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Genotype is generally determined by the co-expression of diverse genes and multiple regulatory pathways in plants. Gene co-expression analysis combining with physiological trait data provides very important information about the gene function and regulatory mechanism. L-Ascorbic acid (AsA), which is an essential nutrient component for human health and plant metabolism, plays key roles in diverse biological processes such as cell cycle, cell expansion, stress resistance, hormone synthesis, and signaling. Here, we applied a weighted gene correlation network analysis approach based on gene expression values and AsA content data in ripening tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit with different AsA content levels, which leads to identification of AsA relevant modules and vital genes in AsA regulatory pathways. Twenty-four modules were compartmentalized according to gene expression profiling. Among these modules, one negatively related module containing genes involved in redox processes and one positively related module enriched with genes involved in AsA biosynthetic and recycling pathways were further analyzed. The present work herein indicates that redox pathways as well as hormone-signal pathways are closely correlated with AsA accumulation in ripening tomato fruit, and allowed us to prioritize candidate genes for follow-up studies to dissect this interplay at the biochemical and molecular level.

Background We report an extremely rare case of hypopharyngeal paraganglioma that was accompanied by a paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome (PNS). Methods The clinical, radiological, and histopathologic findings of the patient are presented. Results A 49-year-old woman presented with a history of progressive asthenia of the lower extremities persisting for 2 months. She also experienced numbness and sensory disturbance of the left lower limbs, 2 epileptic seizures, and constipation during the period. Clinical and radiological evaluations suggested the diagnosis of encephalomyelitis in combination with a left hypopharyngeal mass lesion. The patient underwent surgical excision of the lesion, which subsequently resolved her symptoms. Postoperative pathology was consistent with a paraganglioma. There was no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis of the tumor on recent follow-up. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, our patient represents the third reported case of hypopharyngeal paraganglioma, and the only one to have a paraneoplastic syndrome. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 35: E304–E307, 2013