A Na+/H+ antiporter,K2-NhaD,improves salt and drought tolerance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Plant Molecular Biology - Overexpression of K2-NhaD in transgenic cotton resulted in phenotypes with strong salinity and drought tolerance in greenhouse and field experiments, increased expression...     

Effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid on the inflammatory responses and antioxidative capacity in broiler chickens challenged with lipopolysaccharide

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is an intermediate in haem biosynthesis and has anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and other pharmacological effects. This study aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with 5-ALA on growth performance, antioxidant capacity, and inflammatory response of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged broiler chickens. The experiment was designed as a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with dietary 5-ALA (0 or 60 mg/kg) and LPS (injection of saline or 0.5 mg/kg BW) levels as treatments. A total of 240 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were distributed into four treatments consisting of six replicates of 10 birds. All the experimental broilers were intraperitoneally injected with LPS or sterile saline at 16, 18, and 20 days of age. Our results showed that dietary 5-ALA supplementation reduced (P < 0.05) the feed to gain before broilers were stimulated with LPS (days 1–15). LPS challenge decreased (P < 0.05) the catalase (CAT), total superoxide dismutase activities and increased the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum of broiler chickens. However, 5-ALA supplementation had a tendency to increase (P = 0.08) the activity of CAT and decreased (P < 0.05) the content of MDA. LPS challenge showed higher (P < 0.05) interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 concentrations in the serum, whereas dietary 5-ALA supplementation decreased (P < 0.05) the levels of IL-1β and IL-6. Additionally, dietary 5-ALA supplementation significantly attenuated (P < 0.05) the upregulation of mRNA expression levels of hepatic toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), IL-1β, and IL-2 induced by LPS challenge. Moreover, dietary 5-ALA supplementation also enhanced the mRNA expression of 5-aminolevulinate dehydratase, ferrochelatase, and haem oxygenase-1 (HO-1) as compared to the unsupplemented groups. In conclusion, our results suggested that supplementation of 60 mg/kg 5-ALA exhibited LPS-induced anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties by enhancing the HO-1 expression and inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB signalling pathway.     

Breeding and application of Jiafuzhan, a new elite early indica rice cultivar in China

After 20 years of dedicated research,Jiafuzhan has been successfully developed under the new technologies in breeding high-quality early indica rice cultivars.Its rice quality has almost reached the A-level Editable Rice of Agriculture Department of China,and its average production reaches 400-500 kg/(666.7 m2).This new cultivar also has other characteristics such as enhanced resistance of blast and fallen,steady productivity,and strong adaptability.Jiafuzhan has been put into production of over 11.4×104 hm2 in Fujian Province and has been introduced and extended in other Provinces like Jiangxi,Guangdong,and Guangxi,China.The successes of breeding Jiafuzhan is a solution to the existing perennial problems in the rice industry,such as poor grain quality of big-grain rice and early indica rice,low productivity,and poor blast resistance of elite rice.     

Quorum Sensing System Used as a Tool in Metabolic Engineering

Quorum sensing (QS) is a ubiquitous cell–cell communication mechanism in microbes that coordinates population‐level cell behaviors, such as biofilm production, virulence, swarming motility, and bacterial persistence. Efforts to engineer QS systems to take part in metabolic network regulation represent a promising strategy for synthetic biology and pathway engineering. Recently, design, construction, and implementation of QS circuits for programmed control of bacterial phenotypes and metabolic pathways have gained much attention, but have not been reviewed recently. In this article, the architectural organizations and genetic contributions of the naturally occurring QS components to understand the mechanisms are summarized. Then, the most recent progress in application of QS toolkits to develop synthetic networks for novel cell behaviors creation and metabolic pathway engineering is highlighted. The current challenges in large‐scale application of these QS circuits in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering fields are discussed and future perspectives for further engineering efforts are provided.     

Synergistic effects of anthropogenic disturbances on giant pandas

Livestock grazing and the collection of bamboo shoots are the main threats to giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat in the Liangshan Mountains in China. It is important to clarify the effect of these disturbances to the giant panda to formulate targeted management policies. Based on species distribution models and daily activity models, we investigated the effects of livestock grazing and bamboo shoot collection on giant pandas from May 2021 to July 2022. Our results indicated the giant panda's suitable habitat in the reserve covered 51.83 km² (15.02% of the reserve area). Grazing and bamboo shoot collection led to losses of 19.08 km² and 7.68 km² of suitable habitat, respectively. Together, the 2 activities resulted in a loss of 28.35 km² of suitable habitat, which was more than half of the area of panda habitat. The areas of suitable habitat for giant pandas significantly overlapped with the areas affected by both disturbances. Giant pandas did not show significant differences in daily activity rhythms under a single disturbance, but the daily activity rhythms of giant pandas differed when we compared the area combining the 2 disturbances with the undisturbed area. Our study reveals that the anthropogenic disturbances in the reserve have varying effects on the suitable habitat range and daily activity rhythm of giant pandas and evidence of a synergistic effect. Therefore, when formulating relevant conservation policies, it is important to fully evaluate the extent and characteristics of anthropogenic disturbances in shaping the population distribution and habitat preferences of the giant panda and other wildlife to enhance the efficacy of conservation management practices.     

机械刺激对匍匐茎型植物蛇莓(Duchesnea indica)克隆可塑性的影响（英文）

机械刺激(mechanical stimuli, MS)在自然界的分布较为普遍,然而关于机械刺激对匍匐茎型克隆植物影响的研究相对较少。为此,实验对匍匐茎型克隆植物蛇莓(Duchesneaindica)进行了对照(无机械刺激)、克隆片段顶部刺激、半克隆片段刺激和整克隆片段刺激共四个水平的机械刺激处理,通过研究蛇莓克隆生长的响应,探讨机械刺激对其作用机理。结果表明:与对照相比,机械刺激导致蛇莓产生较多的分株、较多的匍匐茎、短而细的叶柄及较多的根生物量分配。同时,不同作用位点的机械刺激对各生理生长指标的效应差异并不显著。另外,通过对各生长指标表型可塑性指数的分析发现,分株数具有较高的可塑性指数。上述实验结果表明,蛇莓可以较好地适应机械刺激干扰的生境,其分株数可以作为其响应程度的较好的指示指标。     

An Over Expression APP Model for Anti-Alzheimer Disease Drug Screening Created by Zinc Finger Nuclease Technology

Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), famous for their ability to precisely and efficiently modify specific genomic loci, have been employed in numerous transgenic model organism and cell constructions. Here we employ the ZFNs technology, with homologous recombination (HR), to construct sequence-specific Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) knock-in cells. With the use of ZFNs, we established APP knock in cell lines with gene-modification efficiencies of about 7%. We electroporated DNA fragment containing the promoter and the protein coding regions of the zinc finger nucleases into cells, instead of the plasmids, to avoid problems associated with off target homologous recombination, and adopted a pair of mutated FokI cleavage domains to reduce the toxic effects of the ZFNs on cell growth. Since over-expression of APP, or a subdomain of it, might lead to an immediately lethal effect, we used the Cre-LoxP System to regulate APP expression. Our genetically transformed cell lines, w5c1 and s12c8, showed detectable APP and Amyloid β (Aβ) production. The Swedish double mutation in the APP coding sequence enhanced APP and Aβ abundance. What is more, the activity of the three key secretases in Aβ formation could be modulated, indicating that these transgenic cells have potential for drug screening to modify amyloid metabolism in cells. Our transformed cells could readily be propagated in culture and should provide an excellent experimental medium for elucidating aspects of the molecular pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, especially those concerning the amyloidogenic pathways involving mutations in the APP coding sequence. The cellular models may also serve as a tool for deriving potentially useful therapeutic agents.     

Breeding and application of Jiafuzhan, a new elite early indica rice cultivar in China

After 20 years of dedicated research, Jiafuzhan has been successfully developed under the new technologies in breeding high-quality early indica rice cultivars. Its rice quality has almost reached the A-level Editable Rice of Agriculture Department of China, and its average production reaches 400–500 kg/(666.7 m²). This new cultivar also has other characteristics such as enhanced resistance of blast and fallen, steady productivity, and strong adaptability. Jiafuzhan has been put into production of over 11.4 × 10⁴ hm² in Fujian Province and has been introduced and extended in other Provinces like Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi, China. The successes of breeding Jiafuzhan is a solution to the existing perennial problems in the rice industry, such as poor grain quality of big-grain rice and early indica rice, low productivity, and poor blast resistance of elite rice. __________ Translated from Journal of Xiamen University (Natural Science), 2006, 45(1): 114–119 [译自: 厦门大学学报 (自然科学版)]     

Different N-Glycosylation Sites Reduce the Activity of Recombinant DSPAα2

Bat plasminogen activators α2 (DSPAα2) has extremely high medicinal value as a powerful natural thrombolytic protein. However, wild-type DSPAα2 has two N-glycosylation sites (N185 and N398) and its non-human classes of high-mannose-type N-glycans may cause immune responses in vivo. By mutating the N-glycosylation sites, we aimed to study the effect of its N-glycan chain on plasminogen activation, fibrin sensitivity, and to observe the physicochemical properties of DSPAα2. A logical structure design was performed in this study. Four single mutants and one double mutant were constructed and expressed in Pichia pastoris. When the N398 site was eliminated, the plasminogen activator in the mutants had their activities reduced to ~40%. When the N185 site was inactivated, there was a weak decrease in the plasminogen activation of its mutant, while the fibrin sensitivity significantly decreased by ~10-fold. Neither N-glycosylation nor deglycosylation mutations changed the pH resistance or heat resistance of DSPAα2. This study confirms that N-glycosylation affects the biochemical function of DSPAα2, which provides a reference for subsequent applications of DSPAα2.