The post-genomics era of cotton

正As one of the important industrial crops and also an excellent model organism for studying cell elongation,cell wall biosynthesis as well as polyploidy evolution,cotton has always been in the limelight of the world(Shi et al.,2006;Qin and Zhu,2011).With the publication of the allotetraploid Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense genomes this year(Li et al.,2015;Zhang et al.,2015;Liu et al.,2015),all three important cotton genomes,including the two ancestor diploid Gossypium raimondii(DD)(Wang et al.,2012;Paterson et al.,2012)and Gossypium arboreum(AA)(Li et al.,2014)have been successfully sequenced by scientists from China and from the United States of America.Since functional studies of Arabidopsis thaliana and     

Modulating the C-terminus of DEP1 synergistically enhances grain quality and yield in rice

<正>Grain shape is a key breeding target that influences both grain yield and appearance quality in rice. Breeding for long-slender grains is an effective strategy to improve grain quality (Jain et al., 2004;Wang et al., 2012, 2015a). In the past two decades, several quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for grain size and shape have been identified, including GS3 (Fan et al., 2006), GS5 (Li et al., 2011),     

Interleukin-25 in sputum as a marker of airway inflammation in children asthma

<正>Dear Editor,Interleukin-25 (IL-25, also called IL-17E) is an important IL-17 family member that helps initialize and regulate type 2immunity, exerting an important influence on the pathogenesis of asthma (Corrigan et al., 2011; Barlow et al., 2012).Furthermore, it plays a vital role in initiating type 2 innate lymphoid cell activation and maintenance (Tong and Li,2018) and inducing Th2-type cytokine-mediated allergic airway eosinophilia (Morita et al., 2015). IL-25 expression     

A Truncated F-Box Protein Confers the Dwarfism in Cucumber

正Dwarfism is an important plant architecture trait in crop breeding(Peng et al.,1999;Sasaki el al.,2002).In cucurbits.the compact plant type was proposed to develop new varieties for the once-over mechanical harvest for concentrated fruit set and higher densities(Li et al.,2011;Mondal et al.,2011).Several recessive genes in cucurbits have been reported to confer the phenotype of short internodes or bushy plant habits,such as compact,cp-2,and dw in cucumber(Cucumis sativus     

Breeding cotton with superior fiber quality: identification and utilization of multiple elite loci and exotic genetic resources

正In the last decade, cotton genomics had great progress in genome assembling(Li et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2020) and agriculturally important locus identification(Du et al., 2018;Ma et al., 2018; Li et al., 2021).Upland cotton(Gossypium hirsutum) is one of the most important cash crops cultivated worldwide. The fiber quality of cotton directly determines its economic value, and therefore enhancing fiber quality is always the primary task in cotton breeding practices(Xia et al., 2019; Huang et al.,2021).     

Resident endothelial cells generate hepatocytes through cell fusion in adult mouse liver

正Unravelling lineage plasticity and cellular contribution to hepatocytes provides valuable information for understanding sources that fuel homeostatic renewal of the liver(Miyajima et al.,2014).In the adult stage,hepatocytes are mainly self-renewed through cell division(Schaub et al.,2014;Tarlow et al.,2014;Yanger et al.,2014).Under severe injury or when hepatocyte proliferation is significantly impaired,cholangiocytes or biliary epithelial cells contribute to hepatocytes(Raven et al.,2017;Deng et al.,2018).It     

Fecal microbiota transplantation: standardization or diversification?

<正>Call for standardization of fecal microbiota transplantation(FMT)The gut microbiota plays an important role in human health and disease. Dysbiosis is often recognized in patients with diseases of the digestive and other systems(Blaser, 2019; Li et al., 2018 b; Qin et al., 2018). FMT refers to the administration of fecal material containing distal gut microbiota from a healthy person(donor) to a patient(recipient) to restore the gut microecology of the recipient(Kelly et al., 2015). Clinical guidelines have strongly recommended FMT for the     

Strengthening the functional research on the interaction between host genes and microbiota

正In recent years, many studies have focused on the interaction between host genes and microbiota and their mutual influence (Bonder et al., 2016; Goodrich et al., 2014; Rothschild et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2019). Host genetic variation influences the composition of the microbial community, for instance in inflammatory bowel disease, host genetic susceptibilities induce pathological shifts in micro-     

Rare variants in novel and known genes associated with primary angle closure glaucoma based on whole exome sequencing of 549 probands

<正>Primary angle closure glaucoma(PACG)is one of the most common causes of irreversible blindness in Asia and about 80%of PACG are present in Asia(Song et al.,2017).Genetics plays an important role in the development of PACG(Gramer et al.,2014).Recently,eight common SNPs were found to be strongly associated with PACG(Vithana et al.,2012;Khor et al.,2016)and mutations in MYRF cause high hyperopia accompanied with PACG(Xiao et al.,2019).However,the genetic defects underlying PACG are still     

Generation of marker-free transgenic rice using CRISPR/Cas9 system controlled by ?oral speci?c promoters

Recently, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been used as a powerful tool for genome editing in many species (Jinek et al., 2012;Cong et al., 2013;Wright et al., 2016;Li et al., 2017;Deng et al., 2018). The CR1SPR/Cas9 system can not only be used as a useful technology to disrupt endogenous genes but also expand numerous other applications, such as precise base editing (Komor et al., 2016;Zong et al., 2017), regulation of gene expression (Gilbert et al., 2013), and gene replacement or insertion (Wang et al., 2017).     

Overexpression of OsSPL9 enhances accumulation of Cu in rice grain and improves its digestibility and metabolism

正Copper(Cu)is an essential trace mineral element for all forms of life,and is an important structural component and co-factor for a variety of metalloenzymes(Pen~a et al.,1999;Bertinato and L'Abbe,2004).In humans,Cu deficiency is not common because of the ubiquitous occurrence of Cu and ease of gastrointestinal absorption(Zidar et al.,1977;Uauy et al.,1998).However,because of the low Cu content in most sources of feed,the use of Cu as a growth promoter to maximize animal production has been well documented in animal feeding(Braude,1945;Lu et al.,2010).Pre-     

A single nucleotide substitution at 5′-UTR of GSN1 represses its translation and leads to an increase of grain length in rice

<正>Rice grain size is an important trait that affects rice yield and quality, and thus the identification of genes related to grain size is of great significance for improving rice yield and quality. Many genes related to grain size, such as DEP1(Huang et al., 2009),GW5(Liu et al., 2017), and GW7/GL7(Wang et al., 2015 a, b), have     

PIK-75 promotes homology-directed DNA repair

Homo!ogy-directed repair(HDR)is one of two major DNA repair pathways to mend the double-strand breaks(DSBs)formed in the genome(Liang et al.,1998;Pardo et al.,2009).Although less efficient compared with another DNA repair pathway,nonhomologous end joining(NHEJ),HDR is a type of precise repair to restore DNA damage and sustain genomic stability(Pardo et al.,2009;Ceccaldi et al.,2016).By contrast,NHEJ usually introduces mutations into the repaired site,thus probably harming the genomic integrity(Lieber et al.,2003).The error-free property enables HDR to be harnessed to correct a faulty mutation for therapeutic purpose in cells or in the body(Wu et al.,2013).In add让ion,HDR possesses great potential in the generation of genome-edited animals with precise genetic modifications,such as point mutation,DNA replacement,and DNA insertion in a specific genomic site(Wang et al.,2013).However,the low repair frequency mediated by HDR significantly limits让s application for efficient gene correction or establishment of various genetically modified animal models.Currently,multiple site-specific endonucleases have emerged as highly efficient tools to create targeted DSBs and markedly promote subsequent DNA repair either via HDR or NHEJ(Gaj et al.,2013).Nonetheless,the HDR-mediated modifications following the cleavage of engineering nucleases are still inefficient,usually with an efficiency less than 20%in cultured mammalian cells and embryos(Mali et al..2013;Wang et al.,2013;Yang et al.,2013).     

CRISPR/Cas9-introduced single and multiple mutagenesis in strawberry

正CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing is a powerful tool for life science research. Recently, strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa), an important horticultural crop, has emerged as a model organism for investigating the regulatory mechanisms of fruit development and ripening (Shulaev et al., 2011; Jia et al., 2013, 2017; Kang et al., 2013; Han et al., 2015). While most cultivated strawberries     

Clinical utility of whole genome sequencing for the detection of mitochondrial genome mutations

正Genetic mitochondrial disorders are a heterogenous group of multi-system disorders caused by an imbalance in mitochondrial function (Moggio et al.,2014;Wallace,2018).In contrast to the nuclear genome,each cell contains hundreds,or even thousands,of mtDNA molecules (Veltri et al.,1990;Calvo et al., 2006).Thus,a mixture of different mtDNA sequences can co-exist within the same individual,a situation referred to as he terop las my.The level of heteroplasmy in an individual often affects the penetrance and phenotypic severity of the diseases.Consequently,detection of sequence heteroplasmy is essential for the proper clinical interpretation of mitochondrial diseases (Stewart and Chinnery,2015).     

Centromere Epigenetics in Plants

The centromere is an essential chromosome site at which the kinetochore forms and loads proteins needed for faithful segregation during the cell cycle and meiosis(Houben et al., 1999;Cleveland et al.,2003;Ma et al.,2007;Birchler and Han,2009).Centromere specific sequences such as tandem repeats or transposable elements evolve quickly both within and between the species but have conserved kinetochore proteins(Henikoff and Furuyama,2010).The universal feature     

Efficient generation of pink-fruited tomatoes using CRISPR/Cas9 system

正Tomato(Solanum lycopersicum)is the leading vegetable crop worldwide and an essential component of a healthy diet(Lin et al.,2014;Du et al.,2017).Fruit color is regarded as one of the most important commercial traits in tomato(The Tomato Genome Consortium,2012).Consumers in different regions have different color preferences.For example,European and American     

Multiple analyses indicate the specific association of NR1I3,C6 and TNN with low hip BMD risk

<正>Low hip bone mineral density(BMD)is an important index for osteoporosis and is associated with hip fracture,which leads to more cases of disability and mortality than all other kinds of fractures(Kanis et al.,2007).BMD's heritability is more than 60%(Arden et al.,1996).A number of candidate loci for BMD have been previously identified by Genome Wide Association Studies(GWAS)(Xiong et al.,2009;Karasik et al.,2010;Zhang et al.,2013).Nevertheless,many significant signals based on GWAS are     

Response to Comment on "The role of wildlife (wild birds) in the global transmission of antimicrobial resistance genes"

DEAR EDITOR, Since our first identification of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 in 2015 (Liu et al.,2016),it has been described in human clinics,domestic animals,foods,and the environment worldwide (Schwarz & Johnson,2016).Although it is still rare,the emergence of mcr-1 in wild animals is of great concern.We summarized two previous reports on mcr-1 in wild birds from Lithuania and Argentina to describe its emergence and characteristics in wildlife and highlight the potentially important role of wild animals,particularly birds,in its global transmission (Wang et al.,2017).The first detection of mcr-1 in wildlife in Asia was identified in an extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli strain isolated from Eurasian coot (Fulica atra),which was located on a ～63 kb Incl2 plasmid,frequently associated with the global transmission of mcr-1 (Mohsin et al.,2016).     

Carotenoid isomerase regulates rice tillering and grain productivity by its biosynthesis pathway

<正>Tillers are unique inflorescence-like branches in grasses,and their number determines the panicle number, plant architecture, and yield(Shang et al., 2021). Tiller formation mainly undergoes axillary meristem(AM) initiation and tiller bud outgrowth(Wang et al., 2018; Yan et al., 2023). The rice(Oryza sativa) KNOX gene OSH1 is expressed in AMs, and an osh1 mutant produces fewer tillers(Tanaka et al., 2015).