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A ratiometric fluorescence fiber-optical sensor system (RFFS) merging a Y-type optical fiber spectrometer and CdTe QDs composite functionalized with glutathione and mercaptopropionic acid (GMPA@CdTe-QDs) for highly selective and on-site detection of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in environmental water samples was designed. Our preliminary results suggested that the red fluorescence of the synthesized GMPA@CdTe-QDs was effectively quenched by CIP. Based on this, the RFFS/GMPA@CdTe-QDs system was successfully fabricated and used for highly selective and rapid detection of CIP on site in the concentration range from 0 to 45 μM with the detection limit of 0.90 μM. The established method exhibited good interference resistance to the analogues of CIP and provided a great potential platform for real-time detection of CIP residues in environmental water. In addition, the fluorescence quenching mechanism of GMPA@CdTe-QDs by CIP was also investigated by means of temperature effect, fluorescence lifetime, ultraviolet (UV) visible absorption, and fluorescent spectra. Our results suggested clearly that the red fluorescence of GMPA@CdTe-QDs was quenched by CIP via the photoinduced electron-transfer (PET) mode.

Tumor organoids, derived from tumor tissues, are three-dimensional structures created in vitro to mimic in vivo tumor growth. They possess comparable genetic lineage and pathological characteristics to the original tumor, making them a promising research platform for studying tumor biology. In recent years, significant advancements in techniques such as microfluidics, cell co-culture and vascularization have greatly promoted the development of Organ-on-a-Chip (OoC) and expanded the applications of tumor organoid models in both basic and clinical translational research. These advancements include leveraging tumor organoid models to investigate drug resistance mechanisms, perform drug screening, and facilitate clinical trials of precisional therapy. However, current organoid models still face several limitations, including the instability of cell culture quality, low cost-effectiveness, and the inability to accurately replicate the complex tumor microenvironment and spatial structures. Further research is needed to overcome these technical bottlenecks and improve the application of organoid models in cancer research, thereby further enhancing the depth of tumor research. This review summarized the development history and latest progress of tumor organoids. In terms of the latest applications of tumor organoids, this article reviewed disease modeling, research and development of innovative tumor drugs, and their application in personalized treatment. It also summarized the recent clinical researches of organoids; In addition, this review provided a detailed introduction to the technological progress of tumor organoids, including the development of novel culture devices, simulation of tumor microenvironment, and induction of angiogenesis. In summary, this review explored the latest developments, defects and future directions in the research of tumor organoids, aiming to provide reference for the study of tumor organoids.

A major soybean (Forrest cultivar) quantitative trait locus (QTL) gene, Rhg4, which controls resistance to soybean cyst nematodes (SCN), encodes the enzyme serine hydroxylmethyltransferase (SHMT). The resistant allele possesses two critical missense mutations (P130R and N358Y) compared to that of the sensitive allele, rhg4. To understand the evolutionary history of this gene, sequences of 117 SHMT family members from 18 representative plant species were used to reconstruct their phylogeny. According to this phylogeny, the plant SHMT gene family can be divided into two groups and four subgroups (Ia, Ib, IIa, and IIb). Belonging to the Subgroup Ia lineage, the rhg4 gene evolved from a recent duplication event in Glycine sp.. To further explore how the SCN-resistant allele emerged, both the rhg4 gene and its closest homolog, the rhg4h gene, were isolated from 33 cultivated and 68 wild soybean varieties. The results suggested that after gene duplication, the soybean rhg4 gene accumulated a higher number of non-synonymous mutations than rhg4h. Although a higher number of segregating sites and gene haplotypes were detected in wild soybeans than in cultivars, the SCN-resistant Rhg4 allele (represented by haplotype 4) was not found in wild varieties. Instead, a very similar allele, haplotype 3, was observed in wild soybeans at a frequency of 7.4%, although it lacked the two critical non-synonymous substitutions. Taken together, these findings support that the SCN-resistant Rhg4 allele likely emerged via artificial selection during the soybean domestication process, based on a SCN-sensitive allele inherited from wild soybeans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of land plants can form symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated to regulate this process in legumes, but their involvement in non-legume species is largely unknown. In this study, by performing deep sequencing of sRNA libraries in tomato roots and comparing with tomato genome, a total of 700 potential miRNAs were predicted, among them, 187 are known plant miRNAs that have been previously deposited in miRBase. Unlike the profiles in other plants such as rice and Arabidopsis, a large proportion of predicted tomato miRNAs was 24 nt in length. A similar pattern was observed in the potato genome but not in tobacco, indicating a Solanum genus-specific expansion of 24-nt miRNAs. About 40% identified tomato miRNAs showed significantly altered expressions upon Rhizophagus irregularis inoculation, suggesting the potential roles of these novel miRNAs in AM symbiosis. The differential expression of five known and six novel miRNAs were further validated using qPCR analysis. Interestingly, three up-regulated known tomato miRNAs belong to a known miR171 family, a member of which has been reported in Medicago truncatula to regulate AM symbiosis. Thus, the miR171 family likely regulates AM symbiosis conservatively across different plant lineages. More than 1000 genes targeted by potential AM-responsive miRNAs were provided and their roles in AM symbiosis are worth further exploring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proper utilization of plant disease resistance genes requires a good understanding of their short- and long-term evolution. Here we present a comprehensive study of the long-term evolutionary history of nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) genes within and beyond the legume family. The small group of NBS-LRR genes with an amino-terminal RESISTANCE TO POWDERY MILDEW8 (RPW8)-like domain (referred to as RNL) was first revealed as a basal clade sister to both coiled-coil-NBS-LRR (CNL) and Toll/Interleukin1 receptor-NBS-LRR (TNL) clades. Using Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) as an outgroup, this study explicitly recovered 31 ancestral NBS lineages (two RNL, 21 CNL, and eight TNL) that had existed in the rosid common ancestor and 119 ancestral lineages (nine RNL, 55 CNL, and 55 TNL) that had diverged in the legume common ancestor. It was shown that, during their evolution in the past 54 million years, approximately 94% (112 of 119) of the ancestral legume NBS lineages experienced deletions or significant expansions, while seven original lineages were maintained in a conservative manner. The NBS gene duplication pattern was further examined. The local tandem duplications dominated NBS gene gains in the total number of genes (more than 75%), which was not surprising. However, it was interesting from our study that ectopic duplications had created many novel NBS gene loci in individual legume genomes, which occurred at a significant frequency of 8% to 20% in different legume lineages. Finally, by surveying the legume microRNAs that can potentially regulate NBS genes, we found that the microRNA-NBS gene interaction also exhibited a gain-and-loss pattern during the legume evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The effects of different ratios of dietary raw to pre-gelatinized starch on the growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of juvenile yellowfin seabream (Sparus latus) were evaluated during a 10-week growth trial. Five isonitrogenous, semi-purified diets containing 200 g kg−1 starch comprising different ratios of raw to pre-gelatinized starch [(in g kg−1)100:100 (diet 1), 150:50 (diet 2), 50:150 (diet 3), 200:0 (diet 4), 0:200 (diet 5), raw:pre-gelatinized] were prepared and fed to triplicate groups of juvenile S. latus. Our results showed that fish fed diet 4 (200 g kg−1 raw starch) had the highest weight gain and specific growth rate, followed by those fed diet 2, diet 1, diet 3 and diet 5. Feed efficiency, protein efficiency ratio and protein productive value in the fish on diets 4 and diet 2, respectively, were significantly higher than those on diets 3 and diet 5, respectively. Body and muscle compositions were unaffected by the different dietary raw to pre-gelatinized starch ratios. Values of hepatosomatic index, intraperitoneal fat ratio, viscerosomatic index and condition factor did not vary among experimental treatments. Plasma indices showed variations, but these were not relative to dietary treatments. In conclusion, the partial or total replacement of raw starch by pre-gelatinized starch in diets for yellowfin seabream did not improve its growth performance and feed utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 10-week growth trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of raw corn starch levels on the growth, feed utilization, plasma chemical indices and metabolic enzyme activities of juvenile yellowfin seabream Sparus latus. Four semi-purified experimental diets with different raw corn starch levels (5%, 10%, 20% and 26%) and a high-protein control diet were prepared before the experiment and hand-fed to triplicate groups of juvenile yellowfin seabream Sparus latus. Weight gain and specific growth rate for fish fed the diet containing 26% raw corn starch were significantly lower than those for fish fed 10% or 20% corn starch diets or the high-protein control diet. Fish fed 10% or 20% corn starch diets had a slightly better growth performance than those fed the 5% corn starch diet. Feed efficiency ratio and protein efficiency ratio (PER) for 20% raw corn starch fed fish were the highest among all groups, although no statistically significant differences were found among the experimental groups. The high-protein control group had a significantly lower PER value than other groups. Protein productive values for fish fed the 5% raw corn starch diet and the high-protein control diet were significantly lower than those of fish fed the 20% raw corn starch diet, but not significantly different from the values of any other group. The values of intraperitoneal fat ratio, viscerosomatic index and condition factor, as well as body and muscle compositions, were unaffected by corn starch levels. The hepatosomatic index and liver glycogen level for fish fed 5%, 10%, 20% raw corn starch and the high-protein control diets were equal but significantly lower compared with that of fish fed the 26% raw corn starch diet. Plasma values of the fish were not affected by various dietary treatments, except that a significantly higher plasma glucose concentration was measured in the high-protein control group compared with the values in the other groups. There were variations in the activities of hepatic hexokinase and pyruvate kinase of the yellowfin seabream after they had been fed different dietary raw corn starch levels for 10 weeks. The overall results showed that a 20% inclusion level of raw corn starch in the diet was better utilized by juvenile yellowfin seabream than 5%, 10% or 26% levels and had a protein-sparing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]