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Polysaccharide is one of the principal bioactive components found in medicinal mushrooms and has been proven to enhance host immunity. However, the possible mechanism of immunomodulatory activity of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharide is not fully understood. Hot water extraction and alcohol precipitation, DEAE-Sephadex A-25 chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 chromatography were used to isolate polysaccharide from C. militaris. A high-molecular-weight polysaccharide isolated from C. militaris was designated as HCMP, which had an Mw of 6.18 × 105 Da and was composed of arabinose, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose in a mole ratio of 2.00:8.01:72.54:15.98:1.02. The polysaccharide content of HCMP was 91.2% ± 0.16. The test in vitro showed that HCMP activated mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells by enhancing phagocytosis and NO production, and by regulating mRNA expressions of inflammation-related molecules in RAW 264.7 cells. Western blotting revealed that HCMP induced the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Moreover, using inhibitors of MAPKs decreased the mRNA levels of inflammation-related molecules induced by HCMP. These data evidenced that the immunomodulatory effect of HCMP on RAW 264.7 macrophages was mediated via the MAPK signaling pathway. These findings suggested that HCMP could be developed as a potent immunomodulatory agent for use in functional foods and dietary supplements.

【Objective】The study aims to verify the application effect of bacterial agent PA9 degrading omethoate which residual in the soil. Soil physical and chemical properties, tomato growth and soil microbial diversity affect by bacterial agent PA9 were researched at the same time.【Method】Bacterial agent PA9 was made from bacteria strain ZZY-C13-1-9, when omethoate artificial add into the soil about 100 mg/kg, the bacterial agent PA9 were applied 0.1%. The period of remediation lasted for 50 days. Soil samples were taken every 10 days. The content of omethoate in soil were measured by HPLC. A selective culture medium is used to isolate strain ZZY-C13-1-9. The microbial diversity were measured by illumina miSeq high-throughput sequencing. Soil physical and chemical indexes were determined by national standard method. Tomato growth index were monitored.【Result】Initial content of omethoate in soil was 100 mg/kg at 0 days. After 40 days, the omethoate content in soil decrease to 5.3 mg/kg at remediation experimental group, which was significantly different with control group (48.79 mg/kg). Microbial strain ZZY-C13-1-9 could colonize in the soil and the proportion of soil microorganisms in omethoate soil increased after 10 - 20 days of remediation. The residual omethoate content in the soil was significantly reduced, which indicated that the functional strain could play a role in degrading omethoate in contaminated soil. The results of high-throughput sequencing showed that the proportion of Pseudomonas sp. in soil microbial flora decreased with the decrease of omethoate content, indicating that the bacterial agent PA9 would not permanently change the distribution of soil microbial diversity, and the restored soil could effectively restore the diversity of bacterial flora. The contents of total nitrogen, microbial nitrogen, available phosphorus and MWD in soil aggregates increased significantly compared with the control, and the use of microbial agent PA9 had no negative effect on the growth of tomato.【Conclusion】The bacterial agent PA9 can colonize and accelerate the degradation of omethoate in omethoate-contaminated soil in a short period of time, improve the microbial diversity of contaminated soil and have no adverse effects on the physical and chemical properties of the soil and the planting of tomatoes.

Abstract Comprehensive protein-protein interaction (PPI) maps are critical for understanding the functional organization of the proteome, but challenging to produce experimentally. Here, we developed a computational method for predicting PPIs based on protein docking. Evaluation of performance on benchmark sets demonstrated the ability of the docking-based method to accurately identify PPIs using predicted protein structures. By employing the docking-based method, we constructed a structurally resolved PPI network consisting of 24,653 interactions between 2,131 proteins, which greatly extends the current knowledge on the rice protein-protein interactome. Moreover, we mapped the trait-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to the structural interactome, and computationally identified 14 SNPs that had significant consequences on PPI network. The protein structural interactome map provided a resource to facilitate functional investigation of PPI-perturbing alleles associated with agronomically important traits in rice.

In this study, copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) were synthesized in an eco-friendly pathway applying Mentha piperita extract as reducing/stabilizing agent. The morphological and physicochemical features of the prepared nanoparticles were determined using several advanced techniques like FE-SEM, EDX, and UV–Vis studies. The as synthesized Cu NPs was explored in the antioxidant and anti-human esophageal cancer tests. The in vitro cytotoxic and anti-esophageal cancer effects of biologically synthesized Cu NPs against human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (KYSE-270), human caucasian esophageal carcinoma (OE33), and adenocarcinoma of the gastroesophageal junction (ESO26) cancer cell lines were assessed. The anti-esophageal cancer properties of the Cu NPs could significantly remove KYSE-270, OE33, and ESO26 cancer cell lines in a time and concentration-dependent manner by MTT assay. The IC50 of the Cu NPs were 241, 278, and 240 µg/mL against KYSE-270, OE33, and ESO26 cancer cell lines. The antioxidant activity of Cu NPs was determined by DPPH method. The Cu NPs showed the high antioxidant activity according to the IC50 value. It seems that the anti-human esophageal cancer effect of recent nanoparticles is due to their antioxidant effects.

Abstract Background The human endometrium in premenopausal women is an active site of physiological angiogenesis, with regenerative cells present, suggesting that the endometrium contains adult angiogenic stem cells. In the context of cardiac repair after ischemic injury, angiogenesis is a crucial process to rescue cardiomyocytes. We therefore investigated whether human endometrium-derived stem cells (hEMSCs) can be used for cardiac repair after ischemic injury and their possible underlying mechanisms. Methods Comparisons were made between hEMSCs successfully isolated from 22 premenopausal women and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) derived from 25 age-matched patients. Cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and angiogenesis were evaluated through in vitro experiments, while the ability of hEMSCs to restore cardiac function was examined by in vivo cell transplantation into the infarcted nude rat hearts. Results In vitro data showed that hEMSCs had greater proliferative and migratory capacities, whereas hBMSCs had better adipogenic differentiation ability. Human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells, treated with conditioned medium from hEMSCs, had significantly higher tube formation than that from hBMSCs or control medium, indicating greater angiogenic potentials for hEMSCs. In vivo, hEMSC transplantation preserved cardiac function, decreased infarct size, and improved tissue repair post-injury. Cardiac metabolism, assessed by 18F-FDG uptake, showed that 18F-FDG uptake at the infarction area was significantly higher in both hBMSC and hEMSC groups, compared to the PBS control group, with hEMSCs having the highest uptake, suggesting hEMSC treatment improves cardiomyocyte metabolism and survival after injury. Mechanistic assessment of the angiogenic potential for hEMSCS revealed that angiogenesis-related factors angiopoietin 2, Fms-like tyrosine kinase 1, and FGF9 were significantly upregulated in hEMSC-implanted infarcted hearts, compared to the PBS control group. Conclusion hEMSCs, compared to hBMSCs, have greater capacity to induce angiogenesis, and improved cardiac function after ischemic injury.

To create novel tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) germplasm, a wild tomato relative, S. pimpinellifolium (a red-fruited LA1585 accession), was used as the male parent to cross with the yellow-fruited tomato mutant, e9292 (S. lycopersicum). Forty-four morphological characteristics were examined in the present study; 22 S. pimpinellifolium (LA1585) traits and six S. lycopersicum (e9292) traits were dominant in the hybrids (first generation, F1); 10 were intermediate types, and the remaining six resulted in a nonmorphological difference. Ten representative lines were chosen from 1338 line of the second generation of the hybrid (e9292 × LA1585). The ascorbic acid content was higher in three F2 hybrids than in LA1585, which had higher parental levels, as well as the lycopene content in two of the hybrid lines. The fructose and glucose contents were higher in five F2 hybrids compared to e9292, and the sugar/acid value was higher in three hybrid lines. The broad-sense heritability values ranged from 75.06% for total soluble solids to 99.92% for ascorbic acid, and the average value was 92.66% for 15 quality traits. When seedlings were exposed to NaCl and mannitol, the tolerance of high salt concentrations and drought was enhanced in two hybrid lines (F2-266 and F2-299) compared with else tomatoes (e9292, LA1585, F1 hybrids, and F2-332). We created novel tomato germplasm resources with horticulturally desirable quality traits and abiotic stress tolerance, thus offering a methodology for novel tomato germplasm creation and evaluation.

Rice blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, is the most devastating disease affecting rice production. Identification of protein–protein interactions (PPIs) is a critical step toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to blast fungus in rice. In this study, we presented a computational framework for predicting plant–pathogen PPIs based on structural information. Compared with the sequence-based methods, the structure-based approach showed to be more powerful in discovering new PPIs between plants and pathogens. Using the structure-based method, we generated a global PPI network consisted of 2,018 interacting protein pairs involving 1,344 rice proteins and 418 blast fungus proteins. The network analysis showed that blast resistance genes were enriched in the PPI network. The network-based prediction enabled systematic discovery of new blast resistance genes in rice. The network provided a global map to help accelerate the identification of blast resistance genes and advance our understanding of plant–pathogen interactions.

Abstract Background Metabolic syndrome (MetS) includes obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Its incidence is rapidly increasing worldwide, particularly in postmenopausal women. Estrogens regulate glucose homeostasis and lipid metabolism via estrogen receptors 1 (ESR1) and 2 (ESR2). The current study aimed to elucidate associations of MetS with ESR1 and ESR2 gene polymorphisms in postmenopausal Chinese women. Methods This case-control study included 304 postmenopausal women (154 and 150 control and MetS patients, respectively). Clinical indicators related to MetS were assessed. Two ESR1 (PvuII and XbaI) and two ESR2 (RsaI and AluI) polymorphisms were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results ESR1 polymorphisms were significantly different between MetS patients and healthy controls. G allele frequency for the XbaI polymorphism was significantly higher in patients than in control patients (p = 0.004, OR = 1.610, 95%CI 1.169–2.18). The haplotypes A–T (p = 0.015) and G–C (p = 0.024) showed significant differences. The minor alleles of the XbaI and PvuII gene polymorphisms in both homozygous and heterozygous forms showed associations with elevated waist circumference, fasting serum insulin and HOMA-IR. The minor G allele in homozygous and heterozygous forms of the RsaI and AluI gene polymorphisms showed associations with elevated total cholesterol and LDL-C. Conclusions In postmenopausal Chinese women, ESR1 polymorphism and the haplotypes A–T and G–C of XbaI–PvuII are associated with MetS, unlike ESR2 polymorphisms. Patients harboring the G allele of XbaI have elevated BMI, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic BP, FBG, HOMA-IR, total cholesterol, TG, LDL-C and NAFLD (%), and reduced HDL-C.

Abstract Background Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in multiple biological processes in both mammals and plants. There is growing evidence that they are associated with development; but their expression and regulation during fruit ripening in the model plant tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) has yet to be described. Results Following integration of 134 RNA-seq data sets, we identified 79,322 putative lncRNAs, consisting of 70,635 lincRNAs, 8085 antisense non-coding RNAs (ancRNAs) and 602 sense lncRNAs (slncRNAs). lncRNAs had specific features that are distinct from mRNAs, including tissue-specificity, and shorter and fewer exons. Notably, more than 5000 of the novel lincRNAs were found to be expressed across the mature green (MG), breaker (BR) and breaker plus 7 days (BR + 7) developmental stages. The differently expressed lincRNAs had different DNA methylation profiles from the mRNAs. Conclusions Integrating transcriptome datasets and genome-wide screening enabled the identification of a comprehensive set of tomato lncRNAs. Here, we found that the lncRNAs DNA methylation profiles were different from those of mRNAs. This will help future investigation of lncRNA function, especially for the dissection of the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of fruit development.

Genetic modification can be an effective strategy for improving the agronomic traits of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) to meet demands for yield, quality, functional components, and stress tolerance. However, limited numbers of available tissue-specific promoters represent a bottleneck for the design and production of transgenic plants. In the current study, a total of 25 unigenes were collected from an RNA-sequence dataset based on their annotation as being exclusively expressed in five type of tissues of tomato pericarp (outer and inner epidermis, collenchyma, parenchyma, and vascular tissues), and every five unigenes, was respectively selected from each tissue based on transcription expression. The 3-kb 5′ upstream region of each unigene was identified from the tomato genome sequence (SL2.50) using annotated unigene sequences, and the promoter sequences were further analyzed. The results showed an enrichment in T/A (T/A > 70%) in the promoter regions. A total of 15 putative tissue-/organ-specific promoters were identified and analyzed by real-time (RT) quantitative (q) PCR analysis, of which six demonstrated stronger activity than widely used tissue-specific tomato promoters. These results demonstrate how high spatiotemporal and high throughput gene expression data can provide a powerful means of identifying spatially targeted promoters in plants.

Background: Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) self-compatibility (SC) is defined as self-pollen tubes that can penetrate their own stigma, elongate in the style and fertilize their own ovules. Self-incompatibility (SI) is defined as self-pollen tubes that are prevented from developing in the style. To determine the influence of gene expression on style self-pollination, a transcriptome-wide comparative analysis of SC and SI tomato unpollinated/pollinated styles was performed using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data. Results: Transcriptome profiles of 24-h unpollination (UP) and self-pollination (P) styles from SC and SI tomato species were generated using high-throughput next generation sequencing. From the comparison of SC self-pollinated and unpollinated styles, 1341 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 753 were downregulated and 588 were upregulated. From the comparison of SI self-pollinated and unpollinated styles, 804 DEGs were identified, of which 215 were downregulated and 589 were upregulated. Nine gene ontology (GO) terms were enriched significantly in SC and 78 GO terms were enriched significantly in SI. A total of 105 enriched Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were identified in SC and 80 enriched KEGG pathways were identified in SI, among which "Cysteine and methionine metabolism pathway" and "Plant hormone signal transduction pathway" were significantly enriched in SI. Conclusions: This study is the first global transcriptome-wide comparative analysis of SC and SI tomato unpollinated/ pollinated styles. Advanced bioinformatic analysis of DEGs uncovered the pathways of "Cysteine and methionine metabolism" and "Plant hormone signal transduction", which are likely to play important roles in the control of pollen tubes growth in SI species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thymosin β4 (T/54) is one of the most promising thymosins for future clinical applications, and it is anticipated that commercial demand for Tβ4 will increase. In order to develop a new approach to produce recombinant Tβ4, a 168 bp DNA (termed Tβ4) was designed based on the Tβ4 protein sequence and used to express a 4 x Tβ4 concatemer (four tandem copies of Tβ4, termed 4 x Tβ4) together with a histidine tag (6 x His) in E. coli (strain BL21). SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis were used to confirm that a recombinant 4 x Tβ4 protein of the expected size (30.87 kDa) was produced following the induction of the bacterial cultures with isopropyl β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG). The E. coli-derived 4 x Tβ4 was purified by Ni-NTA resin, and its activities were examined with regard to both stimulating proliferation of the mice spleen cells in vitro and in vivo wound healing. The results demonstrate that these activities of the E. coli-derived recombinant 4 x Tβ4 were similar or even better than existing commercially obtained Tβ4. This production strategy therefore represents a potentially valuable approach for future commercial production of recombinant Tβ4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tocochromanols, usually known as vitamin E, play a crucial role in human and animal nutrition. The enzyme homogentisate phytyltransferase (HPT) performs the first committed step of the vitamin E biosynthetic pathway. The full-length cDNA encoding HPT was isolated from Lactuca sativa L. by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The cDNA, designated as LsHPT, was 1,670 bp long containing an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,185 bp which encoded a protein of 395 amino acids. Sequence analysis indicated that the deduced protein, named as LsHPT, shared high identity with other dicotyledonous HPTs. Real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that LsHPT was preferentially expressed in mature leaves compared with other tissues. When lettuce plants were subjected to drought and high-light stress treatments, LsHPT expression was markedly increased. Expression of LsHPT in Arabidopsis showed that LsHPT could enhance the α-tocopherol biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Transient expression of LsHPT via agroinfiltration resulted in 9-fold increase in LsHPT mRNA level and nearly 18-fold enhancement in α-tocopherol content compared with the negative controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tα1 (thymosin α1), an immune booster, plays an important role in the maturation, differentiation and function of T-cells. It can also activate the production of cytokines in dendritic cells. Tα1 is one of two thymosin proteins that have potential future clinical applications. In order to express Tα1 protein in plants, we designed and synthesized the Tα1 gene according to the plant codon usage bias and created a novel 4×Tα1 concatemer (four copies of the Tα1 gene arranged end-to-end in tandem, designated 4×Tα1). Subsequently, a plant binary expression vector, PG-pRD12-4×Tα1, was constructed and introduced into tomato via Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. Through selection, 54 regenerated tomato plants resistant to kanamycin were obtained, and four transgenic tomato plants were further confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. RT–PCR (reverse transcription–PCR) analysis showed that the 4×Tα1 gene was transcribed specifically in tomato [Solanum lycopersicum (formerly Lycopersicon esculentum)] fruits. ELISA analysis showed that the content of the 4×Tα1 protein reached a maximum of 6.098 μg/g fresh weight in mature tomato fruit. Western-blot analysis further confirmed the expression of 4×Tα1 protein in transgenic tomato fruits. The MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide] assay showed the 4×Tα1 protein derived from transgenic tomatoes exhibited bioactivity that can stimulate the proliferation of mice splenic lymphocytes in vitro, and the specific activity of Tα1 protein from the artificial system was higher than that from the synthetic Escherichia coli system. This study is the first to report successful expression of bioactive Tα1 in plants, and also it will provide the basis for further development of the plant system to produce Tα1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The E8 gene is related to ethylene biosynthesis in plants. To explore the effect of the expression pattern of the E8 gene on different E8 promoters, the molecular evolution of E8 promoters was investigated. A total of 16 E8 promoters were cloned from 16 accessions of seven tomato species, and were further analysed. The results from 19 E8 promoters including three previously cloned E8 promoters (X13437, DQ317599 and AF515784) showed that the size of the E8 promoters varied from 2101 bp (LA2150) to 2256 bp (LA2192); their sequences shared 69.9% homology and the average A/T content was 74.9%. Slide-window analysis divided E8 promoters into three regions - A, B and C - and the sequence identity in these regions was 72.5%, 41.2% and 70.8%, respectively. By searching the cis-elements of E8 promoters in the PLACE database, mutant nucleotides were found in some functional elements, and deletions or insertions were also found in regions responsible for ethylene biosysnthesis (-1702 to -1274) and the negative effect region (-1253 to -936). Our results indicate that the size of the functional region for ethylene biosynthesis in the E8 promoter could be shortened from 429 bp to 113 bp (-1612 to -1500). The results of molecular evolution analysis showed that the 19 E8 promoters could be classified into four clade groups, which is basically consistent with evolution of the tomato genome. Southern blot analysis results showed that the copy number of E8 promoters in tomato and some other wild species changed from 1 to 4. Taken together, our study provides important information for further elucidating the E8 gene expression pattern in tomato, analysing functional elements in the E8 promoter and reconstructing the potent E8 promoter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Different PCR–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) protocols were employed to investigate bacterial communities in a high temperature and water flooded petroleum reservoir in Dagang oil field, China. Bacterial universal primers sets frequently used in PCR–DGGE were evaluated. Three primers sets P1 (341F-GC and 534R), P2 (341F-GC and 907R) and P3 (1055F and 1406R-GC) showed different DGGE patterns. Good separation and quality of patterns were obtained in DGGE analysis with the set P3. A total of 12 DNA fragments were excised from the DGGE gels and their sequences were determined. Clustering analysis of the DGGE profiles showed that bacteria in this petroleum reservoir belonged to four clusters. These results indicate that the procedure of DGGE analysis with the primer P3 (1055F and 1406R-GC) is suitable for investigating microbial community in petroleum reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was performed to monitor changes in exogenous bacteria and to investigate the diversity of indigenous bacteria during a field trial of microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). Two wells (26–195 and 27–221) were injected with three exogenous strains and then closed to allow for microbial growth and metabolism. After a waiting period, the pumps were restarted and the samples were collected. The bacterial populations of these samples were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with PCR-amplified 16S rRNA fragments. DGGE profiles indicated that the exogenous strains were retrieved in the production water samples and indigenous strains could also be detected. After the pumps were restarted, average oil yield increased to 1.58 and 4.52 tons per day in wells 26–195 and 27–221, respectively, compared with almost no oil output before the injection of exogenous bacteria. Exogenous bacteria and indigenous bacteria contributed together to the increased oil output. Sequence analysis of the DGGE bands revealed that Proteobacteria were a major component of the predominant bacteria in both wells. Changes in the bacteria population in the reservoirs during MEOR process were monitored by molecular analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence. DGGE analysis was a successful approach to investigate the changes in microorganisms used for enhancing oil recovery. The feasibility of MEOR technology in the petroleum industry was also demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tα1 (thymosin α 1) is important in treating immunodeficiency and other diseases. In order to study the feasibility of expressing Tα1 in plants, as the first attempt, we designed and synthesized the Tα1 gene according to the plant codon usage preference and constructed the 4×Tα1 concatemer (four copies of a DNA sequence arranged end-to-end in tandem). The latter was inserted into Escherichia coli expression vector pQE30, resulting in a recombinant plasmid that was subsequently transformed into E. coli M15. The 4×Tα1 concatemer protein was successfully expressed in E. coli in a soluble form. The expressed protein was purified and its bioactivity was analysed by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide] assay. Preliminary results showed that the 4×Tα1 concatemer protein could stimulate the mice spleen lymphocyte proliferation. This is the first report on the expression of 4×Tα1 concatemer that was synthesized according to plant codon usage preference in an E. coli expression system. The present study provides the basis for expressing the synthesized active Tα1 gene in plants in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR, EC: 1.1.1.34) catalyzes the first committed step in mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway for biosynthesis of isoprenoids. The full-length cDNA encoding HMGR was isolated from Ginkgo biloba for the first time (designated as GbHMGR, GenBank accession number AY741133), which contained a 1713 bp ORF encoding 571 amino acids. The GbHMGR genomic DNA sequence was also obtained, revealing GbHMGR had four exons and three introns. The deduced GbHMGR protein showed high identity to other plant HMGRs and contained two trans-membrane domains and a catalytic domain. The three dimensional model of GbHMGR represented a typical spatial structure of HMGRs. The Southern blot and RT-PCR assay results indicated that GbHMGR belonged to a small gene family, and expressed in a tissue-specific manner with a low level expression being only found in root. The potential significance of GbHMGR gene was also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solanum lycopersicoides is a valuable genetic resource for tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) genetic improvement. However, there are few reports on its agronomic traits such as disease resistance and cold tolerance. In this paper, the resistance to cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and leaf mold (Cladosporium fulvum Cooke) and cold tolerance of five lines of S. lycopersicoides were studied through investigation of disease inoculation and electrolyte leakage analysis. The results showed that S. lycopersicoides was highly resistant or immune to CMV and leaf mold and more tolerant to low temperature than L. esculentum. This study is helpful for the genetic improvement of tomato by using S. lycopersicoides as breeding materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new stress-responsive gene BoRS1 (GenBank accession No.) was isolated from Brassica oleracea var. acephala by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The full-length cDNA of BoRS1 was 2076 bp and contained a 1851 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 617 amino acids. Sequence analysis indicated that the deduced BoRS1 shared some identities with , RD29A, RD29B and from Arabidopsis thaliana. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA indicated that other related genes existed and there were two copies of BoRS1 in the genome of B. oleracea. Northern blot analysis revealed that BoRS1 was up-regulated by cold, mannitol, NaCl and abscisic acid (ABA). Expressional fluctuation of time course with ABA implied a two-step induction process. Tissue-specific expression analysis indicated that BoRS1 was expressed in all the tested plant tissues including leaves, stems and roots. Our studies imply that BoRS1 is a new gene that is responsive to environmental stresses such as low temperature, salinity and osmotic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caused by Verticillium spp. pathogens, verticillium wilt is a common detrimental disease damaging yield production of many important crops. Isolation of verticillium wilt resistance genes and their transgenic application is a fundamental way to control this disease. Here we report the cloning and sequence characterization of a potential Verticillium dahliae Kleb. resistance gene ( Ve ) from Solanum lycopersicoides Dun. (designated as SlVe 1). The nucleotide sequence of SlVe 1 is 3400 bp with an ORF of 3156 bp encoding a protein precursor of 1051 amino acids (aa). Unlike tomato Ve 1, SlVe 1 had a short leader sequence of 22 bp. Multiple polyadenylation sites were detected, which may result from alternative cleavages directed by the common polyadenylation signal AATAAA, and nucleotide sequences of the cleavage sites for polyadenylation conform to P y P y A. Sharing high homologies to tomato verticillium wilt disease resistance genes Ve 1 and Ve 2, SlVe 1 encoded a cell-surface glycoprotein with receptor-mediated endocytosis-like signal. The leucine rich (16.51%) putative SlVe1 protein had a calculated molecular weight of 116.97 kDa with an isoelectric point of 5.22. It possessed a hydrophobic N-terminal signal peptide of 23 aa and 28 predicted significant leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) containing 29 potential N-glycosylation sites (18 being significant). A membrane-associated hydrophobic domain resided within the C-terminal, flanked by a neutral/acidic aa rich domain and a neutral/basic aa rich domain. Forty-four predicted phosphorylation sites (28 for S, 5 for T and 11 for Y) distributed in SlVe1, and an endocytosis signal EKWLLW resided in the neutral/basic aa rich C-terminal domain. As compared with Ve 1, several clues of variations have been detected in SlVe 1 and their possible implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

28 isolated orangutan fossil teeth are reported in this paper, which are newly discovered from Sanhe Cave in Chongzuo Ecological Park of Guangxi in southern China. The geological age is early Pleistocene, approximately 1.2 Ma ago based on the associated mammal fauna and paleomagnetic dating. The tooth crown sizes are within the variation of extant orangutan and subfossil orangutan from Indonesia. However, by comparing the distribution complex of samples, the crown sizes of fossil orangutan from Sanhe Cave move upward from the mean value of extant orangutan and Holocene subfossil orangutan. The distinct difference of tooth morphological between the fossil and subfossil and extant orangutan is difficult to define currently, although the occlusal wrinkles of postcanine teeth of fossil orangutan from Sanhe Cave are less and coarser somehow than that of extant orangutan. We suggest the fossil orangutan teeth of Early Pleistocene from Sanhe Cave are classified as the subspecies Pongo pygmaeus weidenreichi temporarily, and the evolution and taxonomy of fossil orangutan-like hominoids in southern China need to be interpreted with more evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miocene large-bodied hominoid fossils play an important role in the study of the origin and early evolution of humans. Lufengpithecus specimens from Yunnan Province, China are highly significant fossils. So far, Lufengpithecus fossils have been found in five areas in Yunnan. The genus Lufengpithecus contains three species: Lufengpithecus lufengensis, Lufengpithecus hudienensis, and Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis. Fauna analysis and paleomagnetic investigation show that they are range from 11 to 6 Ma. This paper focuses on Lufengpithecus teeth fossils and tries to understand the morphological difference and metric variation among them, which will hopefully provide some information for the taxonomy and phylogeny of Lufengpithecus. The three species are nearly similar in dental morphology. As previous studies have indicated, the more distinctive tooth in these three fossil apes is lower P3. The lower P3 of Lufengpithecus lufengensis is bicuspid, while the other two are all unicuspid. Comparing with Lufengpithecus hudienensis, the molar cusps of Lufengpithecus lufengensis are relatively steeper and the occlusal basinsare broader. Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis is closer in dental morphology to Lufengpithecus hudienensis than Lufengpithecus lufengensis. Here we also analyze tooth crown size (MD×LB) in the three species by line chart. From metric comparison, we have found that Lufengpithecus lufengensis is larger than Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis and Lufengpithecus hudienensisas a whole. The lower molars of Lufengpithecus keiyuanensis are close in size to those of Lufengpithecus lufengensis, but larger than those of Lufengpithecus hudienensis. The lower premolars (especially P3) are more robust in Lufengpithecus lufengensis than in the other two species, in which the lower molars are about equally robust. The size proportion of the anterior teeth and postcanine teeth are much larger in Lufengpithecus lufengensisis than in Lufengpithecus hudienensis. We consider that the dental variations seen among these species may be related to their respective geological ages, habitats, and perhaps diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]