Long-distance entanglement distribution is essential for both foundational tests of quantum physics and scalable quantum networks. Owing to channel loss, however, the previously achieved distance was ...limited to ~100 kilometers. Here we demonstrate satellite-based distribution of entangled photon pairs to two locations separated by 1203 kilometers on Earth, through two satellite-to-ground downlinks with a summed length varying from 1600 to 2400 kilometers. We observed a survival of two-photon entanglement and a violation of Bell inequality by 2.37 ± 0.09 under strict Einstein locality conditions. The obtained effective link efficiency is orders of magnitude higher than that of the direct bidirectional transmission of the two photons through telecommunication fibers.
A large number of insect chemosensory genes from different gene subfamilies have been identified and annotated, but their functional diversity and complexity are largely unknown. A systemic ...examination of expression patterns in chemosensory organs could provide important information.
We identified 92 putative chemosensory genes by analysing the transcriptome of the antennae and female sex pheromone gland of the purple stem borer Sesamia inferens, among them 87 are novel in this species, including 24 transcripts encoding for odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 24 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs), 2 for sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), 39 for odorant receptors (ORs) and 3 for ionotropic receptors (IRs). The transcriptome analyses were validated and quantified with a detailed global expression profiling by Reverse Transcription-PCR for all 92 transcripts and by Quantitative Real Time RT-PCR for selected 16 ones. Among the chemosensory gene subfamilies, CSP transcripts are most widely and evenly expressed in different tissues and stages, OBP transcripts showed a clear antenna bias and most of OR transcripts are only detected in adult antennae. Our results also revealed that some OR transcripts, such as the transcripts of SNMP2 and 2 IRs were expressed in non-chemosensory tissues, and some CSP transcripts were antenna-biased expression. Furthermore, no chemosensory transcript is specific to female sex pheromone gland and very few are found in the heads.
Our study revealed that there are a large number of chemosensory genes expressed in S. inferens, and some of them displayed unusual expression profile in non-chemosensory tissues. The identification of a large set of putative chemosensory genes of each subfamily from a single insect species, together with their different expression profiles provide further information in understanding the functions of these chemosensory genes in S. inferens as well as other insects.
The present study was designed to evaluate the dynamic survival and recurrence of remnant gastric cancer (RGC) after radical resection and to provide a reference for the development of personalized ...follow‐up strategies. A total of 298 patients were analyzed for their 3‐year conditional overall survival (COS3), 3‐year conditional disease‐specific survival (CDSS3), corresponding recurrence and pattern changes, and associated risk factors. The 5‐year overall survival (OS) and the 5‐year disease‐specific survival (DSS) of the entire cohort were 41.2% and 45.8%, respectively. The COS3 and CDDS3 of RGC patients who survived for 5 years were 84.0% and 89.8%, respectively. The conditional survival in patients with unfavorable prognostic characteristics showed greater growth over time than in those with favorable prognostic characteristics (eg, COS3, ≥T3: 46.4%‐83.0%, Δ36.6% vs ≤T2: 82.4%‐85.7%, Δ3.3%; P < 0.001). Most recurrences (93.5%) occurred in the first 3 years after surgery. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage was the only factor that affected recurrence. Time‐dependent Cox regression showed that for both OS and DSS, after 4 years of survival, the common prognostic factors that were initially judged lost their ability to predict survival (P > 0.05). Time‐dependent logistic regression analysis showed that the AJCC stage independently affected recurrence within 2 years after surgery (P < 0.05). A postoperative follow‐up model was developed for RGC patients. In conclusion, patients with RGC usually have a high likelihood of death or recurrence within 3 years after radical surgery. We developed a postoperative follow‐up model for RGC patients of different stages, which may affect the design of future clinical trials.
Patients with RGC usually have a high likelihood of death or recurrence within 3 years after radical surgery. We developed a postoperative follow‐up model for RGC patients of different stages.
Functional gene analysis by using genome editing techniques is limited only in few model insects. Here, we reported an efficient and heritable gene mutagenesis analysis in an important lepidopteran ...pest, Spodoptera litura, using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. By using this system, we successfully obtained the homozygous S. litura strain by targeting the pheromone binding protein 3 gene (SlitPBP3), which allowed us to elucidate the role of this gene in the olfaction of the female sex pheromones. By co-injection of Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA into S. litura eggs, highly efficient chimera mutation in SlitPBP3 loci was detected both in injected eggs (39.1%) and in the resulting individual moths (87.5%). We used the mutant moths as parents to obtain the G1 offspring and the homozygous mutant strain in G2. The function of SlitPBP3 was explored by Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings with a homozygous mutant strain. The result showed that the EAG responses were significantly decreased in mutant males than in control males when treated with the major sex pheromone component (Z9,E11-14:Ac) and a minor component (Z9-14:Ac) at higher dosages. The results demonstrate that s SlitPBP3 gene plays a minor role in the perception of the female sex pheromones. Furthermore, our study provides a useful methodology with the CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene in vivo functional study, particular for lepidopteran species in which the RNAi approach is not efficient.
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•The Spodoptera litura pheromone binding protein 3 (SlitPBP3) gene was successfully knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9 system.•SlitPBP3 played a minor role in the sex pheromone perception determined by SlitPBP3-/-.•Our study provided an in vivo methodology for function analysis of olfaction related genes.
This study conducted a 42-day feeding trial and a subsequent 14-day challenge test to Vibrio parahaemolyticus to determine the effects of Clostridium butyricum CBG01 on the growth, immune responses, ...intestinal histology and disease resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei (initial weight 1.60 ± 0.02 g). Shrimp were fed with seven experimental diets containing different doses of C. butyricum with 0, 1 × 107, 1 × 108, 1 × 109, 1 × 1010, 1 × 1011 and 1 × 1012 cfu/kg (the control, LA, LB, LC, LD, LE and LF, respectively). The result indicated that specific growth rate and weight gain of shrimp in LE and LF group were significantly improved while feed conversion ratio for all treatments were significantly reduced as compared to the control (P < .05). The intestinal villus height of shrimp in all treatments was significantly higher than the control (P < .05), and the intestinal wall thickness in treatments except LE were higher than the control (P < .05). The activities of alkaline phosphatase (AKP), acid phosphatase (ACP), lysozyme (LZM) and total nitric oxide synthase (TNOS) in the serum of shrimp for LE and LF group were all significantly enhanced (P < .05). However, no significant difference in the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was found among the control, LA, LB, LC, LD and LF. The respiratory burst activity of hemolymph for the shrimp in LB, LC, LE and LF significantly higher than the control (P < .05). The expression level of Toll, Imd and Relish gene in lymphoid organ of shrimp in LC, LD, LE and LF were higher significantly those in the control (P < .05). After injection of inactivated V. parahaemolyticus, Relish gene expression level in LE and LF was significantly up-regulated at 1 and 2 h (P < .05). In the challenge test to V. parahaemolyticus, the cumulative mortality of shrimp in LD, LE and LF were significantly lower than the control (P < .05). These results suggested that 1011 and 1012 cfu/kg C. butyricum supplemented into feed could significantly improve the growth performance, immunity capacity and resistance against V. parahaemolyticus of L. vannamei, also have a positive effect on the intestinal morphological structure.
•Suitable adding dose of C. butyricum in feed improved the specific growth rate and reduced the feed conversion ratio significantly.•Enhancement in the serum and hemolymph immunity of L. vanamei by probiotic C. butyricum was dose dependent.•Dietary C. butyricum at dose of 109 -1012 cfu/kg increased the expression level of Toll, Imd and Relish genes in the lymphoid organ of L. vannamei.•Dietary supplemented C. butyricum significantly improved the resistance against Vibrio parahaemolyticus of L. vannamei.
The red turpentine beetle (RTB), Dendroctonus valens LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), is a destructive invasive pest of conifers which has become the second most important forest pest ...nationwide in China. Dendroctonus valens is known to use host odors and aggregation pheromones, as well as non-host volatiles, in host location and mass-attack modulation, and thus antennal olfaction is of the utmost importance for the beetles' survival and fitness. However, information on the genes underlying olfaction has been lacking in D. valens. Here, we report the antennal transcriptome of D. valens from next-generation sequencing, with the goal of identifying the olfaction gene repertoire that is involved in D. valens odor-processing.
We obtained 51 million reads that were assembled into 61,889 genes, including 39,831 contigs and 22,058 unigenes. In total, we identified 68 novel putative odorant reception genes, including 21 transcripts encoding for putative odorant binding proteins (OBP), six chemosensory proteins (CSP), four sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMP), 22 odorant receptors (OR), four gustatory receptors (GR), three ionotropic receptors (IR), and eight ionotropic glutamate receptors. We also identified 155 odorant/xenobiotic degradation enzymes from the antennal transcriptome, putatively identified to be involved in olfaction processes including cytochrome P450s, glutathione-S-transferases, and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Predicted protein sequences were compared with counterparts in Tribolium castaneum, Megacyllene caryae, Ips typographus, Dendroctonus ponderosae, and Agrilus planipennis.
The antennal transcriptome described here represents the first study of the repertoire of odor processing genes in D. valens. The genes reported here provide a significant addition to the pool of identified olfactory genes in Coleoptera, which might represent novel targets for insect management. The results from our study also will assist with evolutionary analyses of coleopteran olfaction.
Glucosinolates (GSs) are sulfur-containing secondary metabolites characteristic of cruciferous plants 1, 2. Their breakdown products, isothiocyanates (ITCs), are released following tissue disruption ...by insect feeding or other mechanical damages 3, 4. ITCs repel and are toxic to generalist herbivores, while specialist herbivores utilize the volatile ITCs as key signals for localizing host plants 5, 6. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying detection of ITCs remain open. Here, we report that in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, a crucifer specialist, ITCs indeed drive the host preference for Arabidopsis thaliana, and the two olfactory receptors Or35 and Or49 are essential for this behavior. By performing gene expression analyses, we identified 12 (out of 59 in total) female-biased Ors, suggesting their possible involvement in oviposition choice. By ectopically expressing these Ors in Xenopus oocytes and screening their responses with 49 odors (including 13 ITCs, 25 general plant volatiles, and 11 sex pheromone components), we found that Or35 and Or49 responded specifically to three ITCs (iberverin, 4-pentenyl ITC, and phenylethyl ITC). The same ITCs also exhibited highest activity in electroantennogram recordings with female antennae and were the strongest oviposition stimulants. Knocking out either Or35 or Or49 via CRISPR-Cas9 resulted in a reduced oviposition preference for the ITCs, while double Or knockout females lost their ITC preference completely and were unable to choose between wild-type A. thaliana and a conspecific ITC knockout plant. We hence conclude that the ITC-based oviposition preference of the diamondback moth for its host A. thaliana is governed by the cooperation of two highly specific olfactory receptors.
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•Isothiocyanates stimulate the oviposition of female Plutella xylostella•Female-enhanced receptors Or35 and Or49 respond to isothiocyanates•Or35 and Or49 together are necessary and sufficient for detecting isothiocyanates
Liu et al. provide evidence that Or35 and Or49 together are necessary and sufficient for detecting isothiocyanates and host plant in female Plutella xylostella. The results, for the first time, identify the molecular basis of host selection in a cruciferous specialist.
Pheromone binding proteins (PBPs) are thought to play crucial roles in perception of the sex pheromones particularly in noctuid moths, but this is rarely in vivo evidenced due to lacking an effective ...technique. Here, we reported an in vivo functional study of PBP1 in the important lepidopteran pest Helicoverpa armigera (HarmPBP1), by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Efficient and heritable mutagenesis was achieved by egg injection of mixture of Cas9-mRNA and HarmPBP1-sgRNA. The TA cloning and sequencing revealed various insertion and/or deletion (indel) mutations at the target site. Among those, one mutation resulted in a premature stop codon at the target site, which led to a highly truncated protein with only 10 amino acids. The HarmPBP1 with this mutation would completely loss its function, and thus was used to select the homozygous mutant insects for functional analysis. The electroantennogram recording showed that the mutant male adults displayed severely impaired responses to all three sex pheromone components (Z11-16:Ald, Z9-16:Ald and Z9-14:Ald). Our study provides the first in vivo evidence that HarmPBP1 plays important role in perception of female sex pheromones, and also an effective methodology for using CRISPR/Cas9 system in functional genetic study in H. armigera as well as other insects.
Odorant binding proteins (OBPs) play important roles in insect olfaction. The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Delphacidae, Auchenorrhyncha, Hemiptera) is one of the most important ...rice pests. Its monophagy (only feeding on rice), wing form (long and short wing) variation, and annual long distance migration (seeking for rice plants of high nutrition) imply that the olfaction would play a central role in BPH behavior. However, the olfaction related proteins have not been characterized in this insect.
Full length cDNA of three OBPs were obtained and distinct expression profiles were revealed regarding to tissue, developmental stage, wing form and gender for the first time for the species. The results provide important clues in functional differentiation of these genes. Binding assays with 41 compounds demonstrated that NlugOBP3 had markedly higher binding ability and wider binding spectrum than the other two OBPs. Terpenes and Ketones displayed higher binding while Alkanes showed no binding to the three OBPs. Focused on NlugOBP3, RNA interference experiments showed that NlugOBP3 not only involved in nymph olfaction on rice seedlings, but also had non-olfactory functions, as it was closely related to nymph survival.
NlugOBP3 plays important roles in both olfaction and survival of BPH. It may serve as a potential target for developing behavioral disruptant and/or lethal agent in N. lugens.
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