Liver size and lipid content differences between BALB/c and BALB/cJ mice on a high-fat diet are due,in part,to Zhx2

Mammalian Genome - BALB/cJ mice exhibit considerable phenotypic differences with other BALB/c substrains. Some of these traits involve the liver, including persistent postnatal expression of genes...     

Application of quantitative structure‐activity relationship analysis on an antibody and alternariol‐like compounds interaction study

The antigen‐antibody interaction determines the sensitivity and specificity of competitive immunoassay for hapten detection. In this paper, the specificity of a monoclonal antibody against alternariol‐like compounds was evaluated through indirect competitive ELISA. The results showed that the antibody had cross‐reactivity with 33 compounds with the binding affinity (expressed by IC₅₀) ranging from 9.4 ng/mL to 12.0 μg/mL. All the 33 compounds contained a common moiety and similar substituents. To understand how this common moiety and substituents affected the recognition ability of the antibody, a three‐dimensional quantitative structure‐activity relationship (3D‐QSAR) between the antibody and the 33 alternariol‐like compounds was constructed using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) methods. The q² values of the CoMFA and CoMSIA models were 0.785 and 0.782, respectively, and the r² values were 0.911 and 0.988, respectively, indicating that the models had good predictive ability. The results of 3D‐QSAR showed that the most important factor affecting antibody recognition was the hydrogen bond mainly formed by the hydroxyl group of alternariol, followed by the hydrophobic force mainly formed by the methyl group. This study provides a reference for the design of new hapten and the mechanisms for antibody recognition.     

Functional mapping of N deficiency‐induced response in wheat yield‐component traits by implementing high‐throughput phenotyping

As overfertilization leads to environmental concerns and the cost of N fertilizer increases, the issue of how to select crop cultivars that can produce high yields on N‐deficient soils has become crucially important. However, little information is known about the genetic mechanisms by which crops respond to environmental changes induced by N signaling. Here, we dissected the genetic architecture of N‐induced phenotypic plasticity in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by integrating functional mapping and semiautomatic high‐throughput phenotyping data of yield‐related canopy architecture. We identified a set of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that determined the pattern and magnitude of how wheat cultivars responded to low N stress from normal N supply throughout the wheat life cycle. This analysis highlighted the phenological landscape of genetic effects exerted by individual QTLs, as well as their interactions with N‐induced signals and with canopy measurement angles. This information may shed light on our mechanistic understanding of plant adaptation and provide valuable information for the breeding of N‐deficiency tolerant wheat varieties.     

Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers for Solen grandis and Their Cross-Species Amplification in Three Other Species

The grand jackknife clam Solen grandis is a commercially important mollusk species, but has been suffering from severe population decline due to over-exploitation and habitat destruction in China. To promote a conservation program for this species, it is necessary to evaluate its genetic diversity and population genetics. In this study, 10 novel polymorphic microsatellite makers were developed and characterized from the S. grandis through high throughput sequencing. The number of alleles at each locus ranged from 10 to 34 with an average of 20.8 alleles per locus. The observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.433 to 1.000 and from 0.696 to 0.976, with an average of 0.793 and 0.884, respectively. The polymorphism information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.633 (Sg43838) to 0.958 (Sg3754), with an average of 0.858. The cross-species amplification transferability of 10 loci to three closely related species ranged from 4.17 to 62.5%. These microsatellite loci will be useful for further investigation of population structure and conversation genetics of this species.     

β‐Hydroxybutyrate exacerbates lipopolysaccharide/ d‐galactosamine‐induced inflammatory response and hepatocyte apoptosis in mice

β‐Hydroxybutyrate (BHB), one of ketone body, has been traditionally regarded as an alternative carrier of energy, but recent studies found that BHB plays versatile roles in inflammation. It has been previously reported that the level BHB declined in mice with lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/d ‐galactosamine (d ‐Gal)‐induced liver damage, but the pathological significance remains unclear. In the present study, the pathophysiological roles of BHB in LPS/d ‐Gal‐induced hepatic damage has been investigated. The results indicated pretreatment with BHB further enhanced LPS/d ‐Gal‐induced elevation of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, exacerbated the histological abnormalities and increased the mortality. Pretreatment with BHB upregulated the level of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin‐6 in plasma, promoted the activities of caspase‐3, caspase‐8, and caspase‐9 and increased the count of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling‐positive cells. In addition, post‐insult supplement with BHB also potentiated LPS/d ‐Gal‐induced apoptotic liver damage. Therefore, BHB might be a detrimental factor in LPS/d ‐Gal‐induced liver injury via enhancing the inflammation and the apoptosis in the liver.     

Pacer Is a Mediator of mTORC1 and GSK3-TIP60 Signaling in Regulation of Autophagosome Maturation and Lipid Metabolism

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