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There is increasing evidence suggesting that maternal nicotine (NIC) exposure alone can lead to many deleterious consequences in the fetus. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of prenatal and lactation NIC exposure on glucose homeostasis, lipogenesis and lipid metabolism in mothers and pups. After maternal NIC exposure (from gestational day 9 to weaning), NIC mothers showed lower body weight, decreased parametrial white adipose tissue (pWAT) and inguinal WAT weights, lower homeostasis model assessment of beta cell function, higher serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, higher Castelli index values, lower hepatic mRNA levels of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP1c), lipoprotein lipase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase (FAS) and glucose transporters 4 (GLUT4), as well as lower SREBP1c, FAS, leptin and GLUT4 mRNA levels in pWAT. However, female NIC pups presented higher body weights and serum TC levels, and increased trends for high density lipoprotein-cholesterol and Castelli index I. Male NIC pups had higher body weight, serum TC levels and Castelli index I values, and lower glycemia levels. Additionally, hepatic and adipose FAS gene expression from the female NIC pups presented a decreasing trend, while the male NIC pups had lower hepatic FAS expression and higher adipose FAS expression. In conclusion, prenatal and lactation NIC exposure induced deleterious effects on the glucose homeostasis, lipogenesis and lipid metabolism in both mothers and pups, which may promote several important metabolic disorders in the progeny. Additionally, there are gender-specific effects on pups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal and lactation nicotine exposure on the morphology and function of brown adipose tissue (BAT) in male rat offspring. We conducted a morphological assay and gene expression study of interscapular BAT (iBAT) in male rat offspring. The male offspring from nicotine-exposed dams exhibited higher body weight and iBAT weight. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy showed that iBAT from nicotine-exposed male offspring presented a “whitening” phenotype characterized by lipid droplet accumulation and impaired mitochondria with a randomly oriented and fractured cristae. The expression of the iBAT structure and function-related genes all decreased in nicotine-exposed male offspring. These data indicate that prenatal and lactation nicotine exposure affects morphology and function of iBAT in male rat offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous studies have indicated that China is one of the domestication centres of Asian cultivated rice ( Oryza sativa), and common wild rice ( O. rufipogon) is the progenitor of O. sativa. However, the number of domestication times and the geographic origin of Asian cultivated rice in China are still under debate. In this study, 100 accessions of Asian cultivated rice and 111 accessions of common wild rice in China were selected to examine the relationship between O. sativa and O. rufipogon and thereby infer the domestication and evolution of O. sativa in China through sequence analyses of six gene regions, trn C-ycf6 in chloroplast genomes, cox3 in mitochondrial genomes and ITS, Ehd1, Waxy, Hd1 in nuclear genomes. The results indicated that the two subspecies of O. sativa (indica and japonica) were domesticated independently from different populations of O. rufipogon with gene flow occurring later from japonica to indica; Southern China was the genetic diversity centre of O. rufipogon, and the Pearl River basin near the Tropic of Cancer was the domestication centre of O. sativa in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The waxy protein primarily controls the synthesis of amylose, which is a key determinant of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cooking and processing qualities. Knowledge of the diversity of waxy gene in Chinese rice is essential to validate molecular markers for marker-assisted selection and to trace the origin of Chinese glutinous rice. The waxy (Wx) gene in the wild rice has rarely been studied, and the origin of Chinese glutinous rice is not well understood. The objectives of our investigation were (i) to identify the diversity of Wx and molecular markers for marker-assisted breeding and (ii) trace the origin of Chinese glutinous rice. We examined the sequence variations for the waxy gene of 98 accessions of cultivated rice and 134 accessions of wild rice from a previously established microcore collection of Chinese rice germplasm. A total of 51 and 226 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or insertions or deletions were found in the cultivated rice and the wild rice, respectively. Wild rice accessions had much higher diversity than cultivated rice and nonglutinous rice had much higher diversity than glutinous rice whereas the genetic diversity of indica rice was similar to that of japonica rice. Polymorphisms of CTn microsatellite, G/T SNP, and 23-bp insertion in the waxy gene and their relationship to amylose content were explored using cultivated rice. The G/T allele and 23-bp insertion were better associated with amylose content than with the CTn alleles, and they were validated as molecular markers for markerassisted selection. All the wild rice accessions with 23-bp insertion or Τ allele came from South China and the glutinous rice originated from wild rice of South China parallel with indica and japonica differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various geologic signatures of fault creep along most of the active faults in the continental area of China can be recognized, although no surface deformation caused by creep slip event has been observed. These signatures include ordered regional taphrogeny, linear deformation zones distributed along the fault, and seismic slip rate much lower than the geologic slip rate, etc. The recognition and identification of this important fault behavior are of great theoretical and practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]