Effects of ethephon on heartwood formation and related physiological indices of Dalbergia odorifera T. Chen

Introduction

Dalbergia odorifera T. Chen, known as fragrant rosewood, is a rare and endangered tree species. Studies have shown that plant growth regulators can effectively promote heartwood formation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ethephon (ETH) on heartwood formation and the influence of ethephon and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the physiological characteristics in D. odorifera.

Methods

D. odorifera branches underwent treatment with 2.5% plant growth regulators, including ETH, jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), H2O2, and inhibitors such as ascorbic acid (AsA) to inhibit H2O2 synthesis, and (S) -trans 2-amino-4 - (2-aminoethoxy) -3-butene (AVG) to inhibit ethylene synthesis. After a 14-day period, we conducted an analysis to evaluate the impact of these plant growth regulators on elongation distance, vessel occlusion percentage, and trans-nerol content. Additionally, the effects of ETH and H2O2 on endogenous plant hormones, H2O2 content, soluble protein content, and enzyme activity were investigated within 0-48 h of treatment.

Results

After treatment with ETH for 14 days, the extension distance of the heartwood material was 15 cm, while the trans-nerolol content was 15 times that of the ABA group. ETH and H2O2 promoted endogenous ethylene synthesis; Ethylene content peaked at 6 and 18 h. The peak ethylene content in the ETH group was 68.07%, 12.89%, and 20.87% higher than the initial value of the H2O2 group and ddH2O group, respectively, and 29.64% higher than that in the AVG group. The soluble protein content and activity of related enzymes were significantly increased following ETH treatment.

Discussion

ETH exhibited the most impact on heartwood formation while not hindering tree growth. This treatment effectively triggered the production of endogenous ethylene in plants and enhanced the activity of essential enzymes involved in heartwood formation. These findings serve as a valuable reference for future investigations into heartwood formation.

Multiprincipal Element M2 FeC (M = Ti,V,Nb,Ta,Zr) MAX Phases with Synergistic Effect of Dielectric and Magnetic Loss

Electromagnetic (EM) wave pollution is harmful to human health and environment, thus it is absolutely important to develop new electromagnetic wave absorbing materials. MAX phases have been attracted more attention as a potential candidate for electromagnetic wave absorbing materials due to their high conductivity and nanolaminated structure. Herein, two new magnetic MAX phases with multiprincipal elements ((Ti_1/3 Nb_1/3 Ta_1/3 )₂ FeC and (Ti_0.2 V_0.2 Nb_0.2 Ta_0.2 Zr_0.2 )₂ FeC) in which Fe atoms replace Al atoms in the A sites are successfully synthesized by an isomorphous replacement reaction of multiprincipal (Ti_1/3 Nb_1/3 Ta_1/3 )₂ AlC and (Ti_0.2 V_0.2 Nb_0.2 Ta_0.2 Zr_0.2 )₂ AlC MAX phases with Lewis acid salt (FeCl₂ ). (Ti_1/3 Nb_1/3 Ta_1/3 )₂ FeC and (Ti_0.2 V_0.2 Nb_0.2 Ta_0.2 Zr_0.2 )₂ FeC exhibit ferromagnetic behavior, and the Curie temperature (T_c ) are 302 and 235 K, respectively. The dual electromagnetic absorption mechanisms that include dielectric and magnetic loss, which is realized in these multiprincipal MAX phases. The minimum reflection loss (RL) of (Ti_1/3 Nb_1/3 Ta_1/3 )₂ FeC is -44.4 dB at 6.56 GHz with 3 mm thickness, and the effective bandwidth is 2.48 GHz. Additionally, the electromagnetic wave absorption properties of the magnetic MAX phases indicate that magnetic loss also plays an important role besides dielectric loss. This work shows a promising composition-design strategy to develop MAX phases with good EM wave absorption performance via simultaneously regulating dielectric and magnetic loss together.

Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells Protect Mice from Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation via IL5 and Eosinophils

Development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) enhances lesion group-2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) accumulation and blood IL5. ILC2 deficiency in Rora^fl/fl Il7r^Cre/+ mice or induced ILC2 depletion in Icos^fl-DTR-fl/+ Cd4^Cre/+ mice expedites AAA growth, increases lesion inflammation, but leads to systemic IL5 and eosinophil (EOS) deficiency. Mechanistic studies show that ILC2 protect mice from AAA formation via IL5 and EOS. IL5 or ILC2 from wild-type (WT) mice, but not ILC2 from Il5^-/- mice induces EOS differentiation in bone-marrow cells from Rora^fl/fl Il7r^Cre/+ mice. IL5, IL13, and EOS or ILC2 from WT mice, but not ILC2 from Il5^-/- and Il13^-/- mice block SMC apoptosis and promote SMC proliferation. EOS but not ILC2 from WT or Il5^-/- mice block endothelial cell (EC) adhesion molecule expression, angiogenesis, dendritic cell differentiation, and Ly6C^hi monocyte polarization. Reconstitution of WT EOS and ILC2 but not Il5^-/- ILC2 slows AAA growth in Rora^fl/fl Il7r^Cre/+ mice by increasing systemic EOS. Besides regulating SMC pathobiology, ILC2 play an indirect role in AAA protection via the IL5 and EOS mechanism.