Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most important fiber and oil crop in the world. With the emergence of huge -omics data sets, it is essential to have an integrated functional genomics database that ...allows worldwide users to quickly and easily fetch and visualize genomic information. Currently available cotton-related databases have some weakness in integrating multiple kinds of -omics data from multiple Gossypium species. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an integrated functional genomics database for cotton.
We developed CottonFGD (Cotton Functional Genomic Database, https://cottonfgd.org ), an integrated database that includes genomic sequences, gene structural and functional annotations, genetic marker data, transcriptome data, and population genome resequencing data for all four of the sequenced Gossypium species. It consists of three interconnected modules: search, profile, and analysis. These modules make CottonFGD enable both single gene review and batch analysis with multiple kinds of -omics data and multiple species. CottonFGD also includes additional pages for data statistics, bulk data download, and a detailed user manual.
Equipped with specialized functional modules and modernized visualization tools, and populated with multiple kinds of -omics data, CottonFGD provides a quick and easy-to-use data analysis platform for cotton researchers worldwide.
Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) consists of two main subspecies, indica and japonica. Indica has higher nitrate-absorption activity than japonica, but the molecular mechanisms underlying that ...activity remain elusive. Here we show that variation in a nitrate-transporter gene, NRT1.1B (OsNPF6.5), may contribute to this divergence in nitrate use. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that NRT1.1B diverges between indica and japonica. NRT1.1B-indica variation was associated with enhanced nitrate uptake and root-to-shoot transport and upregulated expression of nitrate-responsive genes. The selection signature of NRT1.1B-indica suggests that nitrate-use divergence occurred during rice domestication. Notably, field tests with near-isogenic and transgenic lines confirmed that the japonica variety carrying the NRT1.1B-indica allele had significantly improved grain yield and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) compared to the variety without that allele. Our results show that variation in NRT1.1B largely explains nitrate-use divergence between indica and japonica and that NRT1.1B-indica can potentially improve the NUE of japonica.
It has long been established that premature leaf senescence negatively impacts the yield stability of rice, but the underlying molecular mechanism driving this relationship remains largely unknown. ...Here, we identified a dominant premature leaf senescence mutant, prematurely senile 1 (ps1-D). PS1 encodes a plant-specific NAC (no apical meristem, Arabidopsis ATAF1/2, and cup-shaped cotyledon2) transcriptional activator, Oryza sativa NAC-like, activated by apetala3/pistillata (OsNAP). Overexpression of OsNAP significantly promoted senescence, whereas knockdown of OsNAP produced a marked delay of senescence, confirming the role of this gene in the development of rice senescence. OsNAP expression was tightly linked with the onset of leaf senescence in an age-dependent manner. Similarly, ChIP-PCR and yeast one-hybrid assays demonstrated that OsNAP positively regulates leaf senescence by directly targeting genes related to chlorophyll degradation and nutrient transport and other genes associated with senescence, suggesting that OsNAP is an ideal marker of senescence onset in rice. Further analysis determined that OsNAP is induced specifically by abscisic acid (ABA), whereas its expression is repressed in both aba1 and aba2 , two ABA biosynthetic mutants. Moreover, ABA content is reduced significantly in ps1-D mutants, indicating a feedback repression of OsNAP on ABA biosynthesis. Our data suggest that OsNAP serves as an important link between ABA and leaf senescence. Additionally, reduced OsNAP expression leads to delayed leaf senescence and an extended grain-filling period, resulting in a 6.3% and 10.3% increase in the grain yield of two independent representative RNAi lines, respectively. Thus, fine-tuning OsNAP expression should be a useful strategy for improving rice yield in the future.
Due to the disconnection of surviving neural elements after spinal cord injury (SCI), such patients had to suffer irreversible loss of motor or sensory function, and thereafter enormous economic and ...emotional burdens were brought to society and family. Despite many strategies being dealing with SCI, there is still no effective regenerative therapy. To date, significant progress has been made in studies of SCI repair strategies, including gene regulation of neural regeneration, cell or cell-derived exosomes and growth factors transplantation, repair of biomaterials, and neural signal stimulation. The pathophysiology of SCI is complex and multifaceted, and its mechanisms and processes are incompletely understood. Thus, combinatorial therapies have been demonstrated to be more effective, and lead to better neural circuits reconstruction and functional recovery. Combinations of biomaterials, stem cells, growth factors, drugs, and exosomes have been widely developed. However, simply achieving axon regeneration will not spontaneously lead to meaningful functional recovery. Therefore, the formation and remodeling of functional neural circuits also depend on rehabilitation exercises, such as exercise training, electrical stimulation (ES) and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). In this review, we summarize the recent progress in biological and engineering strategies for reconstructing neural circuits and promoting functional recovery after SCI, and emphasize current challenges and future directions.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells have displayed outstanding performance in the treatment of patients with hematological malignancies. However, their efficacy against solid tumors ...has been largely limited.
In this study, human osteosarcoma cell lines were prepared, flow cytometry using antibodies against CD166 was performed on different cell samples. CD166-specific T cells were obtained by viral gene transfer of corresponding DNA plasmids and selectively expanded using IL-2 and IL-15. The ability of CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells to kill CD166
osteosarcoma cells was evaluated in vitro and in vivo.
CD166 was selectively expressed on four different human osteosarcoma cell lines, indicating its role as the novel target for CAR-T cell therapy. CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells killed osteosarcoma cell lines in vitro; the cytotoxicity correlated with the level of CD166 expression on the tumor cells. Intravenous injection of CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells into mice resulted in the regression of the tumor with no obvious toxicity.
Together, the data suggest that CD166.BBζ CAR-T cells may serve as a new therapeutic strategy in the future clinical practice for the treatment of osteosarcoma.
Despite being considered the standard surgical procedure for symptomatic cervical disc disease, anterior cervical decompression and fusion invariably accelerates adjacent segment degeneration. ...Cervical total disc replacement is a motion-preserving procedure developed as a substitute to fusion. Whether cervical total disc replacement is superior to fusion remains unclear.
We comprehensively searched PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, and the Cochrane Library in accordance with the inclusion criteria to identify possible studies. The retrieved results were last updated on December 12, 2014. We classified the studies as short-term and midterm follow-up.
Nineteen randomized controlled trials involving 4516 cases were identified. Compared with anterior cervical decompression and fusion, cervical total disc replacement had better functional outcomes (neck disability index NDI, NDI success, neurological success, neck pain scores reported on a numerical rating scale NRS, visual analog scales scores and overall success), greater segmental motion at the index level, fewer adverse events and fewer secondary surgical procedures at the index and adjacent levels in short-term follow-up (P < 0.05). With midterm follow-up, the cervical total disc replacement group indicated superiority in the NDI, neurological success, pain assessment (NRS), and secondary surgical procedures at the index level (P < 0.05). The Short Form 36 (SF-36) and segmental motion at the adjacent level in the short-term follow-up showed no significant difference between the two procedures, as did the secondary surgical procedure rates at the adjacent level with midterm follow-up (P > 0.05).
Cervical total disc replacement presented favorable functional outcomes, fewer adverse events, and fewer secondary surgical procedures. The efficacy and safety of cervical total disc replacement are superior to those of fusion. Longer-term, multicenter studies are required for a better evaluation of the long-term efficacy and safety of the two procedures.
Main conclusion
The elevation of transcript levels of
GhDREB1B
causes the accumulation of osmoregulants and mitigation of reactive oxygen species, which contributes to the enhanced resistance to ...chilling stress in
AiSheng98
cotton.
Low temperature is one of the key environmental stresses that impairs cotton growth and restricts fiber productivity. Dehydration responsive element binding (DREB) transcription factors play an important role in cold response in plants by modulating the transcription level of cold-responsive genes to protect the plants from low-temperature stress. Here, we showed that
GhDREB1B
, a copy number variant in the
AiSheng98
(
AS98
) cotton mutant, significantly improved chilling tolerance in cotton seedlings, while silencing of
GhDREB1B
made transgenic cotton sensitive to chilling stress in
AS98
cotton compared with control plants. Elevated
GhDREB1B
transcript level activated the expression of major cold-responsive genes. Genome-wide expression profiling by RNA sequencing revealed the upregulation of genes related to fatty acids, lipid proteins, osmoprotection, and anti-oxidative enzymes in
AiSheng98
. Excessive accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and higher ion leakage rates occurred in wild-type LFH10 plants when compared to those of
Aisheng98
during chilling stress, signifying lower chilling tolerance in the wild-type than in
Aisheng98
. Furthermore, the
Aisheng98
mutant under chilling stress accumulated higher levels of free proline and soluble sugar than LFH10 accumulated. These results suggest that
GhDREB1B
is a positive regulator and its variant can alter the expression patterns of major low-temperature stress-related genes and enhance chilling tolerance in cotton.
Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) is a highly potent second-generation photosensitizer for cancer photodynamic therapy (PDT) with attractive photo-physical and photo-chemical properties. However, poor ...solubility and strong trend of crystallization prevent it from loading in most of drug delivery systems and hamper its further application. Herein, to overcome this problem, an amphiphilic block copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-poly2-(methylacryloyl)ethylnicotinate (PEG-PMAN) with aromatic nicotinate is used to load ZnPc for their π–π interactions. The formed PEG-PMAN/ZnPc nanoparticle (PPZ) dramatically increases reactive oxygen species production in osteosarcoma cells after light irradiation, causes mitochondrial injury and promotes cell cycle arrest at G2/M, leading to a 100-fold cytotoxicity improvement comparing with free ZnPc. The excellent therapeutic effectiveness and safety of PPZ are also proved by in vivo experiments operating on osteosarcoma model. The finding above indicates that PPZ has promising clinical applications as a next-generation photosensitizer in PDT of osteosarcoma.
Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) was successfully loaded in an amphiphilic block copolymer PEG-PMAN consisting of aromatic nicotinate with a high drug loading content and induced the stronger photodynamic cytotoxicity than free ZnPc because of the higher drug uptake rate in tumor cells. The formed ZnPc nanomedicine was evaluated as a potent photosensitizer for the photodynamic therapy of osteosarcoma. Display omitted
The biosynthesis of secondary metabolites like anthocyanins is often governed by metabolic gene clusters (MGCs) in the plant ancestral genome. However, the existence of gene clusters specifically ...regulating anthocyanin accumulation in certain organs is not well understood.
In this study, we identify MGCs linked to the coloration of cotton reproductive organs, such as petals, spots, and fibers. Through genetic analysis and map-based cloning, we pinpointed key genes on chromosome A07, such as
, which is involved in anthocyanin transport, and
and
, which are associated with the regulation of anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis. Our results demonstrate the coordinated control of anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin pathways, highlighting the evolutionary significance of MGCs in plant adaptation. The conservation of these clusters in cotton chromosome A07 across species underscores their importance in reproductive development and color variation. Our study sheds light on the complex biosynthesis and transport mechanisms for plant pigments, emphasizing the role of transcription factors and transport proteins in pigment accumulation.
This research offers insights into the genetic basis of color variation in cotton reproductive organs and the potential of MGCs to enhance our comprehension of plant secondary metabolism.
(Bt) is a Gram negative soil bacterium. This bacterium secretes various proteins during different growth phases with an insecticidal potential against many economically important crop pests. One of ...the important families of Bt proteins is vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vip), which are secreted into the growth medium during vegetative growth. There are three subfamilies of Vip proteins. Vip1 and Vip2 heterodimer toxins have an insecticidal activity against many Coleopteran and Hemipteran pests. Vip3, the most extensively studied family of Vip toxins, is effective against Lepidopteron. Vip proteins do not share homology in sequence and binding sites with Cry proteins, but share similarities at some points in their mechanism of action. Vip3 proteins are expressed as pyramids alongside Cry proteins in crops like maize and cotton, so as to control resistant pests and delay the evolution of resistance. Biotechnological- and in silico-based analyses are promising for the generation of mutant Vip proteins with an enhanced insecticidal activity and broader spectrum of target insects.
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