Chip-Based Electronic System for Quantum Key Distribution.

Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) has garnered significant attention due to its unconditional security based on the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. While QKD has been demonstrated by various groups and commercial QKD products are available, the development of a fully chip-based QKD system, aimed at reducing costs, size, and power consumption, remains a significant technological challenge. Most researchers focus on the optical aspects, leaving the integration of the electronic components largely unexplored. In this paper, we present the design of a fully integrated electrical control chip for QKD applications. The chip, fabricated using 28 nm CMOS technology, comprises five main modules: an ARM processor for digital signal processing, delay cells for timing synchronization, ADC for sampling analog signals from monitors, OPAMP for signal amplification, and DAC for generating the required voltage for phase or intensity modulators. According to the simulations, the minimum delay is 11ps, the open-loop gain of the operational amplifier is 86.2 dB, the sampling rate of the ADC reaches 50 MHz, and the DAC achieves a high rate of 100 MHz. To the best of our knowledge, this marks the first design and evaluation of a fully integrated driver chip for QKD, holding the potential to significantly enhance QKD system performance. Thus, we believe our work could inspire future investigations toward the development of more efficient and reliable QKD systems.

Image-based real-time feedback control of magnetic digital microfluidics by artificial intelligence-empowered rapid object detector for automated in vitro diagnostics.

In vitro diagnostics (IVD) plays a critical role in healthcare and public health management. Magnetic digital microfluidics (MDM) perform IVD assays by manipulating droplets on an open substrate with magnetic particles. Automated IVD based on MDM could reduce the risk of accidental exposure to contagious pathogens among healthcare workers. However, it remains challenging to create a fully automated IVD platform based on the MDM technology because of a lack of effective feedback control system to ensure the successful execution of various droplet operations required for IVD. In this work, an artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered MDM platform with image-based real-time feedback control is presented. The AI is trained to recognize droplets and magnetic particles, measure their size, and determine their location and relationship in real time; it shows the ability to rectify failed droplet operations based on the feedback information, a function that is unattainable by conventional MDM platforms, thereby ensuring that the entire IVD process is not interrupted due to the failure of liquid handling. We demonstrate fundamental droplet operations, which include droplet transport, particle extraction, droplet merging and droplet mixing, on the MDM platform and show how the AI rectify failed droplet operations by acting upon the feedback information. Protein quantification and antibiotic resistance detection are performed on this AI-empowered MDM platform, and the results obtained agree well with the benchmarks. We envision that this AI-based feedback approach will be widely adopted not only by MDM but also by other types of digital microfluidic platforms to offer precise and error-free droplet operations for a wide range of automated IVD applications.

BaseFormer: Transformer based Base-Caller for Fast and Accurate Next Generation Sequencing.

Gene sequencing technology is a tool which greatly impacts modern biology and medicine. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) lies at the heart of gene sequencing for its massively increasing throughput, but it is difficult to analyze the large quantities of fluorescent images with high accuracy because the fluorescent signals are weak with varying noise signals, and current designs are limited on accuracy and speed. In this paper, we proposed a novel deep learning based gene sequencing pipeline with semi-automatic labelling method. The obtained results are promising, especially on the high-density data, as the BaseFormer surpasses the traditional methods in terms of cluster quality (Q30: 88 %), throughput (16.5% better), and with similar and low error rate (down to 0.137% on average, best at 0.068 % on high-density data).

A microfluidic chip enables fast analysis of water microplastics by optical spectroscopy.

Microplastics contaminating drinking water is a growing issue that has been the focus of a few recent studies, where a major bottleneck is the time-consuming analysis. In this work, a micro-optofluidic platform is proposed for fast quantification of microplastic particles, the identification of their chemical nature and size, especially in the 1-100 µm size range. Micro-reservoirs ahead of micro-filters are designed to accumulate all trapped solid particles in an ultra-compact area, which enables fast imaging and optical spectroscopy to determine the plastic nature and type. Furthermore, passive size sorting is implemented for splitting the particles according to their size range in different reservoirs. Besides, flow cytometry is used as a reference method for retrieving the size distribution of samples, where chemical nature information is lost. The proof of concept of the micro-optofluidic platform is validated using model samples where standard plastic particles of different size and chemical nature are mixed.

Deep learning-enabled imaging flow cytometry for high-speed Cryptosporidium and Giardia detection.

Imaging flow cytometry has become a popular technology for bioparticle image analysis because of its capability of capturing thousands of images per second. Nevertheless, the vast number of images generated by imaging flow cytometry imposes great challenges for data analysis especially when the species have similar morphologies. In this work, we report a deep learning-enabled high-throughput system for predicting Cryptosporidium and Giardia in drinking water. This system combines imaging flow cytometry and an efficient artificial neural network called MCellNet, which achieves a classification accuracy >99.6%. The system can detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia with a sensitivity of 97.37% and a specificity of 99.95%. The high-speed analysis reaches 346 frames per second, outperforming the state-of-the-art deep learning algorithm MobileNetV2 in speed (251 frames per second) with a comparable classification accuracy. The reported system empowers rapid, accurate, and high throughput bioparticle detection in clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring and other potential biosensing applications.

Rare bioparticle detection via deep metric learning.

Recent deep neural networks have shown superb performance in analyzing bioimages for disease diagnosis and bioparticle classification. Conventional deep neural networks use simple classifiers such as SoftMax to obtain highly accurate results. However, they have limitations in many practical applications that require both low false alarm rate and high recovery rate, e.g., rare bioparticle detection, in which the representative image data is hard to collect, the training data is imbalanced, and the input images in inference time could be different from the training images. Deep metric learning offers a better generatability by using distance information to model the similarity of the images and learning function maps from image pixels to a latent space, playing a vital role in rare object detection. In this paper, we propose a robust model based on a deep metric neural network for rare bioparticle (Cryptosporidium or Giardia) detection in drinking water. Experimental results showed that the deep metric neural network achieved a high accuracy of 99.86% in classification, 98.89% in precision rate, 99.16% in recall rate and zero false alarm rate. The reported model empowers imaging flow cytometry with capabilities of biomedical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, and other biosensing applications.

Machine Learning-Based Pipeline for High Accuracy Bioparticle Sizing.

High accuracy measurement of size is essential in physical and biomedical sciences. Various sizing techniques have been widely used in sorting colloidal materials, analyzing bioparticles and monitoring the qualities of food and atmosphere. Most imaging-free methods such as light scattering measure the averaged size of particles and have difficulties in determining non-spherical particles. Imaging acquisition using camera is capable of observing individual nanoparticles in real time, but the accuracy is compromised by the image defocusing and instrumental calibration. In this work, a machine learning-based pipeline is developed to facilitate a high accuracy imaging-based particle sizing. The pipeline consists of an image segmentation module for cell identification and a machine learning model for accurate pixel-to-size conversion. The results manifest a significantly improved accuracy, showing great potential for a wide range of applications in environmental sensing, biomedical diagnostical, and material characterization.

A high-quality sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica) genome.

Sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica) is an important cultivated vegetable and medicinal plant in the family Cucurbitaceae. In this study, a draft genome sequence of the sponge gourd inbred line P93075 was analyzed. Using Illumina, PacBio, and 10× Genomics sequencing techniques as well as new assembly techniques such as FALCON and chromatin interaction mapping (Hi-C), a chromosome-scale genome of approximately 656.19 Mb, with an N50 scaffold length of 48.76 Mb, was generated. From this assembly, 25,508 protein-coding gene loci were identified, and 63.81% of the whole-genome consisted of transposable elements, which are major contributors to the expansion of the sponge gourd genome. According to a phylogenetic analysis of conserved genes, the sponge gourd lineage diverged from the bitter gourd lineage approximately 41.6 million years ago. Additionally, many genes that respond to biotic and abiotic stresses were found to be lineage specific or expanded in the sponge gourd genome, as demonstrated by the presence of 462 NBS-LRR genes, a much greater number than are found in the genomes of other cucurbit species; these results are consistent with the high stress resistance of sponge gourd. Collectively, our study provides insights into genome evolution and serves as a valuable reference for the genetic improvement of sponge gourd.

Whole-genome sequencing provides insights into the genetic diversity and domestication of bitter gourd (Momordica spp.).

Bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) is a popular cultivated vegetable in Asian and African countries. To reveal the characteristics of the genomic structure, evolutionary trajectory, and genetic basis underlying the domestication of bitter gourd, we performed whole-genome sequencing of the cultivar Dali-11 and the wild small-fruited line TR and resequencing of 187 bitter gourd germplasms from 16 countries. The major gene clusters (Bi clusters) for the biosynthesis of cucurbitane triterpenoids, which confer a bitter taste, are highly conserved in cucumber, melon, and watermelon. Comparative analysis among cucurbit genomes revealed that the Bi cluster involved in cucurbitane triterpenoid biosynthesis is absent in bitter gourd. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the TR group, including 21 bitter gourd germplasms, may belong to a new species or subspecies independent from M. charantia. Furthermore, we found that the remaining 166 M. charantia germplasms are geographically differentiated, and we identified 710, 412, and 290 candidate domestication genes in the South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China populations, respectively. This study provides new insights into bitter gourd genetic diversity and domestication and will facilitate the future genomics-enabled improvement of bitter gourd.

The wax gourd genomes offer insights into the genetic diversity and ancestral cucurbit karyotype.

The botanical family Cucurbitaceae includes a variety of fruit crops with global or local economic importance. How their genomes evolve and the genetic basis of diversity remain largely unexplored. In this study, we sequence the genome of the wax gourd (Benincasa hispida), which bears giant fruit up to 80 cm in length and weighing over 20 kg. Comparative analyses of six cucurbit genomes reveal that the wax gourd genome represents the most ancestral karyotype, with the predicted ancestral genome having 15 proto-chromosomes. We also resequence 146 lines of diverse germplasm and build a variation map consisting of 16 million variations. Combining population genetics and linkage mapping, we identify a number of regions/genes potentially selected during domestication and improvement, some of which likely contribute to the large fruit size in wax gourds. Our analyses of these data help to understand genome evolution and function in cucurbits.

A high-density genetic map developed by specific-locus amplified fragment (SLAF) sequencing and identification of a locus controlling anthocyanin pigmentation in stalk of Zicaitai (Brassica rapa L. ssp. chinensis var. purpurea).

BACKGROUND: Caixin and Zicaitai (Brassica rapa) belong to Southern and Central China respectively. Zicaitai contains high amount of anthocyanin in leaf and stalk resulting to the purple color. Stalk is the major edible part and stalk color is an economically important trait for the two vegetables. The aim of this study is to construct a high density genetic map using the specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) technique to explore genetic basis for anthocyanin pigmentation traits via quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping. RESULTS: We constructed a high generation linkage map with a mapping panel of F2 populations derived from 150 individuals of parental lines "Xianghongtai 01" and "Yinong 50D" with purple and green stalk respectively. The map was constructed containing 4253 loci, representing 10,940 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers spanning 1030.04 centiMorgans (cM) over 10 linkage groups (LGs), with an average distance between markers of 0.27 cM. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis revealed that a major locus on chromosome 7 and 4 minor QTLs explaining 2.69-61.21% of phenotypic variation (PVE) were strongly responsible for variation in stalk color trait. Bioinformatics analysis of the major locus identified 62 protein-coding genes. Among the major locus, there were no biosynthetic genes related to anthocyanin. However, there were several transcription factors like helix-loop-helix (bHLH) bHLH, MYB in the locus. Seven predicted candidate genes were selected for the transcription level analysis. Only bHLH49 transcription factor, was significantly higher expressed in both stalks and young leaves of Xianghongtai01 than Yinong50D. An insertion and deletion (InDel) marker developed from deletion/insertion in the promoter region of bHLH49 showed significant correlation with the stalk color trait in the F2 population. CONCLUSION: Using the constructed high-qualified linkage map, this study successfully identified QTLs for stalk color trait. The identified valuable markers and candidate genes for anthocyanin accumulation in stalk will provide useful information for molecular regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Overall our findings will lay a foundation for functional gene cloning, marker-assisted selection (MAS) and molecular breeding of important economic traits in B. rapa.

Effect of Modified Wuzi Yanzong Pill () on Tip60-Mediated Apoptosis in Testis of Male Rats after Microwave Radiation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of a modified Wuzi Yanzong Pill (, WZYZP) on the male rats' testis after microwave radiation, as well as its potential mechanism. METHODS: Forty-five male rats were randomly assigned to three groups: the control group, the radiation group, and the WZYZP group. The rats in the radiation group and WZYZP group were exposed to microwave radiation for 15 min once, while the rats in the control group were not exposed to any radiation. The rats in the WZYZP group were given a modified of WZYZP by gavage daily for 7 days. Apoptosis in the testis was evaluated using terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Histopathological alterations of the testis were observed by haematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Tat-interactive protein, 60kD (Tip60) and p53 expressions were determined by Western blotting. RESULTS: The apoptosis index (AI) in the radiation group was higher than that of the WZYZP group and control group on day 1 (D1), day 7 (D7) day 14 (D14) after radiation (P<0.05). The seminiferous tubules were of normal morphology in the control group. In the radiation group, the partial seminiferous tubules were collapsed, basement membranes of the seminiferous epithelia became detached. WZYZP could restore the morphological changes. There was no expression of Tip60 among the three groups on D7 and D14. The expression of p53 was higher in the radiation group than in the control group (P<0.05). WZYZP could down-regulate the rising p53 induced by radiation on D7 and D14 (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: A modified WZYZP may affect germ cells, and its protective effects may partly result from its ability to intervene in Tip60 mediated apoptosis.

A RAD-Based Genetic Map for Anchoring Scaffold Sequences and Identifying QTLs in Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia).

Genetic mapping is a basic tool necessary for anchoring assembled scaffold sequences and for identifying QTLs controlling important traits. Though bitter gourd (Momordica charantia) is both consumed and used as a medicinal, research on its genomics and genetic mapping is severely limited. Here, we report the construction of a restriction site associated DNA (RAD)-based genetic map for bitter gourd using an F2 mapping population comprising 423 individuals derived from two cultivated inbred lines, the gynoecious line 'K44' and the monoecious line 'Dali-11.' This map comprised 1,009 SNP markers and spanned a total genetic distance of 2,203.95 cM across the 11 linkage groups. It anchored a total of 113 assembled scaffolds that covered about 251.32 Mb (85.48%) of the 294.01 Mb assembled genome. In addition, three horticulturally important traits including sex expression, fruit epidermal structure, and immature fruit color were evaluated using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. As a result, we identified three QTL/gene loci responsible for these traits in three environments. The QTL/gene gy/fffn/ffn, controlling sex expression involved in gynoecy, first female flower node, and female flower number was detected in the reported region. Particularly, two QTLs/genes, Fwa/Wr and w, were found to be responsible for fruit epidermal structure and white immature fruit color, respectively. This RAD-based genetic map promotes the assembly of the bitter gourd genome and the identified genetic loci will accelerate the cloning of relevant genes in the future.

A high-density linkage map and QTL mapping of fruit-related traits in pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.).

Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) is an economically worldwide crop. Few quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were reported previously due to the lack of genomic and genetic resources. In this study, a high-density linkage map of C. moschata was structured by double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, using 200 F2 individuals of CMO-1 × CMO-97. By filtering 74,899 SNPs, a total of 3,470 high quality SNP markers were assigned to the map spanning a total genetic distance of 3087.03 cM on 20 linkage groups (LGs) with an average genetic distance of 0.89 cM. Based on this map, both pericarp color and strip were fined mapped to a novel single locus on LG8 in the same region of 0.31 cM with phenotypic variance explained (PVE) of 93.6% and 90.2%, respectively. QTL analysis was also performed on carotenoids, sugars, tuberculate fruit, fruit diameter, thickness and chamber width with a total of 12 traits. 29 QTLs distributed in 9 LGs were detected with PVE from 9.6% to 28.6%. It was the first high-density linkage SNP map for C. moschata which was proved to be a valuable tool for gene or QTL mapping. This information will serve as significant basis for map-based gene cloning, draft genome assembling and molecular breeding.

[Yijingfang for the treatment of asthenospermia: A randomized controlled clinical trial].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical therapeutic effects of Yijingfang, a Chinese medicinal liquid, on asthenospermia. METHODS: We randomly divided 450 asthenospermia patients into a treatment group (n = 300) and a control group (n = 150), the former treated with Yijingfang once half a dose, bid, and the latter with Wuziyanzong Pills (9 g, bid) + L-carnitine oral liquid (10 ml, bid), both for 3 months. Before and at 1, 2, and 3 months after medication, we compared the semen volume, sperm concentration, percentages of progressively motile sperm (PMS) and total motile sperm (TMS), and semen liquefaction time between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was observed in the semen parameters between the treatment and control groups before medication (P >0.05). In comparison with the baseline, the treatment group showed significant differences at 1, 2, and 3 months after medication in sperm concentration (ï¼»35.96 ± 8.50ï¼½ vs ï¼»49.66 ± 10.91ï¼½, ï¼»55.21 ± 11.46ï¼½, ï¼»74.90 ± 13.07ï¼½ ×106/ml, P <0.01), PMS (ï¼»19.72 ± 2.06ï¼½ vs ï¼»23.81 ± 2.56ï¼½, ï¼»26.12 ± 2.34ï¼½, and ï¼»32.17 ± 1.62ï¼½ %, P <0.01) and TMS (ï¼»28.86 ± 2.70ï¼½ vs ï¼»34.17 ± 3.43ï¼½, ï¼»36.59 ± 3.36ï¼½, and ï¼»47.08 ± 2.97ï¼½ %, P <0.01), but not in the semen volume (ï¼»3.35 ± 0.99ï¼½ vs ï¼»3.15 ± 1.06ï¼½, ï¼»3.12 ± 0.90ï¼½, and ï¼»3.27 ± 0.78ï¼½ ml, P >0.05) or semen liquefaction time (ï¼»32.31 ± 8.15ï¼½ vs ï¼»31.68 ± 3.14ï¼½, ï¼»30.38 ± 3.44ï¼½, and ï¼»30.86 ± 2.42ï¼½ min, P >0.05); the control group exhibited similar results at the three time points in sperm concentration (ï¼»36.85 ± 6.88ï¼½ vs ï¼»40.53 ± 8.32ï¼½, ï¼»47.51 ± 12.73ï¼½, and ï¼»56.14 ± 11.98ï¼½ ×106/ml, P <0.01), PMS (ï¼»20.26 ± 2.73ï¼½ vs ï¼»25.17 ± 2.64ï¼½, ï¼»27.23 ± 2.25ï¼½, and ï¼»31.89±2.27ï¼½ %, P <0.01), and TMS (ï¼»30.03 ± 2.67ï¼½ vs ï¼»33.89±2.26ï¼½, ï¼»37.38±4.79ï¼½, and ï¼»40.35±3.06ï¼½ %, P <0.01), but not in the semen volume (ï¼»3.03 ± 1.09ï¼½ vs ï¼»3.16±1.78ï¼½, ï¼»3.15±0.96ï¼½, and ï¼»3.12±0.65ï¼½ ml, P >0.05) or semen liquefaction time (ï¼»30.25 ± 5.20ï¼½ vs ï¼»29.36±4.25ï¼½, ï¼»28.21±3.26ï¼½, and ï¼»28.33±3.59ï¼½ min, P >0.05). There were statistically significant differences between the treatment and control groups in the increase rates of sperm concentration and TMS after medication (P <0.01) but not in that of PMS (P >0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Yijingfang is an effective drug for the treatment of asthenospermia, which can regulate the spermatogenesis, increase the percentage of PMS, and improve the total sperm motility of the patients.

[Triple acupuncture at the Qugu acupoint as an adjunctive therapy for type-â ¢ chronic prostatitis: Analysis of short- and long-term clinical effects].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the short- and long-term effects of triple acupuncture at the Qugu acupoint as an adjunctive therapy on type-Ⅲ chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). METHODS: We equally randomized 90 CP/CPPS patients into a control and a treatment group, both treated with Levofloxacin Mesylate Tablets (0.5 g, tid) + Terazosin Hydrochloride Capsules (2 mg qd) for 4 weeks, while the latter group by triple acupuncture at the Qugu acupoint as an adjunctive therapy twice a week at the same time. Then, we followed up all the patients for 4 weeks, recorded the cases, time and rate of recurrence, obtained the scores in National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI), quality of life (QoL) and Zung Depression Scale (ZDS), and compared them between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the patients of the treatment group showed significantly decreased NIH-CPSI scores in pain (8.6 ± 2.12 vs 6.2 ± 2.25, P <0.05), micturition (5.8 ± 1.22 vs 3.1 ± 1.10, P <0.05), and QoL (6.0 ± 1.33 vs 3.4 ± 1.71, P <0.05) and ZDS score as well (43.9 ± 4.53 vs 33.6 ± 3.20, P <0.01). The recurrence rate was markedly lower while the recurrence time remarkably longer in the treatment than in the control group (15.56 vs 35.56% and ï¼»20.0 ± 2.72ï¼½ vs ï¼»12.5 ± 3.47ï¼½ d, P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: As an adjunctive therapy, triple acupuncture at the Qugu acupoint can evidently ameliorate the clinical symptoms, enhance the curative effect of antibacterials, reduce the recurrence rate, and prolong the recurrence time in the treatment of CP/CPPS.

Genetic Linkage Map Construction and QTL Analysis of Two Interspecific Reproductive Isolation Traits in Sponge Gourd.

The hybrids between Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb. and L.cylindrica (L.) Roem. have strong heterosis effects. However, some reproductive isolation traits hindered their normal hybridization and fructification, which was mainly caused by the flowering time and hybrid pollen sterility. In order to study the genetic basis of two interspecific reproductive isolation traits, we constructed a genetic linkage map using an F2 population derived from a cross between S1174 [L. acutangula (L.) Roxb.] and 93075 [L. cylindrica (L.) Roem.]. The map spans 1436.12 CentiMorgans (cM), with an average of 8.11 cM among markers, and consists of 177 EST-SSR markers distributed in 14 linkage groups (LG) with an average of 102.58 cM per LG. Meanwhile, we conducted colinearity analysis between the sequences of EST-SSR markers and the genomic sequences of cucumber, melon and watermelon. On the basis of genetic linkage map, we conducted QTL mapping of two reproductive isolation traits in sponge gourd, which were the flowering time and hybrid male sterility. Two putative QTLs associated with flowering time (FT) were both detected on LG 1. The accumulated contribution of these two QTLs explained 38.07% of the total phenotypic variance (PV), and each QTL explained 15.36 and 22.71% of the PV respectively. Four QTLs for pollen fertility (PF) were identified on LG 1 (qPF1.1 and qPF1.2), LG 3 (qPF3) and LG 7 (qPF7), respectively. The percentage of PF explained by these QTLs varied from 2.91 to 16.79%, and all together the four QTLs accounted for 39.98% of the total PV. Our newly developed EST-SSR markers and linkage map are very useful for gene mapping, comparative genomics and molecular marker-assisted breeding. These QTLs for interspecific reproductive isolation will also contribute to the cloning of genes relating to interspecific reproductive isolation and the utilization of interspecific heterosis in sponge gourd in further studies.

Mapping of a Novel Race Specific Resistance Gene to Phytophthora Root Rot of Pepper (Capsicum annuum) Using Bulked Segregant Analysis Combined with Specific Length Amplified Fragment Sequencing Strategy.

Phytophthora root rot caused by Phytophthora capsici (P. capsici) is a serious limitation to pepper production in Southern China, with high temperature and humidity. Mapping PRR resistance genes can provide linked DNA markers for breeding PRR resistant varieties by molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS). Two BC1 populations and an F2 population derived from a cross between P. capsici-resistant accession, Criollo de Morelos 334 (CM334) and P. capsici-susceptible accession, New Mexico Capsicum Accession 10399 (NMCA10399) were used to investigate the genetic characteristics of PRR resistance. PRR resistance to isolate Byl4 (race 3) was controlled by a single dominant gene, PhR10, that was mapped to an interval of 16.39Mb at the end of the long arm of chromosome 10. Integration of bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and Specific Length Amplified Fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) provided an efficient genetic mapping strategy. Ten polymorphic Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers were found within this region and used to screen the genotypes of 636 BC1 plants, delimiting PhR10 to a 2.57 Mb interval between markers P52-11-21 (1.5 cM away) and P52-11-41 (1.1 cM). A total of 163 genes were annotated within this region and 31 were predicted to be associated with disease resistance. PhR10 is a novel race specific gene for PRR, and this paper describes linked SSR markers suitable for marker-assisted selection of PRR resistant varieties, also laying a foundation for cloning the resistance gene.

Cucumis sativus L-type lectin receptor kinase (CsLecRK) gene family response to Phytophthora melonis, Phytophthora capsici and water immersion in disease resistant and susceptible cucumber cultivars.

L-type lectin receptor kinase (LecRK) proteins are an important family involved in diverse biological processes such as pollen development, senescence, wounding, salinity and especially in innate immunity in model plants such as Arabidopsis and tobacco. Till date, LecRK proteins or genes of cucumber have not been reported. In this study, a total of 25 LecRK genes were identified in the cucumber genome, unequally distributed across its seven chromosomes. According to similarity comparison of their encoded proteins, the Cucumis sativus LecRK (CsLecRK) genes were classified into six major clades (from Clade I to CladeVI). Expression of CsLecRK genes were tested using QRT-PCR method and the results showed that 25 CsLecRK genes exhibited different responses to abiotic (water immersion) and biotic (Phytophthora melonis and Phytophthora capsici inoculation) stresses, as well as that between disease resistant cultivar (JSH) and disease susceptible cultivar (B80). Among the 25 CsLecRK genes, we found CsLecRK6.1 was especially induced by P. melonis and P. capsici in JSH plants. All these results suggested that CsLecRK genes may play important roles in biotic and abiotic stresses.

A Chinese herbal decoction can increase the intracellular Ca2+ concentration and CatSper1 expression in mouse sperm tails.

The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a Chinese herbal decoction on the intracellular calcium (Ca2+) concentration of sperm and the expression of the cation channel 1 of sperm (CatSper1), which is a calcium-channel protein specific to sperm tail, in a murine model of asthenospermia induced with cyclophosphamide. After 34 days of intragastric administration of Chinese herb decoction to the murine model used, routine analyses of the mouse sperm were conducted, the intracellular Ca2+ concentration of the sperm tails was measured using flow cytometry, and the expression of CatSper1 protein was detected using reverse transcription­polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Sperm concentration, percentage of grade A and B sperm (i.e., sperm activity) and percentage of grade A, B and C sperm (i.e., overall sperm motility) of the model group mice (MG) were markedly lower compared to the control murine group (CG) (one-way ANOVA, P<0.05). Subsequent to treatment, sperm concentration, percentage of sperm activity and overall sperm motility of the large dose of herbal medicine group murine (LG) were markedly increased compared to MG mice (P<0.05). Intracellular Ca2+ concentration in MG mice was markedly lower compared to CG mice (P<0.05). However, following therapy, a significant increase was observed in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration in LG mice as compared to MG mice (P<0.05). In addition, the expression of CatSper1 in LG mice was significantly higher compared to MG mice (P<0.05), while no statistically significant difference was observed for the CG mice. Intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide reduced sperm concentration, percentage of sperm activity and overall sperm motility, intracellular Ca2+ concentration and CatSper1 expression. Large doses of this Chinese herbal decoction increased sperm intracellular Ca2+ concentration, sperm concentration, and percentages of sperm activity and overall sperm motility by upregulating CatSper1 expression. The findings of this study have demonstrated a therapeutic effect of this decoction on asthenospermia.