Metabolic and transcriptomic analysis of two Cucurbita moschata germplasms throughout fruit development.

BACKGROUND: Pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata; Cucurbitaceae) are valued for their fruits and seeds and are rich in nutrients. Carotenoids and sugar contents, as main feature of pumpkin pulp, are used to determine the fruit quality. RESULTS: Two pumpkin germplasms, CMO-X and CMO-E, were analyzed regarding the essential quality traits such as dry weight, soluble solids, organic acids, carotenoids and sugar contents. For the comparison of fruit development in these two germplasms, fruit transcriptome was analyzed at 5 different developmental stages from 0 d to 40 d in a time course manner. Putative pathways for carotenoids biosynthesis and sucrose metabolism were developed in C. moschata fruit and homologs were identified for each key gene involved in the pathways. Gene expression data was found consistent with the accumulation of metabolites across developmental stages and also between two germplasms. PSY, PDS, ZEP, CRTISO and SUS, SPS, HK, FK were found highly correlated with the accumulation of carotenoids and sucrose metabolites, respectively, at different growth stages of C. moschata as shown by whole transcriptomic analysis. The results of qRT-PCR analysis further confirmed the association of these genes. CONCLUSION: Developmental regulation of the genes associated with the metabolite accumulation can be considered as an important factor for the determination of C. moschata fruit quality. This research will facilitate the investigation of metabolic profiles in other cultivars.

Post-cardiac injury syndrome in acute myocardial infarction patients undergoing PCI: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: In the era of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI), the incidence of post-cardiac injury syndrome (PCIS) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) following PPCI has become less common. However, the intrinsic pathogenesis of this medical condition remains largely uncertain. Unlike the prior reports, the present paper provides new mechanistic clues concerning the pathogenesis of PCI-related PCIS. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old male with AMI had developed an early onset of PCIS at 3 h after PPCI. A significantly slower TIMI flow (grade ≤ 2) for the culprit arteries was observed through follow-up coronary angiography (CAG); no stent thrombosis or any significant evidence of iatrogenic trauma due the intervention procedures was found. Nevertheless, the the serum level of HsCRP showed similar variation trend as the neutrophil count and troponin T in continuous blood monitoring, which suggested a potential association between PPCI-related coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and pathogenesis of PCIS. CONCLUSIONS: The reported case had excessive inflammatory reaction and CMD resulting from cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury in an AMI patient with risk factors of endothelial dysfunction. There exists a potential reciprocal causation between PCIS and performance of PPCI in the AMI patient who was susceptible to endothelial damage.

Characterization of Starch in Cucurbita moschata Germplasms throughout Fruit Development.

Pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata; Cucurbitaceae) are the rich source of nutrients and valued for their biologically active substances to be used for the treatment of several diseases. The contents, composition, and conformation of starch are the significant quality traits of C. moschata. Two germplasms were targeted for analysis regarding the taste difference. Results indicated that the total starch contents and amylose/amylopectin ratio were high in CMO-X as compared to CMO-E during each fruit development stage. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that smooth surface starch granules fused together to enhance the starch accumulation. For a comparison of fruit development in CMO-E and CMO-X, the putative pathway for starch metabolism was developed and homologs were identified for each key gene involved in the pathway. GBSS and SBE were correlated with the difference in the amylose/amylopectin ratio of CMO-E and CMO-X. Conclusively, the developmental regulation of genes associated with starch accumulation can be considered as an important factor for the determination of fruit quality.

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.