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China leads the world in freshwater pearl production, an industry in which the triangle sail mussel (Sinohyriopsis cumingii) plays a pivotal role. In this paper, we report a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of S. cumingii with a size of 2.90 Gb—the largest yet reported among bivalves—and 89.92% anchorage onto 19 linkage groups. The assembled genome has 37,696 protein-coding genes and 50.86% repeat elements. A comparative genomic analysis revealed expansions of 752 gene families, mostly associated with biomineralization, and 237 genes under strong positive selection. Notably, the fibrillin gene family exhibited gene family expansion and positive selection simultaneously, and it also exhibited multiple high expressions after mantle implantation by transcriptome analysis. Furthermore, RNA silencing and an in vitro calcium carbonate crystallization assay highlighted the pivotal role played by one fibrillin gene in calcium carbonate deposition and aragonite transformation. This study provides a valuable genomic resource and offers new insights into the mechanism of pearl biomineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), the cause of wheat stripe rust, is a biotrophic and heteroecious rust fungus with five spore types. Cool and humid climatic conditions are conducive for the development of wheat stripe rust, and in turn, temperatures above 22 °C limit or even cease the disease. The survival of Pst during summer after wheat harvest is responsible for the infection on autumn-sown wheat to maintain disease cycle all the year round. Teliospores formed at late stage of wheat growth are essential for initiating sexual reproduction in spring. Although Chinese native grasses have been experimentally testified as susceptible hosts for Pst and teliospores produced on wheat have been shown to be potential inoculum sources causing infection on alternate hosts (mainly Berberis) in spring, the roles of grass hosts in harboring the survival of urediospores and teliospores of Pst and promoting the emergence of diverse races under field conditions in China have not been known. Herein, Gansu, as a hotspot and an important oversummering region for Pst, was exemplified to demonstrate these roles of grass hosts. As a result, 63 Pst isolates, derived from 2184 uredial samples collected from grass hosts during harvesting period (from mid-June to mid-to-late July) and seeding period (mid to late September) in 2012 and 2013, were identified as 52 diverse phenotypes (82.5%) on the Chinese differential hosts. Subsequently, after inoculation of barberry, 52 Pst isolates with high infection type, 20 known races and 32 new races, were recovered from 1,712 single aecium, which are derived from 35 telial samples of grass hosts. Our experiments showed that Pst urediospores can oversummer on grass species in Gansu or other oversummering regions with similar ecological and climatic conditions. Pst teliospores, which are produced on these grass hosts, are important inoculum source for barberry infection in spring. Therefore, treatment of grasses hosts should be taken into consideration in management of wheat stripe rust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The triangle sail mussel, Hyriopsis cumingii , is the most important aquaculture species for freshwater pearl production in China. However, one major problem of freshwater pearl mussel industry is the low profit despite high pearl yield, and the focus of current research has now switched from yield to the improvement of pearl quality. It is essential to enhance the quality of pearls by improving the growth performance of mussels and, to this end, genomic selection (GS) has been proved as a useful method for selective breeding. In the present study, 764 mussels (496 for reference population, 268 for selection candidates) were genotyped by sequencing (GBS) and a total of 97,090 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. Based on genome-wide SNPs, the heritability was estimated to be moderate to high for the following five growth traits: shell length, shell height, shell width, shell weight, and body weight (0.36 ± 0.11 to 0.51 ± 0.10). Then, the effects of five GS models (i.e., GBLUP, BayesA, BayesB, BayesCπ, and BayesLASSO) and different SNP numbers (selected using three SNP screening strategies) on the predictive ability (PA) of the genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) were compared. The GBLUP model containing 10,000 SNPs selected by GWAS strategy was established and was used to calculate GEBVs in selection candidates. The individuals with high GEBVs were then selected as broodstock for the fast-growth strain (FS), and the rest for control strains (CS). At last, encouraging results were detected that the FS performed significantly better than CS in terms of growth, with different traits increasing by 5.74–28.77% and 11.93%–54.58% at the WY and CM sites, respectively. These results may assist in the future large-scale commercial application of GS in H. cumingii and provide a cost-efficient GS strategy for other aquaculture species as well. • GBS was applied in genomic selection of Hyriopsis cumingii. • GBLUP model performed better than BayesA, BayesB, BayesCπ and BayesLASSO for growth traits. • Approximately 10,000 pre-selected informative SNPs were sufficient to get genome wide equivalent predictive ability. • The offspring of mussels with high GEBV in selection candidates showed significant growth advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyriopsis cumingii is the most important freshwater mussel for pearl production in China, however, early selection for growth traits and inner shell color in this species is poorly characterized. To explore the optimal selection age, the growth traits (SW, SH, SL, and BW) and inner shell color parameters (L*, a*, b* and dE*) of 22 half-sib families were measured at the ages of 5, 12, and 17 months in a progeny test population established at the Weimin Aquaculture Company breeding base, Zhejiang Province, China. The phenotypic data for growth traits and inner shell color parameters were divided into breeding (50% growth traits × 50% shell color traits)and control groups and were analyzed. Age–age genetic and phenotypic correlations, and heritability were also examined. The results showed significant differences in growth traits between the two groups as age increased (P < 0.05). The b* values in the breeding group were considerably higher than those in the control group and the difference between the two groups was highly significant at all the tested ages (P < 0.01). The growth traits and inner shell color parameters had a moderate to high heritability (h2 ≥ 0.15) at all ages and b* values reached 0.44 at 5 months of age. The age–age genetic and phenotypic correlations of growth traits were always positive, ranging from 0.224 to 0.933 and 0.087 to 0.615, respectively. The age–age genetic and phenotypic correlations of the inner shell color parameters were also always positive, ranging from 0.224 to 0.954 and 0.097 to 0.816, respectively. The results of this study can be used to assist in the early selection practices for the selective breeding of H. cumingii 's golden strain. For the early selection of growth traits and inner shell color, SH and b* are preferable, respectively, as target traits. • Age-age correlations were evaluated for the first time to better perform early selection of Hyriopsis cumingii. • The selective breeding group showed better growth and inner shell color than the control group. • The high age-age genetic correlation of growth traits in Hyriopsis cumingii reveals the feasibility of early selection. • Color parameter b* has a higher heritability as well as higher genetic and phenotypic correlations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation has emerged as a crucial factor in the sustenance and growth of enterprises. Nonetheless, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) confront numerous challenges in their pursuit of innovation, owing to constraints in capital, expertise, and knowledge resources. Drawing on the resource-based theory and the input-process-output (IPO) model, this study devises a mechanism model to assess the impact of knowledge heterogeneity and innovation performance on small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in Guizhou Province, China. The objective is to offer recommendations for the advancement and innovation of enterprises with relative knowledge resource deficiencies. A total of 324 valid questionnaires were gathered, and the acquired data were analyzed employing SPSS 23.0 and Amos 26.0. The findings reveal that knowledge heterogeneity exerts a significantly positive influence on innovation performance. Task conflict and relationship conflict serve as partial mediators in the effects of knowledge heterogeneity on innovation performance. By capitalizing on the heterogeneity of internal and external knowledge, enterprises can effectively enhance their innovation outcomes. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that knowledge sharing possesses a moderating effect on the impact of knowledge heterogeneity on task conflict, relationship conflict, and innovation performance. In a conducive sharing environment, the ultimate effect of knowledge heterogeneity on innovation is subject to alteration., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Gan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

A novel endophytic actinomycete with antagonistic activity against various phytopathogenic fungi, designated strain p1417 T , was isolated from the root of cattail (Typha angustifolia L.) collected from Yunnan Province, Southwest China. A polyphasic taxonomic study was carried out to establish the taxonomic status of this strain. Strain p1417 T was found to have morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics typical of the genus Streptomyces. The diamino acid present in the cell wall was LL-diaminopimelic acid. Xylose and arabinose occurred in whole cell hydrolysates. The menaquinones were identified as MK-9(H 8 ), MK-9(H 6 ) and MK-9(H 4 ). The polar lipid profile was found to contain diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylinositol mannoside. The major fatty acids were found to be iso-C 16:0 , anteiso-C 15:0, iso-C 15:0 and C 16:0 . The genomic DNA G + C content of strain p1417 T based on the genome sequence was 72.0 mol%. Based on 16 S rRNA gene, five housekeeping genes and whole genome sequences analysis, strain p1417 T was most closely related to Streptomyces flavofungini JCM 4753 T (99.4% 16 S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Streptomyces alboflavus JCM 4615 T (98.8%) and Streptomyces aureoverticillatus JCM 4347 T (98.2%). However, the average nucleotide identity values, the digital DNA-DNA hybridization values and the multilocus sequence analysis evolutionary distances between this strain and its closely related strains showed that it belonged to one distinct species. In addition, these results were also supported by differences in the phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics between strain p1417 T and three closely related type strains. Therefore, it is concluded that strain p1417 T represents a novel species of the genus of Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces typhae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is p1417 T (= CCTCC AA 2019091 T  = DSM 110636 T ).

A novel endophytic actinomycete, designated strain p1410 T , was isolated from the root of cattail pollen ( Typha angustifolia L.) and characterized using a polyphasic approach. The strain had morphological characteristics and chemotaxonomic properties identical to those of members of the genus Nonomuraea . It produced spiral chains of spores on aerial mycelium as well as forming a pseudosporangium. Whole-cell hydrolysates contained meso -diaminopimelic acid, glucose, ribose and madurose. The menaquinones detected were MK-9(H 2 ), MK-9(H 4 ) and MK-9(H 0 ). The major fatty acids were 10-methyl C 17 : 0 , iso-C 16 : 0 and C 17 : 0 . The polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine, hydroxyphosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol mannoside and an unknown glycolipid. The DNA G+C content of the draft genome sequence, consisting of 11.4 Mbp, was 70.9 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain p1410 T belongs to the genus Nonomuraea with the highest sequence similarity to Nonomuraea candida HMC10 T (98.6 %), but phylogenetically clustered with Nonomuraea endophytica YIM 65601 T (98.4 %) and Nonomuraea longicatena NRRL 15532 T (98.3 %). Based on its phenotypic characteristics, DNA-DNA relatedness and average nucleotide identity, the strain is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Nonomuraea , for which the name Nonomuraea typhae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is p1410 T (=CCTCC AA 2019044 T =JCM 33461 T ).

A novel endophytic actinomycete, designated strain LD22 T , was isolated from moss [Physcomitrium sphaericum (Ludw) Fuernr] collected from Yunnan Province, Southwest China. A polyphasic taxonomic study was carried out to establish the status of this strain. Morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics of strain LD22 T confirmed the affiliation of the isolate to the genus Actinomadura. The diamino acid present in the cell wall is meso-diaminopimelic acid. Glucose, madurose, galactose and ribose occur in whole cell hydrolysates. The menaquinones were identified as MK-9(H 4 ), MK-9(H 8 ), MK-9(H 6 ) and MK-9(H 2 ). The polar lipid profile was found to contain diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositol mannoside and an unidentified phospholipid. The major fatty acids were found to be C 16:0 , 10-methyl C 18:0 and C 18:1 ω9c. The DNA G + C content of the draft genome sequence, consisting of 10.0 Mbp, was 72.5%. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain LD22 T belongs to the genus Actinomadura with the highest sequence similarity to Actinomadura montaniterrae CYP1-1B T (99.2%). However, phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate formed a phyletic line with Actinomadura rudentiformis HMC1 T (98.6%). The low level of DNA-DNA relatedness and some different phenotypic characteristics allowed the strain to be distinguished from the above-mentioned two strains. Therefore, it is concluded that strain that strain LD22 T represents a novel species of the genus of Actinomadura, for which the name Actinomadura physcomitrii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LD22 T (= CCTCC AA 2018050 T  = JCM 33455 T ).

Whether plasma miRNAs could be used as novel non-invasive biomarkers in diagnosing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains unknown. In this study, we designed a four-phase study to identify differentially expressed plasma miRNAs in Chinese PTC patients. Exiqon panel was initially utilized to conduct plasma miRNA profile (3 PTC pools VS. 1 healthy control (HC) pool; each 10 samples were pooled as 1 sample). The dysregulated miRNAs were then analyzed in the training (30 PTC VS. 30 HCs), testing (57 PTC VS. 54 HCs) and external validation phases (33 PTC VS. 30HCs). The identified miRNAs were further affirmed in benign nodules (2 nodular goiter (NG) pool VS. 1 HC pool). We also verified the expression of identified miRNAs in 17 matched malignant and normal tissue samples, NG plasma samples (29 PTC VS. 29 NG) and plasma exosomes (25 PTC VS. 25 HCs). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic value of the identified miRNAs. As a result, the screening phase demonstrated 30 dysregulated plasma miRNAs in PTC patients compared with HCs. After multiphase experiment processes, miR-346, miR-10a-5p and miR-34a-5p were found significantly elevated in PTC plasma samples relative to HCs. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of the three-miRNA panel for the training, testing and validation phases were 0.926, 0.811 and 0.816, separately. The panel could also differentiate PTC from NG with the AUC of 0.877. MiR-346 and miR-34a-5p but not miR-10a-5p were up-regulated in PTC tissues. And the three miRNAs showed consistently up-regulation in PTC plasma exosomes. In conclusion, our study established a three-miRNA panel in plasma with considerable clinical value in discriminating PTC from HC or NG., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

ABSTRACT The wheat stripe rust pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) population in China has been reported to be a distinct genetic group with higher diversity than those in many other countries. Genetic recombination in the P. striiformis f. sp. tritici population has been identified with molecular markers but whether sexual reproduction occurs in China is unknown. In this study, we surveyed barberry plants for infection by rust fungi in the stripe rust "hotspot" regions in Gansu, Sichuan, and Shaanxi provinces; collected barberry plants and inoculated plants of 20 Berberis spp. with germinated teliospores under controlled greenhouse conditions for susceptibility to P. striiformis f. sp. tritici; and tested P. striiformis f. sp. tritici isolates obtained from aecia on naturally infected barberry plants on the wheat genotypes used to differentiate Chinese P. striiformis f. sp. tritici races to determine virulence variations. Different Berberis spp. were widely distributed and most surveyed plants had pycnia and aecia of rust fungi throughout the surveyed regions. In total, 28 Berberis spp. were identified during our study. From 20 Berberis spp. tested with teliospores of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici from wheat plants, 18 species were susceptible under greenhouse conditions. Among 3,703 aecia sampled from barberry plants of three species (Berberis shensiana, B. brachypoda, and B. soulieana) under natural infections in Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, four produced P. striiformis f. sp. tritici uredinia on susceptible wheat 'Mingxian 169'. Sequence of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the four isolates from barberry shared 99% identity with the P. striiformis f. sp. tritici sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database. The four isolates had virulence patterns different from all previously reported races collected from wheat plants. Furthermore, 82 single-uredinium isolates obtained from the four barberry isolates had high virulence diversity rates of 9.0 to 28.1%, indicating that the diverse isolates were produced through sexual reproduction on barberry plants under natural conditions. In addition to P. striiformis f. sp. tritici, sequence analysis of polymerase chain reaction products of the ITS regions and inoculation tests on wheat identified P. graminis (the stem rust pathogen). Our results indicated that P. striiformis f. sp. tritici can infect some Berberis spp. under natural conditions, and the sexual cycle of the fungus may contribute to the diversity of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici in China.