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Effects of potassium levels on fruit quality were evaluated on ‘Tiantian No. 1’ muskmelon (Cucumis melo, cv. reticulatus Naud.) in soilless medium culture under a greenhouse. Three potassium levels, K120 (insufficient), K240 (suitable), and K360 (excessive) in nutrient solution, which represent 120, 240, and 360 mg l-1 of potassium (K), respectively, were applied. At potassium level of 240 mg l-1, the concentrations of total sugar, total soluble solids, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, alanine, and volatile acetate components (n-amyl acetate, 2-butoxyethyl acetate) significantly increased in fruit flesh, which should improve the taste and aroma of muskmelon. However, no significant difference in fruit appearance or size was recorded among the treatments. Favorable quality of muskmelon in soilless medium culture were achieved when potassium level was adjusted to near 240 mg l-1 in nutrient solution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Development of a sensitive, rapid and easy-to-use liquid biopsy method is of imperative clinical value for point-of-care caner diagnostics. Here, a label-free and modification-free nanotechnology based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was employed for DNA analysis. Using the SERS signals of phosphate backbone as internal standard, quantitative detection for nucleobases was achieved even at single base level. The method combined with principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis was further applied for real blood circulating DNA detection for the first time, and an ideal diagnostic sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 82.5% could be obtained for differentiating the nasopharyngeal cancer from the normal group, demonstrating promising potential as an alternative nanotechnology for nasopharyngeal cancer screening based on liquid biopsy. In present work, a label-free and modification-free detection method using silver nanoparticles-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy was developed for DNA analysis. The small changes in DNA molecules can be rapidly and sensitively quantified at single nucleobase level without complicated procedures. Moreover, this method combined with diagnostic algorithm was employed for blood circulating DNA detection for the first time, and achieved good diagnostic sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 82.5% for nasopharyngeal cancer detection. This proof of concept experiment demonstrated promising potential for this method to become a rapid, easy-to-use, cost-effective and sensitive method for NPC detection based on liquid biopsy. Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chicken comb is an essential secondary sexual characteristic to measure sexual maturity and is closely related to reproductive performance. Pendulous comb (PC) and upright comb (UC) are 2 common comb phenotypes in hens, which have been highly associated with egg production performance. However, the reasons for the formation of PC remain undetermined. In this study, we first characterized the PC and UC chicken at start (at 175 d age), peak (at 217 d age), and postlaying (at 300 d age) and found that PC and UC could transform for each other. Furthermore, we suggested that PC chicken demonstrated better egg production performance than UC chicken, especially characterizing comb type in the start-laying period. Moreover, we performed histological evaluation of PC and UC tissue, which suggested that the low density of collagen fibers and acid mucopolysaccharides might lead to the formation of PC. To further explore the possible reasons for PC formation, we performed an untargeted metabolomic analysis of serum between PC and UC chicken in the start, peak, and postlaying periods. The enrichment analysis of period-unique differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) between PC and UC showed that the different metabolic pathways and nutritional levels might contribute to the formation of PC in the different laying periods. Our research provided critical insights into the phenotypic diversity of chicken comb, establishing a foundation for early selection of chicken egg production performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Carotenoid accumulation result in pepper fruit color change (from green to brown, to red). • CaBBX20 upregulated expression along with the pigmentation during fruit ripening. • Silencing CaBBX20 lead to reduced carotenoid accumulation and CaCCS expression. Carotenoids are important pigments whose accumulation is regulated by transcription factors such as those from the MADS-box and MYB families. BBXs are a kind of zinc finger transcription factors with one or two B-box domains, which were identified involved in photomorphogenesis. However, little is known about the function of CaBBX in the pigmentation of pepper fruit (Capsicum annuum). Here, we selected two red-fruited pepper cultivars to investigate carotenoid contents at three developmental stages (Mg: mature green stage, Tf: turning stage, and Rf: ripen stage) during fruit ripening (30, 45 and 60 days after flowering). Our results showed that carotenoid accumulation in pepper fruits begins at turning stage (Tf) and peaks in ripen stage (Rf), which was reflected in the fruit color change (from green to brown, and then to red). The expression of CaBBX20 was upregulated with the pigmentation during fruit ripening. Silencing CaBBX20 led to reduced carotenoid accumulation, as well as downregulated expression of CaCCS , suggesting a positive role of CaBBX20 in carotenoid metabolism of pepper fruit. Our study thus provides basic insight into carotenoid biosynthesis during pepper fruit pigmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egg production performance plays an important role in the poultry industry across the world. Previous studies have shown a great difference in egg production performance between pendulous-comb (PC) and upright-comb (UC) chickens. However, there are no reports to identify potential candidate genes for egg production in PC and UC chickens. In the present study, 1,606 laying chickens were raised, and the egg laid by individual chicken was collected for 100 d. Moreover, the expression level of estrogen and progesterone hormones was measured at the start-laying and peak-laying periods of hens. Besides, 4 PC and 4 UC chickens were selected at 217 d of age to perform transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and whole genome resequencing (WGS) to screen the potential candidate genes of egg production. The results showed that PC chicken demonstrated better egg production performance (P < 0.05) and higher estrogen and progesterone hormone expression levels than UC chicken (P < 0.05). RNA-seq analysis showed that 341 upregulated and 1,036 downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the ovary tissues of PC and UC chickens. These DEGs were mainly enriched in protein-related, lipid-related, and nucleic acids-related biological processes including ribosome, peptide biosynthetic process, lipid transport terms, and catalytic activity acting on RNA which can significantly affect egg production in chicken. The enrichment results of WGS analysis were consistent with RNA-seq. Further, joint analysis of WGS and RNA-seq data was utilized to screen 30 genes and CAMK1D, CLSTN2, MAST2, PIK3C2G, TBC1D1, STK3, ADGRB3, and PPARGC1A were identified as potential candidate genes for egg production in PC and UC chickens. In summary, our study provides a wealth of information for a better understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanism for the future breeding of PC and UC chickens for egg production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliable quantitative analysis of tumor biomarkers in circulating blood is crucial for cancer early screening, therapy monitoring and prognostic prediction. Herein, a novel biosensor combing surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and surface molecularly imprinted polymer (SMIP) technology was developed for quantitative detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) that is closely related to several common cancers. Owing to the use of SMIP, recognition sites with high affinity to the target of interest can be well imprinted on the surface of SERS substrate, leading to a more stable and specific capture ability. In addition, two layers of core-shell nanoparticles were integrated to this SERS substrate to form highly efficient electromagnetic enhancement for SERS measurement via the generation of lots of "hot spot". Besides, a unique Raman reporter (C C) with silent Raman signals at 2024 cm−1 was capsulated in the nanoparticles to avoid the optical noises originating from endogenous molecules at fingerprint region (300-1800 cm−1). Meanwhile, we employed an internal standard molecular (C N) to real time correct the fluctuating signals of Raman reporter when performing the quantitative analysis. Due to these features, a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.064 pg mL−1 with the detection range of 0.1 pg mL−1 - 10 μg mL−1 can be achieved by this assay. Excitingly, this technology even showed wonderful performances for CEA detection in real blood from cancer patients, demonstrating great potential for biomarker-based cancer screening. Image 1 • A biosensor combing SERS with SMIP technology was developed for ultra-sensitive and reliable quantitative detection of CEA. • A unique Raman reporter with silent Raman signals was used to avoid the interferences from endogenous molecules. • Use an internal standard to correct the fluctuating signals of Raman reporter when performing the quantitative analysis. • A limit of detection of 0.064 pg mL-1 with the range of 0.1 pg mL-1 - 10 μg mL-1 can be achieved by this biosensor [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]