RESUMEN
A novel ß-galactosidase gene (PbBgal35A) from Pedobacter sp. CAUYN2 was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The gene had an open reading frame of 1917 bp, encoding 638 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 62.3 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of the gene shared the highest identity of 41% with a glycoside hydrolase family 35 ß-galactosidase from Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (AAP86763.1). The recombinant ß-galactosidase (PbBgal35A) was purified to homogeneity with a specific activity of 65.9 U/mg. PbBgal35A was optimally active at pH 5.0 and 50 °C, respectively, and it was stable within pH 4.5â7.0 and up to 45 °C. PbBgal35A efficiently synthesized galacto-oligosaccharides from lactose with a conversion ratio of 32% (w/w) and fructosyl-galacto-oligosaccharides from lactulose with a conversion ratio of 21.9% (w/w). Moreover, the enzyme catalyzed the synthesis of galacto-oligosaccharides from low-content lactose in fresh milk, and the GOS conversion ratios of 17.1% (w/w) and 7.8% (w/w) were obtained when the reactions were performed at 45 and 4 °C, respectively. These properties make PbBgal35A an ideal candidate for commercial use in the manufacturing of GOS-enriched dairy products.
RESUMEN
Heterosis, a universal phenomenon in nature, mainly reflected in the superior productivity, quality, and fitness of F1 hybrids compared with their inbred parents, has been exploited in agriculture and greatly benefited human society in terms of food security. However, the flexible and efficient utilization of heterosis has remained a challenge in hybrid breeding systems because of the limitations of "three-line" and "two-line" methods. In the past two decades, rapidly developed biotechnologies have provided unprecedented conveniences for both understanding and utilizing heterosis. Notably, "third-generation" (3G) hybrid breeding technology together with high-throughput sequencing and gene editing greatly promoted the efficiency of hybrid breeding. Here, we review emerging ideas about the genetic or molecular mechanisms of heterosis and the development of 3G hybrid breeding system in the age of biotechnology. In addition, we summarized opportunities and challenges for optimal heterosis utilization in the future.
RESUMEN
In plants, the genome structure of hybrids changes compared with their parents, but the effects of these changes in hybrids remain elusive. Comparing reciprocal crosses between Col × C24 and C24 × Col in Arabidopsis using high-throughput chromosome conformation capture assay (Hi-C) analysis, we found that hybrid three-dimensional (3D) chromatin organization had more long-distance interactions relative to parents, and this was mainly located in promoter regions and enriched in genes with heterosis-related pathways. The interactions between euchromatin and heterochromatin were increased, and the compartment strength decreased in hybrids. In compartment domain (CD) boundaries, the distal interactions were more in hybrids than their parents. In the hybrids of CURLY LEAF (clf) mutants clfCol × clfC24 and clfC24 × clfCol , the heterosis phenotype was damaged, and the long-distance interactions in hybrids were fewer than in their parents with lower H3K27me3. ChIP-seq data revealed higher levels of H3K27me3 in the region adjacent to the CD boundary and the same interactional homo-trans sites in the wild-type (WT) hybrids, which may have led to more long-distance interactions. In addition, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) located in the boundaries of CDs and loop regions changed obviously in WT, and the functional enrichment for DEGs was different between WT and clf in the long-distance interactions and loop regions. Our findings may therefore propose a new epigenetic explanation of heterosis in the Arabidopsis hybrids and provide new insights into crop breeding and yield increase.