In agreement with our expectation, the effects of pest management practice on nematode abundance and metabolic footprints depend on trophic group and sampling time. However, pest management practice exerted no apparent effect on nematode diversity and community composition. Soil nutrient availability and CN molar ratio are the primary regulating factor of soil nematode community in rice paddy fields. In conclusion, our findings implied that changes in abundance, diversity, metabolic footprints associated with the crop growth stage overweighed the application of Bt rice and insecticides. The cultivation of Bt rice Huahui-1 exerted no measurable adverse effect on soil nematode community in rhizosphere soil over 3 years of rice cropping. Copyright © 2020 Yang, Chen, Liu, Chen, Liang, Qiang, He and Ge.FACT is a heterodimeric histone chaperone consisting of the SSRP1 and SPT16 proteins and is conserved among eukaryotes. It interacts with the histones H2A-H2B and H3-H4 as well as with DNA. Based on in vitro and in vivo studies mainly in yeast and mammalian cells, FACT can mediate nucleosome disassembly and reassembly and thus facilitates in the chromatin context DNA-dependent processes including transcription, replication and repair. In plants, primarily the role of FACT related to RNA polymerase II transcription has been examined. FACT was found to associate with elongating Arabidopsis RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) as part of the transcript elongation complex and it was identified as repressor of aberrant intragenic transcriptional initiation. Arabidopsis mutants depleted in FACT subunits exhibit various defects in vegetative and reproductive development. Strikingly, FACT modulates important developmental transitions by promoting expression of key repressors of these processes. Thus, FACT facilitates expression of DOG1 and FLC adjusting the switch from seed dormancy to germination and from vegetative to reproductive development, respectively. In the central cell of the female gametophyte, FACT can facilitate DNA demethylation especially within heterochromatin, and thereby contributes to gene imprinting during Arabidopsis reproduction. This review discusses results particularly from the plant perspective about the contribution of FACT to processes that involve reorganisation of nucleosomes with a main focus on RNAPII transcription and its implications for diverse areas of plant biology. Copyright © 2020 Grasser.The extension of commercial life and the reduction of postharvest losses of perishable fruits is mainly based on storage at low temperatures alone or in combination with modified atmospheres (MAs) and controlled atmospheres (CAs), directed primarily at reducing their overall metabolism thus delaying ripening and senescence. Fruits react to postharvest conditions with desirable changes if appropriate protocols are applied, but otherwise can develop negative and unacceptable traits due to the onset of physiological disorders. Extended cold storage periods and/or inappropriate temperatures can result in development of chilling injuries (CIs). The etiology, incidence, and severity of such symptoms vary even within cultivars of the same species, indicating the genotype significance. Carbohydrates and amino acids have protective/regulating roles in CI development. MA/CA storage protocols involve storage under hypoxic conditions and high carbon dioxide concentrations that can maximize quality over extended storage pight © 2020 Brizzolara, Manganaris, Fotopoulos, Watkins and Tonutti.To explore the influences of different cultivated areas on the chemical profiles of Eucommia ulmoides leaves (EUL) and rapidly authenticate its geographical origins, 187 samples from 13 provinces in China were systematically investigated using three data fusion strategies (low, mid, and high level) combined with two discrimination model algorithms (partial least squares discrimination analysis; random forest, RF). CX-3543 solubility dmso RF models constructed by high-level data fusion with different modes of different spectral data (Fourier transform near-infrared spectrum and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform mid-infrared spectrum) were most suitable for identifying EULs from different geographical origins. The accuracy rates of calibration and validation set were 92.86% and 93.44%, respectively. In addition, climate parameters were systematically investigated the cluster difference in our study. Some interesting and novel information could be found from the clustering tree diagram of hierarchical cluster analysis. The Xinjiang Autonomous Region (Region 5) located in the high latitude area was the only region in the middle temperate zone of all sample collection areas in which the samples belonged to an individual class no matter their distance in the tree diagram. The samples were from a relatively high elevation in the Shennongjia Forest District in Hubei Province (>1200 m), which is the main difference from the samples from Xiangyang City (78 m). Thus, the sample clusters from region 9 are different from the sample clusters from other regions. The results would provide a reference for further research to those samples from the special cluster. Copyright © 2020 Wang, Tang, Li, Zhou, Li, Li and Wang.It has been recognized that cytokinins are plant hormones that influence not only numerous aspects of plant growth, development and physiology, including cell division, chloroplast differentiation and delay of senescence but the interaction with other organisms, including pathogens. Cytokinins are not only produced by plants but are also by other prokaryotic and eukaryotic organism such as bacteria, fungi, microalgae and insects. Notably, cytokinins are produced both by pathogenic and also beneficial microbes and are known to induce resistance in plants against pathogen infections. In this review the contrasting role of cytokinin for the defence and susceptibility of plants against bacterial and fungal pathogen and pest insects is assessed. We also discuss the cross talk of cytokinins with other phytohormones and the underlying mechanism involved in enhancing plant immunity against pathogen infections and explore possible practical applications in crop plant production. Copyright © 2020 Akhtar, Mekureyaw, Pandey and Roitsch.