EP300 contributes to high-altitude adaptation in Tibetans by regulating nitric oxide production

The genetic adaptation of Tibetans to high altitude hypoxia likely involves a group of genes in the hypoxic pathway,as suggested by earlier studies.To test the adaptive role of the previously reported candidate gene EP300 (histone acetyltransferase p300),we conducted resequencing of a 108.9 kb gene region of EP300 in 80 unrelated Tibetans.The allele-frequency and haplotype-based neutrality tests detected signals of positive Darwinian selection on EP300 in Tibetans,with a group of variants showing allelic divergence between Tibetans and lowland reference populations,including Han Chinese,Europeans,and Africans.Functional prediction suggested the involvement of multiple EP300 variants in gene expression regulation.More importantly,genetic association tests in 226 Tibetans indicated significant correlation of the adaptive EP300 variants with blood nitric oxide (NO) concentration.Collectively,we propose that EP300 harbors adaptive variants in Tibetans,which might contribute to high-altitude adaptation through regulating NO production.     

Statin Use and the Risk of Parkinson's Disease: An Updated Meta-Analysis

Introduction

In response to the ongoing debate over the relationship between the use of statins and the risk of Parkinson''s disease (PD), we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies to examine their association.

Methods

We conducted a review of the literature using electronic databases supplemented by a manual search to identify potentially relevant case-control or cohort studies. Summary relative risk (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effects model. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were also conducted.

Results

Eleven studies (five case-control and six cohort) with a total of 3,513,209 participants and 21,011 PD cases were included. Statin use was associated with a lower risk of PD, with a summary RR of 0.81 (95% CI 0.71–0.92). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the robustness of results. Subgroup analyses showed that neither study design nor study region significantly influenced the effect estimates. However, subgroup studies adjusted for age or sex had a greater inverse association than did unadjusted analyses (age-adjusted RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.60–0.95; age-unadjusted RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75–0.99 and sex-adjusted RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.59–0.98; sex-unadjusted RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.79–0.92).

Conclusions

Results of this systematic review suggest that statin use is associated with a reduced PD risk. However, randomized controlled trials and more observational studies should be performed before strong conclusions are drawn.     

Isolation,Identification and Characteristics of an Endophytic Quinclorac Degrading Bacterium Bacillus megaterium Q3

In this study, we isolated an endophytic quinclorac-degrading bacterium strain Q3 from the root of tobacco grown in quinclorac contaminated soil. Based on morphological characteristics, Biolog identification, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, we identified strain Q3 as Bacillus megaterium. We investigated the effects of temperature, pH, inoculation size, and initial quinclorac concentration on growth and degrading efficiency of Q3. Under the optimal degrading condition, Q3 could degrade 93% of quinclorac from the initial concentration of 20 mg/L in seven days. We analyzed the degradation products of quinclorac using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The major degradation products by Q3 were different from those of previously identified quinclorac degrading strains, which suggests that Q3 may employ new pathways for quinclorac degradation. Our indoor pot experiments demonstrated that Q3 can effectively alleviate the quinclorac phytotoxicity in tobacco. As the first endophytic microbial that is capable of degrading quinclorac, Q3 can be a good bioremediation bacterium for quinclorac phytotoxicity.     

Comparative analysis of the complete mitochondrial genomes of three rockfishes (Scorpaeniformes,Sebastiscus) and insights into the phylogenetic relationships of Sebastidae

Mitochondrial genome is a powerful molecule marker to provide information for phylogenetic relationships and revealing molecular evolution in ichthyological studies. Sebastiscus species, a marine rockfish, are of essential economic value. However, the taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships of Sebastidae have been controversial so far. Here, the mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of three species, S. tertius, S. albofasciatus, and S. marmoratus, were systemically investigated. The lengths of the mitogenomes’ sequences of S. tertius, S. albofasciatus, and S. marmoratus were 16910, 17056, and 17580 bp, respectively. It contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one identical control region (D-loop) among the three species. The genetic distance and K_a/K_s ratio analyses indicated 13 PCGs were suffering purifying selection and the selection pressures were different from certain deep-sea fishes, which were most likely due to the difference in their living environment. The phylogenetic tree was constructed by Bayesian Inference (BI) and Maximum Likelihood (ML). Most interestingly, the results indicated that Sebastidae and Scorpaenidae were grouped into a separate branch, so the taxonomic status of Sebastidae should be classified into subfamily Sebastinae. Our results may lead to a taxonomic revision of Scorpaenoidei.     

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of a complement component 3 in the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus)

The complement system has been discovered in invertebrates and vertebrates, and plays a crucial role in the innate defense against common pathogens. As a central component in the complement system, complement component 3 (C3) is an intermediary between innate and adaptive immune system. In this study, a new isoform of C3 in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus, termed AjC3-2 was identified. Its open reading frame (ORF) is 5085?bp and encodes for 1695 amino acids with a putative signal peptide of 20 amino acid residues. The mature protein molecular weight of AjC3-2 was 187.72?kDa. It has a conserved thioester site and a linker R(689)RRR(692) where AjC3-2 is splitted into β and α chain during posttranslational modification. The expression patterns of two distinct sea cucumber C3 genes, AjC3-2 and AjC3, were similar. During the different development stages from unfertilized egg to juvenile of the sea cucumber, the highest expression levels of AjC3-2 and AjC3 genes were both found in late auricularia. In the adult, the highest expression of these two genes was observed in the coelomocytes and followed by the body wall. AjC3-2 and AjC3 genes expression increased significantly at 6?h after the LPS challenge. These results indicated that these two C3 genes play a pivotal role in immune responses to the bacterial infection in sea cucumber.     

Population suppression of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) using yellow sticky traps and Eretmocerus nr. rajasthanicus (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) on tomato plants in greenhouses

We conducted three experiments for management of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype ‘B’ on tomatoes under greenhouse conditions: (i) vertically placing yellow sticky cards either parallel or perpendicular to tomato rows at a rate of 1 per 3‐m row; (ii) releasing Eretmocerus sp. nr. rajasthanicus once at 30 adults/m² in the high whitefly density greenhouses (> 10 adults/plant), or twice at 15 adults/m² at a 5‐day interval in the low whitefly density greenhouses (< 10 adults/plant); and (iii) using combinations of yellow sticky cards that were placed vertically parallel to tomato rows and parasitoids released once at 30/m² in high whitefly density greenhouses or twice at 15/m² at a 5‐day interval in low whitefly density greenhouses. Our data show that yellow sticky cards trapped B. tabaci adults and significantly reduced whitefly populations on tomato. The yellow sticky cards that were placed parallel to tomato rows caught significantly more whitefly adults than those placed perpendicular to tomato rows on every sampling date. In the treatment where parasitoids were released once at 30/m² in high whitefly density greenhouses, the number of live whitefly nymphs were reduced from 4.6/leaf to 2.9/leaf in 40 days as compared with those on untreated plants on which live whitefly nymphs increased from 4.4/leaf to 8.9/leaf. In the treatment where parasitoids were released twice at 15/m² in low whitefly density greenhouses, the numbers of live nymphs of B. tabaci on tomato leaves were reduced from 2.1/leaf to 1.7/leaf in 20 days as compared with those on untreated plants on which numbers of live nymphs of B. tabaci increased from 2.2/leaf to 4.5/leaf. In the treatment of yellow sticky cards and parasitoid release once at 30/m² in high whitefly density greenhouses, the numbers of live nymphs of B. tabaci on tomato leaves were reduced from 7.2/leaf to 1.9/leaf, and in the treatment of yellow sticky cards and parasitoid release twice at 15/m² at a 5‐day interval at low whitefly density, the numbers of live nymphs of B. tabaci on tomato leaves were reduced from 2.5/leaf to 0.8/leaf; whereas the numbers of live nymphs of B. tabaci on untreated plants increased from 4.4/leaf to 8.9/leaf. An integrated program for management of B. tabaci on greenhouse vegetables by using yellow sticky cards, parasitoids and biorational insecticides is discussed.