The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Chilo infuscatellus (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), and Related Phylogenetic Analysis.

The Chilo infuscatellus (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is a significant pest of sugarcane in China. The genome-level characteristics of this pest are important genetic resources for identification, phylogenetic analysis, and even management. In the present study, the complete mitogenome of C. infuscatellus was sequenced and characterized. The assembled mitochondrial genome is 15,252 bp in length and includes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and an A + T-rich region. Except for the CGA codon for the cox1 gene, the PCGs are initiated with ATN codons (ATG, ATT, and ATA). These PCGs are terminated with TAA or an incomplete termination codon of a single T. Except for the loss of the "DHU" arm for trnS1, the tRNA genes were folded into the typical cloverleaf structure. The A + T-rich region has a high AT content of 96.19% and contains the motifs "ATAGA" and "ATTTA", as well as a 19 bp poly-T stretch and microsatellite regions. The C. infuscatellus mitogenome exhibits a conserved gene order among lepidopteran insects, with a rearrangement of the trnM gene compared to the ancestral insect gene order. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 13 PCGs using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods confirmed the monophyly of Pyralidae and Crambidae within Pyraloidea. The relationships between subfamilies in Pyralidae can be described as (Galleriinae + (Phycitinae + (Pyralinae + Epipaschiinae))). The "PS clade" and "non-PS clade" were formed within the family Crambidae. These findings provide valuable genetic resources for the identification, phylogenetic analysis, and management of sugarcane borers, contributing significantly to our understanding of the phylogeny of Pyraloidea insects and their evolution.

Protocol of the development of a core outcome set for stroke in multidimensional value assessment of traditional Chinese medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is the most common cause of death in China. In Chinese clinical practise, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and integrative medicine have been widely used as adjuvant therapies for the treatment of stroke. However, their clinical effectiveness, particularly their clinical value, has been inconsistent in the literature mainly because various outcome measures have been used and reported in clinical research. Hence, obtaining a comprehensive list of outcomes for TCM value assessment is crucial for a multidimensional value assessment. Therefore, the main objective of this protocol was to develop an outcome set used in health technology assessment (HTA) decision-making for TCM treatment of stroke. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The outcome set will be developed in four phases: (1) we will perform a systematic literature review to identify candidate outcomes that have been previously measured in published studies; (2) we will develop a comprehensive list of outcome measures by conducting a multistakeholder semistructured interview; (3) we will conduct two-round Delphi surveys to prioritise outcomes for each HTA domain; and (4) we will finalise the outcome sets by holding a ratification meeting with multiple stakeholder groups. The developed outcome set should be measured and reported as the minimum set of outcomes for HTA assessment for the TCM treatment of acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Minhang Hospital of Fudan University. Our findings will be shared at academic conferences and in peer-reviewed publications.

Induced expression modes of genes related to Toll, Imd, and JAK/STAT signaling pathway-mediated immune response in Spodoptera frugiperda infected with Beauveria bassiana.

Spodoptera frugiperda is one of the most harmful pests that attack maize and other major food crops and causes huge economic loss every year in China and other countries and regions. Beauveria bassiana, a kind of entomological fungus that is highly pathogenic to pests, is harmless to the environment and human beings. However, at present, S. frugiperda has gradually developed resistance to many pesticides and microbial insecticides. In this study, transcriptome sequencing was conducted to analyze the differences in gene expression between B. bassiana-infected and -uninfected S. frugiperda. More than 160 Gb of clean data were obtained as 150-bp paired-end reads using the Illumina HiSeq™ 4000 platform, and 2,767 and 2,892 DEGs were identified in LH36vsCK36 and LH144vsCK144, respectively. In order to explore the roles of JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways in antifungal immune response in S. frugiperda against B. bassiana infection, the expression patterns of those signaling pathway-related genes in B. bassiana-infected S. frugiperda were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, antifungal activity experiments revealed that the suppression of JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways by inhibitors could inhibit the antifungal activity to a large extent and lead to increased sensitivity of S. frugiperda to B. bassiana infection, indicating that JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways and their associated genes might be involved in the synthesis and secretion of antifungal substances. This study implied that JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways played crucial roles in the antifungal immune response of the S. frugiperda larvae, in which the related genes of these signaling pathways could play special regulatory roles in signal transduction. This study would improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying innate immunity and provide the basis for a wide spectrum of strategies against antifungal resistance of S. frugiperda.

Novel gene rearrangement in the mitochondrial genome of Anastatus fulloi (Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea) and phylogenetic implications for Chalcidoidea.

The genus Anastatus comprises a large group of parasitoids, including several biological control agents in agricultural and forest systems. The taxonomy and phylogeny of these species remain controversial. In this study, the mitogenome of A. fulloi Sheng and Wang was sequenced and characterized. The nearly full-length mitogenome of A. fulloi was 15,692 bp, compromising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a control region (CR). The total A + T contents were 83.83%, 82.18%, 87.58%, 87.27%, and 82.13% in the whole mitogenome, 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and CR, respectively. The mitogenome presented negative AT skews and positive GC skews, except for the CR. Most PCGs were encoded on the heavy strand, started with ATN codons, and ended with TAA codons. Among the 3736 amino acid-encoding codons, TTA (Leu1), CGA (Arg), TCA (Ser2), and TCT (Ser2) were predominant. Most tRNAs had cloverleaf secondary structures, except trnS1, with the absence of a dihydrouridine (DHU) arm. Compared with mitogenomes of the ancestral insect and another parasitoid within Eupelmidae, large-scale rearrangements were found in the mitogenome of A. fulloi, especially inversions and inverse transpositions of tRNA genes. The gene arrangements of parasitoid mitogenomes within Chalcidoidea were variable. A novel gene arrangement was presented in the mitogenome of A. fulloi. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 13 protein-coding genes of 20 parasitoids indicated that the phylogenetic relationship of 6 superfamilies could be presented as Mymaridae + (Eupelmidae + (Encyrtidae + (Trichogrammatidae + (Pteromalidae + Eulophidae)))). This study presents the first mitogenome of the Anastatus genus and offers insights into the identification, taxonomy, and phylogeny of these parasitoids.

Both farnesyl diphosphate synthase genes are involved in the production of alarm pheromone in the green peach aphid Myzus persicae.

Farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS) catalyzes the formation of FPP, providing the precursor for the biosynthesis of (E)-ß-farnesene (EßF) in plants, but it is unknown if FPPS supplies the precursor for the biosynthesis of EßF, the major component of aphid alarm pheromone, though our previous studies support the hypothesis that EßF is synthesized by the aphid itself. Here, we used two cohorts of the green peach aphid Myzus persicae separately, reared on pepper plant and artificial diet to test the correlations among droplet emission, EßF quantity, and FPPS gene expression. It was found that the proportion of aphids emitting cornicle droplets and the quantity of EßF per milligram of aphid were both significantly different between the two cohorts, which were positively correlated with the expression of the two FPPS genes ( MpFPPS1/ 2) in M. persicae. These results were further confirmed by RNAi-mediated knockdown of MpFPPS1/ 2. Specifically, knockdown of MpFPPS1/ 2 imposed no significant cost on the survival of aphid but remarkably increased the number of offspring per aphid; most importantly, knockdown of MpFPPS1/ 2 significantly reduced the proportion of aphids emitting droplets and the quantity of EßF calculated as per the weight of aphid. Our results suggest that both FPPS genes are involved in the production of EßF in M. persicae and cornicle droplet emission is closely associated with the EßF release in the aphid.