Search

Ipomoea plants possess important commercial, medicinal, and ornamental value. Molecular and morphological studies have confirmed that most species of this genus exhibit similar phenotypes but complex phylogenetic relationships. To date, limited information is available on these evolutionary relationships. In this study, systematic analysis of diverse species from Ipomoea was used to elucidate the relationships in this genus. To this end, we employed the concept of codon usage bias (CUB) to analyze the codon usage bias of five Ipomoea species such as effective number of codons (ENC) and GC content at the third synonym codon position (GC3s). Three types of plots including ENC-GC3s, parity rule 2 (PR2) and neutrality plots were employed to discover the factors determining CUB, and the frequency of hydrogen bonds and nucleotide were calculated to dissect changes in GC content at the 5′-end of the coding sequence. Our results showed little distinctness in CUB among the five species, with a reduction of hydrogen bonds content at the 5′-end (with similar changes in cytosines). In addition, optimal codons of Ipomoea aquatica ended with G or C, different from those of the other four species, which ended in A or T. These results may be useful for exploring the evolutionary relationships among this group, and for understanding the reasons for the variation among Ipomoea species. • The number of hydrogen bonds in each codon at the 5′-end of CDS both exhibited a decline trend among five Ipomoea species. • Natural selection plays a dominant role in the codon usage bias pattern of five Ipomoea species. • The optimal codons in Ipomoea aquatica ended with G or C, but other four species ended with A or T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Urinary tract infection is one of the most common bacterial infections which is mainly caused by Escherichia coli (UPEC). Autophagy plays a key role in immune response to eliminate invading pathogens. Exploring the effect of autophagy on UPEC infection and the molecular mechanisms will be benefit for the treatment of urinary tract infection. High-mobility group protein N2 (HMGN2), a highly conserved nuclear protein and an antibacterial peptide, has been associated with bacterial infection induced immune response; however, whether this function is due to the regulation of autophagy remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that HMGN2 is upregulated in UPEC infection of bladder epithelial cell line 5637 (BEC 5637). Furthermore, HMGN2 enhances autophagy in BEC 5637 via activation of AMPK and ULK1, whereas UPEC suppresses autophagy. In addition, the enhanced autophagy activity by HMGN2 overexpression or rapamycin boosts the proliferation of UPEC J96 in BEC 5637. In summary, our data indicate that HMGN2 activates autophagy via AMPK/ULK1 pathway which can be utilized by UPEC J96 for their proliferation within bladder epithelial cells. Highlights • HMGN2 expression is elevated in UPEC J96 infected C57BL/6J mice and bladder epithelial cell line 5637 (BEC 5637). • HMGN2 induces autophagy in BEC 5637 via AMPK/ULK1 pathway. • Viable UPEC J96 suppresses autophagy in BEC 5637. • HMGN2 boosts UPEC J96 proliferation in BEC 5637. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]