Chinese Journal of Nature

WANG Ying , JIAO Yuling

2021, 43(2): 79-86. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.001

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As the most typical lateral organ, leaf shape is usually flattened. Although flattened leaf shape is clearly beneficial to expand the area for photosynthesis, how it is achieved developmentally remains unanswered. Commonly, leaf primordia are close to half ball shaped right after initiation, but quickly acquire flattened shapes. Through research over the past 70 years, developmental biologists have obtained a deeper understanding of not only the gene regulatory networks but also the form acquisition process underlying leaf geometry changes. New theories have been proposed to explain leaf blade evolution, which broadly impacted on the Earth’s ecosystem.

The mystery of compound leaf development

WANG Chaoqun, HE liangliang, CHEN Jianghua

2021, 43(2): 87-95. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2020.00.002

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Leaves are the primary sites for plant photosynthesis and disease-resistance, showing great diversity in shapes. Thus, leaves are the good model for studying the morphogenesis as well as the evolution of complex organs. Simple leaves and compound leaves are two basic forms in nature. Significant progresses have been made in understanding the simple leaf development. However, several key questions for compound leaf development have not been addressed. As we know leaves initiate from the peripheral zone of the shoot apical meristem (SAM). However, how stem cells of compound leaf primordia are regulated by the coordination of genetic factors, hormones and environmental signals, and finally to control the plasticity of compound leaf shape which remains poorly understood. Recent years, more and more plant biologists focus on the molecular mechanism underlying the diversification of compound leaf shapes. Here, we discuss some key progresses in the research of compound leaf development, and point out the hot topics in the future research.

Molecular mechanism of regulating intrinsic leaf size

ZHANG He, LI Lei

2021, 43(2): 96-104. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.003

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Organ size is an important biological and agricultural trait. As the most vital photosynthetic organ and the primary source of human organic substances, intrinsic leaf size regulation has always been a hot field in biological research. Intrinsic leaf size is mainly determined by two closely related biological processes: cell proliferation and cell expansion. On the one hand, cell proliferation and cell expansion exhibit spatiotemporal differences. And on the other hand, both of them need precise regulation of primary cell wall. Here, we review the general process of plant organ growth and introduce the molecular regulation mechanism of intrinsic leaf size where we focus on the function of miRNAs. Not only some key genes of cell proliferation and cell expansion are regulated by miRNAs, but also some miRNAs can directly regulate cell wall components to regulate the final leaf size, indicating that the miRNAs are significant links in the genetic mechanism of controlling intrinsic leaf size.

Peptides regulators in plant reproduction

SUN Xiang, CHENG Lijun, LIU Zhiwen, LI Chao

2021, 43(2): 105-111. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.004

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Plant peptides have been identified as important regulators in many processes of plant growth and development for nearly 30 years. Peptide regulators majorly function in cell-cell communications at very low concentrations. In angiosperms, many classes of peptides have been identified involved in the complex male-female interactions. Here, we introduce the function of the peptide families acting in the pollen-pistil interactions and summarize the progress focusing on the signal transduction and evolution of these peptides.

Ghrelin and cardiovascular homeostasis

LU Weiwei, CHEN Yao, QI Yongfen

2021, 43(2): 112-118. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.005

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Ghrelin is a recently discovered small peptide released primarily from the stomach and reported to exert a strong growth hormone-releasing activity. Ghrelin and its receptors are widely distributed in the body. In addition to its well-known role in regulating metabolism and appetite, ghrelin has been proved to inhibit sympathetic excitation and proapoptotic cascades, protect against oxidative damage and modulateimmunity, inflammation and autophagy. Recent studies indicate that ghrelin has powerful cardiovascular protective effects such asregulating intracellular calcium concentration, protection of endothelial cells, decreasing blood pressure and ameliorating ischemia/reperfusion injury. Therefore, targeting the ghrelin receptor and ghrelin signaling hold great potential and clinical applications in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

The discoveries and research progress of Oviraptorosauria from the Jehol Biota

QIU Rui, WANG Xiaolin

2021, 43(2): 119-126. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.006

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Oviraptorosauria is an unusual group of Theropods, which has a highly specialize skull, and a habit of protecting their eggs. Oviraptorosauria possess some characters similar to bird, the studies of this group have great significance for the origin of the bird. Because of the loss of the early species, there was dispute about the classification of Oviraptorosauria among Theropods. Since 1990s, several early oviraptorosaurids, including Caudipteridae, has been found from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China. Some caudipterid specimens preserved the soft tissues such as the feather, and the gastroliths. The study of this group gives important information of the early evolution and the habit of Oviraptorosauria, the evolution of the feather and other soft tissues. A new caudipterid species Xingtianosaurus ganqi, which was reported in 2019, provided new understanding of the evolution of the manus and the sternum along coelurosauria.

Black hole information paradox: Is the information that fell into the black hole lost?

YU Minghui, GE Xianhui

2021, 43(2): 127-134. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.007

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The black hole information paradox has bedeviled theoretical physicists for nearly 50 years since it was entranced. It is regarded as an important approach to study the theory of quantum gravity. The key to the question is whether the Page curve of the black hole evaporation process can be given. However, in the last year, the research of this problem was made a breakthrough. Physicists calculated the Page curve under the semiclassical theory of gravity, showing that information was indeed released during the evaporation of the black hole and no information was lost. This also announces the solution of the black hole information problem. This paper introduces the history and latest progress of the research on black hole information paradox in chronological order.

The role of neutrophil extracellular traps in gouty arthritis: two sides of the same coin

WANG Xuelin, CAO Xiumei, YAN Jianshe

2021, 43(2): 135-140. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.008

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Gouty arthritis (GA) is an acute inflammatory that is initiated by the precipitation of oversaturated solutions of uric acid as monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, which activates neutrophils to release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). NETs further enhance the inflammatory response by inducing neutrophils and monocytes to release pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. However, the increasing number of neutrophils recruited to the sites of MSU deposits allows the formation of aggregated NETs that densely packs MSU crystals and degrades the proinflammatory cytokines, thereby allowing turning down the inflammatory. Here we briefly summarize the dual role of neutrophils during the initiation, development and the resolution of GA, and the signal pathways involved in the regulation of NETs formation.

Multi-function of grassland ecosystem and realization of sustainable development goals

LI Tong, CUI Lizhen, ZHU Jiapei, CHEN Shaofeng, DONG Zuoji, CUI Xiaoyong, LIU Yali, WANG Yanfen, NING Yao

2021, 43(2): 149-156. doi::10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2021.02.010

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Grassland is the largest terrestrial ecosystem in China. It is of great value in ensuring the safe production of national “big food”, curbing climate change, maintaining biodiversity, conserving water resources, promoting sustainable community construction and other human sustainable development goals. Due to human activities and climate change, the service capacity of grassland ecosystem declines and the ecological function decreases, which seriously threaten the ecological and economic security of China. The emergence and solution of the problem should focus to the grassland ecosystem itself. Therefore, it is of great practical and historical significance to deeply clarify the relationship between grassland ecosystem multi functionality and multi service and sustainable development goals, scientifically study and judge the important role of adaptive management in sustainable development goals. We put forward four measures to ensure and support the healthy development of grassland in the future, and provide path selection for contributing Chinese wisdom to the realization of global sustainable development goals.

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