Mutation of TL1, encoding a novel C2H2 zinc finger protein, improves grains eating and cooking quality in rice.

KEY MESSAGE: The cloning and characterization of a novel C2H2 zinc finger protein that affects rice eating and cooking quality by regulating amylose content and amylopectin chain-length distribution in rice. One of the major objectives in rice breeding aims to increase simultaneously yield and grain quality especially eating and cooking quality (ECQ). Controlling amylose content (AC) and amylopectin chain-length distribution (ACLD) in rice is a major strategy for improving rice ECQ. Previous studies show that some starch synthesis-related genes (SSRGs) are required for normal AC and ACLD, but its underlying regulating network is still unclear. Here, we report the cloning and characterization of a novel C2H2 zinc finger protein TL1 (Translucent endosperm 1) that positively regulates amylose synthesis in rice grains. Loss of TL1 function reduced apparent amylose content (AAC), total starch, gel consistency, and gelatinisation temperature, whereas increased viscosity, total lipid, and ratio of amylopectin A chains with degree of polymerization (DP) 6-12 to B1 chains with DP 13-24, resulting in an enhanced grain ECQ. The improved ECQ was accompanied by altered expression patterns of several tested SSRGs in tl1 mutant grains. Furthermore, knockout of TL1 in the high-yielding rice variety JiaHua NO.1 reduced AAC without obvious side effects on major agronomic traits. These findings expand our understanding of the regulating networks of grain starch metabolism and provide new insights into how rice ECQ quality can be improved via genetic approach.

Influence of diet and dietary nanoparticles on gut dysbiosis.

Human gut comprises of a huge mixture of microorganisms as they had co-existed for millions of years. The change in co-existence of microbial genera leads to dysbiosis, which creates several disorders in humans. Diet and diet associated agents can have a considerable influence on host health by regulating the gut microbiome, which can thereby maintain the homeostasis of the gut. Analysis of the gut microbiome and the agents that can have an influence on the gut need a profound understanding, which is the need of the hour. The current review therefore focuses on the influence of diet and dietary nanoparticles on the gut microbiota and their positive or adverse effect.

Association of Sleep Duration with Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among American Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objective: To examine potential factors affecting sleep duration and explore its association with the risk of mortality among adults in the United States. Methods: The study population consisted of adults aged 26 to 79 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted from 2007 to 2016. Sleep duration was classified into three categories: short (<7 hours), optimal (7-8 hours), and long (≥9 hours). The associations between sleep duration and both all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality (including heart disease, tumors, cerebrovascular disease, and others) were examined in the overall population and subgroups using weighted Cox regression models. Dose-response associations between sleep duration and risk of all-cause mortality were explored using restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses. Additionally, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate potential factors that influence sleep duration in adults. Results: The study included a total of 24,141 subjects, with a population-weighted mean age of 48.93 years. Over 30% of the subjects exhibited unhealthy sleep habits. Fully adjusted models revealed that both short sleep duration (HR=1.169, 95% CI 1.027-1.331) and long sleep duration (HR=1.286, 95% CI 1.08-1.531), were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality. The RCS curves showed a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and risk of all-cause mortality. Subgroup analyses showed a significant association between poor sleep patterns and all-cause mortality among adults aged 26-64 years, males, and non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, multinomial logistic regression identified several predictors associated with short and long sleep durations. Conclusion: Both short and long sleep duration are associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, with a U-shaped dose-response relationship. It is imperative to implement appropriate primary prevention strategies aimed at monitoring and providing health education to populations at risk of developing unhealthy sleep patterns.

Overexpression of maize anthocyanin regulatory gene Lc affects rice fertility.

Seventeen independent transgenic rice plants with the maize anthocyanin regulatory gene Lc under control of the CaMV 35S promoter were obtained and verified by molecular identification. Ten plants showed red spikelets during early development of florets, and the degenerate florets were still red after heading. Additionally, these plants exhibited intense pigmentation on the surface of the anther and the bottom of the ovary. They were unable to properly bloom and were completely sterile. Following pollination with normal pollen, these plants yielded red caryopses but did not mature normally. QRT-PCR analysis indicated that mRNA accumulation of the CHS-like gene encoding a chalcone synthase-related protein was increased significantly in the sterile plant. This is the first report to suggest that upregulation of the CHS gene expression may result in rice sterility and affect the normal development of rice seeds.

The transformation of the photo-thermo sensitive genic male-sterile line 261S of rice via an expression vector containing the anti-Waxy gene.

Transgenic photo-thermo sensitive genic male sterility Oryza sativa L. cv. "261S" plants with the anti-Waxy gene were successfully obtained using an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated co-transformation method. Marker-free homozygous transgenic lines with the anti-Waxy gene were obtained. The setting seed rates of the transgenic plants via self-pollination or via crossing with the restorer line WX99075 rice and the 1000-grain weight of the transgenic plants and the F2 hybrid seeds obtained by crossing the transgenic or non-transgenic plants with the restorer line WX99075 rice, and the number of panicles of the transgenic plants and yields of the F2 hybrid rice, were analysed. Quality indexes of the transgenic plants and of the F2 hybrid seeds were analysed. Our researches results indicate that hybrid female and hybrid descendant edibility could be improved via the introduction of the anti-Waxy gene, but the grain yields of the reserve seeds via self-pollination of the transgenic photo-thermo sensitive genic sterile lines and of the hybrid rice were not affected.

Screening of specific diagnostic peptides of swine hepatitis E virus.

BACKGROUND: Swine hepatitis E virus (swHEV) is a zoonotic disease that is considered a major problem in pig production and presents a threat to human health. Elucidation of the major antigenic epitopes of swHEV is essential for the effective control of swHEV epidemics. RESULTS: By bioinformatic analysis, we identified and then synthesized 12 peptides from open reading frames (ORFs) ORF1, ORF2 and ORF3, including swHEV-1 - swHEV-12. Using the results from ELISA, we selected swHEV-11 as the best candidate antigen and used it as a coating antigen for the development of peptide-based swine anti-HEV ELISA kits. The coefficient of variation (CV) the coefficient of variation (CV) varied between 4.3-7.2% in the same batch, and between 8.2-17.7% in six different batches. When comparing our swine peptide-based kit with the commercial recombinant-based kit, the humane anti-HEV IgG test had a 73.4% correspondence rate for them. CONCLUSION: This is the first systemic study to screen the diagnostic peptides of swHEV and our findings strongly suggest that peptide swHEV-11 is a potent diagnostic reagent of swHEV that could be used in the development of highly efficient diagnostic assays for the specific and highly sensitive detection of anti-HEV activity in swine serum samples.

Antihypertensive effect of giant embryo brown rice and pre-germinated giant embryo brown rice on spontaneously hypertensive rats.

"Shangshida NO.5" is a giant embryo mutant resulting from giant embryo gene (GE) dysfunction in "Chao2-10" rice. Here, we compared the antihypertensive effects of "Chao2-10" brown rice (C2-10), "Shangshida NO.5" brown rice (GER), and pre-germinated "Shangshida NO.5" brown rice (PGER) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Male SHR at 6 weeks of age were divided into four groups and were fed with (a) a control diet (control), (b) a 40% C2-10-supplemented diet (C2-10), (c) a 40% GER-supplemented diet (GER), or (d) a 40% PGER-supplemented diet (PGER) for 8 weeks, and their physiological and biochemical parameters were measured. The results showed that the C2-10-, GER-, and PGER-supplemented diets significantly decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) during the experiment. At the end of the experimental period, the SBP and DBP of the C2-10, GER, and PGER groups were 7.6, 23.3, and 31.1 mmHg and 9.8, 21.1, and 29 mmHg lower than those in the control group, respectively, suggesting the GER and PGER diets were better able to inhibit blood pressure elevation than the C2-10 diet. The serum creatinine levels in the C2-10, GER, and PGER groups and the blood urea nitrogen content in the PGER group were significantly lower than those of the control group, indicating that C2-10-, GER-, and especially PGER-supplemented diets improved renal function. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the C2-10 group and especially of the GER and PGER groups also improved. The above results suggest that "Shangshida NO.5" rice, particularly pre-germinated rice, is a good dietary supplement for preventing the development of hypertension.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Accumulation in Giant Embryo Rice Seeds.

To uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying GABA accumulation in giant embryo rice seeds, we analyzed the expression levels of GABA metabolism genes and contents of GABA and GABA metabolic intermediates in developing grains and germinated brown rice of giant embryo rice 'Shangshida No. 5' and normal embryo rice 'Chao2-10' respectively. In developing grains, the higher GABA contents in 'Shangshida No. 5' were accompanied with upregulation of gene transcripts and intermediate contents in the polyamine pathway and downregulation of GABA catabolic gene transcripts, as compared with those in 'Chao2-10'. In germinated brown rice, the higher GABA contents in 'Shangshida No. 5' were parallel with upregulation of OsGAD and polyamine pathway gene transcripts and Glu and polyamine pathway intermediate contents and downregulation of GABA catabolic gene transcripts. These results are the first to indicate that polyamine pathway and GABA catabolic genes play a crucial role in GABA accumulation in giant embryo rice seeds.

High expression of tocochromanol biosynthesis genes increases the vitamin E level in a new line of giant embryo rice.

'Shangshida No. 5' is a new variety of giant embryo rice derived from a single-point mutation of the giant embryo gene (ge) in 'Chao2-10' rice. This study quantified the levels of eight vitamin E homologues (α-, ß-, γ-, and δ-tocopherol and α-, ß-, γ-, and δ-tocotrienol) in brown rice, embryos, endosperm, and developing seeds of giant embryo and normal embryo rice using a normal phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis was conducted to reveal the different expression patterns of the ge gene and tocochromanol biosynthesis genes in developing giant and normal embryo seeds. The total vitamin E content in 'Shangshida No. 5' brown rice was 52.54 mg α-tocopherol equivalent (α-TE)/kg, of which α-tocopherol constituted 49.14 mg/kg, which was approximately 2.2-fold greater than that in 'Chao2-10' brown rice. In giant embryo seeds, the expression level of the ge gene was higher than that in normal embryo seeds during early developmental stages. These results are the first to indicate that coup-regulated expression of the OsHPPD, OsHPT, and OsMPBQ MT2 genes might be the primary reason for the large accumulation of α-tocopherol in giant embryo rice seeds. The different transcription pattern of the tocochromanol biosynthesis genes in 'Shangshida No. 5' rice seeds compared with 'Chao2-10' rice seeds is attributable to the ge mutation and the different expression level of the ge gene in giant embryo seeds.

[Studies on improving crop nutritional quality through gene engineering].

This paper summarizes the studies on improving crop nutritional quality including protein, saccharide and lipid through gene engineering in recent 10 years. Special emphasis is laid upon the improvement of protein contains and amino acid components. The food safety caused probably by gene engineering and some ways to solve the problem are introduced briefly.