Pedigree‐based analysis of derivation of genome segments of an elite rice reveals key regions during its breeding

Analyses of genome variations with high‐throughput assays have improved our understanding of genetic basis of crop domestication and identified the selected genome regions, but little is known about that of modern breeding, which has limited the usefulness of massive elite cultivars in further breeding. Here we deploy pedigree‐based analysis of an elite rice, Huanghuazhan, to exploit key genome regions during its breeding. The cultivars in the pedigree were resequenced with 7.6× depth on average, and 2.1 million high‐quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained. Tracing the derivation of genome blocks with pedigree and information on SNPs revealed the chromosomal recombination during breeding, which showed that 26.22% of Huanghuazhan genome are strictly conserved key regions. These major effect regions were further supported by a QTL mapping of 260 recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross of Huanghuazhan and a very dissimilar cultivar, Shuanggui 36, and by the genome profile of eight cultivars and 36 elite lines derived from Huanghuazhan. Hitting these regions with the cloned genes revealed they include numbers of key genes, which were then applied to demonstrate how Huanghuazhan were bred after 30 years of effort and to dissect the deficiency of artificial selection. We concluded the regions are helpful to the further breeding based on this pedigree and performing breeding by design. Our study provides genetic dissection of modern rice breeding and sheds new light on how to perform genomewide breeding by design.     

Pou4f2‐GFP knock‐in mouse line: A model for studying retinal ganglion cell development

Pou4f2 acts as a key node in the comprehensive and step‐wise gene regulatory network (GRN) and regulates the development of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Accordingly, deletion of Pou4f2 results in RGC axon defects and apoptosis. To investigate the GRN involved in RGC regeneration, we generated a mouse line with a POU4F2‐green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein expressed in RGCs. Co‐localization of POU4F2 and GFP in the retina and brain of Pou4f2‐GFP/+ heterozygote mice was confirmed using immunofluorescence analysis. Compared with those in wild‐type mice, the expression patterns of POU4F2 and POU4F1 and the co‐expression patterns of ISL1 and POU4F2 were unaffected in Pou4f2‐GFP/GFP homozygote mice. Moreover, the quantification of RGCs showed no significant difference between Pou4f2‐GFP/GFP homozygote and wild‐type mice. These results demonstrated that the development of RGCs in Pou4f2‐GFP/GFP homozygote mice was the same as in wild‐type mice. Thus, the present Pou4f2‐GFP knock‐in mouse line is a useful tool for further studies on the differentiation and regeneration of RGCs.     

Classification of Chinese herbs based on the cluster analysis of delayed luminescence

Traditional Chinese material medica are an important component of the Chinese pharmacopeia. According to the traditional Chinese medicinal concept, Chinese herbal medicines are classified into different categories based on their therapeutic effects, however, the bioactive principles cannot be solely explained by chemical analysis. The aim of this study is to classify different Chinese herbs based on their therapeutic effects by using delayed luminescence (DL). The DL of 56 Chinese herbs was measured using an ultra‐sensitive luminescence detection system. The different DL parameters were used to classify Chinese herbs according to a hierarchical cluster analysis. The samples were divided into two groups based on their DL kinetic parameters. Interestingly, the DL classification results were quite consistent with classification according to the Chinese medicinal concepts of ‘cold’ and ‘heat’ properties. In this paper, we show for the first time that by using DL technology, it is possible to classify Chinese herbs according to the Chinese medicinal concept and it may even be possible to predict their therapeutic properties. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

茉莉酸甲酯对木豆不定根染料木素含量及抗氧化系统影响

为探讨茉莉酸甲酯(Methyl Jasmonate,MJ)对木豆不定根影响,研究了茉莉酸甲酯的不同浓度及处理时间对木豆不定根中染料木素的含量及抗氧化系统的影响。研究结果表明,诱导子的浓度和处理时间对不定根中染料木素的含量有重要影响。在MJ浓度为100μmol·L^-1,处理时间为48 h时,染料木素的含量最高,为1.38 mg·g^-1,是对照组的4.03倍。在此基础上,研究了100μmol·L^-1的MJ处理对木豆不定根抗氧化系统的影响,结果表明,MJ处理的木豆不定根明显发生了氧化胁迫,O_2^-速率、H_2O_2和MDA含量明显升高,同时不定根中SOD和POD活性明显升高,但是抗氧化酶活性的提高并未消除不定根的氧化胁迫,这种氧化胁迫导致了木豆不定根次生代谢产物合成能力提高。     

Efficient Plasmonic Au/CdSe Nanodumbbell for Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Generation beyond Visible Region

In this communication, light harvesting and photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation beyond the visible region are realized by an anisotropic plasmonic metal/semiconductor hybrid photocatalyst with precise control of their topology and heterointerface. Controlling the intended configuration of the photocatalytic semiconductor to anisotropic Au nanorods' plasmonic hot spots, through a water phase cation exchange strategy, the site‐selective overgrowth of a CdSe shell evolving from a core/shell to a nanodumbbell is realized successfully. Using this strategy, tip‐preferred efficient photoinduced electron/hole separation and plasmon enhancement can be realized. Thus, the PEC hydrogen generation activity of the Au/CdSe nanodumbbell is 45.29 µmol cm^?2 h^?1 (nearly 4 times than the core/shell structure) beyond vis (λ > 700 nm) illumination and exhibits a high faradic efficiency of 96% and excellent stability with a constant photocurrent for 5 days. Using surface photovoltage microscopy, it is further demonstrated that the efficient plasmonic hot charge spatial separation, which hot electrons can inject into CdSe semiconductors, leads to excellent performance in the Au/CdSe nanodumbbell.     

Insulin-like growth factor 2 regulates the proliferation and differentiation of rat adipose-derived stromal cells via IGF-1R and IR

BackgroundInsulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), an essential component of the stem cell niche, has been reported to modulate the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. Previously, a continuous expression of IGF2 in tissues was reported to maintain the self-renewal ability of several types of stem cells. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the expression of IGF2 in adipose tissues and explored the effects of IGF2 on adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) in vitro.MethodsThe expression pattern of IGF2 in rat adipose tissues was determined by gene expression and protein analyses. The effect of IGF2 on proliferation, stemness-related marker expression and adipogenic and osteogenic differentiation was systematically investigated. Furthermore, antagonists of IGF2-specific receptors—namely, BMS-754807 and picropodophyllin—were added to explore the underlying signal transduction mechanisms.ResultsIGF2 levels displayed a tendency to decrease with age in rat adipose tissues. After the addition of IGF2, isolated ADSCs displayed higher proliferation and expression of the stemness-related markers NANOG, OCT4 and SOX2 and greater differentiation potential to adipocytes and osteoblasts. Additionally, both type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF-1R) and insulin receptor (IR) participated in the IGF2-mediated promotion of stemness in ADSCs.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that IGF2 could enhance the stemness of rat ADSCs via IGF-1R and IR and may highlight an effective method for the expansion of ADSCs for clinical application.     

The characteristics of antibiotic resistance and phenotypes in 29 outer-membrane protein mutant strains in Aeromonas hydrophila

Although many typical outer-membrane proteins (OMPs) have been well characterized, the biological functions of many OMPs remain largely elusive. In this study, we successfully constructed 29 OMP knockout strains in the pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila, which account for about 50% of all predicted OMPs in this bacterial species. We then further validated the antibiotics' susceptibility characteristics against 20 antimicrobial reagents in these mutants considering several phenotypes. Our results showed that a total of 22 OMP mutants affected the susceptibility to at least one antibiotic. The deletion of some OMPs, such as ΔlamB and ΔbamA, revealed very important roles in the resistance to certain antibiotics. However, not a single OMP mutant presented a constant behaviour to all of the tested antibiotics, suggesting the existence of a complex intercellular regulation mechanism and a protein–protein interaction network underlying the OMP homeostasis in the presence of antibiotics. Meanwhile, some OMP mutants also affected biofilm formation, ECPase and haemolytic activity, and carbon resources utilization. This report demonstrates the biological functions of OMPs on a large scale and most of results have not been reported in A. hydrophila.     

深畦栽培对干旱胁迫下葡萄叶幕微气候和光合作用的影响

试验以‘京亚’和‘红地球’葡萄品种2年生苗木为材料,在田间遮雨棚内考察了自然干旱胁迫下深畦栽植和平畦栽植葡萄根际土壤湿度、叶幕微气候因子、光合作用参数变化特征,探讨根际土壤湿度与叶幕气候互作对葡萄光合作用的影响。结果显示:(1)在干旱逆境下,葡萄根际土壤湿度和叶幕微气候因子交互作用能通过影响水分条件来影响葡萄的光合作用;土壤湿度阀值是葡萄进行光合作用时水分利用最有效的土壤湿度点值,土壤湿度阀值存在“阀值漂移”现象,与叶幕空气湿度呈明显负相关关系,维持较高的叶幕空气湿度有利于实现在较低的土壤湿度下达到更高的光合效率。(2)在干旱逆境下,与平畦栽植相比,深畦栽植在改善葡萄根际土壤水分和叶幕微气候方面具有明显的优势,在该模式下葡萄具有更强的保水能力和更高的水分利用效率,从而具有更强的光合效率。(3)采用深畦栽植模式时,根际土壤相对含水量30%~50%是显著影响葡萄光合作用的土壤湿度区间;根际土壤相对含水量分别在43.32%~50.00%和40.19%~50.00%是‘京亚’和‘红地球’光合作用适宜的土壤湿度范围,在43.32%和40.19%时分别为2种葡萄光合作用水分利用效率达到最高的最适土壤湿度。研究发现,干旱逆境条件下,葡萄根际土壤湿度和叶幕微气候因子交互作用能改善葡萄的光合作用效率;深畦栽植葡萄光合作用对土壤湿度的需求较低,在相对较低的土壤湿度即可达到相对较高的光合能力;深畦栽植模式可以协调葡萄光合作用和水分消耗之间的关系,具有较高的水分利用效率和光合能力,是干旱地区进行葡萄抗旱节水生产的理想模式。