Developing a series of conservative anchor markers and their application to phylogenomics of Laurasiatherian mammals

The availability of numerous universal markers and suitable phylogenetic analysis methods are both very important for phylogenomics inference. Based on PCR amplification, a total of 122 markers, which were amplified in 19 representative species, were developed for Laurasiatherian phylogenomics. Subsequently, we illustrated the utility of these newly developed markers using a subset of eight markers. We showed that both 'supermatrix' and 'supertree' trees generated similar topology, which accorded with the current understanding of the Laurasiatherian phylogeny in most aspects. Thus, markers developed here would be likely to make a contribution to resolving evolutionary relationships and inferring evolutionary histories of the Laurasiatherian mammals in the future.     

Characterization of a hypertriglyceridemic transgenic miniature pig model expressing human apolipoprotein CIII

Hypertriglyceridemia has recently been considered to be an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, in which apolipoprotein (Apo)CIII is one of the major contributory factors, as it is strongly correlated with plasma triglyceride levels. Although ApoCIII transgenic mice have been generated as an animal model for the study of hypertriglyceridemia, the features of lipoprotein metabolism in mice differ greatly from those in humans. Because of the great similarity between pigs and humans with respect to lipid metabolism and cardiovascular physiology, we generated transgenic miniature pigs expressing human ApoCIII by the transfection of somatic cells combined with nuclear transfer. The expression of human ApoCIII was detected in the liver and intestine of the transgenic pigs. As compared with nontransgenic controls, transgenic pigs showed significantly increased plasma triglyceride levels (83 ± 36 versus 38 ± 4 mg·dL(-1), P < 0.01) when fed a chow diet. Plasma lipoprotein profiling by FPLC in transgenic animals showed a higher peak in large-particle fractions corresponding to very low-density lipoprotein/chylomicrons when triglyceride content in the fractions was assayed. There was not much difference in cholesterol content in FPLC fractions, although a large low-density lipoprotein peak was identified in both nontransgenic and transgenic animals, resembling that found in humans. Further analysis revealed markedly delayed clearance of plasma triglyceride, accompanied by significantly reduced lipoprotein lipase activity in post-heparin plasma, in transgenic pigs as compared with nontransgenic controls. In summary, we have successfully generated a novel hypertriglyceridemic ApoCIII transgenic miniature pig model that could be of great value for studies on hyperlipidemia in relation to atherosclerotic disorders.     

外源H2S影响黄瓜幼苗响应高盐胁迫的蛋白质组学分析

为了阐明外源H₂S对高盐胁迫下黄瓜蛋白质表达的影响,以盐敏感型黄瓜栽培种‘春夏秋王’为材料,通过双向电泳（2 DE）技术分离叶片总蛋白质,采用基质辅助激光解析飞行时间串联质谱（MALDI TOF/TOF MS）技术对差异表达蛋白质进行质谱鉴定,并利用NCBI及SwissProt数据库检索进行差异表达蛋白质功能注释和代谢通路分析。结果表明：(1) 共检测到约2 490个蛋白质,其中蛋白质表达差异在1.5倍以上且差异显著(P<0.05)的有45个,其中有24个蛋白质表达上调,21个蛋白质表达下调。(2) 成功鉴定蛋白质26个,这些蛋白质参与了光合作用（26.92%）、蛋白质代谢（23.08%）、能量与碳水化合物代谢（11.54%）、氨基酸生物合成（11.54%）、细胞结构相关蛋白（7.69%）、抗氧化作用（3.85%）、信号转导（3.85%）及未知功能蛋白（11.54%）。(3) GO注释表明差异表达的蛋白质分子功能主要以蛋白质结合与水解酶活性为主,生物学过程涉及应激反应、有机物代谢过程、胁迫响应和细胞分化等,细胞组成集中分布在细胞部分和一些胞内细胞器。KEGG代谢通路分析表明,差异表达蛋白质主要参与了肌动蛋白细胞骨架调控、细胞凋亡、碳代谢和光和调控等代谢途径。研究表明,外源H₂S诱导了高盐胁迫下黄瓜叶片蛋白质的差异表达,为后续探索外源H₂S对黄瓜的抗盐分子机制研究提供了理论依据。     

Enhanced atherothrombotic formation after oxidative injury by FeCl3 to the common carotid artery in severe combined hyperlipidemic mice

Enhanced susceptibility to atherosclerosis from severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) resulting from lipoprotein lipase (LPL) deficiency has been demonstrated in our recent findings which employed a unique mouse model. In the present study we provide further evidence that severe HTG due to LPL deficiency also promotes an atherothrombotic response to arterial injury induced by ferric chloride in a severe combined hyperlipidemic mouse model. Methods and results: A mouse model (LPL^−/−XApoE^−/− double knockout, DKO) with severe combined hyperlipidemia was established by crossing ApoE and LPL-deficient mice. The common carotid arteries of ApoE knockout (EKO) and DKO mice were subjected to injury by ferric chloride, and the formation of arterial thrombosis together with various markers were compared in these lesions. DKO mice demonstrated significantly enhanced thrombus formation overlying atherosclerotic plaque after injury, which contained smooth muscle cells, macrophages, and neutral lipid. The area of neointima, mean intima/media ratios, and the percentage of luminal stenosis were significantly greater (P < 0.01) in DKO mice. Compared with EKO mice, the expression of von Willebrand factor (vWF) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) were increased in DKO mice. Conclusions: Severe combined hyperlipidemia promotes thrombosis after ferric chloride injury to atherosclerotic vessels and HTG plays a major role in the process.     

Genomic Consequences of Long-Term Population Decline in Brown Eared Pheasant

Population genetic theory and empirical evidence indicate that deleterious alleles can be purged in small populations. However, this viewpoint remains controversial. It is unclear whether natural selection is powerful enough to purge deleterious mutations when wild populations continue to decline. Pheasants are terrestrial birds facing a long-term risk of extinction as a result of anthropogenic perturbations and exploitation. Nevertheless, there are scant genomics resources available for conservation management and planning. Here, we analyzed comparative population genomic data for the three extant isolated populations of Brown eared pheasant (Crossoptilon mantchuricum) in China. We showed that C. mantchuricum has low genome-wide diversity and a contracting effective population size because of persistent declines over the past 100,000 years. We compared genome-wide variation in C. mantchuricum with that of its closely related sister species, the Blue eared pheasant (C. auritum) for which the conservation concern is low. There were detrimental genetic consequences across all C. mantchuricum genomes including extended runs of homozygous sequences, slow rates of linkage disequilibrium decay, excessive loss-of-function mutations, and loss of adaptive genetic diversity at the major histocompatibility complex region. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to perform a comprehensive conservation genomic analysis on this threatened pheasant species. Moreover, we demonstrated that natural selection may not suffice to purge deleterious mutations in wild populations undergoing long-term decline. The findings of this study could facilitate conservation planning for threatened species and help recover their population size.