Inhibiting roles of FOXA2 in liver cancer cell migration and invasion by transcriptionally suppressing microRNA-103a-3p and activating the GREM2/LATS2/YAP axis

Cytotechnology - Forkhead box A2 (FOXA2) has emerged as a tumor inhibitor in several human malignancies. This work focused on the effect of FOXA2 on liver cancer (LC) cell invasion and migration...     

The optimum dietary methionine requirement of juvenile humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis): effects on growth,micromorphology, protein and lipid metabolism

An 8-week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate optimum dietary methionine (Met) requirement of juvenile humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) and the influence of dietary methionine (Met) supplementations on growth, gut micromorphology, protein and lipid metabolism. Seven isoproteic (48.91%) and isolipidic diets (10%) were made to contain 0.70, 0.88, 1.04, 1.27 1.46, 1.61 and 1.76% of dry matter Met levels. Results showed that lower survival, weight gain (WG%), protein efficiency ratio (PER), protein productive value (PPV) but higher daily feed intake (DFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were observed in the Met deficient groups (0.70 and 0.88%). Optimum dietary Met requirement for humpback grouper was found to be 1.07% through the straight-broken line analysis of WG% against Met. Fish fed Met deficient diets (0.70, 0.88%) exhibited lower mRNA levels of growth hormone (GH), growth hormone receptor (GHR), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1), target of rapamycin (TOR) as well as S6 kinase 1 (S6K1) than other dietary groups. Whereas, expression of genes related to general control nonderepressible (GCN2) kinase i.e., GCN2 and C/EBPβ enhancer-binding protein β was upregulated in fish fed low Met diets (P < 0.05). The mRNA expression of hepatic fatty acid synthase (FAS) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1) were higher in fish fed 0.70 and 0.88% dietary Met group and the lipolytic genes, hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (CPT-1) showed an opposite variation tendency as FAS or SREBP1. Generally, the optimum Met requirement for humpback grouper was predicted to be 1.07% of dry matter.

     

Ecological and acoustic responses of bush crickets to anthropogenic and natural ecotones

Biodiversity and Conservation - Ecotones occur naturally throughout complex landscapes. Each ecotone has particular ecological conditions resulting in species-specific responses. Across...     

CCR-NB-LRR proteins MdRNL2 and MdRNL6 interact physically to confer broad-spectrum fungal resistance in apple (Malus × domestica)

Apple leaf spot, a disease caused by Alternaria alternata f. sp. mali and other fungal species, leads to severe defoliation and results in tremendous losses to the apple (Malus × domestica) industry in China. We previously identified three RPW8, nucleotide-binding, and leucine-rich repeat domain CC_R-NB-LRR proteins (RNLs), named MdRNL1, MdRNL2, and MdRNL3, that contribute to Alternaria leaf spot (ALT1) resistance in apple. However, the role of NB-LRR proteins in resistance to fungal diseases in apple remains poorly understood. We therefore used MdRNL1/2/3 as baits to screen ALT1-inoculated leaves for interacting proteins and identified only MdRNL6 (another RNL) as an interactor of MdRNL2. Protein interaction assays demonstrated that MdRNL2 and MdRNL6 interact through their NB-ARC domains. Transient expression assays in apple indicated that complexes containing both MdRNL2 and MdRNL6 are necessary for resistance to Alternaria leaf spot. Intriguingly, the same complexes were also required to confer resistance to Glomerella leaf spot and Marssonina leaf spot in transient expression assays. Furthermore, stable transgenic apple plants with suppressed expression of MdRNL6 showed hypersensitivity to Alternaria leaf spot, Glomerella leaf spot, and Marssonina leaf spot; these effects were similar to the effects of suppressing MdRNL2 expression in transgenic apple plantlets. The identification of these novel broad-spectrum fungal resistance genes will facilitate breeding for fungal disease resistance in apple.     

Divergent DNA methylation contributes to duplicated gene evolution and chilling response in tea plants

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a thermophilic cash crop and contains a highly duplicated and repeat-rich genome. It is still unclear how DNA methylation regulates the evolution of duplicated genes and chilling stress in tea plants. We therefore generated a single-base-resolution DNA methylation map of tea plants under chilling stress. We found that, compared with other plants, the tea plant genome is highly methylated in all three sequence contexts, including CG, CHG and CHH (where H = A, T, or C), which is further proven to be correlated with its repeat content and genome size. We show that DNA methylation in the gene body negatively regulates the gene expression of tea plants, whereas non-CG methylation in the flanking region enables a positive regulation of gene expression. We demonstrate that transposable element-mediated methylation dynamics significantly drives the expression divergence of duplicated genes in tea plants. The DNA methylation and expression divergence of duplicated genes in the tea plant increases with evolutionary age and selective pressure. Moreover, we detect thousands of differentially methylated genes, some of which are functionally associated with chilling stress. We also experimentally reveal that DNA methyltransferase genes of tea plants are significantly downregulated, whereas demethylase genes are upregulated at the initial stage of chilling stress, which is in line with the significant loss of DNA methylation of three well-known cold-responsive genes at their promoter and gene body regions. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of DNA methylation regulation and offer new insights into duplicated gene evolution and chilling tolerance in tea plants.     

野化培训大熊猫的生境利用和空间格局

了解动物栖息地和空间利用模式是开展野生动物放归自然的重要前提。为明确野化培训大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca）在野外环境中生境利用特征和空间格局,本文以2只野化培训大熊猫为研究对象,基于其野外GPS项圈数据,通过数字高程模型（DEM）、动物移动模块等工具分析其在野外环境中栖息地利用状况。结果表明：随着在野外环境时间的增加,2只大熊猫由低海拔西南坡的阔叶林逐渐向高海拔南坡针阔混交林区域移动,且坡度利用也存在明显的差异,但均偏向在17°~20°的平缓区域活动。在野外环境的最初一个月,2只大熊猫平均日移动距离较大,之后逐渐减小并趋于稳定。2只野化培训大熊猫在野外环境初期,活动区域大小随时间的变化而呈现出无规律的变化趋势,活动区域主要集中在3~4个栖息地斑块,且斑块间面积和距离各异。因此,认为野化培训大熊猫在野外栖息地环境初期属于不稳定的随机选择模式。     

凝胶电泳微流控芯片提取外泌体及对人血浆外泌体中miRNA-21的测定

为了开发一种用于人体血浆中外泌体的高效快速提取和分离的新型微流控芯片,文中收集健康人体外周血液样本,自主设计并制备基于纳米多孔薄膜和琼脂糖凝胶电泳的微流芯片。提取的外泌体使用透射电镜、Nanosight和Western blotting等技术进行表征,鉴定并分析其形态、浓度和粒径分布。同时将超速离心法和微流芯片所提取的外泌体进行粒径和浓度的分析比较,探讨两种方法各自的提取效率。最后,利用RT-PCR技术分析外泌体中miRNA-21的相对表达量。凝胶电泳微流芯片可在1 h内快速的从血浆中高效率地提取出纯度高、大小完整、尺寸分布在30–200 nm之间的外泌体,满足后续下游分析的要求。通过与现有最普遍的超速离心法进行对比分析,当血浆样本量小于100μL时,凝胶电泳微流芯片提取外泌体的效率为超速离心法的3.80倍。凝胶电泳微流芯片提取外泌体的优化参数是:电场电压:100 V;琼脂糖凝胶浓度:1.0%;注射泵流速:0.1 mL/h。凝胶电泳微流芯片可快速高效地提取出外泌体,对外泌体与癌症生物标记物的相关研究具有潜在的巨大优势,也为基于外泌体的即时诊断技术提供了可能。