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Tea oil obtained fromCamellia oleifera is a high-quality vegetable oil rich in squalene, a triterpenoid bioactive substance with several demonstrated health benefits. WRKY transcription factors in ...

The pathogenesis underlying alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which is often a result of alcohol abuse, currently remains unclear. Previous studies have reported that enteric dysbiosis serves an important role in the pathogenesis of ALD. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of glutamine and probiotics on a rat model of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 6 groups including control (C), alcohol (M), alcohol + Golden Bifido (T), alcohol + glutamine (G), alcohol + Medilac-S® (N) and alcohol + Golden Bifido + glutamine (L). Histology, body weight (BW), triglycerides (TG), serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), diamine oxidase (DAO), occludin, endotoxin and D-lactate levels were assessed whilst changes in the gut flora were evaluated and compared. Results determined that all probiotic and glutamine treatments elevated the abnormally decreased BW and occludin levels whilst the abnormal elevated serum AST, ALT, TG, IL-6, TNF-α, DAO, endotoxin and D-lactate levels were significantly reduced following chronic ethanol consumption. Histopathological observation of the liver demonstrated that probiotic and glutamine treatments attenuated liver damage induced by alcohol. Moreover, sequencing determined that there was a reduction in Firmicutes as well as an increase in Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Porphyromonadaceae abundance in the ALD group compared with the healthy controls. However, these changes were prevented by glutamine and probiotic therapy. In conclusion, the present results suggested that probiotics and glutamine ameliorated ALD by suppressing inflammation and regulating the gut microbiota. Therefore, probiotic and glutamine treatments can potentially serve as therapies for the prevention and treatment of ALD.

As a result of its high photosynthetic efficiency, the tung tree (Vernicia fordii) is a fast-growing heliophile, yielding fruit within 3 years. In addition, tung oil extracted from the fruit seeds is an environmentally friendly paint used widely in China. However, mutual shading inside a tung tree canopy leads to a low yield of fruit because of weak or dead lower branches. In this project, a pot experiment was conducted to understand the growth, physiological, anatomical structure, and biochemical responses of tung trees under various shading levels. Tung tree seedlings were subjected to different light intensities—100% sunlight (no cover), L100; 75% sunlight (25% shading), L75; 50% sunlight (50% shading), L50; and 20% sunlight (80% shading), L20—from June to August. Results indicate that the L75 treatment reduced significantly the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gS), transpiration rate (E), total aboveground and root dry weight (DW), maximum net photosynthetic rate (Amax), and maximum rate of electron transport at saturating irradiance (Jmax) compared with the control, although plant height and leaf area (LA) were not reduced. Lower light intensities (L50 and L20) and longer duration of treatment led to greater reduction in growth, leaf thickness, and photosynthetic potential (Amax and Jmax). Chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b), and total chlorophyll content were increased in the L50 and L20 treatments compared with L100 and L75. There was no significant reduction in the enzyme activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEPC) of the seedlings using the L75 treatment; however, lower light intensities (L50 and L20) and longer duration of shade treatment resulted in a significant reduction in enzyme activity. In summary, the results suggest that tung trees have greater photosynthetic activity under high light intensity. Shading, even at 20%, especially for the longer term, reduced photosynthetic efficiency and growth. To prevent growth reduction, tung trees should be grown under full sun with a daily light integral (DLI) of ≈46 mol·m‒2·d‒1, and mutual shading should be avoided by proper spacing and pruning.

Summary The red coloration of pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) results from anthocyanin accumulation in the fruit peel. Light is required for anthocyanin biosynthesis in pear. A pear homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana BBX22, PpBBX16, was differentially expressed after fruits were removed from bags and may be involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis. Here, the expression and function of PpBBX16 were analysed. PpBBX16's expression was highly induced by white‐light irradiation, as was anthocyanin accumulation. PpBBX16's ectopic expression in Arabidopsis increased anthocyanin biosynthesis in the hypocotyls and tops of flower stalks. PpBBX16 was localized in the nucleus and showed trans‐activity in yeast cells. Although PpBBX16 could not directly bind to the promoter of PpMYB10 or PpCHS in yeast one‐hybrid assays, the complex of PpBBX16/PpHY5 strongly trans‐activated anthocyanin pathway genes in tobacco. PpBBX16's overexpression in pear calli enhanced the red coloration during light treatments. Additionally, PpBBX16's transient overexpression in pear peel increased anthocyanin accumulation, while virus‐induced gene silencing of PpBBX16 decreased anthocyanin accumulation. The expression patterns of pear BBX family members were analysed, and six additional BBX genes, which were differentially expressed during light‐induced anthocyanin biosynthesis, were identified. Thus, PpBBX16 is a positive regulator of light‐induced anthocyanin accumulation, but it could not directly induce the expression of the anthocyanin biosynthesis‐related genes by itself but needed PpHY5 to gain full function. Our work uncovered regulatory modes for PpBBX16 and suggested the potential functions of other pear BBX genes in the regulation of anthocyanin accumulation, thereby providing target genes for further studies on anthocyanin biosynthesis.

TAS2R14 is of great potential as a therapeutic target against asthma, and the discovery of TAS2R14 agonists can be very valuable for treating this disease. Herein, we developed a strategy using virtual screening and affinity screening based on a fabricated biosensor combined with UPLC-MS analysis to screen TAS2R14 agonists from Platycodon grandiflorum. By ligand-based virtual screening, 16 best-fit candidates were yielded. A novel TAS2R14-functionalized high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) sensor was applied to detect and fish out the potential TAS2R14 agonists from P. grandiflorum extracts. Those components captured by the immobilized TAS2R14 were eluted and characterized on UPLC-QTOF MS. As a result, six potential TAS2R14 agonists were screened out and identified. Among them, platycodin L was confirmed to be a special agonist of TAS2R14 for the first time and had an EC50 of 15.03 ± 1.15 μM via intracellular calcium mobilization assay ( n = 6). The results indicated that the proposed strategy was efficient to discover TAS2R14 agonists from the herb directly.

The crystalline mesoporous MgO–ZrO 2 solid solutions have been fabricated by a simple evaporation induced self assembly procedure with zirconyl chloride octahydrate (ZrOCl 2 ·8H 2 O) and magnesium nitrate tetrahydrate (Mg(NO 3 ) 2 ·4H 2 O) as metal precursors and triblock co-polymer of Pluronic P123 as templating agent. Small-angle X-ray diffraction (SXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that ordered mesoporous structure and worm-like mesoporous structure were obtained under different calcine temperatures. Wide angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) indicated that the formation of homogeneous solid solutions were responsible for the stable tetragonal phase. All MgO–ZrO 2 solid solutions were endowed with strong basicity (H_ = 9.3–12.2) and high water resistance. The Mg 2+ doped into zirconia lattice could stabilize the tetragonal phase and prevent zirconia crystals from excessive growth. This kind of structure could also inhibit basic sites dissolve in water in the reaction and effectively improve the thermal stability of products.

Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) catalyzes the reverse cleavage of fructose-1,6-bisphosphate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) and 3-phosphate glyceraldehyde (G-3-P). DHAP acts as a precursor for the synthesis of glycerol, an important osmotically compatible solute under salt stress. Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends, the complete sequence of FBA1 cDNA was obtained from Camellia oleifera, a tree originated from China and notable as an important source of edible oil obtained from its seeds. Camellia oleifera FBA1 (CoFBA1) cDNA has a total length of 1,697-bp with 1,179-bp ORF, flanked by 250-bp 5′-UTR and 246-bp 3′-UTR. It was predicted to encode a 392 amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 42.72 kDa and theoretical pI of 8.39. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that the CoFBA1 gene was strongly expressed in stems, weakly in roots, and induced under salt stress to a threshold before dropping at high salt concentrations (12 g L−1 NaCl). Over-expression of recombinant CoFBA1 resulted in increased tolerance to salinity in transgenic Brassica napus plants, which grew better at low salt concentrations than on media without NaCl. At all salt concentrations, the transgenic plants showed improved growth parameters (stem and root lengths and germination rates) in comparison with wild-type plants. These findings suggest that CoFBA1 plays very important roles in salt stress response, improving the survival ability of C. oleifera under salt stress conditions.

Tea oil tree (Camellia oleifera, Co) provides a fine edible oil source in China. Tea oil from the seeds is very beneficial to human health. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA) hydrolyzes fructose-1,6-bisphosphate into dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate, two critical metabolites for oil biosynthesis. The objectives of this study were to identify FBA genes and investigate the relationship between FBA gene expression and oil content in developing seeds of tea oil tree. In this paper, four developmentally up-regulated CoFBA genes were identified in Camellia oleifera seeds based on the transcriptome from two seed developmental stages corresponding to the initiation and peak stages of lipid biosynthesis. The expression of CoFBA genes, along with three key oil biosynthesis genes CoACP, CoFAD2 and CoSAD were analyzed in seeds from eight developmental stages by real-time quantitative PCR. The oil content and fatty acid composition were also analyzed. The results showed that CoFBA and CoSAD mRNA levels were well-correlated with oil content whereas CoFAD2 gene expression levels were correlated with fatty acid composition in Camellia seeds. We propose that CoFBA and CoSAD are two important factors for determining tea oil yield because CoFBA gene controls the flux of key intermediates for oil biosynthesis and CoSAD gene controls the synthesis of oleic acid, which accounts for 80% of fatty acids in tea oil. These findings suggest that tea oil yield could be improved by enhanced expression of CoFBA and CoSAD genes in transgenic plants.

As a high stress resistance psammophyte with the characteristic of sand fixation and winterfat, Ceratoides lanata had been successfully introduced into many countries in recent years. The leaves and twigs of Ceratoides lanata in room temperature were used as the Driver and those treated by cold stress were used as Tester. Tester and Driver ds cDNA were prepared from their high quality mRNA which were purified from their total RNA. Tester and Driver cDNA were separately digested to obtain shorter, blunt-ended molecules by RasI. Then two Tester populations are created with different adaptors, while Driver cDNA has no adaptors. Differentially expressed genes were equalized and enriched by two round subtractive hybridizations using excess Driver population as compared with Tester population. The differentially expressed cDNAs were exponentially amplified by first round suppression PCR using the diluted hybridization product as template, and then the secondary PCR was performed using the first PCR product as template by nested primers to finally enrich the differentially expressed cDNAs, which consists of the SSH library of Ceratoides lanata. These cDNAs were inserted into vectors and 362 cDNA clones were obtained. The sequencing results showed that some cDNAs of cold-stressed Ceratoides lanata SSH library have relatively high homology with known stress resistance-related genes or proteins, and other cDNAs are new genes which are firstly reported here. Our result lays a foundation for the cDNA cloning of valuable genes including antifreeze genes, heat-resistant genes, drought-tolerant genes, alkali-salt-tolerant genes from Ceratoides lanata, and their transgenic application

The full-length cDNA of a new S-RNase ( S 34 -RNase) (GenBank accession No.DQ414813) was successfully cloned from pistils of Chinese pear by RT-PCR and RACE methods. The S 34 -RNase shows a complete CDS of 687 nucleotides for putative 229 amino acids. The theoretical three-dimension structure of S 34 -RNase was predicted by homology modeling method and its structural characteristic was analyzed. Aligning of S 34 -RNase with other 39 S -RNases of pears revealed the question about unifying naming system.