不同钙浓度对宽叶雀稗幼苗的生长和抗性生理的影响

研究不同钙浓度对宽叶雀稗(Paspalum wettsteinii)幼苗生长和生理的影响, 对于揭示宽叶雀稗对不同钙浓度环境的适应机理至关重要。该研究采用盆栽砂培试验, 研究不同钙浓度(0、5、25、50、100和200 mmol·L^-1 CaCl₂)和不同处理时间(7、14、21和28天)对宽叶雀稗幼苗生长、渗透调节物质含量、抗氧化酶活性、叶绿素含量和光合参数的影响。结果表明, 随着CaCl₂浓度的增加和处理时间的延长, 宽叶雀稗幼苗株高等形态指标、生物量、渗透调节物质含量、抗氧化酶活性、叶绿素含量和光合参数呈先增后减的趋势, 低钙浓度(5-50 mmol·L^-1)环境下, 株高、叶长、叶宽、根长和生物量与对照(0 mmol·L^-1)相比均升高, 脯氨酸、可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖含量、过氧化物酶、过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶活性提高, 丙二醛含量和胞间CO₂浓度降低、叶绿素含量增加以及净光合速率、蒸腾速率和气孔导度增强; 高钙浓度(200 mmol·L^-1)环境下, 脯氨酸、可溶性蛋白和可溶性糖含量、过氧化物酶、过氧化氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶活性降低, 丙二醛含量和胞间CO₂浓度增加, 叶绿素含量减少以及净光合速率、蒸腾速率和气孔导度减弱。结合隶属函数分析, 低钙盐浓度(5-50 mmol·L^-1)处理对宽叶雀稗幼苗无抑制作用, 说明宽叶雀稗对低钙浓度具有一定的耐受性; 而在高钙浓度(200 mmol·L^-1)下, 宽叶雀稗幼苗通过提高自身有机渗透调节物质含量、增强酶活性、增加叶绿素含量以及增强光合作用等方式来快速调节植物生理代谢功能, 进而适应高钙浓度环境条件。     

Deletion of pancreatic β‐cell adenosine kinase improves glucose homeostasis in young mice and ameliorates streptozotocin‐induced hyperglycaemia

Severe reduction in the β‐cell number (collectively known as the β‐cell mass) contributes to the development of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Recent pharmacological studies have suggested that increased pancreatic β‐cell proliferation could be due to specific inhibition of adenosine kinase (ADK). However, genetic evidence for the function of pancreatic β‐cell ADK under physiological conditions or in a pathological context is still lacking. In this study, we crossed mice carrying LoxP‐flanked Adk gene with Ins2‐Cre mice to acquire pancreatic β ‐cell ADK deficiency (Ins2‐Cre^±Adk^fl/fl) mice. Our results revealed that Ins2‐Cre^+/‐Adk^fl/fl mice showed improved glucose metabolism and β‐cell mass in younger mice, but showed normal activity in adult mice. Moreover, Ins2‐Cre^±Adk^fl/fl mice were more resistant to streptozotocin (STZ) induced hyperglycaemia and pancreatic β‐cell damage in adult mice. In conclusion, we found that ADK negatively regulates β‐cell replication in young mice as well as under pathological conditions, such as STZ induced pancreatic β‐cell damage. Our study provided genetic evidence that specific inhibition of pancreatic β‐cell ADK has potential for anti‐diabetic therapy.     

Inducible reporter/driver lines for the Arabidopsis root with intrinsic reporting of activity state

Cell‐, tissue‐ or organ‐specific inducible expression systems are powerful tools for functional analysis of changes to the pattern, level or timing of gene expression. However, plant researchers lack standardised reagents that promote reproducibility across the community. Here, we report the development and functional testing of a Gateway‐based system for quantitatively, spatially and temporally controlling inducible gene expression in Arabidopsis that overcomes several drawbacks of the legacy systems. We used this modular driver/effector system with intrinsic reporting of spatio‐temporal promoter activity to generate 18 well‐characterised homozygous transformed lines showing the expected expression patterns specific for the major cell types of the Arabidopsis root; seed and plasmid vectors are available through the Arabidopsis stock centre. The system's tight regulation was validated by assessing the effects of diphtheria toxin A chain expression. We assessed the utility of Production of Anthocyanin Pigment 1 (PAP1) as an encoded effector mediating cell‐autonomous marks. With this shared resource of characterised reference driver lines, which can be expanded with additional promoters and the use of other fluorescent proteins, we aim to contribute towards enhancing reproducibility of qualitative and quantitative analyses.     

Calcium-activated nucleotidase 1 silencing inhibits proliferation,migration, and invasion in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Calcium-activated nucleotidase 1 (CANT1, belongs to the apyrase family, is widely expressed in various organs. However, the biological function of CANT1 remains poorly explored. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression profile and functions of CANT1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Our data show that the protein level of CANT1 was significantly higher in tumor tissues than in adjacent normal tissues. CANT1 silencing suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion obviously in 769-P and 786-O cells, arrested cell cycle in S phase and promoted apoptosis in 769-P cells. In conclusion, the present study shows the different expression mode of CANT1 in human ccRCC tumor tissue and adjacent normal tissue, denotes the function of CANT1 in ccRCC cells and provides potential molecular mechanisms and pathways of CANT1 antitumor function in ccRCC.     

Modeling CADASIL vascular pathologies with patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy(CADASIL)is a rare hereditary cerebrovascular disease caused by a NOTCH3 mutation.However,the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unidentified.Here,we generated non-integrative induced pluripotent stem cells(iPSCs)from fibroblasts of a CADASIL patient harboring a heterozygous NOTCH3 mutation(c.3226C>T,p.R1076C).Vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs)differentiated from CADASIL-specific iPSCs showed gene expression changes associated with disease phenotypes,including activation of the NOTCH and NF-kB signaling pathway,cytoskeleton disorganization,and excessive cell proliferation.In comparison,these abnormalities were not observed in vascular endothelial cells(VECs)derived from the patients iPSCs.Importantly,the abnormal upregulation of NF-kB target genes in CADASIL VSMCs was diminished by a NOTCH pathway inhibitor,providing a potential therapeutic strategy for CADASIL.Overall,using this iPSCbased disease model,our study identified clues for studying the pathogenic mechanisms of CADASIL and developing treatment strategies for this disease.     

Surfactin and fengycin contribute to the protection of a Bacillus subtilis strain against grape downy mildew by both direct effect and defence stimulation

Bacillus subtilis GLB191 (hereafter GLB191) is an efficient biological control agent against the biotrophic oomycete Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of grapevine downy mildew. In this study, we show that GLB191 supernatant is also highly active against downy mildew and that the activity results from both direct effect against the pathogen and stimulation of the plant defences (induction of defence gene expression and callose production). High-performance thin-layer chromatography analysis revealed the presence of the cyclic lipopeptides fengycin and surfactin in the supernatant. Mutants affected in the production of fengycin and/or surfactin were thus obtained and allowed us to show that both surfactin and fengycin contribute to the double activity of GLB191 supernatant against downy mildew. Altogether, this study suggests that GLB191 supernatant could be used as a new biocontrol product against grapevine downy mildew.     

Characterisation of the complete mitochondrial genome of Helice wuana (Grapsoidea: Varunidae) and comparison with other Brachyuran crabs

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) provides important information for phylogenetic analysis and understanding evolutionary origins. Herein, we sequenced, annotated, and characterised the mitogenome of the crab Helice wuana to better understand its molecular evolution and phylogeny. The 16,359 bp mitogenome includes 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and one control region. The genome composition is highly A + T biased 68.42%, and exhibits a negative AT–skew (? 0.036) and GC–skew (? 0.269) among Brachyura crabs. Gene rearrangements were detected, as was tandem duplication followed by random loss, which explains the translocation of mitochondrial genes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that H. wuana and H. tientsinensis clustered on one branch with high nodal support values. These results confirm that the placement of H. wuana within the Varunidae family of Thoracotrematan crabs. This study will provided a better understanding for gene rearrangements and crab evolution in the further.