Comparison of Gene Expression Patterns in Articular Cartilage and Xiphoid Cartilage

Biochemical Genetics - Cartilage is a resilient and smooth connective tissue that is found throughout the body. Among the three major types of cartilage, namely hyaline cartilage, elastic...     

Elevational plumage divergence in the Rufous-capped Babbler (Cyanoderma ruficeps) on a mountainous island

Environment plays an important role in the evolution of plumage coloration in birds and may also lead to sexual dichromatism if males and females face different selection pressures. Mountains exhibit varying ecological conditions along their elevation gradient that may impose divergent selection on elevationally widespread species, causing intraspecific plumage divergence. For example, UV light environments often vary between montane and lowland habitats, which could potentially cause differences in plumage UV reflection between birds occurring in the two types of habitats. However, few studies have examined the effects of elevation on plumage evolution. In this study, we quantified the plumage coloration of the Rufous-capped Babbler Cyanoderma ruficeps from montane and lowland habitats on a mountainous island, Taiwan. We aimed to examine whether their plumage showed differences associated with changing ecological environments across the elevational gradient. The results supported that the plumage of babblers occupying montane habitats had higher UV-reflectance and brightness than that of lowland birds, corresponding to the higher UV intensity in montane than lowland background light environments. The elevational differences were mainly found across the ventral parts of babblers that had relatively higher levels of UV reflectance compared with their dorsal parts. Alternatively, the brighter plumage, with higher UV-reflectance in montane than lowland birds, might be mediated by physiological adaptation to other ecological factors, such as parasite pressures. The elevational differences in plumage UV-reflectance and brightness were more dramatic in males than in females. However, we found significant sexual dichromatism in different body parts between montane and lowland babblers in which females had brighter or stronger UV-associated coloration than males, suggesting that sexual selection has little impact on babbler plumage. Our study suggests the importance of elevational divergent selection associated with UV light or other ecological environments on avian plumage evolution.     

Genetic Improvement in <i>Juglans mandshurica</i> and Its Uses in China: Current Status and Future Prospects

Juglans mandshurica is an economically and ecologically valuable species that is used for various construction purposes, making luxurious furniture, as food and sources of medicinal substances and landscaping because of its excellent wood, edible fruits and rich in various types of chemical compounds. In the past few decades, several genetic improvements of J. mandshurica were made, with a focus on the selection of improved varieties and on breeding technology. Many elite provenances and families were selected based on growth traits or wood properties. In recent years, with the increasing demand for high-quality seedlings in Chinese forestry production, the breeding goals of genetic improvement for J. mandshurica were redefined to include other traits, such as fruit yield and contents of medicinal component. However, the improvement processes were still slow due to the long breeding cycle and the limited use of advanced breeding technologies, resulting in the selection of fewer improved varieties. In this review, we summarized the research progresses on genetic improvements of J. mandshurica and other related works, and discussed research gaps and suggested future directions for genetic improvement of the species. The review provides valuable insight for the selection of improved varieties and production of excellent germplasms.     

Cloning and Drought Resistance Analysis of Soybean <i>GmHsps_p23-like</i> Gene

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) is an important cultivated crop, which requires much water during its growth, and drought seriously affects soybean yields. Studies have shown that the expression of small heat shock proteins can enhance drought resistance, cold resistance and salt resistance of plants. In this experiment, soybean GmHsps_p23-like gene was successfully cloned by RT-PCR, the protein encoded by the GmHsps_p23-like gene was subjected to bioinformatics analysis, and the pCAMBIA3301-GmHsps_p23-like overexpression vector and pCBSG015-GmHsps_p23-like gene editing vector were constructed. Agrobacterium-mediated method was used to transform soybeans to obtain positive plants. RT-PCR detection, rehydration experiment and drought resistance physiological and biochemical index detection were performed on the T₂ generation positive transgenic soybean plants identified by PCR and Southern hybridization. The results showed that the overexpression vector plant GmHsps_p23-like gene expression increased. After rehydration, the transgenic overexpression plants returned to normal growth, and the damage to the plants was low. After drought stress, the SOD and POD activities and the PRO content of the transgenic overexpression plants increased, while the MDA content decreased. The reverse was true for soybean plants with genetically modified editing vectors. The drought resistance of the overexpressed soybeans under drought stress was higher than that of the control group, and had a stronger drought resistance. It showed that the expression of soybean GmHsps_p23-like gene can improve the drought resistance of soybean. The cloning and functional verification of soybean GmHsps_p23-like gene had not been reported yet. This is the first time that PCR technology has been used to amplify the soybean GmHsps_p23-like gene and construct an expression vector for this gene. This research has laid the foundation for transgenic technology to improve plant drought resistance and cultivate new drought-resistant transgenic soybean varieties.     

Comprehensive insights into the influence of supplemental green light on the photosynthesis of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

Although green light is not considered to contribute to the photosynthesis of plants, the photosynthesis of ginger, a dual-purpose vegetable used as a medicine and food, is affected by the green wave band. In this study, the supplementary green band of sunlight (SG) increased the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), and actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (Y(II)) compared with the sunlight treatment (S). The Pn and Fv/Fm of the SG treatment were higher than those of the white light (W) treatment, while the Pn and Fv/Fm of the green light (G) treatment alone were lower than those of the W treatment. Further analysis found that the minimal fluorescence (Fo) of the S treatment increased, especially at noon, while the Fo of the SG treatment decreased. Similarly, the Fo of the W treatment increased significantly, while the Fo of the white–green mixed light (WG) treatment decreased. The relative fluorescence values of the K-J-I bands in the SG and WG treatments were lower than those in the S and W treatments, respectively. The photochemical quenching (qP) of the WG treatment was higher than that of the W treatment, while the primary thermal losses corresponded to the sum of nonregulated heat dissipation and fluorescence emission (Y(NO)) of the WG treatment was lower than that of the W treatment. The SG treatment reduced the accumulation of plastoglobules but increased the accumulation of starch granules and leaf thickness. Moreover, the green band supplemented with white light significantly increased the biomass of the aboveground plant parts and promoted the active growth of the aboveground parts. Supplementing green light plays a regulatory role in ginger based on the following four points. First, it effectively promotes the transfer of electrons between the acceptor side of photosystem II; second, it optimizes ginger photosynthesis; third, it alleviates strong light stress by reducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species; and fourth, it promotes heat dissipation and reduces the rapid burst of active oxygen in the chloroplast caused by excess energy. In summary, green light can significantly optimize the photosynthetic characteristics of ginger.

     

RNAi介导的GdHsp60和GdHsp70基因沉默对沙葱萤叶甲幼虫抗寒性的影响

【目的】本研究旨在比较不同RNAi方法对沙葱萤叶甲Galeruca daurica幼虫热激蛋白基因(GdHsp60和GdHsp70)的沉默效率,以选择一种可高效降低靶基因表达水平的研究方法,明确这两个热激蛋白在沙葱萤叶甲幼虫抗寒性中的作用。【方法】分别通过饲喂法和显微注射法进行RNAi沉默沙葱萤叶甲1和2龄幼虫的GdHsp60和GdHsp70,采用qPCR检测GdHsp60和GdHsp70的沉默效率;通过显微注射法分别 对GdHsp60和GdHsp70进行RNAi后24 h,用热电偶法测定沙葱萤叶甲2龄幼虫过冷却点和结冰点,生物测定沙葱萤叶甲2龄幼虫暴露于不同低温条件下(-6~-14℃) 2 h的半致死温度(Ltemp₅₀)以及在-5℃低温条件下处理不同时间后的半致死时间(Ltime₅₀)。【结果】用饲喂法和显微注射法进行RNAi均可以降低GdHsp60和GdHsp70的表达水平,但显微注射法的沉默效率更高。与对照组(显微注射dsGFP)相比,沙葱萤叶甲2龄幼虫分别显微注射dsGdHsp60和dsGdHsp70 24 h后,GdHsp60和GdHsp70的表达水平均降至最低,分别降低了84.15%和92.38%。在沙葱萤叶甲2龄幼虫中,显微注射dsGdHsp60 24 h后其过冷却点、结冰点、Ltemp₅₀及Ltime₅₀值分别-10.56±0.42℃,-7.66±0.56℃,-8.33℃和49.25 h,显微注射dsGdHsp70 24 h后其过冷却点、结冰点、Ltemp₅₀及Ltime₅₀值分别为-9.08±0.23℃,-6.09±0.28℃, -8.20℃和52.21 h,而对照组的分别为-14.71±0.11℃,-13.94±0.09℃,-10.63℃和87.13 h。与对 照组(显微注射dsGFP)相比,在沙葱萤叶甲2龄幼虫分别显微注射dsGdHsp60和dsGdHsp70 24 h后过冷却点 、结冰点和Ltemp₅₀显著上升,而Ltime50值显著缩短。【结论】显微注射法可作为沙葱萤叶甲Hsp相关基 因RNAi的主要干扰方法;沉默GdHsp60和GdHsp70基因均会显著降低了沙葱萤叶甲幼虫的抗寒能力。     

Plant Hormone Metabolome and Transcriptome Analysis of Dwarf and Wild-type Banana

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Gibberellin (GA), auxin (IAA) and brassinosteroid (BR) are indispensable in the process of plant growth and development. Currently, research on the regulatory...     

PLEK2 promotes the proliferation and migration of non-small cell lung cancer cells in a BRD4-dependent manner

Molecular Biology Reports - It has been reported that Pleckstrin 2 (PLEK2) acts as an oncogene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Bromodomain containing protein 4 (BRD4), an important...     

Exosomal miR-19a decreases insulin production by targeting Neurod1 in pancreatic cancer associated diabetes

Molecular Biology Reports - New onset diabetes mellitus demonstrates a roughly correlation with pancreatic cancer (PaC), which is unique in PaC and was named as PaC-induced DM, but the inner...