Fasting up‐regulates ferroportin 1 expression via a Ghrelin/GHSR/MAPK signaling pathway

The significant positive correlation between ghrelin and iron and hepcidin levels in the plasma of children with iron deficiency anemia prompted us to hypothesize that ghrelin may affect iron metabolism. Here, we investigated the effects of fasting or ghrelin on the expression of hepcidin, ferroportin 1 (Fpn1), transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), ferritin light chain (Ft‐L) proteins, and ghrelin, and also hormone secretagogue receptor 1 alpha (GHSR1α) and ghrelin O‐acyltransferase (GOAT) mRNAs in the spleen and/or macrophage. We demonstrated that fasting induces a significant increase in the expression of ghrelin, GHSR1α, GOAT, and hepcidin mRNAs, as well as Ft‐L and Fpn1 but not TfR1 proteins in the spleens of mice in vivo. Similar to the effects of fasting on the spleen, ghrelin induced a significant increase in the expression of Ft‐L and Fpn1 but not TfR1 proteins in macrophages in vitro. In addition, ghrelin was found to induce a significant enhancement in phosphorylation of ERK as well as translocation of pERK from the cytosol to nuclei. Furthermore, the increased pERK and Fpn1 induced by ghrelin was demonstrated to be preventable by pre‐treatment with either GHSR1α antagonist or pERK inhibitor. Our findings support the hypothesis that fasting upregulates Fpn1 expression, probably via a ghrelin/GHSR/MAPK signaling pathway.     

Diversity of the Fusarium pathogens associated with crown rot in the Huanghuai wheat-growing region of China

To investigate the distribution and diversity of the pathogens associated with Fusarium crown rot in the Huanghuai wheat-growing region (HHWGR) of China, we collected wheat samples with symptomatic stem bases from seven provinces in the HHWGR between 2013 and 2016. A total of 1196 isolates obtained from 222 locations were identified as 9 Fusarium species based on morphological and molecular identification. Of these pathogen species, F. pseudograminearum was the dominant species. Furthermore, F. sinensis was isolated from the disease specimens and tested for virulence to wheat. The result of the pathogenicity revealed that an intraspecific differentiation existed in F. pseudograminearum; sequence analysis of the EF-1α gene showed that 194 F. pseudograminearum isolates were differentiated into two distinct clades which closed to the strains from Australia and China respectively, but neither pathogenicity nor EF-1α sequence was related to the geographic origins of these isolates. However, universal rice primers-polymerase chain reaction showed a correlation with the geographical origins of the 194 isolates, which were divided into eight subclusters, the level of genetic diversity was higher within a geographical population than among the different populations. The results of these analyses can be directly used to facilitate disease monitoring and development of control strategies.     

云杉矮槲寄生遗传多样性及其群体遗传结构分析

该研究采用CTAB法提取云杉矮槲寄生(Arceuthobium sichuanense)的基因组DNA,利用ITS1片段的序列信息对中国9个不同地理群体的62份云杉矮槲寄生样本的遗传多样性及群体遗传结构进行分析。结果表明:(1)62条ITS1序列共定义16个单倍型(H1~H16),表现出较低的遗传多样性水平(h=0.678 5,π=0.005 9),而群体间的遗传多样性水平则表现出较大差异(h=0~1.000 0,π=0~0.009 4);AMOVA分析显示云杉矮槲寄生群体内的遗传变异占到51.37%,群体间为48.63%。(2)Network单倍型网络分析表明,单倍型H1和H12较为古老,且所有群体对2种单倍型无共享现象;单倍型H1是广布单倍型,存在于青海和甘肃的6个群体中,单倍型H12仅在四川的2个群体中有分布。(3)基于最大似然法(ML)构建的群体聚类和中介邻接法构建的单倍型网络图均显示,四川的3个群体为独立类群,区别于青海、甘肃群体,且甘肃和青海的群体之间没有明显分化。该研究首次报道了云杉矮槲寄生遗传多样性和遗传结构,为进一步研究其进化及后续的病害防控提供了一定的参考。     

Effects of drought stress on fluorescence characteristics of photosystem II in leaves of Plectranthus scutellarioides

Drought stress has multiple effects on the photosynthetic apparatus. Herein, we aimed to study the effect of drought stress on fluorescence characteristics of PSII in leaves of Plectranthus scutellarioides and explore potentially underlying mechanisms. Plants of P. scutellarioides were grown in a greenhouse and subjected to drought (DS, drought-stressed) or daily irrigation (control group). Leaf chlorophyll (Chl) index and induction kinetics curves of Chl a fluorescence and the JIP-test were used to evaluate effects of drought lasting for 20 d. Our results showed that both the leaf and soil relative water content decreased with increasing treatment duration. The leaf Chl index was reduced to half in the DS plants compared with the control group after 20 d. The minimal fluorescence in the DS plants was higher than that in the control plants after 10 d of the treatment. Maximum photochemical efficiency and lateral reactivity decreased with increasing treatment duration in the DS plants. With the continuing treatment, values of absorption flux per reaction center (RC), trapped energy flux per RC, dissipated energy flux per RC, and electron transport flux per RC increased in the earlier stage in the DS plants, while obviously decreased at the later stage of the treatment. In conclusion, drought stress inhibited the electron transport and reduced PSII photochemical activity in leaves of P. scutellarioides.