Integrated examination of the transcriptome and metabolome of the gene expression response and metabolite accumulation in soybean seeds for seed storability under aging stress.

Soybean quality and production are determined by seed viability. A seed's capacity to sustain germination via dry storage is known as its seed life. Thus, one of the main objectives for breeders is to preserve genetic variety and gather germplasm resources. However, seed quality and germplasm preservation have become significant obstacles. In this study, four artificially simulated aging treatment groups were set for 0, 24, 72, and 120 hours. Following an aging stress treatment, the transcriptome and metabolome data were compared in two soybean lines with notable differences in seed vigor-R31 (aging sensitive) and R80 (aging tolerant). The results showed that 83 (38 upregulated and 45 downregulated), 30 (19 upregulated and 11 downregulated), 90 (52 upregulated and 38 downregulated), and 54 (25 upregulated and 29 downregulated) DEGs were differentially expressed, respectively. A total of 62 (29 upregulated and 33 downregulated), 94 (49 upregulated and 45 downregulated), 91 (53 upregulated and 38 downregulated), and 135 (111 upregulated and 24 downregulated) differential metabolites accumulated. Combining the results of transcriptome and metabolome investigations demonstrated that the difference between R31 and R80 responses to aging stress was caused by genes related to phenylpropanoid metabolism pathway, which is linked to the seed metabolite caffeic acid. According to this study's preliminary findings, the aging-resistant line accumulated more caffeic acid than the aging-sensitive line, which improved its capacity to block lipoxygenase (LOX) activity. An enzyme activity inhibition test was used to demonstrate the effect of caffeic acid. After soaking seeds in 1 mM caffeic acid (a LOX inhibitor) for 6 hours and artificially aging them for 24 hours, the germination rates of the R31 and R80 seeds were enhanced. In conclusion, caffeic acid has been shown to partially mitigate the negative effects of soybean seed aging stress and to improve seed vitality. This finding should serve as a theoretical foundation for future research on the aging mechanism of soybean seeds.

Upregulated Palmitoleate and Oleate Production in Escherichia coli Promotes Gentamicin Resistance.

Metabolic reprogramming mediates antibiotic efficacy. However, metabolic adaptation of microbes evolving from antibiotic sensitivity to resistance remains undefined. Therefore, untargeted metabolomics was conducted to unveil relevant metabolic reprogramming and potential intervention targets involved in gentamicin resistance. In total, 61 metabolites and 52 metabolic pathways were significantly altered in gentamicin-resistant E. coli. Notably, the metabolic reprogramming was characterized by decreases in most metabolites involved in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, and accumulation of building blocks for nucleotide synthesis in gentamicin-resistant E. coli. Meanwhile, fatty acid metabolism and glycerolipid metabolism were also significantly altered in gentamicin-resistant E. coli. Additionally, glycerol, glycerol-3-phosphate, palmitoleate, and oleate were separately defined as the potential biomarkers for identifying gentamicin resistance in E. coli. Moreover, palmitoleate and oleate could attenuate or even abolished killing effects of gentamicin on E. coli, and separately increased the minimum inhibitory concentration of gentamicin against E. coli by 2 and 4 times. Furthermore, palmitoleate and oleate separately decreased intracellular gentamicin contents, and abolished gentamicin-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species, indicating involvement of gentamicin metabolism and redox homeostasis in palmitoleate/oleate-promoted gentamicin resistance in E. coli. This study identifies the metabolic reprogramming, potential biomarkers and intervention targets related to gentamicin resistance in bacteria.

Establishment of a Nucleic Acid Detection Method for Norovirus GII.2 Genotype Based on RT-RPA and CRISPR/Cas12a-LFS.

To establish a rapid detection method for norovirus GII.2 genotype, this study employed reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) combined with CRISPR/Cas12a and lateral flow strip (RT-RPA-Cas12a-LFS). Here, the genome of norovirus GII.2 genotype was compared to identify highly conserved sequences, facilitating the design of RT-RPA primers and crRNA specific to the conserved regions of norovirus GII.2. Subsequently, the reaction parameters of RT-RPA were optimized and evaluated using agar-gel electrophoresis and LFS. The results indicate that the conserved sequences of norovirus GII.2 were successfully amplified through RT-RPA at 37°C for 25 minutes. Additionally, CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated cleavage detection was achieved through LFS at 37°C within 10 minutes using the amplification products as templates. Including the isothermal amplification reaction time, the total time is 35 minutes. The established RT-RPA-Cas12a-LFS method demonstrated specific detection of norovirus GII.2, yielding negative results for other viral genomes, and exhibited an excellent detection limit of 10 copies/µl. The RT-RPA-Cas12a-LFS method was further compared with qRT-PCR by analyzing 60 food-contaminated samples. The positive conformity rate was 100%, the negative conformity rate was 95.45%, and the overall conformity rate reached 98.33%. This detection method for norovirus GII.2 genotype is cost-effective, highly sensitive, specific, and easy to operate, offering a promising technical solution for field-based detection of the norovirus GII.2 genotype.

The MADS-box transcription factor GmFULc promotes GmZTL4 gene transcription to modulate maturity in soybean.

Flowering time and maturity are crucial agronomic traits that affect the regional adaptability of soybean plants. The development of soybean cultivars with early maturity adapted to longer days and colder climates of high latitudes is very important for ensuring normal ripening before frost begins. FUL belongs to the MADS-box transcription factor family and has several duplicated members in soybeans. In this study, we observed that overexpression of GmFULc in the Dongnong 50 cultivar promoted soybean maturity, while GmFULc knockout mutants exhibited late maturity. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed that GmFULc could bind to the CArG, bHLH and homeobox motifs. Further investigation revealed that GmFULc could directly bind to the CArG motif in the promoters of the GmZTL3 and GmZTL4 genes. Overexpression of GmZTL4 promoted soybean maturity, whereas the ztl4 mutants exhibited delayed maturity. Moreover, we found that the cis element box 4 motif of the GmZTL4 promoter, a motif of light response elements, played an important role in controlling the growth period. Deletion of this motif shortened the growth period by increasing the expression levels of GmZTL4. Functional investigations revealed that short-day treatment promoted the binding of GmFULc to the promoter of GmZTL4 and inhibited the expression of E1 and E1Lb, ultimately resulting in the promotion of flowering and early maturation. Taken together, these findings suggest a novel photoperiod regulatory pathway in which GmFULc directly activates GmZTL4 to promote earlier maturity in soybean.

Overexpression of cry1c* Enhances Resistance against to Soybean Pod Borer (Leguminivora glycinivorella) in Soybean.

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], an essential staple food and oil crop worldwide, boasts abundant vegetable proteins and fats beneficial for both human and animal consumption. However, the soybean pod borer (Leguminivora glycinivorella) (SPB) stands as the most destructive soybean insect pest in northeast China and other northeastern Asian regions, leading to significant annual losses in soybean yield and economic burden. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the introduction of a previously tested codon-optimized cry1c gene, cry1c*, into the soybean genome and assess its effect on the SPB infestation by generating and characterizing stable transgenic soybeans overexpressing cry1c*. The transgenic soybean lines that constitutively overexpressed cry1c* exhibited a significant reduction in the percentage of damaged seeds, reaching as low as 5% in plants under field conditions. Additionally, feeding transgenic leaves to the larvae of S. exigua, S. litura, and M. separta resulted in inhibited larval growth, decreased larval body weight, and lower survival rates compared to larvae fed on wild-type leaves. These findings showed that the transgenic lines maintained their resistance to SPB and other lepidopteran pests, especially the transgenic line KC1. Southern blotting and genome-wide resequencing analysis revealed that T-DNA integration occurred as a single copy between loci 50,868,122 and 50,868,123 of chromosome 10 in the transgenic line KC1. Therefore, the transgenic line KC1, overexpressing high levels of cry1c* in leaves and seeds, holds strong potential for commercial use in the integrated management of SPB and other lepidopteran pests.

Analysis of direct drinking water quality and its influencing factors in primary and secondary schools in Nanjing City / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the quality and influencing factors of direct drinking water in schools in Nanjing City, so as to provide basis for management of school drinking water.@*Methods@#From April to July 2023, direct drinking water equipment from 146 primary and secondary schools were selected from Nanjing City using a stratified random sampling method and tested for colony forming units (CFU) and permanganate index. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the differences between groups, and multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors.@*Results@#The CFU and permanganate levels of school direct drinking water in Nanjing City were 1.00(0.00,15.50)CFU/mL and 0.47(0.26, 0.75)mg/L, respectively. The CFU level increased when the filter replacement time exceeded 3 months and when the water source was piped, while the permanganate index increased when the filter replacement time exceeded 3 months and using activated carbon technology ( Z =-2.21, -3.92, -2.31, -8.45 , P <0.05). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that the replacement time of filter element exceeding 3 months was positively correlated with the CFU level, and the process type involving activated carbon, a laid pipe network and a filter replacement time exceeding 3 months were positively correlated with the permanganate index( β =167.08, 0.32, 0.35, 0.11, P ＜0.05).@*Conclusions@#There are certain problems with the water quality of primary and secondary school direct drinking water in Nanjing City. Schools should promptly replace the filter and maintain the drinking water equipment to ensure the hygiene and safety of campus water quality.

Endovascular Tool Segmentation with Multi-lateral Branched Network during Robot-assisted Catheterization.

Robot-assisted catheterization is routinely carried out for intervention of cardiovascular diseases. Meanwhile, the success of endovascular tool navigation depends on visualization and tracking cues available in the robotic platform. Currently, real-time motion analytics are lacking, while poor illumination during fluoroscopy affects existing physics- and learning-based methods used for tool segmentation. A multi-lateral branched network (MLB-Net) is herein proposed for tool segmentation in cardiovascular angiograms. The model has an encoder with multi-lateral separable convolutions and a pyramid decoder. Model training and validation are done on 1320 angiograms obtained during robot-assisted catheterization in rabbit. Model performance, explained with F1-score of 89.01% and mean intersection-over-union of 90.05% on 330 frames, indicates the model's robustness for guidewire segmentation in angiograms. The MLB-Net offers better performance than the state-of-the-art segmentation models such as U-Net, U-Net++ and DeepLabV3. Thus, it could provide basis for endovascular tool tracking and surgical scene analytics during cardiovascular interventions.

Lack of association between XRCC1 SNPs and acute radiation­induced injury or prognosis in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The response to radiation therapy (RT) is closely associated with DNA damage repair. X-ray repair cross-complementing group-1 (XRCC1) is a key gene in the DNA damage repair pathway, and SNPs in this gene alter the expression and activity of its effector protein, which may in turn affect sensitivity to RT. Therefore, the course of tumor treatment and local control rate can be influenced. In the present study, a group of 158 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who received intensity-modulated RT at Fujian Cancer Hospital (Fuzhou, China) between July 2012 and October 2013 were included in retrospective chart review and followed up. Plasma was collected before treatment for genotype analysis of the three SNPs of XRCC1, namely Arg194Trp, Arg280His and Arg399Gln. Acute radiation-induced injuries sustained during treatment was graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group scoring criteria. Post-treatment follow-up was performed until August 2020. In the 158 cases of NPC, no statistically significant association was observed between the three SNPs of the XRCC1 gene and the severity of acute radiation-induced injury or prognosis. However, the AA genotype of XRCC1-Arg399Gln tended to be associated with worse progression-free survival (PFS) compared with the GA + GG genotype, although this was not significant (P=0.069). In addition, multivariate logistic analysis showed that nodal stage was significantly associated with the occurrence of acute severe radiation-induced oral mucositis (P=0.018), and there was also a trend towards an association between nodal stage and the incidence of acute severe radiation-induced pharyngitis; however, this was not statistically significant (P=0.061). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that older age, distant metastasis and higher clinical stage were independent risk factors for PFS in patients with NPC. In conclusion, relying solely on the aforementioned SNPs of the XRCC1 gene may not provide a robust enough basis to predict the response to RT or prognosis in patients with NPC.

The Assessment of Natural Cross Pollination Properties of a Novel Male-Sterile-Female-Fertile Mutation msLC01 in Soybean.

The value of a novel soybean male-sterile mutation msLC01 in breeding practice was determined by its outcrossing properties. Then, the effects of different planting arrangements on the pod set characteristics of male-sterile plants were assessed by using orthogonal experiments at two sites. At the same time, the effects of msLC01 male sterility on other traits were assessed in two C2F2 populations. In addition, the nectar secretion and natural outcross of male-sterile plants from four msLC01 lines were compared with one ms1 line and one ms6 line. The results of the orthogonal experiment showed that the pod numbers and pod set rates of male-sterile plants were decisively different between the two experimental sites but not between the two levels of the other factors. Both increasing the ratio of paternal parent to maternal parent and planting the parental seeds in a mixed way, the proportion of seeds pollinated by the target parent pollen could be increased. Except for the pod number per plant trait, there was no significant difference between male-sterile plants and their fertile siblings. The amount of nectar significantly differed among the lines. Compared with ms1 and ms6 male-sterile plants, the four msLC01 lines possessed significantly more or similar numbers of pod sets. The results of this study lay a foundation for the future use of this mutant in soybean breeding.

Strategies and Applications of Graphene and Its Derivatives-Based Electrochemical Sensors in Cancer Diagnosis.

Graphene is an emerging nanomaterial increasingly being used in electrochemical biosensing applications owing to its high surface area, excellent conductivity, ease of functionalization, and superior electrocatalytic properties compared to other carbon-based electrodes and nanomaterials, enabling faster electron transfer kinetics and higher sensitivity. Graphene electrochemical biosensors may have the potential to enable the rapid, sensitive, and low-cost detection of cancer biomarkers. This paper reviews early-stage research and proof-of-concept studies on the development of graphene electrochemical biosensors for potential future cancer diagnostic applications. Various graphene synthesis methods are outlined along with common functionalization approaches using polymers, biomolecules, nanomaterials, and synthetic chemistry to facilitate the immobilization of recognition elements and improve performance. Major sensor configurations including graphene field-effect transistors, graphene modified electrodes and nanocomposites, and 3D graphene networks are highlighted along with their principles of operation, advantages, and biosensing capabilities. Strategies for the immobilization of biorecognition elements like antibodies, aptamers, peptides, and DNA/RNA probes onto graphene platforms to impart target specificity are summarized. The use of nanomaterial labels, hybrid nanocomposites with graphene, and chemical modification for signal enhancement are also discussed. Examples are provided to illustrate applications for the sensitive electrochemical detection of a broad range of cancer biomarkers including proteins, circulating tumor cells, DNA mutations, non-coding RNAs like miRNA, metabolites, and glycoproteins. Current challenges and future opportunities are elucidated to guide ongoing efforts towards transitioning graphene biosensors from promising research lab tools into mainstream clinical practice. Continued research addressing issues with reproducibility, stability, selectivity, integration, clinical validation, and regulatory approval could enable wider adoption. Overall, graphene electrochemical biosensors present powerful and versatile platforms for cancer diagnosis at the point of care.

Chromosome level genome assembly of colored calla lily (Zantedeschia elliottiana).

The colored calla lily is an ornamental floral plant native to southern Africa, belonging to the Zantedeschia genus of the Araceae family. We generated a high-quality chromosome-level genome of the colored calla lily, with a size of 1,154 Mb and a contig N50 of 42 Mb. We anchored 98.5% of the contigs (1,137 Mb) into 16 pseudo-chromosomes, and identified 60.18% of the sequences (694 Mb) as repetitive sequences. Functional annotations were assigned to 95.1% of the predicted protein-coding genes (36,165). Additionally, we annotated 469 miRNAs, 1,652 tRNAs, 10,033 rRNAs, and 1,677 snRNAs. Furthermore, Gypsy-type LTR retrotransposons insertions in the genome are the primary factor causing significant genome size variation in Araceae species. This high-quality genome assembly provides valuable resources for understanding genome size differences within the Araceae family and advancing genomic research on colored calla lily.

The Overexpression of Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) AhALDH2B6 in Soybean Enhances Cold Resistance.

Soybeans are the main source of oils and protein for humans and animals; however, cold stress jeopardizes their growth and limits the soybean planting area. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDH) are conserved enzymes that catalyze aldehyde oxidation for detoxification in response to stress. Additionally, transgenic breeding is an efficient method for producing stress-resistant germplasms. In this study, the peanut ALDH gene AhALDH2B6 was heterologously expressed in soybean, and its function was tested. We performed RNA-seq using transgenic and wild-type soybeans with and without cold treatment to investigate the potential mechanism. Transgenic soybeans developed stronger cold tolerance, with longer roots and taller stems than P3 soybeans. Biochemically, the transgenic soybeans exhibited a decrease in malondialdehyde activity and an increase in peroxidase and catalase content, both of which are indicative of stress alleviation. They also possessed higher levels of ALDH enzyme activity. Two phenylpropanoid-related pathways were specifically enriched in up-regulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including the phenylpropanoid metabolic process and phenylpropanoid biosynthetic process. Our findings suggest that AhALDH2B6 specifically up-regulates genes involved in oxidoreductase-related functions such as peroxidase, oxidoreductase, monooxygenase, and antioxidant activity, which is partially consistent with our biochemical data. These findings established the function of AhALDH2B6, especially its role in cold stress processes, and provided a foundation for molecular plant breeding, especially plant-stress-resistance breeding.

Biogenic preparation of copper oxide nanoparticles using table olive: Catalytic reduction, cytotoxicity, and burn wound healing activities.

Green strategy for the preparation of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) using table olive has been researched in the present work. Some characterization assays viz., transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) was used for evaluation of the crystal structure, size and morphology of the manufactured NPs. As a catalyst, the prepared material demonstrated remarkable catalytic capability (>99% in 4 min) for the reduction of rhodamine B using sodium borohydride. In addition, the treated cells with the CuO NPs were examined by regarding the cytotoxicity properties on normal (HUVEC) cell line. The results showed that the prepared CuO NPs did not have any cytotoxicity effects on HUVEC (up to 500 µg/mL). Furthermore, in vivo experiments on burn wounds in rats show that the synthesized CuO NPs ointment significantly diminished (p ≤ 0.01) the wound area. On the other hand, the wound contracture factor was increased in comparison with the control groups. Collectively, the CuO NPs prepared by biological method have potential applications in organic pollutants reduction and wound care applications. In this viewpoint, CuO NPs may be considered as an effective for treatment of different wounds including burn wounds or injuries from surgeries such as plastic surgery.

Five in One: Multi-Engine Highly Integrated Microrobot.

A multi-engine highly integrated microrobot, which is a Janus hemispherical shell structure composed of Pt and α-Fe2 O3 , is successfully developed. The microrobot can be efficiently driven and flexibly regulated by five stimuli, including an optical field, an acoustic field, magnetic field, an electric field, and chemical fuel. In addition, no matter which way it is driven by, the direction can be effectively controlled through the magnetic field regulation. Furthermore, this microrobot can also utilize magnetic or acoustic fields to achieve excellent aggregation control and swarm movement. Finally, this study demonstrates that the microrobots' propulsion can be effectively synergistically enhanced through the simultaneous action of two driving mechanisms, which can greatly improve the performance of the motor in applications, such as pollutant degradation. This multi-engine, highly integrated microrobot not only can adapt to more complex environments and has a wider application range, better application prospects, but also provides important ideas for designing future advanced micro/nanorobots.

Clinical progress of anti-angiogenic targeted therapy and combination therapy for gastric cancer.

The incidence of gastric cancer is increasing year by year. Most gastric cancers are already in the advanced stage with poor prognosis when diagnosed, which means the current treatment is not satisfactory. Angiogenesis is an important link in the occurrence and development of tumors, and there are multiple anti-angiogenesis targeted therapies. To comprehensively evaluate the efficacy and safety of anti-angiogenic targeted drugs alone and in combination against gastric cancer, we systematically searched and sorted out relevant literature. In this review, we summarized the efficacy and safety of Ramucirumab, Bevacizumab, Apatinib, Fruquintinib, Sorafenib, Sunitinib, Pazopanib on gastric cancer when used alone or in combination based on prospective clinical trials reported in the literature, and sorted response biomarkers. We also summarized the challenges faced by anti-angiogenesis therapy for gastric cancer and available solutions. Finally, the characteristics of the current clinical research are summarized and suggestions and prospects are raised. This review will serve as a good reference for the clinical research of anti-angiogenic targeted drugs in the treatment of gastric cancer.

The Role of Surveillance Inspections in Reducing False-Positives of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants during the COVID-19 Epidemic.

Objective: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of surveillance inspections conducted by the provincial health committee in Quanzhou city during a COVID-19 outbreak in reducing false-positive results in SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assays. Method: The team conducted on-site inspections of laboratories that participated in mass screening, recording any violations of rules. Results: The positive cases in five rounds of mass screening were 23, 173, and 4 in Licheng District, Fengze District, and Luojang District, respectively. The false-positive rates in the five rounds of mass screening were 0.0099%, 0.0063%, 0.0018%, 0.0006%, and 0%, respectively. The study also recorded that the number of violations in the seven selected laboratories was 36, 68, 69, 42, 60, 54 and 47. The corresponding false-positive rates were 0.0012%, 0.0060%, 0.0082%, 0.0032%, 0.0060%, 0.0027%, and 0.0021%, respectively. The study found a positive correlation between false-positive rates and the number of violations (r = 0.905, P=0.005), and an inverse correlation between false-positive rates and the frequency of surveillance inspections (r = -0.950, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Daily surveillance inspection in laboratories can remind laboratories to strictly comply with standard procedures, focus on laboratory quality control, and reduce the occurrence of false-positive cases in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests to some extent. This study recommends that government decision-making departments establish policies and arrange experts to conduct daily surveillance inspections to improve laboratory quality control.

Radical oxygen species: an important breakthrough point for botanical drugs to regulate oxidative stress and treat the disorder of glycolipid metabolism.

Background: The incidence of glycolipid metabolic diseases is extremely high worldwide, which greatly hinders people's life expectancy and patients' quality of life. Oxidative stress (OS) aggravates the development of diseases in glycolipid metabolism. Radical oxygen species (ROS) is a key factor in the signal transduction of OS, which can regulate cell apoptosis and contribute to inflammation. Currently, chemotherapies are the main method to treat disorders of glycolipid metabolism, but this can lead to drug resistance and damage to normal organs. Botanical drugs are an important source of new drugs. They are widely found in nature with availability, high practicality, and low cost. There is increasing evidence that herbal medicine has definite therapeutic effects on glycolipid metabolic diseases. Objective: This study aims to provide a valuable method for the treatment of glycolipid metabolic diseases with botanical drugs from the perspective of ROS regulation by botanical drugs and to further promote the development of effective drugs for the clinical treatment of glycolipid metabolic diseases. Methods: Using herb*, plant medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, phytochemicals, natural medicine, phytomedicine, plant extract, botanical drug, ROS, oxygen free radicals, oxygen radical, oxidizing agent, glucose and lipid metabolism, saccharometabolism, glycometabolism, lipid metabolism, blood glucose, lipoprotein, triglyceride, fatty liver, atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes, dysglycemia, NAFLD, and DM as keywords or subject terms, relevant literature was retrieved from Web of Science and PubMed databases from 2013 to 2022 and was summarized. Results: Botanical drugs can regulate ROS by regulating mitochondrial function, endoplasmic reticulum, phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT), erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), and other signaling pathways to improve OS and treat glucolipid metabolic diseases. Conclusion: The regulation of ROS by botanical drugs is multi-mechanism and multifaceted. Both cell studies and animal experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of botanical drugs in the treatment of glycolipid metabolic diseases by regulating ROS. However, studies on safety need to be further improved, and more studies are needed to support the clinical application of botanical drugs.

GmGAMYB-BINDING PROTEIN 1 promotes small auxin-up RNA gene transcription to modulate soybean maturity and height.

Flowering time, maturity, and plant height are crucial agronomic traits controlled by photoperiod that affect soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) yield and regional adaptability. It is important to cultivate soybean cultivars of earlier maturity that adapt to high latitudes. GAMYB-binding protein 1 (GmGBP1), a member of the SNW/SKIP family of transcriptional coregulators in soybean, is induced by short days and interacts with transcription factor GAMYB (GmGAMYB) during photoperiod control of flowering time and maturity. In the present study, GmGBP1:GmGBP1 soybean showed the phenotypes of earlier maturity and higher plant height. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) assays of GmGBP1-binding sites and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of differentially expressed transcripts in GmGBP1:GmGBP1 further identified potential targets of GmGBP1, including small auxin-up RNA (GmSAUR). GmSAUR:GmSAUR soybean also showed earlier maturity and higher plant height. GmGBP1 interacted with GmGAMYB, bound to the promoter of GmSAUR and promoted the expression of FLOWER LOCUS T homologs 2a (GmFT2a) and FLOWERING LOCUS D LIKE 19 (GmFDL19). Flowering repressors such as GmFT4 were negatively regulated, resulting in earlier flowering and maturity. Furthermore, the interaction of GmGBP1 with GmGAMYB increased the gibberellin (GA) signal to promote height and hypocotyl elongation by activating GmSAUR and GmSAUR bound to the promoter of the GA-positive activating regulator gibberellic acid-stimulated Arabidopsis 32 (GmGASA32). These results suggested a photoperiod regulatory pathway in which the interaction of GmGBP1 with GmGAMYB directly activated GmSAUR to promote earlier maturity and plant height in soybean.

Exosomes in liver fibrosis: The role of modulating hepatic stellate cells and immune cells, and prospects for clinical applications.

Liver fibrosis is a global health problem caused by chronic liver injury resulting from various factors. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) have been found to play a major role in liver fibrosis, and pathological stimuli lead to their transdifferentiation into myofibroblasts. Complex multidirectional interactions between HSCs, immune cells, and cytokines are also critical for the progression of liver fibrosis. Despite the advances in treatments for liver fibrosis, they do not meet the current medical needs. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles of 30-150 nm in diameter and are capable of intercellular transport of molecules such as lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. As an essential mediator of intercellular communication, exosomes are involved in the physiological and pathological processes of many diseases. In liver fibrosis, exosomes are involved in the pathogenesis mainly by regulating the activation of HSCs and the interaction between HSCs and immune cells. Serum-derived exosomes are promising biomarkers of liver fibrosis. Exosomes also have promising therapeutic potential in liver fibrosis. Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells and other cells exhibit anti-liver fibrosis effects. Moreover, exosomes may serve as potential therapeutic targets for liver fibrosis and hold promise in becoming drug carriers for liver fibrosis treatment.

Screening and characterization of sex-specific sequences through 2b-RAD sequencing in American shad (Alosa sapidissima).

American shad (Alosa sapidissima), introduced from the United States, has become one of the most expensive farmed fish in the aquatic product market of China. The shad reveals significant sexual dimorphism in growth and behaviors. For the study, five male-specific tags were identified in two-generation breeding populations of Alosa sapidissima and were verified by PCR amplification. Averages of 10,245,091 and 8,685,704 raw and enzyme reads were obtained by high-throughput sequencing of the 2b-RAD library, respectively. 301,022 unique tags were obtained from the sequences of twenty samples with sequencing depths of 0 to 500. Finally, 274,324 special tags and 29,327 SNPs were selected with a sequencing depth of 3 to 500. Eleven preliminary screening male-specific tags and three male heterogametic SNP loci were isolated. After verification by PCR amplification, five male-specific sequences of 27 bp located on chromosome 3 were screened out. Chromosome 3 could be assumed to be the sex chromosome of Alosa sapidissima. Sex-specific markers will provide invaluable and systematic animal germplasm resources to allow for the precise identification of neo-males for the all-female breeding of Alosa sapidissima in commercial aquaculture.