Development direction of molecular breeding of medicinal plants / 中国中药杂志

To breed new varieties of medicinal plants with high resistance is the premise to ensure the production of high-quality medicinal materials. Molecular breeding using modern molecular biology and genetic technology can save time and effort and realize rapid and accurate breeding. Here we are trying to summarize the difference of breeding characteristics between medicinal plants and crops such as genetic background and breeding purpose. The strategy of molecular breeding of medicinal plants was summarized, and the four-phases breeding based on high-throughput sequencing and target gene mining was emphasized. We put forward the current molecular breeding of medicinal plants in the condition of four phases breeding is the optimal technological way of breeding, and gene editing breeding is the direction of medicinal plants breeding.

Molecular genetics of medicinal plants, past achievement, and new era / 中国中药杂志

Unraveling the genetic basis of medicinal plant metabolism and developmental traits is a long-standing goal for pharmacologists and plant biologists. This paper discusses the definition of molecular genetics of medicinal plants, which is an integrative discipline with medicinal plants as the research object. This discipline focuses on the heredity and variation of medicinal plants, and elucidates the relationship between the key traits of medicinal plants(active compounds, yield, resistance, etc.) and genotype, studies the structure and function, heredity and variation of medicinal plant genes mainly at molecular level, so as to reveal the molecular mechanisms of transmission, expression and regulation of genetic information of medicinal plants. Specifically, we emphasize on three major aspects of this discipline.(1)Individual and population genetics of medicinal plants, this part mainly highlights the genetic mechanism of the domestication, the individual genomics at the species level, and the formation of genetic diversity of medicinal plants.(2)Elucidation of biosynthetic pathways of active compounds and their evolutionary significance. This part summarizes the biosynthesis, diversity and molecular evolution of active compounds in medicinal plants.(3) Molecular mechanisms that shaping the key agronomic traits by internal and external factors. This part focuses on the accumulation and distribution of active compounds within plants and the regulation of metabolic network by environmental factors. Finally, we prospect the future direction of molecular genetics of medicinal plants based on the rapid development of multi-omics technology, as well as the application of molecular genetics in the future strategies to achieve conservation and breeding of medicinal plants and efficient biosynthesis of active compounds.

Molecular genetics research of medicinal plants / 中国中药杂志

With the development of various biotechnology,the research on molecular genetics of medicinal plants has gradually deepened. In this paper,the research system of molecular genetics of medicinal plants was proposed for the first time,which was elaborated from the aspects of genetic resources,genome,gene function and research methods. The application fields of medicinal plant mainly contain species identification,molecular breeding and biosynthesis. The research directions of molecular genetics of medicinal plants in genetic resources,model platform,synthetic biology and molecular breeding were put forward,which include 1 000 genome projects of medicinal plants,model species and mutant libraries,gene original libraries of heterologous synthetic systems,construction gene original library and specific chassis cells in heterologous synthesis system of active ingredient,breeding of new varieties of medicinal plants with high active ingredient and high resistance based on molecular markers andtransgenes.

Electroacupuncture inhibits the ultrastructural degeneration of osteoarthritic chondrocytes mediated by Ras/Raf/MEK1/2/ERK1/2 signaling pathways / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found that electroacupuncture (EA) could effectively inhibit the expression of p38 and Fas mRNA mediated by MAPK signaling pathways, to further inhibit the apoptosis of chondrocytes. Meanwhile,EA delays the degeneration of articular cartilage mediated by JAK-STAT signaling pathway through upregulating the expression levels of transforming growth factor β1 as well as the mRNA expression levels of STAT3, Smad3 and LepR.OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of EA on the cartilage ultrastructure and mRNA expression levels of Ras, Raf,MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 in the rat with knee osteoarthritis.METHODS: The rat models of knee osteoarthritis were established, and randomized into four groups at 2 weeks after modeling: model group received no interventions; 15- and 30-minute EA groups were given EA at the Hsiyen (medical,extra) of bilateral knee joints for 15 and 30 minutes, respectively; PD98059 group was given the intravenous injection of extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor PD98059. The intervention time was 3 months. Those rats received normal feeding served as blank control group.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Transmission electron microscopy showed that compared with the model group, the chondrocytes in the 15- and 30-minute EA and PD98059 groups changed little, the nucleus was larger, partial endoplasmic reticulum cisterna expanded, and the mitochondria structure was clear. ELISA results showed that the 15-and 30-minute EA and PD98059 groups had a significant decrease in the level of tumor necrosis factor α compared with the model group (P < 0.01). RT-PCR revealed that the mRNA expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 in the 15- and 30-minute EA and PD98059 groups were significantly downregulated (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). These results indicate that EA can alleviate chondrocyte injury in the rat osteoarthritic model, reduce the level of tumor necrosis factor α in the synovium, and downregulated the expression levels of Ras, Raf, MEK1/2 and ERK1/2 mRNA, further delaying the chondrocyte degeneration in osteoarthritis.