Chronic Exposure to Diquat Causes Reproductive Toxicity in Female Mice

Diquat is a bipyridyl herbicide that has been widely used as a model chemical for in vivo studies of oxidative stress due to its generation of superoxide anions, and cytotoxic effects. There is little information regarding the toxic effects of diquat on the female reproductive system, particularly ovarian function. Thus, we investigated the reproductive toxic effects of diquat on female mice. Chronic exposure to diquat reduced ovary weights, induced ovarian oxidative stress, resulted in granulosa cell apoptosis, and disrupted oocyte developmental competence, as shown by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, decreased polar body extrusion rates and increased apoptosis-related genes expression. Additionally, after diquat treatment, the numbers of fetal mice and litter sizes were significantly reduced compared to those of control mice. Thus, our results indicated that chronic exposure to diquat induced reproductive toxicity in female mice by promoting the ROS production of gruanousa cells and ooctyes, impairing follicle development, inducing apoptosis, and reducing oocyte quality. In conclusion, our findings indicate that diquat can be used as a potent and efficient chemical for in vivo studies of female reproductive toxicity induced by oxidative stress. Moreover, the findings from this study will further enlarge imitative research investigating the effect of ovarian damage induced by oxidative stress on reproductive performance and possible mechanisms of action in large domestic animals.     

LINC01128 regulates the development of osteosarcoma by sponging miR‐299‐3p to mediate MMP2 expression and activating Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway

Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most common metastatic bone cancers, which results in significant morbidity and mortality. The important role of long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the biological processes of OS has been demonstrated through several studies. In the current study, we evaluated the role of the lncRNA, LINC01128, in OS. We analysed the expression of LINC01128 in three OS gene expression omnibus (GEO) data sets {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE21257","term_id":"21257"}}GSE21257, {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE36001","term_id":"36001"}}GSE36001 and {"type":"entrez-geo","attrs":{"text":"GSE42352","term_id":"42352"}}GSE42352. The expression of LINC01128 in OS tissues and matched non‐tumour tissues obtained from 50 OS patients was detected using qRT‐PCR. The association between LINC01128 expression and overall survival of OS patients was evaluated using the Kaplan‐Meier method. The effects of LINC01128 knockdown and overexpression were evaluated through in vitro and in vivo assays. The LINC01128/miR‐299‐3p/ MMP2 axis was verified using dual‐luciferase reporter assay and qRT‐PCR assays. GEO data sets analysis revealed that the expression of LINC01128 was increased in OS. Elevated LINC01128 expression was accompanied by shorter overall survival in OS patients. Functional studies revealed that LINC01128 knockdown reduced the proliferation, migration and invasion of OS cells both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, LINC01128 sponged miR‐299‐3p to increase MMP2 expression. Rescue assays determined the role of the LINC01128/miR‐299‐3p/MMP2 axis in the proliferation, migration and invasion of OS cells. Additionally, the Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway was activated by LINC01128 and MMP2 in OS cell lines. In summary, this study demonstrates that LINC01128 facilitates OS by functioning as a sponge of miR‐299‐3p, thus promoting MMP2 expression and activating the Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway.     

Multiple species of wild tree peonies gave rise to the ‘king of flowers’, Paeonia suffruticosa Andrews

The origin of cultivated tree peonies, known as the ‘king of flowers'' in China for more than 1000 years, has attracted considerable interest, but remained unsolved. Here, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of explicitly sampled traditional cultivars of tree peonies and all wild species from the shrubby section Moutan of the genus Paeonia based on sequences of 14 fast-evolved chloroplast regions and 25 presumably single-copy nuclear markers identified from RNA-seq data. The phylogeny of the wild species inferred from the nuclear markers was fully resolved and largely congruent with morphology and classification. The incongruence between the nuclear and chloroplast trees suggested that there had been gene flow between the wild species. The comparison of nuclear and chloroplast phylogenies including cultivars showed that the cultivated tree peonies originated from homoploid hybridization among five wild species. Since the origin, thousands of cultivated varieties have spread worldwide, whereas four parental species are currently endangered or on the verge of extinction. The documentation of extensive homoploid hybridization involved in tree peony domestication provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying the origins of garden ornamentals and the way of preserving natural genetic resources through domestication.     

Aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in wetlands of Northeastern China

Hydrobiologia - Lake Malaŵi cichlids have evolved rapidly, extensively, and in some cases iteratively to fill an array of ecological niches; however, neither species richness nor trophic...     

Designing Commensurate and Incommensurate Resonances for Enhanced Dipole Emission in Coupled Plasmonic Nanorods

Plasmonic nanorods and their clusters are the fundamental units in plasmonic nanoantenna engineering. A theory that can predict the resonance of single nanorod already exists but is in lack for a heterodimer. Here, we propose a model combining the effective circuit theory for the response of spherical nanoparticles together with standard transmission line theory for hemispherically capped nanorod antennas. The resonances of multiple orders are predictable by defining the reflection phase at the terminals of such antennas, in both symmetric and asymmetric coupled nanorods. The theoretical results compare favorably with full-wave finite element numerical calculations. By the analytical formula, it is easy to control the length of the antennas for regulating the cooperative resonant properties and consequently the radiation characteristics of a nearby electric dipole. Consequently, we obtain both commensurate and incommensurate resonance features in such nanorod-based heterodimer antennas, showing respectively cumulative and selective responses from the individual nanorods.     

iTRAQ‐Based Proteomics Reveals that the Tomato ms1035 Gene Causes Male Sterility through Compromising Fat Acid Metabolism

So far, over 50 spontaneous male sterile mutants of tomato have been described and most of them are categorized as genetic male sterility. To date, the mechanism of tomato genetic male sterility remained unclear. In this study, differential proteomic analysis is performed between genetic male sterile line (2‐517), which carries the male sterility (ms10³⁵) gene, and its wild‐type (VF‐11) using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification‐based strategy. A total of 8272 proteins are quantified in the 2–517 and VF‐11 lines at the floral bud and florescence stages. These proteins are involved in different cellular and metabolic processes, which express obvious functional tendencies toward the hydroxylation of the ω‐carbon in fatty acids, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the glycolytic, and pentose phosphate pathways. Based on the results, a protein network explaining the mechanisms of tomato genetic male sterility is proposed, finding the compromising fat acid metabolism may cause the male sterility. These results are confirmed by parallel reaction monitoring, quantitative Real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR), and physiological assays. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the metabolic pathway of anther abortion induced by ms10³⁵ and offer useful clues to identify the crucial proteins involved in genetic male sterility in tomato.     

基于染色体置换系的普通野生稻耐盐性QTL定位

本研究分别利用SSR标记、InDel标记以及简化基因组测序技术对一套以普通野生稻为供体亲本,9311为受体亲本的染色体置换系进行基因型鉴定,并通过对其不同生育期的耐盐性鉴定,共发掘2个与发芽期耐盐相关的QTL,13个与苗期耐盐性相关的QTL。其中与苗期存活率相关的QTL qSSR5.1、苗期耐盐等级相关的QTL qSSG5.1均被定位于同一位点,该位点对苗期存活率、苗期耐盐等级均具有增效作用,贡献率分别为6.36%、8.13%。在此QTL内包含与非生物胁迫相关基因OsDi19-1。经序列比对发现,OsDi19-1启动子区域在两亲本间存在较大差异,且受到盐胁迫时该基因表达量上升。同时,鉴定出水稻芽期耐盐的优异种质资源CSSL72、苗期耐盐的优异种质资源CSSL23、CSSL153,为水稻育种中耐盐性的改良提供了新的种质资源。     

长裙竹荪抑菌活性物质的分离纯化及其抑菌效果

长裙竹荪Dictyophora indusiata是珍贵的食药用真菌,具有很强的抑菌作用,在天然防腐剂开发方面具有广阔的应用前景。本研究以长裙竹荪的抑菌活性为指标,通过萃取、3次不同流动相的硅胶柱层析、1次反相柱层析和薄层层析法对竹荪提取物进行分离纯化,得到一个抗菌活性强的单体化合物。根据核磁共振波谱等数据分析,推断该化合物为间苯三酚。以巨大芽孢杆菌和肠炎沙门氏菌为供试菌,用平板打孔法及原位抑菌法测定该化合物的抑菌效果,结果表明：该化合物对这两种菌有很强的抑制作用,半抑制浓度分别为83.06μg/mL和51.58μg/mL。本研究首次从长裙竹荪中获得具有抗菌活性的单体化合物间苯三酚,为竹荪天然抗菌物质的开发提供理论依据。     

荷叶离褶伞子实体化学成分

本文对祁连山野生荷叶离褶伞Lyophyllum decastes子实体的化学成分和生物活性进行研究。采用硅胶色谱、高效液相色谱等多种方法进行分离纯化得到8个化合物,通过MS、NMR和电子圆二色谱 （ECD）等方法确定了化学结构,其中有4个为聚炔类化合物。化合物1作为天然产物系首次报道,其相绝对构型是通过比较ECD的方法确定。对所得聚炔类化合物应用细胞模型进行抗氧化活性（CAA）指标检测,化合物1-4均呈现一定抗氧化活性,其中化合物1的抗氧化活性最强,其EC₅₀为(24.73±6.12)μmol/L。聚炔类化合物1-4为荷叶离褶伞首次报道成分,可作为祁连山野生荷叶离褶伞HPLC-DAD化学表征参考化合物。