Genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic analyses provide insights into the evolution and development of a medicinal plant Saposhnikovia divaricata (Apiaceae).

Saposhnikovia divaricata, 2n = 2x = 16, as a perennial species, is widely distributed in China, Mongolia, Russia, etc. It is a traditional Chinese herb used to treat tetanus, rubella pruritus, rheumatic arthralgia, and other diseases. Here, we assembled a 2.07 Gb and N50 scaffold length of 227.67 Mb high-quality chromosome-level genome of S. divaricata based on the PacBio Sequel II sequencing platform. The total number of genes identified was 42 948, and 42 456 of them were functionally annotated. A total of 85.07% of the genome was composed of repeat sequences, comprised mainly of long terminal repeats (LTRs) which represented 73.7% of the genome sequence. The genome size may have been affected by a recent whole-genome duplication event. Transcriptional and metabolic analyses revealed bolting and non-bolting S. divaricata differed in flavonoids, plant hormones, and some pharmacologically active components. The analysis of its genome, transcriptome, and metabolome helped to provide insights into the evolution of bolting and non-bolting phenotypes in wild and cultivated S. divaricata and lays the basis for genetic improvement of the species.

Anti-obesity effects exerted by Dioscorea opposita Thunb. polysaccharides in diet-induced obese mice.

Obesity is characterized by chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. Dioscorea opposita Thunb. is a traditional food and medicine homolog from China. In the present study, polysaccharides isolated from a water extract of Dioscorea opposita Thunb. (DOTPs) were prepared. We showed that DOTPs reduced body weight, accumulation of fat tissues, insulin resistance, and inflammation in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Further experiments showed that DOTPs could regulate the composition of the gut microbiota in HFD mice. DOTPs supplementation in HFD-fed mice resulted in the reduction of the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. We further demonstrated that DOTPs supplementation enhanced bacterial levels of Akkermansia and reduced levels of Ruminiclostridium_9. A significant reduction of glycolysis metabolism related to obesity and gut microbiota dysbiosis was also observed upon administration of DOTPs. Our results suggest that DOTPs can produce significant anti-obesity effects, by inhibiting systematic inflammation and ameliorating gut microbiota dysbiosis in diet-induced obese mice.

Post-hybridization introgression and natural selection promoted genomic divergence of Aegilops speltoides and the four S*-genome diploid species.

Understanding how different driving forces have promoted biological divergence and speciation is one of the central issues in evolutionary biology. The Triticum/Aegilops species complex contains 13 diploid species belonging to the A-, B- and D-lineages and offers an ideal system to address the evolutionary dynamics of lineage fusion and splitting. Here, we sequenced the whole genomes of one S-genome species (Aegilops speltoides) of the B-lineage and four S*-genome diploid species (Aegilops bicornis, Aegilops longissima, Aegilops sharonensis and Aegilops searsii) of the D-lineage at the population level. We performed detailed comparisons of the five species and with the other four representative A-, B- and D-lineage species. Our estimates identified frequent genetic introgressions from A- and B-lineages to the D-lineage species. A remarkable observation is the contrasting distributions of putative introgressed loci by the A- and B-lineages along all the seven chromosomes to the extant D-lineage species. These genetic introgressions resulted in high levels of genetic divergence at centromeric regions between Ae. speltoides (B-lineage) and the other four S*-genome diploid species (D-lineage), while natural selection is a potential contributor to divergence among the four S*-genome species at telomeric regions. Our study provides a genome-wide view on how genetic introgression and natural selection acted together yet chromosome-regionally divided to promote genomic divergence among the five S- and S*-genome diploid species, which provides new and nuanced insights into the evolutionary history of the Triticum/Aegilops species complex.

Transcriptome analysis reveals key transcription factors and pathways of polian vesicle associated with cell proliferation in Vibrio splendidus-challenged Apostichopus japonicus.

Polian vesicle is thought to produce coelomocytes and contribute to the sea cucumber's immune system. Our previous work has indicated that polian vesicle was responsible for cell proliferation at 72 h post pathogenic challenge. However, the transcription factors related to the activation of effector factors and the molecular process behind this remained unknown. In this study, to reveal the early functions of polian vesicle in response to the microbe, a comparative transcriptome sequencing of polian vesicle in V. splendidus-challenged Apostichopus japonicus, including normal group (PV 0 h), pathogen challenging for 6 h (PV 6 h) and 12 h (PV 12 h) was performed. Compared PV 0 h to PV 6 h, PV 0 h to PV 12 h, and PV 6 h to PV 12 h, we found 69, 211, and 175 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed the DEGs, including several transcription factors such as fos, FOS-FOX, ATF2, egr1, KLF2, and Notch3 between PV 6 h and PV 12 h were consistently enriched in MAPK, Apelin and Notch3 signaling pathways related to cell proliferation compared with that in PV 0 h. Important DEGs involved in cell growth were chosen, and their expression patterns were almost the same as the transcriptome profile analysis by qPCR. Protein interaction network analysis indicated that two DEGs of fos and egr1 were probably significant as key candidate genes controlling cell proliferation and differentiation in polian vesicle after pathogenic infection in A. japonicus. Overall, our analysis demonstrates that polian vesicles may play an essential role in regulating proliferation via transcription factors-mediated signaling pathway in A. japonicus and provide new insights into hematopoietic modulation of polian vesicles in response to pathogen infection.

Transcriptomic and metabolomic reveals silicon enhances adaptation of rice under dry cultivation by improving flavonoid biosynthesis, osmoregulation, and photosynthesis.

Dry cultivation is a new rice crop mode used to alleviate water shortage and develop water-saving agriculture. There is obvious genetic difference compared with drought-tolerant rice. Silicon (Si) plays an important role in plant adaptation to adverse environmental conditions and can significantly improve the drought tolerance and yield of rice. However, the regulatory mechanism via which Si provides plant tolerance or adaptation under dry cultivation is not well understood. The present study investigated the changes in plant growth, photosynthetic gas exchange, and oxidative stress of the rice cultivar "Suijing 18" under dry cultivation. Si improved photosynthetic performance and antioxidant enzyme activity and subsequently reduced lipid peroxidation of rice seedlings, promoted LAI and promoted leaf growth under dry cultivation. Further, transcriptomics combined with quasi-targeted metabolomics detected 1416 and 520 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 38 and 41 differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) in the rice leaves and roots, respectively. Among them, 13 DEGs were involved in flavonoid biosynthesis, promoting the accumulation of flavonoids, anthocyanins, and flavonols in the roots and leaves of rice under dry cultivation. Meanwhile, 14 DEGs were involved in photosynthesis, promoting photosystem I and photosystem II responses, increasing the abundance of metabolites in leaves. On the other hand, 24 DAMs were identified involved in osmoregulatory processes, significantly increasing amino acids and carbohydrates and their derivatives in roots. These results provide new insight into the role of Si in alleviating to adverse environmental, Si enhanced the accumulation of flavonoids and osmoregulatory metabolites, thereby alleviating drought effect on the roots. On the other hand, improving dehydration resistance of leaves, guaranteeing normal photosynthesis and downward transport of organic matter. In conclusion, Si promoted the coordinated action between the above-ground and below-ground plant parts, improved the root/shoot ratio (R/S) of rice and increased the sugar content and enhancing rice adaptability under dry cultivation conditions. The establishment of the system for increasing the yield of rice under dry cultivation provides theoretical and technical support thereby promoting the rapid development of rice in Northeast China, and ensuring national food security.

Phenotypic and transcriptomic responses of the shade-grown species Panax ginseng to variable light conditions.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Elucidating how plant species respond to variable light conditions is important to understand the ecological adaptation to heterogeneous natural habitats. Plant performance and its underlying gene regulatory network have been well documented in sun-grown plants. However, the phenotypic and molecular responses of shade-grown plants under variable light conditions have remained largely unclear. METHODS: We assessed the differences in phenotypic performance between Panax ginseng (shade-grown) and Arabidopsis thaliana (sun-grown) under sunlight, shade and deep-shade conditions. To further address the molecular bases underpinning the phenotypic responses, we compared time-course transcriptomic expression profiling and candidate gene structures between the two species. KEY RESULTS: Our results show that, compared with arabidopsis, ginseng plants not only possess a lower degree of phenotypic plasticity among the three light conditions, but also exhibit higher photosynthetic efficiency under shade and deep-shade conditions. Further comparisons of the gene expression and structure reveal that differential transcriptional regulation together with increased copy number of photosynthesis-related genes (e.g. electron transfer and carbon fixation) may improve the photosynthetic efficiency of ginseng plants under the two shade conditions. In contrast, the inactivation of phytochrome-interacting factors (i.e. absent and no upregulation of the PIF genes) are potentially associated with the observed low degree of phenotypic plasticity of ginseng plants under variable light conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides new insights into how shade-grown plants respond to variable light conditions. Candidate genes related to shade adaptation in ginseng provide valuable genetic resources for future molecular breeding of high-density planting crops.

Reshuffling of the ancestral core-eudicot genome shaped chromatin topology and epigenetic modification in Panax.

All extant core-eudicot plants share a common ancestral genome that has experienced cyclic polyploidizations and (re)diploidizations. Reshuffling of the ancestral core-eudicot genome generates abundant genomic diversity, but the role of this diversity in shaping the hierarchical genome architecture, such as chromatin topology and gene expression, remains poorly understood. Here, we assemble chromosome-level genomes of one diploid and three tetraploid Panax species and conduct in-depth comparative genomic and epigenomic analyses. We show that chromosomal interactions within each duplicated ancestral chromosome largely maintain in extant Panax species, albeit experiencing ca. 100-150 million years of evolution from a shared ancestor. Biased genetic fractionation and epigenetic regulation divergence during polyploidization/(re)diploidization processes generate remarkable biochemical diversity of secondary metabolites in the Panax genus. Our study provides a paleo-polyploidization perspective of how reshuffling of the ancestral core-eudicot genome leads to a highly dynamic genome and to the metabolic diversification of extant eudicot plants.

Genome sequences of five Sitopsis species of Aegilops and the origin of polyploid wheat B subgenome.

Common wheat (Triticum aestivum, BBAADD) is a major staple food crop worldwide. The diploid progenitors of the A and D subgenomes have been unequivocally identified; that of B, however, remains ambiguous and controversial but is suspected to be related to species of Aegilops, section Sitopsis. Here, we report the assembly of chromosome-level genome sequences of all five Sitopsis species, namely Aegilops bicornis, Ae. longissima, Ae. searsii, Ae. sharonensis, and Ae. speltoides, as well as the partial assembly of the Amblyopyrum muticum (synonym Aegilops mutica) genome for phylogenetic analysis. Our results reveal that the donor of the common wheat B subgenome is a distinct, and most probably extinct, diploid species that diverged from an ancestral progenitor of the B lineage to which the still extant Ae. speltoides and Am. muticum belong. In addition, we identified interspecific genetic introgressions throughout the evolution of the Triticum/Aegilops species complex. The five Sitopsis species have various assembled genome sizes (4.11-5.89 Gb) with high proportions of repetitive sequences (85.99%-89.81%); nonetheless, they retain high collinearity with other genomes or subgenomes of species in the Triticum/Aegilops complex. Differences in genome size were primarily due to independent post-speciation amplification of transposons. We also identified a set of Sitopsis genes pertinent to important agronomic traits that can be harnessed for wheat breeding. These newly assembled genome resources provide a new roadmap for evolutionary and genetic studies of the Triticum/Aegilops complex, as well as for wheat improvement.

Evolutionary Contribution of Duplicated Genes to Genome Evolution in the Ginseng Species Complex.

Genes duplicated by whole genome duplication (WGD) and small-scale duplication (SSD) have played important roles in adaptive evolution of all flowering plants. However, it still remains underinvestigated how the distinct models of duplication events and their contending evolutionary patterns have shaped the genome and epigenomes of extant plant species. In this study, we investigated the contribution of the WGD- and SSD-derived duplicate genes to the genome evolution of one diploid and three closely related allotetraploid Panax species based on genome, methylome, and proteome data sets. Our genome-wide comparative analyses revealed that although the ginseng species complex was recently diverged, they have evolved distinct overall patterns of nucleotide variation, cytosine methylation, and protein-level expression. In particular, genetic and epigenetic asymmetries observed in the recent WGD-derived genes are largely consistent across the ginseng species complex. In addition, our results revealed that gene duplicates generated by ancient WGD and SSD mechanisms exhibited distinct evolutionary patterns. We found the ancient WGD-derived genes (i.e., ancient collinear gene) are genetically more conserved and hypomethylated at the cytosine sites. In contrast, some of the SSD-derived genes (i.e., dispersal duplicated gene) showed hypermethylation and high variance in nucleotide variation pattern. Functional enrichment analyses of the duplicated genes indicated that adaptation-related traits (i.e., photosynthesis) created during the distant ancient WGDs are further strengthened by both the more recent WGD and SSD. Together, our findings suggest that different types of duplicated genes may have played distinct but relaying evolutionary roles in the polyploidization and speciation processes in the ginseng species complex.

Three new labdane-type diterpenoids from Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl.

Three new labdane-type diterpenoids, callicapene M3-M5 (1-3) were isolated from the Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. Their structures were identified by spectroscopic method. The isolated compounds were evaluated for inhibitory activity on NO production in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells by using MTT assays. Compounds 1-3 showed potent inhibitory activity, with IC50 value of 48.15, 46.31 and 38.72 µM respectively.

Three New Abietane-Type Diterpenoids from Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl.

Three new abietane-type diterpenoids, named callicapoic acid M3 (1), callicapoic acid M4 (2) and callicapoic acid M5 (3), were isolated from the Callicarpa macrophylla Vahl. Their structures were established by spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV, MS, 1D and 2D NMR). All the isolated three compounds were evaluated for inhibitory activity on NO production in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells by using MTT assays. Compounds 1, 2 and 3 showed potent inhibitory activity, with inhibition rates of 34.47-40.13%.

Three new species of eriophyoid mites (Acari, Eriophyoidea) from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Three new species of eriophyoid mites from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, are described and illustrated. They are Paracolomerusgonglius sp. n. and Phyllocoptrutabeggerianae sp. n. collected on Rosabeggeriana Schrenk ex Fisch. & C. A. Mey. (Rosaceae), and Rhyncaphytoptusfuyuniensis sp. n. collected on Cotoneasterignavus E. L. Wolf (Rosaceae). All eriophyoid mites described here are vagrants on the undersurface of leaves and any apparent damage was not observed.

Acetylpuerarin increases cell viability and reduces apoptosis in rat hippocampal neurons following oxygen­glucose deprivation/reperfusion.

The effects of acetylpuerarin treatment following oxygen-glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) were examined in rat hippocampal neurons in vitro and compared with the effects of acetylpuerarin in normoxic cells to confirm acetylpuerarin's potential neuroprotective effects, including apoptosis inhibition. Wistar rat embryo hippocampal cells (day 18, E18) cultured for 8 days were subjected to 3 h OGD treatment, followed by reperfusion for 12, 24 or 36 h. For each time interval, a group of cells was left untreated (OGD/R-only groups) and treated with 0.1, 0.4 and 1.6 µM acetylpuerarin (OGD/R+acetylpuerarin). Neuron viability, apoptosis and caspase-8 and -3 activities were assessed by the reduction of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and spectrophotometric assays, respectively. Fas-ligand (Fas-L), Fas-associated death domain (FADD) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were determined by western blot analysis. Compared with control cells, OCD/R+acetylpuerarin cells treated with 0.1, 0.4 and 1.6 µM doses showed a concentration-dependent increase in hippocampal cell survival and viability by 69.93 ± 2.28%, 81.49 ± 2.13% and 85.28 ± 2.38% at 12 h, 68.59 ± 3.02%, 77.85 ± 2.84% and 85.64 ± 4.39% at 24 h and 69.70 ± 1.70%, 77.21 ± 3.21% and 83.90 ± 2.12% at 36 h (P<0.05). Furthermore, OCD/R+acetylpuerarin cells exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in caspase-8 and -3 activation, TUNEL and DAPI-positive neurons and Fas-L, FADD and TNF-α expression. In conclusion, acetylpuerarin protects against OGD/R-induced neuronal apoptosis predominantly in the first 24 h following ischemia, which may be useful in mediating neuronal apoptosis in ischemic stroke patients.

Genomewide variation in an introgression line of rice-Zizania revealed by whole-genome re-sequencing.

BACKGROUND: Hybridization between genetically diverged organisms is known as an important avenue that drives plant genome evolution. The possible outcomes of hybridization would be the occurrences of genetic instabilities in the resultant hybrids. It remained under-investigated however whether pollination by alien pollens of a closely related but sexually "incompatible" species could evoke genomic changes and to what extent it may result in phenotypic novelties in the derived progenies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we have re-sequenced the genomes of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica cv. Matsumae and one of its derived introgressant RZ35 that was obtained from an introgressive hybridization between Matsumae and Zizanialatifolia Griseb. in general, 131 millions 90 base pair (bp) paired-end reads were generated which covered 13.2 and 21.9 folds of the Matsumae and RZ35 genomes, respectively. Relative to Matsumae, a total of 41,724 homozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 17,839 homozygous insertions/deletions (indels) were identified in RZ35, of which 3,797 SNPs were nonsynonymous mutations. Furthermore, rampant mobilization of transposable elements (TEs) was found in the RZ35 genome. The results of pathogen inoculation revealed that RZ35 exhibited enhanced resistance to blast relative to Matsumae. Notably, one nonsynonymous mutation was found in the known blast resistance gene Pid3/Pi25 and real-time quantitative (q) RT-PCR analysis revealed constitutive up-regulation of its expression, suggesting both altered function and expression of Pid3/Pi25 may be responsible for the enhanced resistance to rice blast by RZ35. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results demonstrate that introgressive hybridization by Zizania has provoked genomewide, extensive genomic changes in the rice genome, and some of which have resulted in important phenotypic novelties. These findings suggest that introgressive hybridization by alien pollens of even a sexually incompatible species may represent a potent means to generate novel genetic diversities, and which may have played relevant roles in plant evolution and can be manipulated for crop improvements.

Phenolic glycosides from Curculigo orchioides Gaertn.

Five new chlorophenolic glucosides, curculigine E (1), curculigine F (2), curculigine G (3), curculigine H (5), curculigine I (6) and one new phenolic glycoside, orcinoside H (4), together with eight known phenolic glycosides (7-14) were isolated from the Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. Their structures were established by spectroscopic techniques (IR, UV, MS, 1D and 2D NMR). The isolated phenolic glycosides were evaluated for antiosteoporotic activity against MC3T3-E1 cell line using MTT assays. Compounds 1, 2, 3, and 5 showed moderate antiosteoporotic activity with the proliferation rate of 10.1-14.1%.

[Study on the growth, development and artificial propagation of Hypericum ascyron].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the morphological changes, growth conditions and artificial propagation of Hypericum ascyron. METHODS: The morphological changes were observed and recorded in the scene, the height and diameter of the plants were measured; the growth Verhaulst model was set up with the SPSS 17.0 software; the sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction were carried out in artificial cultivation. RESULTS: Hypericum ascyron started germinating in late April each year, branching in late May, flowering in late June, the period of full bearing was in early August, seeds were mature in early October. The Verhaulst models of the increase in the height (H), the quantity of leaf pairs (L) and the branching (B) were, H = 127.109/(1 + 23.744 x e(-0.062t)), L = 23.343/(1 + 11.303 x e(-0.062t)), B = 22.037/(1 + 73.068 x e(-0.068t)). The survival rate of whole graft and segmentation plant were 100% and 67.2% respectively on asexual reproduction; on the sexual reproduction, the seed germination rate was 15.2%, the survival rate of transplant seedlings was 36%. CONCLUSIONS: The period of growth and development of Hypericum ascyron is from April to October and it can be carried out artificial propagation.

[Soil moisture content and fine root biomass of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations at different ages].

By using soil core sampling method, this paper studied the soil moisture regime of rubber plantations and the fine root biomass of Hevea brasiliensis in immature period (5 a), early yielding period (9 a), and peak yielding period (16 a). With the increasing age of rubber trees, the soil moisture content of rubber plantations increased but the fine root biomass decreased. The soil moisture content at the depth of 0-60 cm in test rubber plantations increased with soil depth, and presented a double-peak pattern over the period of one year. The fine root biomass of rubber trees at different ages had the maximum value in the top 10 cm soil layers and decreased with soil depth, its seasonal variation also showed a double-peak pattern, but the peak values appeared at different time. Soil moisture content and soil depth were the main factors affecting the fine root biomass of H. brasiliensis.

[Progress of research on TLRs-mediated signaling pathway].

TLRs belong to a family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize highly conserved microbial antigens termed pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). So far, ten TLRs have been identified in human genome. Each TLR senses a different set of microbial stimuli, and recruits various of adaptors and activates a series of distinct signaling cascades, and drives specific responses against the pathogens. TLRs bridged innate and adaptive immunity. The discoveries of Toll-like receptors guided the field of innate immunity to its present era of accelerated advancement. In this review, we will focus on the recent progresses of TLRs-mediated signaling. A better understanding of the immunological and molecular mechanisms mediated by TLRs will obviously facilitate the exploiting molecular targets of immunotherapy to control TLR-mediated diseases.

[Effect of polymorphism of human intestinal fatty acid binding protein gene on the therapeutic efficacy of fenofibrate].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of polymorphism in codon Ala54Thr of human intestinal fatty acid-binding protein gene (IFABP) on the therapeutic efficacy of fenofibrate. METHODS: Totally 147 patients with hyperlipidemia [72 men mean age: (56.2 +/- 8.63) years; 75 women mean age: (58.4 +/- 9.12) years] were enrolled. IFABP genotypes were detected by polymerase chain reaction, Hha I digestion, and sequencing. Four weeks before and after treatment, the levels of fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A I (apoA I) and apolipoprotein B (apoB) were detected with biochemical techniques. RESULTS: The frequency of IFABP genotype was 0.47 for A/A, 0.37 for A/T, and 0.16 for T/T, and the allelic frequency was 0.65 for A and 0.35 for T. No significant different was found in lipid levels in every genotype before treatment (P > 0.05). After 4 weeks of treatment, the levels of TC, TG, LDL-C, and apoB significantly decreased (P < 00.01), and the levels of HDH-C and apoA I significantly increased (P < 0.01). The total therapeutic efficacy on A54A and A54T were 97% and 95%, respectively. In the patients with T54T genotype after treatment, no significant difference in lipids levels was found except TG (P < 0.05), and the total efficacy was only 38%. The total therapeutic efficacies of fenofibrate on A54A and A54T were higher than those of T54T, and there was significant different between A54A and T54T (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The polymorphism of human IFABP gene in hyperlipidemia is related with the therapeutic efficacy of fenofibrate, and the T54T IFABP genotype may have strong negative effect on such efficacy.

[Expression of protooncogene c-jun, p38 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen in intestinal epithelial cells in rats different development stages].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression characteristics of protooncogene c-jun and its related gene p38 in different developmental intestinal epithelial cells in rats, and to explore their biological roles in the intestinal wound healing after injury. METHODS: Immunohistochemical techniques were used to detect the expressions of c-jun, p38 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). RESULTS: The positive expression of c-jun in intestinal epithelial cells at the early development stage (from E14 d to P28 d) was much stronger and more extensive than that in mature rats, and migrated from bottom to top of villus with epithelial cellular development. The positive expression of PCNA was similar with c-jun during the same time, but the distinction between them was location of their expression. The expression of c-jun in mature rat only lay in the top of villus, while the expression of PCNA was limited to intestinal crypts. The expression of p38 during stages of development and mature, mainly was in mitogenic cells. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the strong expression of tumor gene c-jun at the early development and mature stages of intestinal epithelial cells at the special region is related to cellular differentiation, and p38 is probable correlate with cellular mitogenesis.