Cross-trait prediction accuracy of summary statistics in genome-wide association studies

In the era of big data, univariate models have widely been used as a workhorse tool for quickly producing marginal estimators; and this is true even when in a high-dimensional dense setting, in which many features are “true,” but weak signals. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) epitomize this type of setting. Although the GWAS marginal estimator is popular, it has long been criticized for ignoring the correlation structure of genetic variants (i.e., the linkage disequilibrium [LD] pattern). In this paper, we study the effects of LD pattern on the GWAS marginal estimator and investigate whether or not additionally accounting for the LD can improve the prediction accuracy of complex traits. We consider a general high-dimensional dense setting for GWAS and study a class of ridge-type estimators, including the popular marginal estimator and the best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) estimator as two special cases. We show that the performance of GWAS marginal estimator depends on the LD pattern through the first three moments of its eigenvalue distribution. Furthermore, we uncover that the relative performance of GWAS marginal and BLUP estimators highly depends on the ratio of GWAS sample size over the number of genetic variants. Particularly, our finding reveals that the marginal estimator can easily become near-optimal within this class when the sample size is relatively small, even though it ignores the LD pattern. On the other hand, BLUP estimator has substantially better performance than the marginal estimator as the sample size increases toward the number of genetic variants, which is typically in millions. Therefore, adjusting for the LD (such as in the BLUP) is most needed when GWAS sample size is large. We illustrate the importance of our results by using the simulated data and real GWAS.     

Surface imprinted bio-nanocomposites for affinity separation of a cellular DNA repair protein

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) is a multifunctional DNA repair protein localized in different subcellular compartments. The mechanisms responsible for the highly regulated subcellular localization and “interactomes” of this protein are not fully understood but have been closely correlated to the posttranslational modifications in different biological context. In this work, we attempted to develop a bio-nanocomposite with antibody-like properties that could capture APE1 from cellular matrices to enable the comprehensive study of this protein. By fixing the template APE1 on the avidin-modified surface of silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles, we first added 3-aminophenylboronic acid to react with the glycosyl residues of avidin, followed by addition of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid as the second functional monomer to perform the first step imprinting reaction. To further enhance the affinity and selectivity of the binding sites, we carried out the second step imprinting reaction with dopamine as the functional monomer. After the polymerization, we modified the nonimprinted sites with methoxypoly (ethylene glycol) amine (mPEG-NH₂). The resulting molecularly imprinted polymer-based bio-nanocomposite showed high affinity, specificity, and capacity for template APE1. It allowed for the extraction of APE1 from the cell lysates with high recovery and purity. Moreover, the bound protein could be effectively released from the bio-nanocomposite with high activity. The bio-nanocomposite offers a very useful tool for the separation of APE1 from various complex biological samples.     

A meta-analysis on morphological,physiological and biochemical responses of plants with PGPR inoculation under drought stress

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can help plants to resist drought stress. However, the mechanisms of how PGPR inoculation affect plant status under drought remain incompletely understood. We performed a meta-analysis of plant response to PGPR inoculation by compiling data from 57 PGPR-inoculation studies, including 2, 387 paired observations on morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters under drought and well-watered conditions. We compare the PGPR effect on plants performances among different groups of controls and treatments. Our results reveal that PGPR enables plants to restore themselves from drought-stressed to near a well-watered state, and that C4 plants recover better from drought stress than C3 plants. Furthermore, PGPR is more effective underdrought than well-watered conditions in increasing plant biomass, enhancing photosynthesis and inhibiting oxidant damage, and the responses of C4 plants to the PGPR effect was stronger than that of C3 plants under drought conditions. Additionally, PGPR belonging to different taxa and PGPR with different functional traits have varying degrees of drought-resistance effects on plants. These results are important to improve our understanding of the PGPR beneficial effects on enhanced drought-resistance of plants.     

Effects of ROS and caspase-3-like protein on the growth and aerenchyma formation of Potamogeton perfoliatus stem

Protoplasma - Aerenchyma formation plays an important role in the survival of Potamogeton perfoliatus in submerged environment. To understand the regulatory role of reactive oxygen species (ROS)...     

<i>VvAGAMOUS</i> Affect Development of Four Different Grape Species Ovary

Grape pistil has an important influence on fruit size and quality. However, there were few studies on grape ovary, and the development process of the ovary is still unclear. Therefore, in this paper, four different grape varieties with different lengths of small inflorescences, namely ‘Musct Hambourg’ grape (Vitis vinifera), ‘Concord’ grape (Vitis labrusca), ‘ShanPuTao’ grape (Vitis amurensis) and ‘GongNiang2Hao’ grape (Vitis amurensis × Vitis vinifera) were used as test materials. Four varieties ovary were significant differences by means of stereomicroscope, paraffin section. The expression of ovary determining gene VvAGAMOUS (VvAG) and its development related genes VvCRABS CLAW (VvCRC) andVvAGAMOUS-LIKE 11 (VvAGL11) with similar functions during the development of different grape varieties were preliminarily explored using fluorescence quantitative test. The relationship between VvAG and VvCRC, VvAG and VvAGL11 were analyzed using Y1H assay. Our results showed that there were obvious abdominal sutures on the surface of expect for ‘Musct Hambourg’ grape, and existing poly carpels. The ovary development of ‘ShanPuTao’ and ‘GongNiang2Hao’ grape was completed when the inflorescence length was less than 1 cm, while the ‘Concord’ and ‘Musct Hambourg’ grape were fully developed when the length of inflorescence was 3–4 and 4–5 cm, respectively. VvAG and VvCRC began to express in large quantities after the formation of stamen primordia, while VvAGL11 during the forming of ovule primordia. Therefore, VvAG and VvCRC mainly regulated the development of stamens and carpels and also promote the development of ovules, while VvAGL11 major regulated the development of ovules. The promoters of VvCRC and VvAGL11 were bound by VvAG. This study provides an important theoretical basis for further research on the molecular mechanism of grape ovary development.     

二氢杨梅素对抗生素应激小鼠血清抗氧化性和肠道微生物多样性的影响

【背景】二氢杨梅素(dihydromyricetin, DMY)是一类存在于藤茶中的主要黄酮类化合物,具有抗氧化、抗炎等功能,其药用价值受到广泛关注,但其在生物体内的生物活性及肠道中的分解代谢机制尚不清楚。【目的】探究二氢杨梅素对抗生素应激下小鼠的血清抗氧化性和肠道微生物多样性的影响。【方法】将小鼠分为对照组、抗生素组、抗生素+二氢杨梅素组,检测各组小鼠血清中的抗氧化指标,利用高通量测序分析组间肠道微生物多样性的差异,通过实时荧光定量PCR(real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, RT-qPCR)验证特定菌群组间的相对丰度差异。【结果】二氢杨梅素显著提高了抗生素应激小鼠血清中过氧化氢酶(catalase, CAT)、超氧化物歧化酶(superoxide dismutase, SOD)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(glutataione peroxidase, GSH-PX)活性(P<0.05),显著降低丙二醛(malondialdehyde,MDA)含量(P<0.05),催化一氧化氮(nitric...     

大球盖菇的生物学基础、活性成分及其应用

大球盖菇是联合国粮农组织向发展中国家推荐栽培的食用菌之一,对农作物秸秆及林木枝条、落叶等有较强的降解能力。通过人工种植可培养营养丰富、美味可口的大球盖菇子实体产品,其菌渣还能够改善土壤环境,在生态农林产业及循环经济等方面具有重要作用。本文从大球盖菇的生物学基础、子实体营养、生物活性成分及其在农林生态和环境修复应用等角度进行综述,为大球盖菇的进一步开发利用及其相关产业发展提供参考。     

Interactive Effects of Iron and Photoperiods on Tomato Plant Growth and Fruit Quality

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - Photoperiod and micronutrient iron (Fe) are critical for plant growth and development. However, the interactive effects of Fe nutrition and photoperiod on...     

Comprehensive Evaluation and Screening for 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene Tolerance in Rice Cultivars at Different Growth Stages

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (1,2,4-TCB) pollution in fields has become a potential threat to rice growth, yet little is known about the different response of many...     

暗纹东方鲀耐寒相关基因CIRBP、HMGB1和AFP-Ⅳ的分子特征和对低温胁迫的响应

为了探索暗纹东方鲀(Takifugu obscurus)对低温环境的响应机制,克隆了暗纹东方鲀耐寒相关基因CIRBP、HMGB1和AFP-Ⅳ的cDNA序列,并进行了基因的分子特征和功能分析。组织分布检测显示CIRBP和HMGB1在下丘脑、肝脏和肌肉中具有高表达,而AFP-Ⅳ则主要在肝脏中表达。在受到低温胁迫后, 3种基因在肝脏和下丘脑中的表达呈现不同的变化趋势,其中CIRBP基因在肝脏中于48h表达量显著增加,在下丘脑中于12h和48h有上调表达; HMGB1基因在肝脏中呈现逐渐上升的趋势,于48h达到最大值,而在下丘脑中呈现先上升后下降的趋势,处理后2h达到最大, 2—8h下降,于8h下降至最低,随后恢复至初始水平;肝脏中的AFP-Ⅳ在0—24h无显著变化,在48h上升至最大值。进一步通过大肠杆菌原核表达系统研究了AFP-Ⅳ的抗冻功能,发现AFP-Ⅳ融合蛋白在–80℃下具有抗冻活性,并且抗冻活性随着浓度的增加而提高。研究结果表明3种基因都参与了暗纹东方鲀对低温胁迫的应答过程,为深入探索暗纹东方鲀的耐低温机制奠定了基础。