The potato StMKK5-StSIPK module enhances resistance to Phytophthora pathogens through activating the salicylic acid and ethylene signalling pathways

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades play pivotal roles in plant responses to both biotic and abiotic stress. A screen of a Nicotiana benthamiana cDNA virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) library for altered plant responses to inoculation with Phytophthora infestans previously identified an NbMKK gene, encoding a clade D MAPKK that we renamed as NbMKK5, which is involved in immunity to P. infestans. To study the role of the potato orthologous gene, referred to as StMKK5, in the response to P. infestans, we transiently overexpressed StMKK5 in N. benthamiana and observed that cell death occurred at 2 days postinfiltration. Silencing of the highly conserved eukaryotic protein SGT1 delayed the StMKK5-induced cell death, whereas silencing of the MAPK-encoding gene NbSIPK completely abolished the cell death response. Further investigations showed that StMKK5 interacts with, and directly phosphorylates, StSIPK. Furthermore, both StMKK5 and StSIPK trigger salicylic acid (SA)- and ethylene (Eth)-related gene expression, and co-expression of the salicylate hydroxylase NahG with the negative regulator of Eth signalling CTR1 hampers StSIPK-triggered cell death. This observation indicates that the cell death triggered by StMKK5-StSIPK is dependent on the combination of SA- and Eth-signalling. By introducing point mutations, we showed that the kinase activity of both StMKK5 and StSIPK is required for triggering cell death. Genetic analysis showed that StMKK5 depends on StSIPK to trigger plant resistance. Thus, our results define a potato StMKK5-SIPK module that positively regulates immunity to P. infestans via activation of both the SA and Eth signalling pathways.     

The complex genome and adaptive evolution of polyploid Chinese pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum and Zanthoxylum bungeanum)

Zanthoxylum armatum and Zanthoxylum bungeanum, known as ‘Chinese pepper’, are distinguished by their extraordinary complex genomes, phenotypic innovation of adaptive evolution and species-special metabolites. Here, we report reference-grade genomes of Z. armatum and Z. bungeanum. Using high coverage sequence data and comprehensive assembly strategies, we derived 66 pseudochromosomes comprising 33 homologous phased groups of two subgenomes, including autotetraploid Z. armatum. The genomic rearrangements and two whole-genome duplications created large (~4.5 Gb) complex genomes with a high ratio of repetitive sequences (>82%) and high chromosome number (2n = 4x = 132). Further analysis of the high-quality genomes shed lights on the genomic basis of involutional reproduction, allomones biosynthesis and adaptive evolution in Chinese pepper, revealing a high consistent relationship between genomic evolution, environmental factors and phenotypic innovation. Our study provides genomic resources and new insights for investigating diversification and phenotypic innovation in Chinese pepper, with broader implications for the protection of plants under severe environmental changes.     

Eu3+-activated red phosphor Ca3YAl3B4O15 with low thermal quenching behaviour

This paper reports a sequence of a Ca₃YAl₃B₄O₁₅:xEu³⁺ red phosphor prepared using a high-temperature solid-state reaction. At the excitation of 396 nm, the samples emitted intense red emission centred at ~623 nm, which could be attributed to the ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition of the Eu³⁺ ion. The results showed that the optimum Eu³⁺ doping concentration of Ca₃YAl₃B₄O₁₅:Eu³⁺ phosphor was x = 80 mol%, and the concentration quenching mechanism of Ca₃YAl₃B₄O₁₅:Eu³⁺ red phosphor belonged to the exchange coupling between Eu³⁺ ions. The Commission Internationale de l'éclairage (CIE) coordinates and colour purity of Ca₃Y_0.2Al₃B₄O₁₅:0.8Eu³⁺ were calculated as (0.6375, 0.3476) and 95.5%, respectively. Moreover, the red emission of the obtained phosphor Ca₃YAl₃B₄O₁₅:0.8Eu³⁺ exhibited a low thermal quenching behaviour with an intensity retention rate of 92.85% at 150°C. The above results manifest that the Eu³⁺-activated Ca₃YAl₃B₄O₁₅ phosphor is predicted to be a promising red luminescent component for white light-emitting diodes.     

Avicularin alleviates acute liver failure by regulation of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB and Nrf2/HO-1/GPX4 pathways to reduce inflammation and ferroptosis

Acute liver failure (ALF) is an inflammation-mediated hepatocyte death process associated with ferroptosis. Avicularin (AL), a Chinese herbal medicine, exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects. However, the protective effect of AL and the mechanism on ALF have not been reported. Our in vivo results suggest that AL significantly alleviated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-induced hepatic pathological injury, liver enzymes, inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species and iron levels and increased the antioxidant enzyme activities (malondialdehyde and glutathione). Our further in vitro experiments demonstrated that AL suppressed inflammatory response in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells via blocking the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation protein-88 (MyD88)/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Moreover, AL attenuated ferroptosis in D-GalN-induced HepG2 cells by activating the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) pathway. Therefore, AL can alleviate inflammatory response and ferroptosis in LPS/D-GalN-induced ALF, and its protective effects are associated with blocking TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway and activating Nrf2/HO-1/GPX4 pathway. Moreover, AL is a promising therapeutic option for ALF and should be clinically explored.     

GPD1L inhibits renal cell carcinoma progression by regulating PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy

Few approaches have been conducted in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after nephrectomy, resulting in a high mortality rate in urological tumours. Mitophagy is a mechanism of mitochondrial quality control that enables selective degradation of damaged and unnecessary mitochondria. Previous studies have found that glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase 1-like (GPD1L) is associated with the progression of tumours such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer and oropharyngeal cancer, but the potential mechanism in RCC is still unclear. In this study, microarrays from tumour databases were analysed. The expression of GPD1L was confirmed by RT–qPCR and western blotting. The effect and mechanism of GPD1L were explored using cell counting kit 8, wound healing, invasion, flow cytometry and mitophagy-related experiments. The role of GPD1L was further confirmed in vivo. The results showed that GPD1L expression was downregulated and positively correlated with prognosis in RCC. Functional experiments revealed that GPD1L prevented proliferation, migration and invasion while promoting apoptosis and mitochondrial injury in vitro. The mechanistic results indicated that GPD1L interacted with PINK1, promoting PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy. However, inhibition of PINK1 reversed GPD1L-mediated mitochondrial injury and mitophagy. Moreover, GPD1L prevented tumour growth and promoted mitophagy by activating the PINK1/Parkin pathway in vivo. Our study shows that GPD1L has a positive correlation with the prognosis of RCC. The potential mechanism involves interacting with PINK1 and regulating the PINK1/Parkin pathway. In conclusion, these results reveal that GPD1L can act as a biomarker and target for RCC diagnosis and therapy.     

Effects of ROS and caspase-3-like protein on the growth and aerenchyma formation of Potamogeton perfoliatus stem

Protoplasma - Aerenchyma formation plays an important role in the survival of Potamogeton perfoliatus in submerged environment. To understand the regulatory role of reactive oxygen species (ROS)...     

Effects of compound sodium nitrophenol on microspore embryogenesis and plantlet regeneration in flowering Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. utilis Tsen et Lee)

Isolated microspore culture has been implemented in breeding programs to produce doubled haploid (DH) lines and thus accelerates the breeding process. However, low microspore embryogenesis frequency in flowering Chinese cabbage remains a key obstacle to the practical application of this technique. This study aimed to establish an efficient microspore culture protocol for flowering Chinese cabbage that would be applied for heterosis breeding. Microspores of five genotypes, 19AY05, 19AY06, 19AY10, 19AY12, and 19AY15, were successfully induced to produce embryos in NLN-13 medium. Microspores of two genotypes, 19AY05 and 19AY15, were cultivated in NLN-13 medium supplemented with different concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.1, or 0.2 mg·L⁻¹) of compound sodium nitrophenol (sodium nitrophenol, 5-nitrophenol) to enhance microspore embryogenesis and plant regeneration without an intervening callus phase. The results showed that 0.05 ~ 0.1 mg· L⁻¹ sodium nitrophenol and 0.01 ~ 0.2 mg· L⁻¹ of 5-nitrophenol significantly promoted the induction of microspore embryogenesis of two genotypes, and the best concentrations required for different genotypes are different. Moreover, 0.1 mg· L⁻¹ sodium nitrophenol can significantly increase the plant regeneration rate of the two genetypes. The 5-nitrophenol at 0.01 mg·L⁻¹ significantly increased rate of embryos directly convert to plant in 19AY15. In addition, the average doubled haploid rates in the five genotypes were close to 63%. Horticultural traits of DH lines from 19AY05 were identified and all of them were self-incompatible lines. They showed a high uniformity and consistency that can be directly used for hybrid breeding. Furthermore, the hybrid combination was prepared with the selected DH lines and the Guangdong nucleus genic sterile line GMS019 to screen the excellent hybrid combination for the flowering Chinese cabbage breeding program. This method accelerates the application of microspore culture in hybrid breeding of flowering Chinese cabbage.

     

Successful application of microspore culture in pakchoi (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino var. communis Tsen et Lee) for hybrid breeding

Protoplasma - Microspore embryogenesis is an effective method of obtaining double haploid (DH) lines in only 1 year. However, the microspore embryogenesis protocol was not efficient in...     

乙醛脱氢酶基因ALDH2对雄性小鼠生育能力的影响

本研究使用乙醛脱氢酶2(ALDH2)基因全敲除的雄性C57BL/6(B6)小鼠（Musmusculus domesticus）,通过分析不同周龄小鼠的睾丸脏器系数、睾丸组织细胞形态、精子运动参数、配种后母鼠产仔数及子代雄雌比等生育指标,探讨ALDH2基因敲除对雄性小鼠生育能力的影响。结果表明,与野生型（WT）小鼠相比,5、7、10周龄ALDH2基因敲除型（KO）雄性小鼠睾丸脏器系数显著降低（P <0.05）;睾丸组织细胞间质变大,精子活率显著降低（P <0.05）;产仔数和雄雌比显著降低（P <0.05）。本研究为揭示乙醛脱氢酶ALDH2基因在雄性小鼠生殖中的作用提供了一定的基础。