This study demonstrates that PtWOX2 and PtWOX14 significantly accelerate the initiation of somatic embryos in Pinus massoniana, offering a comprehensive molecular framework to address conifer recalcitrance via PtWOX -mediated synergistic hormonal and transcriptional reprogramming.
Abstract
Somatic embryogenesis (SE) represents a powerful tool for conifer biotechnology, yet its application in
Pinus massoniana
is frequently hindered by severe genotype-dependent recalcitrance.
We identified two
WUSCHEL-related homeobox
(
WOX
) orthologs,
PtWOX2
and
PtWOX14
, as key regulators driving the embryogenic transition. By employing a genetic transformation system harboring the RUBY reporter for real-time visual selection, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of
PtWOX2
and
PtWOX14
dramatically accelerated SE initiation, with proembryogenic masses (PEMs) emerging 22.0-26.7 days earlier than in controls. Notably,
PtWOX
overexpression enabled the “fate reversal” of recalcitrant cell lines, transforming disorganized cell aggregates into highly polarized PEMs with distinct embryonal heads. Maturation capacity was increased by up to 1.7-fold in
PtWOX2
-overexpressing lines, whereas
PtWOX14
exhibited a genotype-dependent effect on somatic embryo yield. Physiological and WGCNA analyses revealed that
PtWOX
genes orchestrate a reciprocal hormonal reconfiguration, shifting the hormonal landscape from a high-auxin proliferative state to a low-IAA/high-ABA differentiation-permissive state. This transition is sustained by hierarchical regulatory networks in which
PtWOX2
and
PtWOX14
converge on an IAA-mediated execution module. This process involves the mobilization of master hubs such as
bHLH139
and
HB9
, to activate cell-wall and metabolic enzymes (
MAN1
,
Cht1
, and
EXPA1
) while relieving the transcriptional repression imposed by auxin signaling inhibitors like
IAA11
. Furthermore, protein interaction assays confirmed that PtWOX2 associates with nuclear partners such as Pt1G46750 and Pt5G39360, likely forming a post-translational regulatory complex to coordinate downstream developmental programs.
Our study demonstrates that
PtWOX2
and
PtWOX14
significantly accelerate the initiation of somatic embryos in
P. massoniana
, offering a comprehensive molecular framework to address conifer recalcitrance via
PtWOX
-mediated synergistic hormonal and transcriptional reprogramming. Furthermore, by establishing a genetic transformation system integrated with the RUBY reporter, this work provides a potential foundation for the genetic improvement and future large-scale propagation of
Pinus
species by enhancing early developmental efficiency.
In the context of cloud computing, risks associated with underlying technologies, risks involving service models and outsourcing, and enterprise readiness have been recognized as potential barriers for the adoption. To accelerate cloud adoption, the concrete barriers negatively influencing the adoption decision need to be identified. Our study aims at understanding the impact of technical and security-related barriers on the organizational decision to adopt the cloud. We analyzed data collected through a web survey of 352 individuals working for enterprises consisting of decision makers as well as employees from other levels within an organization. The comparison of adopter and non-adopter sample reveals three potential adoption inhibitor, security, data privacy, and portability. The result from our logistic regression analysis confirms the criticality of the security concern, which results in an up to 26-fold increase in the non-adoption likelihood. Our study underlines the importance of the technical and security perspectives for research investigating the adoption of technology.
Nattakarn Phaphoom, Xiaofeng Wang, S. Samuel et al.· Journal of Systems and Softw...· 111 citations· ⚡8
To compete in this age of disruption, large companies cannot rely on cost efficiency, lead time reduction and quality improvement. They are now looking for ways to innovate like startups. Meanwhile, the awareness and use of the Lean startup approach have grown rapidly amongst the software startup community in recent years. This study investigates how Lean internal startup facilitates software product innovation in large companies and identifies its enablers and inhibitors. A multiple case study approach is followed in the investigation. Two software product innovation projects from two large companies are examined, using a conceptual framework that is based on the method-in-action framework and extended with the previously developed Lean-Internal Corporate Venture model. Seven face-to-face in-depth interviews of the employees with different roles are conducted. Within-case analysis and cross-case comparison are applied to draw the findings from the cases. A generic process flow summarises the common key processes of Lean internal startups. The findings suggest that an internal startup that is initiated management or employees faces different challenges. A list of enablers of applying Lean startup in large companies are identified, including top management support and cross-functional team. Both cases face different inhibitors due to the different process of inception, objective of the team and type of the product. Our contributions are threefold. First, this study is one of the first attempt to investigate the use of Lean startup approach in large companies empirically. Second, the study shows the potential of the method-in-action framework to investigate the Lean startup approach in non-startup context. The third is a general process of Lean internal startup and the evidence of the enablers and inhibitors of implementing it, which are both theory-informed and empirically grounded.
Henry Edison, Nina M. Smørsgård, Xiaofeng Wang et al.· Journal of Systems and Softw...· 78 citations· ⚡6
Affects--emotions and moods--have an impact on cognitive processing activities and the working performance of individuals. It has been established that software development tasks are undertaken through cognitive processing activities. Therefore, we have proposed to employ psychology theory and measurements in software engineering (SE) research. We have called it "psychoempirical software engineering". However, we found out that existing SE research has often fallen into misconceptions about the affect of developers, lacking in background theory and how to successfully employ psychological measurements in studies. The contribution of this paper is threefold. (1) It highlights the challenges to conduct proper affect-related studies with psychology; (2) it provides a comprehensive literature review in affect theory; and (3) it proposes guidelines for conducting psychoempirical software engineering.
D. Graziotin, Xiaofeng Wang, P. Abrahamsson· SSE@SIGSOFT FSE· 56 citations· ⚡4
It is essential for startups to quickly experiment business ideas by building tangible prototypes and collecting user feedback on them. As prototyping is an inevitable part of learning for early stage software startups, how fast startups can learn depends on how fast they can prototype. Despite of the importance, there is a lack of research about prototyping in software startups. In this study, we aimed at understanding what are factors influencing different types of prototyping activities. We conducted a multiple case study on twenty European software startups. The results are two folds; firstly we propose a prototype-centric learning model in early stage software startups. Secondly, we identify factors occur as barriers but also facilitators for prototyping in early stage software startups. The factors are grouped into (1) artifacts, (2) team competence, (3) collaboration, (4) customer and (5) process dimensions. To speed up a startup’s progress at the early stage, it is important to incorporate the learning objective into a well-defined collaborative approach of prototyping.
Anh Nguyen-Duc, Xiaofeng Wang, P. Abrahamsson· International Conference on...· 44 citations· ⚡5
This study constructed a pH-responsive P-TN/SF@Fe-Cur composite coating that demonstrated significant anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, pro-angiogenic, and pro-osteogenic effects in rat subcutaneous infection and femoral defect models.
Instead of relying on huge and expensive data centers for rolling out cloudbased services to rural and remote areas, we propose a hardware platform based on small single-board computers. The role of these micro-data centers is twofold. On the one hand, they act as intermediaries between cloud services and clients, improving availability in the case of network or power outages. On the other hand, they run community-based services on local infrastructure. We illustrate how to build such a system without incurring high costs, high power consumption, or single points of failure. Additionally, we opt for a system that is extendable and scalable as well as easy to deploy, relying on an open design.
P. Abrahamsson, S. Helmer, Tosin Daniel Oyetoyan et al.· arXiv.org· 2 citations
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