Transcriptomic comparison of seeds and silique walls from two rapeseed genotypes with contrasting seed oil content.

Silique walls play pivotal roles in contributing photoassimilates and nutrients to fuel seed growth. However, the interaction between seeds and silique walls impacting oil biosynthesis is not clear during silique development. Changes in sugar, fatty acid and gene expression during Brassica napus silique development of L192 with high oil content and A260 with low oil content were investigated to identify key factors affecting difference of their seed oil content. During the silique development, silique walls contained more hexose and less sucrose than seeds, and glucose and fructose contents in seeds and silique walls of L192 were higher than that of A260 at 15 DAF, and sucrose content in the silique walls of L192 were lower than that of A260 at three time points. Genes related to fatty acid biosynthesis were activated over time, and differences on fatty acid content between the two genotypes occurred after 25 DAF. Genes related to photosynthesis expressed more highly in silique walls than in contemporaneous seeds, and were inhibited over time. Gene set enrichment analysis suggested photosynthesis were activated in L192 at 25 and 35 DAF in silique walls and at both 15 and 35 DAF in the seed. Expressions of sugar transporter genes in L192 was higher than that in A260, especially at 35 DAF. Expressions of genes related to fatty acid biosynthesis, such as BCCP2s, bZIP67 and LEC1s were higher in L192 than in A260, especially at 35 DAF. Meanwhile, genes related to oil body proteins were expressed at much lower levels in L192 than in A260. According to the WGCNA results, hub modules, such as ME.turquoise relative to photosynthesis, ME.green relative to embryo development and ME.yellow relative to lipid biosynthesis, were identified and synergistically regulated seed development and oil accumulation. Our results are helpful for understanding the mechanism of oil accumulation of seeds in oilseed rape for seed oil content improvement.

Identification and Functional Analysis of the psaD Promoter of Chlorella vulgaris Using Heterologous Model Strains.

Chlorella has great potential as a bio-factory for production of value-added compounds. To produce the desired chemicals more efficiently in Chlorella, genetic tools for modification of Chlorella need to be developed, especially an endogenous promoter. In this study, the promoter of photosystem I protein D (psaD) from Chlorella vulgaris UTEX395 was identified. Computational analysis revealed the presence of several putative cis-acting elements, including a potential core element, and light-responsive or stress-responsive elements. Gene expression analysis in heterologous expression system in Chlamydomonasreinhardtii and Nicotianabenthamiana showed that CvpsaD promoter can be used to drive the expression of genes. Functional analysis of this promoter suggested that the initiator element (Inr) is important for its function (i.e., TATA-less promoter) and that an additional factor (e.g., downstream of the transcriptional start site) might be needed for light response. We have shown that the CvpsaD promoter is functional, but not sufficiently strong, both in microalgae and higher plant.

Distribution characteristics of bone cement used for unilateral puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty in multiple planes.

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution of bone cement in unilateral puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 64 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) who underwent unilateral PVP were included in this study. The vertebral body was longitudinally divided into four equal parts. The intermediate layer between each part was representative of the part and there were four layers in total. Each layer was divided into 4 regions a, b, c, and d by the crossed lines at the center of the vertebral body. Region c was the first half of the puncture side and region d was the second half of the puncture side. Region a was the first half of the opposite side, and b was the second half of the opposite side. Bone cement filling areas in the four layers and the four regions of each layer were compared. RESULTS: There were significant differences in visual analogue scale (VAS) scores before and after surgery (P < 0.05). Variance analysis indicated that the bone cement filling ratio of the region b in each layer was significantly lower than the other three regions, and that the bone cement filling ratio of region a was equal to that of the region d. CONCLUSION: Unilateral puncture PVP can reduce VAS scores, and plays a role in reducing pain. The bone cement showed a regular distribution.

Two SUMO Proteases SUMO PROTEASE RELATED TO FERTILITY1 and 2 Are Required for Fertility in Arabidopsis.

In plants, the posttranslational modification small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is involved in regulating several important developmental and cellular processes, including flowering time control and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Here, we report two proteases, SUMO PROTEASE RELATED TO FERTILITY1 (SPF1) and SPF2, that regulate male and female gamete and embryo development and remove SUMO from proteins in vitro and in vivo. spf1 mutants exhibit abnormal floral structures and embryo development, while spf2 mutants exhibit largely a wild-type phenotype. However, spf1 spf2 double mutants exhibit severe abnormalities in microgametogenesis, megagametogenesis, and embryo development, suggesting that the two genes are functionally redundant. Mutation of SPF1 and SPF2 genes also results in misexpression of generative- and embryo-specific genes. In vitro, SPF1 and SPF2 process SUMO1 precursors into a mature form, and as expected in vivo, spf1 and spf2 mutants accumulate SUMO conjugates. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified EMBRYO SAC DEVELOPMENT ARREST9 (EDA9) as an SPF1-interacting protein. In vivo, we demonstrate that EDA9 is sumolyated and that, in spf1 mutants, EDA9-SUMO conjugates increase in abundance, demonstrating that EDA9 is a substrate of SPF1. Together, our results demonstrate that SPF1 and SPF2 are two SUMO proteases important for plant development in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

Extensive Analysis of GmFTL and GmCOL Expression in Northern Soybean Cultivars in Field Conditions.

The FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene is a highly conserved florigen gene among flowering plants. Soybean genome encodes six homologs of FT, which display flowering activity in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, their contributions to flowering time in different soybean cultivars, especially in field conditions, are unclear. We employed six soybean cultivars with different maturities to extensively investigate expression patterns of GmFTLs (Glycine max FT-like) and GmCOLs (Glycine max CO-like) in the field conditions. The results show that GmFTL3 is an FT homolog with the highest transcript abundance in soybean, but other GmFTLs may also contribute to flower induction with different extents, because they have more or less similar expression patterns in developmental-, leaf-, and circadian-specific modes. And four GmCOL genes (GmCOL1/2/5/13) may confer to the expression of GmFTL genes. Artificial manipulation of GmFTL expression by transgenic strategy (overexpression and RNAi) results in a distinct change in soybean flowering time, indicating that GmFTLs not only impact on the control of flowering time, but have potential applications in the manipulation of photoperiodic adaptation in soybean. Additionally, transgenic plants show that GmFTLs play a role in formation of the first flowers and in vegetative growth.