Plasticity and crosstalk of mesenchymal stem cells and macrophages in immunomodulation in sepsis.

Sepsis is a multisystem disease characterized by dysregulation of the host immune response to infection. Immune response kinetics play a crucial role in the pathogenesis and progression of sepsis. Macrophages, which are known for their heterogeneity and plasticity, actively participate in the immune response during sepsis. These cells are influenced by the ever-changing immune microenvironment and exhibit two-sided immune regulation. Recently, the immunomodulatory function of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in sepsis has garnered significant attention. The immune microenvironment can profoundly impact MSCs, prompting them to exhibit dual immunomodulatory functions akin to a double-edged sword. This discovery holds great importance for understanding sepsis progression and devising effective treatment strategies. Importantly, there is a close interrelationship between macrophages and MSCs, characterized by the fact that during sepsis, these two cell types interact and cooperate to regulate inflammatory processes. This review summarizes the plasticity of macrophages and MSCs within the immune microenvironment during sepsis, as well as the intricate crosstalk between them. This remains an important concern for the future use of these cells for immunomodulatory treatments in the clinic.

Integrated network pharmacology and cellular assay reveal the biological mechanisms of Limonium sinense (Girard) Kuntze against Breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Limonium Sinense (Girard) Kuntze (L. sinense) has been widely used for the treatment of anaemia, bleeding, cancer, and other disorders in Chinese folk medicine. The aim of this study is to predict the therapeutic effects of L. sinense and investigate the potential mechanisms using integrated network pharmacology methods and in vitro cellular experiments. METHODS: The active ingredients of L. sinense were collected from published literature, and the potential targets related to L. sinense were obtained from public databases. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and DisGeNET enrichment analyses were performed to explore the underlying mechanisms. Molecular docking, cellular experiments, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets were employed to further evaluate the findings. RESULTS: A total of 15 active ingredients of L. sinense and their corresponding 389 targets were obtained. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that the biological effects of L. sinense were primarily associated with "Pathways in cancer". DisGeNET enrichment analysis highlighted the potential role of L. sinense in the treatment of breast cancer. Apigenin within L. sinense showed promising potential against cancer. Cellular experiments demonstrated that the L. sinense ethanol extract (LSE) exhibited a significant growth inhibitory effect on multiple breast cancer cell lines in both 2D and 3D cultures. RNA-seq analysis revealed a potential impact of LSE on breast cancer. Additionally, analysis of GEO datasets verified the significant enrichment of breast cancer and several cancer-related pathways upon treatment with Apigenin in human breast cancer cells. CONCLUSION: This study predicts the biological activities of L. sinense and demonstrates the inhibitory effect of LSE on breast cancer cells, highlighting the potential application of L. sinense in cancer treatment.

The most likely but largely ignored triggering factor for breast (or all) cancer invasion.

Breast cancer development and progression are believed to be a sequential process, from normal to hyperplastic, to in situ, and to invasive and metastatic stages. Given that over 90% of cancer deaths are caused by invasive and metastatic lesions, countless factors and multiple theories have been proposed as the triggering factor for the cascade of actions of cancer invasion. However, those factors and theories are largely based on the studies of cell lines or animal models. In addition, corresponding interventions based on these factors and theories have failed to reduce the incidence rate of invasive and metastatic lesions, suggesting that previous efforts may have failed to arm at the right target. Considering these facts and observations, we are proposing "A focal aberrant degeneration in the myoepithelial cell layer (MECL) as the most likely triggering factor for breast cancer invasion". Our hypothesis is based on our recent studies of breast and multiple other cancers. Our commentary provides the rationale, morphologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular data to support our hypotheses. As all epithelium-derived cancers share a very similar architecture, our hypothesis is likely to be applicable to invasion of all cancer types. We believe that human tissue-derived data may provide a more realistic roadmap to guide the clinic practice.

Integrated analysis reveals effects of bioactive ingredients from Limonium Sinense (Girard) Kuntze on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) activation.

Limonium Sinense (Girard) Kuntze is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, showing blood replenishment, anti-tumour, anti-hepatitis, and immunomodulation activities amongst others. However, the mechanism of its pharmacological activities remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of bioactive ingredients from Limonium Sinense using an integrated approach. Water extracts from Limonium Sinense (LSW) showed a strong growth inhibitory effect on multiple cells in both 2D and 3D cultures. Global transcriptomic profiling and further connectivity map (CMap) analysis identified several similarly acting therapeutic candidates, including Tubulin inhibitors and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) modulators. The effect of LSW on the cell cycle was verified with flow cytometry showing a G2/M phase arrest. Integrated analysis suggested a role for gallic acid in mediating HIF activation. Taken together, this study provides novel insights into the bioactive ingredients in Limonium Sinense, highlighting the rich natural resource and therapeutic values of herbal plants.

Yeast mannoproteins are expected to be a novel potential functional food for attenuation of obesity and modulation of gut microbiota.

The yeast mannoproteins (MPs), a major component of yeast cell walls with large exploration potentiality, have been attracting increasing attention due to their beneficial effects. However, the information about the anti-obesogenic activity of MPs is still limited. Thus, the effects of MPs on the high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and dysbiosis of gut microbiota were investigated in this work. The results showed that MPs could significantly attenuate the HFD-induced higher body weight, fat accumulation, liver steatosis, and damage. Simultaneously, the inflammation in HFD-induced mice was also ameliorated by MPs. The pyrosequencing analysis showed that intervention by MPs could lead to an obvious change in the structure of gut microbiota. Furthermore, the prevention of obesity by MPs is highly linked to the promotion of Parabacteroides distasonis (increased from 0.39 ± 0.12% to 2.10 ± 0.20%) and inhibition of Lactobacillus (decreased from 19.99 ± 3.94% to 2.68 ± 0.77%). Moreover, the increased level of acetate (increased from 3.28 ± 0.22 mmol/g to 7.84 ± 0.96 mmol/g) and activation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs) by MPs may also contribute to the prevention of obesity. Thus, our preliminary findings revealed that MPs from yeast could be explored as potential prebiotics to modulate the gut microbiota and prevent HFD-induced obesity.

A Smartphone Integrated Platform for Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensitive and Selective Determination of Dipicolinic Acid.

A desirable lanthanide-based ratiometric fluorescence probe was designed as a multifunctional nanoplatform for the determination of dipicolinic acid (DPA), a unique bacterial endospore biomarker, with high selectivity and sensitivity. The carbon dots (CDs) with blue emission wavelengths at 470 nm are developed with europium ion (Eu3+) to form Eu3+/CDs fluorescent probes. DPA can specifically combine with Eu3+ and then transfer energy from DPA to Eu3+ sequentially through the antenna effect, resulting in a distinct increase in the red fluorescence emission peak at 615 nm. The fluorescence intensity ratio of Eu3+/CDs (fluorescence intensity at 615 nm/fluorescence intensity at 470 nm) showed good linearity and low detection limit. The developed ratiometric nanoplatform possesses great potential for application in complex matrices owing to its specificity for DPA. In addition, the integration of a smartphone with the Color Picker APP installed enabled point-of-care testing (POCT) with quantitative measurement capabilities, confirming the great potential of the as-prepared measurement platform for on-site testing.

Pusillimonas minor sp. nov., a novel member of the genus Pusillimonas isolated from activated sludge.

A novel pale white-pigmented bacterial strain designated YC-7-48T was isolated from activated sludge in China. Cells of the strain, which grew at 15-37 °C (optimum at 30 °C) and pH 6.0-9.0 (optimum at 7.0), were Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped and motile. Strain YC-7-48T had 97.4-97.1% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to type strains of eight species in the genera Pusillimonas, Eoetvoesia, Paralcaligenes, Parapusillimonas and Paracandidimonas of the family Alcaligenaceae. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing placed the strain on a separate branch in the genus Pusillimonas and showed that it exhibited 97.4, 97.3 and 96.6% similarity to Pusillimonas caeni EBR-8-1T, Pusillimonas noertemannii BN9T and Pusillimonas maritima 17-4AT, respectively. The genome size of strain YC-7-48T was 3202438 bp, with 54.3 mol% G+C content. According to the genome analysis, YC-7-48T encodes several heavy metal resistance proteins and enzymes related to the metabolism of nicotine and aromatic compounds. The results of digital DNA-DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity analyses based on whole genome sequences between strain YC-7-48T and the closely related strains indicated that the strain represented a new species of the genus Pusillimonas. The chemotaxonomic results identified Q-8 as the predominant respiratory quinone, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, diphosphatidylglycerol and two unidentified aminolipids as the major polar lipids, and C16:0 (27.4 %), C17:0 cyclo (22.0 %), C18:0 (11.7 %) and C19:0 cyclo ω8c (9.5 %) as the major fatty acids. Thus, based on morphological, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic characterization and genomic data, we proposed that the isolate is a representative of a novel species named Pusillimonas minor sp. nov., with the type strain YC-7-48T (=CGMCC 1.17466T=KACC 21349T).

The ontogenesis of catabolic abilities and energy metabolism during endogenous nutritional periods of tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis.

The ontogenesis of catabolic abilities and energy metabolism during endogenous nutritional periods of tongue sole was investigated. In this work, trypsin-like proteases (TRY) and triglyceride lipase (LIP) activities were measured to assess the capacities to catabolize proteins and lipids, respectively. Meanwhile, specific enzymes including pyruvate kinase (PK), glutamic oxalo acetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), and hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (HOAD) as well as their ratios were assayed to evaluate the abilities to use energy substrates of carbohydrates, amino acids and fatty acids, respectively, for energy production. In addition, activities of citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and LDH/CS ratio were calculated to analyse the evolution of aerobic and anaerobic pathways. The study found that hatching occurred at 38.8 h after fertilization (HAF), mouth-opening day of eleuteroembryo appeared at 3 days after hatching (DAH), and the most rapid embryonic growth was observed in blastula stage before hatching. Enzymatic assay revealed that except for PK which appeared in cleavage stage onwards, all the other enzymes functioned after fertilization, preparing well for the coming embryogenesis of tongue sole. By comparing the average specific activity of enzyme in each period, it can be found that the highest value occurred at 3 DAH (for TRY, LIP, PK and LDH), 2 DAH (for GDH), fertilized egg (for GOT) and segmentation stage (for HOAD and CS), and the lowest value occurred at fertilized egg (for HOAD, CS and GDH), cleavage stage (for TRY, PK and LDH), gastrula stage (for GOT) and hatching day (for LIP). Based on the changeable patterns of metabolic enzymatic activities and ratios, it is concluded that metabolic capacities on three energy substrates displayed stage-specific traits, and the dominant energy substrate was fatty acids before segmentation stage, amino acids until hatching day and carbohydrate during eleuteroembryo period. As for energy production mode, aerobic pathway appeared to increase greater in fertilized egg and gastrula stage, whereas anaerobic pathway played a predominant role during cleavage stage, blastula stage, segmentation stage and eleuteroembryo stage. These results are valuable to elucidate the nutritional requirements of embryonic stages in tongue sole and to further understand their energy metabolic mechanisms.

A Study on the Efficiency of Tourism Poverty Alleviation in Ethnic Regions Based on the Staged DEA Model.

Poverty alleviation through tourism is an important way for China to achieve targeted poverty alleviation and win the battle of poverty alleviation. As a region with deep poverty and great difficulty in poverty alleviation, whether tourism development has injected key impetus into ethnic minority areas needs to be tested by both qualitative analysis and quantitative measurement. This paper takes eight ethnic provinces (regions) in China as an example to conduct an empirical study. Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-BCC model and Malmquist index, it evaluates the tourism investment and tourism poverty alleviation efficiency of the ethnic regions in the two stages of tourism poverty alleviation, and analyzes them by classification. The results of the study show: (1) The pure technical efficiency in the first stage is relatively high, but the total factor productivity of each region is declining; (2) The pure technical efficiency in the second stage is also relatively high, but the scale efficiency is low, and the change rate of total factor productivity of the provinces in China has increased significantly; (3) The "double high" type includes Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, and Guizhou, and the "double low" type includes Qinghai, Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Ningxia. The results of the study generally show that tourism poverty alleviation has brought about the improvement of the living standards of residents and the development of local economy, but the efficiency of tourism poverty alleviation needs to be improved. On this basis, the article puts forward corresponding improvement measures, in order to further help the ethnic minority areas get rid of poverty in a comprehensive way by promoting the efficient and sustainable development of tourism.

How to Promote Ethnic Village Residents' Behavior Participating in Tourism Poverty Alleviation: A Tourism Empowerment Perspective.

Local villagers are regarded as the main part of tourism development in the ethnic village, their participation in tourism poverty alleviation has a vital impact on sustainable tourism development and poverty reduction. Based on the planned behavior theory and capacity approach theory, we investigated the influence of tourism empowerment on ethnic village residents' behavior participating in tourism poverty alleviation, especially focusing on the mediating effect of participation willingness and the moderating effect of participation ability. We took Zenlei Village in Sandu County of Guizhou Province in China as research subjects and analyzed 239 valid samples through the structural equation model and hierarchical regression. The results indicate that: (a) Tourism empowerment has a remarkable positive effect on participation behavior. (b) Participation willingness plays a partial mediating role between tourism empowerment and participation behavior. (c) Participation ability positively moderates the positive relationships between tourism economic empowerment, tourism psychological empowerment, and participation willingness. That is, the positive relationships between tourism economic empowerment, tourism psychological empowerment, and participation willingness would be stronger when villagers have higher participation ability. Whereas, participation ability has not yet played a moderating role between tourism social empowerment, tourism political empowerment, and participation willingness.

A non-mammalian Toll-like receptor 26 (TLR26)gene mediates innate immune responses in yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco.

In this study, we identified a fish-specific Toll-like receptor (TLR) in Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, an economically important freshwater fish in China. This TLR, PfTLR26, was shown to be encoded by a 3084 bp open reading frame (ORF), producing a polypeptide 1027 amino acids in length. The PfTLR26 protein contains a signal peptide, eight leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domains, two LRR_TYP domains in the extracellular region, and a Toll/interleukin (IL)-1 receptor (TIR) domain in the cytoplasmic region, consistent with the characteristic TLR domain architecture. This predicted 117.1 kDa protein was highly homologous to those of other fish, with phylogenetic analysis revealing the closest relation to TLR26 of Ictalurus punctatus. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the PfTLR26 gene was expressed in all tissues tested, with the highest expression levels seen in the head kidney and blood, and the lowest seen in muscle. PfTLR26 exhibited significant upregulation in liver, spleen, head kidney, and blood at different time points following challenge with the common TLR agonists lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid (Poly I:C). Taken together, these results suggest that PfTLR26 may be an important component of the P. fulvidraco innate immune system, participating in the transduction of TLR signaling under pathogen stimulation.

Characterization and expression analysis of immune-related genes in the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii in response to lipopolysaccharide challenge.

To learn more about red swamp crayfish related genes in response to bacterial infections, we investigated immune-related genes induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the hepatopancreas using high-throughput sequencing method. In present the study, a total of 55,107 unigenes were identified, with an average length of 678 bp. A total of 2215 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found, including 669 up-regulated genes and 1546 down-regulated genes. The result of Gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that 3017 DEGs were enriched in 19 biological process subcategories, 17 cellular component subcategories and 15 molecular function subcategories. The top 20 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways showed that "ribosome" was the most abundant group, which had 34 DEGs. KEGG enrichment analysis identified several immune response pathways. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) results exhibited that several immune responsive genes were greatly up-regulated following LPS stimulation as observed in the results of high-throughput sequencing. Overall, this study provides new insight into the immune defense mechanisms of P. clarkii against LPS infection.

New insight into the molecular basis of Fe (III) stress responses of Procambarus clarkii by transcriptome analysis.

Iron in excess can have toxic effects on living organisms. In China, the freshwater crayfish Procambarus clarkii is a source of aquatic food with high-quality protein and has significant commercial value. P. clarkii shows oxidative stress on exposure to heavy metals, and antioxidant enzymes, such as ubiquitination enzymes and proteasomes, play important roles in oxidative stress. To understand the antioxidant defense system of P. clarkii, we analyzed the hepatopancreas transcriptomes of P. clarkii after stimulation with FeCl3. In total, 5199 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified (2747 upregulated and 2452 downregulated). GO analysis revealed that these DEGs belonged to 16 cellular component, 16 molecular function, and 19 biological process subcategories. A total of 1069 DEGs were classified into 25 categories by using COG. Some antioxidant defense pathways, such as "Ubiquitin mediated proteolysis" and "Glutathione metabolism," were identified using KEGG. In addition, quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR) substantiated the up-regulation of a random selection of DEGs including antioxidant and immune defense genes. We obtained information for P. clarkii transcriptome databases and new insights into the responses of P. clarkii hepatopancreas to heavy metals.

Comparative mitochondrial genome analysis of Grammodes geometrica and other noctuid insects reveals conserved mitochondrial genome organization and phylogeny.

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) plays an important role in revealing molecular evolution. In this study, the complete mitogenome of Grammodes geometrica (G. geometrica) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) was sequenced and characterized. The nucleotide composition of the genome is highly A + T biased, accounting for 80.49%. Most protein-coding genes (PCGs) are initiated by ATN codons except for the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene, which was initiated by CGA. The order and orientation of genes with the order trnM-trnI-trnQ-nad2 is a typical rearrangement compared with those ancestral insects in which trnM is located between trnQ and nad2. Most tRNA genes were folded into the typical cloverleaf structure except for trnS1 (AGN). The A + T-rich region contains the conserved motif "ATAGA" followed by a 19 bp poly-T stretch, which was also observed in other Noctuoidea species. In addition, we reconstructed phylogenetic trees among the nucleotide alignments of five families of Noctuoidea species except the Oenosandridae. Finally, we achieved a well-supported tree, which showed that G. geometrica belongs to the Erebidae family. Moreover, the relationships at the family-level can be displayed as follows: (Notodontidae + (Erebidae + (Nolidae + (Euteliidae + Noctuidae)))).

Paracandidimonas caeni sp. nov., isolated from sludge.

A beige-pigmented, Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile, rod-shaped bacterium, named 24T, was isolated from sludge of a pesticide manufacturing factory in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain 24T shared highest similarity with Parapusillimonas granuli Ch07T (98.20 %), followed by Candidimonas nitroreducens SC-089T (98.07 %) and Paracandidimonas soli IMT-305T (98.03 %). Phylogenetic trees showed that strain 24T formed a distinct clade with Paracandidimonas soli IMT-305T. The results of DNA-DNA hybridization tests showed that reassociation values were less than 45 % with respect to these closely related type strains. Strain 24T contained Q-8 and putrescine as the major respiratory quinone and polyamine, respectively. The main cellular fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c), summed feature 2 (iso-C16 : 1 I/C14 0 3-OH/C12 : 0 aldehyde), summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c) and C12 : 0. The polar lipid profile included phosphatidylmethylethanolamin, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified phospholipid and one unidentified aminolipid. The G+C content was 56.83 mol%. Combined data from phenotypic, phylogenetic and DNA-DNA relatedness studies demonstrated that strain 24T represents a novel species of the genus Paracandidimonas, for which the name Paracandidimonas caeni sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is 24T (=CCTCC AB 2018057T=KACC 19692T).

Transcriptome analysis of differential expressed genes in hepatopancreas of Procambarus clarkii challenged with peptidoglycan.

Procambarus clarkii is one of the most economically important species in Chinese aquaculture, and is widely cultured. Infection of P. clarkii populations with bacterial pathogens causes high mortality and great economic loss, therefore disease control is of significant economic importance. P. clarkii is a model system for studying immune responses in invertebrates, and its immune system consists solely of the innate response. In the present study, we examined gene expression related to immune function in P. clarkii in response to pathogen challenge. The transcriptome of hepatopancreas tissue from P. clarkii challenged with peptidoclycan (PGN) was analyzed and compared to control specimens. After assembly and annotation, 48,661 unigenes were identified with an average length of 671.54 bp. A total of 2533 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained, including 765 significantly up-regulated unigenes and 1757 significantly down-regulated unigenes. Gene ontology (GO) analysis demonstrated 19 biological process subcategories, 16 cellular component subcategories, and 17 molecular function subcategories that were enriched among these DEGs. Enrichment analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database revealed enrichment among immune responses pathways. Taken together, this study not only enriches the existing P. clarkii transcriptome database, but also elucidates immune responses of crayfish that are activated in response to PGN challenge.

Transcriptome-wide identification of differentially expressed genes in Procambarus clarkii in response to chromium challenge.

Because of the high protein content and rich meat quality of crayfish Procambarus clarkii, it has become widely popular in China in recent years and has a high economic value. When P. clarkii is stimulated by heavy metals, it reacts to oxidation. P. clarkii has evolved antioxidant defense systems, including antioxidant enzymes such as catalase (CAT). The hexavalent form of Cr (VI) is a pathogenic factor that is of particular concern in aqueous systems because of its great toxicity to living organisms. In this study, we characterized the transcriptome of P. clarkii using a RNA sequencing method and performed a comparison between K2Cr2O7-treated samples and controls. In total, 34,237 unigenes were annotated. We identified 5098 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 2536 and 2562 were significantly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively. In addition, quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed the up-regulation of a random selection of DEGs. Our results contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the antioxidant defense system used by P. clarkii in response to heavy metal stress.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Clostera anastomosis (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae) and implication for the phylogenetic relationships of Noctuoidea species.

In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Clostera anastomosis (C. anastomosis) has been determined for the first time. The mitogenome is 15,390 base pairs (bp) in length, comprised of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs) and one non-coding control region (CR). The gene order shows a typical trnM rearrangement (trnM-trnI-trnQ) compared to ancestral insects (trnI-trnQ-trnM). Almost all the PCGs have the same start codon (ATN) except for cox1 (CGA), and almost all tRNAs have a typical cloverleaf secondary structure except for trnS1. At the beginning of the CR, we found a conserved motif "ATAGA + poly-T" as found in other lepidopteran insects. There are 20 intergenic regions and 11 overlapping regions, ranging from 1 to 53 bp and 1 to 9 bp, respectively. The A + T content is relatively high across the whole mitogenome. The optimal tree topologies of Noctuoidea were given by the dataset consisting of all 13 PCGs from five families (exclude Oenosandridae). Our trees suggested a topology of (Notodontidae + (Erebidae + (Nolidae + (Euteliidae + Noctuidae)))) and identified that C. anastomosis belongs to Notodontidae.

The complete mitogenome of the snakehead Channa argus (Perciformes: Channoidei): genome characterization and phylogenetic implications.

To better understand the phylogenetic status of the snakehead, Channa argus, we determined its complete mitogenome sequence using long-polymerase chain reaction and the direct sequencing method. The complete mitogenome sequence was 16,559 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 1 control region (D-loop), the gene composition/order of which was identical to that observed in most other vertebrates. This was the first report of the mitogenome sequence in suborder Channoidei. Phylogenetic relationships of 14 perciform suborders based on mitogenome sequences were reconstructed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. The results strongly supported the monophyly of Perciformes and the snakehead, as a representative species of suborder Channoidei, formed the most basal branch having sister relationship with the clade containing all other analyzed perciform fishes. The further phylogenetic analyses of six channid species, based on cytochrome b gene, suggested that two channid genera constituted reciprocally monophyletic clades. In addition, the relaxed molecular clock method was used to estimate divergence dates among major suborders of Perciformes and major species in Channoidei.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Chinese longsnout catfish Leiocassis longirostris (Siluriformes: Bagridae) and a time-calibrated phylogeny of ostariophysan fishes.

The complete mitogenome sequence of the Chinese longsnout catfish Leiocassis longirostris was determined using long-polymerase chain reaction (long-PCR) and directly sequenced with primer walking method. The complete mtDNA was 16,534 bp in length and contained 13 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region (D-loop), the gene composition/order of which was identical to that observed in most other vertebrates. Phylogenetic relationship of 15 ostariophysan fishes was reconstructed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods based on a total of 15,658 nucleotides from all the 13 protein-coding, two rRNA, and 22 tRNA genes, using recently developed models of rate autocorrelation, which resolved the phylogenetic relationship of the major ostariophysan lineages with a high statistical support. The present result was consistent with some previous molecular cladistic work which supported the grouping of (((((Characiformes, Gymnotiformes), Siluriformes), Cypriniformes), Gonorynchiformes), outgroup). The Chinese longsnout catfish together with the Bagrid catfish (both from the same family Bagridae) had a closer affinity with Amblycipitidae than with other four analyzed catfish families. The relaxed molecular clock method incorporated into the program BEAST vl.5.3 was used to estimate divergence dates among ostariophysan lineages, which revealed that the major ostariophysan lineages diversified in the middle Jurassic (around 164.5 million years ago (Mya)) and the split of Leiocassis/Pseudobagrus occurred in the Oligocene to Miocene (8.9-25.1 Mya). The time-calibrated tree generated in this study would provide a powerful evolutionary tool for broad-scale comparative studies of the catfishes and the ostariophysan fishes.