Construction of a high-density bin-map and identification of fruit quality-related quantitative trait loci and functional genes in pear.

Pear (Pyrus spp.) is one of the most common fruit crops grown in temperate regions worldwide. Genetic enhancement of fruit quality is a fundamental goal of pear breeding programs. The genetic control of pear fruit quality traits is highly quantitative, and development of high-density genetic maps can facilitate fine-mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and gene identification. Bin-mapping is a powerful method of constructing high-resolution genetic maps from large-scale genotyping datasets. We performed whole-genome sequencing of pear cultivars 'Niitaka' and 'Hongxiangsu' and their 176 F 1 progeny to identify genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for constructing a high-density bin-map of pear. This analysis yielded a total of 1.93 million SNPs and a genetic bin-map of 3190 markers spanning 1358.5 cM, with an average adjacent interval of 0.43 cM. This bin-map, along with other high-density genetic maps in pear, improved the reference genome assembly from 75.5 to 83.7% by re-anchoring the scaffolds. A quantitative genetic analysis identified 148 QTLs for 18 fruit-related traits; among them, QTLs for stone cell content, several key monosaccharides, and fruit pulp acids were identified for the first time in pear. A gene expression analysis of six pear cultivars identified 399 candidates in the identified QTL regions, which showed expression specific to fruit developmental stages in pear. Finally, we confirmed the function of PbrtMT1, a tonoplast monosaccharide transporter-related gene responsible for the enhancement of fructose accumulation in pear fruit on linkage group 16, in a transient transformation experiment. This study provides genomic and genetic resources as well as potential candidate genes for fruit quality improvement in pear.

Relationship between NR1I2 polymorphisms and inflammatory bowel disease risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Inconsistent results regarding an association between polymorphisms within the Homo sapiens nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group I member 2 (NR1I2) gene and susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been reported. A systematic review and meta-analysis was thus undertaken to determine whether NR1I2 gene polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk of IBD. METHODS: Article retrieval was performed using on-line databases, such as PubMed, Embase, CENTRAL, and WOS. After extracting eligible data, Mantel-Haenszel statistics were applied to calculate the odds radio (OR), 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and P value under a random or fixed-effects model. RESULTS: A total of seven articles with 4410 IBD subjects and 4028 controls were included. Compared with the control group, no significant increase in IBD susceptibility was observed for the -25385C/T (OR=0.92, 95% CI=0.78∼1.07, P=0.259), -24381A/C (OR=0.96, 95% CI=0.87∼1.06, P=0.378), +8055C/T (OR=1.06, 95% CI=0.97∼1.15, P=0.186), or +7635A/G (OR=0.96, 95% CI=0.87∼1.05, P=0.348) polymorphisms within the NR1I2 gene under the allele model. CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis failed to demonstrate an association between -25385C/T, -24381A/C, +8055C/T, or +7635A/G polymorphisms within the NR1I2 gene and overall IBD risk. A larger sample size is needed to validate our conclusion.

Associations between Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Polymorphisms and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Risk: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: C677T and A1298C are the most common allelic variants of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) gene. The association between MTHFR polymorphisms and the occurrence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains controversial. This study was thus performed to examine whether MTHFR mutations are associated with the susceptibility to NAFLD. METHODS: A first meta-analysis on the association between the MTHFR polymorphisms and NAFLD risks was carried out via Review Manager 5.0 and Stata/SE 12.0 software. The on-line databases, such as PubMed, EMBASE, CENTRAL, WOS, Scopus and EBSCOhost (updated to April 1st, 2016), were searched for eligible case-control studies. The odd radio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI) and P value were calculated through Mantel-Haenszel statistics under random- or fixed-effect model. RESULTS: Eight articles (785 cases and 1188 controls) contributed data to the current meta-analysis. For C677T, increased NAFLD risks were observed in case group under homozygote model (T/T vs C/C, OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.03~2.15, P = 0.04) and recessive model (T/T vs C/C+C/T, OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.07~1.88, P = 0.02), but not the other genetics models, compared with control group. For A1298C, significantly increased NAFLD risks were detected in allele model (C vs A, OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.13~2.07, P = 0.006), homozygote model (C/C vs A/A, OR = 2.81, 95% CI = 1.63~4.85, P = 0.0002), dominant model (A/C+C/C vs A/A, OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.06~2.41, P = 0.03) and recessive model (C/C vs A/A+A/C, OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.45~3.00, P<0.0001), but not heterozygote model. CONCLUSION: T/T genotype of MTHFR C677T polymorphism and C/C genotype of MTHFR A1298C are more likely to be associated with the susceptibility to NAFLD.

[Effect of retention enema with combination of compound glutamine entero-soluble capsule and glucocorticoids for treatment of ulcerative colitis].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the therapeutic effect and safety of retention enema with compound glutamine entero-soluble Capsule (CGC) on active ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: One hundred and sixty-eight patients with active UC were randomly assigned to the treatment group (86 patients) and the control group (82 patients). Besides the basic treatment of oral taking salicylazosulfapyridine or mesalazine, they were treated by retention enema with predisolone plus metronidazole injection. In addition, the patients in the treatment group were treated by retention enima with GGC and orally took CGC, 0.8 g each time, thrice a day. The efficacy of treatment and the changes in the principal symptoms 2 months after treatment were evaluated. RESULTS: The total effective rate in the treatment group was 94.2% (81/86 cases), and that in the control group was 82.9% (68/82 cases), the difference between the two groups was significant (P <0. 05). The symptoms of hemafecia and abdominal pain were improved, the disease active index (DAI) was lowered after treatment in both groups (P <0.01), but the improvement of hemafecia, time of disappearance of mucous bloody stool and decrease of DAI in the treatment group were superior to those in the control group (P <0.05 or P <0.01). No adverse reaction was found in all patients. CONCLUSION: The retention enema with glucocorticoid plus metronidazole combined with CGC shows an immediate effect obviously superior to that treated with glucocorticoids and metronidazole alone, and with no adverse reaction.