Jinsong Bao

Bio: Jinsong Bao is an academic researcher from Zhejiang University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Starch & Amylose. The author has an hindex of 41, co-authored 139 publications receiving 6726 citations. Previous affiliations of Jinsong Bao include University of Hong Kong & Kongju National University.

Hierarchical Action and Inhibition of Plant Dicer-Like Proteins in Antiviral Defense

Abstract: The mechanisms underlying induction and suppression of RNA silencing in the ongoing plant-virus arms race are poorly understood. We show here that virus-derived small RNAs produced by Arabidopsis Dicer-like 4 (DCL4) program an effector complex conferring antiviral immunity. Inhibition of DCL4 by a viral-encoded suppressor revealed the subordinate antiviral activity of DCL2. Accordingly, inactivating both DCL2 and DCL4 was necessary and sufficient to restore systemic infection of a suppressor-deficient virus. The effects of DCL2 were overcome by increasing viral dosage in inoculated leaves, but this could not surmount additional, non-cell autonomous effects of DCL4 specifically preventing viral unloading from the vasculature. These findings define a molecular framework for studying antiviral silencing and defense in plants.

Anthocyanins, Flavonols, and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Chinese Bayberry (Myrica rubra) Extracts and Their Color Properties and Stability

Abstract: Characterization of anthocyanins and flavonols and radical scavenging activity assays of extracts from four Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra) varieties with different fruit colors were carried out. One dominant anthocyanin and three major flavonols were isolated by HPLC, and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside and two of three flavonols, myricetin and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside, were identified by cochromatography with authentic standards. Both DPPH• and ABTS•+ cation assays indicated that the black varieties (Biji and Hunan) demonstrated much higher radical scavenging activities than the pink (Fenhong) and yellow (Shuijing) varieties, which may be attributed to much higher levels of anthocyanins, flavonoids, and total phenolics in the black varieties. Biji and Hunan had 6.49 and 6.52 mM Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) per 100 g of fresh weight, whereas the pink (Fenhong) and yellow (Shuijing) bayberries had 1.32 and 1.31 mM TEAC/100 g. Different fruit color was reflected by the surface color and pigment ext...

Diversity of Global Rice Markets and the Science Required for Consumer-Targeted Rice Breeding

Abstract: With the ever-increasing global demand for high quality rice in both local production regions and with Western consumers, we have a strong desire to understand better the importance of the different traits that make up the quality of the rice grain and obtain a full picture of rice quality demographics. Rice is by no means a ‘one size fits all’ crop. Regional preferences are not only striking, they drive the market and hence are of major economic importance in any rice breeding / improvement strategy. In this analysis, we have engaged local experts across the world to perform a full assessment of all the major rice quality trait characteristics and importantly, to determine how these are combined in the most preferred varieties for each of their regions. Physical as well as biochemical characteristics have been monitored and this has resulted in the identification of no less than 18 quality trait combinations. This complexity immediately reveals the extent of the specificity of consumer preference. Nevertheless, further assessment of these combinations at the variety level reveals that several groups still comprise varieties which consumers can readily identify as being different. This emphasises the shortcomings in the current tools we have available to assess rice quality and raises the issue of how we might correct for this in the future. Only with additional tools and research will we be able to define directed strategies for rice breeding which are able to combine important agronomic features with the demands of local consumers for specific quality attributes and hence, design new, improved crop varieties which will be awarded success in the global market.

American Society for Testing and Materials

Abstract: The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is an independent organization devoted to the development of standards.

Small silencing RNAs: an expanding universe

Abstract: Since the discovery in 1993 of the first small silencing RNA, a dizzying number of small RNA classes have been identified, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). These classes differ in their biogenesis, their modes of target regulation and in the biological pathways they regulate. There is a growing realization that, despite their differences, these distinct small RNA pathways are interconnected, and that small RNA pathways compete and collaborate as they regulate genes and protect the genome from external and internal threats.

Computational and Experimental Analysis of Microsatellites in Rice (Oryza sativa L.): Frequency, Length Variation, Transposon Associations, and Genetic Marker Potential

Abstract: A total of 57.8 Mb of publicly available rice (Oryza sativa L.) DNA sequence was searched to determine the frequency and distribution of different simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the genome. SSR loci were categorized into two groups based on the length of the repeat motif. Class I, or hypervariable markers, consisted of SSRs > or =20 bp, and Class II, or potentially variable markers, consisted of SSRs > or =12 bp <20 bp. The occurrence of Class I SSRs in end-sequences of EcoRI- and HindIII-digested BAC clones was one SSR per 40 Kb, whereas in continuous genomic sequence (represented by 27 fully sequenced BAC and PAC clones), the frequency was one SSR every 16 kb. Class II SSRs were estimated to occur every 3.7 kb in BAC ends and every 1.9 kb in fully sequenced BAC and PAC clones. GC-rich trinucleotide repeats (TNRs) were most abundant in protein-coding portions of ESTs and in fully sequenced BACs and PACs, whereas AT-rich TNRs showed no such preference, and di- and tetranucleotide repeats were most frequently found in noncoding, intergenic regions of the rice genome. Microsatellites with poly(AT)n repeats represented the most abundant and polymorphic class of SSRs but were frequently associated with the Micropon family of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) and were difficult to amplify. A set of 200 Class I SSR markers was developed and integrated into the existing microsatellite map of rice, providing immediate links between the genetic, physical, and sequence-based maps. This contribution brings the number of microsatellite markers that have been rigorously evaluated for amplification, map position, and allelic diversity in Oryza spp. to a total of 500.