Pathogen lifestyle determines host genetic signature of quantitative disease resistance loci in oilseed rape (Brassica napus).

KEY MESSAGE: Using associative transcriptomics, our study identifies genes conferring resistance to four diverse fungal pathogens in crops, emphasizing key genetic determinants of multi-pathogen resistance. Crops are affected by several pathogens, but these are rarely studied in parallel to identify common and unique genetic factors controlling diseases. Broad-spectrum quantitative disease resistance (QDR) is desirable for crop breeding as it confers resistance to several pathogen species. Here, we use associative transcriptomics (AT) to identify candidate gene loci associated with Brassica napus constitutive QDR to four contrasting fungal pathogens: Alternaria brassicicola, Botrytis cinerea, Pyrenopeziza brassicae, and Verticillium longisporum. We did not identify any shared loci associated with broad-spectrum QDR to fungal pathogens with contrasting lifestyles. Instead, we observed QDR dependent on the lifestyle of the pathogen-hemibiotrophic and necrotrophic pathogens had distinct QDR responses and associated loci, including some loci associated with early immunity. Furthermore, we identify a genomic deletion associated with resistance to V. longisporum and potentially broad-spectrum QDR. This is the first time AT has been used for several pathosystems simultaneously to identify host genetic loci involved in broad-spectrum QDR. We highlight constitutive expressed candidate loci for broad-spectrum QDR with no antagonistic effects on susceptibility to the other pathogens studies as candidates for crop breeding. In conclusion, this study represents an advancement in our understanding of broad-spectrum QDR in B. napus and is a significant resource for the scientific community.

Paeoniflorin increases the anti-tumor efficacy of sorafenib in tumor-bearing mice with liver cancer via suppressing the NF-κb/PD-l1 axis.

Background: Sorafenib (Sor) represents a first-line therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, its efficacy is constrained by secondary failure, which limits its clinical use. Recent studies have indicated that the suppression of Programmed cell death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) may potentiate Sor's anti-liver cancer effects; furthermore, PD-L1 expression is known to be regulated by NF-κB. Previous research has demonstrated that paeoniflorin (PF) downregulates the NF-κB axis, nevertheless, current research has not yet determined whether PF can synergistically enhance the efficacy of Sor against HCC by modulating the NF-κB/PD-L1 pathway. Methods: The study employed a H22 hepatoma-bearing mouse model, which was treated with PF, Sor, and their combination over a period of 12 days. The impact of PF and Sor on tumor growth, proliferation, apoptosis, T-cell subsets, IL-2 and IFN-γ production, and NF-κB and PD-L1 expression was assessed. Moreover, Splenic lymphocyte from normal mice and tumor cells from model mice were co-cultured in vitro, and the tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity was analyzed. In the final phase of the study, Huh-7 cells were stimulated with PF in combination with an NF-κB activator or inhibitor, and the subsequent production of NF-κB and PD-L1 was investigated. Results: PF and Sor exhibit a synergistic anti-tumor effect, compared to the use of Sor alone, the combined use of PF and Sor significantly increased the number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in tumor tissue, markedly enhanced the cytotoxic activity of tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and reversed the depletion of interleukin-2 and the increase in PD-L1 expression following Sor intervention. This combination also further reduced the level of IFN-γ in peripheral blood and the expression of NF-κB and PD-L1 in tumor tissue. Additionally, in vitro experiments confirmed that PF reduces the expression of PD-L1 in Huh-7 liver cancer cells by inhibiting NF-κB. Conclusions: PF plays a synergistic role of Sor inhibiting HCC progression by regulating the NF-κB/PD-L1 pathway.

Determination of Sugars and Acids in Grape Must Using Miniaturized Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

An automatic determination of grape must ingredients during the harvesting process would support cellar logistics and enables an early termination of the harvest if quality parameters are not met. One of the most important quality-determining characteristics of grape must is its sugar and acid content. Among others, the sugars in particular determine the quality of the must and wine. Chiefly in wine cooperatives, in which a third of all German winegrowers are organized, these quality characteristics serve as the basis for payment. They are acquired upon delivery at the cellar of the cooperative or the winery and result in the acceptance or rejection of grapes and must. The whole process is very time-consuming and expensive, and sometimes grapes that do not meet the quality requirements for sweetness, acidity, or healthiness are destroyed or not used at all, which leads to economic loss. Near-infrared spectroscopy is now a widely used technique to detect a wide variety of ingredients in biological samples. In this study, a miniaturized semi-automated prototype apparatus with a near-infrared sensor and a flow cell was used to acquire spectra (1100 nm to 1350 nm) of grape must at defined temperatures. Data of must samples from four different red and white Vitis vinifera (L.) varieties were recorded throughout the whole growing season of 2021 in Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. Each sample consisted of 100 randomly sampled berries from the entire vineyard. The contents of the main sugars (glucose and fructose) and acids (malic acid and tartaric acid) were determined with high-performance liquid chromatography. Chemometric methods, using partial least-square regression and leave-one-out cross-validation, provided good estimates of both sugars (RMSEP = 6.06 g/L, R2 = 89.26%), as well as malic acid (RMSEP = 1.22 g/L, R2 = 91.10%). The coefficient of determination (R2) was comparable for glucose and fructose with 89.45% compared to 89.08%, respectively. Although tartaric acid was predictable for only two of the four varieties using near-infrared spectroscopy, calibration and validation for malic acid were accurate for all varieties in an equal extent like the sugars. These high prediction accuracies for the main quality determining grape must ingredients using this miniaturized prototype apparatus might enable an installation on a grape harvester in the future.

The soil bacterial community regulates germination of Plasmodiophora brassicae resting spores rather than root exudates.

Clubroot, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, is a severe soil-borne disease that restricts the production of cruciferous crops worldwide. A better understanding of biotic and abiotic factors regulating germination of P. brassicae resting spores in the soil is significant for developing novel control methods. Previous studies reported that root exudates can trigger P. brassicae resting spore germination, thus enabling a targeted attack of P. brassicae on host plant roots. However, we found that native root exudates collected under sterile conditions from host or non-host plants cannot stimulate the germination of sterile spores, indicating that root exudates may not be direct stimulation factors. Instead, our studies demonstrate that soil bacteria are essential for triggering germination. Through 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing analysis, we found that certain carbon sources and nitrate can reshape the initial microbial community to an inducing community leading to the germination of P. brassicae resting spores. The stimulating communities significantly differed in composition and abundance of bacterial taxa compared to the non-stimulating ones. Several enriched bacterial taxa in stimulating community were significantly correlated with spore germination rates and may be involved as stimulation factors. Based on our findings, a multi-factorial 'pathobiome' model comprising abiotic and biotic factors is proposed to represent the putative plant-microbiome-pathogen interactions associated with breaking spore dormancy of P. brassicae in soil. This study presents novel views on P. brassicae pathogenicity and lays the foundation for novel sustainable control strategies of clubroot.

Renal impairment may indicate postoperative low vision in young patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy undergoing vitrectomy.

Objective: To innovatively evaluate the impact of renal impairment in young work age patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) on their visuality after vitrectomy. Methods: To find out whether it is possible to better predict the improvement of visual acuity after vitrectomy in working-age people without adding additional preoperative testing. In view of the fact that diabetic retinopathy and diabetic nephropathy are common diabetic complications of microvascular damage, it is considered whether preoperative renal function can be used as this evaluation index. This paper studies the design under this theme. This retrospective study included 306 patients (306 eyes) diagnosed with PDR and undergoing vitrectomy in our hospital from January 2016 to June 2023. Relevant baseline data were collected, including age, history of kidney disease and clinical laboratory test results. According to the International Standard Logarithmic Visual Acuity Checklist, the best corrected visual acuity was tested on the first day of admission and one month after surgery, and the difference between the two was subtracted. A difference >0 was defined as "vision improved". Patients were classified as vision-improved group (n=245) and non-improved group (n=61). The differences in baseline serum urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, Cystatin C, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urine protein distribution between the two groups were statistically analyzed, binary regression analysis was performed for meaningful parameters, and random forest model ranked the characteristics in importance. Results: 1.A higher level of serum cystatin C [1.02(0.80,1.48) mg/L vs 0.86(0.67,1.12) mg/L, P<0.001] and a lower eGFR [82.3(50.33, 115.11) ml/(min/1.73m²) vs 107.69(73.9, 126.01) ml/(min/1.73m²), P=0.002] appeared in the non-(vision-)improved group compared with the vision-improved group. 2. The occurrence of preoperation proteinuria history of nephropathy take a larger proportion in non-improved group. 3. Univariate regression analysis showed history of nephrology (OR=1.887, P=0.028), preoperative serum urea nitrogen (OR=0.939, P=0.043), cystatin C (Cys-C) concentration (OR=0.75, P=0.024), eGFR (OR=1.011, P=0.003) and proteinuria (OR=3.128, P<0.001) were influencing factors to postoperative visual acuity loss in young working age PDR patients. Excluding other confounding factors, preoperative proteinuria is an independent risk factor for postoperative vision improvement in working-age PDR populations (OR=2.722, P=0.009). 4. The accuracy of the prediction random forst model is 0.81. The model appears to be superior in terms of positive prediction. Conclusion: In young work aged PDR patients undergoing vitrectomy, preoperative urine protein can be an independent indicator of postoperative visual loss. Aggressive correction of kidney injury before surgery may help improve postoperative vision in patients with PDR.

Effects of Sensitized Sorafenib with a Paeoniflorin and Geniposide Mixture on Liver Cancer via the NF-κB-HIF-2α-SerpinB3 Pathway.

Purpose: This study focused on determining the anticancer effect of paeoniflorin and geniposide mixture (PFGS) combined with sorafenib (Sor) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and, in particular, whether PFGS increases the antitumor effect of Sor by modulating the NF-κB/HIF-2α/SerpinB3 pathway. Methods: The H22 hepatoma tumor-bearing mouse model was treated with PFGS, Sor, and a combination of the two drugs for 12 days. The effects of PFGS combined with Sor on tumor growth and apoptosis and the expression of NF-κB, HIF-2α, and SerpinB3 in tumor tissue were assessed. In addition, Sor-resistant hepatoma cells were treated with PFGS, Sor, and the combination of the two drugs in vitro. The effects of PFGS combined with Sor on cell proliferation and invasion and the protein expression of NF-κB p65, HIF-2α, and SerpinB3 were investigated. Results: PFGS combined with Sor treatment synergistically inhibited tumor growth in HCC tumor-bearing mice. Immunostaining showed that PFGS combined with Sor treatment significantly decreased the expression of Ki-67 and obviously induced apoptosis in the tumor compared with a single treatment. Similarly, PFGS combined with Sor treatment significantly downregulated the expression of NF-κB, HIF-2α, and SerpinB3 in the tumor compared with a single treatment. Additionally, PFGS combined with Sor markedly inhibited cell proliferation and invasion and activation of the NF-κB/HIF-2α/SerpinB3 pathway in Sor-resistant hepatoma cells compared with a single treatment. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that PFGS synergistically increased the antiliver cancer effects of Sor by lowering activation of the NF-κB/HIF-2α/SerpinB3 pathway. These findings provided a scientific foundation for clinical studies using PFGS and Sor to treat liver cancer.

A Novel Deep Transfer Learning Method for Intelligent Fault Diagnosis Based on Variational Mode Decomposition and Efficient Channel Attention.

In recent years, deep learning has been applied to intelligent fault diagnosis and has achieved great success. However, the fault diagnosis method of deep learning assumes that the training dataset and the test dataset are obtained under the same operating conditions. This condition can hardly be met in real application scenarios. Additionally, signal preprocessing technology also has an important influence on intelligent fault diagnosis. How to effectively relate signal preprocessing to a transfer diagnostic model is a challenge. To solve the above problems, we propose a novel deep transfer learning method for intelligent fault diagnosis based on Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD) and Efficient Channel Attention (ECA). In the proposed method, the VMD adaptively matches the optimal center frequency and finite bandwidth of each mode to achieve effective separation of signals. To fuse the mode features more effectively after VMD decomposition, ECA is used to learn channel attention. The experimental results show that the proposed signal preprocessing and feature fusion module can increase the accuracy and generality of the transfer diagnostic model. Moreover, we comprehensively analyze and compare our method with state-of-the-art methods at different noise levels, and the results show that our proposed method has better robustness and generalization performance.

Deep Transfer Network with Multi-Space Dynamic Distribution Adaptation for Bearing Fault Diagnosis.

Domain adaptation-based bearing fault diagnosis methods have recently received high attention. However, the extracted features in these methods fail to adequately represent fault information due to the versatility of the work scenario. Moreover, most existing adaptive methods attempt to align the feature space of domains by calculating the sum of marginal distribution distance and conditional distribution distance, without considering variable cross-domain diagnostic scenarios that provide significant cues for fault diagnosis. To address the above problems, we propose a deep convolutional multi-space dynamic distribution adaptation (DCMSDA) model, which consists of two core components: two feature extraction modules and a dynamic distribution adaptation module. Technically, a multi-space structure is proposed in the feature extraction module to fully extract fault features of the marginal distribution and conditional distribution. In addition, the dynamic distribution adaptation module utilizes different metrics to capture distribution discrepancies, as well as an adaptive coefficient to dynamically measure the alignment proportion in complex cross-domain scenarios. This study compares our method with other advanced methods, in detail. The experimental results show that the proposed method has excellent diagnosis performance and generalization performance. Furthermore, the results further demonstrate the effectiveness of each transfer module proposed in our model.

SmartSpectrometer-Embedded Optical Spectroscopy for Applications in Agriculture and Industry.

The ongoing digitization of industry and agriculture can benefit significantly from optical spectroscopy. In many cases, optical spectroscopy enables the estimation of properties such as substance concentrations and compositions. Spectral data can be acquired and evaluated in real time, and the results can be integrated directly into process and automation units, saving resources and costs. Multivariate data analysis is needed to integrate optical spectrometers as sensors. Therefore, a spectrometer with integrated artificial intelligence (AI) called SmartSpectrometer and its interface is presented. The advantages of the SmartSpectrometer are exemplified by its integration into a harvesting vehicle, where quality is determined by predicting sugar and acid in grapes in the field.

BMP4-regulated human dental pulp stromal cells promote pulp-like tissue regeneration in a decellularized dental pulp matrix scaffold.

Pulp regeneration with stem cells is a promising alternative for treating periapical and pulp diseases of young permanent teeth. The aim of this study was to characterize decellularized dental pulp extracellular matrix (dECM) and investigate whether bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) regulates dental pulp stromal cells (DPSC)-mediated pulp regeneration combined with dECM. Dental pulp isolated from healthy third molars was decellularized with 10% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Triton X-100. H&E staining, DAPI staining and electron microscopy were used to observe the dECM structure. The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay was used to analyse cell proliferation. Recombinant adenovirus was used to overexpress BMP4 in DPSCs. The cells were cultured in dECM and dECM + three-dimensional (3D) Vitrogel systems, and bone/dentin/angiogenesis marker expression was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and ALP staining. DPSCs mixed with dECM and BMP4 were transplanted into nude mice, and pulp-like tissue formation was evaluated. The expression of osteogenic and angioblastic genes was increased, and pulp-like tissue formed in vivo. Thus, dECM promotes DPSC proliferation, BMP4 and dECM together accelerate pulp-like tissue formation by DPSCs in vitro.

Role of Salicylic Acid and Components of the Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Basal and Cultivar-Related Resistance of Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus) to Verticillium longisporum.

Enhanced resistance is a key strategy of controlling 'Verticillium stem striping' in Brassica napus caused by the soil-borne vascular pathogen Verticillium longisporum. The present study analyses the role of a broad range of components in the phenylpropanoid and salicylic acid (SA) pathways in basal and cultivar-related resistance of B. napus towards V. longisporum. A remarkable increase of susceptibility to V. longisporum in SA-deficient transgenic NahG plants indicated an essential role of SA in basal resistance of B. napus to V. longisporum. Accordingly, elevated SA levels were also found in a resistant and not in a susceptible cultivar during early asymptomatic stages of infection (7 dpi), which was associated with increased expression of PR1 and PR2. In later symptomatic stages (14 or 21 dpi), SA responses did not differ anymore between cultivars varying in resistance. In parallel, starting at 7 dpi, an overall increase in phenylpropanoid syntheses developed in the resistant cultivar, including the activity of some key enzymes, phenylalanine ammonium lyase (PAL), cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) and peroxidase (POX) and the expression of key genes, PAL4, CCoAMT, CCR, POX. As a consequence, a remarkable increase in the levels of phenolic acids (t-cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, sinapic acid) occurred associated with cultivar resistance. A principal component analysis including all 27 traits studied indicated that component 1 related to SA synthesis (PR1, PR2, POX, level of free SA) and component 2 related to lignin synthesis (level of free ferulic acid, free p-coumaric acid, conjugated t-cinnamic acid) were the strongest factors to determine cultivar-related resistance. This study provides evidence that both SA and phenolic acid synthesis are important in cultivar-related resistance, however, with differential roles during asymptomatic and symptomatic stages of infection.

Contrasting Patterns of Colonization with Verticillium longisporum in Winter- and Spring-Type Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus) in the Field and Greenhouse and the Role of Soil Temperature.

Oilseed rape, an important source of vegetable plant oil, is threatened by Verticillium longisporum, a soil-borne vascular fungal pathogen so far occurring in oilseed rape growing regions in Europe and Canada. Despite intensive research into V. longisporum in the last decades in controlled conditions, basic knowledge is still lacking about the time course of infection, temporal pattern of colonization, and disease development on field-grown plants. In this study, colonization of roots, stem bases, and stems with V. longisporum was followed by real-time PCR from the seedling until mature plant stages in 2-year field experiments with microsclerotia-infested plots and either spring-type or autumn-sown (winter-type) oilseed rape cultivars. The temporal pattern of plant colonization differed between greenhouse and field-grown oilseed rape and between spring- and winter-type plants in the field. Within 28 to 35 days, a continuous systemic colonization with V. longisporum was detected in roots and shoots of young plants in the greenhouse associated with significant stunting. In contrast, real-time PCR analysis of V. longisporum in field-grown winter oilseed rape plants displayed a strongly discontinuous colonization pattern with low fungal growth in roots during juvenile growth stages until flowering, whereas in spring oilseed rape, no root colonization was observed until early flowering stages. Hence, stem colonization with the pathogen required 6 months in winter oilseed rape and 1 month in spring oilseed rape from the time of initial root infection. The different patterns of stem colonization were related to soil temperature. Average soil temperatures in 5-cm depth during 7 days before sampling time points from 2 years of field experiments displayed a significant relationship with fungal colonization in the root. A climate chamber inoculation trial with soil temperature levels that varied from 6 to 18°C revealed a threshold temperature of >12°C in the soil to enable root invasion. This soil condition is reached in winter-type oilseed rape in the field in Germany either until the eight-leaf stage in early autumn or after pod stage in spring, whereas in spring-sown oilseed rape early root infection is delayed owing to the cool conditions during juvenile growth stages. The delay of stem colonization in field-grown oilseed rape may explain the lack of stunting as observed in the greenhouse and the previously reported inconsistent effects of V. longisporum on yield levels and seed quality, which were confirmed in this study.

Potential for Seed Transmission of Verticillium longisporum in Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus).

Verticillium longisporum is a soilborne vascular fungal pathogen that has spread throughout the European oilseed rape cultivation area since the 1980s and was detected in canola fields in Canada in 2014. In a series of greenhouse and field inoculation experiments using V. longisporum-resistant and susceptible cultivars of winter and spring types of oilseed rape, the present study investigated the potential of V. longisporum dissemination by seeds of Brassica napus. Greenhouse inoculation studies with a DsRed-labeled isolate of V. longisporum confirmed the systemic growth of the pathogen from roots to seeds. Further monitoring of plant colonization in the greenhouse with a species-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction assay verified the pathogen growth from roots to stem bases, pods, and seeds in root-inoculated plants. The frequency of recovery of viable colonies of V. longisporum from seeds harvested from greenhouse-grown inoculated plants ranged from 0.08 to 13.3%. The frequency of seed transmission in the greenhouse differed in oilseed rape cultivars varying in susceptibility to V. longisporum. Subsequent studies on transmission of the disease into the offspring revealed that only 1.7 to 2.3% of plants showed disease symptoms as confirmed by the formation of microsclerotia in the stems. Results from field-grown plants differed from the greenhouse studies. The degree of seed transmission in the field was dependent on the crop type. Although only low concentrations of DNA of V. longisporum were detectable in seeds harvested from severely infected winter oilseed rape, significantly greater concentrations of fungal DNA were found in seeds of spring-type oilseed rape, at similar soil conditions and inoculum densities. Correspondingly, plating seeds that were harvested from infected plants on agar yielded viable V. longisporum colonies only from seeds of the spring-type but not of the winter-type plants. Lack of seed infection in the winter-type crop was confirmed in two seasons. Equally, none of the offspring grown from seeds from severely diseased winter oilseed rape plants developed symptoms of Verticillium stem striping. The results suggest that the rate of seed transmission of V. longisporum depends on the degree of plant colonization, which is significantly faster under greenhouse than field conditions and in a spring-sown crop compared with an autumn-sown oilseed rape crop. According to our studies, disease transmission by seeds from European winter oilseed rape production cannot be confirmed.

Transcriptome Analysis on Maternal Separation Rats With Depression-Related Manifestations Ameliorated by Electroacupuncture.

Maternal separation (MS), a stressful event in early life, has been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders later in life, especially depression. In this study we investigated whether treatment with electroacupuncture (EA) could ameliorate depression-related manifestations in adult animals that had adverse early life experiences. We demonstrated depression-like behavior deficiencies in a sucrose preference test and a forced swimming test in a rat model with neonatal MS. Repeated EA treatment at the acupoints Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29) during adulthood was shown to be remarkably attenuated above behavioral deficits. Using unbiased genome-wide RNA sequencing to investigate alterations in the transcriptome of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), we explored the altered gene sets involved in circadian rhythm and neurotransmitter transporter activity in MS rats, and their expression tended to be reversed after EA treatment. In addition, we analyzed the interaction network of differentiated lncRNA- or circRNA-miRNA-mRNA by using the principle of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA). These results suggest that EA at GV20 and GV29 ameliorates depression-related manifestations by regulating the expression of multiple genes.

Risk factors and clinical significance of acute kidney injury after on-pump or off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting: a propensity score-matched study.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to investigate risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and the impact of AKI on short-term outcomes. METHODS: Data on 1395 patients (1261 who had isolated CABG and 134 with other operations) who underwent non-emergent CABG from January 2013 to March 2016 were retrospectively collected from a single centre. Logistic regression was performed to analyse risk factors. Cox regression was used to analyse the impact of AKI on the postoperative 30-day death rate. A 1:1 propensity score matching was performed to balance the baseline characteristics. RESULTS: The incidence of AKI with on-pump and off-pump coronary artery bypass was 10.4% and 3.5%, respectively. With logistic regression, duration of surgery was a risk factor for AKI (stage ≥2); previous hypertension, preoperative renal function insufficiency and the presence of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were risk factors for mild AKI (stage ≥1). CPB time >207.5 min could be used to predict AKI (sensitivity 79.2%, specificity 78.6%) in the combined group. After adjusting for the duration of the operation, postoperative AKI (stage ≥1) was a risk factor for 30-day death and there was no difference in the 30-day death rate between on-pump and off-pump CABG. CONCLUSIONS: The use of CPB was a risk factor for mild AKI that did not affect the 30-day death rate of CABG whereas moderate to severe AKI caused by prolonged CPB time associated with surgical complexity affected the 30-day death rate. AKI may indicate surgical injury. The decision to use the on- or off-pump technique does not affect the 30-day death rate of CABG.

Rearrangement of mitochondrial tRNA genes in flat bugs (Hemiptera: Aradidae).

The typical insect mitochondrial (mt) genome organization, which contains a single chromosome with 37 genes, was found in the infraorder Pentatomomorpha (suborder Heteroptera). The arrangement of mt genes in these true bugs is usually the same as the ancestral mt gene arrangement of insects. Rearrangement of transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, however, has been found in two subfamilies of flat bugs (Mezirinae and Calisiinae, family Aradidae). In this study, we sequenced the complete mt genomes of four species from three other subfamilies (Aradinae, Carventinae and Aneurinae). We found tRNA gene rearrangement in all of these four species. All of the rearranged tRNA genes are located between the mitochondrial control region and cox1, indicating this region as a hotspot for gene rearrangement in flat bugs; the rearrangement is likely caused by events of tandem duplication and random deletion of genes. Furthermore, our phylogenetic and dating analyses indicated that the swap of positions between trnQ and trnI occurred ~162 million years ago (MYA) in the most recent common ancestor of the five subfamilies of flat bugs investigated to date, whereas the swap of positions between trnC and trnW occurred later in the lineage leading to Calisiinae, and the translocation of trnC and trnY occurred later than 134 MYA in the lineage leading to Aradinae.