Sucrose Facilitates Rhizome Development of Perennial Rice (Oryza longistaminata).

Compared with annual crops, perennial crops with longer growing seasons and deeper root systems can fix more sunlight energy, and have advantages in reducing soil erosion and saving water, fertilizer and pesticide inputs. Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world. Perennial rice can be of great significance for protecting the ecological environment and coping with the shortage of young farmers due to urbanization. Oryza longistaminata (OL) is a rhizomatous wild rice with an AA genome and has strong biotic and abiotic resistances. The AA genome makes OL easy to cross with cultivated rice, thus making it an ideal donor material for perennial rice breeding. Sucrose plays an important role in the development and growth of plants. In this study, OL seedlings were cultured in medium with different concentrations of sucrose, and it was found that sucrose of appropriate concentrations can promote the sprout of basal axillary buds and the subsequent development of rhizomes. In order to explore the molecular mechanism, comparative transcriptome analysis was carried out with OL cultured under two concentrations of sucrose, 20 g/L and 100 g/L, respectively. The results showed that the boost of sucrose to rhizome elongation may be due to the glucose and fructose, hydrolyzed from the absorbed sucrose by vacuolar acid invertase. In addition, the consequent increased osmotic pressure of the cells would promote water absorption, which is benefit for the cell elongation, eventually causing the rhizome elongation. These results may provide a reference for elucidating the regulatory mechanism of sucrose on the rhizome development of OL.

Shared paternal ancestry of Han, Tai-Kadai-speaking, and Austronesian-speaking populations as revealed by the high resolution phylogeny of O1a-M119 and distribution of its sub-lineages within China.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this research was to explore the origin, diversification, and demographic history of O1a-M119 over the past 10,000 years, as well as its role during the formation of East Asian and Southeast Asian populations, particularly the Han, Tai-Kadai-speaking, and Austronesian-speaking populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Y-chromosome sequences (n = 141) of the O1a-M119 lineage, including 17 newly generated in this study, were used to reconstruct a revised phylogenetic tree with age estimates, and identify sub-lineages. The geographic distribution of 12 O1a-M119 sub-lineages was summarized, based on 7325 O1a-M119 individuals identified among 60,009 Chinese males. RESULTS: A revised phylogenetic tree, age estimation, and distribution maps indicated continuous expansion of haplogroup O1a-M119 over the past 10,000 years, and differences in demographic history across geographic regions. We propose several sub-lineages of O1a-M119 as founding paternal lineages of Han, Tai-Kadai-speaking, and Austronesian-speaking populations. The sharing of several young O1a-M119 sub-lineages with expansion times less than 6000 years between these three population groups supports a partial common ancestry for them in the Neolithic Age; however, the paternal genetic divergence pattern is much more complex than previous hypotheses based on ethnology, archeology, and linguistics. DISCUSSION: Our analyses contribute to a better understanding of the demographic history of O1a-M119 sub-lineages over the past 10,000 years during the emergence of Han, Austronesians, Tai-Kadai-speaking populations. The data described in this study will assist in understanding of the history of Han, Tai-Kadai-speaking, and Austronesian-speaking populations from ethnology, archeology, and linguistic perspectives in the future.

Paternal gene pool of Malays in Southeast Asia and its applications for the early expansion of Austronesians.

OBJECTIVES: The origin and differentiation of Austronesian populations and their languages have long fascinated linguists, archeologists, and geneticists. However, the founding process of Austronesians and when they separated from their close relatives, such as the Daic and Austro-Asiatic populations in the mainland of Asia, remain unclear. In this study, we explored the paternal origin of Malays in Southeast Asia and the early differentiation of Austronesians. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We generated whole Y-chromosome sequences of 50 Malays and co-analyzed 200 sequences from other Austronesians and related populations. We generated a revised phylogenetic tree with time estimation. RESULTS: We identified six founding paternal lineages among the studied Malays samples. These founding lineages showed a surprisingly coincident expansion age at 5000 to 6000 years ago. We also found numerous mostly close related samples of the founding lineages of Malays among populations from Mainland of Asia. CONCLUSION: Our analyses provided a refined phylogenetic resolution for the dominant paternal lineages of Austronesians found by previous studies. We suggested that the co-expansion of numerous founding paternal lineages corresponds to the initial differentiation of the most recent common ancestor of modern Austronesians. The splitting time and divergence pattern in perspective of paternal Y-chromosome evidence are highly consistent with the previous theories of ethnologists, linguists, and archeologists.

[Research progress on genetic and molecular mechanisms of hybrid segregation distortion].

Segregation distortion (SD) is defined as abnormal segregation ratio of hybrid offsprings at some genetic loci deviating from the Mendelian ratio. SD results from the incompatibility among genes from different parents, which could be due to loss-of-function or gain-of-function gene interactions. The mechanism for loss-of-function SD is relatively simple: defective gene combination leads to loss of the original function and eventual cell death. The gain-of-function hybrid SD system is a multi-gene genetic system, comprising two basic components: the killer and the protector. Additional modifiers, such as enhancers and repressors, are also involved. There is a general genetic model for gain-of-function hybrid SD: haplotypes with transmission advantage possess high-activity killer⁺ and protector⁺; those with transmission disadvantage possess low-activity killer- and protector-; neutral haplotypes (wide compatibility types) possess killer- and protector⁺. Depending upon close linkage between the killer and the protector and the accumulation of modifiers, the SD system survived through natural selection. Although the genetic mechanisms are highly similar, different gain-of-function hybrid SD systems have distinctive molecular mechanisms. In this review, we summarize the genetic and molecular mechanisms of hybrid SD, and the relationship between hybrid SD and hybrid sterility.

Rapid absorption of frontal lobe contusion and laceration with hematoma: A case report and review of literature.

RATIONALE: It is rare for a traumatic intracranial hematoma to self-absorb rapidly after conservative treatment. To the best of our knowledge, there has been no report in the relevant literature of rapid absorption of hematoma formation following cerebral contusion and laceration. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 54-year-old male was admitted to our hospital with head trauma at 3 hours prior to admission. He was alert and oriented, glasgow coma scale score of 15. Head computed tomography (CT) showed left frontal brain contusion with hematoma, however, a reexamination of CT about 29 hours following the trauma revealed that the hematoma had been absorbed. DIAGNOSES: A diagnosis of contusion and laceration of left frontal lobe with hematoma formation was made based on the CT images. INTERVENTIONS: The patient underwent conservative treatment. OUTCOMES: After treatment, dizziness and headache subsided for the patient, and no special discomfort was reported. LESSONS: It is likely that the reason for rapid absorption in this case is that the hematoma is prone to liquefaction because of abnormal platelet values and coagulation dysfunction. As the liquefaction hematoma breaks into the lateral ventricle, it is redistributed and absorbed in the lateral ventricle and subarachnoid space. Further evidence is required to support this hypothesis.

Interactions Among Multiple Quantitative Trait Loci Underlie Rhizome Development of Perennial Rice.

Perennial crops have some advantages over annuals in soil erosion prevention, lower labor and water requirements, carbon sequestration, and maintenance of thriving soil ecosystems. Rhizome, a kind of root-like underground stem, is a critical component of perenniality, which allows many grass species to survive through harsh environment. Identification of rhizome-regulating genes will contribute to the development of perennial crops. There have been no reports on the cloning of such genes until now, which bring urgency for identification of genes controlling rhizomatousness. Using rhizomatous Oryza longistaminata and rhizome-free cultivated rice as male and female parents, respectively, genetic populations were developed to identify genes regulating rhizome. Both entire population genotyping and selective genotyping mapping methods were adopted to detect rhizome-regulating quantitative trait loci (QTL) in 4 years. Results showed that multiple genes regulated development of rhizomes, with over 10 loci related to rhizome growth. At last, five major-effect loci were identified including qRED1.2, qRED3.1, qRED3.3, qRED4.1, and qRED4.2. It has been found that the individual plant with well-developed rhizomes carried at least three major-effect loci and a certain number of minor-effect loci. Both major-effect and minor-effect loci worked together to control rhizome growth, while no one could work alone. These results will provide new understanding of genetic regulation on rhizome growth and reference to the subsequent gene isolation in rice. And the related research methods and results in this study will contribute to the research on rhizome of other species.