Isolation and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus flavus</Emphasis> strains in China

Important staple foods (peanuts, maize and rice) are susceptible to contamination by aflatoxin (AF)-producing fungi such as Aspergillus flavus. The objective of this study was to explore non-aflatoxin-producing (atoxigenic) A. flavus strains as biocontrol agents for the control of AFs. In the current study, a total of 724 A. flavus strains were isolated from different regions of China. Polyphasic approaches were utilized for species identification. Non-aflatoxin and non-cyclopiazonic acid (CPA)-producing strains were further screened for aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) biosynthesis pathway gene clusters using a PCR assay. Strains lacking an amplicon for the regulatory gene aflR were then analyzed for the presence of the other 28 biosynthetic genes. Only 229 (32%) of the A. flavus strains were found to be atoxigenic. Smaller (S) sclerotial phenotypes were dominant (51%) compared to large (L, 34%) and non-sclerotial (NS, 15%) phenotypes. Among the atoxigenic strains, 24 strains were PCR-negative for the fas-1 and aflJ genes. Sixteen (67%) atoxigenic A. flavus strains were PCRnegative for 10 or more of the biosynthetic genes. Altogether, 18 new PCR product patterns were observed, indicating great diversity in the AFB₁ biosynthesis pathway. The current study demonstrates that many atoxigenic A. flavus strains can be isolated from different regions of China. In the future laboratory as well as field based studies are recommended to test these atoxigenic strains as biocontrol agents for aflatoxin contamination.     

茶园害虫匮乏期天敌与蚊虫的空间关系

为了充分发挥中性昆虫蚊虫作为天敌的食饵替代物作用,科学地保护和利用自然天敌,2015年和2016年开展了合肥地区白毫早茶园和乌牛早茶园害虫匮乏时期(3—5月)的天敌与蚊虫之间的空间关系研究,运用地学统计学方法求得天敌和蚊虫各自的变程,用灰色关联度方法分析蚊虫与天敌变程的关联度,关联度值越大的天敌在空间上对蚊虫的跟随关系越密切。并分析茶树品种间及年度间天敌位次的变化。8种天敌中,白毫早茶园2015年与蚊虫空间跟随关系密切的前四位天敌是粽管巢蛛、八斑球腹蛛、三突花蟹蛛和茶色新圆蛛;2016年的是粽管巢蛛、茶色新圆蛛、锥腹肖蛸和三突花蟹蛛;两年间前四位天敌有3种相同,但位次不全相同。乌牛早茶园2015年与蚊虫空间跟随关系密切的前四位天敌是八斑球腹蛛、茶色新圆蛛、锥腹肖蛸和三突花蟹蛛;2016年的是三突花蟹蛛、粽管巢蛛、草间小黑蛛和茶色新圆蛛;两年间前四位天敌中有茶色新圆蛛和三突花蟹蛛2种相同。年度间天敌位次相异率为87.5%,茶树品种间天敌位次相异率为93.75%。按照天敌位次总和及按照天敌与蚊虫空间关系密切指数总和评判,两种茶园2015年和2016年3—5月份与蚊虫空间关系密切的前四位天敌均依次是粽管巢蛛、三突花蟹蛛、茶色新圆蛛和八斑球腹蛛。本文的结果为人为地促进优势种天敌建群,合理保护和利用自然天敌提供科学依据。     

基于孢子形态和分子证据探讨鳞盖蕨属(碗蕨科)系统分类

孢粉学是解决植物分类中疑难类群物种微形态分化的重要方法, 随着分子系统学的发展, 结合这两门学科的优势可以更加有效地解决疑难类群的分类学问题。鳞盖蕨属(Microlepia)是一个分类困难的疑难类群, 采用孢粉学与分子系统学一一对应的方法, 以及居群取样方式, 选取280份样本, 联合4个叶绿体片段(rbcL、trnL-F、psbA-trnH和rps4), 采用最大似然法和贝叶斯法构建该属的系统发生关系, 在此基础上对凭证标本中100份材料的孢子进行观察和分析。综合分子系统学和孢粉学的研究结果, 得出结论: (1) 在形态学研究中广泛被接受的15个物种得到了单系支持, 并厘清了分类困难的复合群; (2) 发现边缘鳞盖蕨(M. marginata)可能存在隐性种; (3) 建议恢复过去归并处理为异名的瑶山鳞盖蕨(M. yaoshanica)、罗浮鳞盖蕨(M. lofoushanensis)、四川鳞盖蕨(M. szechuanica)以及滇西鳞盖蕨(M. subspeluncae); (4) 提出鳞盖蕨属可能存在杂交现象; (5) 提出鳞盖蕨属完整的属下分类建议。     

Photoacoustic assessment of hemodynamic changes in foot vessels

Monitoring the blood supply in the lower extremities is critical for individuals who are vulnerable to vascular dysfunction. Current clinical approaches are ineffective in observing hemodynamic changes in peripheral vessels. In this paper, we investigate the potential of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) as an alternative way to in vivo monitor hemodynamic changes in foot vessels. High spatial and temporal resolution maps of hemoglobin in major arteries and veins are shown. Results from twelve human subjects are presented here to visualize vascular perfusion of healthy volunteers in two age groups (young vs aged). Significant differences between the two groups are observed and verify the declining in vascular function with aging, highlighting the potential of PAT as a new tool to evaluate vascular function in the lower extremities.      

Protosappanin‐A and oleanolic acid protect injured podocytes from apoptosis through inhibition of AKT‐mTOR signaling

Protosappanin‐A (PrA) and oleanolic acid (OA), which are important effective ingredients isolated from Caesalpinia sappan L., exhibit therapeutic potential in multiple diseases. This study focused on exploring the mechanisms of PrA and OA function in podocyte injury. An in vitro model of podocyte injury was induced by the sC5b‐9 complex and assays such as cell viability, apoptosis, immunofluorescence, quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, and western blot were performed to further investigate the effects and mechanisms of PrA and OA in podocyte injury. The models of podocyte injury were verified to be successful as seen through significantly decreased levels of nephrin, podocin, and CD2AP and increased level of desmin. The sC5b‐9‐induced podocyte apoptosis was inhibited in injured podocytes treated with PrA and OA, accompanied by increased protein levels of nephrin, podocin, CD2AP, and Bcl2 and decreased levels of desmin and Bax. The p‐AKT/p‐mTOR levels were also reduced by treatment of PrA and OA while AKT/mTOR was unaltered. Further, the effects of PrA and OA on injured podocytes were similar to that of LY294002 (a PI3K‐AKT inhibitor). PrA and OA were also seen to inhibit podocyte apoptosis and p‐AKT/p‐mTOR levels induced by IGF‐1 (a PI3K‐AKT activator). Our data demonstrate that PrA and OA can protect podocytes from injury or apoptosis, which may occur through inhibition of the abnormal activation of AKT‐mTOR signaling.     

Peroxisome-generated succinate induces lipid accumulation and oxidative stress in the kidneys of diabetic mice

Diabetes normally causes lipid accumulation and oxidative stress in the kidneys, which plays a critical role in the onset of diabetic nephropathy; however, the mechanism by which dysregulated fatty acid metabolism increases lipid and reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in the diabetic kidney is not clear. As succinate is remarkably increased in the diabetic kidney, and accumulation of succinate suppresses mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and increases ROS formation, we hypothesized that succinate might play a role in inducing lipid and ROS accumulation in the diabetic kidney. Here we demonstrate a novel mechanism by which diabetes induces lipid and ROS accumulation in the kidney of diabetic animals. We show that enhanced oxidation of dicarboxylic acids by peroxisomes leads to lipid and ROS accumulation in the kidney of diabetic mice via the metabolite succinate. Furthermore, specific suppression of peroxisomal β-oxidation improved diabetes-induced nephropathy by reducing succinate generation and attenuating lipid and ROS accumulation in the kidneys of the diabetic mice. We suggest that peroxisome-generated succinate acts as a pathological molecule inducing lipid and ROS accumulation in kidney, and that specifically targeting peroxisomal β-oxidation might be an effective strategy in treating diabetic nephropathy and related metabolic disorders.     

Vegetable biology and breeding in the genomics era

Vegetable crops provide a rich source of essential nutrients for humanity and represent critical economic values to global rural societies. However, genetic studies of vegetable crops have lagged behind major food crops, such as rice, wheat and maize, thereby limiting the application of molecular breeding. In the past decades, genome sequencing technologies have been increasingly applied in genetic studies and breeding of vegetables. In this review, we recapitulate recent progress on reference genome construction, population genomics and the exploitation of multi-omics datasets in vegetable crops. These advances have enabled an in-depth understanding of their domestication and evolution, and facilitated the genetic dissection of numerous agronomic traits, which jointly expedites the exploitation of state-of-the-art biotechnologies in vegetable breeding. We further provide perspectives of further directions for vegetable genomics and indicate how the ever-increasing omics data could accelerate genetic, biological studies and breeding in vegetable crops.

     

Finite Element Analysis of a New Pedicle Screw-Plate System for Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Purpose

Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MI-TLIF) is increasingly popular for the surgical treatment of degenerative lumbar disc diseases. The constructs intended for segmental stability are varied in MI-TLIF. We adopted finite element (FE) analysis to compare the stability after different construct fixations using interbody cage with posterior pedicle screw-rod or pedicle screw-plate instrumentation system.

Methods

A L3–S1 FE model was modified to simulate decompression and fusion at L4–L5 segment. Fixation modes included unilateral plate (UP), unilateral rod (UR), bilateral plate (BP), bilateral rod (BR) and UP+UR fixation. The inferior surface of the S1 vertebra remained immobilized throughout the load simulation, and a bending moment of 7.5 Nm with 400N pre-load was applied on the L3 vertebra to recreate flexion, extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. Range of motion (ROM) and Von Mises stress were evaluated for intact and instrumentation models in all loading planes.

Results

All reconstructive conditions displayed decreased motion at L4–L5. The pedicle screw-plate system offered equal ROM to pedicle screw-rod system in unilateral or bilateral fixation modes respectively. Pedicle screw stresses for plate system were 2.2 times greater than those for rod system in left lateral bending under unilateral fixation. Stresses for plate were 3.1 times greater than those for rod in right axial rotation under bilateral fixation. Stresses on intervertebral graft for plate system were similar to rod system in unilateral and bilateral fixation modes respectively. Increased ROM and posterior instrumentation stresses were observed in all loading modes with unilateral fixation compared with bilateral fixation in both systems.

Conclusions

Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion augmentation with pedicle screw-plate system fixation increases fusion construct stability equally to the pedicle screw-rod system. Increased posterior instrumentation stresses are observed in all loading modes with plate fixation, and bilateral fixation could reduce stress concentration.