REDD1 knockdown ameliorates endothelial cell senescence through repressing TXNIP-mediated oxidative stress.

Endothelial cell senescence characterized by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and chronic inflammation is widely recognized as a key contributor to atherosclerosis (AS). Regulated in development and DNA damage response 1 (REDD1), a conserved stress-response protein that regulates ROS production, is involved in the pathogenesis of various age-related diseases. However, the role of REDD1 in endothelial cell senescence is still unclear. Here, we screened REDD1 as a differentially expressed senescence-related gene in the AS progression using bioinformatics methods, and validated the upregulation of REDD1 expression in AS plaques, senescent endothelial cells, and aging aorta by constructing AS mice, D-galactose (DG)-induced senescent endothelial cells and DG-induced accelerated aging mice, respectively. siRNA against REDD1 could improve DG-induced premature senescence of endothelial cells and inhibit ROS accumulation, similar to antioxidant N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) treatment. Meanwhile, NAC reduced the upregulation of REDD1 induced by DG, supporting the positive feedback loop between REDD1 and ROS contributes to endothelial cell senescence. Mechanistically, the regulatory effect of REDD1 on ROS might be related to the TXNIP-REDD1 interaction in DG-induced endothelial cell senescence. Collectively, experiments above provide evidence that REDD1 participates in endothelial cell senescence through repressing TXNIP-mediated oxidative stress, which may be involved in the progression of atherosclerosis.

Pillar[6]MaxQ functions as an in vivo sequestrant for rocuronium and vecuronium.

The binding affinity of pillar[6]MaxQ toward a panel of neuromuscular blockers and neurotransmitters was measured in phosphate buffered saline by isothermal titration calorimetry and 1H NMR spectroscopy. In vivo efficacy studies showed that P6MQ sequesters rocuronium and vecuronium and reverses their influence on the recovery of the train-of-four (TOF) ratio.

Research progress on prediction of postoperative intraocular lens position.

With the progress in refractive cataract surgery, more intraocular lens (IOL) power formulas have been introduced with the aim of reducing the postoperative refractive error. The postoperative IOL position is critical to IOL power calculations. Therefore, the improvements in postoperative IOL position prediction will enable better selection of IOL power and postoperative refraction. In the past, the postoperative IOL position was mainly predicted by preoperative anterior segment parameters such as preoperative axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and corneal curvature. In recent years, some novel methods including the intraoperative ACD, crystalline lens geometry, and artificial intelligence (AI) of prediction of postoperative IOL position have been reported. This article attempts to give a review about the research progress on prediction of the postoperative IOL position.

Angle Kappa and angle Alpha agreement between Pentacam Scheimpflug system, swept source optical coherence tomography and ray-tracing aberrometry.

PURPOSE: To compare the consistency of Pentacam Scheimpflug system (Pentacam® HR), ray-tracing aberrometry (iTrace), and swept source optical coherence tomography (IOLMaster 700) measurements for Angle Kappa and angle Alpha. METHODS: A prospective randomized cohort study. 86 individuals (86 eyes) aged 19-45 years with best corrected vision of 4.9 or better were randomly selected from January 2022 to December 2022 in a tertiary-level hospital. Angle Kappa and angle Alpha were measured or calculated using Pentacam, iTrace, and IOLMaster 700, respectively. RESULTS: The mean difference of angle Kappa between any two instruments was not statistically significant, but the mean difference of angle Alpha between both Pentacam and iTrace, Pentacam and IOLMaster 700, and iTrace and IOLMaster 700 was statistically significant (p value <0.001, 0.003, <0.001). The highest consistency of angle Kappa and the narrowest 95% LoA (-0.20 to 0.21) were found between Pentacam and iTrace according to Bland Altman plots, but between Pentacam and IOLMaster 700 according to Mountain plots. Both Bland Altman plots and Mountain plots showed the highest consistency of angle Alpha and the narrowest 95% LoA (-0.14 to 0.24) between Pentacam and iTrace. CONCLUSION: The mean angle Kappa among Pentacam® HR, iTrace, and IOLMaster 700 had good agreement, and the value of angle Kappa could be output directly, making it more convenient for clinical application. The measured or calculated angle Alpha had poor agreement, and ophthalmologists could refer to measurements from multiple instruments.

Fine mapping and analysis of candidate genes for qBT2 and qBT7.2 locus controlling bolting time in radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

KEY MESSAGE: Two major QTLs for bolting time in radish were mapped to chromosome 02 and 07 in a 0.37 Mb and 0. 52 Mb interval, RsFLC1 and RsFLC2 is the critical genes. Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is an important vegetable crop of Cruciferae. The premature bolting and flowering reduces the yield and quality of the fleshy root of radish. However, the molecular mechanism underlying bolting and flowering in radish remains unknown. In YZH (early bolting) × XHT (late bolting) F2 population, a high-density genetic linkage map was constructed with genetic distance of 2497.74 cM and an average interval of 2.31 cM. A total of nine QTLs for bolting time and two QTLs for flowering time were detected. Three QTLs associated with bolting time in radish were identified by QTL-seq using radish GDE (early bolting) × GDL (late bolting) F2 population. Fine mapping narrowed down qBT2 and qBT7.2 to an 0.37 Mb and 0.52 Mb region on chromosome 02 and 07, respectively. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analysis showed that RsFLC1 and RsFLC2 were the candidate gene for qBT7.2 and qBT2 locus, respectively. Subcellular localization exhibited that RsFLC1 and RsFLC2 were mainly expressed in the nucleus. A 1856-bp insertion in the first intron of RsFLC1 was responsible for bolting time. Overexpression of RsFLC2 in Arabidopsis was significantly delayed flowering. These findings will provide new insights into the exploring the molecular mechanism of late bolting and promote the marker-assisted selection for breeding late-bolting varieties in radish.

Preliminary research of the clinical pathways of glaucomatous optic nerve damage in cases with glaucomatocyclitic crisis: A retrospective study.

To investigate the clinical pathways via which the glaucomatous optic nerve damage (GOND) occurred in cases with glaucomatocyclitic crisis (also called Posner-Schlossman syndrome, PSS). A retrospective study was conducted, 59 PSS patients with confirmed GOND were screened out from 190 PSS cases and followed up for a period of 5 ±â€…3.3 years. Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed systematically and dynamically, including intraocular pressure and its dynamic change, appearance of fundus, visual field and the state of anterior chamber angle in initial and later period during the episodes and intermission of PSS. Based on the clinical data, a classification and standard for the clinical pathways of GOND were established, and the clinical pathway of GOND in each patient was classified accordingly. There are at least 4 clinical pathways of GOND in PSS patients, namely: Type A: GOND was simply caused by the accumulation effect of high IOP during many attacks of PSS itself. Type B: GOND was resulted from the combined action of PSS itself and another type of secondary open-angle glaucoma. The recurrent inflammation during the episodes of PSS damaged the trabecular meshwork, which can cause elevation of IOP during the intermission of PSS. Type C: PSS combined with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). Type D: PSS combined with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG). Base on the clinical gateways of GOND classification above, the cases of type A, B, C, and D were 27, 6, 19, and 7 respectively. The staging of visual field damage in cases with GOND from different clinical pathways showed a significant difference (Person chi-square χ2 test, χ2 = 7.211, P = .007). There are at least 4 clinical pathways of GOND in PSS patients, and each clinical pathway corresponds to different clinical features and different treatment principles. It is extremely important to correctly discriminate the pathways of GOND in PSS patients.

Metabolite Neu5Ac triggers SLC3A2 degradation promoting vascular endothelial ferroptosis and aggravates atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/-mice.

Background: Atherosclerosis (AS) is still the major cause of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as stroke. Endothelial metabolic disorder has been found to be activated and then promote endothelial cells (ECs) injury, which is regarded to initiate AS progression. N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), a metabolite produced by hexosamine-sialic acid pathway branching from glucose metabolism, was presented as a notable biomarker of CVD and is positively correlated with ECs function. However, few studies explain whether Neu5Ac regulate AS progression by affecting EC function as well as its involved mechanisms are still unknown. Methods: Here, we mimicked an animal model in ApoE-/- mice which displaying similar plasma Neu5Ac levels with AS model to investigate its effect on AS progression. Results: We found that Neu5Ac exacerbated plaques area and increased lipids in plasma in absence of HFD feeding, and ECs inflammatory injury was supposed as the triggering factor upon Neu5Ac treatment with increasing expression of IL-1ß, ICAM-1, and promoting ability of monocyte adhesion to ECs. Mechanistic studies showed that Neu5Ac facilitated SLC3A2 binding to ubiquitin and then triggered P62 mediated degradation, further leading to accumulation of lipid peroxidation in ECs. Fer-1 could inhibit ECs injury and reverse AS progression induced by Neu5Ac in ApoE-/- mice. Interestingly, mitochondrial dysfunction was also partly participated in ECs injury after Neu5Ac treatment and been reversed by Fer-1. Conclusions: Together, our study unveils a new mechanism by which evaluated metabolite Neu5Ac could promote SLC3A2 associated endothelial ferroptosis to activate ECs injury and AS plaque progression, thus providing a new insight into the role of Neu5Ac-ferroptosis pathway in AS. Also, our research revealed that pharmacological inhibition of ferroptosis may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for premature AS.

[Characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast genome of a new type of fruit Rubus rosaefolius].

The genomic DNA of Rubus rosaefolius was extracted and sequenced by Illumina NovaSeq platform to obtain the complete chloroplast genome sequence, and the sequence characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast genes were carried out. The results showed that the complete chloroplast genome of the R. rosaefolius was 155 650 bp in length and had a typical tetrad structure, including two reverse repeats (25 748 bp each), a large copy region (85 443 bp) and a small copy region (18 711 bp). A total of 131 genes were identified in the whole genome of R. rosaefolius chloroplast, including 86 protein coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. The GC content of the whole genome was 36.9%. The genome of R. rosaefolius chloroplast contains 47 scattered repeats and 72 simple sequence repeating (SSR) loci. The codon preference is leucine codon, and the codon at the end of A/U is preferred. Phylogenetic analysis showed that R. rosaefolius had the closest relationship with R. taiwanicola, followed by R. rubraangustifolius and R. glandulosopunctatus. The chloroplast genome characteristics and phylogenetic analysis of R. rosaefolius provide a theoretical basis for its genetic diversity research and chloroplast development and utilization.

Development of SNP and InDel markers by genome resequencing and transcriptome sequencing in radish (Raphanus sativus L.).

BACKGROUND: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertions/deletions (InDels) are the most abundant genetic variations and widely distribute across the genomes in plant. Development of SNP and InDel markers is a valuable tool for genetics and genomic research in radish (Raphanus sativus L.). RESULTS: In this study, a total of 366,679 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 97,973 insertion-deletion (InDel) markers were identified based on genome resequencing between 'YZH' and 'XHT'. In all, 53,343 SNPs and 4,257 InDels were detected in two cultivars by transcriptome sequencing. Among the InDel variations, 85 genomic and 15 transcriptomic InDels were newly developed and validated PCR. The 100 polymorphic InDels markers generated 207 alleles among 200 Chinese radish germplasm, with an average 2.07 of the number of alleles (Na) and with an average 0.33 of the polymorphism information content (PIC). Population structure and phylogenetic relationship revealed that the radish cultivars from northern China were clustered together and the southwest China cultivars were clustered together. RNA-Seq analysis revealed that 11,003 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the two cultivars, of which 5,020 were upregulated and 5,983 were downregulated. In total, 145 flowering time-related DGEs were detected, most of which were involved in flowering time integrator, circadian clock/photoperiod autonomous, and vernalization pathways. In flowering time-related DGEs region, 150 transcriptomic SNPs and 9 InDels were obtained. CONCLUSIONS: The large amount of SNPs and InDels identified in this study will provide a valuable marker resource for radish genetic and genomic studies. The SNPs and InDels within flowering time-related DGEs provide fundamental insight into for dissecting molecular mechanism of bolting and flowering in radish.

Development of Simultaneous Determination Method of Pesticide High Toxic Metabolite 3,4-Dichloroaniline and 3,5 Dichloroaniline in Chives Using HPLC-MS/MS.

3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA) and 3,5-dichloroaniline (3,5-DCA) are, respectively, the primary metabolites deriving from the breakdown of phenylurea herbicides and dicarboximide fungicides in both soils and plants, whose residues in vegetable products have a heightened concern considering their higher health risks to humans and greater toxicity than the parent compounds in the environment. In this study, a sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 3,4-DCA and 3,5-DCA residues in chive products based on the optimization of HPLC-MS/MS chromatographic and mass-spectrometric conditions using the standard substances and the modified QuEChERS preparation technique. The preparation efficiency of 3,4-DCA and 3,5-DCA from chive samples showed that acetonitrile was the best extractant. The combination of the purification agent graphite carbon black + primary secondary amine and the eluting agent acetonitrile + toluene (4:1, v/v) had a satisfactory purification effect. The linear correlation coefficients (R2) were more than 0.996 with the six concentration range of 0.001-1.000 mg/L for 3,4-DCA and 3,5-DCA. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of this method was 0.6 and 2.0 µg/kg for 3,4-DCA, as well as 1.0 and 3.0 µg/kg for 3,5-DCA, respectively. The matrix effect range of 3,4-DCA and 3,5-DCA in chive tissues was from -9.0% to -2.6% and from -4.4% to 2.3%, respectively. The fortified recovery of 3,4-DCA and 3,5-DCA in chive samples at four spiked levels of 0.001-1.000 mg/kg was 75.3-86.0% and 78.2-98.1%, with the relative standard deviation of 2.1-8.5% and 1.4-11.9%, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method were 0.6, 2.0, and 1.0, 3.03 for 4-DCA and 3,5-DCA, respectively. This study highlights that the analytical method established here can efficiently and sensitively detect residues of 3,4-DCA and 3,5-DCA residues for monitoring chive products. The method was successfully applied to 60 batches of actual vegetable samples from different regions.

Integration of gut microbiota and metabolomics for the hematopoiesis of Siwu paste on anemia rats.

Background: To investigate the regulation mechanism of hematopoiesis of Siwu paste (SWP) in anemia rats, which is a classic Chinese prescription used for nourishing blood or blood deficiency over 1000 years. Methods: Blood cell and biochemical analysis were used to evaluate the hematopoietic function of SWP in anemia rats. The intestinal microbial composition was analyzed with 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the metabolites were profiled using UPLC-TripleTOF system nontargeting metabolomics. Results: SWP can improve the levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, platelet, hematocrit value, white blood cells, lymphocyte, EPO, TPO, and GM-CSF in anemia rats, and significantly change the microbial community and its metabolites. The correlation analysis of intestinal microbiota-hematopoietic efficacy shows that 13 kinds of different intestinal flora were related to hematopoietic efficacy, in which Prevotella_1, Prevotella_9, Lactobacillus, and norank_f__Muribaculaceae were significantly positively correlated with hematopoiesis, nine kinds of intestinal flora are negatively correlated with hematopoietic effect. Compared with anemia rats, 218 potential metabolic biomarkers and 36 metabolites with significant differences were identified in the SWP treatment group, and the key metabolites were mainly amino acids and lipids. An in-depth analysis of metabolic pathways showed that SWP mainly affected 7 metabolic pathways, including aminobenzoic acid degradation and tryptophan metabolism. Conclusion: The study provides novel insights into the regulation of hematopoiesis of SWP in anemia rats that were correlated with gut microbiota and the metabolites, which through the restoration of the firmicutes/bacteroidetes ratio.

Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in riverine sediments of rural area driven by urbanization.

Rural revitalization denotes the gathering of large populations in rural areas and the subsequent gradual urbanization. Rural environments have been deteriorated by heavy metals (HMs) over the last few years. Without the existence of large-scale industries, the accumulation of HMs in sediments due to population aggregation in rural environments needs to be scientifically confirmed. Therefore, in this study we first understand the sediment pollution in rural environments in China and across the globe, and subsequently investigate HMs in sediments in rural micro water. The study area, Sichuan Province, China, was divided into two areas, namely, sparsely populated areas (SPA) and densely populated areas (DPA). Eight typical HMs (As, Zn, Ni, Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, and Pb) were selected to target in riverine sediments, and the content and spatial distribution characteristics were analyzed. The results indicate that As, Hg, Cd, and Pb concentrations in sediments were higher than background values (BVs), with high concentration sample sites located in the DPA. In addition, the geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI) and potential ecological risk index (RI) were used to quantitatively evaluate the pollution characteristics of HMs in sediments, revealing that the sediments exhibited high As and Hg pollution in the DPA (PLI = 1.09). In general, mild (RI = 48.76) and moderate (RI = 154.92) HM pollution was observed in the sediments of the SPA and DPA, respectively, based on the high PLI (> 1.0) and RI (> 150) values. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) indicate that the Cd in the sediment generally originated from geogenic sources, while the other elements (Zn, As, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni and Pb) were primarily linked to anthropogenic sources. Finally, the results demonstrate that population aggregation will lead to the enrichment of HMs.

Sialic acids promote macrophage M1 polarization and atherosclerosis by upregulating ROS and autophagy blockage.

Accumulating evidence suggests that sialic acids is closely related to atherosclerosis. However, the effects and underlying mechanisms of sialic acids in atherosclerosis have been not defined. Macrophages are one of the most important cells during plaque progression. In this study, we investigated the role of sialic acids in the M1 macrophage polarization and pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Here we found that sialic acids can promote the polarization of RAW264.7 cells to the M1 phenotype, thereby promoting the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in vitro. The proinflammatory effect of sialic acids may result from the inhibition of LKB1-AMPK-Sirt3 signaling pathway to upregulate intracellular ROS and impairing autophagy-lysosome system to block autophagic flux. In the APOE-/- mice, sialic acids in plasma increased during the development of atherosclerosis. Moreover, exogenous supplement of sialic acids can promote plaque progression in aortic arch and aortic sinus being accompanied by the differentiation of macrophages into M1 type in peripheral tissues. These studies demonstrated that sialic acids can promote macrophage polarization toward the M1 phenotype to accentuate atherosclerosis via inducing mitochondrial ROS and blocking autophagy, thus providing clue to a novel therapeutic strategy for atherosclerosis.

Comparison of postoperative visual performance between trifocal intraocular lens and monofocal intraocular lens.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the subjective and objective visual quality more comprehensively after surgery of the commonly used multifocal intraocular lenses (IOL) and monolocal IOL implants through long-term systematic clinical observation, providing reference and basis for clinical application. METHODS: Non-randomized controlled trial. A total of 91 (138 eyes) patients between June 2020 and December 2020 were implanted trifocal IOL or monofocal IOL after phacoemulsification in a tertiary class hospital in Wuhan. Monocular testing 3 months after surgery included best-spectacles corrected and uncorrected visual at distant, intermediate, and near vision; spherical equivalent (SE); defocus curve; modulation transfer function (MTF); dysfunctional lens index (DLI); Strehl ratio (SR); mesopic contrast sensitivity function; quality-of-life, spectacles independence, visual disturbance, and surgical satisfaction surveys 3 months post-surgery. RESULTS: There was statistically better uncorrected vision acuity with trifocal IOLs in all range, while monofocal IOL had statistically better mesopic contrast sensitivity at specific spatial frequencies and statistically worse defocus curves, spectacles independence, and surgical satisfaction. The trifocal IOL performed better in subjective quality of vision and life and spectacles independence questionnaires, and the objective quality of vision had no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Compared to monofocal IOL, trifocal IOL could provide a full range of clear vision for the majority of patients with simple cataracts, improve the rate of spectacles independence and patient satisfaction. And the objective quality of vision did not show any difference.

Single-Cell RNA sequencing highlights the regulatory role of T cell marker genes Ctla4, Ccl5 and Tcf7 in corneal allograft rejection of mouse model.

BACKGROUND: A mouse corneal allograft model was induced and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data of corneal tissues and T cells were analyzed to reveal a T cell-mediated mechanism for corneal allograft rejection in mice. METHODS: Corneal tissue samples from a mouse model of corneal allograft were collected for scRNA-seq analysis, followed by quality control, dimensionality reduction, cluster analysis and enrichment analysis. A large number of highly variable genes were identified in mice with corneal allograft. Significant difference existed in immune T cells, especially in CD4 + T cells. RESULTS: It was found that T cell marker genes Ctla4, Ccl5, Tcf7, Lgals1, and Itgb1 may play key roles in the corneal allograft rejection. Mice with allograft rejection showed a significant increase in the proportion of CD4 + T cells in the corneal tissues. Besides, Ccl5 and Tcf7 expression was increased in mice with allograft rejection and positively linked to the proportion of CD4 + T cells. Whereas, Ctla4 expression was downregulated and negatively associated with the proportion of CD4 + T cells. CONCLUSION: Collectively, Ctla4, Ccl5 and Tcf7 may participate in the rejection of corneal allograft in mice by affecting CD4 + T cell activation.

BIS feedback closed-loop target-controlled infusion of propofol or etomidate in elderly patients with spinal surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety of etomidate anesthesia induction combined with Bispectral index (BIS) feedback closed-loop target-controlled infusion of propofol for spinal surgery in elderly patients. METHODS: Clinical data of 90 elderly patients who underwent elective spinal surgery were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were assigned to an etomidate group (n=48) and a propofol group (n=42) according to the different anesthesia methods. The etomidate group was anesthetized with etomidate combined with BIS feedback closed-loop target-controlled infusion, and the propofol group was anesthetized with closed-loop target-controlled infusion induced by propofol. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) of the two groups were statistically analyzed 5 min after admission to the operating room (T0), the moment of the intubation (T1), 3 min after intubation (T2), 1 min before prone position (T3), 3 min after prone position (T4), the end of suture skin (T5) and 3 min after supine position (T6). In addition, the vasoactive drug application, awakening time, tracheal tube extraction time and incidence of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: There were significant changes in MAP and HR from T0 to T1 in both groups (MAP: etomidate group t=5.677, P<0.001, propofol group t=8.093, P<0.001; HR: etomidate group t=2.731, P=0.008, propofol group t=3.967, P<0.001). MAP changes in etomidate group from T0 to T1 were less (MAP: t=4.236, P<0.001; t=2.082, P=0.040), and there was no significant difference in HR between the two groups (P>0.05). There were fewer patients receiving vasoactive drugs in the etomidate group (χ2=5.070, P=0.024), but no significant difference was found in the incidence of complications between the two groups, χ2=3.670, P=0.055. CONCLUSION: Compared to propofol, the application of etomidate combined with BIS feedback closed-loop target-controlled infusion in spinal surgery anesthesia for elderly patients can keep hemodynamics in a stable state, without affecting postoperative resuscitation, showing high safety, so it is worthy of clinical application.

The long noncoding RNA LINC15957 regulates anthocyanin accumulation in radish.

Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is an important root vegetable crop belonging to the Brassicaceae family. Anthocyanin rich radish varieties are popular among consumers because of their bright color and high nutritional value. However, the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for skin and flesh induce anthocyanin biosynthesis in transient overexpression, gene silencing and transcriptome sequencing were used to verify its function in radish anthocyanin accumulation, radish remains unclear. Here, we identified a long noncoding RNA LINC15957, overexpression of LINC15957 was significantly increased anthocyanin accumulation in radish leaves, and the expression levels of structural genes related to anthocyanin biosynthesis were also significantly increased. Anthocyanin accumulation and expression levels of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes were significantly reduced in silenced LINC15957 flesh when compared with control. By the transcriptome sequencing of the overexpressed LINC15957 plants and the control, 5,772 differentially expressed genes were identified. A total of 3,849 differentially expressed transcription factors were identified, of which MYB, bHLH, WD40, bZIP, ERF, WRKY and MATE were detected and differentially expressed in the overexpressed LINC15957 plants. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed the genes were significant enriched in tyrosine, L-Phenylalanine, tryptophan, phenylpropanol, and flavonoid biosynthesis. RT-qPCR analysis showed that 8 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were differentially expressed in LINC15957-overexpressed plants. These results suggested that LINC15957 involved in regulate anthocyanin accumulation and provide abundant data to investigate the genes regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis in radish.

Exogenous melatonin mediates radish (Raphanus sativus) and Alternaria brassicae interaction in a dose-dependent manner.

Radish (Raphanus sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable worldwide, but its sustainable production and breeding are highly threatened by blight disease caused by Alternaria brassicae. Melatonin is an important growth regulator that can influence physiological activities in both plants and microbes and stimulate biotic stress resistance in plants. In this study, 0-1500 µM melatonin was exogenously applied to healthy radish seedlings, in vitro incubated A. brassicae, and diseased radish seedlings to determine the effects of melatonin on host, pathogen, and host-pathogen interaction. At sufficient concentrations (0-500 µM), melatonin enhanced growth and immunity of healthy radish seedlings by improving the function of organelles and promoting the biosynthesis of antioxidant enzymes, chitin, organic acid, and defense proteins. Interestingly, melatonin also improved colony growth, development, and virulence of A. brassicae. A strong dosage-dependent effect of melatonin was observed: 50-500 µM promoted host and pathogen vitality and resistance (500 µM was optimal) and 1500 µM inhibited these processes. Significantly less blight was observed on diseased seedlings treated with 500 µM melatonin, indicating that melatonin more strongly enhanced the growth and immunity of radish than it promoted the development and virulence of A. brassicae at this treatment concentration. These effects of MT were mediated by transcriptional changes of key genes as identified by RNA-seq, Dual RNA-seq, and qRT-PCR. The results from this work provide a theoretical basis for the application of melatonin to protect vegetable crops against pathogens.

Three New Species of Lactifluus (Basidiomycota, Russulaceae) from Guizhou Province, Southwest China.

Lactifluus is a distinct genus of milkcaps, well known as ectomycorrhizal fungi. The characteristics of the genus Lactifluus include grayish-yellow, orange to orange-brown, or reddish-brown pileus, white latex from the damaged lamellae, discoloring to a brownish color, reticulate spore ornamentation, lampropalisade-type pileipellis, and the presence of lamprocystidia. Guizhou Province is rich in wild mushroom resources due to its special geographical location and natural environment. In this study, three novel Lactifluus species were identified through the screening of extensive fungal resources in Suiyang County, Guizhou Province, China, sampled from host species of mostly Castanopsis spp. and Pinus spp. Based on critical morphology coupled with nuclear sequences of genes encoding large subunit rRNA, internal transcribed spacer, and RNA polymerase II, these new species, Lactifluus taibaiensis, Lactifluus qinggangtangensis, and Lactifluus jianbaensis, were found to belong to Lactifluus section Lactifluus. A comparison with closely related species, Lactifluus taibaiensis was distinguished by its lighter-colored pileus, different colors of lamellae, and more subglobose basidiospores; Lactifluus jianbaensis was identified by the height of the spore ornamentation and its subglobose basidiospores; and Lactifluus qinggangtangensis was characterized by having smaller basidiospores, ridges, and pleurolamprocystid.

Preparation of the Chitosan/Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid/Glabrid in Hybrid Nanoparticles and Study on its Releasing Property.

AIM: The aim of this study was to encapsulate glabridin (GB) into nanoparticles, prepared by an ionic-gelation method blended with chitosan (CS) and poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) to address the issue of poor stability and low water solubility of glabridin. METHODS: The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles were investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. RESULTS: FT-IR results indicated that the spontaneous interaction between CS, γ-PGA and GB can form a cross linked network-structure, leading to the spontaneous formation of nanoparticles. Morphology of the complex particles was nano-scale spherical shape. Furthermore, particle size was decreased according to the decrease of γ-PGA contents and CS, accompanying with the increase of mixed solution transmittance. The mγ-PGA : mGB = 1: 1 and mCS: (mγ-PGA + mGB) =1: 1 were considered to be a proper preparation condition of CS/γ-PGA/GB hybrid nanoparticles, which produced the smaller nanoparticles with the satisfactory encapsulation efficiency (EE), loading content (LC) and sustained GB release. With the increase of pH values, the potential, EE, and LC decreased gradually, while the particle size increased. The nanoparticles prepared with higher molecular weight γ-PGA had larger particle size and less loading capacity on GB. Additionally, moderate weight ratio of CS/γ-PGA/GB, low pH, and high molecular weight of γ-PGA were favorable for sustained release. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and GB release behaviors were affected by several factors including the weight ratio of CS/γ-PGA/GB, pHvalues, and γ-PGA molecular weight (MW). Nanoencapsulation using CS, γ-PGA and GB has a potential application for the development of functional cosmetic products with skin-whitening effect.