Search

Jiying Liu,1– 3 Guangyao Fang,2,4 Cong Lan,2 Chenming Qiu,5 Li Yao,2 Qian Zhang,2 Jingtang Hu,2 Yaolei Zhang,6 Yongjian Yang,1,2 Yan Zhang1,2 1Department of Cardiology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Cardiology, The Third People’s Hospital of Yibin, Yibin, Sichuan, 644000, People’s Republic of China; 4College of Medicine, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China; 6Basic Medical Laboratory, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yongjian Yang, Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13880827421, Email yangyongjian38@sina.com Yan Zhang, Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of Western Theater Command, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610083, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-18980530960, Email zhangyan610083@126.comPurpose: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating disease with little effective treatment. The proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) induced by the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling activation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of PAH. Forsythoside B (FTS•B) possesses inhibitory effect on NF-κB signaling pathway. The present study aims to explore the effects and mechanisms of FTS•B in PAH.Methods: Sprague–Dawley rats received monocrotaline (MCT) intraperitoneal injection to establish PAH model, and FTS•B was co-treated after MCT injection. Right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary artery pressure were measured by echocardiograp

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is Earth’smost abundant wild animal, and its enormous biomass is vital to the Southern Ocean ecosystem. Here, we report a 48.01-Gb chromosome-level Antarctic krill genome, whose large genome size appears to have resulted from inter-genic transposable element expansions. Our assembly reveals the molecular architecture of the Antarctic krill circadian clock and uncovers expanded gene families associated with molting and energy metabolism, providing insights into adaptations to the cold and highly seasonal Antarctic environment. Population-level genome re-sequencing from four geographical sites around the Antarctic continent reveals no clear population structure but highlights natural selection associated with environmental variables. An apparent drastic reduction in krill population size 10 mya and a subsequent rebound 100 thousand years ago coincides with climate change events. Our findings uncover the genomic basis of Antarctic krill adaptations to the Southern Ocean and provide valuable resources for future Antarctic research.

The short-finned pilot whale (SFPW), Globicephala macrorhynchus, has a pan-tropical and -temperate distribution. The existence of two morphologically and genetically distinct forms (Naisa and Shiho) suggests a complex speciation process, which remains to be deciphered. Here, we used whole genome data of 56 individuals from three poorly surveyed regions (Macaronesian islands - Eastern central Atlantic, China and Brazil) to assess the patterns of population structure and genetic diversity of the SFPW. We inferred population structure from admixture and principal component analyses. Additionally, we determined patterns of differentiation of the maternally-inherited mitogenomes. We estimated changes in population size through time using the Pairwise Sequentially Markovian Coalescent (PSMC) analysis. Finally, we searched for genomic regions of high differentiation in each assigned population using the population branch statistics and performed a windows-based analysis to uncover the top outliers of genetic differentiation, corresponding to regions that are potentially under selection. Our results provide evidence for three main genetic clusters of SPFW populations across the analysed individuals, emphasizing the genomic distinctiveness of Atlantic individuals compared with other individuals belonging to the Naisa form – known to be present in the western/central Pacific and Indian Oceans. The exception to this pattern is a Naisa mitochondrial and nuclear genotype found in one individual from Brazil. Moreover, PSMC suggests a shared recent evolutionary history in all three assigned populations. Our study provides a significant contribution to the overall understanding of the demographic history and spatial patterns of genetic diversity in SPFW, by complementing data previously described

Cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) have large and anatomically sophisticated brains. To expand our understanding of the cellular makeup of cetacean brains and the similarities and divergence between the brains of cetaceans and terrestrial mammals, we report a short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) single-nucleus transcriptome atlas. To achieve this goal, we assembled a chromosome-scale reference genome spanning 2.25 Gb on 22 chromosomes and profiled the gene expression of five major anatomical cortical regions of the short-finned pilot whale by single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq). We identified six major cell lineages in the cerebral cortex (excitatory neurons, inhibitory neurons, oligodendrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, astrocytes, and endothelial cells), eight molecularly distinct subclusters of excitatory neurons, and four subclusters of inhibitory neurons. Finally, a comparison of snRNA-seq data from the short-finned pilot whale, human, and rhesus macaque revealed a broadly conserved cellular makeup of brain cell types. Our study provides genomic resources and molecular insights into cetacean brain evolution., Cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) have large and anatomically sophisticated brains. To expand our understanding of the cellular makeup of cetacean brains and the similarities and divergence between the brains of cetaceans and terrestrial mammals, we report a short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) single-nucleus transcriptome atlas. To achieve this goal, we assembled a chromosome-scale reference genome spanning 2.25 Gb on 22 chromosomes and profiled the gene expression of five major anatomical cortical regions of the short-finned pilot whale by single-nucleus RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq). We identified six major cell lineages in the cerebral cortex (excitatory neurons, inhibitory neurons, oligodendrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, astrocytes, and endothelial cells), eight molecularly distinct subclusters of excitatory neurons, and four subclusters of inhibitory neurons. Finally, a comparison of snRNA-seq data from the short-finned pilot whale, human, and rhesus macaque revealed a broadly conserved cellular makeup of brain cell types. Our study provides genomic resources and molecular insights into cetacean brain evolution.