Structure and Properties of Organogels Developed by Diosgenin in Canola Oil

Food Biophysics - In this study, naturally occurring ingredient diosgenin was utilized as an organogelator for structuring canola oil. Results show that stable diosgenin-based organogel can be...     

Effects of Temperature on Transcriptome Profiles in Cardiocrinum cathayanum Leaves

Russian Journal of Plant Physiology - Cardiocrinum cathayanum (Endl.) Lindl. (Liliaceae) is a promising species for ornamental and pharmaceutical usage. However, genomic responses of C. cathayanum...     

The Chimonanthus salicifolius genome provides insight into magnoliid evolution and flavonoid biosynthesis

Chimonanthus salicifolius, a member of the Calycanthaceae of magnoliids, is one of the most famous medicinal plants in Eastern China. Here, we report a chromosome‐level genome assembly of C. salicifolius, comprising 820.1 Mb of genomic sequence with a contig N50 of 2.3 Mb and containing 36 651 annotated protein‐coding genes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that magnoliids were sister to the eudicots. Two rounds of ancient whole‐genome duplication were inferred in the C. salicifolious genome. One is shared by Calycanthaceae after its divergence with Lauraceae, and the other is in the ancestry of Magnoliales and Laurales. Notably, long genes with > 20 kb in length were much more prevalent in the magnoliid genomes compared with other angiosperms, which could be caused by the length expansion of introns inserted by transposon elements. Homologous genes within the flavonoid pathway for C. salicifolius were identified, and correlation of the gene expression and the contents of flavonoid metabolites revealed potential critical genes involved in flavonoids biosynthesis. This study not only provides an additional whole‐genome sequence from the magnoliids, but also opens the door to functional genomic research and molecular breeding of C. salicifolius.     

The crosstalk between lncRNAs and the Hippo signalling pathway in cancer progression

LncRNAs play a pivotal role in the regulation of epigenetic modification, cell cycle, differentiation, proliferation, migration and other physiological activities. In particular, considerable studies have shown that the aberrant expression and dysregulation of lncRNAs are widely implicated in cancer initiation and progression by acting as tumour promoters or suppressors. Hippo signalling pathway has attracted researchers’ attention as one of the critical cancer‐related pathways in recent years. Increasing evidences have demonstrated that lncRNAs could interact with Hippo cascade and thereby contribute to acquisition of multiple malignant hallmarks, including proliferation, metastasis, relapse and resistance to anti‐cancer treatment. Specifically, Hippo signalling pathway is reported to modulate or be regulated by widespread lncRNAs. Intriguingly, certain lncRNAs could form a reciprocal feedback loop with Hippo signalling. More speculatively, lncRNAs related to Hippo pathway have been poised to become important putative biomarkers and therapeutic targets in human cancers. Herein, this review focuses on the crosstalk between lncRNAs and Hippo pathway in carcinogenesis, summarizes the comprehensive role of Hippo‐related lncRNAs in tumour progression and depicts their clinical diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic potentials in tumours.     

不同除草剂的田间杂草防效及对糜子生长发育的影响

筛选糜子适宜除草剂来防范农田药害,是糜子高效安全生产和改善生态环境亟待解决的关键问题。本研究以粳性糜子品种‘榆糜2号'为材料,探究22种除草剂对糜子田间杂草的防除效果及对糜子生长发育的影响。结果表明: 1)喷施土壤封闭型除草剂谷友、丁草胺、莠去津、苄嘧·丙草胺和茎叶型除草剂苯唑·二甲钠、阔世玛、藤净、陶氏·优先、阔菲后,基本无药害作用,糜子幼苗生长正常,其余除草剂均对糜子有不同程度的药害影响;2)参试的22种除草剂在糜子田中对杂草均表现出一定的防除效果,总体而言,土壤封闭型除草剂的杂草防效相对优于茎叶型除草剂,但所有参试除草剂对糜子株高、功能叶片叶绿素含量、单株穗重均造成不同程度的影响;3)与人工除草相比,参试除草剂均导致糜子产量有不同程度的下降;但与不除草对照相比,部分除草剂有明显的增产增效作用。土壤封闭型除草剂中,谷友、丁草胺、莠去津、苄嘧·丙草胺的杂草防效较好,较不除草对照增产60%以上;茎叶型除草剂中,阔世玛、苯唑·二甲钠的杂草防效较好,较不除草对照增产50%以上。因此,在糜子出苗前可用38%莠去津或44%单嘧磺隆进行土壤封闭处理,或在出苗后喷施茎叶型除草剂3.6%二磺·甲碘隆或55%苯唑·二甲钠,农田杂草防效较好,且对糜子生长发育的负面影响较小。     

末次盛冰期以来观光木的潜在地理分布变迁

观光木(Tsoongiodendron odorum)是木兰科的古老残遗物种, 目前正面临严峻的生存威胁, 属于极小种群濒危植物。通过生态位模型(ENM)能够重建观光木地理分布格局的历史变迁, 探究气候变化对该物种分布的影响, 并了解其地理分布与气候需求间的关系, 从而为全球变暖背景下观光木的保护提供理论基础。该文基于96条现代分布记录和8个环境变量, 采用最大熵(MaxEnt)模型模拟观光木在末次盛冰期、全新世中期、现代和未来(2061-2080年, RCP 8.5)的潜在分布区, 利用SDM toolbox分析观光木的地理空间变化, 并综合贡献率、置换重要值和Jackknife检验来评估气候因子的重要性。研究结果表明: (1)观光木的高度适生区在南岭地区, 末次盛冰期时没有大尺度向南退缩, 很可能在山区避难所原地存活; (2)在全新世中期和未来两个增温的气候情境下, 观光木的分布区均表现为缩减, 其中未来分布的减幅更大, 表明气候变暖对观光木的生长有一定的负面影响; (3)总体上看, 观光木各个时期的地理分布范围相对稳定, 说明观光木对气候变化有一定的适应能力, 人为活动或自身繁育问题可能是致濒的重要原因, 并建议对广东和广西群体进行优先保护。     

The complete chloroplast genome of Myriophyllum spicatum reveals a 4‐kb inversion and new insights regarding plastome evolution in Haloragaceae

Myriophyllum, among the most species‐rich genera of aquatic angiosperms with ca. 68 species, is an extensively distributed hydrophyte lineage in the cosmopolitan family Haloragaceae. The chloroplast (cp) genome is useful in the study of genetic evolution, phylogenetic analysis, and molecular dating of controversial taxa. Here, we sequenced and assembled the whole chloroplast genome of Myriophyllum spicatum L. and compared it to other species in the order Saxifragales. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of M. spicatum is 158,858 bp long and displays a quadripartite structure with two inverted repeats (IR) separating the large single copy (LSC) region from the small single copy (SSC) region. Based on sequence identification and the phylogenetic analysis, a 4‐kb phylogenetically informative inversion between trnE‐trnC in Myriophyllum was determined, and we have placed this inversion on a lineage specific to Myriophyllum and its close relatives. The divergence time estimation suggested that the trnE‐trnC inversion possibly occurred between the upper Cretaceous (72.54 MYA) and middle Eocene (47.28 MYA) before the divergence of Myriophyllum from its most recent common ancestor. The unique 4‐kb inversion might be caused by an occurrence of nonrandom recombination associated with climate changes around the K‐Pg boundary, making it interesting for future evolutionary investigations.     

Predation of potential insect pests in oil palm plantations,rubber tree plantations,and fruit orchards

In human‐modified landscapes, important ecological functions such as predation are negatively affected by anthropogenic activities, including the use of pesticides and habitat degradation. Predation of insect pests is an indicator of healthy ecosystem functioning, which provides important ecosystem services, especially for agricultural systems. In this study, we compare predation attempts from arthropods, mammals, and birds on artificial caterpillars in the understory, between three tropical agricultural land‐use types: oil palm plantations, rubber tree plantations, and fruit orchards. We collected a range of local and landscape‐scale data including undergrowth vegetation structure; elevation; proximity to forest; and canopy cover in order to understand how environmental variables can affect predation. In all three land‐use types, our results showed that arthropods and mammals were important predators of artificial caterpillars and there was little predation by birds. We did not find any effect of the environmental variables on predation. There was an interactive effect between land‐use type and predator type. Predation by mammals was considerably higher in fruit orchards and rubber tree than in oil palm plantations, likely due to their ability to support higher abundances of insectivorous mammals. In order to maintain or enhance natural pest control in these common tropical agricultural land‐use types, management practices that benefit insectivorous animals should be introduced, such as the reduction of pesticides, improvement of understory vegetation, and local and landscape heterogeneity.     

基于“抗疫精神”的“基因工程”课程思政教学设计与实践

课程思政是当前高校落实“立德树人”根本任务的重要形式。在抗击新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情中,中华民族同舟共济、守望相助,共同铸就了伟大的抗疫精神,为课程思政教学提供了最生动的元素。本文对“战疫”行动中的抗疫精神进行梳理和总结,将其内涵凝练为5项内容;以新型冠状病毒的“核酸检测、疫苗研制及其变异”中蕴含的“抗疫精神”为思政载体,甄选“基因工程”课程中对应的理论内容,开展聚焦抗疫精神的“基因工程”课程思政教学设计与实践研究,利用问卷法和深度访谈法对教学实施效果进行评价,旨在引导学生在学习专业理论知识的同时,感悟课程内容中蕴含的抗疫精神,并将其内化为价值追求,潜移默化中提升学生的思想意识和道德修养,同时为生物类其他专业课程思政教学提供参考和借鉴。