Identification of MYB gene family and functional analysis of GhMYB4 in cotton (Gossypium spp.).

Myeloblastosis (MYB) transcription factors (TFs) form a large gene family involved in a variety of biological processes in plants. Little is known about their roles in the development of cotton pigment glands. In this study, 646 MYB members were identified in Gossypium hirsutum genome and phylogenetic classification was analyzed. Evolution analysis revealed assymetric evolution of GhMYBs during polyploidization and sequence divergence of MYBs in G. hirustum was preferentially happend in D sub-genome. WGCNA (weighted gene co-expression network analysis) showed that four modules had potential relationship with gland development or gossypol biosynthesis in cotton. Eight differentially expressed GhMYB genes were identified by screening transcriptome data of three pairs of glanded and glandless cotton lines. Of these, four were selected as candidate genes for cotton pigment gland formation or gossypol biosynthesis by qRT-PCR assay. Silencing of GH_A11G1361 (GhMYB4) downregulated expression of multiple genes in gossypol biosynthesis pathway, indicating it could be involved in gossypol biosynthesis. The potential protein interaction network suggests that several MYBs may have indirect interaction with GhMYC2-like, a key regulator of pigment gland formation. Our study was the systematic analysis of MYB genes in cotton pigment gland development, providing candidate genes for further study on the roles of cotton MYB genes in pigment gland formation, gossypol biosynthesis and future crop plant improvement.

ß-Cyclodextrin and folic acid host-guest interaction binding parameters determined by Taylor dispersion analysis and affinity capillary electrophoresis.

The thermodynamic properties of molecular recognition in host-guest inclusion complexes can be studied by Taylor dispersion analysis (TDA). Host-guest inclusion complexes have modest size, and it is possible to get convergent results fast, achieving greater certainty for the obtained thermodynamic properties. Cyclodextrins (CDs) and their derivatives can be used as drug carriers that can boost stability, solubility, and bioavailability of physiologically active substances. A simple and effective approach for assessing the binding properties of CD complexes that are critical in the early stages of drug and formulation development is needed to fully understand the process of CD and guest molecules' complex formation. In this work, TDA was successfully used to rapidly determine interaction parameters, including binding constant and stoichiometry, between ß-CD and folic acid (FA) along with the diffusivities of the free FA and its complex with ß-CD. Additionally, the FA diffusion coefficient obtained by TDA was compared to the results previously obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance. Affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) was also used to compare the binding constants obtained by different methods. The results showed that the binding constants obtained by ACE were somewhat lower than those obtained by the two TDA procedures.

Gene Expression Correlation Analysis Reveals MYC-NAC Regulatory Network in Cotton Pigment Gland Development.

Plant NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2) family is involved in various development processes including Programmed Cell Death (PCD) associated development. However, the relationship between NAC family and PCD-associated cotton pigment gland development is largely unknown. In this study, we identified 150, 153 and 299 NAC genes in newly updated genome sequences of G. arboreum, G. raimondii and G. hirsutum, respectively. All NAC genes were divided into 8 groups by the phylogenetic analysis and most of them were conserved during cotton evolution. Using the vital regulator of gland formation GhMYC2-like as bait, expression correlation analysis screened out 6 NAC genes which were low-expressed in glandless cotton and high-expressed in glanded cotton. These 6 NAC genes acted downstream of GhMYC2-like and were induced by MeJA. Silencing CGF1(Cotton Gland Formation1), another MYC-coding gene, caused almost glandless phenotype and down-regulated expression of GhMYC2-like and the 6 NAC genes, indicating a MYC-NAC regulatory network in gland development. In addition, predicted regulatory mechanism showed that the 6 NAC genes were possibly regulated by light, various phytohormones and transcription factors as well as miRNAs. The interaction network and DNA binding sites of the 6 NAC transcription factors were also predicted. These results laid the foundation for further study of gland-related genes and gland development regulatory network.

Therapeutic effect of vascular interventional therapy and aspirin combined with defibrase on cerebral ischemia in rats.

Therapeutic effect of vascular interventional therapy and aspirin combined with defibrase in the treatment of cerebral ischemia in rat model were investigated. Ninety rats were selected to establish cerebral ischemia model. Animal models were randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 45 rats in each group. Rats in observation group were treated with vascular intervention, and control group was treated with aspirin combined with defibrase. Peak systolic velocity (Vs) and end-diastolic velocity (Vd) were compared between two groups before and after 12 months of treatment. Therapeutic effects were compared before and after 6 months, and before and after 12 months of treatment. Vs and Vd of vascular lesions in observation group at 12 months were reduced after treatment, and were significantly lower than those in control group (p<0.05). After treatment, Vs and Vd in observation group were significantly reduced (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in Vs and Vd values between the groups before treatment (p>0.05). NDS scores in observation group were significantly lower than those in control group at 6 months and 1 year after treatment (p<0.05). There were no significant changes in NDS score at 6 and 12 months after treatment in control group compared with pretreatment group (p>0.05). NDS in observation group was significantly reduced at 6 and 12 months after treatment compared with pretreatment level (p<0.05). One year after treatment, incidence of cerebral infarction and transient ischemic attack and mortality in observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). Intracranial vascular interventional therapy can achieve satisfactory outcomes in the treatment of cerebral ischemia, and can effectively promote nerve function recovery, and reduce the incidence of cerebrovascular diseases and mortality.