Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus and Exogenous Potassium Application Improved Lycium barbarum Salt Tolerance

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Salt stress is one of the major abiotic stress, impedes plant photosynthetic processes, changes root architecture to impact leaf water status, and reduces...     

Vaginal microbiome variances in sample groups categorized by clinical criteria of bacterial vaginosis

Background

One of the most common and recurrent vaginal infections is bacterial vaginosis (BV). The diagnosis is based on changes to the “normal” vaginal microbiome; however, the normal microbiome appears to differ according to reproductive status and ethnicity, and even among individuals within these groups. The Amsel criteria and Nugent score test are widely used for diagnosing BV; however, these tests are based on different criteria, and so may indicate distinct changes in the vaginal microbial community. Nevertheless, few studies have compared the results of these test against metagenomics analysis.

Methods

Vaginal flora samples from 77 participants were classified according to the Amsel criteria and Nugent score test. The microbiota composition was analyzed using 16S ribosome RNA gene amplicon sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis and multivariate statistical analysis were used to evaluate the microbial diversity and function.

Results

Only 3 % of the participants diagnosed BV negative using the Amsel criteria (A−) were BV-positive according to the Nugent score test (N+), while over half of the BV-positive patients using the Amsel criteria (A+) were BV-negative according to the Nugent score test (N−). Thirteen genera showed significant differences in distribution among BV status defined by BV tests (e.g., A − N−, A + N− and A + N+). Variations in the four most abundant taxa, Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, Prevotella, and Escherichia, were responsible for most of this dissimilarity. Furthermore, vaginal microbial diversity differed significantly among the three groups classified by the Nugent score test (N−, N+, and intermediate flora), but not between the Amsel criteria groups. Numerous predictive microbial functions, such as bacterial chemotaxis and bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, differed significantly among multiple BV test, but not between the A− and A+ groups.

Conclusions

Metagenomics analysis can greatly expand our current understanding of vaginal microbial diversity in health and disease. Metagenomics profiling may also provide more reliable diagnostic criteria for BV testing.

     

Natural sex change in mature protogynous orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides): gonadal restructuring,sex hormone shifts and gene profiles

Sexual patterns of teleosts are extremely diverse and include both gonochorism and hermaphroditism. As a protogynous hermaphroditic fish, all orange-spotted groupers (Epinephelus coioides) develop directly into females, and some individuals change sex to become functional males later in life. This study investigated gonadal restructuring, shifts in sex hormone levels and gene profiles of cultured mature female groupers during the first (main) breeding season of 2019 in Huizhou, China (22° 42′ 02.6″ N, 114° 32′ 10.1″ E). Analysis of gonadal restructuring revealed that females with pre-vitellogenic ovaries underwent vitellogenesis, spawning and regression and then returned to the pre-vitellogenic stage in the late breeding season, at which point some changed sex to become males via the intersex gonad stage. A significant decrease in the level of serum 17β-estradiol (E2) was observed during ovary regression but not during sex change, whereas serum 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) concentrations increased significantly during sex change with the highest concentration in newly developed males. Consistent with serum hormone changes, a significant decrease in cyp19a1a expression was observed during ovary regression but not during sex change, whereas the expression of cyp11c1 and hsd11b2 increased significantly during sex change. Interestingly, hsd11b2 but not cyp11c1 was significantly upregulated from the pre-vitellogenic ovary stage to the early intersex gonad stage. These results suggest that a decrease in serum E2 concentration and downregulation of cyp19a1a expression are not necessary to trigger the female-to-male transformation, whereas increased 11-KT concentration and upregulation of hsd11b2 expression may be key events for the initiation of sex change in the orange-spotted grouper.     

沙枣果总黄酮类化合物的富集研究

通过对9种型号大孔吸附树脂静态筛选,最终确定AB-8型大孔吸附树脂用于沙枣果总黄酮化合物的富集,并通过动态实验,确定沙枣果总黄酮最优富集条件为：样品浓度2.43 mg·mL^-1,上样速率2 BV·h^-1,乙醇浓度70%,洗脱速率2 BV·h^-1。在最优工艺条件下,沙枣果总黄酮浓度由9.73%增加到49.52%;其中金丝桃苷含量由0.53%增加到3.07%,提高5.79倍。本研究为沙枣果总黄酮的开发利用提供了理论依据。     

大肠杆菌-鸭疫里默氏杆菌高效穿梭质粒pFY02的构建和应用

鸭疫里默氏杆菌(Riemerella anatipestifer,RA)是引起鸭、鹅、火鸡等家禽传染性败血症及浆膜炎的主要病原。目前主要通过基因缺失及基因回补的方法对鸭疫里默氏杆菌的基因功能进行研究。然而,目前使用的穿梭质粒pLMF03存在结合转移效率低、酶切位点少等缺陷,不能用于所有鸭疫里默氏杆菌基因的回补。为解决这一问题,文中将结合转移位点oriT、鸭疫里默氏杆菌复制起始基因pRA0726ori、高表达启动子基因及多种酶切位点逐一克隆至质粒pPM5,构建了新的穿梭质粒pFY02。结果表明,该质粒能够稳定存在于鸭疫里默氏杆菌,且具有较高的结合转移效率。通过回补鸭疫里默氏杆菌tonB2基因缺失株表明,该质粒可用于鸭疫里默氏杆菌基因的回补。总之,文中构建的穿梭质粒pFY02更加完善了用于鸭疫里默氏杆菌基因回补的材料。     

Germanium Thin Film Protected Lithium Aluminum Germanium Phosphate for Solid‐State Li Batteries

Solid‐state Li batteries using Na⁺ superionic conductor type solid electrolyte attracts wide interest because of its safety and high theoretical energy density. The NASCION type solid electrolyte LAGP (Li_1.5Al_0.5Ge_0.5P₃O₁₂) shows favorable conductivity as well as good mechanical strength to prevent Li dendrite penetration. However, the instability of LAGP with Li metal remains a great challenge. In this work, an amorphous Ge thin film is sputtered on an LAGP surface, which can not only suppress the reduction reaction of Ge⁴⁺ and Li, but also produces intimate contact between the Li metal and the LAGP solid electrolyte. The symmetric cell with the Ge‐coated LAGP solid electrolyte shows superior stability and cycle performance for 100 cycles at 0.1 mA cm^?2. A quasi‐solid‐state Li–air battery has also been assembled to further demonstrate this advantage. A stable cycling performance of 30 cycles in ambient air can be obtained. This work helps to achieve a stable and ionic conducting interface in solid‐state Li batteries.