Diversification of freshwater crabs on the sky islands in the Hengduan Mountains Region, China.

The numerous naturally-fragmented sky islands (SIs) in the Hengduan Mountains Region (HMR) of southwestern China constitute discontinuous landscapes where montane habitats are isolated by dry-hot valleys which have fostered exceptional species diversification and endemicity. However, studies documenting the crucial role of SI on the speciation dynamics of native freshwater organisms are scarce. Here we used a novel set of comprehensive genetic markers (24 nuclear DNA sequences and complete mitogenomes), morphological characters, and biogeographical information to reveal the evolutionary history and speciation mechanisms of a group of small-bodied montane potamids in the genus Tenuipotamon. Our results provide a robustly supported phylogeny, and suggest that the vicariance events of these montane crabs correlate well with the emergence of SIs due to the uplift of the HMR during the Late Oligocene. Furthermore, ancestrally, mountain ridges provided corridors for the dispersal of these montane crabs that led to the colonization of moist montane-specific habitats, aided by past climatic conditions that were the crucial determinants of their evolutionary history. The present results illustrated that the mechanisms isolating SIs are reinforced by the harsh-dry isolating climatic features of dry-hot valleys separating SIs and continue to affect local diversification. This offers insights into the causes of the high biodiversity and endemism shown by the freshwater crabs of the HMR-SIs in southwestern China.

An endophytic fungus interacts with the defensin-like protein OsCAL1 to regulate cadmium allocation in rice.

Defensin-like proteins are conserved in multicellular organisms and contribute to innate immune responses against fungal pathogens. In rice, defensins play a novel role in regulating cadmium (Cd) efflux from the cytosol. However, whether the antifungal activity of defensins correlates with Cd-efflux function remains unknown. In this study, we isolated an endophytic Fusarium, designed Fo10, by a comparative microbiome analysis of rice plants grown in a paddy contaminated with Cd. Fo10 is tolerant to high levels of Cd, but is sensitive to the defensin-like protein OsCAL1, which mediates Cd efflux to the apoplast. We found that Fo10 symbiosis in rice is regulated by OsCAL1 dynamics, and Fo10 coordinates multiple plant processes, including Cd uptake, vacuolar sequestration, efflux to the environment, and formation of Fe plaques in the rhizosphere. These processes are dependent on the salicylic acid signaling pathway to keep Cd levels low in the cytosol of rice cells and to decrease Cd levels in rice grains without any yield penalty. Fo10 also plays a role in Cd tolerance in the poaceous crop maize and wheat, but has no observed effects in the eudicot plants Arabidopsis and tomato. Taken together, these findings provide insights into the mechanistic basis underlying how a fungal endophyte and host plant interact to control Cd accumulation in host plants by adapting defense responses to promote the establishment of a symbiosis that permits adaptation to high-Cd environments.

Characterization of genes involved in micronutrients and toxic metals detoxification in Brassica napus by genome-wide cDNA library screening.

Stresses caused by deficiency/excess of mineral nutrients or of pollution of toxic metals have already become a primary factor in limiting crop production worldwide. Genes involved in minerals and toxic metals accumulation/tolerance could be potential candidates for improving crop plants with enhanced nutritional efficiency and environmental adaptability. In this study, we first generated a high-quality yeast expression cDNA library of Brassica napus (Westar), and 46 genes mediating excess micronutrients and toxic metals detoxification were screened using the yeast genetic complementation system, including 11, 5, 6, 14, 6, and 5 genes involved in cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), boron (B), and copper (Cu) tolerance, respectively. Characterization of genes mediating excess ions stress resistance in this study is beneficial for us to further understand ions homeostasis in B. napus.

A lightweight metastructure for simultaneous low-frequency broadband sound absorption and vibration isolation.

We theoretically, numerically, and experimentally study a lightweight metastructure that can simultaneously reduce vibration and noise in a broad low-frequency range. We introduce spiral slits and micro-perforations in the panel and core plate of a face-centered cubic sandwich structure, respectively. A bottom-up acoustic impedance theory is developed to describe the impedance of a single unit cell. Broadband low-frequency sound absorption is achieved for a 3 × 3 supercell via reinforcement learning optimization. The resonant coupling of the upper spiral panel and the lower panel of the unit can form a wide hybridized bandgap for flexural waves, which is further validated for vibration isolation with a one-dimensional supercell. The proposed multifunctional metastructure provides a new route to design lightweight load-bearing structures with noise and vibration reduction performance for potential applications such as aerospace engineering and transportation vehicles, among others.

Dual-function DEFENSIN 8 mediates phloem cadmium unloading and accumulation in rice grains.

Grain cadmium (Cd) is translocated from source to sink tissues exclusively via phloem, though the phloem Cd unloading transporter has not been identified yet. Here, we isolated and functionally characterized a defensin-like gene DEFENSIN 8 (DEF8) highly expressed in rice (Oryza sativa) grains and induced by Cd exposure in seedling roots. Histochemical analysis and subcellular localization detected DEF8 expression preferentially in pericycle cells and phloem of seedling roots, as well as in phloem of grain vasculatures. Further analysis demonstrated that DEF8 is secreted into extracellular spaces possibly by vesicle trafficking. DEF8 bound to Cd in vitro, and Cd efflux from protoplasts as well as loading into xylem vessels decreased in the def8 mutant seedlings compared with the wild type. At maturity, significantly less Cd accumulation was observed in the mutant grains. These results suggest that DEF8 is a dual function protein that facilitates Cd loading into xylem and unloading from phloem, thus mediating Cd translocation from roots to shoots and further allocation to grains, representing a phloem Cd unloading regulator. Moreover, essential mineral nutrient accumulation as well as important agronomic traits were not affected in the def8 mutants, suggesting DEF8 is an ideal target for breeding low grain Cd rice.

Classifying Chinese Medicine Constitution Using Multimodal Deep-Learning Model.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a multimodal deep-learning model for classifying Chinese medicine constitution, i.e., the balanced and unbalanced constitutions, based on inspection of tongue and face images, pulse waves from palpation, and health information from a total of 540 subjects. METHODS: This study data consisted of tongue and face images, pulse waves obtained by palpation, and health information, including personal information, life habits, medical history, and current symptoms, from 540 subjects (202 males and 338 females). Convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, and fully connected neural networks were used to extract deep features from the data. Feature fusion and decision fusion models were constructed for the multimodal data. RESULTS: The optimal models for tongue and face images, pulse waves and health information were ResNet18, Gate Recurrent Unit, and entity embedding, respectively. Feature fusion was superior to decision fusion. The multimodal analysis revealed that multimodal data compensated for the loss of information from a single mode, resulting in improved classification performance. CONCLUSIONS: Multimodal data fusion can supplement single model information and improve classification performance. Our research underscores the effectiveness of multimodal deep learning technology to identify body constitution for modernizing and improving the intelligent application of Chinese medicine.

Electrolyte Analysis in Blood Serum by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Using a Portable Laser.

The fast and reliable analysis of electrolytes such as K, Na, Ca in human blood serum has become an indispensable tool for diagnosing and preventing diseases. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been demonstrated as a powerful analytical technique on elements. To apply LIBS to the quantitative analysis of electrolyte elements in real time, a self-developed portable laser was used to measure blood serum samples supported by glass slides and filter paper in this work. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) method was employed for predicting the concentrations of K, Na, Ca from serum LIBS spectra. Great prediction accuracies with excellent linearity were obtained for the serum samples, both on glass slides and filter paper. For blood serum on glass slides, the prediction accuracies for K, Na, Ca were 1.45%, 0.61% and 3.80%. Moreover, for blood serum on filter paper, the corresponding prediction accuracies were 7.47%, 1.56% and 0.52%. The results show that LIBS using a portable laser with the assistance of PLSR can be used for accurate quantitative analysis of elements in blood serum in real time. This work reveals that the handheld LIBS instruments will be an excellent tool for real-time clinical practice.

Liraglutide Nano-Preparation on Perioperative Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Aged Mice.

At present, there is not enough research about the application of liraglutide nano preparations in perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the mechanism of the effect of liraglutide nano preparations on perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction in aged mice. In this study, 140 male SD rats aged 6-8 weeks were used as the research object, and were divided into 4 groups (n=24) according to the random number table method, which were group C (control group), group S (model group), and treatment. Group (low-dose liraglutide pretreated control group) and DS2 group (high-dose liraglutide pretreated control group) were treated with liraglutide anesthesia to establish a cognitive dysfunction model. Morris water maze experiment was conducted 4 days after anesthesia to compare the escape latency and the number of crossings of the original platform in each group; after 4 days of anesthesia, 18 old mice were randomly selected from each group for fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RealTimePCR) and protein Western blotting (Western.Blot) was used to determine the mRNA and protein levels of Caspase-3, Bax and Bcl-2 in the hippocampus; the remaining 6 old mice in each group were taken to observe the pathological changes of the hippocampus neurons by transmission electron microscopy . Compared with saline-treated group, the levels of NF-KB, TNF-a and IL-1ß protein in mice treated with liraglutide decreased and IkB increased significantly (p<0.05). Liraglutide intervention may alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver in diabetic mice by reducing the expression of inflammatory genes in liver tissue, thereby improving neurocognitive dysfunction in mice.

Multi-Task Joint Learning Model for Chinese Word Segmentation and Syndrome Differentiation in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Evidence-based treatment is the basis of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and the accurate differentiation of syndromes is important for treatment in this context. The automatic differentiation of syndromes of unstructured medical records requires two important steps: Chinese word segmentation and text classification. Due to the ambiguity of the Chinese language and the peculiarities of syndrome differentiation, these tasks pose a daunting challenge. We use text classification to model syndrome differentiation for TCM, and use multi-task learning (MTL) and deep learning to accomplish the two challenging tasks of Chinese word segmentation and syndrome differentiation. Two classic deep neural networks­bidirectional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) and text-based convolutional neural networks (TextCNN)­are fused into MTL to simultaneously carry out these two tasks. We used our proposed method to conduct a large number of comparative experiments. The experimental comparisons showed that it was superior to other methods on both tasks. Our model yielded values of accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of 0.93, 0.94, and 0.90, and 0.80, 0.82, and 0.78 on the Chinese word segmentation task and the syndrome differentiation task, respectively. Moreover, statistical analyses showed that the accuracies of the non-joint and joint models were both within the 95% confidence interval, with pvalue < 0.05. The experimental comparison showed that our method is superior to prevalent methods on both tasks. The work here can help modernize TCM through intelligent differentiation.

Effect of Different Doses of Propofol on Pulmonary Function and Inflammatory Response in Patients with Lung Ischemia Reperfusion Injury Induced by One-Lung Ventilation Based on Big Data Analysis.

Objective: To analyze the effect of different doses of propofol on pulmonary function and inflammatory response in patients with lung ischemia reperfusion injury (LIRI) induced by one-lung ventilation (OLV) based on big data analysis. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 105 patients who underwent lobectomy in our hospital (January 2018 to January 2022). According to the doses of propofol, they were split into low-dose group (LDG), middle-dose group (MDG), and high-dose group (HDG), which received the continuous micropump infusion of propofol at the doses of 2 mg/(kg·h), 5 mg/(kg·h), and 10 mg/(kg·h) after induction, respectively, with 35 cases in each group. The indexes, such as the pulmonary function and inflammatory factors of patients, at different times were compared. The logistic regression analysis was performed according to the occurrence of LIRI. Results: With no notable difference at T0 among the three groups (P > 0.05), the Cdyn levels significantly decreased at T1 (P < 0.05) and gradually increased at T2. The Cdyn levels at T1 and T2 were remarkably higher in HDG and MDG than in LDG (P < 0.05). With no notable differences at T0 and T1 among the three groups (P > 0.05), the PA-aO2 levels and RI values at T2 in MDG and HDG were lower compared with LDG (P < 0.05). The RI values at T1 and T2 in HDG were higher compared with MDG, with no obvious difference (P > 0.05). The OI levels at T1 and T2 in HDG were lower compared with the other two groups (P < 0.05), and the OI levels at T1, T2, and T3 in LDG were higher compared with MDG, with no obvious difference (P > 0.05). The TNF-α and ICAM-1 levels at T1 and T2 in MDG and HDG were lower compared with LDG, with no obvious difference between MDG and HDG (P > 0.05). Compared with LDG, the MDG and HDG at T1 and T2 had lower MDA levels (P < 0.05) and higher SOD levels (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that Cdyn, PA-aO2, and OLV time were independent risk factors for LIRI in patients undergoing lobectomy. Conclusion: Propofol has a good protective effect on lung function in patients with OLV-induced LIRI. Appropriately increasing the dose of propofol can effectively improve the local cerebral hypoxia and lung compliance of patients and reduce the inflammatory response and oxidative stress response, with 5 mg/(kg·h) as the clinical reference. Preoperative assessment and preparation should be made for patients, close attention should be paid to risk factors, such as Cdyn and PA-aO2, and OLV time should be controlled.

Mitogenome phylogeny reveals Indochina Peninsula origin and spatiotemporal diversification of freshwater crabs (Potamidae: Potamiscinae) in China.

The Asian potamid subfamily Potamiscinae is the most species-rich group of primary freshwater crabs in the world, and a large number of these (318 species in 52 genera) are found in China where they exhibit a remarkably high rate of endemism. However, the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships of this subfamily is still poorly understood and the hypothesis that the Chinese potamids originated in the Indochina Peninsula has yet to be tested using a modern phylogeographic reconstruction and molecular dating methods. Here we analyze the phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of the Chinese potamiscines based on whole mitogenomes of 72 species of Asian freshwater crabs representing 65% of the potamiscine genera found in China, including new mitogenome sequences for 57 species. The mitogenomic phylogeny generated four separate clades: Southwest China (SWC), Indochina-Southwest China (ISWC), Central China (CC), and South China-adjacent Islands (SCI). Our results suggest that the Chinese potamiscine fauna most likely originated in Indochina during the Eocene. The establishment of the East Asian monsoon during the Eocene/Oligocene resulted in major climate changes that coincide with the local diversification of the CC and SCI clades. In addition, diversification of two other clades (ISWC and SWC) may have been driven by past large scale environmental changes taking place at that time such as increased local precipitation and expanding freshwater habitats associated with the uplifting of the Hengduan Mountains. In addition, our phylogenies did not support monophyly for six currently recognized potamiscine genera, highlighting the need for further taxonomic revisions of this fauna. The broad taxonomic sampling and well-supported molecular phylogenies used here allow for the updating of our understanding of the evolutionary origins and diversification of the potamiscine freshwater crabs in China.

Two NPF transporters mediate iron long-distance transport and homeostasis in Arabidopsis.

Iron (Fe) transport and reallocation are essential to Fe homeostasis in plants, but it is unclear how Fe homeostasis is regulated, especially under stress. Here we report that NPF5.9 and its close homolog NPF5.8 redundantly regulate Fe transport and reallocation in Arabidopsis. NPF5.9 is highly upregulated in response to Fe deficiency. NPF5.9 expresses preferentially in vasculature tissues and localizes to the trans-Golgi network, and NPF5.8 showed a similar expression pattern. Long-distance Fe transport and allocation into aerial parts was significantly increased in NPF5.9-overexpressing lines. In the double mutant npf5.8 npf5.9, Fe loading in aerial parts and plant growth were decreased, which were partially rescued by Fe supplementation. Further analysis showed that expression of PYE, the negative regulator for Fe homeostasis, and its downstream target NAS4 were significantly altered in the double mutant. NPF5.9 and NPF5.8 were shown to also mediate nitrate uptake and transport, although nitrate and Fe application did not reciprocally affect each other. Our findings uncovered the novel function of NPF5.9 and NPF5.8 in long-distance Fe transport and homeostasis, and further indicated that they possibly mediate nitrate transport and Fe homeostasis independently in Arabidopsis.

Metformin Inhibits Propofol-Induced Apoptosis of Mouse Hippocampal Neurons HT-22 Through Downregulating Cav-1.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the neuroprotective function of metformin in suppressing propofol-induced apoptosis of HT-22 cells. METHODS: HT-22 cells were treated with 0, 10 or 100 µmol/L propofol, followed by determination of their proliferative ability. Subsequently, changes in proliferation and apoptosis of propofol-treated HT-22 cells induced with metformin were assessed. Apoptosis-associated genes in HT-22 cells were detected by Western blot. At last, regulatory effects of Cav-1 on propofol and metformin-treated HT-22 cells were examined. RESULTS: Propofol treatment dose-dependently decreased proliferative ability and increased apoptosis ability in HT-22 cells, which were partially blocked by metformin administration. Upregulated Bcl-2 and downregulated Bax were observed in propofol-treated HT-22 cells following metformin administration. In addition, Cav-1 level in HT-22 cells was regulated by metformin treatment. Notably, metformin reversed propofol-induced apoptosis stimulation and proliferation decline in HT-22 cells via downregulating Cav-1. CONCLUSION: In our study, we found that propofol could induce apoptosis of HT-22 cells and metformin could rescue the apoptosis effect regulated by propofol. Then, we found that metformin protects propofol-induced neuronal apoptosis via downregulating Cav-1.

The Arabidopsis defensin gene AtPDF2.5 mediates cadmium tolerance and accumulation.

Although excess cadmium (Cd) accumulation is harmful to plants, the molecular mechanisms underlying Cd detoxification and accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana remain largely undetermined. In this study, we demonstrated that the A. thaliana PLANT DEFENSIN 2 gene AtPDF2.5 is involved in Cd tolerance and accumulation. In vitro Cd-binding assays revealed that AtPDF2.5 has Cd-chelating activity. Site-directed mutagenesis of AtPDF2.5 identified eight cysteine residues that were essential for mediating Cd tolerance and chelation. Histochemical analysis demonstrated that AtPDF2.5 was mainly expressed in root xylem vascular bundles, and that AtPDF2.5 was significantly induced by Cd. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that AtPDF2.5 was localized to the cell wall. The overexpression of AtPDF2.5 significantly enhanced Cd tolerance and accumulation in A. thaliana and its heterologous overexpression in rice increased Cd accumulation; however, the functional disruption of AtPDF2.5 decreased Cd tolerance and accumulation. Physiological analysis suggested that AtPDF2.5 promoted Cd efflux from the protoplast and its subsequent accumulation in the cell wall. These data suggest that AtPDF2.5 promotes cytoplasmic Cd efflux via chelation, thereby enhancing Cd detoxification and apoplastic accumulation.

A non-secreted plant defensin AtPDF2.6 conferred cadmium tolerance via its chelation in Arabidopsis.

KEY MESSAGE: Plant defensin AtPDF2.6 is not secreted to the apoplast and localized in cytoplasm. AtPDF2.6 is mainly expressed in root vascular bundles of xylem parenchyma cell, and significantly induced by Cd stress. AtPDF2.6 detoxicate cytoplasmic Cd via chelation, thus enhanced Cd tolerance in Arabidopsis. In order to detoxify the heavy metal cadmium (Cd), plants have evolved several mechanisms, among which chelation represents the major Cd-detoxification mechanism. In this study, we aimed to identify a new defensin protein involved in cytoplasmic Cd detoxification by using plant molecular genetics and physiological methods. The results of bioinformatic analysis showed that the Arabidopsis thaliana defensin gene AtPDF2.6 has a signal peptide that may mediate its secretion to the cell wall. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that AtPDF2.6 is localized to the cytoplasm and is not secreted to the apoplast, whereas histochemical analysis indicated that AtPDF2.6 is mainly expressed in the root xylem parenchyma cells and that its expression is significantly induced by Cd. An in vitro Cd-binding assay revealed that AtPDF2.6 has Cd-chelating activity. Heterologous overexpression of AtPDF2.6 increased Cd tolerance in Escherichia coli and yeast, and AtPDF2.6 overexpression significantly enhanced Cd tolerance in Arabidopsis, whereas functional disruption of AtPDF2.6 decreased Cd tolerance. These data suggest that AtPDF2.6 detoxifies cytoplasmic Cd via chelation and thereby enhances Cd tolerance in Arabidopsis. Our findings accordingly challenge the commonly accepted view of defensins as secreted proteins.

Estimating PM2.5 Concentrations Based on MODIS AOD and NAQPMS Data over Beijing⁻Tianjin⁻Hebei.

Accurately estimating fine ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) is important to assess air quality and to support epidemiological studies. To analyze the spatiotemporal variation of PM2.5 concentrations, previous studies used different methodologies, such as statistical models or neural networks, to estimate PM2.5. However, there is little research on full-coverage PM2.5 estimation using a combination of ground-measured, satellite-estimated, and atmospheric chemical model data. In this study, the linear mixed effect (LME) model, which used the aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), meteorological data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and elevation data as predictors, was fitted for 2017 over Beijing⁻Tianjin⁻Hebei (BTH). The LME model was used to calibrate the PM2.5 concentration using the nested air-quality prediction modeling system (NAQPMS) simulated with ground measurements. The inverse variance weighting (IVW) method was used to fuse satellite-estimated and model-calibrated PM2.5. The results showed a strong agreement with ground measurements, with an overall coefficient (R²) of 0.78 and a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 26.44 µg/m³ in cross-validation (CV). The seasonal R² values were 0.75, 0.62, 0.80, and 0.78 in the spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The fusion results supplement the lack of satellite estimates and can capture more detailed information than the NAQPMS model. Therefore, the results will be helpful for pollution process analyses and health-related studies.

Satellite-Based Estimation of Hourly PM2.5 Concentrations Using a Vertical-Humidity Correction Method from Himawari-AOD in Hebei.

Abstract: Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) is related to various adverse health effects. Ground measurements can yield highly accurate PM2.5 concentrations but have certain limitations in the discussion of spatial-temporal variations in PM2.5. Satellite remote sensing can obtain continuous and long-term coverage data, and many previous studies have demonstrated the relationship between PM2.5 and AOD (aerosol optical depth) from theoretical analysis and observation. In this study, a new aerosol product with a high spatial-temporal resolution retrieved from the AHI (the Advance Himawari Imager) was obtained using a vertical-humidity correction method to estimate hourly PM2.5 concentrations in Hebei. The hygroscopic growth factor (fRH) was fitted at each site (in a total of 137 matched sites). Meanwhile, assuming that there was little change in fRH at a certain scale, the nearest fRH of each pixel was determined to calculate PM2.5 concentrations. Compared to the correlation between AOD and PM2.5, the relationship between the "dry" mass extinction efficiency obtained by vertical-humidity correction and the ground-measured PM2.5 significantly improved, with r coefficient values increasing from 0.19⁻0.47 to 0.61⁻0.76. The satellite-estimated hourly PM2.5 concentrations were consistent with the ground-measured PM2.5, with a high r (0.8 ± 0.07) and a low RMSE (root mean square error, 30.4 ± 5.5 µg/m³) values, and the accuracy in the afternoon (13:00⁻16:00) was higher than that in the morning (09:00⁻12:00). Meanwhile, in a comparison of the daily average PM2.5 concentrations of 11 sites from different cities, the r values were approximately 0.91 ± 0.03, and the RMSEs were between 13.94 and 31.44 µg/m³. Lastly, pollution processes were analyzed, and the analysis indicated that the high spatial-temporal resolution of the PM2.5 data could continuously and intuitively reflect the characteristics of regional pollutants (such as diffusion and accumulation), which is of great significance for the assessment of regional air quality.

Control of proline accumulation under drought via a novel pathway comprising the histone methylase CAU1 and the transcription factor ANAC055.

Proline plays a crucial role in the drought stress response in plants. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms that regulate proline metabolism under drought stress. Here, we report that the histone methylase encoded by CAU1, which is genetically upstream of P5CS1 (encoding the proline biosynthetic enzyme Δ1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase 1), plays a crucial role in proline-mediated drought tolerance. We determined that the transcript level of CAU1 decreased while that of ANAC055 (encoding a transcription factor) increased in wild-type Arabidopsis under drought stress. Further analyses showed that CAU1 bound to the promoter of ANAC055 and suppressed its expression via H4R3sme2-type histone methylation in the promoter region. Thus, under drought stress, a decreased level of CAU1 led to an increased transcript level of ANAC055, which induced the expression of P5CS1 and increased proline level independently of CAS. Drought tolerance and the level of proline were found to be decreased in the cau1 anac055 double-mutant, while proline supplementation restored drought sensitivity in the anac055 mutant. Our results reveal the details of a novel pathway leading to drought tolerance mediated by CAU1.

CDK11p58 Promotes Microglia Activation via Inducing Cyclin D3 Nuclear Localization.

Microglia activation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many neurological diseases. These reactive microglia are capable of producing a variety of proinflammatory mediators and potentially neurotoxic compounds. The increase of cell number and expression of CD11b are the main features of activated microglia. In this study, we examined the suppressive effects of CDK11p58 on microglia activation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro. We found that in the activated microglia, the expression of CDK11p58 increased and the overexpression of CDK11p58 could reduce the increased proliferation and CD11b expression in LPS-activated microglia. Such suppressive effects might be resulted from the interaction with cyclin D3 which promoted CDK11p58 nuclear localization. Our results suggested that CDK11p58 acted to regulate microglia activation through CDK11p58 and cyclin D3 interaction.