Flavonoid biosynthesis in four Dendrobium species based on transcriptome sequencing and metabolite analysis

Molecular Biology Reports - Dendrobium is a genus of plants used as traditional Chinese herbal medicines, with high economic and medicinal value. To reveal the mechanism of flavonoid biosynthesis...     

The responses of soil organic carbon mineralization and microbial communities to fresh and aged biochar soil amendments

While biochar soil amendment has been widely proposed as a soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration strategy to mitigate detrimental climate changes in global agriculture, the SOC sequestration was still not clearly understood for the different effects of fresh and aged biochar on SOC mineralization. In the present study of a two‐factorial experiment, topsoil samples from a rice paddy were laboratory‐incubated with and without fresh or aged biochar pyrolyzed of wheat residue and with and without crop residue‐derived dissolved organic matter (CRM) for monitoring soil organic matter decomposition under controlled conditions. The six treatments included soil with no biochar, with fresh biochar and with aged biochar treated with CRM, respectively. For fresh biochar treatment, the topsoil of a same rice paddy was amended with wheat biochar directly from a pyrolysis wheat straw, the soil with aged biochar was collected from the same soil 6 years following a single amendment of same biochar. Total CO₂ emission from the soil was monitored over a 64 day time span of laboratory incubation, while microbial biomass carbon and phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) were determined at the end of incubation period. Without CRM, total organic carbon mineralization was significantly decreased by 38.8% with aged biochar but increased by 28.9% with fresh biochar, compared to no biochar. With CRM, however, the significantly highest net carbon mineralization occurred in the soil without biochar compared to the biochar‐amended soil. Compared to aged biochar, fresh biochar addition significantly increased the total PLFA concentration by 20.3%–33.8% and altered the microbial community structure by increasing 17:1ω8c (Gram‐negative bacteria) and i17:0 (Gram‐positive bacteria) mole percentages and by decreasing the ratio of fungi/bacteria. Furthermore, biochar amendment significantly lowered the metabolic quotient of SOC decomposition, thereby becoming greater with aged biochar than with fresh biochar. The finding here suggests that biochar amendment could improve carbon utilization efficiency by soil microbial community and SOC sequestration potential in paddy soil can be enhanced by the presence of biochar in soil over the long run.     

Identification and expression analyses of BAMBI mediated by FSH in swine luteinizing granulosa cells

Transforming growth factor-β and related growth factors are essential regulators for the development of follicles. Bone morphogenic protein (BMP) and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (BAMBI) was reported as a key factor participating in the transforming growth factor-β signal pathway. To investigate the role of BAMBI in porcine granulosa cells, the full length of the BAMBI was cloned from porcine ovarian cDNA. The results of bioinformatics analyses showed that the signaling peptide was located in between positions 20 and 21. The results of online prediction on phosphorylation sites indicate that the sites of Ser, Thr, and Tyr are 9, 1, and 1, respectively. In addition, BAMBI was highly homologous in rodent and livestock. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) indicated that BAMBI was widely expressed in porcine tissues. Immunofluorescence showed that BAMBI was located in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Stimulating the granulosa cells with FSH in vitro could alter BAMBI expression level in a time-dependent manner. Moreover, the expression level declined after treatment with FSH. These results indicated that BAMBI is an FSH-repressed gene in porcine luteinizing granulosa cells and it may be involved in the regulation of ovarian follicle development and oocyte maturation.     

陕西洛南盆地延岭旧石器地点发掘报告

延岭地点处于东秦岭洛南盆地南洛河第二级阶地上,属盆地西部“四十里梁塬”中部,紧邻支流县河。2012年10～11月对该地点进行发掘,揭露面积251 m²,在地表耕土层和平整土地扰动层、原生黄土和古土壤层出土石料、石核、石片、各类修理的石器、断块、碎屑等不同类型石制品856件。延岭地点加工石制品的主要原料为附近河流阶地砾石堆积中的砾石,以石英为主,石英岩次之,石英砂岩、砂岩、火成岩、硅质岩等偶有使用。剥片方式主要为锤击法,偶见砸击法。石制品以小型为主。石器组合包括刮削器、尖状器、石锥、凹缺器、薄刃斧和手镐。遗址地层光释光年代学研究显示该地点埋藏石制品的地层形成于中更新世晚期至晚更新世早期,其中距今12～7万年之间的晚更新世早期为石制品埋藏最为丰富的时段。     

Multiple vacuoles in impaired tonoplast trafficking3 mutants are independent organelles

Plant vacuoles are essential and dynamic organelles, and mechanisms of vacuole biogenesis and fusion are not well characterized. We recently demonstrated that Wortmannin, an inhibitor of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (PI3K), induces the fusion of plant vacuoles both in roots of itt3/vti11 mutant alleles and in guard cells of wild type Arabidopsis and Fava bean. Here we used Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching (FRAP) to demonstrate that the vacuoles in itt3/vti11 are independent organelles. Furthermore, we used fluorescent protein reporters that bind specifically to Phosphatidylinositol 3-Phosphate (PtdIns(3)P) or PtdIns(4)P to show that Wortmannin treatments that induce the fusion of vti11 vacuoles result in the loss of PtdIns(3)P from cellular membranes. These results provided supporting evidence for a critical role of PtdIns(3)P in vacuole fusion in roots and guard cells.     

Twist1 accelerates tumour vasculogenic mimicry by inhibiting Claudin15 expression in triple‐negative breast cancer

The up‐regulation of EMT regulator Twist1 has been implicated in vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation in human triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC). Twist1 targets the Claudin15 promoter in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Claudin family members are related with TNBC. However, the relationship between Claudin15 and VM formation is not clear. In this study, we first found that Claudin15 expression was frequently down‐regulated in human TNBC, and Claudin15 down‐regulation was significantly associated with VM and Twist1 nuclear expression. Claudin15 down‐regulation correlated with shorter survival compared with high levels. Claudin15 silence significantly enhanced cell motility, invasiveness and VM formation in the non‐TNBC MCF‐7 cells. Conversely, an up‐regulation of Claudin15 remarkably reduced TNBC MDA‐MB‐231 cell migration, invasion and VM formation. We also showed that down‐regulation of Claudin15 was Twist1‐dependent, and Twist1 repressed Claudin15 promoter activity. Furthermore, GeneChip analyses of mammary glands of Claudin15‐deficient mice indicated that Claudin18 and Jun might be downstream factors of Twist1‐Claudin15. Our results suggest that Twist1 induced VM through Claudin15 suppression in TNBC, and Twist1 inhibition of Claudin15 might involve Claudin18 and Jun expression.     

象甲科昆虫转录组研究进展

转录组是细胞在特定发育阶段或生理条件下的全部转录本及其数量总和,并能揭示特定状态下的基因表达模式及分子机理。象甲科昆虫拥有动物界中最多的物种种类,该科许多昆虫也是我国粮食仓储和农林产业上的重大害虫。通过研究象甲科昆虫转录组,从分子水平揭示其生命过程中相关的基因及其功能,对寻找害虫防治的新方法具有重要意义。本文对象甲科昆虫转录组研究现状进行了浅析,涉及象甲科不同发育阶段基因差异、昆虫触角、与植物互作、防治、免疫机制、进化、基因沉默7个方面的分析,可在理论上丰富对象甲科昆虫遗传发育、免疫、潜在RNA干扰靶点筛选等方面的理解,并在此基础上提出了象甲科转录组今后的研究热点与应用前景,为害虫防控提供理论指导。     

Ectopic expression of RBP4 impairs the insulin pathway and inguinal fat deposition in mice

A large body of evidence has linked retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) to systemic insulin resistance, but little is known about its function in fat deposition. This study aimed to confirm the involvement of RBP4 in inguinal fat deposition and insulin by intraperitoneal injection of adenovirus-mediated RBP4 to mice. Intraperitoneal injection of adenoviral vectors was validated as an efficient gene manipulation tool for over-expressing recombinant proteins in vivo. Ectopic expression of RBP4 decelerated inguinal fat deposition by decreasing the size of adipocytes. Moreover, the introduction of exogenous RBP4 blunted the response of inguinal adipocytes to insulin signals. These findings suggest that RBP4 impaired in vivo adipogenesis, partly through the repression of the insulin pathway.     

生物质炭对水稻土团聚体微生物多样性的影响

生物质炭施用对土壤微生物群落结构的影响已有报道,但土壤团聚体粒组中微生物群落对生物质炭施用的响应的研究还相对不足。以施用玉米秸秆生物质炭两年后的水稻土为对象,采用团聚体湿筛法,通过高通量测序对土壤团聚体的微生物群落结构与多样性进行分析,结果表明:(1)与对照相比,生物质炭施用显著促进了大团聚体(2000—250μm)的形成,并提高了团聚体的稳定性。(2)不同粒径团聚体间微生物相对丰度存在显著差异。在未施生物质炭的处理(C0)中,随着团聚体粒径增大,变形菌门、子囊菌门、β-变形杆菌目、格孢腔菌目的相对丰度逐渐降低,而酸杆菌门、担子菌门、粘球菌目、类球囊霉目的相对丰度逐渐升高。(3)生物质炭施用显著改变了团聚体间的微生物群落结构。与C0处理相比,生物质炭施用处理的大团聚体中变形菌门、鞭毛菌门和β-变形杆菌目的相对丰度分别显著提高了14.37%、33.28%和33.82%;微团聚体(250—53μm)中酸杆菌门、子囊菌门和粘球菌目的相对丰度分别显著降低了20.15%、19.93%和17.66%;粉、黏粒组分(53μm)中担子菌门的相对丰度升高90.25%,而子囊菌门和鞭毛菌门的相对丰度分别降低12.15%和12.58%。由此可见,生物质炭不仅改变土壤团聚体组成和分布,同时伴随着土壤微生物群落结构的改变。