Chromosome‐level genome assembly of an important pine defoliator,Dendrolimus punctatus (Lepidoptera; Lasiocampidae)

Dendrolimus spp. are important destructive pests of conifer forests, and Dendrolimus punctatus Walker (Lepidoptera; Lasiocampidae) is the most widely distributed Dendrolimus species. During periodic outbreaks, this species is said to make “fire without smoke” because large areas of pine forest can be quickly and heavily damaged. Yet, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that underlie the unique ecological characteristics of this forest insect. Here, we combined Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) RSII single‐molecule long reads and high‐throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi‐C) genomics‐linked reads to produce a high‐quality, chromosome‐level reference genome for D. punctatus. The final assembly was 614 Mb with contig and scaffold N50 values of 1.39 and 22.15 Mb, respectively, and 96.96% of the contigs anchored onto 30 chromosomes. Based on the prediction, this genome contained 17,593 protein‐coding genes and 56.16% repetitive sequences. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that D. punctatus diverged from the common ancestor of Hyphantria cunea, Spodoptera litura and Thaumetopoea pityocampa ~ 108.91 million years ago. Many gene families that were expanded in the D. punctatus genome were significantly enriched for the xenobiotic biodegradation system, especially the cytochrome P450 gene family. This high‐quality, chromosome‐level reference genome will be a valuable resource for understanding mechanisms of D. punctatus outbreak and host resistance adaption. Because this is the first Lasiocampidae insect genome to be sequenced, it also will serve as a reference for further comparative genomics.     

Combination of diethyldithiocarbamate with 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate inhibits the growth of human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cells in vitro and in xenograft model

ABSTRACT

12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA), is a major active constituent of the seed oil of Croton tiglium L., has pharmacological activity for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia patients. Diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC) is a potent inhibitor of NF-κB show activity of anticancer. In this study, we determined the effect of DTC and TPA in combination on HL-60 cells cultured in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we have shown that DTC and TPA synergistically inhibited the growth of HL-60 cells and strongly induced apoptosis in the cells. Mechanistic studies showed that the combined effects of DTC and TPA were associated with a decrease in Bcl-2. The animal experiment showed that the combination of DTC and TPA more potently inhibited the growth of HL-60 tumors than either agent alone. Our results indicate that the administration of TPA and DTC in combination may be an effective strategy for inhibiting the growth of acute myeloid leukemia cells.     

Could the recycled yarns substitute for the virgin cotton yarns: a comparative LCA

Purpose

Cotton yarns spun from natural fibers are widely used in the apparel industry. Most of waste cotton goods are now disposed by incineration or landfill, which brings resource and environmental challenges to the society. Using the waste cotton to spin yarns is an alternative way to forward a more sustainable future. In this research, two scenarios for the environmental impacts of yarns spun from corresponding fibers are investigated, including recycled cotton fibers and virgin cotton fibers.

Methods

The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted according to the collected data from on-site investigation of typical production factories. The life cycle for the recycled cotton yarn production is divided into five stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, breaking, mixing, and spinning. The life cycle of virgin cotton yarn production is been divided into four stages, i.e., raw material acquisition, transportation, mixing, and spinning. The functional unit is 1000 kg produced yarns which are used for weaving into the fabrics. Notable impacts on climate change, fossil depletion, water depletion, and human toxicity were observed.

Results

The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results show that environmental impacts of recycled cotton yarns are far less than those of virgin cotton yarns, except for climate change and water depletion. The reason is that the land occupation and irrigation water have great impact on environmental impacts of cotton cultivation. In spinning, the electricity is the key factor whose environmental impacts account for the most in the virgin cotton yarn scenario, while the electricity and water consumptions are the key factors for the recycled cotton yarn scenario in the life cycle of yarn production. The sensitivity analysis indicates that improving energy efficiency can significantly reduce environmental burdens for both the two scenarios. The uncertainty distribution of water depletion, human toxicity, fossil depletion, and climate change of the two scenarios were determined with a 90% confidence interval.

Conclusions

The LCIA results reveal recycled cotton yarn is a viable alternative to relieve resource and environmental pressure. About 0.5 ha of agricultural land can be saved, 6600 kg CO₂ eq can be reduced, and 2783 m³ irrigation water can be saved by using 1000 kg of the recycled cotton yarns. It can be concluded that the recycled cotton fibers can be served as a substitute for virgin cotton fibers to reduce agricultural land and avoid environmental impacts generated from the cotton planting.

     

Digital transformation—life cycle assessment of digital services,multifunctional devices and cloud computing

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment -     

Chloroplasts require glutathione reductase to balance reactive oxygen species and maintain efficient photosynthesis

Thiol‐based redox‐regulation is vital for coordinating chloroplast functions depending on illumination and has been throroughly investigated for thioredoxin‐dependent processes. In parallel, glutathione reductase (GR) maintains a highly reduced glutathione pool, enabling glutathione‐mediated redox buffering. Yet, how the redox cascades of the thioredoxin and glutathione redox machineries integrate metabolic regulation and detoxification of reactive oxygen species remains largely unresolved because null mutants of plastid/mitochondrial GR are embryo‐lethal in Arabidopsis thaliana. To investigate whether maintaining a highly reducing stromal glutathione redox potential (E_GSH) via GR is necessary for functional photosynthesis and plant growth, we created knockout lines of the homologous enzyme in the model moss Physcomitrella patens. In these viable mutant lines, we found decreasing photosynthetic performance and plant growth with increasing light intensities, whereas ascorbate and zeaxanthin/antheraxanthin levels were elevated. By in vivo monitoring stromal E_GSH dynamics, we show that stromal E_GSH is highly reducing in wild‐type and clearly responsive to light, whereas an absence of GR leads to a partial glutathione oxidation, which is not rescued by light. By metabolic labelling, we reveal changing protein abundances in the GR knockout plants, pinpointing the adjustment of chloroplast proteostasis and the induction of plastid protein repair and degradation machineries. Our results indicate that the plastid thioredoxin system is not a functional backup for the plastid glutathione redox systems, whereas GR plays a critical role in maintaining efficient photosynthesis.     

Estimating the inbreeding level and genetic relatedness in an isolated population of critically endangered Sichuan taimen (Hucho Bleekeri) using genome‐wide SNP markers

Sichuan taimen (Hucho bleekeri) is critically endangered fish listed in The Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Specific locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF‐seq)‐based genotyping was performed for Sichuan taimen with 43 yearling individuals from three locations in Taibai River (a tributary of Yangtze River) that has been sequestered from its access to the ocean for more than 30 years since late 1980s. Applying the inbreeding level and genetic relatedness estimation using 15,396 genome‐wide SNP markers, we found that the inbreeding level of this whole isolated population was at a low level (2.6 × 10^?3 ± 0.079), and the means of coancestry coefficients within and between the three sampling locations were all very low (close to 0), too. Genomic differentiation was negatively correlated with the geographical distances between the sampling locations (p < .001), and the 43 individuals could be considered as genetically independent two groups. The low levels of genomic inbreeding and relatedness indicated a relatively large number of sexually mature individuals were involved in reproduction in Taibai River. This study suggested a genomic‐relatedness‐guided breeding and conservation strategy for wild fish species without pedigree information records.