Difluoromethylated Difunctionalization of Alkenes under Visible Light

Difluoromethylated compounds usually act as bioisosteres for alcohol functional groups and show unique physicochemical and biological properties. The cyano-difluoromethylation of alkenes using 5-((difluoromethyl)sulfonyl)-1-phenyl-1H-tetrazole as a CF2H radical difluoromethyl precursor was developed to afford nitriles including a CF2H group. A low-cost, stable, easily handled 5-((difluoromethyl)sulfonyl)-1-methyl-1H-tetrazole (DFSMT) was synthesized and applied as the radical CF2H reagent. Using DFSMT as the radical CF2H precursor, the oxyl-difluoromethylation of alkenes was developed to obtain difluoromethylated ether products. All of the reactions showed good functional group tolerability. Initial mechanistic experiments indicated that the CF2H radical was involved as the key active intermediate.

Pollinator Proboscis Length Plays a Key Role in Floral Integration of Honeysuckle Flowers (Lonicera spp.)

Pollinator-mediated selection is supposed to influence floral integration. However, the potential pathway through which pollinators drive floral integration needs further investigations. We propose that pollinator proboscis length may play a key role in the evolution of floral integration. We first assessed the divergence of floral traits in 11 Lonicera species. Further, we detected the influence of pollinator proboscis length and eight floral traits on floral integration. We then used phylogenetic structural equation models (PSEMs) to illustrate the pathway through which pollinators drive the divergence of floral integration. Results of PCA indicated that species significantly differed in floral traits. Floral integration increased along with corolla tube length, stigma height, lip length, and the main pollinators' proboscis length. PSEMs revealed a potential pathway by which pollinator proboscis length directly selected on corolla tube length and stigma height, while lip length co-varied with stigma height. Compared to species with short corolla tubes, long-tube flowers may experience more intense pollinator-mediated selection due to more specialized pollination systems and thus reduce variation in the floral traits. Along elongation of corolla tube and stigma height, the covariation of other relevant traits might help to maintain pollination success. The direct and indirect pollinator-mediation selection collectively enhances floral integration.

Using bulked extremes and recessive class to map genes for photoperiod-sensitive genic male sterility in rice

Photoperiod-sensitive genic male sterile (PS-GMS) rice has a number of desirable characteristics for hybrid rice production. In this study we made use of a published rice genetic linkage map to determine the locations of PSGMS genes and we have characterized the effects of these genes on sterility by using molecular markers. A two-step approach was designed for mapping the genes: (i) identifying possible PSGMS gene-containing chromosome regions with bulked DNA from extreme fertile and extreme sterile plants of a very large F2 population and (ii) determining the map locations of the genes in extreme sterile individuals. We show that this mapping method is much more cost effective and statistically efficient than using a random sample of an F2 population. We identified two chromosomal regions each containing a PSGMS locus, one designated pms1 on chromosome 7 and one designated pms2 on chromosome 3. The existence of these two loci was confirmed by a large sample assay and with data on rationing progenies of the F2 plants. A marker-based analysis shows that the effect of pms1 is 2-3 times larger than that of pms2 and that dominance is almost complete at both loci. Implications in the breeding of PSGMS rice lines are discussed.