TEB/POLQ plays dual roles in protecting Arabidopsis from NO-induced DNA damage

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key player in numerous physiological processes. Excessive NO induces DNA damage, but how plants respond to this damage remains unclear. We screened and identified an Arabidopsis NO hypersensitive mutant and found it to be allelic to TEBICHI/POLQ, encoding DNA polymerase θ. The teb mutant plants were preferentially sensitive to NO- and its derivative peroxynitrite-induced DNA damage and subsequent double-strand breaks (DSBs). Inactivation of TEB caused the accumulation of spontaneous DSBs largely attributed to endogenous NO and was synergistic to DSB repair pathway mutations with respect to growth. These effects were manifested in the presence of NO-inducing agents and relieved by NO scavengers. NO induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in the teb mutant, indicative of stalled replication forks. Genetic analyses indicate that Polθ is required for translesion DNA synthesis across NO-induced lesions, but not oxidation-induced lesions. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that Polθ bypasses NO-induced base adducts in an error-free manner and generates mutations characteristic of Polθ-mediated end joining. Our experimental data collectively suggests that Polθ plays dual roles in protecting plants from NO-induced DNA damage. Since Polθ is conserved in higher eukaryotes, mammalian Polθ may also be required for balancing NO physiological signaling and genotoxicity.     

LGR5 regulates osteogenic differentiation of human thoracic ligamentum flavum cells by Wnt signalling pathway

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF) is ectopic ossification of the spinal ligaments. Histologically, the development of TOLF can be described as the process of endochondral ossification. However, the underlying aetiology has not been completely clarified. In this investigation, the gene expression profile associated with leucine‐rich repeat‐containing G‐protein‐coupled receptors (LGR) and Wnt signalling pathway in the thoracic ligamentum flavum cells (TLFCs) of different ossification stages was analysed via RNA sequencing. We further confirmed the significant differences in the related gene expression profile by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. LGR5 was first identified in primary human TLFCs during osteogenic differentiation. To evaluate the effect of LGR5 on osteogenic differentiation, LGR5 has been knocked down and overexpressed in human TLFCs. We observed that the knockdown of LGR5 inhibited the activity of Wnt signalling and attenuated the potential osteogenic differentiation of TLFCs, while overexpression of LGR5 activated the Wnt signalling pathway and increased osteogenic differentiation. Our results provide important evidence for the potent positive mediatory effects of LGR5 on osteogenesis by enhancing the Wnt signalling pathway in TOLF.     

植物提取物和常用药剂对蚜虫重要天敌瓢虫孵化、存活和捕食效能的影响

为解决目前化学合成杀虫剂长期大量使用所带来的“3R”问题 ,有必要从对人畜无毒或低毒、对害虫天敌安全的植物和其它天然产物中筛选与环境相容性好的物质作为害虫控制的手段。已经从 63种植物中筛选出两种对蔬菜蚜虫有较好控制作用的植物苍耳 Xanthium sibiricum Petr.et Widd.和白蝴蝶Syngonium podophyllum Schott。报道该两种植物乙醇提取物以及几种常用天然源药剂 (鱼藤酮精、机油乳剂和 0 .3%印楝素乳油 )对深圳菜区蚜虫重要天敌瓢虫 (六斑月瓢虫 Menochilussexmaculata( Fabricius)和狭臀瓢虫 Coccinella trasversalis Fabricius)的影响。结果表明 ,两种植物提取物 ( 0 .0 4 g DW/ml)对所测试瓢虫的孵化、存活和捕食效能与对照之间在 0 .0 1或 0 .0 5水平均无显著差异 ,表明两种植物提取物对瓢虫安全、无明显毒性。而鱼藤酮精 ( 80 0× )、机油乳剂 ( 4 0 0× )和 0 .3%印楝素乳油 ( 2 0 0 0× )在所测试的浓度对瓢虫卵的毒性较强 ,瓢虫卵的孵化率明显降低 ,仅有对照瓢虫卵孵化率的 7.74%～ 1 4.31 % ,因此应避免在田间瓢虫大量产卵的季节使用。苍耳和白蝴蝶提取物对蚜虫的重要天敌瓢虫没有负面影响 ,可以考虑作为保护十字花科蔬菜免遭蚜虫危害的植物保护剂配方。     

曲酸菌选育及发酵工艺研究

筛选获得产曲酸菌株米曲霉（Aspergillusoryzae）MSA进行⁶⁰Co诱变,并进行了发酵工艺条件研究,以葡萄糖为碳源、豆饼粉为氮源,在pH3.0、33℃摇瓶培养,可达到5d产酸5％以上水平。发酵液采用直接浓缩结晶工艺,脱色与重结晶后获得无色针状晶体,红外图谱检测确证为曲酸。     

Long COVID and its Management

The pandemic of COVID-19 is the biggest public health crisis in 21^st Century. Besides the acute symptoms after infection, patients and society are also being challenged by the long-term health complications associated with COVID-19, commonly known as long COVID. While health professionals work hard to find proper treatments, large amount of knowledge has been accumulated in recent years. In order to deal with long COVID efficiently, it is important for people to keep up with current progresses and take proactive actions on long COVID. For this purpose, this review will first introduce the general background of long COVID, and then discuss its risk factors, diagnostic indicators and management strategies. This review will serve as a useful resource for people to understand and prepare for long COVID that will be with us in the foreseeable future.