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Background: Surgical management of adult slow-transit constipation (ASTC) can be effective for patients with intractable symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate whether barium-strip examination and selective colectomy improved post-operative outcomes in ASTC patients in comparison with subtotal colectomy., Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 53 cases with refractory ASTC was conducted between June 2008 and June 2014. Patients were evaluated by the barium-strip technique, colonoscopy, defecography and anorectal manometry. Patients in the standard group underwent laparoscopic subtotal colectomy and patients in the laparoscopic selective colectomy (LSC) group underwent LSC at the precise location identified by barium strip. Spontaneous bowel movements, the Wexner Constipation Scale and the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) were assessed post-operatively at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months., Results: A total of 49 patients were included in the analysis. The median follow-up was 37 months (range, 26-60 months). The mean post-operative hospital stay was 12 days and similar between groups ( P  =   0.071). The length of colon resection, operative time and intra-operative blood loss were reduced in the LSC group (all P  <   0.05). No major complications occurred. A similar number of patients (24 in the standard group and 25 in the LSC group) exhibited hypoganglionosis or aganglionosis in the colon-wall muscle layer ( P  =   0.986). Although there were no significant differences in post-operative spontaneous bowel movements and the Wexner Constipation Scale between the two groups, the mean GIQLI of the LSC group was significantly higher at 3, 6 and 24 months post-operatively (all P  <   0.05)., Conclusions: LSC based on barium-strip examination is an appropriate modality for treating ASTC., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press and Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.)

To understand the function of vernalization-related gene VER17 in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Jingdong No.1), an antisense RNA strategy was used. The antisense VER17 with a vector pBI121 was constructed and transformed into winter wheat by using the pollen-tube-pathway method. Fourteen independent transgenic plants transformed with antisense VER17 and five control transformants transformed with pBI121 blank vector were obtained and confirmed by GUS histochemical assay and PCR-Southern blot analysis. Phenotypes of T(0) and T(1) transgenic plants showed that the plants of the antisense VER17 transgenic lines degenerated top or basal spikelets and had delayed flowering time, which suggested that the VER17 gene functions in accelerating flowering and the development of the top or basal spikelets and the stamen which were impacted by vernalization treatment.

A vernalization-related gene VER2 was isolated from winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) using a differential screening approach. The deduced VER2 is a lectin-like protein of 300 amino acids, which contains the presence of a jacalin-like GWG domain. RNA in situ hybridization results demonstrated that VER2 gene expression is restricted to the marginal meristems of immature leaves in vernalized wheat seedlings. No hybridization signal was detected in the epidermal tissue and vascular bundles. However, "devernalization" resulted in the silencing of VER2 gene activity. The gene expression pattern of VER2 induced by jasmonate was similar to that induced by vernalization. Antisense inhibition of VER2 in transgenic wheat showed that heading and maturation time were delayed up to 6 weeks compared with non-transformed wheat and the pBI121empty-vector-transformed wheat. Tissue degeneration at the top of the spike was also noticed in the antisense inhibited transgenic wheat. These results suggest that VER2 plays an important role in vernalization signaling and spike development in winter wheat.

The presence of DNA homologues corresponding to verc203 (vernalization-related cDNA clone) was investigated by molecular hybridization techniques. The genes were detected in 16 plant species that cover 12 subclasses of the Takhtajan system of angiosperms classification including diverse model species. The results of Southern blot analysis showed a low copy number of this gene existed in rice, wheat, barley and Arabidopsis. The hybridization result of PCR products demonstrated the conservation of the gene corresponding to ver203 in diverse plants. The phylogenetic tree of the ver203 gene in tested plants was supported by evolution relationship of species. The ver203 gene expressed in a vernalized plumule winter wheat, instead of the root. And the endosperm before the treatment was essential for the ver203 expression during vernalization in wheat. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the pattern of expression showed that the gene corresponding to ver203 was expressed at low temperature for 14 days. Gibberellin (GA3) may accelerate the expression of ver203 gene in Arabidopsis exposed to low temperature. However, it could not replace vernalization treatment to initiate the gene expression.