Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Substituted Indole and Its Analogs as Influenza A Virus Inhibitors

Influenza A virus (IAV), a highly pathogenic virus to human beings, is most susceptible to mutation and thus causes rapid, severe global pandemics resulting in millions of fatalities worldwide. Since resistance to the existing anti‐influenza drugs is developing, innovative inhibitors with a different mode of action are urgently needed. The lead compound 6092B‐E5 has proven to be an effective antiviral reagent in our previous work. Using the principles of substitution and bioisosterism of the indole ring, six series of novel anti‐IAV target products were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antiviral effect in this work. Compounds D₁ , D₃ , D₉ , G₁ , G₃ , G₁₂ and G₂₃ were identified as promising anti‐IAV candidates with excellent anti‐IAV efficacy (IC₅₀ values of 3.06–5.77 μm ) and low cytotoxicity (CC₅₀ values up to and beyond 100 μm ). This work represents a successful application of the substitution and bioisosteric replacement strategy for the discovery of novel antiviral molecules that can be used for further structural optimization.     

Update soybean Zhonghuang 13 genome to a golden reference

<正>Dear Editor,Soybean is one of the most important crops worldwide. A high-quality reference genome will facilitate its functional analysis and molecular breeding (Wang and Tian, 2015).Previously, we de novo assembled a high-quality Chinese soybean genome Gmax_ZH13 (Shen et al., 2018, Yang and Huang, 2018). However, due to technical limitations at the     

典型淹水稻田土壤微生物群落的基因转录活性及其主要生理代谢过程

【目的】利用环境转录组技术,研究复杂稻田土壤中微生物群落主要生理代谢过程的基因表达水平及其对长期施氮磷钾肥(Mineral nitrogen,phosphorus,and potassium,NPK)的响应规律。【方法】针对中国科学院常熟农田生态系统长期定位试验的NPK施肥处理和不施肥对照处理(Control check,CK)稻田土壤,淹水培养2周后提取土壤微生物总RNA进行高通量转录组测序,利用MG-RAST网络分析平台(Metagenomics Analysis Server)进行活性微生物组成分析、基因功能注释及基因功能分类。【结果】细菌是CK和NPK处理稻田土壤微生物的优势类群,占比高达95%以上,细菌中的活性基因主要源于变形菌门(Proteobacteria,占细菌的50%以上)。同时也检测到古菌、真核生物和病毒等多种微生物的活性基因,而古菌中的活性基因主要源于奇古菌门(Thaumarchaeota,约占古菌的70%)。酸杆菌门(Acidobacteria)在NPK处理土壤中的转录活性显著高于CK处理土壤,而其他的细菌及古菌类群的转录活性在CK和NPK处理土壤间无显著性差异。CK和NPK处理土壤中表达量最高的基因是ABC transporter编码基因,与物质跨膜运输紧密相关。基于COG(Clusters of Orthologous Genes)、Subsystem、KEGG(Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes)3种基因功能分类数据库,发现CK和NPK处理土壤中微生物的主要代谢活动均为能量产生与转化、碳水化合物代谢、蛋白代谢和氨基酸代谢,而最活跃的代谢路径为氧化磷酸化及氨酰-tRNA合成。【结论】淹水状态下CK和NPK处理稻田土壤中的活性微生物组成较为一致,仅Acidobacteria的转录活性在两者间差异较大;在微生物的主要代谢活动方面,CK和NPK处理土壤之间基本一致,均以能量获取与蛋白代谢为主,长期施用无机化肥对复杂土壤微生物群落水平的主要代谢活动影响较小。     

New cave-dwelling armored spiders (Araneae,Tetrablemmidae) from Southwest China

A new genus and five new species belonging to the family Tetrablemmidae are described from caves in Southwest China, i.e., Sinammaoxycera gen. & sp. n., Singaporemma banxiaoensis sp. n., Singaporemma wulongensis sp. n., Tetrablemma ziyaoensis sp. n. andTetrablemma menglaensis sp. n. The following new combination is proposed: Sinamma sanya (Lin & Li, 2010), comb. n. ex. Shearella Lehtinen, 1981. The relationships of the Sinamma gen. n. with other genera are discussed. Diagnoses and illustrations for all new taxa are given.     

Genome-wide identification and analysis of grape aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) gene superfamily

Background

The completion of the grape genome sequencing project has paved the way for novel gene discovery and functional analysis. Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) comprise a gene superfamily encoding NAD(P)⁺-dependent enzymes that catalyze the irreversible oxidation of a wide range of endogenous and exogenous aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. Although ALDHs have been systematically investigated in several plant species including Arabidopsis and rice, our knowledge concerning the ALDH genes, their evolutionary relationship and expression patterns in grape has been limited.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A total of 23 ALDH genes were identified in the grape genome and grouped into ten families according to the unified nomenclature system developed by the ALDH Gene Nomenclature Committee (AGNC). Members within the same grape ALDH families possess nearly identical exon-intron structures. Evolutionary analysis indicates that both segmental and tandem duplication events have contributed significantly to the expansion of grape ALDH genes. Phylogenetic analysis of ALDH protein sequences from seven plant species indicates that grape ALDHs are more closely related to those of Arabidopsis. In addition, synteny analysis between grape and Arabidopsis shows that homologs of a number of grape ALDHs are found in the corresponding syntenic blocks of Arabidopsis, suggesting that these genes arose before the speciation of the grape and Arabidopsis. Microarray gene expression analysis revealed large number of grape ALDH genes responsive to drought or salt stress. Furthermore, we found a number of ALDH genes showed significantly changed expressions in responses to infection with different pathogens and during grape berry development, suggesting novel roles of ALDH genes in plant-pathogen interactions and berry development.

Conclusion

The genome-wide identification, evolutionary and expression analysis of grape ALDH genes should facilitate research in this gene family and provide new insights regarding their evolution history and functional roles in plant stress tolerance.     

Implication of genetic variants near TMEM18, BCDIN3D/FAIM2, and MC4R with coronary artery disease and obesity in Chinese: a angiography-based study

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is multifactorial disease which occurs as a result of the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Obesity is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified several genes associated with obesity in Europeans. We wondered whether these genetic variants were associated with CAD. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs7561317 near TMEM18, rs7138803 near BCDIN3D/FAIM2 and rs12970134 near MC4R were examined in 930 Han Chinese subjects based on coronary angiography, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. There were no significant differences in genotypes and allele distributions of three SNPs between CAD and CAD-free groups. The AA genotype of SNP rs12970134 near MC4R was associated to obesity both in CAD group and CAD-free group in Han Chinese population (P < 0.001, OR = 2.96, 95% CI 2.01–3.73; and P = 0.003, OR = 2.59, 95% CI 1.86–3.19, respectively). Our observations suggest that the polymorphism rs12970134 near MC4R may be associated to the risk of obesity in Han Chinese population.     

A Versatile Agrobacterium-Mediated Transient Gene Expression System for Herbaceous Plants and Trees

Plant transient expression is a powerful method used widely for the functional characterization of genes and protein production. In comparison with stable transformation, it has the advantages of being simple, quick, economical, and effective. In the present study, we developed a novel transient gene expression system based on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. This system is simple and convenient and allows for high transient expression levels. Hyperosmotic pretreatment of plants significantly improved the transient expression in this system. Furthermore, other factors, including acetosyringone concentration, cocultivation time, and Agrobacterium cell density, significantly influenced transient expression efficiency. The results showed that this method is suitable for use with herbaceous plants (such as tobacco and Arabidopsis) and trees (such as birch, poplar, tamarisk, cork, willow, and aralia), suggesting that it may be applied widely in plant transient expression studies.