MicroTom has a short growth cycle and high transformation efficiency, and is a prospective model plant for studying organ development, metabolism, and plant-microbe interactions. Here, with a newly assembled reference genome for this tomato cultivar and abundant RNA-seq data derived from tissues of different organs/developmental stages/treatments, we constructed multiple gene co-expression networks, which will provide valuable clues for the identification of important genes involved in diverse regulatory pathways during plant growth, e.g. arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and fruit development. Additionally, non-coding RNAs, including miRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs were also identified, together with their potential targets. Interacting networks between different types of non-coding RNAs (miRNA-lncRNA), and non-coding RNAs and genes (miRNA-mRNA and lncRNA-mRNA) were constructed as well. Our results and data will provide valuable information for the study of organ differentiation and development of this important fruit. Lastly, we established a database (http://eplant.njau.edu.cn/microTomBase/) with genomic and transcriptomic data, as well as details of gene co-expression and interacting networks on MicroTom, and this database should be of great value to those who want to adopt MicroTom as a model plant for research.
Condensed tannins (CT) possess antioxidant and immunostimulatory activities and thereby are regarded as a promising alternative to in-feed antibiotics. Although the effect of CT on growth of fish has been evaluated, little information is available about the effect of CT on the oxidative stress resistance of Lateolabrax japonicus. This study was conducted to assess the effects of CT on growth, nutrient digestibility, antioxidant and immune capacity and copper sulphate stress resistance of L. japonicus. A total of 960 juvenile L. japonicus (5.5 ± 0.11 g body weight) were randomly allocated into six groups with four replicates each (40 fish per replicate) and fed six diets containing 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 g/kg of grape seed CT respectively for 56 d. Fish were fed to apparent satiation twice daily during the entire experimental period and feces were collected daily for the last 14 d of feeding trial to determine nutrients digestibility using yttrium oxide as an indigestible marker. Fish were suffered with a 3-h acute copper sulphate stress test at the end of feeding trial. Blood and liver samples were collected to analyze antioxidant enzymes and non-specific immune indices, histomorphology and antioxidant-related genes expression. Dietary CT did not affect growth, body composition, liver histological appearance of fish but linearly decreased (P < 0.05) the intraperitoneal fat ratio, serum total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and tumor necrosis factor α as dietary CT increasing from 0 to 1 g/kg. Dry matter digestibility was linearly and quadratically decreased (P < 0.001), whereas digestibilities of organic matter, crude protein, crude lipid and ash were similar (P> 0.05) among treatments. Total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) and catalase (CAT) in serum as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione S-transferase in the liver were linearly increased (P < 0.01), and serum SOD and liver TAOC were linearly and quadratically increased (P < 0.05), whereas liver interleukin 6 was linearly decreased (P < 0.001) with the increased dietary CT concentrations. Expressions of SOD and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) mRNA were up-regulated (P < 0.05) as dietary CT increasing, whereas expression of CAT and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) mRNA were not affected by the treatments. Fish fed diets containing 0.8–1.0 g/kg of CT had lower (P < 0.05) cumulative mortality rate than those fed other diets as observed in the acute copper sulphate stress test. Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in serum and TAOC and CAT in the liver were linearly increased (P < 0.05), liver CAT and Nrf2 mRNA were up-regulated (P < 0.05), whereas HSP70 mRNA was down-regulated (P < 0.05) with increased dietary CT concentrations. Dietary grape seed CT up to 1 g/kg did not affect growth and nutrient digestibility, but enhanced antioxidant and immune capacity as well as copper sulphate stress resistance of juvenile L. japonicus probably by activating Nrf2 signaling pathway. Condensed tannins are beneficial for the lipid metabolism of L. japonicus owing to decreased intraperitoneal fat ratio and blood lipid.
As the most widely consumed beverage in the world, tea has various nutritional, economic, and global cultural values. With the development of the third-generation sequencing technology, several genome sequences of tea plants have been published. These genomic data have pivotal information that is of benefit to tea plant breeders and biologists in advancing tea plant improvement and the final quality of tea products. We hereby present the integrative online database, Tea Plant Genome Database (TeaPGDB; http://eplant.njau.edu.cn/tea), which incorporates the published genome sequences of tea plants. The current release of TeaPGDB hosts published tea plant genome data with various online tools, including JBrowse, gene search, SSR search, BLAST. TeaPGDB also contains a download server, which provides access for the download of genome-related data and rich annotation files. TeaPGDB is committed to collecting, integrating, and annotating published tea plant genome data, providing data support for research on tea plant heredity, evolution, breeding for resistance, plant improvement, and facilitating the characterization of important traits or flavor related genes in the community. Compared with other tea plant databases, this database not only contains more complete genome data and gene annotation information, but also has a user-friendly interface for researchers in the field.
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of male cancer deaths in the UK and the fifth worldwide. The presence of distant PCa metastasis can reduce the 5-year survival rate from 100% to approximately 30%. Enolase 2 (ENO2), a crucial glycolytic enzyme in cancer metabolism, is associated with the metastasis of multiple cancers and is also used as a marker for neuroendocrine tumours. However, its role in PCa metastasis remains unclear. In this study, we systematically reviewed the current literature to determine the association between ENO2 and metastatic PCa. Medline, Web of Science, and PubMed were searched for eligible studies. The search yielded five studies assessing ENO2 expression in PCa patients or cell lines. The three human studies suggested that ENO2 expression is correlated with late-stage, aggressive PCa, including castrate-resistant PCa (CRPC), metastatic CRPC, and neuroendocrine PCa (NEPC). This was further supported by two in vitro studies indicating that ENO2 expression can be regulated by the tumour microenvironment, such as androgen deprived conditions and the presence of bone-forming osteoblasts. Therefore, ENO2 may functionally contribute to PCa metastasis, possibly due to the unique metabolic features of PCa, which are glycolysis dependent only at the advanced metastatic stage.
Microwave intermittent drying was carried out on newly harvested corn kernels to study the effects of different microwave intermittent powers (900 W, 1800 W, 2700 W, and 3600 W) on the structural and functional properties of zein in corn kernels. The results showed that microwave drying could increase the thermal stability of zein in corn kernels. The solubility, emulsification activity index, and surface hydrophobicity increased under 1800 W drying power, which was due to the unfolding of the molecular structure caused by the increase in the content of irregular structure and the decrease in the value of particle size. At a drying power of 2700 W, there was a significant increase in grain size values and β-sheet structure. This proves that at this time, the corn proteins in the kernels were subjected to the thermal effect generated by the higher microwave power, which simultaneously caused cross-linking and aggregation within the proteins to form molecular aggregates. The solubility, surface hydrophobicity, and other functional properties were reduced, while the emulsification stability was enhanced by the aggregates. The results of the study can provide a reference for the in-depth study of intermittent corn microwave drying on a wide range of applications of zein in corn kernels.
Primary pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a malignant neoplasm of the pulmonary vascular system originating from the intima, with clinical and imaging manifestations similar to those of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE), and is often misdiagnosed. Spectral CT and PET/CT can clearly show the extent and metastasis of PAS and are valuable in visualizing adjacent structures such as lungs, bronchi, and mediastinum, providing a strong imaging basis for the diagnosis and differentiation of PAS, allowing treatment monitoring and follow-up.
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