polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution (-1.7 MPa). Upon PEG incubation, ROS accumulation was detected in the radicles tip by nitroblue tetrazolium chloride staining and further confirmed by confocal microscopy. The PEG-induced re-establishment of DT was repressed when ROS scavengers were added to the PEG solution. Moreover, ROS act downstream of abscisic acid (ABA) to modulate PEG-mediated re-establishment of DT and serve as a new inducer to re-establish DT. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that re-establishment of DT by ROS involves the up-regulation of key genes in the phenylpropanoid-flavonoid pathway, and total flavonoid content and key enzyme activity increased after ROS treatment. Furthermore, DT was repressed by an inhibitor of phenylalanine ammonia lyase. Our data suggest that ROS play a key role in the re-establishment of DT by regulating stress-related genes and the phenylpropanoid-flavonoid pathway.

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Modulating role of ROS in re-establishing desiccation tolerance in germinating seeds of Caragana korshinskii Kom.

Cerium-incorporated Ni2P nanosheets for enhancing hydrogen production from overall water splitting and urea electrolysis

Electrochemical reduction of oxygen plays a critical role in emerging electrochemical energy technologies. Multiple electron transfer processes, involving adsorption and activation of O2 and generation of protons from water molecules, cause the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, a double-active-site catalyst of Fe3 C nanoparticles coupled to paulownia wood-derived N-doped carbon (Fe3 C@NPW) is fabricated via an active-site-uniting strategy. One site on Fe3 C nanoparticles contributes to activating water molecules, while another site on N-doped carbon is responsible for activating oxygen molecules. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of double active sites, Fe3 C@NPW delivers a remarkable catalytic activity for ORR with a half-wave potential of 0.87 V (vs. RHE) in alkaline electrolyte, outperforming commercial Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, zinc-air batteries (ZABs) assembled with Fe3 C@NPW as a catalyst on cathode achieve a large specific capacity of 804.4 mA h gZn -1 and a long-term stability of 780 cycles. The model solid-state ZABs also display satisfactory performances with an open-circuit voltage of 1.39 V and a high peak power density of 78 mW cm-2 . These outstanding performances reach the level of first-rank among the non-noble metal electrode materials. This work offers a promising approach to creating double-active-site catalysts by the active-site-uniting strategy for energy conversion fields.

Coupling Fe3 C Nanoparticles and N-Doping on Wood-Derived Carbon to Construct Reversible Cathode for Zn-Air Batteries.

Self-supported N-Doped Carbon@NiXCo2-XP core-shell nanorod arrays on 3D Ni foam for boosted hydrogen evolution reaction

Nickel Phosphide Nanoparticles for Selective Hydrogenation of SO2 to H2S

Facile synthesis of Ni5P4 nanosheets/nanoparticles for highly active and durable hydrogen evolution

The total flavonoids of Houttuynia cordata are determined by UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The ex-traction condition of flavonoids from Houttuynia cordata includes: the extraction temperature is 70℃, solid-liquid ratio is 1:20, solvent is 80% ethanol, extraction time is 65 min. We studied the antioxidation of flavonoids in Houttuynia cordata, and results showed that flavonoids had strong reducing capacity, hydroxyl free radical scavenging activity and the superoxide anion radical scavenging ability, thus can provide a basis for the development of natural antioxidants.

https://file.scirp.org/pdf/MSCE_2016022915454218.pdf

Changlu Liu

Papers

Facile synthesis of Ni5P4 nanosheets/nanoparticles for highly active and durable hydrogen evolution

Determination of Total Flavonoids and Its Antioxidant Ability in Houttuynia cordata