Characteristics of the Seed Germination and Seedlings of Six Grape Varieties (V. vinifera).

Intraspecific recurrent selection in V. vinifera is an effective method for breeding of high quality, disease-, cold-, and drought-resistance grapes. Exploring the optimal treatment methods for grape (V. vinifera) seeds can help to accelerate the process of intraspecific recurrent selection and improve breeding efficiency. In this study, seeds of six V. vinifera varieties were used as experimental materials, and the germination and seedling formation characteristics were studied by single factor treatment and orthogonal compound treatment, respectively. To do this, stratification, chemical substances, beak cutting, and pre-germination treatments were tested, and the optimal treatment combination was determined for each variety. The results indicated that the optimal conditions obtained in the orthogonal experiments were not completely consistent with those in the single-factor experiments. Single factor experiment results demonstrated that two stratification methods (chilling gauze-storage and chilling sand-storage) and two pre-germination methods (pre-germination in petri dishes and pre-germination in a bean sprouter) vary in effectiveness for different varieties. gibberellin acid (GA3) soaking and beak-cutting promote the germination and seedling rate of the tested varieties. Orthogonal test results demonstrate that, for Dunkelfelder and Cabernet Sauvignon, the optimal treatment combination was chilling sand-storage + GA3 soaking seed + beak cutting + pre-germination in petri dishes. For Meili, the optimal treatment combination was chilling sand-storage + acetic acid (HAc) soaking seed + beak cutting + pre-germination in petri dishes. For Ecolly, the optimal treatment combination was chilling sand-storage + GA3 soaking seed + beak cutting + pre-germination in a bean sprouter. For Garanior, the optimal treatment combination was chilling sand-storage + HAc soaking seed + no beak cutting + pre-germination in petri dishes. For Marselan, the optimal treatment combination was chilling gauze-storage + GA3 soaking seed + beak cutting + pre-germination in a bean sprouter. This study identified the optimal conditions for seed germination and seedling formation of six grape varieties, which will facilitate future work to characterize the seed germination and seedling formation of seeds obtained by intraspecific hybridization of these varieties. This work also provides a reference for addressing problems of low seed germination rate and suboptimal seedling formation for better utilization of grape germplasms.

Albiflorin ameliorates memory deficits in APP/PS1 transgenic mice via ameliorating mitochondrial dysfunction.

Albiflorin, the main component of Radix Paeoniae Alba, has been shown to ameliorate injury in cell models of Alzheimer's disease induced by amyloid-ß (Aß), but the mechanism is unclear. We used 7-month-old APP/PS1 mice to determine whether albiflorin is capable of protecting against Alzheimer's disease. We found that four weeks of intragastric administration of albiflorin (20 mg/kg/d and 40 mg/kg/d) ameliorated memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice. Albiflorin conferred synaptic protection by decreasing Aß levels and increasing PSD-95, synaptophysin and synapsin 1 levels in the brains of APP/PS1 mice. Albiflorin played an antioxidative role by reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and elevating Mn-SOD activity in the brain. Albiflorin also reduced the level of Drp1, increased the levels of Mfn1, Mfn2 and Opa1 and improved mitochondrial morphology in APP/PS1 mice. Albiflorin inhibited the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis by increasing the levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xl and decreasing the levels of Bax, caspase-3 and cytochrome c in both the hippocampus and the cortex and by reducing the number of apoptotic cells in the anterior parietal cortex of the APP/PS1 mice. In conclusion, treatment with albiflorin improved mitochondrial function, reduced Aß deposition in the brain and ameliorated memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice. These findings indicate that albiflorin may serve as a potential antidementia drug.

Pseudomonas caeni sp. nov., a denitrifying bacterium isolated from the sludge of an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bioreactor.

Two Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, aerobic bacterial strains designated HY-14(T) and HY-24 were isolated from the sludge of an anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bioreactor. The strains could not grow with 5 % (w/v) NaCl, did not produce acid from d-glucose or utilize d-glucose, gluconate or citrate as a sole carbon source. Summed feature 3 and C(16 : 0) were the most abundant fatty acids; hydroxyl fatty acids C(12 : 0) 3-OH and C(10 : 0) 3-OH were also present. Fatty acid C(12 : 0) 2-OH was absent. The DNA G+C contents of strains HY-14(T) and HY-24 were 50.6+/-0.5 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains HY-14(T) and HY-24 formed a monophyletic clade within the genus Pseudomonas. The highest sequence similarities were to Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes DSM 50188(T) (95.9 %). On the basis of phenotypic and phylogenetic properties, strains HY-14(T) and HY-24 are proposed as a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas, for which the name Pseudomonas caeni sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HY-14(T) (=KCTC 22292(T)=CCTCC AB208156(T)).