A high-continuity and annotated tomato reference genome.

BACKGROUND: Genetic and functional genomics studies require a high-quality genome assembly. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), an important horticultural crop, is an ideal model species for the study of fruit development. RESULTS: Here, we assembled an updated reference genome of S. lycopersicum cv. Heinz 1706 that was 799.09 Mb in length, containing 34,384 predicted protein-coding genes and 65.66% repetitive sequences. By comparing the genomes of S. lycopersicum and S. pimpinellifolium LA2093, we found a large number of genomic fragments probably associated with human selection, which may have had crucial roles in the domestication of tomato. We also used a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population to generate a high-density genetic map with high resolution and accuracy. Using these resources, we identified a number of candidate genes that were likely to be related to important agronomic traits in tomato. CONCLUSION: Our results offer opportunities for understanding the evolution of the tomato genome and will facilitate the study of genetic mechanisms in tomato biology.

Rocaglamide-A Potentiates Osteoblast Differentiation by Inhibiting NF-κB Signaling.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to bone and cartilage erosion. The inhibition of osteoblast differentiation by the inflammatory factor TNF-α is critical for the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. To modulate TNF-α mediated inhibition of osteoblast differentiation is required to improve therapeutic efficacy of rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we explored the potential role of rocaglamide-A, a component of Aglaia plant, in osteoblast differentiation. Rocaglamide-A prevented TNF-α mediated inhibition of osteoblast differentiation, and promoted osteoblast differentiation directly, in both C2C12 and primary mesenchymal stromal cells. Mechanistically, Rocaglamide-A inhibited the phosphorylation of NF-κB component p65 protein and the accumulation of p65 in nucleus, which resulted in the diminished NF-κB responsible transcriptional activity. Oppositely, overexpression of p65 reversed rocaglamide-A's protective effects on osteoblast differentiation. Collectively, rocaglamide-A protected and stimulated osteoblast differentiation via blocking NF-κB pathway. It suggests that rocaglamide-A may be a good candidate to develop as therapeutic drug for rheumatoid arthritis associated bone loss diseases.

Clinical curative effect observation of therapy of Chinese drug iontophoresis in treatment of degenerative osteoarthropathy.

Degenerative osteoarthropathy is a kind of arthrosis induced by various factors, with main pathological feature of articular cartilage and syndesmophyte formation. In recent years, its morbidity increases year by year and tend to appear more among young people. Its curative effect has yet to be improved. This paper mainly discussed the clinical curative effect of therapy of Chinese drug iontophoresis in degenerative osteoarthropathy. A total of 296 cases of degenerative osteoarthropathy was randomly divided into two groups (with no consideration on gender): Chinese drug iontophoresis group: joint was treated by therapy of Chinese drug iontophoresis and MTZ-F experiment; frequency electrotherapy group: joint was only treated by medium frequency electrotherapy. Two groups were both treated for 30 min for one time, 1 time for a day, total for 4 weeks. Result of the study found that, total effective rate of medium frequency electrotherapy group was 74.3%, Chinese medicine iontophoresis group was 93.2%; curative effect of Chinese medicine iontophoresis group was superior to electrotherapy group. It indicates that, Chinese medicine iontophoresis has good clinical effect in the treatment of osteoarthropathy and deserves to be popularized and applied.