Bibliometric Analysis of Functional Crops and Nutritional Quality: Identification of Gene Resources to Improve Crop Nutritional Quality through Gene Editing Technology.

Food security and hidden hunger are two worldwide serious and complex challenges nowadays. As one of the newly emerged technologies, gene editing technology and its application to crop improvement offers the possibility to relieve the pressure of food security and nutrient needs. In this paper, we analyzed the research status of quality improvement based on gene editing using four major crops, including rice, soybean, maize, and wheat, through a bibliometric analysis. The research hotspots now focus on the regulatory network of related traits, quite different from the technical improvements to gene editing in the early stage, while the trends in deregulation in gene-edited crops have accelerated related research. Then, we mined quality-related genes that can be edited to develop functional crops, including 16 genes related to starch, 15 to lipids, 14 to proteins, and 15 to other functional components. These findings will provide useful reference information and gene resources for the improvement of functional crops and nutritional quality based on gene editing technology.

Differential Size Distribution and Estrogen Receptor Cargo of Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles at Various Stages of Estrous Cycle in Mice.

Oviductal extracellular vesicles (OEVs) play an important role in fertilization and embryo development. However, it remains largely unknown whether the size and protein cargo of OEVs change during the estrous cycle in mice. This study analyzed the changes in the size distribution and protein cargo of OEVs at four stages of the estrous cycle in mice. The distribution widths of OEVs according to the estrous cycle stage were as follows: proestrus, 20-690 nm in diameter, with two peaks at 50 and 250 nm; estrus, 22-420 nm in diameter, with two peaks at 40 and 200 nm; metestrus, 30-70 nm diameter, with a single peak at 40 nm; and diestrus, 10-26 nm diameter, with a single peak at 20 nm. The estrogen receptor (ER) level in OEVs at the proestrus stage differed significantly from that at estrus (P = 0.013) and diestrus (P = 0.005). The levels of CD9 and Hsc70 fluctuated across the four stages, although with no significant differences. Furthermore, OEVs were observed among the cilia and microvilli of epithelial cells at the proestrus, estrus, and diestrus stages, but not at the metestrus stage. The number of observed OEVs was the highest at the proestrus stage, followed by the estrus, and the diestrus stage. Endosomes were also observed at the estrus and diestrus stages. The change of the OEV size and ER cargo is associated with the estrous cycle in mice. Our findings increase the understanding of the physiological characteristics of OEVs, which may have clinical applications.