Search

Abstract Background The C2H2 zinc finger protein family plays important roles in plants. However, precisely how C2H2s function in Opisthopappus (Opisthopappus taihangensis and Opisthopappus longilobus) remains unclear. Results In this study, a total of 69 OpC2H2 zinc finger protein genes were identified and clustered into five Groups. Seven tandem and ten fragment repeats were found in OpC2H2s, which underwent robust purifying selection. Of the identified motifs, motif 1 was present in all OpC2H2s and conserved at important binding sites. Most OpC2H2s possessed few introns and exons that could rapidly activate and react when faced with stress. The OpC2H2 promoter sequences mainly contained diverse regulatory elements, such as ARE, ABRE, and LTR. Under salt stress, two up-regulated OpC2H2s (OpC2H2-1 and OpC2H2-14) genes and one down-regulated OpC2H2 gene (OpC2H2-7) might serve as key transcription factors through the ABA and JA signaling pathways to regulate the growth and development of Opisthopappus species. Conclusion The above results not only help to understand the function of C2H2 gene family but also drive progress in genetic improvement for the salt tolerance of Opisthopappus species.

Over the past decades, our understanding of microbial metabolism has increased dramatically. Metabolomics, a family of techniques that are used to measure the quantities of small molecules in biological samples, has been central to these efforts. Advances in analytical chemistry have made it possible to measure the relative and absolute concentrations of more and more compounds with increasing levels of certainty. In this review, we highlight how metabolomics has contributed to understanding microbial metabolism and in what ways it can still be deployed to expand our systematic understanding of metabolism. To that end, we explain how metabolomics was used to (a) characterize network topologies of metabolism and its regulation networks, (b) elucidate the control of metabolic function, and (c) understand the molecular basis of higher-order phenomena. We also discuss areas of inquiry where technological advances should continue to increase the impact of metabolomics, as well as areas where our understanding is bottlenecked by other factors such as the availability of statistical and modeling frameworks that can extract biological meaning from metabolomics data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The C2H2 zinc finger protein family plays important roles in plants. However, precisely how C2H2s function in Opisthopappus (Opisthopappus taihangensis and Opisthopappus longilobus) remains unclear. Results: In this study, a total of 69 OpC2H2 zinc finger protein genes were identified and clustered into five Groups. Seven tandem and ten fragment repeats were found in OpC2H2s, which underwent robust purifying selection. Of the identified motifs, motif 1 was present in all OpC2H2s and conserved at important binding sites. Most OpC2H2s possessed few introns and exons that could rapidly activate and react when faced with stress. The OpC2H2 promoter sequences mainly contained diverse regulatory elements, such as ARE, ABRE, and LTR. Under salt stress, two up-regulated OpC2H2s (OpC2H2-1 and OpC2H2-14) genes and one down-regulated OpC2H2 gene (OpC2H2-7) might serve as key transcription factors through the ABA and JA signaling pathways to regulate the growth and development of Opisthopappus species. Conclusion: The above results not only help to understand the function of C2H2 gene family but also drive progress in genetic improvement for the salt tolerance of Opisthopappus species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of skeletal muscle in pigs might determine the quality of pork. In recent years, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to play an important role in skeletal muscle growth and development. In this study, we investigated the whole transcriptome of the longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM) of Jinfen White pigs at three developmental stages (1, 90, and 180 days) and performed a comprehensive analysis of lncRNAs, mRNAs, and micro-RNAs (miRNAs), aiming to find the key regulators and interaction networks in Jinfen White pigs. A total of 2638 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE mRNAs) and 982 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE lncRNAs) were identified. Compared with JFW_1d, there were 497 up-regulated and 698 down-regulated DE mRNAs and 212 up-regulated and 286 down-regulated DE lncRNAs in JFW_90d, respectively. In JFW_180d, there were 613 up-regulated and 895 down-regulated DE mRNAs and 184 up-regulated and 131 down-regulated DE lncRNAs compared with JFW_1d. There were 615 up-regulated and 477 down-regulated DE mRNAs and 254 up-regulated and 355 down-regulated DE lncRNAs in JFW_180d compared with JFW_90d. Compared with mRNA, lncRNA has fewer exons, fewer ORFs, and a shorter length. We performed GO and KEGG pathway functional enrichment analysis for DE mRNAs and the potential target genes of DE lncRNAs. As a result, several pathways are involved in muscle growth and development, such as the PI3K-Akt, MAPK, hedgehog, and hippo signaling pathways. These are among the pathways through which mRNA and lncRNAs function. As part of this study, bioinformatic screening was used to identify miRNAs and DE lncRNAs that could act as ceRNAs. Finally, we constructed an lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA regulation network containing 26 mRNAs, 7 miRNAs, and 17 lncRNAs; qRT-PCR was used to verify the key genes in these networks. Among these, XLOC_022984/miR-127/ENAH and XLOC_016847/miR-486/NRF1 may function as key ceRNA networks. In this study, we obtained transcriptomic profiles from the LDM of Jinfen White pigs at three developmental stages and screened out lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks that may provide crucial information for the further exploration of the molecular mechanisms during skeletal muscle development.

IQGAP2 as a tumor suppressor gene can influence cell proliferation in multiple tumor cell lines. However, the regulation network of cell proliferation resulting solely from the deficiency of IQGAP2 in cells was still unclear. Here, we integrated transcriptome, proteome, and phosphoproteome analyses to investigate the regulatory network of cell proliferation in IQGAP2 knockdown HaCaT and HEK293 cells. Our findings revealed that the dysregulation of the IQGAP2-mTOR molecular network led to increased cell proliferation. We demonstrated that IQGAP2 knockdown enhanced the phosphorylation levels of AKT and S6K, leading to increased cell proliferation. Additionally, we found that AKT and mTOR inhibitors partially rescued abnormal cell proliferation by reducing hyperphosphorylation. Our data suggest a potential connection between the mTOR signaling pathway and aberrant cell proliferation in IQGAP2 knockdown cells. These findings offer a new therapeutic strategy for patients with IQGAP2 deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a highly valued and multiple function tree species, the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus are enriched in diverse bioactive substances with healthy function. To meet the requirement for its leaf production and medical use, the land with salt stress would be a potential resource for developing C. paliurus plantations due to the limitation of land resources in China. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor protein family, the second largest protein family in plants, has been found to play essential roles in the response to multiple abiotic stresses, especially salt stress. However, the bHLH gene family in C.paliurus has not been investigated. In this study, 159 CpbHLH genes were successfully identified from the whole-genome sequence data, and were classified into 26 subfamilies. Meanwhile, the 159 members were also analyzed from the aspects of protein sequences alignment, evolution, motif prediction, promoter cis-acting elements analysis and DNA binding ability. Based on transcriptome profiling under a hydroponic experiment with four salt concentrations (0%, 0.15%, 0.3%, and 0.45% NaCl), 9 significantly up- or down-regulated genes were screened, while 3 genes associated with salt response were selected in term of the GO annotation results. Totally 12 candidate genes were selected in response to salt stress. Moreover, based on expression analysis of the 12 candidate genes sampled from a pot experiment with three salt concentrations (0%, 0.2% and 0.4% NaCl), CpbHLH36/68/146 were further verified to be involved in the regulation of salt tolerance genes, which is also confirmed by protein interaction network analysis. This study was the first analysis of the transcription factor family at the genome-wide level of C. paliurus, and our findings would not only provide insight into the function of the CpbHLH gene family members involved in salt stress but also drive progress in genetic improvement for the salt tolerance of C. paliurus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The development of the ovaries is an important factor that affects egg production performance in geese. Ovarian development is regulated by genes that are expressed dynamically and stage-specifically. The transcriptome profile analysis on ovarian tissues of goose at different egg laying stages could provide an important basis for screening and identifying key genes regulating ovarian development. Results In this study, 4 ovary tissues at each breeding period of pre-laying (PP), laying (LP), and ceased-laying period (CP), respectively, with significant morphology difference, were used for RNA extraction and mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs comparison in Yili geese. CeRNA regulatory network was constructed for key genes screening. A total of 337, 1136, and 525 differentially expressed DE mRNAs, 466, 925, and 742 DE lncRNAs and 258, 1131 and 909 DE miRNAs were identified between PP and LP, between CP and LP, and between CP and PP groups, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed mRNAs and non-coding RNA target genes were mainly involved in the cell process, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, phagosome, calcium signaling pathway, steroid biosynthesis and ECM-receptor interaction. Differential genes and non-coding RNAs, PDGFRB, ERBB4, LHCGR, MSTRG.129094.34, MSTRG.3524.1 and gga-miR-145–5p, related to reproduction and ovarian development were highly enriched. Furthermore, lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks related to ovary development were constructed. Conclusions Our study found dramatic transcriptomic differences in ovaries of Yili geese at different egg-laying stages, and a differential lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network related to cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis and involved in stromal follicle development were established and preliminarily validated, which could be regarded as a key regulatory pathway of ovarian development in Yili geese.

Simple Summary: The skeletal muscle growth and development affects the production of goat meat. Here, we performed transcriptome sequencing of longissimus dorsi muscle of goats at two development stages (namely, 1-month-old and 9-month-old) by RNA sequencing, assessing the lncRNA expression profile during skeletal muscle development. This study identified regulatory lncRNAs and pathways related to the development of skeletal muscle, providing a reference for future study on the molecular mechanism that regulates the skeletal growth and development. LncRNAs are essential for regulating skeletal muscle. However, the expression profile and function of lncRNAs in goat muscle remains unclear. Here, an average of ~14.58 Gb high-quality reads were obtained from longissimus dorsi tissues of 1-month-old (n = 3) and 9-month-old (n = 3) Wu'an black goats using RNA sequencing. Of a total of 3441 lncRNAs, 1281 were lincRNAs, 805 were antisense lncRNAs, and 1355 were sense_overlapping lncRNAs. These lncRNAs shared some properties with goats, such as fewer exons, shorter transcript, and open reading frames (ORFs) length. Among them, 36 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE lncRNA) were identified, and then 10 random lncRNAs were validated by RT-qPCR. Furthermore, 30 DE lncRNAs were neighboring 71 mRNAs and several genes were functionally enriched in muscle development-related pathways, such as APC, IFRD1, NKX2-5, and others. Additionally, 36 DE lncRNAs and 2684 mRNAs were included in co-expression interactions. A lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network containing 4 lncRNAs, 3 miRNAs, and 8 mRNAs was finally constructed, of which XR_001296113.2 might regulate PDLIM7 expression by interaction with chi-miR-1296 to affect skeletal muscle development. This study revealed the expression profile of goat lncRNAs for further investigative studies and provides a fuller understanding of skeletal muscle development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Immunotherapy is a revolutionary strategy in cancer therapy, but the resistance of which is one of the important challenges. Detecting the regulation of immune cells and biomarkers concerning immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy is of great significance. Methods Here, we firstly constructed regulation networks for 11 immune cell clusters by integrating biological pathway data and single cell sequencing data in metastatic melanoma with or without ICB therapy. We then dissected these regulation networks and identified differently expressed genes between responders and non-responders. Finally, we trained and validated a logistic regression model based on ligands and receptors in the regulation network to predict ICB therapy response. Results We discovered the regulation of genes across eleven immune cell stats. Functional analysis indicated that these stat-specific networks consensually enriched in immune response corrected pathways and highlighted antigen processing and presentation as a core pathway in immune cell regulation. Furthermore, some famous ligands like SIRPA, ITGAM, CD247and receptors like CD14, IL2 and HLA-G were differently expressed between cells of responders and non-responders. A predictive model of gene sets containing ligands and receptors performed accuracy prediction with AUCs above 0.7 in a validation dataset suggesting that they may be server as biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy response. Conclusions In summary, our study presented the gene–gene regulation landscape across 11 immune cell clusters and analysis of these networks revealed several important aspects and immunotherapy response biomarkers, which may provide novel insights into immune related mechanisms and immunotherapy response prediction.

Background: The development of the ovaries is an important factor that affects egg production performance in geese. Ovarian development is regulated by genes that are expressed dynamically and stage-specifically. The transcriptome profile analysis on ovarian tissues of goose at different egg laying stages could provide an important basis for screening and identifying key genes regulating ovarian development. Results: In this study, 4 ovary tissues at each breeding period of pre-laying (PP), laying (LP), and ceased-laying period (CP), respectively, with significant morphology difference, were used for RNA extraction and mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs comparison in Yili geese. CeRNA regulatory network was constructed for key genes screening. A total of 337, 1136, and 525 differentially expressed DE mRNAs, 466, 925, and 742 DE lncRNAs and 258, 1131 and 909 DE miRNAs were identified between PP and LP, between CP and LP, and between CP and PP groups, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed mRNAs and non-coding RNA target genes were mainly involved in the cell process, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, phagosome, calcium signaling pathway, steroid biosynthesis and ECM-receptor interaction. Differential genes and non-coding RNAs, PDGFRB, ERBB4, LHCGR, MSTRG.129094.34, MSTRG.3524.1 and gga-miR-145–5p, related to reproduction and ovarian development were highly enriched. Furthermore, lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks related to ovary development were constructed. Conclusions: Our study found dramatic transcriptomic differences in ovaries of Yili geese at different egg-laying stages, and a differential lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network related to cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis and involved in stromal follicle development were established and preliminarily validated, which could be regarded as a key regulatory pathway of ovarian development in Yili geese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Improving sow fertility is extremely important as it can lead to increased reproductive efficiency and thus profitability for swine producers. There are considerable differences in fertility rates among individual animals, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, by using different types of RNA libraries, we investigated the complete transcriptome of ovarian tissue during the luteal (L) and follicular (F) phases of the estrous cycle in Large White pigs with high (H) and low (L) fecundity, and performed a comprehensive analysis of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), mRNAs and micro RNAs (miRNAs) from 16 samples by combining RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) with bioinformatics. Results In total, 24,447 lncRNAs, 27,370 mRNAs, and 216 known miRNAs were identified in ovarian tissues. The genomic features of lncRNAs, such as length distribution and number of exons, were further analyzed. We selected a threshold of P

Background: Immunotherapy is a revolutionary strategy in cancer therapy, but the resistance of which is one of the important challenges. Detecting the regulation of immune cells and biomarkers concerning immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy is of great significance.Methods: Here, we firstly constructed regulation networks for 11 immune cell clusters by integrating biological pathway data and single cell sequencing data in metastatic melanoma with or without ICB therapy. We then dissected these regulation networks and identified differently expressed genes between responders and non-responders. Finally, we trained and validated a logistic regression model based on ligands and receptors in the regulation network to predict ICB therapy response.Results: We discovered the regulation of genes across eleven immune cell stats. Functional analysis indicated that these stat-specific networks consensually enriched in immune response corrected pathways and highlighted antigen processing and presentation as a core pathway in immune cell regulation. Furthermore, some famous ligands like SIRPA, ITGAM, CD247and receptors like CD14, IL2 and HLA-G were differently expressed between cells of responders and non-responders. A predictive model of gene sets containing ligands and receptors performed accuracy prediction with AUCs above 0.7 in a validation dataset suggesting that they may be server as biomarkers for predicting immunotherapy response.Conclusions: In summary, our study presented the gene-gene regulation landscape across 11 immune cell clusters and analysis of these networks revealed several important aspects and immunotherapy response biomarkers, which may provide novel insights into immune related mechanisms and immunotherapy response prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granzyme B is a renowned effector molecule primarily utilized by CTLs and NK cells against ill-defined and/or transformed cells during immunosurveillance. The overall expression of granzyme B within tumor microenvironment has been well-established as a prognostic marker indicative of priming immunity for a long time. Until recent years, increasing immunosuppressive effects of granzyme B are unveiled in the setting of different immunological context. The accumulative evidence confounded the roles of granzyme B in immune responses, thereby arousing great interests in characterizing detailed feature of granzyme B-positive niche. In this paper, the granzyme B-related regulatory effects of major suppressor cells as well as the tumor microenvironment that defines such functionalities were longitudinally summarized and discussed. Multiplex networks were built upon the interactions among different transcriptional factors, cytokines, and chemokines that regarded to the initiation and regulation of granzyme B-mediated immunosuppression. The conclusions and prospect may facilitate better interpretations of the clinical significance of granzyme B, guiding the rational development of therapeutic regimen and diagnostic probes for anti-tumor purposes.

Granzyme B is a renowned effector molecule primarily utilized by CTLs and NK cells against ill-defined and/or transformed cells during immunosurveillance. The overall expression of granzyme B within tumor microenvironment has been well-established as a prognostic marker indicative of priming immunity for a long time. Until recent years, increasing immunosuppressive effects of granzyme B are unveiled in the setting of different immunological context. The accumulative evidence confounded the roles of granzyme B in immune responses, thereby arousing great interests in characterizing detailed feature of granzyme B-positive niche. In this paper, the granzyme B-related regulatory effects of major suppressor cells as well as the tumor microenvironment that defines such functionalities were longitudinally summarized and discussed. Multiplex networks were built upon the interactions among different transcriptional factors, cytokines, and chemokines that regarded to the initiation and regulation of granzyme B-mediated immunosuppression. The conclusions and prospect may facilitate better interpretations of the clinical significance of granzyme B, guiding the rational development of therapeutic regimen and diagnostic probes for anti-tumor purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limits of evolution have long fascinated biologists. However, the causes of evolutionary constraint have remained elusive due to a poor mechanistic understanding of studied phenotypes. Recently, a range of innovative approaches have leveraged mechanistic information on regulatory networks and cellular biology. These methods combine systems biology models with population and single-cell quantification and with new genetic tools, and they have been applied to a range of complex cellular functions and engineered networks. In this article, we review these developments, which are revealing the mechanistic causes of epistasis at different levels of biological organization—in molecular recognition, within a single regulatory network, and between different networks—providing first indications of predictable features of evolutionary constraint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Klebsiella sp. TN-10, a heterotrophic nitrifying bacterium, showed excellent nitrification ability under nitrogen stress. The strain was cultured under different nitrogen stress levels, including ammonium sulfate 0.5, 2.5, and 5 g/L, and samples were titled group-L, group-M, and group-H, respectively. In these three groups, the removed total nitrogen was 70.28, 118.33, and 157.18 mg/L after 12 h of cultivation, respectively. An RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis was used to describe key regulatory networks in response to nitrogen stress. The GO functional enrichment and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) participated in more pathways under higher nitrogen stress (group-H). Carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the most abundant subcategories, which meant these pathways were significantly influenced by nitrogen stress and could be related to nitrogen removal. In the nitrogen cycle, up-regulated gene2311 (narK, encodes major facilitator superfamily transporter) may accelerate the entry of nitrogen into the cells and subsequently contribute to the nitrogen utilization. In addition, the up-regulation of gene2312 (narG), gene2313 (narH), and gene2315 (narH) may accelerate denitrification pathways and facilitate nitrogen removal. The results presented in this study may play a pivotal role in understanding the regulation networks of the nitrifying bacterium TN-10 under nitrogen stress.

The bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) transcription factor family is the second largest in plants. It occurs in all three eukaryotic kingdoms, and plays important roles in regulating growth and development. However, family members have not previously been studied in apple. Here, we identified 188 MdbHLH proteins in apple "Golden Delicious" (Malus × domestica Borkh.), which could be classified into 18 groups. We also investigated the gene structures and 12 conserved motifs in these MdbHLHs. Coupled with expression analysis and protein interaction network prediction, we identified several genes thatmight be responsible for abiotic stress responses. This study provides insight and rich resources for subsequent investigations of such proteins in apple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Biologists often need to assess whether unfamiliar datasets warrant the time investment required for more detailed exploration. Basing such assessments on brief descriptions provided by data publishers is unwieldy for large datasets that contain insights dependent on specific scientific questions. Alternatively, using complex software systems for a preliminary analysis may be deemed as too time consuming in itself, especially for unfamiliar data types and formats. This may lead to wasted analysis time and discarding of potentially useful data. Results: We present an exploration of design opportunities that the Google Maps interface offers to biomedical data visualization. In particular, we focus on synergies between visualization techniques and Google Maps that facilitate the development of biological visualizations which have both low-overhead and sufficient expressivity to support the exploration of data at multiple scales. The methods we explore rely on displaying pre-rendered visualizations of biological data in browsers, with sparse yet powerful interactions, by using the Google Maps API. We structure our discussion around five visualizations: a gene co-regulation visualization, a heatmap viewer, a genome browser, a protein interaction network, and a planar visualization of white matter in the brain. Feedback from collaborative work with domain experts suggests that our Google Maps visualizations offer multiple, scale-dependent perspectives and can be particularly helpful for unfamiliar datasets due to their accessibility. We also find that users, particularly those less experienced with computer use, are attracted by the familiarity of the Google Maps API. Our five implementations introduce design elements that can benefit visualization developers. Conclusions: We describe a low-overhead approach that lets biologists access readily analyzed views of unfamiliar scientific datasets. We rely on pre-computed visualizations prepared by data experts, accompanied by sparse and intuitive interactions, and distributed via the familiar Google Maps framework. Our contributions are an evaluation demonstrating the validity and opportunities of this approach, a set of design guidelines benefiting those wanting to create such visualizations, and five concrete example visualizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Sorghum bicolor, tolerance to salinity is improved by a 3-week treatment with 150 mM NaCl during early vegetative development. However, a strong decrease in fertility is also observed, suggesting that reproductive development becomes perturbed by this adaptive response to salinity. This study is an attempt to clarify the origin of such a paradoxical phenomenon. The relationships between end-cycle characters are modified by the NaCl treatment: some linkages disappear, while others are strengthened, especially those linking fertility with plant height. In parallel, a transient reduced level of linkage between leaf characters is observed around the unfolding of the eighth to the tenth leaves, defining a critical period in vegetative development separating two discrete phases. A relationship is observed between events occurring during this short critical period and the NaCl-induced perturbations in fertility. This suggests that reproductive development is conditioned by the influence of salinity on events occurring during a short period of vegetative development, independently of the level of tolerance to salinity quantified by the rate of vegetative growth. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Klebsiella sp. TN-10, a heterotrophic nitrifying bacterium, showed excellent nitrification ability under nitrogen stress. The strain was cultured under different nitrogen stress levels, including ammonium sulfate 0.5, 2.5, and 5 g/L, and samples were titled group-L, group-M, and group-H, respectively. In these three groups, the removed total nitrogen was 70.28, 118.33, and 157.18 mg/L after 12 h of cultivation, respectively. An RNA-Seq transcriptome analysis was used to describe key regulatory networks in response to nitrogen stress. The GO functional enrichment and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) participated in more pathways under higher nitrogen stress (group-H). Carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism were the most abundant subcategories, which meant these pathways were significantly influenced by nitrogen stress and could be related to nitrogen removal. In the nitrogen cycle, up-regulated gene2311 (narK, encodes major facilitator superfamily transporter) may accelerate the entry of nitrogen into the cells and subsequently contribute to the nitrogen utilization. In addition, the up-regulation of gene2312 (narG), gene2313 (narH), and gene2315 (narH) may accelerate denitrification pathways and facilitate nitrogen removal. The results presented in this study may play a pivotal role in understanding the regulation networks of the nitrifying bacterium TN-10 under nitrogen stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Improving sow fertility is extremely important as it can lead to increased reproductive efficiency and thus profitability for swine producers. There are considerable differences in fertility rates among individual animals, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, by using different types of RNA libraries, we investigated the complete transcriptome of ovarian tissue during the luteal (L) and follicular (F) phases of the estrous cycle in Large White pigs with high (H) and low (L) fecundity, and performed a comprehensive analysis of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), mRNAs and micro RNAs (miRNAs) from 16 samples by combining RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) with bioinformatics. Results: In total, 24,447 lncRNAs, 27,370 mRNAs, and 216 known miRNAs were identified in ovarian tissues. The genomic features of lncRNAs, such as length distribution and number of exons, were further analyzed. We selected a threshold of P < 0.05 and |log2 (fold change)| ≥ 1 to obtain the differentially expressed lncRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs by pairwise comparison (LH vs. LL, FH vs. FL). Bioinformatics analysis of these differentially expressed RNAs revealed multiple significantly enriched pathways (P < 0.05) that were closely involved in the reproductive process, such as ovarian steroidogenesis, lysosome, steroid biosynthesis, and the estrogen and GnRH signaling pathways. Moreover, bioinformatics screening of differentially expressed miRNAs that share common miRNA response elements (MREs) with lncRNAs and their downstream mRNA targets were performed. Finally, we constructed lncRNA–miRNA–mRNA regulation networks. The key genes in these networks were verified by Reverse Transcription Real-time Quantitative PCR (RT-qRCR), which were consistent with the results from RNA-Seq data. Conclusions: These results provide further insights into the fertility of pigs andcan contribute to further experimental investigation of the functions of these genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancers in humans and is closely linked to the global cancer-related mortalities worldwide. Molecular pathological epidemiology studies can reveal the risk factors of CRC and contribute to biomarker research and precision medicine. The current clinical treatment for CRC mainly involves surgery and chemotherapy. However, because of the occurrence of side effects and the emergence of drug resistance, there is an urgent need to find new and more effective drugs for CRC treatment. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that many natural products possess effective anti-CRC effects and may serve as alternative chemotherapy agents for CRC treatment. In this review, we summarize the natural products with anti-CRC effects from different sources based on the chemical structures such as alkaloids, polysaccharides, polyphenols, terpenoid, unsaturated fatty acids, and discuss the natural product-derived drugs used clinically for colorectal cancer treatment. Furthermore, natural products of marine origin are also discussed for their enormous potential to serve as the candidate drugs. Notably, we generalize the experiment-based molecular mechanisms and the regulatory networks whereby natural products exert anticancer effects on cell proliferation, metastasis, apoptosis, autophagy, and angiogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) transcription factor family is the second largest in plants. It occurs in all three eukaryotic kingdoms, and plays important roles in regulating growth and development. However, family members have not previously been studied in apple. Here, we identified 188 MdbHLH proteins in apple "Golden Delicious" ( Malus × domestica Borkh.), which could be classified into 18 groups. We also investigated the gene structures and 12 conserved motifs in these MdbHLH s. Coupled with expression analysis and protein interaction network prediction, we identified several genes that might be responsible for abiotic stress responses. This study provides insight and rich resources for subsequent investigations of such proteins in apple.