Lycopene content in tomato fruit is largely under genetic control and varies greatly among genotypes. Continued improvement of lycopene content in elite varieties with conventional breeding has become challenging, in part because little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms in high-lycopene tomatoes (HLYs). We collected 42 HLYs with different genetic backgrounds worldwide. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed lycopene contents differed among the positive control wild tomato Solanum pimpinellifolium, HLYs, the normal lycopene cultivar "Moneymaker", and the non-lycopene cultivar NC 1Y at the pink and red ripe stages. Real-time RT-PCR analysis of expression of the 25 carotenoid biosynthesis pathway genes of each genotype showed a significantly higher expression in nine upstream genes (GGPPS1, GGPPS2, GGPPS3, TPT1, SSU II, PSY2, ZDS, CrtISO and CrtISO-L1 but not the well-studied PSY1, PDS and Z-ISO) at the breaker and/or red ripe stages in HLYs compared to Moneymaker, indicating a higher metabolic flux flow into carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in HLYs. Further conversion of lycopene to carotenes may be prevented via the two downstream genes (β-LCY2 and ε-LCY), which had low-abundance transcripts at either or both stages. Additionally, the significantly higher expression of four downstream genes (BCH1, ZEP, VDE, and CYP97C11) at either or both ripeness stages leads to significantly lower fruit lycopene content in HLYs than in the wild tomato. This is the first systematic investigation of the role of the complete pathway genes in regulating fruit lycopene biosynthesis across many HLYs, and enables tomato breeding and gene editing for increased fruit lycopene content.

We report a measurement of the branching fraction for ψ(3770)→γχc1 and search for the transition ψ(3770)→γχc2 based on 2.92 fb-1 of e+e- data accumulated at s=3.773 GeV with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. We measure B(ψ(3770)→γχc1)=(2.48±0.15±0.23)×10-3, which is the most precise measurement to date. The upper limit on the branching fraction of ψ(3770)→γχc2 at a 90% confidence level is B(ψ(3770)→γχc2)<0.64×10-3. The corresponding partial widths are Γ(ψ(3770)→γχc1)=(67.5±4.1±6.7) keV and Γ(ψ(3770)→γχc2)<17.4 keV.

From December 2011 to May 2014, about 5 fb-1 of data were taken with the BESIII detector at center-of-mass energies between 3.810 GeV and 4.600 GeV to study the charmonium-like states and higher excited charmonium states. The time-integrated luminosity of the collected data sample is measured to a precision of 1% by analyzing events produced by the large-angle Bhabha scattering process.

We study the decays of the charmonium resonances J/ψ and ψ(3686) to the final states Ξ-Ξ+, Σ(1385) Σ(1385)± based on a single baryon tag method using data samples of (223.7±1.4)×106 J/ψ and (106.4±0.9)×106 ψ(3686) events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The decay ψ(3686)→Σ(1385) Σ(1385)± is observed for the first time, and the measurements of the other processes, including the branching fractions and angular distributions, are in good agreement with, and much more precise than, the previously published results. Additionally, the ratios B(ψ(3686)→Ξ-Ξ+)B(J/ψ→Ξ-Ξ+), B(ψ(3686)→Σ(1385)-Σ(1385)+)B(J/ψ→Σ(1385)-Σ(1385)+) and B(ψ(3686)→Σ(1385)+Σ(1385)-)B(J/ψ→Σ(1385)+Σ(1385)-) are determined.

Using 2.92 fb-1 of electron-positron annihilation data collected at √s = 3.773 GeV with the BESIII detector, we report the results of a search for the flavor-changing neutral current process D0 →γγ using a double-tag technique. We find no signal and set an upper limit at 90% confidence level for the branching fraction of B(D0 →γγ)< 3.8 × 10-6. We also investigate D0-meson decay into two neutral pions, obtaining a branching fraction of B(D0 →π0π0)= (8.24 ± 0.21(stat) ± 0.30(syst)) × 10-4, the most precise measurement to date and consistent with the current world average.

Using 1.06 × 108ψ (3686) events recorded in e+e-, collisions at √s = 3.686 GeV with the BESIII at the BEPCII collider, we present searches for C-parity violation in J/ψ → γγ and γφ decays via ψ(3686) → J/ψπ+π-. No significant signals are observed in either channel. Upper limits on the branching fractions are set to be B(J/ψ → γγ) < 2.7 × 10-7, and B(J/ψ → γφ>) < 1.4 × 10-6, at the 90% confidence level. The former is one order of magnitude more stringent than the previous upper limit, and the latter represents the first limit on this decay channel.

Based on data samples collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider at nine center of mass energies from 4.21 to 4.42 GeV, we search for the production of e^{+}e^{-}→ωχ_{cJ} (J=0, 1, 2). The process e^{+}e^{-}→ωχ_{c0} is observed for the first time, and the Born cross sections at sqrt[s]=4.23 and 4.26 GeV are measured to be (55.4±6.0±5.9) and (23.7±5.3±3.5)  pb, respectively, where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second are systematic. The ωχ_{c0} signals at the other seven energies and the e^{+}e^{-}→ωχ_{c1} and ωχ_{c2} signals are not significant, and the upper limits on the cross sections are determined. By examining the ωχ_{c0} cross section as a function of center of mass energy, we find that it is inconsistent with the line shape of the Y(4260) observed in e^{+}e^{-}→π^{+}π^{-}J/ψ. Assuming the ωχ_{c0} signals come from a single resonance, we extract the mass and width of the resonance to be (4230±8±6)  MeV/c^{2} and (38±12±2)  MeV, respectively, and the statistical significance is more than 9σ.

Using 2.25 × 108, J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector at the BEPCII storage rings, we observe for the first time the process J/ψ → pp¯a0(980), a0(980) → π0η with a significance of 6.5σ (3.2σ including systematic uncertainties). The product branching fraction of J/ψ → pp¯a0 (980) → pp¯ π0η is measured to be (6.8 ± 1.2 ± 1.3) × 10-5, where the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. This measurement provides information on the a0 production near threshold coupling to pp and improves the understanding of the dynamics of J/ψ decays to four-body processes.

We present the first search for the rare decay of η′ into K±π in J/ψ→φη′, using a sample of 1.3×109 J/ψ events collected with the BESIII detector. No significant signal is observed, and the upper limit at the 90% confidence level for the ratio B(η′→K±π)B(η′→γπ+π-) is determined to be 1.3×10-4. In addition, we report the measurement of the branching fraction of J/ψ→φη′ to be [5.10±0.03(stat)±0.32(syst)]×10-4, which agrees with previous results from BESII.

A neutral structure in the DD[over ¯]^{*} system around the DD[over ¯]^{*} mass threshold is observed with a statistical significance greater than 10σ in the processes e^{+}e^{-}→D^{+}D^{*-}π^{0}+c.c. and e^{+}e^{-}→D^{0}D[over ¯]^{*0}π^{0}+c.c. at sqrt[s]=4.226 and 4.257 GeV in the BESIII experiment. The structure is denoted as Z_{c}(3885)^{0}. Assuming the presence of a resonance, its pole mass and width are determined to be [3885.7_{-5.7}^{+4.3}(stat)±8.4(syst)]  MeV/c^{2} and [35_{-12}^{+11}(stat)±15(syst)]  MeV, respectively. The Born cross sections are measured to be σ[e^{+}e^{-}→Z_{c}(3885)^{0}π^{0},Z_{c}(3885)^{0}→DD[over ¯]^{*}]=[77±13(stat)±17(syst)]  pb at 4.226 GeV and [47±9(stat)±10(syst)]  pb at 4.257 GeV. The ratio of decay rates B[Z_{c}(3885)^{0}→D^{+}D^{*-}+c.c.]/B[Z_{c}(3885)^{0}→D^{0}D[over ¯]^{*0}+c.c.] is determined to be 0.96±0.18(stat)±0.12(syst), consistent with no isospin violation in the process, Z_{c}(3885)^{0}→DD[over ¯]^{*}.