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Members of the sugars will eventually be exported transporter (SWEET) family regulate the transport of different sugars through the cell membrane and control the distribution of sugars inside and outside the cell. The SWEET gene family also plays important roles in plant growth and development and physiological processes. So far, there are no reports on the SWEET family in pomegranate. Meanwhile, pomegranate is rich in sugar, and three published pomegranate genome sequences provide resources for the study of the SWEET gene family. 20 PgSWEETs from pomegranate and the known

Pomegranates (Punica granatum L.) are one of the most popular fruit trees cultivated in arid and semi-arid tropics and subtropics. In this study, we determined and characterized three complete chloroplast (cp) genomes of P. granatum cultivars with different phenotypes using the genome skimming approach. The complete cp genomes of three pomegranate cultivars displayed the typical quadripartite structure of angiosperms, and their length ranged from 156,638 to 156,639 bp. They encoded 113 unique genes and 17 are duplicated in the inverted regions. We analyzed the sequence diversity of pomegranate cp genomes coupled with two previous reports. The results showed that the sequence diversity is extremely low and no informative sites were detected, which suggests that cp genome sequences may be not be suitable for investigating the genetic diversity of pomegranate genotypes. Further, we analyzed the codon usage pattern and identified the potential RNA editing sites. A comparative cp genome analysis with other species within Lythraceae revealed that the gene content and organization are highly conserved. Based on a site-specific model, 11 genes with positively selected sites were detected, and most of them were photosynthesis-related genes and genetic system-related genes. Together with previously released cp genomes of the order Myrtales, we determined the taxonomic position of P. granatum based on the complete chloroplast genomes. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that P. granatum form a single clade with other species from Lythraceae with a high support value. The complete cp genomes provides valuable information for understanding the phylogenetic position of P. gramatum in the order Myrtales.

Breast cancer accounts for the largest number of newly diagnosed cases in female cancer patients. Although mammography is a powerful screening tool, about 20% of breast cancer cases cannot be detected by this method. New diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer are necessary. Here, we used a mass spectrometry-based quantitative metabolomics method to analyze plasma samples from 55 breast cancer patients and 25 healthy controls. A number of 30 patients and 20 age-matched healthy controls were used as a training dataset to establish a diagnostic model and to identify potential biomarkers. The remaining samples were used as a validation dataset to evaluate the predictive accuracy for the established model. Distinct separation was obtained from an orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model with good prediction accuracy. Based on this analysis, 39 differentiating metabolites were identified, including significantly lower levels of lysophosphatidylcholines and higher levels of sphingomyelins in the plasma samples obtained from breast cancer patients compared with healthy controls. Using logical regression, a diagnostic equation based on three metabolites (lysoPC a C16:0, PC ae C42:5 and PC aa C34:2) successfully differentiated breast cancer patients from healthy controls, with a sensitivity of 98.1% and a specificity of 96.0%.