Digital Gene Expression Analysis of Corky Split Vein Caused by Boron Deficiency in ‘Newhall’ Navel Orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) for Selecting Differentially Expressed Genes Related to Vascular Hypertrophy

Corky split vein caused by boron (B) deficiency in ‘Newhall’ Navel Orange was studied in the present research. The boron-deficient citrus exhibited a symptom of corky split vein in mature leaves. Morphologic and anatomical surveys at four representative phases of corky split veins showed that the symptom was the result of vascular hypertrophy. Digital gene expression (DGE) analysis was performed based on the Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 platform, which was applied to analyze the gene expression profilings of corky split veins at four morphologic phases. Over 5.3 million clean reads per library were successfully mapped to the reference database and more than 22897 mapped genes per library were simultaneously obtained. Analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) revealed that the expressions of genes associated with cytokinin signal transduction, cell division, vascular development, lignin biosynthesis and photosynthesis in corky split veins were all affected. The expressions of WOL and ARR12 involved in the cytokinin signal transduction pathway were up-regulated at 1^st phase of corky split vein development. Furthermore, the expressions of some cell cycle genes, CYCs and CDKB, and vascular development genes, WOX4 and VND7, were up-regulated at the following 2^nd and 3^rd phases. These findings indicated that the cytokinin signal transduction pathway may play a role in initiating symptom observed in our study.     

Combining ethidium monoazide treatment with real-time PCR selectively quantifies viable Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis cells

Detection of the lethal amphibian fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis relies on PCR-based techniques. Although highly accurate and sensitive, these methods fail to distinguish between viable and dead cells. In this study a novel approach combining the DNA intercalating dye ethidium monoazide (EMA) and real-time PCR is presented that allows quantification of viable B. dendrobatidis cells without the need for culturing. The developed method is able to suppress real-time PCR signals of heat-killed B. dendrobatidis zoospores by 99.9 % and is able to discriminate viable from heat-killed B. dendrobatidis zoospores in mixed samples. Furthermore, the novel approach was applied to assess the antifungal activity of the veterinary antiseptic F10^® Antiseptic Solution. This disinfectant killed B. dendrobatidis zoospores effectively within 1 min at concentrations as low as 1:6400.     

Short-Term Effect of Pollen and Spore Exposure on Allergy Morbidity in the Brussels-Capital Region

Belgium is among the European countries that are the most affected by allergic rhinitis. Pollen grains and fungal spores represent important triggers of symptoms. However, few studies have investigated their real link with disease morbidity over several years. Based on aeroallergen counts and health insurance datasets, the relationship between daily changes in pollen, fungal spore concentrations and daily changes in reimbursable systemic antihistamine sales has been investigated between 2005 and 2011 in the Brussels-Capital Region. A Generalized Linear Model was used and adjusted for air pollution, meteorological conditions, flu, seasonal component and day of the week. We observed an augmentation in drug sales despite no significant increase in allergen levels in the long term. The relative risk of buying allergy medications associated with an interquartile augmentation in pollen distributions increased significantly for Poaceae, Betula, Carpinus, Fraxinus and Quercus. Poaceae affected the widest age group and led to the highest increase of risk which reached 1.13 (95% CI [1.11–1.14]) among the 19- to 39-year-old men. Betula showed the second most consistent relationship across age groups. Clear identification of the provoking agents may improve disease management by customizing prevention programmes. This work also opens several research perspectives related to impact of climate modification or subpopulation sensitivity.     

Self‐Assembled BiFeO3‐ε‐Fe2O3 Vertical Heteroepitaxy for Visible Light Photoelectrochemistry

Self‐assembled vertical heterostructure with a high interface‐to‐volume ratio offers tremendous opportunities to realize intriguing properties and advanced modulation of functionalities. Here, a heterostructure composed of two visible‐light photocatalysts, BiFeO₃ (BFO) and ε‐Fe₂O₃ (ε‐FO), is designed to investigate its photoelectrochemical performance. The structural characterization of the BFO‐FO heterostructures confirms the phase separation with BFO nanopillars embedded in the ε‐FO matrix. The investigation of band structure of the heterojunction suggests the assistance of photoexcited carrier separation, leading to an enhanced photoelectrochemical performance. The insights into the charge separation are further revealed by means of ultrafast dynamics and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies. This work shows a delicate design of the self‐assembled vertical heteroepitaxy by taking advantage of the intimate contact between two phases that can lead to a tunable charge interaction, providing a new configuration for the optimization of photoelectrochemical cell.     

An Improved Method for Rapid Intubation of the Trachea in Mice

Despite some anatomical and physiological differences, mouse models continue to be an essential tool for studying human lung disease. Bleomycin toxicity is a commonly used model to study both acute lung injury and fibrosis, and multiple methods have been developed for administering bleomycin (and other toxic agents) into the lungs. However, many of these approaches, such as transtracheal instillation, have inherent drawbacks, including the need for strong anesthetics and survival surgery. This paper reports a quick, reproducible method of intratracheal intubation that involves mild inhaled anesthesia, visualization of the trachea, and the use of a surrogate spirometer to confirm exposure. As a proof of concept, 8-12 week old C57BL/6 mice were administered either 2.0 U/kg of bleomycin or an equivalent volume of PBS, and both damage and fibrotic endpoints were measured post-exposure. This procedure allows researchers to treat a large cohort of mice in a relatively short period with little expense and minimal post-procedure care.     

Bacterial Community Responses to Soils along a Latitudinal and Vegetation Gradient on the Loess Plateau,China

Soil bacterial communities play an important role in nutrient recycling and storage in terrestrial ecosystems. Loess soils are one of the most important soil resources for maintaining the stability of vegetation ecosystems and are mainly distributed in northwest China. Estimating the distributions and affecting factors of soil bacterial communities associated with various types of vegetation will inform our understanding of the effect of vegetation restoration and climate change on these processes. In this study, we collected soil samples from 15 sites from north to south on the Loess Plateau of China that represent different ecosystem types and analyzed the distributions of soil bacterial communities by high-throughput 454 pyrosequencing. The results showed that the 142444 sequences were grouped into 36816 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on 97% similarity. The results of the analysis showed that the dominant taxonomic phyla observed in all samples were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria and Planctomycetes. Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were the two most abundant groups in all samples. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria increased from 14.73% to 40.22% as the ecosystem changed from forest to sandy, while the relative abundance of Proteobacteria decreased from 35.35% to 21.40%. Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria had significant correlations with mean annual precipitation (MAP), pH, and soil moisture and nutrients. MAP was significantly correlated with soil chemical and physical properties. The relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and Planctomycetes correlated significantly with MAP, suggesting that MAP was a key factor that affected the soil bacterial community composition. However, along with the MAP gradient, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria had narrow ranges that did not significantly vary with the soil and environmental factors. Overall, we conclude that the edaphic properties and/or vegetation types are driving bacterial community composition. MAP was a key factor that affects the composition of the soil bacteria on the Loess Plateau of China.