Examining the efficacy of dance movement and music mixed treatment on social communication impairment in children with autism - Based on family parent-child situation.

Despite impairments in social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), existing studies only examine the effects of either MT or DMT interventions. In the family setting, few studies have investigated interventions for social communication impairments in children with ASD. This study designed and tested a mixed intervention program of both MT and DMT through a 3-month intervention and training for children with ASD in the family setting including parent and child. A pre-test and post-test were conducted in the experimental and control groups, and the childhood autism rating scale (CARS) and autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC) scales were used to assess the severity of ASD symptoms and the effects of intervention. A t-test and analysis of variance were performed based on the experimental results. The results indicated that the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly on the CARS pre-test (t = 1.218, p > 0.05) and that there was no significant difference in the ATEC pre-test (t = 0.546, p > 0.05; F = 0.074, p > 0.05, partial η2 = 0.003). There was no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for the CARS in the control group (t = 0.635, p > 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for the ATEC in the control group (t = 0.027, p > 0.05; F = 5.251, p > 0.05, partial η2 = 0.313). There was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores on the CARS in the experimental group (t = 4.327, p > 0.05) and the pre- and post-test scores on the ATEC in the experimental group (t = 5.763, p > 0.01; F = 32.615, p > 0.01, partial η2 = 0.759), with the post-test scores being lower than the pre-test scores. This demonstrates that the mixed intervention of MT and DMT in the family parent-child setting can reduce autism and improve social communication impairment in children with ASD.

Combined expression of antimicrobial genes (Bbchit1 and LJAMP2) in transgenic poplar enhances resistance to fungal pathogens.

Populus species are susceptible to infection by microbial pathogens that severely affect their growth and substantially decrease their economic value. In this study, two pathogenesis-related protein genes consisting of Beauveria bassiana chitinase (Bbchit1) and motherwort lipid-transfer protein (LJAMP2) were introduced into Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa Carr.) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation using the hygromycin (hyg) and neomycin phosphotransferase (NPTII) genes as selectable markers, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed the stable integration of transgenes in the genome of transgenic plants. In vitro assays showed that inhibitory activity against the fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler was evident from the crude leaf extracts from transgenic plants. Importantly, the double-transgenic plants exhibited significantly higher resistance to the pathogen than either of the single-gene transformants and wild-type plants when inoculated with A. alternata. The level of disease reduction in double-transgenic lines was between 82 and 95%, whereas that of single-gene transformants carrying either LJAMP2 or Bbchit1 was between 65 and 89%. These results indicated that the combined expression of the LJAMP2 and Bbchit-1 genes could significantly enhance resistance to necrotrophic fungal pathogens in poplar.

Molecular cloning and characterization of two genes encoding dihydroflavonol-4-reductase from Populus trichocarpa.

Dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR, EC 1.1.1.219) is a rate-limited enzyme in the biosynthesis of anthocyanins and condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) that catalyzes the reduction of dihydroflavonols to leucoanthocyanins. In this study, two full-length transcripts encoding for PtrDFR1 and PtrDFR2 were isolated from Populus trichocarpa. Sequence alignment of the two PtrDFRs with other known DFRs reveals the homology of these genes. The expression profile of PtrDFRs was investigated in various tissues of P. trichocarpa. To determine their functions, two PtrDFRs were overexpressed in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The associated color change in the flowers was observed in all 35S:PtrDFR1 lines, but not in 35S:PtrDFR2 lines. Compared to the wild-type control, a significantly higher accumulation of anthocyanins was detected in transgenic plants harboring the PtrDFR1. Furthermore, overexpressing PtrDFR1 in Chinese white poplar (P. tomentosa Carr.) resulted in a higher accumulation of both anthocyanins and condensed tannins, whereas constitutively expressing PtrDFR2 only improved condensed tannin accumulation, indicating the potential regulation of condensed tannins by PtrDFR2 in the biosynthetic pathway in poplars.

Enhanced resistance to fungal pathogens in transgenic Populus tomentosa Carr. by overexpression of an nsLTP-like antimicrobial protein gene from motherwort (Leonurus japonicus).

The antimicrobial protein gene LJAMP2 is a plant non-specific lipid transfer protein from motherwort (Leonurus japonicus). In this study, it was introduced into Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa Carr.) via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with neomycin phosphotransferase II gene conferring kanamycin resistance as selectable marker. A total of 16 poplar lines were obtained, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis established the stable integration of transgenes in the plant genome. Reverse transcription-PCR detected LJAMP2 expression in transgenic plants. Resistance to fungal pathogens Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) of transgenic poplar lines was tested. In vitro inhibitory activity against the fungal pathogens was evident from the crude leaf extracts from the transformants. In vivo assays showed that, after infection with both A. alternata (Fr.) Keissler and C. gloeosporioides (Penz.), there was a significant reduction in disease symptoms in transgenic poplar plants compared with the control. These results suggest that constitutive expression of the LJAMP2 gene from motherwort can be exploited to improve resistance to fungal pathogens in poplar.

The chitinase gene (Bbchit1) from Beauveria bassiana enhances resistance to Cytospora chrysosperma in Populus tomentosa Carr.

The Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa Carr.) is susceptible to infection by plant diseases which severely affect its growth and substantially decrease its economic value. A chitinase gene (Bbchit1) from Beauveria bassiana was introduced into Chinese white poplar (Populus tomentosa Carr.) by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The T-DNA of plant transformation vector contained the beta-glucuronidase reporter gene (GUS) under the control of CaMV 35S promoter and the neomycin phosphotransferase selection marker gene (NPTII) driven by the nos promoter. GUS activity was detected in most of the kanamycin-resistant plants tested. Stable integration of transgenes in the plant genome was confirmed using PCR. RT-PCR analysis showed that the Bbchit1 gene was transcribed in the transformed plants. When evaluated for resistance to poplar fungal pathogens with an in vitro assay, crude extracts from leaves and shoots of transgenic lines were inhibitory against the pathogenic fungus Cytospora chrysosperma (Pers.) Fr. Similarly, Bbchit1 overexpression enhanced disease resistance to C. chrysosperma in the transformed poplar plants, indicating that is gene is potentially useful to protect the trees against fungal diseases.