NILs of Cold Tolerant Japonica Cultivar Exhibited New QTLs for Mineral Elements in Rice.

Chilling stress at booting stage can cause floret deterioration and sterility by limiting the supply of food chain and the accumulation of essential mineral elements resulting in reduction of yield and grain quality attributes in rice. Genomic selection of chilling tolerant rice with reference to the accumulation of mineral elements will have great potential to cope with malnutrition and food security in times of climate change. Therefore, a study was conducted to explore the genomic determinants of cold tolerance and mineral elements content in near-isogenic lines (NILs) of japonica rice subjected to chilling stress at flowering stage. Detailed morphological analysis followed by quantitative analysis of 17 mineral elements revealed that the content of phosphorus (P, 3,253 mg/kg) and potassium (K, 2,485 mg/kg) were highest while strontium (Sr, 0.26 mg/kg) and boron (B, 0.34 mg/kg) were lowest among the mineral elements. The correlation analysis revealed extremely positive correlation of phosphorus (P) and copper (Cu) with most of the cold tolerance traits. Among all the effective ear and the second leaf length correlation was significant with half of the mineral elements. As a result of comparative analysis, some QTLs (qBRCC-1, qBRCIC-2, qBRZC-6, qBRCHC-6, qBRMC-6, qBRCIC-6a, qBRCIC-6b, qBRCHC-6, and qBRMC-6) identified for calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr) and magnesium (Mg) on chromosome number 1, 2, and 6 while, a novel QTL (qBCPC-1) was identified on chromosome number 1 for P element only. These findings provided bases for the identification of candidate genes involved in mineral accumulation and cold tolerance in rice at booting stage.

Characterization of the complete sequences and stability of plasmids carrying the genes aac(6')-Ib-cr or qnrS in Shigella flexneri in the Hangzhou area of China.

The aim of this study was to explore the fluoroquinolone resistance mechanism of aac (6')-Ib-cr and qnrS gene by comparing complete sequences and stability of the aac(6')-Ib-cr- and qnrS-positive plasmids from Shigella isolates in the Hangzhou area of China. The complete sequences of four newly acquired plasmids carrying aac(6')-Ib-cr or qnrS were compared with those of two plasmids obtained previously and two similar reference Escherichia coli plasmids. The results showed that the length, antibiotic resistance genes and genetic environment were different among the plasmids. Moreover, the plasmid stability of three wild-type isolates and five plasmid transformants carrying aac(6')-Ib-cr and/or qnrS was measured in vitro, and all eight isolates were found to have lost their aac(6')-Ib-cr- or qnrS-positive plasmids to a different extent at different stages. When the plasmids were electroporated into Shigella flexneri or they lost positive plasmids, the MICs of ciprofloxacin increased or decreased two- to eightfold for aac(6')-Ib-cr-positive plasmids and 16- to 32-fold for qnrS-positive plasmids. To our knowledge, this is the first report comparing the complete sequences and describing stability for the aac(6')-Ib-cr- and qnrS-positive plasmids from Shigella isolates.

Identification and functional analysis of two toxin-antitoxin systems in Campylobacter jejuni.

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are widely distributed in bacteria and play an important role in maintaining plasmid stability. The leading foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter jejuni, can carry multiple plasmids associated with antibiotic resistance or virulence. Previously a virulence plasmid named pVir was identified in C. jejuni 81-176 and IA3902, but determining the role of pVir in pathogenesis has been hampered because the plasmid cannot be cured. In this study, we report the identification of two TA systems that are located on the pVir plasmid in 81-176 and IA3902, respectively. The virA (proteic antitoxin)/virT (proteic toxin) pair in IA3902 belongs to a Type II TA system, while the cjrA (RNA antitoxin)/cjpT (proteic toxin) pair in 81-176 belongs to a Type I TA system. Notably, cjrA (antitoxin) represents the first noncoding small RNA demonstrated to play a functional role in Campylobacter physiology to date. By inactivating the TA systems, pVir was readily cured from Campylobacter, indicating their functionality in Campylobacter. Using pVir-cured IA3902, we demonstrated that pVir is not required for abortion induction in the guinea pig model. These findings establish the key role of the TA systems in maintaining plasmid stability and provide a means to evaluate the function of pVir in Campylobacter pathobiology.

Complete Sequences and Characterization of Two Novel Plasmids Carrying aac(6')-Ib-cr and qnrS Gene in Shigella flexneri.

The complete sequences of two previously reported plasmids carrying plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes from Shigella flexneri in China have not been available. The present study using the p5-C3 assembly method revealed that (1) the plasmid pSF07201 with aac(6')-Ib-cr had 75,335 bp with antibiotic resistance genes CTX-M-3, TEM-1, and FosA3; (2) seven fragments of pSF07201 had more than 99% homology with the seven corresponding plasmids; (3) the other plasmid pSF07202 with qnrS had 47,669 bp with antibiotic resistance gene TEM-1 and 99.95% homology with a segment of pKF362122, which has the qnrS gene from location 162,490 to 163,146. A conjugation and electrotransformation experiment suggested that these two plasmids might horizontally transfer between and coexist in Escherichia coli J53 and S. flexneri 2a 301. Either the aac(6')-Ib-cr or qnrS gene contributed to, but only the coexistence of the two genes conferred to the resistance to ciprofloxacin in these two strains. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the complete sequences of the aac(6')-Ib-cr- and qnrS-positive plasmids in Shigella isolates. Our findings indicate that two genes probably evolve through horizontal plasmid transfer between the different bacterial types.

Coevolution between human's anticancer activities and functional foods from crop origin center in the world.

Cancer is the leading cause of death around the world. Anticancer activities from many functional food sources have been reported in years, but correlation between cancer prevalence and types of food with anticancer activities from crop origin center in the world as well as food source with human migration are unclear. Hunger from food shortage is the cause of early human evolution from Africa to Asia and later into Eurasia. The richest functional foods are found in crop origin centers, housing about 70% in the world populations. Crop origin centers have lower cancer incidence and mortality in the world, especially Central Asia, Middle East, Southwest China, India and Ethiopia. Asia and Africa with the richest anticancer crops is not only the most important evolution base of humans and origin center of anticancer functional crop, but also is the lowest mortality and incidence of cancers in the world. Cancer prevention of early human migrations was associated with functional foods from crop origin centers, especially Asia with four centers and one subcenter of crop origin, accounting for 58% of the world population. These results reveal that coevolution between human's anticancer activities associated with functional foods for crop origin centers, especially in Asia and Africa.

Association of common SNP rs1136410 in PARP1 gene with the susceptibility to male infertility with oligospermia.

PURPOSE: This study aims to explore possible associations between polymorphisms of common SNP rs1136410 and rS1805405 in PARP1 gene and male infertility with spermatogenesis impairment. METHODS: The polymorphic distributions of SNP rs1136410 and rS1805405 were investigated by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in a Chinese cohort including 371 infertile patients with idiopathic azoospermia or oligospermia and 231 controls. RESULTS: Significant differences in the frequencies of allele and genotype of SNP rs1136410 were observed between patients with oligospermia and controls. The allele C (46.3 % vs. 36.4 %, P = 0.003) and genotype CC (22.6 % vs. 13.4 %, P = 0.014) significantly increased, whereas genotype TT (30 % vs. 40.7 %, P = 0.021) significantly decreased in patients with oligospermia compared with controls at this SNP locus. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that genotype CC of SNP rs1136410 may increase the risk of oligosoermia and genotype TT of rs1136410 may have some protective effect from oligospermia, suggesting that the polymorphism of SNP rs1136410 in PARP1 gene may modify the susceptibility to male infertility with oligospermia.

Epidemiologic characterization of 30 confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Hangzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: We examined the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of 30 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus in Hangzhou and investigated their external environments to provide evidence for contact tracing and disease prevention and control. METHODS: The cases confirmed from April 1 through May 1, 2013 were studied. Field epidemiologic surveys were conducted to collect the clinical and epidemiologic data. Case-related and environmental specimens were collected for etiologic detection. RESULTS: Thirty cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus were confirmed in Hangzhou from April 1 through May 1, 2013, including one pregnant woman and three deaths. The median age of the patients was 62 years (range: 38-86 years). Twenty-three of the patients were men (76.67%). The median duration between disease onset and occurrence of respiratory failure and confirmed diagnosis was 5 and 6 days, respectively. Maximum medical observation of 666 close contacts of the patients revealed no irregularity. Of 314 external environmental specimens, the overall positive detection rate of H7N9 nucleic acid was 28.98%. Eight districts of Hangzhou city had positive detections in the external environments, the highest rate being in Yuhang District (78.13%). Statistical analysis of the specimen collection locations indicates a significant difference between the case-linked locations and the non-case locations (χ2 = 16.563, p < 0.05) in terms of H7N9 viral nucleic acid detection rate. No epidemiologic link has been found among the 30 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the infected were retired individuals aged 60 years or older. Men made the majority. The cases are sporadic at present, with no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Exposures to poultry and live poultry markets may be important sources of infection.

SNPs in KIT and KITLG genes may be associated with oligospermia in Chinese population.

KIT/KITLG signaling system is crucial for spermatogenesis, which suggests that KIT and KITLG genes may be involved in spermatogenesis impairment and male infertility. To explore the possible association of KIT and KITLG genes with male infertility having spermatogenesis impairment, polymorphism distributions of SNP rs3819392 in KIT gene as well as rs995030 and rs4474514 in KITLG gene were investigated in 372 patients with idiopathic azoospermia or oligospermia and 205 fertile controls. As a result, the significant differences in polymorphism distributions of SNP rs3819392 in KIT gene and rs4474514 in KITLG gene were observed between the patients with oligospermia and controls. The frequencies of allele G (94.2% versus 90.0% p = 0.022) and genotype GG (89.2% versus 82.0% p = 0.042) in patients with oligospermia were significantly higher than those in controls at rs3819392 locus in KIT gene. In addition, the genotype CC of rs4474514 in KITLG (8.2% versus 3.4%, p = 0.034) also significantly increased in oligospermic patients in comparison to controls. These findings indicated that SNP rs3819392 in KIT gene and rs4474514 in KITLG gene may be associated with oligospermia, suggesting that polymorphism of KIT and KITLG genes may play a role in oligospermia.

Genetic variants of eNOS gene may modify the susceptibility to idiopathic male infertility.

In testis, eNOS is responsible for synthesis of nitric oxide (NO) which is an essential gas message regulator in spermatogenesis, suggesting that eNOS gene plays a role in normal spermatogenesis and the genetic variants of eNOS gene may be potential genetic risk factors of spermatogenesis impairment. In this study, the polymorphic distributions of three common polymorphism loci including T-786C, 4A4B and G894T in eNOS gene were investigated in 355 Chinese infertile patients with azoospermia or oligozoospermia and 246 healthy fertile men and a meta-analysis was carried in order to explore the possible relationship between the three loci of eNOS gene and male infertility with spermatogenesis impairment. As a result, allele -786C of T-786C (11.4% versus 6.5%, p = 0.004) and 4A of 4A4B (11.0% versus 6.3%, p = 0.005) as well as genotype TC of T-786C (22.8% versus 13.0%, p = 0.002) and AB of 4A4B (18% versus 11%, p = 0.015) were significantly associated with idiopathic male infertility. The haplotypes T-4A-G (7.4% versus 4.1%, p = 0.015) and C-4B-G (7.6% versus 4.4%, p = 0.028) could increase the susceptibility to male infertility, whereas haplotype T-4B-G (67.0% versus 75.2%, p = 0.002) might be a protective factor for male infertility. The results of meta-analysis revealed that the polymorphism of T-786C was associated with male infertility. These findings suggested that the variants of eNOS gene may modify the susceptibility to male infertility with impaired spermatogenesis.

Strategies of functional food for cancer prevention in human beings.

Functional food for prevention of chronic diseases is one of this century's key global challenges. Cancer is not only the first or second leading cause of death in China and other countries across the world, but also has diet as one of the most important modifiable risk factors. Major dietary factors now known to promote cancer development are polished grain foods and low intake of fresh vegetables, with general importance for an unhealthy lifestyle and obesity. The strategies of cancer prevention in human being are increased consumption of functional foods like whole grains (brown rice, barley, and buckwheat) and by-products, as well some vegetables (bitter melon, garlic, onions, broccoli, and cabbage) and mushrooms (boletes and Tricholoma matsutake). In addition some beverages (green tea and coffee) may be protective. Southwest China (especially Yunnan Province) is a geographical area where functional crop production is closely related to the origins of human evolution with implications for anticancer influence.

Association of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes with the susceptibility to male infertility: result from a meta-analysis.

The deletion polymorphisms of the glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferase T1 (GSTT1) genes were considered as candidates for genetic susceptibility factors of male infertility. Previous studies concerning the relationship between the null genotype of the two genes and male infertility have been reported in recent years. However, the results remain elusive. A meta-analysis was performed to estimate the relationship between the deletion polymorphism of the GSTM1 or GSTT1 gene, and male infertility in this study. Sixteen studies concerning the GSTM1 gene, including 2174 cases and 1861 controls, and 13 case-control studies on the GSTT1 gene with a total number of 1992 cases and 1617 controls were processed. The results showed that the null genotype of the GSTM1 gene was associated with male infertility in the overall populations (P=0.003, OR=1.40, 95%CI=1.12-1.75), especially in Caucasian (P=0.012, OR=1.50, 95%CI=1.09-2.07) as well as Chinese (P=0.001, OR=1.55, 95%CI=1.19-2.03). The null genotype of the GSTT1 gene was strongly related to male infertility only in Chinese (P=0.000, OR=1.70, 95%CI=1.34-2.14). These results indicated that the null genotype of the GSTM1 gene might contribute to the susceptibility of male infertility, whereas the null genotype of the GSTT1 gene may be a genetic susceptibility factor of male infertility for the Chinese.

Spontaneous mutation frequency and molecular mechanisms of Shigella flexneri fluoroquinolone resistance under antibiotic selective stress.

The incidence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Shigella strains has risen rapidly, presumably in response to ciprofloxacin antibiotic stress. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying this resistance phenotype is critical to developing novel and effective therapeutic strategies. In this study, the frequency of ciprofloxacin-induced mutation was measured in antibiotic resistance genes (gyrA, gyrB, parC, parE, marOR, and marA) of Shigella flexneri. The S. flexneri 2a strain 301 was cultured on Luria-Bertani agar plates containing one of seven different ciprofloxacin concentrations (range: 0.03125-2 µg mL(-1)). Resistant colonies were selected for gene-targeted sequencing analysis; the identified point mutations were subsequently confirmed by insertion into antibiotic cassette plasmids and growth under ciprofloxacin stress. The results demonstrated that the seven different ciprofloxacin concentrations produced dose-dependent frequencies of spontaneous mutations: 10(-8) (0.03125 and 0.0625 µg mL(-1)), 10(-9) (0.125 µg mL(-1)), and <10(-9) (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 µg mL(-1)). PCR sequencing of the ten randomly selected resistant colonies (minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 0.125 µg mL(-1), n = 5 and 0.25 µg mL(-1), n = 5) revealed that all colonies had mutations in the gyrA gene at either codon 83 (Ser83 → Leu) or 87 (Asp87 → Tyr or → Gly), both of which were confirmed at MIC of 0.125 µg mL(-1). None of the spontaneous mutation colonies exhibited gyrB, parC, parE, marOR, or marA mutations. In conclusion, S. flexneri is normomutable under ciprofloxacin antibiotic stress and fluoroquinolone resistance by spontaneous mutation occurs at a low rate. Codon mutations gyrA 83 and/or gyrA 87 cause a 4-fold increase in the ciprofloxacin MIC, and may represent the natural mechanism of fluoroquinolone resistance.

Molecular evolution of HA gene of the influenza A H1N1 pdm09 strain during the consecutive seasons 2009-2011 in Hangzhou, China: several immune-escape variants without positively selected sites.

BACKGROUND: Even under immune pressure, the highly active influenza A H1N1 pdm09 variants emerged again in December 2010. Did the variability lead to poor vaccine effectiveness? OBJECTIVES: To study the genetic distance and antigenic drift of the influenza A H1N1 pdm09 strains based on the sequence analysis of HA virus gene segments during consecutive seasons 2009-2011 in Hangzhou, China. STUDY DESIGN: 39 Clinical samples from influenza-like-illness patients with culture-confirmed influenza A H1N1 pdm09 infections were collected over seasons in routine influenza surveillance. The HA gene was amplified and sequenced. A perspective analysis of genetic distance, antigenic drift and positively selected sites were conducted. RESULTS: Analyses of human influenza A H1N1 pdm09 strains isolated in Hangzhou revealed that during the seasons 2009-2011, the antigenic drift had occurred, away from the northern hemisphere 2010/2011 influenza vaccine strain A/California/07/2009. The 2010/2011 viruses cluster in two main branches with a significant genetic distance, characterized by either S202T and S468N, or K180T/I, V216A, P288S, I312V and I389F. Interestingly, the epitopes corresponding to the immune-escape characteristic have altered much, but none of the amino acid substitutions in 2010/2011 variants were positively selected. CONCLUSIONS: The results of genetic surveillance in this study might account for frequent outbreaks of the influenza A H1N1 pdm09 strains since December 2010 and the disappearance after three months circulation. It facilitates early detection of antigenic sites for the virus to escape immunological restraint in 2010/2011 season. Continuous monitoring of antigenic changes is recommended.

Association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms of DNMT3L and infertility with azoospermia in Chinese men.

The gene for DNA methyltransferase 3-like protein (DNMT3L) is essential for normal spermatogenesis and may be involved with spermatogenetic impairment and male infertility. To explore the possible association between the DNMT3L gene and male infertility, this study investigated allele, genotype and haplotype frequencies of three single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci, rs2070565, rs2276248 and rs7354779, of DNMT3L in 233 infertile patients with azoospermia and 249 fertile controls from a population of Chinese men using polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results showed that the frequencies of allele A (20.6% versus 14.9%; P = 0.022) and the allele A carrier (GA + AA; 37.8% versus 28.1%; P = 0.027) in azoospermic patients were significantly higher than those in controls at the rs2070565 locus. The haplotype AAA frequency was significantly higher (18.1% versus 12.4%; P = 0.02) while the haplotype GAA frequency was significantly lower (53.2% versus 62.1%; P = 0.007) in infertile patients compared with fertile controls. These results indicated that SNP rs2070565, as well as haplotypes AAA and GAA, may be associated with male infertility and suggest that DNMT3L may contribute to azoospermia susceptibility in humans.

Salicylate functions as an efflux pump inducer and promotes the emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni mutants.

Salicylate, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory compound, has been shown to increase the resistance of Campylobacter to antimicrobials. However, the molecular mechanism underlying salicylate-induced resistance has not yet been established. In this study, we determined how salicylate increases antibiotic resistance and evaluated its impact on the development of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter mutants. Transcriptional fusion assays, real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), and immunoblotting assays consistently demonstrated the induction of the CmeABC multidrug efflux pump by salicylate. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays further showed that salicylate inhibits the binding of CmeR (a transcriptional repressor of the TetR family) to the promoter DNA of cmeABC, suggesting that salicylate inhibits the function of CmeR. The presence of salicylate in the culture medium not only decreased the susceptibility of Campylobacter to ciprofloxacin but also resulted in an approximately 70-fold increase in the observed frequency of emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants under selection with ciprofloxacin. Together, these results indicate that in Campylobacter, salicylate inhibits the binding of CmeR to the promoter DNA and induces expression of cmeABC, resulting in decreased susceptibility to antibiotics and in increased emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants under selection pressure.

[The zonal characteristics and cultivated types difference of functional components in brown rice for core collection of Yunnan rice].

The zonal characteristics and cultivated types difference of functional components in brown rice of 907 accessions for primary core collection for rice landrace from 16 prefectures of five rice regions in Yunnan Province were determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry of DU640 type from BECKMAN. The analytical results showed that the contents mg x (100 g)(-1) of total flavone in brown rice is 306.98 +/- 192.75, the content of upland (341.74 +/- 185.11) is the most significantly higher than that of lowland (290.41 +/- 193.72), that of the glutinous (315.54 +/- 197.64) is significantly higher than non-glutinous (171.68 +/- 11.76), that of early-mid (318.25 +/- 197.93) is the most significantly higher than late (282.12 +/- 178.11), that of red rice (379.22 +/- 197.70) and purple rice (365.61 +/- 195.44) are the most significantly higher than white rice (216.96 +/- 142.11), and that of nuda (332.68 +/- 196.22) is significantly higher than non-nuda (300. 48 +/- 191.14). Among five rice regions, in turn III (327.13) > LL (324.23) > IV (273.11) > V (270.16) > I (258.26), namely it is the most significantly highest (p < 0.01) for contents of total flavone from South Yunnan (II, III) than that of middle Yunnan; It is the most significantly highest from Simao prefecture than that of 8 prefectures, but it is the most significantly low from Baoshan prefecture than that of 7 prefectures. The contents mg x (100 g)(-1) of g-amino butyric acid (GABA) in brown rice is 7.43 +/- 2.53, the content of lowland (7.59 +/- 2. 56) is the most significantly higher than that of upland (7.09 +/- 2.45), that of non-glutinous (8.55 +/- 2.88) is the most significantly higher than glutinous (7.10 +/- 2.32), that of late (7.88 +/- 2.64) is the most significantly higher than early-mid (7.23 +/- 2.45), that of white rice (8.38 +/- 2.66) is the most significantly higher than red rice (6.63 +/- 2.14) and purple rice (7.34 +/- 2.18); Among five rice regions in turn II (7.69) > I (7.40) > IV (7.39) > III (7.33) > V (6.64), viz. the content of GABA from South Yunnan single/double cropping rice region is clearly higher than that of Northwest Yunnan cold highland japonica rice region; It is significant difference of GABA content in brown rice for that Simao prefecture South Yunnan and Yuxi as well as Baoshan prefecture, at least than that of 5 prefectures. The contents (%) of resistant starch in brown rice is 0.75 +/- 0.29, the contents of indica (0.78 +/- 0.35) is significantly higher than japonica (0.74 +/- 0.24), that of glutinous (0.78 +/- 0.31) is the most significantly higher than non-glutinous (0. 67 +/- 0.22), that of late (0.77 +/- 0. 35) is the most significantly higher than early-mid (0.75 +/- 0.26), that of red rice (0.81 +/- 0.30) and purple rice (0.70 +/- 0.30) is the most significantly higher than white rice (0.69 +/- 0.27); Among five rice regions in turn I (0.83) > II (0.79) > III (0.76) > V (0. 55) > IV (0.50), namely it is the highest (p < 0.01) for contents of resistant starch from the middle and South Yunnan province (I, II, III) than that of northern rice regions (V, IV), and the lowest for contents of resistant starch of Lijiang prefecture of northwestern and Zaotong of northeastern in this province compared to that of 13 prefectures except Diqing prefectures. These results not only reveal the most significant difference between lowland versus upland, glutinous versus nonglutinous, early/mid rice and red/purple versus white rice based on the contents of total flavone and resistant starch as well as g-amino butyric acid (GABA) in brown rice (p < 0.01), and no significant difference between indica and japonica, awn and no-awn, and common rice and aromatic/soft rice, but also elucidate obvious zonal characteristics of three functional components in brown rice of Yunnan rice. The above results provided theory bases for the genetic breeding and production of functional rice and solve the problems of chronic for human being.

[The zonal characterization of elemental concentrations in brown rice of core collection for rice landrace in Yunnan Province by ICP-AES].

In the present paper, the contents of 8 elements in brown rice of 789 accessions core collection for rice landrace from 16 prefectures of five rice regions in Yunnan province were determined by ICP-AES technique. The method proves to be simple, rapid, highly sensitive and accurate, and can be used to determine many elements at the same time. Its recovery ratio obtained by standard addition method ranged from 97.1% to 110.2%, and its RSD was from 0.7% to 4.4%. The analytical results showed that the elemental concentrations (mg x kg(-1) ) in brown rice are in turn of P(3 834.83 +/- 486.49) > K(2 567.72 +/- 336.74) > Mg (2 567.72 +/- 336.74) > Ca (153.67 +/- 55.90) > Zn( 33.35 +/- 13.65) > Fe(32.08 +/- 25.51) > Cu (14.22 +/- 11.85) > Mn(13.58 +/- 3.22). The highest P content is in brown rice from the northwest Yunnan with the rich nonferrous metals and most abundance of biodiversity in the world, the highest Ca, Mg, Fe and Zn concentrations are in brown rice from the middle Yunnan with early cambrian fauna and phosphorite enrichment, and the highest Cu and Mn contents are in brown rice from the southwest Yunnan with the prominent crop diversity. The distributing zones with the highest P and K, middle Ca, Mg and Mn and lowest Fe and Zn in Yunnan are the enrichment zone of minal resources and largest biodiversity. As far as we know, this is the first report that the zonal characterstics of mineral elemental concentractions in brown rice are associated with a lot of factors, such as biodiversity center, enrichment zone of minal resources, origin of life, mountain ranges and rivers and so on, and further it was deduced that the asymmetry of distribution for mineral elements and its reciprocity of mountain ranges and rivers are the key of origin of life. The above results provided reliable data and theory bases for the malnourished Fe and Zn and Ca for 4 billion people in the world, origin of life, the genetic breeding and production of functional rice.

[Correlation of mineral elements between milled and brown rice and soils in Yunnan studied by ICP-AES].

In the present paper, the contents of 18 mineral elements in milled and brown rice of 55 accessions elite cultivars as well as corresponding soils were determined by ICP-AES technique. The method proves to be simple, rapid, highly sensitive and accurate, and can be used to determine many elements at the same time, its recovery ratio obtained by standard addition method ranged between 93.1% and 110.2%, and its RSD was from 0.8% to 5.1%. The analytical results showed that 18 mineral elements (S, Mo, Ba, Ni, Fe, Cr, Na, Al, Cu, P, Sn, Zn, B, Mn, Mg, Ca, Sr and K) are the important active compositions of functional rice, and their mean contents in milled rice are in the order of P>K>S>Mg>Ca>Zn>Na>Al>Mn>Fe>Cu>B >Mo>Ni>Sn>Cr>Ba>Sr, in brown rice in the order of P>K>Mg>S>Ca>Zn>Mn>Al>Na>Fe>Cu>B>Mo>Sn> Ni>Cr>Ba>Sr, but in soil in the order of Fe>Al>Ca>K>Mg>P>S>Mn>B>Na>Ba>Zn>Cr>Cu>Ni>Sn>Mo> Sr; 16 mineral elements in milled and brown rice (except for S and P) are clearly lower than that in soils. The correlation of 8 microelements (Mo, Ni, Cr, Sr, Mn, Zn, Cu and Na) in milled and brown rice is closer than that of 6 macroelements (P, K, Mg, Ca, S and Al). There are rich Fe, Al and Ca in Yunnan soils, but 4 elements (P, K, Mg and S) are in high priority in milled and brown rice; The milled rice used for the staple is easier to place a premium on chronics than brown rice. The above results provided reliable data and theory bases for genetic breeding and production of functional rice, and for further solving the chronics and the malnourished problems with insufficient Fe, Zn and Ca for 4 billion people in the world.