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Abstract: Fibronectin (Fn) plays an important part in the branching morphogenesis of salivary gland, lung, and kidney. Here, we examine the effect of the conditional knockout of Fn in the mammary epithelium [FnMEp−/−] on postnatal mammary gland development, using Cre-loxP-mediated gene knockout technology. Our data show that Fn deletion causes a moderate retardation in outgrowth and branching of the ductal tree in 5-week-old mice. These defects are partially compensated in virgin 16-week-old mice. However, mammary glands consisting of Fn-deficient epithelial cells fail to undergo normal lobuloalveolar differentiation during pregnancy. The severity of lobuloalveolar impairment ranged from lobular hypoplasia to aplasia in some cases and was associated with the amount of Fn protein recovered from these glands. Decreased rates of mammary epithelial cell proliferation accounted for delayed ductal outgrowth in virgin and lack of alveologenesis in pregnant FnMEp−/− mice. Concomitant decreased expression of integrin β1 (Itgb1) and lack of autophosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (Fak) suggest that this pathology might, at least in part, be mediated by disruption of the Fn/Itgb1/Fak signaling pathway. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels (Rutaceae), recognized as wampee, is a widely distributed fruit tree which is utilized as a folk-medicine for treatment of several common diseases. However, the genomic information about this medicinally important species is still lacking. Therefore, we assembled the first genome of Clausena genus with a total length of 310.51 Mb and scaffold N50 of 2.24 Mb by using 10× Genomics technology. Further annotation revealed a total of 34,419 protein-coding genes, while repetitive elements covered 39.08% (121.36 Mb) of the genome. The Clausena and Citrus genus were found to diverge around 22 MYA, and also shared an ancient whole-genome triplication event with Vitis. Furthermore, multi-tissue transcriptomic analysis enabled the identification of genes involved in the synthesis of carbazole alkaloids. Altogether, these findings provided new insights into the genome evolution of Wampee species and highlighted the possible role of key genes involved in the carbazole alkaloids biosynthetic pathway. • First high-quality genome of Clausena genus (Clausena lansium). • Wampee genome encode 34,419 protein-coding genes, and 39.08% repetitive elements. • Clausena and Citrus diverged around 22 MYA. • C. lansium shared an ancient whole-genome triplication event with Vitis. • Key genes involved in the carbazole alkaloids biosynthesis pathways were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]