The U6 promoter plays a pivotal role in the CRISPR/Cas9 system by driving the transcription of single guide RNA (sgRNA), which directs Cas9 to achieve precise genome editing. Endogenous U6 promoters typically exhibit superior transcriptional activation efficiency compared to exogenous counterparts, thereby enhancing the efficacy of genome editing. However, the endogenous U6 promoter in kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) remains uncharacterized. In this study, we conducted a homologous search of the kenaf genome using the Arabidopsis U6 (AtU6-26) RNA sequence as a reference, identifying two candidate promoters, HcU6-1 and HcU6-14. Promoter fragments were amplified from the genomic DNA of kenaf cultivar 'Fuhong 952' and subsequently cloned into a GUS fusion expression vector. Histochemical staining revealed transcriptional activity for both promoters, with HcU6-14 demonstrating significantly stronger activity. To evaluate editing efficiency, we constructed a CRISPR/Cas9 vector containing HcALS sgRNA, driven by either the kenaf U6-14P promoter or the cotton U6-9P (GbU6-9P) promoter. Kenaf hairy roots were regenerated via Agrobacterium rhizogenes K599-mediated transformation. Sequencing analysis of ALS gene fragments from these hairy roots confirmed successful targeted editing when using the kenaf U6-14P promoter, whereas no base mutations were detected with the cotton U6 promoter. These findings highlight the superior editing efficiency of the kenaf U6 promoter and provide a critical foundation for advancing functional genomics research in kenaf.

The Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, exhibits temperature-dependent pupal pigmentation, forming black pupae at 23 °C and yellow pupae at 29 °C. To address this, we elucidated the molecular mechanism of this phenotypic plasticity by integrating multi-omics analyses, RNA interference, and CRISPR/Cas9. We identified N-β-alanyl dopamine (NBAD) as essential for yellow pigmentation. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed temperature-dependent regulation of A. pernyi aspartate 1-decarboxylase (ApADC) and NBAD synthase (Apebony). This regulation correlated with elevated β-alanine/aspartic acid in yellow pupae and enriched dopamine/N-acetyldopamine (NADA) in black pupae. Beta-alanine injection at 18 °C induced a dose-dependent transition to yellow, while RNAi of ApADC or Apebony at 29 °C triggered melanization. By establishing the first CRISPR/Cas9 platform for A. pernyi, we generated ApADC mutants with disrupted GadA domains, which developed black pupae even at 29 °C; this phenotype was rescued by β-alanine supplementation. Our results show that ApADC acts as a central temperature-responsive regulator of pupal pigmentation by modulating NBAD biosynthesis. These findings provide mechanistic insights into melanization and environmental adaptation in an important lepidopteran and are expected to guide the targeted breeding of stable genetic lines for the sustainable development of the A. pernyi industry.

Parasitic weeds of the Orobanchaceae family cause substantial economic losses and pose significant threats to global agriculture. However, management of such parasitism is challenging, and very few resistance genes have been cloned and characterized in depth. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study using 152 tomato accessions and identified SlABCG45 as a key gene that mediates host resistance to Phelipanche aegyptiaca by affecting the level of strigolactones (SLs) in root exudates. SLs are synthesized and released by host plants and act as germination stimulants for parasitic weeds. We found that SlABCG45 and its close homolog SlABCG44 were membrane-localized SL transporters with essential roles in exudation of SLs to the rhizosphere, resistance to Phelipanche and Orobanche, and upward transport of SLs from roots to shoots. As a predominant environmental stimulant exacerbates parasitism, phosphorus deficiency dramatically induced SlABCG45 expression and weakly induced SlABCG44 expression via the transcription factors SlNSP1 and SlNSP2. Knockout of SlABCG45 in tomato had little effect on yield traits in a broomrape-free field, but conferred increased resistance to different Phelipanche and Orobanche species, resulting in an ∼30% yield increase in a Phelipanche-infested field. Our findings reveal that targeting a single gene by genome editing can confer broad-spectrum parasite resistance in tomato, providing an effective strategy for the sustainable control of parasitic plants in agriculture.

Caragana species, perennial deciduous shrubs of Leguminosae, are significant to illustrate the synchronous evolution of floristics, vegetation, and climate change in arid Central Asia, cold arid alpine Qinghai–Tibetan plateau (QTP), and mesophytic East Asia. The objective of this study was to assemble and annotate the complete cp genome of four Caragana species, including C. opulens, C. roborovskyi, C. stenophylla, C. tibetica, and to compare their various characteristics with previously published data of Caragana species. High-quality DNA was paired-end sequenced utilizing the Illumina NovaSeq platform, followed by de novo assembly with the NOVOPlasty. The four cp genomes of Caragana lacked the IR region and ranged in length from 129,303 to 132,895 bp. The cp genome encoded 112–113 genes, consisting of 77 protein coding genes, 31–32 tRNA genes and four rRNA genes. Similar to other IRLC species, the genes rpl22 and rps16, as well as the intron of rpl2 and rps12 were found to be absent. A total of 77–94 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified with the proportion of SSRs ≥ 10 bp ranging from 55.32 to 66.23

GORK is a shaker-like potassium channel in plants that contains ankyrin (ANK) repeats. In guard cells, activation of GORK causes K+ efflux, reducing turgor pressure and closing stomata. However, how GORK is regulated remains largely elusive. Here, we solved the cryo-EM structure of Arabidopsis GORK, revealing an unusual symmetry reduction (from C4 to C2) feature within its tetrameric assembly. This symmetry reduction in GORK channel is driven by ANK dimerization, which disrupts the coupling between transmembrane helices and cytoplasmic domains, thus maintaining GORK in an autoinhibited state. Electrophysiological and structural analyses further confirmed that ANK dimerization inhibits GORK, and its removal restores C4 symmetry, converting GORK to an activatable state. This dynamic switching between C2 and C4 symmetry, mediated by ANK dimerization, presents a GORK target site that guard cells regulate to switch the plant K+ channel between inhibited and activatable states, thus controlling stomatal movement in response to environmental stimuli.

The silk of silkworm, Bombyx mori, consists mainly of proteins, which contain some small proteins with specialized functions that confer special properties to silk, such as antimicrobial properties. Serine protease inhibitors (SPIs) are one of them, and the types that have been identified are seroin, serpin, Kunitz type, and Kazal type, but the function of the Kunitz/Kazal type is not known. As compared to others, Kazal molecular weight is relatively minimal. In this study, we focused on the function of a Kazal-type inhibitor BmSPI2, and its sequence characterization and expression profile were first refined. To clarify its function, BmSPI2 recombinant protein was expressed in sf9 cells using baculovirus expression system. Further testing revealed that BmSPI2 could inhibit trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, and plasmin, whereas has only some effect on proteinase K. This suggests that BmSPI2 has significant serine protease inhibitory activity. In-depth analysis revealed that BmSPI2 also effectively inhibited fibrinogen degradation mediated by fibrinolytic enzymes. Finally, we examined its antimicrobial-related functions using prepared antibodies and found that BmSPI2 was also able to directly bind to bacteria and fungi to inhibit their proliferation. The results of the study enriched the function of BmSPI2 and laid a theoretical foundation for its development and utilization.

Stomata in leaves regulate gas (carbon dioxide and water vapor) exchange and water transpiration between plants and the atmosphere. SLow Anion Channel 1 (SLAC1) mediates anion efflux from guard cells and plays a crucial role in controlling stomatal aperture. It serves as a central hub for multiple signaling pathways in response to environmental stimuli, with its activity regulated through phosphorylation via various plant protein kinases. However, the molecular mechanism underlying SLAC1 phosphoactivation has remained elusive. Through a combination of protein sequence analyses, AlphaFold-based modeling and electrophysiological studies, we unveiled that the highly conserved motifs on the N- and C-terminal segments of SLAC1 form a cytosolic regulatory domain (CRD) that interacts with the transmembrane domain(TMD), thereby maintaining the channel in an autoinhibited state. Mutations in these conserved motifs destabilize the CRD, releasing autoinhibition in SLAC1 and enabling its transition into an activated state. Our further studies demonstrated that SLAC1 activation undergoes an autoinhibition-release process and subsequent structural changes in the pore helices. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the activation mechanism of SLAC1 and shed light on understanding how SLAC1 controls stomatal closure in response to environmental stimuli.

Drought is a significant environmental limiting factor that restricts the growth of Quercus wutaishanica Mayr. The MYB transcription factor plays a wide role in controlling the growth of plants. In this study, the QwMYB108 gene was cloned and the bioinformatics was analyzed, and we examined how QwMYB108 responded to various gradient drought stresses. The results demonstrated that QwMYB108 encoded 275 amino acids using an 828 bp open reading frame. Subcellular localization indicated that the gene was located in the nucleus. Phylogenetic analysis showed that QwMYB108 was close to Q. robur, and that the highest level of expression was found in leaves, which was significantly different from other tissues. The expression of QwMYB108 increased as the stress degree rose when drought stress was present, and there was a significant difference between severe drought stress and other gradient stress. In this study, the function of QwMYB108 in drought stress response was investigated, and the drought response function gene of Q. wutaishanica was further explored to provide a theoretical basis.

Potyviruses possess one positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome mainly with polyprotein processing as their gene expression strategy. The resulting polyproteins are proteolytically processed by three virus-encoded proteases into 11 or 12 mature proteins. One of such, 6-kDa peptide 1 (6K1), is an understudied viral factor. Its function in viral infection remains largely mysterious. This study is to reveal part of its roles by using pepper veinal mottle virus (PVMV) as a model virus. Alanine substitution screening analysis revealed that 15 out of 17 conserved residues across potyviral 6K1 sequences are essential for PVMV infection. However, 6K1 protein is less accumulated in virus-infected cells, even though P3-6K1 junction is efficiently processed by NIa-Pro for its release, indicating that 6K1 undergoes a self-degradation event. Mutating the cleavage site to prevent NIa-Pro processing abolishes viral infection, suggesting that the generation of 6K1 along with its degradation might be important for viral multiplication. We corroborated that cellular autophagy is engaged in 6K1’s degradation. Individual engineering of the 15 6K1 variants into PVMV was performed to allow for their expression along with viral infection. Five of such variants, D30A, V32A, K34A, L36A, and L39A, significantly interfere with viral infection. The five residues are enclosed in a conserved lysine/arginine-rich motif; four of them appear to be crucial in engaging autophagy-mediated self-degradation. Based on these data, we envisaged a scenario that potyviral 6K1s interact with an unknown anti-viral component to be co-degraded by autophagy to promote viral infection. IMPORTANCE Potyvirus is the largest genus of plant-infecting RNA viruses, which encompasses socio-economically important virus species, such as Potato virus Y , Plum pox virus , and Soybean mosaic virus . Like all picorna-like viruses, potyviruses express their factors mainly via polyprotein processing. Theoretically, viral factors P3 through CP, including 6K1, should share an equivalent number of molecules. The 6K1 is small in size (∼6 kDa) and conserved across potyviruses, but less accumulated in virus-infected cells. This study demonstrates that cellular autophagy is engaged in the degradation of 6K1 to promote viral infection. In particular, we found a conserved lysine/arginine-rich motif in 6K1s across potyviruses that is engaged in this degradation event. This finding reveals one facet of a small protein that help understand the pro-viral role of cellular autophagy in viral infection.

柞蚕是我国特有的生物资源,在我国被采集利用的历史悠久.经过长期的发展,柞蚕产业已成为我国部分地区传统特色产业.通过对古籍、文献的重新考略,论述了我国柞蚕利用的历史约为3 500年;总结了从野生柞蚕茧采集到规模化养殖和多元化利用发展过程中,柞蚕产业不同发展阶段的特征;回顾了新中国成立以来柞蚕相关的人才培养和文化传承情况.目前柞蚕产业的发展符合"绿水青山就是金山银山"和"健康中国"及"大食物观"的理念,具有广阔前景;柞蚕产业具有经济效益高、产业链长等特点.在新时代仍需传承和弘扬柞蚕茧丝绸传统文化,加强茧丝绸产品深加工和高附加值产品的开发,促进柞蚕产业整体提质增效.

Salinity is one of the most severe abiotic stresses that adversely affect plant growth and agricultural productivity. The plant Na+/H+ antiporter Salt Overly Sensitive 1 (SOS1) located in the plasma membrane extrudes excess Na+ out of cells in response to salt stress and confers salt tolerance. However, the molecular mechanism underlying SOS1 activation remains largely elusive. Here we elucidate two cryo-electron microscopy structures of rice (Oryza sativa) SOS1, a full-length protein in an auto-inhibited state and a truncated version in an active state. The SOS1 forms a dimeric architecture, with an NhaA-folded transmembrane domain portion in the membrane and an elongated cytosolic portion of multiple regulatory domains in the cytoplasm. The structural comparison shows that SOS1 adopts an elevator transport mechanism accompanied by a conformational transition of the highly conserved Pro148 in the unwound transmembrane helix 5 (TM5), switching from an occluded conformation in the auto-inhibited state to a conducting conformation in the active state. These findings allow us to propose an inhibition-release mechanism for SOS1 activation and elucidate how SOS1 controls Na+ homeostasis in response to salt stress.

Oaks exhibit unique biological characteristics and high adaptability to complex climatic and soil conditions. They are widely distributed across various regions, spanning 40 degrees latitude and 75 degrees longitude. The total area of oak forest in China is 16.72 million hm2. There are 60 lineages of Quercus in China, including 49 species, seven varieties, and four subgenera. Archaeological data indicate that oaks were already widely distributed in ancient times, and they are dominant trees in vast regions of China's forests. In addition, the acorn was an important food for ancestral humans, and it has accompanied human civilization since the early Paleolithic. Diverse oak species are widely distributed and have great functional value, such as for greening, carbon sequestration, industrial and medicinal uses, and insect rearing. Long-term deforestation, fire, diseases, and pests have led to a continuous decline in oak resources. This study discusses the Quercus species and their distribution in China, ecological adaptation, and the threats facing the propagation and growth of oaks in a changing world. This will give us a better understanding of Quercus resources, and provide guidance on how to protect and better utilize germplasm resources in China. The breeding of new varieties, pest control, and chemical and molecular research also need to be strengthened in future studies.

Cold is an important environmental stress affecting the growth, productivity, and geographic distribution of tree species. Oaks are important for environmental conservation and wood supplies. Oak metabolites respond to low temperatures (LTs). In this study, the physiological and metabolic responses of two oak species to cold stress were investigated and compared. The field observations and physiological responses showed that Quercus wutaishanica was more cold-tolerant than Q. acutissima. After frost, the one-year-old twigs of Q. wutaishanica had higher survival rates, accumulated more soluble sugar and protein, and exhibited higher superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity than those of Q. acutissima. Untargeted metabolomics identified 102 and 78 differentially accumulated metabolites in Q. acutissima and Q. wutaishanica, respectively, when the leaves were subjected to LTs (4 °C for 24 h). The carbohydrate and flavonoid metabolites contributed to the cold tolerance of both oak species. Succinate, an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, was significantly inhibited by LTs, a potential energy conservation strategy. Unlike Q. acutissima, Q. wutaishanica underwent metabolic reprogramming that significantly increased the contents of phosphatidylcholine, gallic acid, oxidized glutathione, shikimate, and phenylpyruvate under LTs. Our data provide a reference for characterizing the mechanisms involved in the response of oak species to cold temperatures and enhancing the cold tolerance of forest trees.

通过对蒿柳扦插模式、树型养成的探索,开展春柞蚕"半龄式"和"全龄式"蒿柳养殖技术研究,调查并统计柞蚕幼虫保苗率、全龄经过时间和蚕茧产量.结果表明:0.5～2.0 cm直径的蒿柳进行直接扦插,成活率在98.0%以上;而用生根剂浸泡后扦插,成活率为100%.采用株距30 cm,墩距4m,每墩3 株,"W"型扦插,通过剪梢后的树型养成,能够显著增加枝条数量,提高柞蚕饲养效率.采用"半龄式"和"全龄式"蒿柳养殖能够显著提高柞蚕养殖过程中的幼虫保苗率,达60%以上,减少了劳动强度并增加蚕茧产量.

Quercus dentata is a deciduous oak species widely distributed in northern China, with short petioles and dense grayish brown stellate tomentose on the abaxial surface (Lyu et al., 2018). Q. dentata is cold-tolerant (Du et al., 2022), and its broad leaves are used for tussah silkworm rearing, traditional Chinese medicine, kashiwa mochi in Japan, and Manchu delicacy in Northeast China (Wang et al., 2023). In June 2020, a single Q. dentata plant with brown leaf spots was observed in the Oak Germplasm Resources Nursery (N41°82', E123°56') in SYAU, Shenyang, China. From 2021 through 2022, other two nearby Q. dentata plants (six trees in all) became diseased with similar brown spots on their leaves. The small brown lesions with subcircular or irregular shape gradually expanded, and then the entire leaf turned brown. Under magnification, the diseased leaves contain many conidia. To identify the pathogen, diseased tissues were surface sterilized in 2% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, and washed in sterile distilled water. Lesion margins were plated onto potato dextrose agar and incubated at 28°C in darkness. The aerial mycelium changed color, from white to dark gray, and dark olive green pigmentation was observed on the medium reverse side after 5 days of incubation. The emerging fungal isolates were repurified by the single-spore method. The mean length and width of spores were 20.32 ± 1.90 × 5.2 ± 0.52 μm (n=50). These morphological characteristics resembled the description of Botryosphaeria dothidea (Slippers et al., 2014). For molecular identification, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, translation elongation factor1 alpha (tef1-α), and beta-tubulin (tub) were amplified. These new sequences GenBank accession nos. are OQ383627.1, OQ387861.1 and OQ387862.1. Blastn searches showed 100% homology with ITS sequence of B. dothidea strain P31B (KF293892.1) and 98 to 99% similarity with tef and tub sequences of B. dothidea isolate ZJXC2 (KP183219.1) and B. dothidea isolate SHSJ2-1 (KP183133.1). The sequences were also concatenated for phylogenetic analysis (maximum likelihood). Result support isolate SY1 in the same clade as B. dothidea. Based on the multi-gene phylogeny and morphology, the isolated fungus associated with brown leaf spot on Q. dentata was identified as B. dothidea. Pathogenicity tests were performed on five-year-old potted plants. Conidial suspensions (106 conidial/mL) were applied on punctured leaves using a sterile needle and non-punctured leaves. Non-inoculated plants spayed with sterile water served as control. Plants were placed in a growth chamber at 25°C on a 12h fluorescent light/dark regime. Symptoms similar to those from natural infections were observed after 7 to 9 days (non-punctured also infected). No symptoms were found on non-inoculated plants. The pathogenicity test was repeated three times. Fungi re-isolated from inoculated leaves were comfirmed as B. dothidea on the basis of morphological and molecular characterization as described above, fulfilling Koch's postulates. B. dothidea was previously reported as a pathogen causing branch diebacks and twig dieback on sycamore, red oak (Quercus rubra), and English oak (Quercus robur) in Italy (Turco et al., 2006). It has also been reported to cause leaf spot on Celtis sinensis, Camellia oleifera and Kadsura coccinea in China (Wang et al., 2021; Hao et al., 2022; Su et al., 2021). To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. dothidea inducing leaf spot on Q. dentata in China.

Sweet corn and waxy corn has a better taste and higher accumulated nutritional value than regular maize, and is widely planted and popularly consumed throughout the world. Plant height (PH), ear height (EH), and tassel branch number (TBN) are key plant architecture traits, which play an important role in improving grain yield in maize. In this study, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and genomic prediction analysis were conducted on plant architecture traits of PH, EH, and TBN in a fresh edible maize population consisting of 190 sweet corn inbred lines and 287 waxy corn inbred lines. Phenotypic data from two locations showed high heritability for all three traits, with significant differences observed between sweet corn and waxy corn for both PH and EH. The differences between the three subgroups of sweet corn were not obvious for all three traits. Population structure and PCA analysis results divided the whole population into three subgroups, i.e., sweet corn, waxy corn, and the subgroup mixed with sweet and waxy corn. Analysis of GWAS was conducted with 278,592 SNPs obtained from resequencing data; 184, 45, and 68 significantly associated SNPs were detected for PH, EH, and TBN, respectively. The phenotypic variance explained (PVE) values of these significant SNPs ranged from 3.50% to 7.0%. The results of this study lay the foundation for further understanding the genetic basis of plant architecture traits in sweet corn and waxy corn. Genomic selection (GS) is a new approach for improving quantitative traits in large plant breeding populations that uses whole-genome molecular markers. The marker number and marker quality are essential for the application of GS in maize breeding. GWAS can choose the most related markers with the traits, so it can be used to improve the predictive accuracy of GS.

Plant roots encounter numerous pathogenic microbes that often cause devastating diseases. One such pathogen, Plasmodiophora brassicae (Pb), causes clubroot disease and severe yield losses on cruciferous crops worldwide. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of WeiTsing (WTS), a broad-spectrum clubroot resistance gene from Arabidopsis. WTS is transcriptionally activated in the pericycle upon Pb infection to prevent pathogen colonization in the stele. Brassica napus carrying the WTS transgene displayed strong resistance to Pb. WTS encodes a small protein localized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and its expression in plants induces immune responses. The cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of WTS revealed a previously unknown pentameric architecture with a central pore. Electrophysiology analyses demonstrated that WTS is a calcium-permeable cation-selective channel. Structure-guided mutagenesis indicated that channel activity is strictly required for triggering defenses. The findings uncover an ion channel analogous to resistosomes that triggers immune signaling in the pericycle.

The market demand for recombinant therapeutic proteins（RTPs) has promoted the development of various protein expression host and bioprocessing technologies. Since mammalian cells have the unique advantage of being able to direct the correct folding of proteins and provide post-translational processing such as complex glycosylation, the RTPs produced by them currently account for approximately 80% of the approved marketed RTPs. Among them, Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are currently the preferred host cells for the production of RTPs. Production of RTPs in CHO cells involves the synthesis, processing, transport, and secretion of proteins. The secretion process of proteins is one of the key steps, which greatly limits the yield and quality of RTPs. Here, we review the recombinant protein secretion process of CHO cells and its influencing factors, and further discuss the optimization strategy for recombinant protein secretion and expression in CHO cells.

本文介绍了中国柞蚕高等教育发展历程中至关重要的两位开创者.陆明贤教授(1927-2016),国际知名昆虫生理学家,江苏省昆山市人,1953年12月获北京农业大学硕士学位,1954年1月到沈阳农学院植物保护系任教,历任植物保护系副主任、蚕学系主任、沈阳农业大学图书馆馆长、辽宁省蚕学会理事长、全国昆虫学名词审定委员会委员、《蚕业科学》编委和沈阳市第九届政协委员.1992年9月离休,享司局级待遇及国务院政府特殊津贴.冯绳祖教授(1930-),国际知名野蚕学家,江苏省苏州市人,1956年毕业于浙江农学院蚕桑专业,同年留校任蚕桑系助教,为筹建蚕学专业于1958年调至沈阳农学院植物保护系工作,历任柞蚕教研室主任、农业部柞蚕研究室主任.陆明贤和冯绳祖两位教授在我国唯一专门为柞蚕产业培养高级人才的蚕学专业创建中起到了至关重要的作用,见证了沈阳农业大学蚕学专业的创建、发展与辉煌.陆明贤教授侧重于柞蚕解剖与生理学等基础科学研究,出版了我国第一部昆虫形态学方面的专著《柞蚕解剖》;冯绳祖教授侧重于柞蚕放养与良种繁育等应用研究,主持编写了我国第一部柞蚕科学领域的农业部规划教材《柞蚕学》,为国家培养了一大批优秀的柞蚕领域优秀人才.

Although the thought of saving the nation through education has a long history, it was not until the period of the Republic of China that this thought reached its peak. On the basis of analyzing the education and national saving practice of Cai Yuanpei and Huang Yanpei, the representative figures of this trend of thought during the Republic of China, we found that the education national saving theorists failed to complete the task of saving the country through education independence under the guidance of their thoughts. University or application-oriented university is not the main factor leading to its failure. The real reason is that education national salvation theorists regard education as the decisive factor of national development, while the national crisis, the influence of traditional Confucian education concept and the development of education in modern Western countries The successful experience of realizing a strong country is the reason why the education thinkers of the Republic of China can only save the country through "education". Although the idea of saving the nation through education is outdated, it is the best time to call on education to strengthen the country and give play to the role of education in promoting economy, technology and culture.