The Emergence of the Potential Therapeutic Targets: Ultrasound-Based Radiomics in the Prediction of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-Low Breast Cancer.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether ultrasound-based radiomics features can effectively predict HER2-low expression in patients with breast cancer (BC). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between January 2021 and June 2023, patients who received US scans with pathologically confirmed BC in this multicenter study were included. In total, 383 patients from institution 1 were comprised of training set, 233 patients from institution 2 were comprised of validation set and 149 patients from institution 3 were comprised of external validation set. Radiomics features were derived from conventional ultrasound (US) images. The minimum redundancy and maximum relevancy and the least absolute shrinkage and selector operation algorithm were used to generate an US-based radiomics score (RS). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to select variables associated with HER2 expressions. The diagnostic performance of the RS was evaluated through the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: In the training set, the RS yield an AUC of 0.81 (95%CI: 0.76-0.84) for differentiation HER2-zero from HER2-low and -positive cases, and performed well in validation set (AUC 0.84, 95%CI: 0.78-0.88) and external validation set (AUC 0.82, 95%CI: 0.73-0.90). In the subgroups analysis, the RS showed good performance in distinguishing HER2-zero from HER2 1 + , HER2 2 + and HER2-low tumors (AUC range, 0.79-0.87). CONCLUSION: The RS based on conventional US is proven effective for predicting HER2-low expression in BC.

Genome-wide analysis of the TIFY family and function of CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b under cold stress in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

TIFY [TIF(F/Y)XG] proteins are a plant particular transcription factor family that regulates plant stress responses. Therefore, to fill this gap, we investigated CaTIFY genes in pepper. Gene structure and conserved motifs of the pepper TIFY gene family were systematically analyzed using sequence alignment analysis, Cis-acting element analysis, transcriptomic data, and RT-qPCR analysis, and their expression patterns were further analyzed using Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) and cold stress reactive oxygen species (ROS) response. We identified 16 CaTIFY genes in pepper, which were dispersed among seven subgroups (JAZI, JAZII, JAZIII, PPD, TIFY, and ZIM/ZML). Several CaTIFY members had stress-related harmonic-responsive elements, and four (CaTIFY7, CaTIFY10b, CaTIFY1b, and CaTIFY6b) had low-temperature-responsive elements. Transcriptomic data and RT-qPCR analysis revealed that the TIFY genes in pepper displayed different expression patterns in the roots, stems, leaves, flower fruits, and seeds. In particular, CaTIFY7 was highly expressed in young leaves, and CaTIFY10b was highly expressed in roots. CaTIFYs participated in the regulation of several different abiotic stresses and CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b were significantly induced by cold stress. Additionally, Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (targeting CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b) resulted in plants that were sensitive to cold stress. Conversely, overexpression of CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b enhanced plant cold tolerance by promoting the expression of genes related to cold stress and the ROS response. CaTIFY7 and CaTIFY10b interacted with themselves and CaTIFY7 also interacted with CaTIFY10b in the yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system. Our data provide a basis for further analysis of the role of pepper TIFY genes in cold-stress responses in the future.

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the SWEET Gene Family in Capsicum annuum L.

Sugars will eventually be exported transporters (SWEETs) are a novel class of sugar transport proteins that play a crucial role in plant growth, development, and response to stress. However, there is a lack of systematic research on SWEETs in Capsicum annuum L. In this study, 33 CaSWEET genes were identified through bioinformatics analysis. The Ka/Ks analysis indicated that SWEET genes are highly conserved not only among peppers but also among Solanaceae species and have experienced strong purifying selection during evolution. The Cis-elements analysis showed that the light-responsive element, abscisic-acid-responsive element, jasmonic-acid-responsive element, and anaerobic-induction-responsive element are widely distributed in the promoter regions of CaSWEETs. The expression pattern analysis revealed that CaSWEETs exhibit tissue specificity and are widely involved in pepper growth, development, and stress responses. The post-transcription regulation analysis revealed that 20 pepper miRNAs target and regulate 16 CaSWEETs through cleavage and translation inhibition mechanisms. The pathogen inoculation assay showed that CaSWEET16 and CaSWEET22 function as susceptibility genes, as the overexpression of these genes promotes the colonization of pathogens, whereas CaSWEET31 functions as a resistance gene. In conclusion, through systematic identification and characteristic analysis, a comprehensive understanding of CaSWEET was obtained, which lays the foundation for further studies on the biological functions of SWEET genes.

Insight on Oxygen-Supplying Biomaterials Used to Enhance Cell Survival, Retention, and Engraftment for Tissue Repair.

Oxygen is one of the essential requirements for cell survival, retention, and proliferation. The field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering (TE) has realized considerable achievements for the regeneration of tissues. However, tissue regeneration still lacks the full functionality of solid organ implantations; limited cell survival and retention due to oxidative stress and hypoxia in the deeper parts of tissues remains a perpetual challenge. Especially prior to neovascularization, hypoxia is a major limiting factor, since oxygen delivery becomes crucial for cell survival throughout the tissue-engineered construct. Oxygen diffusion is generally limited in the range 100-200 µm of the thickness of a scaffold, and the cells located beyond this distance face oxygen deprivation, which ultimately leads to hypoxia. Furthermore, before achieving functional anastomosis, implanted tissues will be depleted of oxygen, resulting in hypoxia (<5% dissolved oxygen) followed by anoxic (<0.5% dissolved oxygen) microenvironments. Different types of approaches have been adopted to establish a sustained oxygen supply both in vitro and in vivo. In this review, we have summarized the recent developments in oxygen-generating and/or releasing biomaterials for enhancing cell survival in vitro, as well as for promoting soft and hard tissue repair, including skin, heart, nerve, pancreas, muscle, and bone tissues in vivo. In addition, redox-scavenging biomaterials and oxygenated scaffolds have also been highlighted. The surveyed results have shown significant promise in oxygen-producing biomaterials and oxygen carriers for enhancing cell functionality for regenerative medicine and TE applications. Taken together, this review provides a detailed overview of newer approaches and technologies for oxygen production, as well as their applications for bio-related disciplines.

Associations of plaque morphology and location with Intraplaque neovascularization in the carotid artery by contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging.

Objective: Intraplaque neovascularization (IPN) is a known indicator of plaque vulnerability, and is thus considered a predictor of stroke. The morphology and location of the carotid plaque may be correlated with plaque vulnerability. Therefore, our study aimed to examine the associations of carotid plaque morphology and location with IPN. Methods: A total of 141 patients with carotid atherosclerosis (mean age, 64.99 ± 10.96 years) who underwent carotid contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) between November 2021 and March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. IPN was graded according to the presence and location of microbubbles within the plaque. The association of IPN grade with carotid plaque morphology and location was evaluated using ordered logistic regression. Results: Of the 171 plaques, 89 (52%) were IPN Grade 0, 21 (12.2%) were Grade 1, and 61 (35.6%) were Grade 2. IPN grade significantly associated with both plaque morphology and location, with higher grades observed among Type III morphology and common carotid artery plaques. Significant negative association was further shown between IPN grade and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level. Plaque morphology and location, and HDL-C remained significantly associated with IPN grade after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusion: The location and morphology of carotid plaques were significantly associated with the IPN grade on CEUS, and therefore show potential as biomarkers for plaque vulnerability. Serum HDL-C was also identified as a protective factor against IPN, and may play a role in the management of carotid atherosclerosis. Our study provided a potential strategy for identification of vulnerable carotid plaques and elucidated the important imaging predictors of stroke.

Ultrasonographic evaluation of the rete testis thickness: a promising approach to differentiate obstructive from nonobstructive azoospermia.

This study aimed to evaluate the ability of rete testis thickness (RTT) and testicular shear wave elastography (SWE) to differentiate obstructive azoospermia (OA) from nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). We assessed 290 testes of 145 infertile males with azoospermia and 94 testes of 47 healthy volunteers at Shanghai General Hospital (Shanghai, China) between August 2019 and October 2021. The testicular volume (TV), SWE, and RTT were compared among patients with OA and NOA and healthy controls. The diagnostic performances of the three variables were evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve. The TV, SWE, and RTT in OA differed significantly from those in NOA (all P ≤ 0.001) but were similar to those in healthy controls. Males with OA and NOA were similar at TVs of 9-11 cm 3 ( P = 0.838), with sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, and area under the curve of 50.0%, 84.2%, 0.34, and 0.662 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.502-0.799), respectively, for SWE cut-off of 3.1 kPa; and 94.1%, 79.2%, 0.74, and 0.904 (95% CI: 0.811-0.996), respectively, for RTT cut-off of 1.6 mm. The results showed that RTT performed significantly better than SWE in differentiating OA from NOA in the TV overlap range. In conclusion, ultrasonographic RTT evaluation proved a promising diagnostic approach to differentiate OA from NOA, particularly in the TV overlap range.

Identification of CaPs locus involving in purple stripe formation on unripe fruit, reveals allelic variation and alternative splicing of R2R3-MYB transcription factor in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

The purple color of unripe pepper fruit is attributed to the accumulation of anthocyanins. Only a few genes controlling the biosynthesis and regulation of anthocyanins have been cloned in Capsicum. In this study, we performed a bulked segregant analysis of the purple striped trait using an F2 population derived from a cross between the immature purple striped fruit line Chen12-4-1-1-1-1 and the normal green fruit line Zhongxian101-M-F9. We mapped the CaPs locus to an 841.39 kb region between markers M-CA690-Xba and MCA710-03 on chromosome 10. CA10g11690 encodes an R2R3-MYB transcription factor that is involved in the biosynthesis of anthocyanins as the best candidate gene. Overexpression and silencing in transformed tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) lines indicated that CA10g11690 is involved in the formation of purple stripes in the exocarp. A comparison of parental sequences identified an insertion fragment of 1,926 bp in the second intron region of Chen12-4, and eight SNPs were detected between the two parents. Additionally, there were 49 single nucleotide polymorphic variations, two sequence deletions, and four sequence insertions in the promoter region. We found that CA10g11690 undergoes alternative splicing and generates different transcripts. Thus, the functional transcript of CA10g11690 appeared to be primarily involved in the development of purple phenotype in the exocarp. Our data provide new insight into the mechanism of anthocyanin biosynthesis and a theoretical basis for the future breeding of purple striped pepper varieties.

Ultrasound features for prediction of long-term outcomes of women with primary breast cancer <20 mm.

Background: Some women die despite the favorable prognosis of small breast cancers. Breast ultrasound features may reflect pathological and biological characteristics of a breast tumor. This study aimed to explore whether ultrasound features could identify small breast cancers with poor outcomes. Methods: This retrospective study examined confirmed breast cancers with a size of <20 mm diagnosed in our hospital between 02/2008 and 08/2019. Clinicopathological and ultrasound features were compared between alive and deceased breast cancer patients. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier curves. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the factors associated with breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Results: Among the 790 patients, the median follow-up was 3.5 years. The deceased group showed higher frequencies of spiculated (36.7% vs. 11.2%, P<0.001), anti-parallel orientation (43.3% vs. 15.4%, P<0.001), and spiculated morphology combined with anti-parallel orientation (30.0% vs. 2.4%, P<0.001). Among 27 patients with spiculated morphology and anti-parallel orientation, nine cancer-specific deaths and 11 recurrences occurred, for a 5-year BCSS of 77.8% and DFS of 66.7%, while 21 breast-cancer deaths and 41 recurrences occurred among the remaining patients with higher 5-year BCSS (97.8%, P<0.001) and DFS (95.4%, P<0.001). Spiculated and anti-parallel orientation (HR=7.45, 95%CI: 3.26-17.00; HR=6.42, 95%CI: 3.19-12.93), age ≥55 years (HR=5.94, 95%CI: 2.24-15.72; HR=1.98, 95%CI: 1.11-3.54), and lymph nodes metastasis (HR=3.99, 95%CI: 1.89-8.43; HR=2.99, 95%CI: 1.71-5.23) were independently associated with poor BCSS and DFS. Conclusions: Spiculated and anti-parallel orientation at ultrasound are associated with poor BCSS and DFS in patients with primary breast cancer <20 mm.

Silencing of Pepper CaFtsH1 or CaFtsH8 Genes Alters Normal Leaf Development.

Filamentation temperature-sensitive H (FtsH) is a proteolytic enzyme that plays an important role in plant photomorphogenesis and stress resistance. However, information regarding the FtsH family genes in pepper is limited. In our research, through genome-wide identification, 18 members of the pepper FtsH family (including five FtsHi members) were identified and renamed based on phylogenetic analysis. CaFtsH1 and CaFtsH8 were found to be essential for pepper chloroplast development and photosynthesis because FtsH5 and FtsH2 were lost in Solanaceae diploids. We found that the CaFtsH1 and CaFtsH8 proteins were located in the chloroplasts and specifically expressed in pepper green tissues. Meanwhile, CaFtsH1 and CaFtsH8-silenced plants created by virus-induced gene silencing exhibited albino leaf phenotypes. In addition, CaFtsH1-silenced plants were observed to contain very few dysplastic chloroplasts and lost the capacity for photoautotrophic growth. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the expression of chloroplast-related genes such as those coding the photosynthesis-antenna protein and structural proteins was downregulated in CaFtsH1-silenced plants, resulting in the inability to form normal chloroplasts. This study improves our understanding of pepper chloroplast formation and photosynthesis through the identification and functional study of CaFtsH genes.

Deep learning radiomics of ultrasonography for differentiating sclerosing adenosis from breast cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of our study is to present a method combining radiomics with deep learning and clinical data for improved differential diagnosis of sclerosing adenosis (SA)and breast cancer (BC). METHODS: A total of 97 patients with SA and 100 patients with BC were included in this study. The best model for classification was selected from among four different convolutional neural network (CNN) models, including Vgg16, Resnet18, Resnet50, and Desenet121. The intra-/inter-class correlation coefficient and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method were used for radiomics feature selection. The clinical features selected were patient age and nodule size. The overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, Youden index, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and area under curve (AUC) value were calculated for comparison of diagnostic efficacy. RESULTS: All the CNN models combined with radiomics and clinical data were significantly superior to CNN models only. The Desenet121+radiomics+clinical data model showed the best classification performance with an accuracy of 86.80%, sensitivity of 87.60%, specificity of 86.20% and AUC of 0.915, which was better than that of the CNN model only, which had an accuracy of 85.23%, sensitivity of 85.48%, specificity of 85.02%, and AUC of 0.870. In comparison, the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and AUC value for breast radiologists were 72.08%, 100%, 43.30%, and 0.716, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of the CNN-radiomics model and clinical data could be a helpful auxiliary diagnostic tool for distinguishing between SA and BC.

Carotid plaque score and ischemic stroke risk stratification through a combination of B-mode and contrast-enhanced ultrasound in patients with low and intermediate carotid stenosis.

Objective: The occurrence of ischemic stroke (IS) is closely related to the characteristics of carotid plaque (CP). Due to the effect of stroke risk stratification based on B-mode ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) that has not been studied in patients with low and intermediate carotid stenosis, we construct and validate a CP score and ischemic stroke risk stratification (ISRS) using a combination of B-mode and CEUS, in order to provide new convenient strategies to stratify these patients to prevent stroke. Materials and methods: This retrospective study evaluated 705 patients with low and intermediate carotid stenosis who underwent B-mode and CEUS from November 2021 to April 2023. Qualitative B-mode and CEUS features of carotid plaques were analyzed using a univariable and multivariable logistic regression to construct the CP score. Then, we combined the CP score with Essen stroke risk score (ESRS) to develop ISRS. Results: This study included a total of 705 patients with low and intermediate carotid stenosis, of which 394 were symptomatic patients (with a mean age of 71.03 ± 10.48 years) and 311 were asymptomatic patients (with a mean age of 65.13 ± 10.31 years). Plaque echogenicity, plaque morphology, carotid intima-media thickness in B-mode US and intraplaque neovascularization grading and perfusion pattern in CEUS were significantly associated with IS. The ISRS incorporating these five predictors and ESRS showed good discrimination and calibration in both primary cohort [area under the curve (AUC), 0.91; Hosmer-Lemeshow test, p = 0.903] and validation cohort (AUC, 0.84; Hosmer-Lemeshow test, p = 0.886). Conclusion: We developed an effective and practical tool to identify and stratify patients with low and intermediate carotid stenosis, based on the CP score and ISRS estimation. Our study may provide new insights into managing patients with no indication of surgery.

Multi-parameter ultrasonography-based predictive model for breast cancer diagnosis.

Objectives: To develop, validate, and evaluate a predictive model for breast cancer diagnosis using conventional ultrasonography (US), shear wave elastography (SWE), and contrast-enhanced US (CEUS). Materials and methods: This retrospective study included 674 patients with 674 breast lesions. The data, a main and an independent datasets, were divided into three cohorts. Cohort 1 (80% of the main dataset; n = 448) was analyzed by logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors and establish the predictive model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was analyzed in Cohort 2 (20% of the main dataset; n = 119) to validate and in Cohort 3 (the independent dataset; n = 107) to evaluate the predictive model. Results: Multivariable regression analysis revealed nine independent breast cancer risk factors, including age > 40 years; ill-defined margin, heterogeneity, rich blood flow, and abnormal axillary lymph nodes on US; enhanced area enlargement, contrast agent retention, and irregular shape on CEUS; mean SWE higher than the cutoff value (P < 0.05 for all). The diagnostic performance of the model was good, with AUC values of 0.847, 0.857, and 0.774 for Cohorts 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The model increased the diagnostic specificity (from 31% to 81.3% and 7.3% to 73.1% in cohorts 2 and 3, respectively) without a significant loss in sensitivity (from 100.0% to 90.1% and 100.0% to 81.8% in cohorts 2 and 3, respectively). Conclusion: The multi-parameter US-based model showed good performance in breast cancer diagnosis, improving specificity without a significant loss in sensitivity. Using the model could reduce unnecessary biopsies and guide clinical diagnosis and treatment.

A Convolutional Neural Network Based on Ultrasound Images of Primary Breast Masses: Prediction of Lymph-Node Metastasis in Collaboration With Classification of Benign and Malignant Tumors.

Purpose: A convolutional neural network (CNN) can perform well in either of two independent tasks [classification and axillary lymph-node metastasis (ALNM) prediction] based on breast ultrasound (US) images. This study is aimed to investigate the feasibility of performing the two tasks simultaneously. Methods: We developed a multi-task CNN model based on a self-built dataset containing 5911 breast US images from 2131 patients. A hierarchical loss (HL) function was designed to relate the two tasks. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, precision, F1-score, and analyses of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and heatmaps were calculated. A radiomics model was built by the PyRadiomics package. Results: The sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve (AUC) of our CNN model for classification and ALNM tasks were 83.5%, 71.6%, 0.878 and 76.9%, 78.3%, 0.836, respectively. The inconsistency error of ALNM prediction corrected by HL function decreased from 7.5% to 4.2%. Predictive ability of the CNN model for ALNM burden (≥3 or ≥4) was 77.3%, 62.7%, and 0.752, and 66.6%, 76.8%, and 0.768, respectively, for sensitivity, specificity and AUC. Conclusion: The proposed multi-task CNN model highlights its novelty in simultaneously distinguishing breast lesions and indicating nodal burden through US, which is valuable for "personalized" treatment.

Ultrasonic multimodality imaging features and the classification value of nonpuerperal mastitis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the value of ultrasonic multimodality imaging for characterizing nonpuerperal mastitis (NPM) lesions and feasibility of distinguishing different subtypes. METHODS: Thirty-eight NPM lesions were assessed using conventional ultrasonography (US), strain elastography (SE), and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The lesions were confirmed pathologically and classified as granulomatous lobular mastitis (GLM), plasma cell mastitis (PCM), or nonspecific mastitis (NSM). Furthermore, diagnostic indicators were evaluated. The diagnostic performances of the modalities were compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). RESULTS: The overall morphological features on US differed significantly between the GLM and PCM groups (p = 0.002). Lesion size (≤10 mm) (p = 0.003) and mean SE score (p = 0.001) differed significantly between the PCM and NSM groups. The frequent NPM characteristic on CEUS was hyperenhancement with (or without) increased lesion size; intergroup differences were not significant. Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System > 3 was considered to indicate malignancy; accordingly, the accuracy of US alone, US with CEUS, and US with SE was 10.5%, 21.1%, and 65.8%, respectively. Moreover, the AUC for US with SE for classifying GLM and PCM was 0.616. CONCLUSION: CEUS cannot accurately classify NPM subtypes, while US and SE are valuable for classification.

The association between conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound appearances and pathological features in small breast cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between ultrasound appearances and pathological features in small breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 186 small breast cancers in 186 patients were analyzed in this retrospective study from January 2015 to December 2019 according to pathological results. Forty-seven cases of axillary lymph node metastasis were found. All patients underwent radical axillary surgery following conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examinations. The association between ultrasound appearances and pathological features was analyzed using univariate distributions and multivariate analysis. Then, a logistic regression model was established using the pathological diagnosis of lymph node metastasis and biochemical indicators as the dependent variable and the ultrasound appearances as independent variables. RESULTS: In small breast cancer, risk factors of axillary lymph node metastasis were crab claw-like enhancement on CEUS and abnormal axillary lymph nodes on US. The logistic regression model was established as follows: (axillary lymph node metastasis) = 1.100×(crab claw-like enhancement of CEUS) + 2.749×(abnormal axillary lymph nodes of US) -5.790. In addition, irregular shape on CEUS and posterior echo attenuation on US were risk factors for both positive estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor expression, whereas calcification on US was a risk factor for positive Her-2 expression. A specific relationship could be found using the following logistic models: (positive ER expression) = 1.367×(irregular shape of CEUS) + 1.441×(posterior echo attenuation of US) -5.668; (positive PR expression) = 1.265×(irregular shape of CEUS) + 1.136×(posterior echo attenuation of US) -4.320; (positive Her-2 expression) = 1.658×(calcification of US) -0.896. CONCLUSION: Logistic models were established to provide significant value for the prediction of pre-operative lymph node metastasis and positive biochemical indicators, which may guide clinical treatment.

Transcriptome profiling of Capsicum annuum using Illumina- and PacBio SMRT-based RNA-Seq for in-depth understanding of genes involved in trichome formation.

Trichomes, specialized epidermal cells located in aerial parts of plants, play indispensable roles in resisting abiotic and biotic stresses. However, the regulatory genes essential for multicellular trichrome development in Capsicum annuum L. (pepper) remain unclear. In this study, the transcript profiles of peppers GZZY-23 (hairy) and PI246331 (hairless) were investigated to gain insights into the genes responsible for the formation of multicellular trichomes. A total of 40,079 genes, including 4743 novel genes and 13,568 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), were obtained. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the most noticeable pathways were transcription factor activity, sequence-specific DNA binding, and plant hormone signal transduction, which might be critical for multicellular trichome formation in hairy plants. We screened 11 DEGs related to trichome development; 151 DEGs involved in plant hormone signal transduction; 312 DEGs belonging to the MYB, bHLH, HD-Zip, and zinc finger transcription factor families; and 1629 DEGs predicted as plant resistance genes (PRGs). Most of these DEGs were highly expressed in GZZY-23 or trichomes. Several homologs of trichome regulators, such as SlCycB2, SlCycB3, and H, were considerably upregulated in GZZY-23, especially in the trichomes. The transcriptomic data generated in this study provide a basis for future characterization of trichome formation in pepper.

Transcriptome analysis reveals defense-related genes and pathways against Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

Bacterial spot (BS), incited by Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv), is one of the most serious diseases of pepper. For a comparative analysis of defense responses to Xcv infection, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of a susceptible cultivar, ECW, and a resistant cultivar, VI037601, using the HiSeqTM 2500 sequencing platform. Approximately 120.23 G clean bases were generated from 18 libraries. From the libraries generated, a total of 38,269 expressed genes containing 11,714 novel genes and 11,232 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the most noticeable pathways were plant-pathogen interaction, MAPK signaling pathway-plant, plant hormone signal transduction and secondary metabolisms. 1,599 potentially defense-related genes linked to pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), calcium signaling, and transcription factors may regulate pepper resistance to Xcv. Moreover, after Xcv inoculation, 364 DEGs differentially expressed only in VI037601 and 852 genes in both ECW and VI037601. Many of those genes were classified as NBS-LRR genes, oxidoreductase gene, WRKY and NAC transcription factors, and they were mainly involved in metabolic process, response to stimulus and biological regulation pathways. Quantitative RT-PCR of sixteen selected DEGs further validated the RNA-seq differential gene expression analysis. Our results will provide a valuable resource for understanding the molecular mechanisms of pepper resistance to Xcv infection and improving pepper resistance cultivars against Xcv.

Genome-wide identification and function characterization of GATA transcription factors during development and in response to abiotic stresses and hormone treatments in pepper.

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop whose production and quality are severely reduced under adverse environmental stress conditions. The GATA transcription factors belonging to type IV zinc-finger proteins, play a significant role in regulating light morphogenesis, nitrate assimilation, and organ development in plants. However, the functional characteristics of GATA gene family during development and in response to environmental stresses have not yet been investigated in pepper. In this study, a total of 28 pepper GATA (CaGATA) genes were identified. To gain an overview of the CaGATAs, we analyzed their chromosomal distribution, gene structure, conservative domains, cis-elements, phylogeny, and evolutionary relationship. We divided 28 CaGATAs into four groups distributed on 10 chromosomes, and identified 7 paralogs in CaGATA family of pepper and 35 orthologous gene pairs between CaGATAs and Arabidopsis GATAs (AtGATAs). The results of promoter cis-element analysis and the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed that CaGATA genes were involved in regulating the plant growth and development and the responses to various abiotic stresses and hormone treatments in pepper. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that most CaGATA genes were preferentially expressed in flower buds, flowers, and leaves. Several CaGATA genes, especially CaGATA14, were significantly regulated under multiple abiotic stresses, and CaGATA21 and CaGATA27 were highly responsive to phytohormone treatments. Taken together, our results lay a foundation for the biological function analysis of GATA gene family in pepper.

Conventional and contrast-enhanced ultrasound features in sclerosing adenosis and correlation with pathology.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in differential diagnosis of sclerosing adenosis (SA) from malignance and investigate the correlated features with pathology. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 103 pathologically confirmed SA. All lesions were evaluated with conventional US while 31 lesions with CEUS. Lesions were divided into SA with or without benign lesions (Group 1, n = 81) and SA with malignancy (Group 2, n = 22). Performance of two methods were analyzed. The ultrasonographic characteristics were compared between two groups with Student's t-test for measurement and chi-squared or Fisher's exact test for count data. RESULTS: There were 22 lesions complicated with malignancy, and the mean age of Group 2 was higher than Group 1 (55.27 vs. 41.57, p < 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of conventional US and CEUS were 95.45%, 46.91%, 57.28% and 100%, 62.5%, 70.97%. Angularity (p < 0.001), spicules (p = 0.023), calcification (p = 0.026) and enlarged scope (p = 0.012) or crab claw-like enhancement (p = 0.008) in CEUS were more frequent detected in SA with malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: Though CEUS showed an improved accuracy, the performance of ultrasound in the diagnosis of SA was limited. Awareness and careful review of the histopathologically related imaging features can be helpful in the diagnosis of SA.

Pepper Crop Improvement Against Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV): A Review.

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is a prevalent virus affecting the quality and yield of pepper, resulting in yield losses of greater than 80% during severe local epidemics. Cultural practices and the heavy use of agrochemicals are the most common control measures for CMV. Sources of resistance provide a practical reference and a basis for breeding for CMV resistance. Genetic factors underlying CMV resistance have been studied and advanced breeding lines and cultivars with improved resistance have been developed by traditional breeding methods. Additionally, QTLs or genes for CMV resistance have been identified and can be utilized for marker-assisted resistance breeding. This review focuses on status and prospect of CMV against different virus strains, host resistance, and its applied genetics. With the advent of novel technologies, more useful markers and precise approaches can facilitate the progress for improving CMV resistance in Capsicum.