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Coleorhiza hairs are hairlike structures in seeds of the grass family (Poaceae). The molecular mechanisms underlying its formation are largely unknown, study on this topic will expand our understanding of the effects of water status on germination during rice (Oryza sativa L.) direct seeding. Seeds of Nipponbare were treated under two water conditions: in one, half of the seed surface was immersed in water and the other half was embryo side in air (EIA), and in the other, the whole seed was covered by water (CBW). Coleorhiza hairs formed only in EIA samples. Transcriptomics was used to identify the gene regulation during coleorhiza hair formation in EIA (vs. CBW) embryos and endosperm. Embryos displayed more transcriptome modulation even though smaller in size than the endosperm. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in both primary and secondary metabolism and showed changes in abscisic acid, auxin, jasmonic acid, and salicylic acid signatures. Metabolites enrichment data were positively correlated with gene expression changes in the affected metabolic functional pathways. The presence of shorter coleorhiza hairs in an OsRHL1 (Os06g0184000, a coleorhiza hair formation regulation candidate gene) knockout mutant suggested that root hair-associated DEGs share molecular regulators that control the formation of coleorhiza hairs.

Plant photosynthetic capacity directly determines crop yield. Light quality regulates photosynthetic capacity. This review discusses plant responses to far-red light from the phenotypic to the molecular level, focusing specifically on the improvement of photosynthetic capacity by adjustment of photosynthetic electron transport and the path of light energy. Far-red light can also regulate leaf angle and increase plant height and leaf area, via expression of associated genes, to capture more light energy. Thus, far-red light regulates plant morphology and photosynthetic capacity. Identifying the mechanism of this regulation may lead to increased crop yields.

Severe Helicobacter pylori-linked gastric disorders are especially prevalent in the East Asia region. The ability of H. pylori to cause different clinical outcomes is thought to be associated with unique sets of its genetic features. However, only few genetic features have been definitively linked to specific gastrointestinal pathologies. Genome heterogeneity of clinical H. pylori strains from patients with four different gastric disorders was studied to explore the population structure and molecular genomic features and their association with pathogenicity. Population analysis showed that 92.9% of the Shanghai H. pylori isolates were clustered in the East Asia group. Among 2,866 genes detected in all genomes, 1,146 genes formed the core genome, whereas 209 unique genes were detected in individual disease groups. The unique genes of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer groups represented the inorganic ion transport and metabolism function gene clusters. Sixteen virulence genes were detected with statistically different detection rates among the four disease groups. Furthermore, 127 clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats were found with significantly different rates in the four disease groups. A total of 337 putative genomic islands were identified, and three genomic islands were individually found in more than 10% of strains. The genomic islands included several metabolism-associated genes and many genes with unknown function. In total, 88 sequence types were detected among the 112 Shanghai H. pylori isolates. Our study provides an essential milestone in the mapping of specific genomic features and their functions to identify factors needed to induce specific gastric disorders in H. pylori.

Background Coleorhiza hairs, are sheath-like outgrowth organs in the seeds of Poaceae family that look like root hair but develop from the coleorhiza epidermal cells during seed imbibition. The major role of coleorhiza hair in seed germination involves facilitating water uptake and nutrient supply for seed germination. However, molecular basis of coleorhiza hair development and underlying genes and metabolic pathways during seed germination are largely unknown and need to be established. Results In this study, a comparative transcriptome analysis of coleorhiza hairs from japonica and indica rice suggested that DEGs in embryo samples from seeds with embryo in air (EIA) as compared to embryo from seeds completely covered by water (CBW) were enriched in water deprivation, abscisic acid (ABA) and auxin metabolism, carbohydrate catabolism and phosphorus metabolism in coleorhiza hairs in both cultivars. Up-regulation of key metabolic genes in ABA, auxin and dehydrin and aquaporin genes may help maintain the basic development of coleorhiza hair in japonica and indica in EIA samples during both early and late stages. Additionally, DEGs involved in glutathione metabolism and carbon metabolism are upregulated while DEGs involved in amino acid and nucleotide sugar metabolism are downregulated in EIA suggesting induction of oxidative stress-alleviating genes and less priority to primary metabolism. Conclusions Taken together, results in this study could provide novel aspects about the molecular signaling that could be involved in coleorhiza hair development in different types of rice cultivars during seed germination and may give some hints for breeders to improve seed germination efficiency under moderate drought conditions.

Background: Non-viral delivery systems is a promising method for gene or drug delivery. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) is a double-edged sword. It internalizes itself into the cell through endocytosis and promotes gene transfer efficiency. However, the strong positive charge also makes PEI highly toxic to cells. Ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) is a promising non-viral method for gene and drug delivery, but its efficiency still needs to be improved. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore a system that combines ultrasound with non-viral gene delivery for the treatment of cervical cancer HeLa cells. Methods: In this study, we synthesized a kind of cationic ultrasound contrast agent(CUCA) that the physical and chemical properties, gene carrying capacity and cytotoxicity were verified. On the basis of previous studies, we further optimized the following transfusion parameters including ultrasound parameters, microbubble concentration, plasmid concentration, cell density and other parameters. The experiment was designed to compare the following six groups: (1) Plasmid group (P group), plasmid 15 μg; (2) PEI + plasmid group (PEI + P group),1 μl of PEI containing 10 nmol nitrogen and 1 μg of DNA containing 3 nmol phosphate for a PEI/DNA ratio equal to a nitrogen/phosphate ratio of 7 for transfection; (3) Ultrasound + plasmid group (US + P), plasmid 15 μg; (4) Ultrasound + cationic liposomal ultrasound contrast agent + plasmid group (UTMD + P group), plasmid 15 μg and cationic liposomal ultrasound contrast agent 5%; (5) Ultrasound + cationic liposomal ultrasound contrast agent + PEI + plasmid group (UTMD + PEI + P group), PEI/DNA ratio equal to a nitrogen/phosphate ratio of 7 for transfection and cationic liposomal ultrasound contrast agent 5%; and (6) Blank group, no treatment), The influence on Hela cells was observed under microscope, the efficiency of apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry, and cell viability was tested in CCK 8. Results: The optimized transfection parameters can improve the transfection efficiency of ultrasound combined with C-UCA to a certain extent, but its transfection efficiency is still lower than that of branched polyethyleneimine (bPEI) 25 kDa. By investigating the effect of HeLa cells apoptosis induced by UTMD in combination with PEI mediated survivin miRNA, we found that both PEI alone and ultrasound in combination with CUCA were able to transfect cells with survivin miRNA to effectively induce HeLa cell apoptosis. However, the synergistic effect between the two methods was not significant. Conclusion: In contrast, the combined use of ultrasound, C-UCA and PEI may significantly reduce the transfection efficiency of UTMD and PEI, and the specific mechanism remains to be further studied.

Purple-fleshed sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas（L.）Lam.) is rich in anthocyanins. R2R3-type MYB transcription factors（TFs）with EAR motifs inhibiting anthocyanin biosynthesis have been reported, and there is still a lack of information on how mutations in the EAR motifs of MYBs affect anthocyanin accumulation. In this study, we obtained three IbMYB44 TFs by bioinformatics. Among these TFs, IbMYB44.1, IbMYB44.3 with a complete EAR motif and IbMYB44.2 with a single amino acid mutant in the EAR motif caused an amino acid substitution from leucine to valine. RT-qPCR analysis showed that IbMYB44s was expressed at lower levels in the purple-fleshed sweetpotato than in nonpurple-fleshed sweetpotato (P 0.01). Transient expression assays showed that the inhibitory effect of IbMYB44.1/3 was stronger than IbMYB44.2 in tobacco leaves and red-skinned pears. RT-qPCR analysis further proved that IbMYB44.1/3 significantly inhibited the expression of anthocyanin biosynthesis-related genes compared with IbMYB44.2 in tobacco leaves and red-skinned pears. A dual luciferase reporter assay showed that IbMYB44s cannot directly activate the IbANS promoter, and the result was also verified by yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) experiments. Moreover, we identified the interaction of IbMYB340 with IbMYB44.1, IbMYB44.2 and IbMYB44.3 via yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) assays. Thus, IbMYB44.1/3 could interact with IbMYB340 to negatively regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis. This study enriched the regulatory network of anthocyanins and also provided a theoretical basis for a single amino acid mutant from leucine to valine in the EAR motif of IbMYB44.2 affecting anthocyanin biosynthesis in the purple-fleshed sweetpotato.

This study was designed to investigate the precise mechanisms of miR-325-3p/S100A2 axis in breast cancer (BC). In this study, we found that the level of miR-325-3p was dramatically increased in BC tissues and cell lines, and the expression of S100A2 was significantly decreased. Also, the high level of miR-325-3p was closely associated with low expression of S100A2 in BC tissues. Moreover, introduction of miR-325-3p significantly promoted proliferation, invasion, and EMT of BC cells. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that the S100A2 was a potential target gene of miR-325-3p. Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR-325-3p could directly target S100A2. In addition, miR-325-3p overexpression had similar effects with knockdown of S100A2 on BC cells. Overexpression of S100A2 in BC cells partially reversed the promoted effects of miR-325-3p mimic. Overexpression of miR-325-3p promoted cell proliferation, invasion, and EMT of BC cells by directly downregulating S100A2 expression.

Studies have shown that diabetes is associated with the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. However, there is currently no effective treatment for diabetes-induced cognitive dysfunction. The superior efficacy of liraglutide (LIRA) for cognitive impairment and numerous neurodegenerative diseases has been widely demonstrated. This study determined the effects of LIRA on diabetic cognitive impairment and on the levels of oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, iron metabolism and ferroptosis in the hippocampus. Mice were injected daily with liraglutide (200 μg/kg/d) for 5 weeks. LIRA could repair damaged neurons and synapses, and it increased the protein expression levels of PSD 95, SYN, and BDNF. Furthermore, LIRA significantly decreased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation levels by downregulating the production of ROS and MDA and upregulating SOD and GSH-Px in the serum and hippocampus, and the upregulation of SOD2 expression was also proven. The decreased levels of TfR1 and the upregulation of FPN1 and FTH proteins observed in the LIRA-treated db/db group were shown to reduce iron overload in the hippocampus, whereas the increased expression of Mtft and decreased expression of Mfrn in the mitochondria indicated that mitochondrial iron overload was ameliorated. Finally, LIRA was shown to prevent ferroptosis in the hippocampus by elevating the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 and suppressing the excessive amount of ACSL4; simultaneously, the damage to the mitochondria observed by TEM was also repaired. For the first time, we proved in the T2DM model that ferroptosis occurs in the hippocampus, which may play a role in diabetic cognitive impairment. LIRA can reduce oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation and iron overload in diabetic cognitive disorders and further inhibit ferroptosis, thereby weakening the damage to hippocampal neurons and synaptic plasticity and ultimately restoring cognitive function.

Primary cilia extending from mother centrioles are essential for vertebrate development and homeostasis maintenance. Centriolar coiled-coil protein 110 (CP110) has been reported to suppress ciliogenesis initiation by capping the distal ends of mother centrioles. However, the mechanism underlying the specific degradation of mother centriole-capping CP110 to promote cilia initiation remains unknown. Here, we find that autophagy is crucial for CP110 degradation at mother centrioles after serum starvation in MEF cells. We further identify NudC-like protein 2 (NudCL2) as a novel selective autophagy receptor at mother centrioles, which contains an LC3-interacting region (LIR) motif mediating the association of CP110 and the autophagosome marker LC3. Knockout of NudCL2 induces defects in the removal of CP110 from mother centrioles and ciliogenesis, which are rescued by wild-type NudCL2 but not its LIR motif mutant. Knockdown of CP110 significantly attenuates ciliogenesis defects in NudCL2-deficient cells. In addition, NudCL2 morphants exhibit ciliation-related phenotypes in zebrafish, which are reversed by wild-type NudCL2, but not its LIR motif mutant. Importantly, CP110 depletion significantly reverses these ciliary phenotypes in NudCL2 morphants. Taken together, our data suggest that NudCL2 functions as an autophagy receptor mediating the selective degradation of mother centriole-capping CP110 to promote ciliogenesis, which is indispensable for embryo development in vertebrates.

Flowering time or heading date is a critical agronomic trait of rice and is regulated by numerous genes, including several genes encoding nuclear factor YB (NF-YB) in rice, NF-YB11 is one of the genes well known to be involved in the process, delaying flowering under long-day (LD) conditions but promoting flowering under short-day (SD) conditions. In this study, we identified another NF-YB gene, OsNF-YB4. Overexpression of OsNF-YB4 promoted rice flowering under both natural long-day (NLD) and natural short-day (NSD) conditions, whereas suppression or loss-of-function of this gene delayed flowering. The transcription of OsNF-YB4 exhibited an obvious circadian pattern and was induced by light under both LD and SD conditions. Expression analyses of flowering regulators in the photoperiodic flowering pathway demonstrated that up-regulation of OsNF-YB4 resulted in down-regulation of floral repressor Grain number, plant height and heading date 7 (Ghd7), and thus activating the Early heading date 1 (Ehd1)-mediated flowering pathway. Besides, OsNF-YB4 was observed to bind to the specific CCAAT-box regions in the Ghd7 promoter in vitro and interact with GHD7 in yeast. All these evidences support that OsNF-YB4 functions as a flowering promoter by negatively regulating the expression of floral repressor Ghd7 in rice photoperiodic flowering-time regulatory network.

Lipid metabolism disorders are found ubiquitously in farmed fish and occur as a result of excessive fat accumulation. Previous studies have found that miR-33 is involved in lipid metabolism; however, its role in fish lipid metabolism is unclear. We sought to clarify this relationship in grass carp in vivo and in vitro. Our findings revealed the length of miR-33 to be 65 bp. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that grass carp miR-33 was most closely related to fish miR-33 (Siganus canaliculatus). Hepatocytes transfected with miR-33 mimic displayed markedly raised TG content (P

Long noncoding RNA colon cancer-associated transcript 1 (LncRNA CCAT1) is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and plays a role in autophagy. However, the underlying mechanism still needs to be further clarified. To study the role of LncRNA CCAT1 in regulating autophagy of gastric cancer cells, analyze its downstream targets, and elucidate the mechanism. qPCR detected the expression of LncRNA CCAT1 in gastric cancer cells. The proliferation, migration, and invasion ability of LncRNA CCAT1 and the expression level of autophagy-related proteins in gastric cancer cells were detected. Bioinformatics method predicted the downstream targets of LncRNA CCAT1, and they were verified by dual-luciferase assay. The relationship between LncRNA CCAT1, miR-140, and ATG5 was verified by co-transfection, and the expression levels of ATG5 and ATG5–ATG12 complex proteins were detected. Finally, the role of LncRNA CCAT1 in vivo was confirmed by gastric cancer transplantation model. LncRNA CCAT1 was highly expressed in gastric cancer cells. LncRNA CCAT1 can promote the proliferation, migration, invasion, and autophagy activity of gastric cancer cells. LncRNA CCAT1 can bind to miR-140-3p and regulate its expression, while miR-140-3p further regulates the expression of ATG5. Overexpression of LncRNA CCAT1 can promote tumor growth in nude mice. After LncRNA CCAT1 silencing, the positive expression rate of ATG5 in nude mice was low. LncRNA CCAT1 may inhibit the expression of miR-140-3p by sponge adsorption, thus weakening its inhibitory effect on ATG5. Eventually, gastric cancer cells were more prone to autophagy under the pressure of stress.

Chrysanthemum indicum L. is widely used in China for significant medicinal value. However, its pharmacological activities were unstable as a result of unreliable flowering time. To study the regulation of flowering time in C. indicum, we cloned the two FT-like genes from C. indicum, which were localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus of tobacco epidermal cells. Phylogenetic relationship analysis showed they were highly conserved and the CiFTL1 gene was strongly induced by short-days. Dual-luciferase assays found that CiCO could specifically bind to the promoter of CiFTL1, but could not directly interact with CiFTL2. Moreover, a CO-responsive element (CORE), localizing between -630 and -430 nucleotides from the ATG, was essential for the CiFT1 gene expression in the flowering process. Therefore, the TGTG(N2-N3)ATG was crucial for CiCO recruitment rather than the CCAAT box, which suggested the CO/FT regulatory module might be conserved in C. indicum. The research will provide sufficient information for revealing regulatory mechanisms of flowering time in C. indicum.

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by neuronal impairment and loss of function, and with the major shared histopathological hallmarks of misfolding and aggregation of specific proteins inside or outside cells. Some genetic and environmental factors contribute to the promotion of the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, there are no effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It has been revealed that bidirectional communication exists between the brain and the gut. The gut microbiota is a changeable and experience-dependent ecosystem and can be modified by genetic and environmental factors. The gut microbiota provides potential therapeutic targets that can be regulated as new interventions for neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss genetic and environmental risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases, summarize the communication among the components of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and discuss the treatment strategy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). FMT is a promising treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, and restoration of the gut microbiota to a premorbid state is a novel goal for prevention and treatment strategies.

Chemokines play a significant role in cancer. CXC-motif chemokine ligands (CXCLs) are associated with the tumorigenesis and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC); however, their specific functions in the tumor microenvironment remain unclear. Here, we analyzed the molecular networks and transcriptional data of HNSC patients from the Oncomine, GEPIA, String, cBioPortal, Metascape, TISCH, and TIMER databases. To verify immune functions of CXCLs, their expression was analyzed in different immune cell types. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the correlation between CXCL9-12 and 14 expression and advanced tumor stage. CXCL2, 3, 8, 10, 13, and 16 were remarkably related to tumor immunity. Kaplan-Meier and TIMER survival analyses revealed that high expression of CXCL1, 2, 4, and 6-8 is correlated with low survival in HNSC patients, whereas high expression of CXCL9, 10, 13, 14, and 17 predicts high survival. Only CXCL13 and 14 were associated with overall survival in human papilloma virus (HPV)-negative patients. Single-cell datasets confirmed that CXCLs are associated with HNSC-related immune cells. Thus, CXCL1-6, 8-10, 12-14, and 17 could be prognostic targets for HNSC, and CXCL13 and 14 could be novel biomarkers of HPV-negative HNSC.

Synaptotagmins (SYTs), constitute a family of 17 membrane-trafficking protein, palying crucial roles in the development and progression of human cancers. However, only very few studies have investigated the expression profile and prognostic values of SYTs family members in gastric cancer (GC). Therefore, we comprehensively evaluated the expression, methylation, prognosis and immune significance of SYTs family members through bioinformatics analysis from the online databases in GC. The expressions of SYT4, SYT9, and SYT14 were up-regulated, and negatively associated with their methylation levels in GC. Both the over-expression of SYT4, SYT9 and SYT14 and their hypomethylation levels contributed to an unsatisfactory overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in GC. Moreover, the low expressions of several methylation cg sites (cg02795029, cg07581146, cg15149095, cg19922137, cg25371503, cg26158959, cg02269161, cg03226737, cg08185661, cg16437728, cg22723056 and cg24678137) were significantly correlated with an unfavorable OS and PFS in GC. Furthermore, the expression of SYT4, SYT9 and SYT14 played a pivotal role in immune cells infiltration in GC. Collectively, our current finding suggested that SYT4, SYT9 and SYT14 might be potent prognostic indictors and promising immunotherapeutic targets for GC patients.

N1 -methyladenosine (m1 A) is a prevalent and reversible RNA modification, which plays a crucial role in the regulation of RNA fate and gene expression. However, the lack of tools to precisely manipulate m1 A sites in specific transcripts has hindered efforts to clarify the association between a specific m1 A-modified transcript and its phenotypic outcomes. Here we develop a CRISPR-Cas13d-based tool called reengineered m1 A modification valid eraser (termed "REMOVER") for targeted m1 A demethylation of a specific transcript. The catalytically inactive RfxCas13d (dCasRx) is fused to the m1 A demethylase ALKBH3, and the dCasRx-ALKBH3 fusion protein can mediate potent demethylation of m1 A-modified RNAs. We further find that REMOVER can specifically demethylate m1 A of MALAT1 and PRUNE1 RNAs, thereby significantly increasing their stability. Our study establishes REMOVER as a tool for targeted RNA demethylation of specific m1 A-modified transcripts, which enables further elucidation of the relationship between m1 A modification of specific transcripts and their phenotypic outcomes.

Background Protocols for Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root transformation of the model legume Lotus japonicus have been established previously. However, little efforts were made in the past to quantify and improve the transformation efficiency. Here, we asked whether effectors (nodulation outer proteins) of the nodule bacterium Sinorhizobium sp. NGR234 can promote hairy root transformation of L. japonicus. The co-expressed red fluorescent protein DsRed1 was used for visualization of transformed roots and for estimation of the transformation efficiency. Results Strong induction of hairy root formation was observed when A. rhizogenes strain LBA9402 was used for L. japonicus transformation. Expression of the effector gene nopP in L. japonicus roots resulted in a significantly increased transformation efficiency while nopL, nopM, and nopT did not show such an effect. In nopP expressing plants, more than 65% of the formed hairy roots were transgenic as analyzed by red fluorescence emitted by co-transformed DsRed1. A nodulation experiment indicated that nopP expression did not obviously affect the symbiosis between L. japonicus and Mesorhizobium loti. Conclusion We have established a novel protocol for hairy root transformation of L. japonicus. The use of A. rhizogenes LBA9402 carrying a binary vector containing DsRed1 and nopP allowed efficient formation and identification of transgenic roots.

Despite the central role of hemocytes in crustacean immunity, the process of hemocyte differentiation and maturation remains unclear. In some decapods, it has been proposed that the two main types of hemocytes, granular cells (GCs) and semigranular cells (SGCs), differentiate along separate lineages. However, our current findings challenge this model. By tracking newly produced hemocytes and transplanted cells, we demonstrate that almost all the circulating hemocytes of crayfish belong to the GC lineage. SGCs and GCs may represent hemocytes of different developmental stages rather than two types of fully differentiated cells. Hemocyte precursors produced by progenitor cells differentiate in the hematopoietic tissue (HPT) for 3 ~ 4 days. Immature hemocytes are released from HPT in the form of SGCs and take 1 ~ 3 months to mature in the circulation. GCs represent the terminal stage of development. They can survive for as long as 2 months. The changes in the expression pattern of marker genes during GC differentiation support our conclusions. Further analysis of hemocyte phagocytosis indicates the existence of functionally different subpopulations. These findings may reshape our understanding of crustacean hematopoiesis and may lead to reconsideration of the roles and relationship of circulating hemocytes.

The functional engagement between an enhancer and its target promoter ensures precise gene transcription1. Understanding the basis of promoter choice by enhancers has important implications for health and disease. Here we report that functional loss of a preferred promoter can release its partner enhancer to loop to and activate an alternative promoter (or alternative promoters) in the neighbourhood. We refer to this target-switching process as 'enhancer release and retargeting'. Genetic deletion, motif perturbation or mutation, and dCas9-mediated CTCF tethering reveal that promoter choice by an enhancer can be determined by the binding of CTCF at promoters, in a cohesin-dependent manner-consistent with a model of 'enhancer scanning' inside the contact domain. Promoter-associated CTCF shows a lower affinity than that at chromatin domain boundaries and often lacks a preferred motif orientation or a partnering CTCF at the cognate enhancer, suggesting properties distinct from boundary CTCF. Analyses of cancer mutations, data from the GTEx project and risk loci from genome-wide association studies, together with a focused CRISPR interference screen, reveal that enhancer release and retargeting represents an overlooked mechanism that underlies the activation of disease-susceptibility genes, as exemplified by a risk locus for Parkinson's disease (NUCKS1-RAB7L1) and three loci associated with cancer (CLPTM1L-TERT, ZCCHC7-PAX5 and PVT1-MYC).

As a signaling molecule, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) plays an indispensable role in the modulation of ripening and senescence in fruits and vegetables. To explore the role of H2S in regulating metabolism of postharvest tomato, ripening-related physiological parameters, activities of antioxidant enzymes and gene expression were analyzed in H2S-fumigated tomato fruits. These results show that H2S significantly delayed the color transition and softening of tomato fruit, and maintained higher level of flavonoids and lower level of anthocyanin during storage. Besides, H2S could maintain higher level of nutritional-related metabolites, such as reducing sugar, ascorbic acid during postharvest storage. Moreover, H2S decreased the rate of O2− production, inhibited the production of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA), enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes including ascorbate peroxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (POD) in tomato fruits, while reduced the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and lipoxygenase (LOX). Besides, the expression of the antioxidant-encoding genes SlCAT2, SlPOD12 was generally upregulated with H2S fumigation. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggests that H2S induced significant discrepancy mainly to the differences in firmness, anthocyanin, flavonoid and the activity of guaiacol peroxidase (POD), and the correlation analysis further shows that H2S affected pigment metabolism and nutritional quality. In conclusion, H2S could maintain better appearance and nutritional quality, and prolong the storage period of postharvest tomato fruits through activating the antioxidative system.

Liu Li,1,* Li Yang,1,* Feng Yang,2,* Xin-lan Zhao,1 Shengjiang Xue,3 Fang-hua Gong4 1No.2 Department of Endocrinology, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410002, People’s Republic of China; 2No.2 Department of Pharmacy, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410002, People’s Republic of China; 3Ladder Molecular Biomedical Research Center, Guangzhou, 510800, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Nursing, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410002, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shengjiang XueLadder Molecular Biomedical Research Center, No. 39 Zhanqian Road, Xinhua Street, Huadu District, Guangzhou, 510800, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail wsjiangzi@126.comFang-hua GongDepartment of Nursing, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, No. 61 Jiefangxi Road, Furong District, Changsha, 410002, Hunan Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 0731-84762691Fax +86 0731-8329065Email gfhnurse@aliyun.comBackground: Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) has a variety of pharmacological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and maintenance of glucose and lipid metabolism homeostasis. However, the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of GBE50 on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of GBE50 in NAFLD by using a high-fat diet (HFD) mice model.Methods: C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD diet for 15 weeks and were given respectively 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg GBE50 daily by gavage from 3 to 15 weeks. After the administration, blood samples and liver tissues were collected for biochemical detection, histological measurement, immunohistochemistry and Western blot, respectively.Results: We found that GBE50 treatment could ameliorate insulin resistance (IR), glucose intolerance, lipid accumulation, hepatic steatosis and liver injury in HFD-fed mice. Further mechanism exploration discovered that the hepatoprotective effects of GBE50 on NAFLD may be related to the strengthening of IRS-1 signal activation and the weakening of NF-κB, Akt and endoplasmic reticulum stress signals activation.Conclusion: GBE50 is a potentially powerful therapeutic agent for the treatment of NAFLD.Keywords: Ginkgo biloba extract 50, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, inflammatory response, liver injury

Maize/soybean relay intercropping system is a popular cultivation system to obtain high yields of both crops with reduced inputs. However, shading by maize decreases the photosynthetically active radiation, reaching the soybean canopy in maize/soybean relay intercropping system, which reduces soybean radiation use efficiency and competitiveness. Here, we reveal that compact maize in maize/soybean relay intercropping system enhances the photosynthetically active radiation transmittance, leaf area index, dry matter production, radiation use efficiency, and competitiveness of soybean and compensates the slight maize yield loss by substantially increasing soybean yield. In this experiment, soybean was relay intercropped with different maize types (SI, spreading maize; SII, semi-compact maize; and SIII, compact maize) in maize/soybean relay intercropping system, and all the relay intercropping treatments were compared with sole cropping systems of soybean and maize. Results revealed that SIII significantly enhanced the soybean radiation use efficiency (by 77%, from 0.35 g MJ-1 in SI to 0.61 g MJ-1 in SIII) and total radiation use efficiency (soybean radiation use efficiency + maize radiation use efficiency) of maize/soybean relay intercropping system (by 5%, from 3.53 g MJ-1 in SI to 3.73 g MJ-1 in SIII). Similarly, SIII improved the competitiveness (by 62%, from 0.58% in SI to 0.94% in SIII) of soybean but reduced the competitiveness (by 38%, from 1.73% in SI to 1.07% in SIII) of maize, which, in turn, considerably increased soybean yield by maintaining maize yield. On average, over the 2 years, in SIII, relay-intercropped soybean produced 89% of the sole soybean yield, and relay-intercropped maize produced 95% of the sole maize yield. Besides, treatment SIII achieved the mean highest land equivalent ratio value of 1.84 in both years. Thus, enhanced radiation use efficiency of soybean, especially during the co-growth period, was the primary factor responsible for the high productivity of the maize/soybean relay intercropping system.

A newly discovered natural hybrid, Iris × ampliflora Y.E. Xiao, F.Y. Yu & X.F. Chen (Iridaceae: subgenus Limniris section Lophiris) from Chongqing, China, is described and illustrated. This hybrid is morphologically similar to I. japonica Thunb. and I. wattii Baker, but can be distinguished by its giant leaves and large purple flowers. Phylogenetic trees based on cpDNA data support the separation of I. × ampliflora from other closely related species in the section Lophiris. According to its morphological features, molecular systematic evidence and chromosome data, we speculate that I. × ampliflora [31 chromosomes] likely is a new hybrid between I. japonica [2n = 32] and I. wattii [2n = 30].

Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral studies have established the roles of cortical areas along the Sylvian fissure in sensing subjective pain. Yet, little is known about how sensory aspects of painful information are represented and processed by neurons in these regions and how their electrophysiological activities are related to fMRI signals. The current study aims to partially address this critical knowledge gap by performing fMRI-guided microelectrode mapping and recording studies in the homologous region of the parietal operculum in squirrel monkeys under light anesthesia. In each animal studied (n = 8), we detected mesoscale mini-networks for heat nociception in cortical regions around the lateral sulcus. Within the network, we discovered a ∼1.5 × 1.5-mm2-sized cortical patch that solely contained heat nociceptive neurons that aligned with the heat fMRI activation locus. These neurons responded slowly to thermal (heat and cold) nociceptive stimuli exclusively, continued firing for several seconds after the succession of stimulation, and exhibited multidigit receptive fields and high spontaneous firing rates. Similar to the fMRI responses, increasing temperatures in the nociceptive range led to a nonlinear increase in firing rates. The finding of a clustering of heat nociceptive neurons provides novel insights into the unique functional organization of thermal nociception in the S2 subregion of the primate brain. With fMRI, it supports the existence of a modality-preferred heat nociceptive patch that is spatially separated and intermingled with touch patches containing neurons with comparable receptive fields and the presence of functionally distinct mini-networks in primate opercular cortex.

This experiment aims to study the performance of multilayered transparent wood (MLTW) under the condition of partial delignification, including the effect of lamination structure between layers and delignification process on the properties of MLTW. New Zealand pine (Pinus radiata D.Don) and Basswood (Tilia) were selected. The acid method was used to remove part lignin for preparing wood templates with natural wood color and texture, and then the polymer impregnated wood templates. During the lamination process, three wood templates were laminated by parallel direction (MLTW∥) or perpendicular direction (MLTW⊥) to prepare for MLTW. Under macro- and microtest, it can be seen that the laminate structure has a certain impact on the mechanical properties and light transmittance of MLTW, and MLTW can effectively reduce the anisotropy of single-layer one with the same thickness. MLTW is suitable for home decoration and structure materials and has broad application prospects.

Background Among various cooking methods, steaming is favored by many because it can cause less damage to nutrient components in muscle, retain the inherent food flavor, and reduce the generation of harmful substances. Steaming conditions are closely related to fish flavor, fat and protein oxidation, and digestibility. Results The black carp steamed for 4 to 14 min was studied in this article based on sensory assessment, electronic tongue, free amino acids, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-related compounds, total nitrogen and non-protein nitrogen to explore the effect of steaming time on the taste substances and protein degradation of pickled black carp. The experimental result showed that the meat steamed within 8 min tasted better, showing high tastiness. The sensory assessment score increased significantly to the maximum value of 82.33 at 6 min. The content of umami and sweet amino acids increased significantly to the maximum value of 1.6801 g kg-1 at 6 min. In the meantime, the IMP (inosine monophosphate) content was 1.9128 g kg-1 , with its taste activity value (TAV) reaching 7.65, which proved that IMP affected the taste most. Furthermore, the total nitrogen content was 30.77 g kg-1 , which meant protein degraded a great deal. Based on equivalent umami concentration (EUC) and its TAV, the meat tasted best at 6-8 min. The longer the steaming time, the faster the protein degradation and the more the flavor precursors. Conclusion The black carp pickled products (with a weight of 20 g, with the size of 3 cm × 3 cm × 2 cm) is suggested to be steamed for 6 to 8 min. This conclusion provides a theoretical basis for its better taste quality. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Brill transition in nylon 6/6 is generally perceived as a fully reversible solid–solid transformation between a low-temperature triclinic lattice (α-phase) and a high-temperature pseudohexagona...

Under natural conditions, plants constantly encounter various biotic and abiotic factors, which can potentially restrict plant growth and development and even limit crop productivity. Among various abiotic factors affecting plant photosynthesis, light serves as an important factor that drives carbon metabolism in plants and supports life on earth. The two components of light (light quality and light intensity) greatly affect plant photosynthesis and other plant’s morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters. The response of plants to different spectral radiations and intensities differs in various species and also depends on growing conditions. To date, much research has been conducted regarding how different spectral radiations of varying intensity can affect plant growth and development. This review is an effort to briefly summarize the available information on the effects of light components on various plant parameters such as stem and leaf morphology and anatomy, stomatal development, photosynthetic apparatus, pigment composition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, antioxidants, and hormone production.

The metabolic sensor sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) also functions as a checkpoint in inflammation, and SRT1720 is a highly active and selective SIRT1 activator shown to alleviate inflammatory injury in several recent experimental studies. In the present study, the potential effects and underlying mechanisms of SRT1720 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced fulminant hepatitis in D-galactosamine (D-Gal)-sensitized mice were investigated. The results indicated that treatment with SRT1720 inhibited LPS/D-Gal-induced elevation of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alleviated the histological abnormalities, suppressed the induction of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and IL-6, mitigated the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), downregulated the activities of caspase 8, caspase 9 and caspase 3, decreased the level of cleaved caspase 3, reduced the TUNEL-positive cells, and improved the survival rate of the LPS/D-Gal-exposed mice. These data indicated that treatment with the SIRT1 activator SRT1720 alleviated LPS/D-Gal-induced fulminant hepatitis, which might be attributed to the suppressive effects of SRT1720 on TNF-α production and the subsequent activation of the apoptosis cascade.

The epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lens epithelial cells enhanced their proliferation and migration and therefore induced the occurrence of posterior capsule opacity (PCO). Some studies revealed that Krüppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) promoted the proliferation and invasion of multiple types of cancer cells. Besides, the expression of KLF1 was elevated in the crystalline lens of cataract patients. However, the effect of KLF1 on the development of PCO remains unclear. In this study, TGF-β2 was used for the stimulation of human lens epithelial cell line to establish EMT (SRA01/04). The KLF1 was overexpressed and knocked down in SRA01/04 cells, the proliferation, migration and invasion of which were detected by clone formation assay, wound healing and transwell assay. In addition, ZBTB7A was overexpressed in KLF1-knocked down SRA01/04 cells, the proliferation and invasion of which were also measured by clone formation assay and transwell assay. KLF1 overexpression promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of SRA01/04 cells. Moreover, KLF1 also promoted the expression of Vimentin, snail and α-SMA in SRA01/04 cells. KLF1 enhanced the expression of ZBTB7A and β-catenin, resulting in activation of ZBTB7A and Wnt/β-catenin signaling, while overexpression of ZBTB7A abolished the inhibitory effect of knocking down KLF1 on proliferation and invasion of SRA01/04 cells. These results indicated that KLF1 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of human lens epithelial cells by activating ZBTB7A and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway., GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most aggressive tumors worldwide. OTX1 (orthodenticle homeobox 1) is an important transcription factor involved in various diseases, such as cancers. The aim of this study was to further investigate the role of OTX1 in BC. In this study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened from tumor tissues and para-cancerous tissues by bioinformatics. The expression of protein and RNA was separately detected by western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR); cell viability and cell growth were determined by 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and clone formation assays, respectively; cell motility was measured by transwell and wound healing assays; cell cycle was measured by flow cytometry. In this study, 9 DEGs were screened out, and OTX1 was employed as a candidate gene for subsequent study. Results found that OTX1 was highly expressed in BC cells and BC tissues, which was significantly associated with poor prognosis of patients. In addition, OTX1 silencing significantly reduced cell viability, and inhibited cell growth and motility, while OTX1 overexpression got opposite results. Moreover, OTX1 co-expressed genes were enriched in cell cycle-related pathways, suggesting that the role of OTX1 in BC may be related to cell cycle, which was confirmed by flow cytometry analysis. Furthermore, in vivo experiments showed that OTX1 silencing significantly inhibited tumor growth in tumor-bearing mice. Taken together, our findings suggested that OTX1 may play a promotional role in BC progression.

Ming-Ming Zhao, Lin-Yang Ge, Liang-Feng Yang, Hai-Xia Zheng, Gang Chen, Li-Zheng Wu, Shao-Ming Shi, Nan Wang, Yan-Ping Hang Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, People’s Hospital of Gaochun, Nanjing 211300, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yan-Ping HangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, People’s Hospital of Gaochun, No. 53, Maoshan Road, Nanjing 211300, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 25-57311232Email hangyanping4444@163.comBackground: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a key part of non-coding RNA, and more and more evidence has revealed that it plays a vital role in tumors. NEAT1 is a lncRNA discovered in the early stage. However, it is still unclear whether NEAT1 and miR-204 play a regulatory role in lung cancer (LC). This research aimed to determine the biological function of NEAT1/miR-204 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Materials and Methods: In order to research the function of NEAT1 in NSCLC, RT-PCR, Western blot, luciferase assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay were used to determine the relationship between NEAT1, miR-204 and NUAK1. CCK8 test, cell migration and invasion test were used to explore the influence of NEAT1 on proliferation and metastasis of LC cells. Tumor allotransplantation was used to detect the influence of NEAT1 on the growth of LC.Results: The results revealed that NEAT1 was obviously enhanced in LC cell lines. Further functional analysis showed that low expression of NEAT1 obviously suppressed the growth, migration and invasion of NSCLC and facilitated cell apoptosis. Determination of luciferase reporter gene revealed that miR-204 was the direct target of NEAT1 in LC. In addition, NUAK1 was called the direct target of miR-204, and miR-204/NUAK1 had saved the role of NEAT1 in NSCLC cells. Tumor allotransplantation experiments showed that knocking down NEAT1 could inhibit the growth of LC.Conclusion: In summary, our results showed that the down-regulation of NEAT1 in NSCLC inhibited its growth, migration and invasion through the miR-204/NUAK1 axis.Keywords: NEAT1, miR-204, NUAK1, non-small cell lung cancer

The objectives of this study were to investigate antimicrobial resistance of Streptococcus uberis and Streptococcus parauberis isolated from cows with bovine clinical mastitis in China and to examine the distribution of resistance- and virulence-related gene patterns. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the E-test. Genes encoding antimicrobial resistance and invasiveness factors were examined by PCR. A total of 27 strains were obtained from 326 mastitis milk samples. Streptococcus parauberis isolates (n=11) showed high resistance to erythromycin (90.9%), followed by tetracycline (45.5%), chloramphenicol (36.4%) and clindamycin (27.3%). Streptococcus uberis isolates (n=16) were highly resistant to tetracycline (81.3%) and clindamycin (62.5%). Both species were susceptible to ampicillin. The most prevalent resistance gene in S. uberis was tetM (80.0%), followed by blaZ (62.5%) and ermB (62.5%). However, tetM, blaZ, and ermB genes were only found in 27.3, 45.5, and 27.3%, respectively, of S. parauberis. In addition, all of the isolates carried at least one selected virulence-related gene. The most prevalent virulence-associated gene pattern in the current study was sua+pauA/skc+gapC+hasC detected in 22.2% of the strains. One S. uberis strain carried 7 virulence-associated genes and belonged to the sua+pauA/skc+gapC+cfu+hasA+hasB+hasC pattern. More than 59.3% of analysed strains carried 4 to 7 virulence-related genes. Our findings demonstrated that S. parauberis and S. uberis isolated from clinical bovine mastitis cases in China exhibited diverse molecular ecology, and that the strains were highly resistant to antibiotics commonly used in the dairy cow industry. The data obtained in the current study contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of bacteria in mastitis caused by these pathogens, and the findings are relevant to the development of multivalent vaccines and targeted prevention procedures.

Previous studies have documented extensive methylation of CpG islands and abundant methyltransferase gene (DNMT) in Fugacium kawagutii (formerly Symbiodinium kawagutii) genome. However, whether DNA methylation plays a role in regulating gene expression in this and other dinoflagellates remains unclear. Here, we characterized gene body methylation levels using methylation-specific PCR (MS-PCR) and bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) and measured transcriptional levels for three photosystem genes in F. kawagutii under different light conditions (20, 100, and 600 µE · m-2 · s-1 ). To explore the association of methylation with DNA methylase, the expression of DNA methyltransferase (Symbio-DIRS-Dnmt3) was also measured. Our results showed that peridinin-chlorophyll a-binding protein (PCP), light-harvesting complex (LHC), and chlorophyll a-c-binding protein complex (acpPC) gene expression was all significantly up-regulated under low light in which their methylation level was down-regulated, constant, and elevated, respectively. Symbio-DIRS-Dnmt3 exhibited elevated transcriptional level under increased light intensity. The results led us to hypothesize that DNA methylation level can be modulated by environmental conditions such as irradiance, probably through the regulation of Symbio-DIRS-Dnmt3 transcription level, and in turn may regulate the expression of genes in F. kawagutii. Further study is needed to determine whether the same gene methylation and expression characteristics reported here occur in other dinoflagellates and to explore their ecological implications.

Hedyotis zhihaoana Huan C. Wang & Xiao Lan Liu, a new species in Rubiaceae, is described and illustrated, and its phylogenetic placement within Hedyotis is elucidated using ITS sequnences. The new species was found in western Yunnan, Southwest China. It morphologically resembles H. acutangula, but clearly differs from the latter by its amplexicaul leaf base, broadly triangular stipules usually ca. 1.0 mm long, and densely with small brown glands, subsessile flower pedicels ca. 0.5–2 mm long, and sepals lanceolate to linear, 1–2 mm long.

Introduction Clinical studies have indicated a relationship between diabetic nephropathy (DN) and the incidence and prevalence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the mechanism linking diabetic nephropathy and renal cell carcinoma has not yet to be identified. Methods In this study, a total of 42 male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned to a DN group (n=35) and a control group (n=7). All animals in the DN group were unilaterally nephrectomized and treated with streptozotocin with the development of blood glucose levels >16.7mmol/L and dominant proteinuria and were compared to controls without such changes. Histopathologic alterations in the kidneys were examined by HE staining and Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. Differentially expressed genes were identified and validated by RNA-seq and PCR. Results As the results, except for two rats that failed to develop the DN model and were excluded from the analysis, 33 rats in the DN group with overt signs of DN demonstrated significantly higher food and water intake, urine production, and urine protein and urinary protein/creatinine ratio than controls. Overall, 15.2% (n=5/33) of DN animals developed RCC while none tumors were observed in the control group (n=0/7). RNA-seq analysis in these animals indicated different TRPV5 gene expression and calcium pathway expression in DN animals with developing tumors, when compared with animals with no obvious tumors. In addition, DN animals diagnosed with RCC showed increased expression of GLUT2 and c-met, when compared to controls and DN animals without tumors. Discussion In conclusion, the disordered calcium metabolism, especially disturbed TRPV5 mediated Ca2+ signal, may have been related to the development of RCC in DN rats. Further studies related to the detailed mechanism are still needed.

The German cockroach Blattella germanica (L.) is an important pest in medical, veterinary, and public health. Studies on the olfaction mechanism of hemimetabolous insects have rarely been reported, especially in cockroaches. Pheromone-binding proteins (PBPs) play a vital role in insect sex pheromone recognition, which solubilize and carry the hydrophobic pheromonal compounds through the antennal lymph to receptors. In this study, two potential PBPs (BgerOBP26 and BgerOBP40) were identified on the basis of their biased expression in male antennae using tissue transcriptome data and verified by the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction approach. We then expressed and purified the two identified odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) using the Escherichia coli expression system and affinity purification. In vitro binding studies showed that the two OBPs display stronger binding affinities to the female volatile sex pheromone blattellaquinone than to its analogues and contact sex pheromone components. Finally, three-dimensional modeling of the two OBPs and dock conformation with sex pheromone molecules showed BgerOBP26 has a larger odorant cavity and more conservative active amino acid residues than BgerOBP40. These results illuminated the binding characteristics of potential PBPs of B. germanica, which could lay the groundwork for improved understanding of many aspects of the chemical ecology of B. germanica. Moreover, this information complements the understanding of the olfactory molecular mechanism in cockroaches and provides potential gene targets for B. germanica control.

The inflorescence of Chrysanthemum morifolium cv. ‘Hangju’ has been widely used in China due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The biosynthesis and regulation of flavonoids, a group of bioactive components, in C. morifolium are poorly understood. Transcriptome sequencing is an effective method for obtaining transcript information. Therefore, single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing was performed to obtain the full-length genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation in C. morifolium. High-quality RNA was extracted from the inflorescence of C. morifolium at different flowering stages and used to construct two libraries (0–5 kb and 4.5–10 kb) for sequencing. Finally, 125,532 non-redundant isoforms with a mean length of 2009 bp were obtained. Of these, 2,083 transcripts were annotated to pathways related to flavonoid biosynthesis, and 56 isoforms were annotated as CHS, CHI, F3H, F3’H, FNS II, FLS, DFR and ANS genes. Based on gene expression levels at different stages, we predicted the major genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis. By phylogenetic analysis, we found two candidate MYB transcription factors (CmMYBF1 and CmMYBF2) activating flavonol biosynthesis. Based on the full-length transcriptomic data and further quantitative analysis, the major genes involved in flavonoid biosynthesis and regulation in C. morifolium were predicted in our study. The results provide a valuable theoretical basis for the introduction and cultivation of C. morifolium cv. ‘Hangju’.

A new exceptionally-preserved Cambrian biota, with fossils belonging to multiple phyla, has recently been found from the middle part of the Longha Formation, near Fulu Village, southeastern Yunnan, South China, and is named the Fulu biota. Groups recovered so far include polymerid trilobites, agnostoids, large bivalved arthropods, bradoriid arthropods, echinoderms, brachiopods, priapulids (worms), hyoliths, macroscopic algae, and trace fossils. The arthropods dominate the biota and are highly diverse with echinoderms second in diversity. The associated agnostoids provide a precise late Guzhangian Age (late Miaolingian Epoch) for the biota, indicating that the biota occurs stratigraphically about halfway between the occurrences of the Kaili and the Guole biotas of South China, from both of which the new Fulu biota differs significantly in faunal components. Guzhangian biotas preserving poorly mineralized tissues and complete echinoderms have been previously unknown in Gondwana until now; thus, the discovery of Fulu biota provides a unique window into life at this critical time interval.

The developmental trajectory of the primate brain varies substantially with aging across subjects. However, this ubiquitous variability between individuals in brain structure is difficult to quantify and has thus essentially been ignored. Based on a large-scale structural magnetic resonance imaging dataset acquired from 162 cynomolgus macaques, we create a species-specific 3D template atlas of the macaque brain, and deploy normative modeling to characterize individual variations of cortical thickness (CT) and regional gray matter volume (GMV). We observed an overall decrease in total GMV and mean CT, and an increase in white matter volume from juvenile to early adult. Specifically, CT and regional GMV were greater in prefrontal and temporal cortices relative to early unimodal areas. Age-dependent trajectories of thickness and volume for each cortical region revealed an increase in the medial temporal lobe, and decreases in all other regions. A low percentage of highly individualized deviations of CT and GMV were identified (0.0021%, 0.0043%, respectively, P

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) causes permanent neurological sequelae, but the underlying mechanism needs to be further clarified. Here, we show that inhibition of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) with negative allosteric modulator JNJ16259685 improves long-term neurobehavioral outcomes in an endovascular perforation model of SAH. JNJ16259685 improves cerebrovascular dysfunction through attenuation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) reduction, cerebral vasoconstrictio, and microthrombosis formation in a rat SAH model. Moreover, JNJ16259685 reduces experimental SAH-induced long-term neuronal damage through alleviation of neuronal death and degeneration. Mechanically, JNJ16259685 maintains phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) and decreases apoptosis-related factors Bax, active caspase-9, and active caspase-3 following experimental SAH. Altogether, our results suggest JNJ16259685 improves long-term functional impairment through neurovascular protection.

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation has been widely used as an efficient rice production method to obtain better yield without continuous flooding (CF) of the paddy field. However, how this practice affects gene expression to regulate rice physiology and morphology is largely unknown. In this study, we used two rice varieties, Nipponbare, a lowland rice cultivar, and Gaoshan 1, an upland cultivar, and found that root dry weight (RDW) and root oxidation activity (ROA) in both cultivars substantially increased in response to AWD. We then analyzed the differences in transcriptome profiles of their roots irrigated in AWD vs. CF conditions. AWD responsive genes are mainly involved in lignin biosynthetic pathway and phytohormone signal transduction pathway and belong mainly to bHLH, bZIP, NAC, WRKY, and HSF transcription factor families. We discussed how these differentially expressed genes may contribute to the morphological adaptations observed in roots exposed to AWD. This analysis also provides useful information to explain the similarities and differences in adaptation to AWD irrigation between the two rice ecotypes.

Background Among eukaryotic organisms, alternative splicing is an important process that can generate multiple transcripts from one same precursor messenger RNA, which greatly increase transcriptome and proteome diversity. This process is carried out by a super-protein complex defined as the spliceosome. Specifically, splicing factor 1/branchpoint binding protein (SF1/BBP) is a single protein that can bind to the intronic branchpoint sequence (BPS), connecting the 5′ and 3′ splice site binding complexes during early spliceosome assembly. The molecular function of this protein has been extensively investigated in yeast, metazoa and mammals. However, its counterpart in plants has been seldomly reported. Results To this end, we conducted a systematic characterization of the SF1 gene family across plant lineages. In this work, a total of 92 sequences from 59 plant species were identified. Phylogenetic relationships of these sequences were constructed, and subsequent bioinformatic analysis suggested that this family likely originated from an ancient gene transposition duplication event. Most plant species were shown to maintain a single copy of this gene. Furthermore, an additional RNA binding motif (RRM) existed in most members of this gene family in comparison to their animal and yeast counterparts, indicating that their potential role was preserved in the plant lineage. Conclusion Our analysis presents general features of the gene and protein structure of this splicing factor family and will provide fundamental information for further functional studies in plants.

The gut microbiota play an important role in the growth and intestinal health of broilers. The present study was to investigate the gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, and intestinal morphology of broilers at different ages. A total of 320 one-day-old male broilers were raised in 8 replicates and fed the same corn–soybean diets for 42 D. The duodenal, jejunal, and ileal segments and their and cecal microbiota were collected on day 1, 7, 14, 21, and 42, respectively. The villous height (VH), crypt depth (CD), and their ratio of VH:CD in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum all increased (P

Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is an important disease of pepper (Capsicum annuum), an economically important solanaceous vegetable worldwide, in particular, under high temperature (HT) conditions. However, the molecular mechanism underlying pepper immunity against bacterial wilt remains poorly understood. Herein, CaCBL1, a putative calcineurin B-like protein, was functionally characterized in the pepper response to R. solanacearum inoculation (RSI) under HT (RSI/HT). CaCBL1 was significantly upregulated by RSI at room temperature (RSI/RT), HT, or RSI/HT. CaCBL1-GFP fused protein targeted to whole epidermal cells of Nicotiana benthamiana when transiently overexpressed. CaCBL1 silencing by virus-induced gene silencing significantly enhanced pepper susceptibility to RSI under RT or HT, while its transient overexpression triggered hypersensitive response mimic cell death and upregulation of immunity-associated marker genes, including CabZIP63, CaWRKY40, and CaCDPK15, the positive regulators in the pepper response to RSI or HT found in our previous studies. In addition, by chromatin immunoprecipitation PCR and electrophoretic mobility shift assay, CaCBL1 was found to be directly targeted by CaWRKY40, although not by CaWRKY27 or CaWRKY58, via the W-box-2 within its promoter, and its transcription was found to be downregulated by silencing of CaWRKY40 while it was enhanced by its transient overexpression. These results suggest that CaCBL1 acts as a positive regulator in pepper immunity against R. solanacearum infection, constituting a positive feedback loop with CaWRKY40.