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Climate change has an extremely important impact on the geographic distribution of plants. The genus Millettia is an important plant resource in China and is widely used in medicine and ornamental industries. Due to the continuous changes of climate and the development and utilization of plant resources of the genus Millettia, it is of great significance to systematically investigate the geographic distribution of plants of the Millettia and their potential distribution under climate change. DIVA-GIS software was used to analyze 3492 plant specimens of 35 species of genus Millettia in the herbarium, and the ecological geographic distribution and richness of Millettia were analyzed, and the MaxEnt model was used to analyze the current and potential distribution in the future. The results show that the genus Millettia is distributed in 30 provinces in China, among which Yunnan and Guangdong provinces are the most distributed. Our model determines that precipitation in the driest month and annual temperature range are the most important bioclimatic variables. Future climate changes will increase the suitable habitat area of M. congestiflora by 16.75%, but other cliff beans Suitable habitats for vines will decrease significantly: M. cinereal by 47.66%, M. oosperma by 39.16%, M. pulchra by 36.04%, M. oraria by - 29.32%, M. nitida by 22.88%, M. dielsiana by 22.72%, M. sericosema by 19.53%, M. championii by 7.77%, M. pachycarpa by 7.72%, M. speciose by 2.05%, M. reticulata by 1.32%. Therefore, targeted measures should be taken to protect and develop these precious plant resources.

At present, most of the comparisons of reading performance (reading speed and reading comprehension) between Braille readers and print readers is focused on English, while there is little research on Chinese in this aspect. To obtain the comparisons, experiments were designed to test the reading performance of Braille readers and print readers, and then the test data were analyzed. The study reveals the differences between Braille readers and print readers in compulsory primary schools for students with visual handicap and sighted ones in Mainland China. It is found that the reading performance of Braille readers is generally lower than that of print readers, but the opposite is true in some instances, notably the average score of reading comprehension among students in sixth grade of primary school in the study. At the same time, it is suggested that the homophones among Chinese characters are among the important factors that have a great influence on the reading performance of Braille readers. From the perspective of the experimental data, the paper illustrates that finding ways to distinguish homophones in Chinese Braille will be one of the key problems to address in order to improve the reading performance of Braille readers.

Curcuma longa L. is one of the traditional Chinese herbs in the list of medicinal and food homology. Aromatic-turmerone is the main ingredient in turmeric essential oil. The aim of the present study is to investigate the treatment of Aromatic-turmerone on DSS-included colitis and its regulatory effect on intestinal flora disorder. Male KM mice supplemented with different concentration of aromatic-turmerone and mesalazine are subjected to 2% DSS in drinking water to induce colitis. Colon and cecum contents were collected for colitis lesion evaluation and inflammation-related gene analysis and colon contents for gut microbiota. The results show that treatments with Aromatic-turmerone significantly prevents colon shortening, alleviates the damage of colonic tissue, and reduces colonic inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and COX-2. Furthermore, the 16S rDNA gene sequence data indicate that Aromatic-turmerone improve the abundance of bacterial species, maintain some beneficial bacteria, and reduce harmful bacteria. Aromatic-turmerone downregulates the colonic inflammatory cytokines and modulates the abundance of intestinal flora, which is conductive to ameliorates DSS-induced colitis. Regularly intake of the edible herb may be help to prevent ulcerative colitis-related diseases.

The development and deployment of diverse resistance sources in new wheat cultivars underpin the durable control of stripe rust. In the present study, two loci for adult plant resistance (APR), QYrSM155.1 and QYrSM155.2, were identified in the Chinese wheat breeding line Shaanmai 155. QYrSM155.1 was mapped to a 3.0-cM interval between the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers AX-109583610 and AX-110907562 on chromosome arm 2BL. QYrSM155.2 was mapped to a 2.1-cM interval flanked by the SNP markers AX-110378556 and AX-86173526 on chromosome arm 7AS. A genome-wide association study was used to identify markers associated with APR in a panel of 411 spring wheat lines. Thirteen and 11 SNPs were significantly associated with QYrSM155.1 and QYrSM155.2, respectively, corresponding to physical intervals of 653.75–655.52 Mb on 2BL and 81.63–83.93 Mb on 7AS. To characterize the haplotype variation and the distribution of these QTL, haplotype analysis was performed based on these SNPs in an independent panel of 1,101 worldwide wheat accessions. Three major haplotypes (2B_h1, 2B_h2, and 2B_h3) for QYrSM155.1 and four major haplotypes (7A_h1, 7A_h2, 7A_h3, and 7A_h4) for QYrSM155.2 were identified. Accessions individually harboring QYrSM155.1_h1 and QYrSM155.2_h1 haplotypes and their combination displayed resistance. Additional assays of 1,306 current Chinese cultivars and breeding lines using markers flanking QYrSM155.1 and QYrSM155.2 indicated that the resistance haplotypes of the two QTL were present in respectively 1.45% and 14.16% of lines. Increasing resistance haplotype frequencies at these two loci using marker-assisted selection should benefit wheat production in China.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease with predominant synovitis that has no complete cure or preventive treatment. Citrus essential oils, used in natural fragrances, contain a variety of functional ingredients that are worthy of investigation for their potential as natural anti-inflammatory drug sources. In this study, essential oils were hydro distilled from the peels of four citrus species: Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck (CSEOs), Citrus paradisi Macfad. (CPEOs), Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck (CLEOs) and Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CREOs). Altogether, 81 compounds were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), of which d-limonene (17.96%-94.66%) was an abundant component of all four oils. The stable 1,1-diphenyl-2-pyrrole hydrazine (DPPH) free radical test showed that all four essential oils had excellent antioxidant properties (IC

Wheat is an important food crop, but adversity stresses are becoming more common, resulting in significant yield losses. Accelerating molecularly assisted resistance breeding is critical. Through statistical analysis of published loci in wheat over the last two decades, we selected 60 loci with main breeding objectives, high heritability, and reliable genotyping, such as stress resistance, yield, plant height, and resistance to spike germination. Then, using genotyping by target sequencing(GBTS) technology, we developed a liquid phase chip based on 101 functional or closely linked markers. The genotyping of 42 loci was confirmed in an extensive collection of Chinese wheat cultivars, indicating that the chip can be used in molecular-assisted selection (MAS) for target breeding goals. Besides, we can perform the preliminary parentage analysis with the genotype data. The most significant contribution of this paper is to evaluate the target traits of breeding materials without conducting field experiments. Breeders can quickly screen germplasm resources, parental breeding materials, and intermediate materials for the presence of excellent allelic variants using the genotyping data by this chip, which is high throughput, convenient, reliable, and cost-efficient.

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) often occurs in childhood and is the most common type of epilepsy. Studies have confirmed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) can affect the progression of neurological diseases. This study explored the expression level of lncRNA TUG1 in TLE children and its clinical significance and investigated its role in hippocampal neurons. 86 healthy individuals and 88 TLE children were recruited. The expressions of lncRNA TUG1 and miR-199a-3p in serum were detected by qRT-PCR. Hippocampal neurons were treated with non-Mg2+ to establish TLE cell model. MTT assay and flow cytometry assay was used to detect the effect of lncRNA TUG1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of hippocampal neurons. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was done to confirm the target relationship. The expression of lncRNA TUG1 was increased in TLE children compared with the control group. The diagnostic potential was reflected by the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve, with the AUC of 0.915 at the cutoff value of 1.256. Elevated levels of TUG1 were detected in TLE cell models, and TUG1 knockout could enhance cell activity and inhibit cell apoptosis. MiR-199a-3p was the target of TUG1. Clinically, the serum miR-199a-3p levels showed a negative association with TUG1. LncRNA TUG1 may be a biomarker of TLE diagnosis in children, and can regulate hippocampal neuron cell activity and apoptosis via sponging miR-199a-3p.

Umbelliferae plants, which are widely used as traditional Chinese medicine because of their characteristics of relieving rheumatism, alleviating fever, circulating blood and easing pain. This experimental study was based on ear edema model caused by 12-O-tetracycline-propylphenol-13-acetic acid (TPA) in mice and compared with the Ibuprofen (Ib) group. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to analyse the composition of the essential oils from the four studied Umbelliferae plants (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, A. dahurica (Hoffm.) Benth.Hook.f. ex Franch.Sav., A. pubescens Maxim and Foeniculum vulgare Mill.). Biologically active components in volatile oils from the four studied Umbelliferae plants were evaluated. The expression levels of inflammatory cytokines Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and RelA (p65) in mouse skin were determined by immunohistochemical method. The refractive index of the four essential oils was calculated. A total of 239 compounds were identified by GC-MS from the four studied plants, and the main constituents were osthole (44.61%, APEOs), obepin (0.59%, APEOs86.58%, FVEOs), undecanol (8.58%, ADEOs), α-muurolene (7.95%, ADEOs) and cis-anethol (9.11%, ADEOs). E-ligustilide (0.14%, APEOs81.14%, ASEOs), (-)-spathulenol (0.08%, FVEOs1.21%, ASEOs), (-)-terpinen-4-ol (4.91%, FVEOs), 2-butylthiolane (5.76%, APEOs) and α-bisabolol (3.80%, APEOs). This study showed that all the essential oils from the four studied Umbelliferae plants contained various lactones, including ligustrongolactone, trans-anisol and imperatorin. According to the results of the TPA induction test in the mouse ear edema model, the essential oils of four Umbelliferae plants reduced the levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, COX-2, IL-6 and p65. All of them showed extraordinary biological activity in anti-inflammatory, so they have potential application value for biomedical products, pharmaceutical preparations, natural functional nutrients and cosmetic additives.

Very-long-chain (VLC) alkanes are the main wax compounds of tomato fruit and leaf. ECERIFERUM1 (CER1) and ECERIFERUM3 (CER3) are the two key genes involved in VLC alkane biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, the CER1 and CER3 homologous genes in tomato have not been investigated and their exact biological function remains unknown. We analyzed the wax profiles in tomato leaves and fruits at different growth stages, and characterized the CER1 and CER3 homologous genes. VLC alkanes were the predominant wax compounds both in the leaf and fruit at all developmental stages. We identified five CER1 homologs and two CER3 homologs in tomato, which were designated as SlCER1-1 to SlCER1-5 and SlCER3-1 and SlCER3-2 respectively. The genes exhibited tissue- and organ-dependent expression patterns and were induced by abiotic stresses. SlCER1-1 was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which is also the main site of wax biosynthesis. Silencing the SlCER1-1 gene in tomato significantly reduced the amounts of n-Alkanes and branched alkanes, whereas its overexpression in Arabidopsis had the opposite effect. Under drought stress, both n-Alkanes and branched alkanes increased significantly in wild-type but not the SlCER1-1 RNAi tomato plants. Furthermore, SlCER1-1 silencing also increased the cuticular permeabilities of the leaves and fruits. In conclusion, SlCER1-1 is involved in wax alkane biosynthesis in tomato and plays an important role in the drought tolerance and fruit storability.

Species of the genus Citrus are cultivated in many regions of China and are widely used for medicinal purposes. In the present study, essential oils (EOs) were extracted from four different Citrus species using steam distillation. The chemical components of these four essential oils were separated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and 52 compounds were confirmed. D-limonene was found to be the most abundant compound. All four essential oils demonstrated varied but remarkable radical scavenging capacity (IC

Several Amomum species are commonly used in food as flavoring agents and traditional Chinese medicine to treat inflammation-related diseases.This study aims to investigate the protective effects of Chinese herbal medicines, including six Amomum Roxb. essential oils (AEOs), against acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mice.The compositions of AEOs were analyzed using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. RAW264.7 cells were treated with AEOS (0-100 μg/mL) and stimulated with LPS. C57 mice received AEOs (100 mg/kg) via atomization system for seven consecutive days, and then, intratracheal instillation of LPS was applied to establish an in vivo model of acute lung injury.We identified three AEOs demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects and amelioration of LPS-induced lung tissue pathological damage. Furthermore, we found that these AEOs reduced lung wet/dry weight ratios and protein concentrations in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of mice with LPS-induced ALI. Additionally, AEOs reduced the levels of malondialdehyde, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β but increased the levels of superoxide dismutase and catalase in lung tissue, alveolar lavage fluid, and serum samples. We also found that these three AEOs affected proteins related to the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB pathway.In summary, our findings revealed that AEOs ameliorate inflammatory and oxidative stress in mice with ALI through the TLR4/Myd88/NF-κB pathway.

An unidentified diatom species belonging in the genus Nitzschia isolated from samples in the Omani coastal region of the Arabian Sea is the focus of the present study. This species has been successfully cultivated in the laboratory and DNA was harvested and sequenced. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination of the strain revealed some distinct features, of which the ultrastructure of canal raphe and the absence of central nodule are the most remarkable ones. In terms of morphology, the strain being studied resembles taxa belonging in Nitzschia sect. Lanceolatae. However, our phylogenetic tree based on a three-gene dataset, comprising concatenated nuclear-encoded small-subunit ribosomal DNAs (SSU) and chloroplast encoded (rbcL and psbC) shows that our strain is sister to N. filiformis, which belongs in Nitzschia sect. Obtusae. This species that we have named Nitzschia omanensis, is thus far only known from the harsh coastal waters of Oman, which are characterized by very high daily temperatures and extremely low precipitation.

To protect above-ground plant organs from excessive water loss, their surfaces are coated by waxes. The genes involved in wax formation have been investigated in detail in Arabidopsis but scarcely in crop species. Here, we aimed to isolate and characterize a CER1 enzyme responsible for formation of the very long-chain alkanes present in high concentrations especially during late stages of wheat development. On the basis of comparative wax and transcriptome analyses of various wheat organs, we selected TaCER1-1A as a primary candidate and demonstrated that it was located to the endoplasmic reticulum, the subcellular compartment for wax biosynthesis. A wheat nullisomic-tetrasomic substitution line lacking TaCER1-1A had significantly reduced amounts of C33 alkane, whereas rice plants overexpressing TaCER1-1A showed substantial increases of C25 -C33 alkanes relative to wild type control. Similarly, heterologous expression of TaCER1-1A in Arabidopsis wild type and the cer1 mutant resulted in increased levels of unbranched alkanes, iso-branched alkanes and alkenes. Finally, the expression of TaCER1-1A was found activated by abiotic stresses and abscisic acid treatment, resulting in increased production of alkanes in wheat. Taken together, our results demonstrate that TaCER1-1A plays an important role in wheat wax alkane biosynthesis and involved in responding to drought and other environmental stresses.

Background and aims – The diatom genus Simonsenia has been considered for some time a minor taxon, limited in its distribution to fresh and slightly brackish waters. Recently, knowledge of its diversity and geographic distribution has been enhanced with new species described from brackish-marine waters of the southern Iberian Peninsula and from inland freshwaters of South China, and here we report novel Simonsenia from fully marine waters. Methods – New isolates of Simonsenia species were obtained from marine waters, the littoral zone of the Korean Yellow Sea coast and the Gulf of Mexico in Corpus Christi (Texas), and documented in LM, SEM and with DNA sequence data (plastid-encoded rbcL and psbC). Phylogenetic trees of raphid diatoms were constructed to assess the relationships of the new species and of the genus as a whole. Key results and conclusions – Two novel species of Simonsenia (S. eileencoxiae and S. paucistriata) are described and a further putative taxon is characterized morphologically. The molecular phylogeny of the new Simonsenia species and previously sequenced species supports both the monophyly of the genus and its place within the Bacillariaceae. The Simonsenia clade clusters with clades composed of Cylindrotheca, Denticula and some Nitzschia spp. (including N. amphibia, N. frustulum, N. inconspicua). Hence Simonsenia is firmly positioned within the Bacillariaceae by molecular phylogenies, confirming its position within this group based on the possession of a canal raphe and its ultrastructure, and rejecting its classification within the Surirellaceae. Morphological data from the new Simonsenia species is typical for the genus, with a “simonsenioid” canal raphe type supported over the valve face with fenestral braces, alar canals connecting the canal raphe with the cell lumen, and the presence of fenestrae between the alar canals externally. Our results indicate unequivocally that the biogeography and the biodiversity of Simonsenia remain highly underestimated. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Ethnopharmacological relevance Essential oils (EOs) are important active ingredients in Chinese herbal medicine. Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf, Cinnamomum cassia (L.) Presl, Salvia japonica Thunb., and Rosa rugosa Thunb. are used in local and traditional medicine to treat inflammation-related diseases. While the constituents and bioactivities of EOs of the above four Chinese herbals have been reported previously, but their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities have not been systematically evaluated. Aim of the study The purpose of this study was to research the chemical constituents, anti-inflammatory activities, and antioxidant activities of EOs of four Chinese herbal medicines. Materials and methods Fresh plant materials were collected both in August 2018. The compositions of EOs were determined by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. TPA (12-O-tetradecylphophenol-13-acetate)-induced mouse ear model was evaluated the anti-inflammatory activities of EOs. The reduction of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and RelA protein of the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) in the signal pathway (P65) were measured. The antioxidant activities of EOs from four plants were determined by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging method. Results A total of 217 compounds were separated and identified from four EOs, mainly including trans-cinnamylaldehyde (68.75%), citronellal (38.16%), linalool (1.02–33.73%), geraniol (19.39%) and citronellol (17.18%). All four EOs reduced the damage of the ear tissue and had certain anti-inflammatory effects, and the EOs of C. citratus (CyCEOs) and S. japonica (SJEOs) had the best anti-inflammatory activities among others, even better than ibuprofen. The four EOs exhibited different DPPH radical-scavenging activities (IC50, 0.101–1.017%), where most of them were much lower than that of EOs of C. citratus (CiCEOs) (IC50, 0.101%) and EOs of R. rugosa (RREOs) (IC50, 0.142%). Conclusions The main components determine diverse propertise of these four EOs, our results suggested that four EOs presented anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect via reducing the expression of TNF-a, IL-6, COX-2, and NF-κB p65, which may provide a new approach for development of new anti-inflammatory drugs.

Suberin is a complex hydrophobic polymer of aliphatic and phenolic compounds which controls the movement of gases, water, and solutes and protects plants from environmental stresses and pathogenic infection. The synthesis and regulatory pathways of suberin remain unknown in Brachypodium distachyon. Here we describe the identification of a B. distachyon gene, BdFAR4, encoding a fatty acyl-coenzyme A reductase (FAR) by a reverse genetic approach, and investigate the molecular relevance of BdFAR4 in the root suberin synthesis of B. distachyon. BdFAR4 is specifically expressed throughout root development. Heterologous expression of BdFAR4 in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) afforded the production of C20:0 and C22:0 fatty alcohols. The loss-of-function knockout of BdFAR4 by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing significantly reduced the content of C20:0 and C22:0 fatty alcohols associated with root suberin. In contrast, overexpression of BdFAR4 in B. distachyon and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) resulted in the accumulation of root suberin-associated C20:0 and C22:0 fatty alcohols, suggesting that BdFAR4 preferentially accepts C20:0 and C22:0 fatty acyl-CoAs as substrates. The BdFAR4 protein was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum in Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts and Nicotiana benthamiana leaf epidermal cells. BdFAR4 transcript levels can be increased by abiotic stresses and abscisic acid treatment. Furthermore, yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase activity, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that the R2R3-MYB transcription factor BdMYB41 directly binds to the promoter of BdFAR4. Taken together, these results imply that BdFAR4 is essential for the production of root suberin-associated fatty alcohols, especially under stress conditions, and that its activity is transcriptionally regulated by the BdMYB41 transcription factor.

Stomata are valves on the leaf surface controlling carbon dioxide (CO2) influx for photosynthesis and water loss by transpiration. Thus, plants have to evolve elaborate mechanisms controlling stomatal aperture to allow efficient photosynthesis while avoid excessive water loss. Light is not only the energy source for photosynthesis but also an important signal regulating stomatal movement during dark-to-light transition. Our knowledge concerning blue and red light signaling and light-induced metabolite changes that contribute to stomatal opening are accumulating. This review summarizes recent advances on the signaling components that lie between the perception of blue/red light and activation of the PM H+-ATPases, and on the negative regulation of stomatal opening by red light-activated phyB signaling and ultraviolet (UV-B and UV-A) irradiation. Besides, light-regulated guard cell (GC)-specific metabolic levels, mesophyll-derived sucrose, and CO2 concentration within GCs also play dual roles in stomatal opening. Thus, light-induced stomatal opening is tightly accompanied by brake mechanisms, allowing plants to coordinate carbon gain and water loss. Knowledge on the mechanisms regulating the trade-off between stomatal opening and closure may have potential applications toward generating superior crops with improved water use efficiency (CO2 gain vs. water loss).

International audience; Madagascar is an isolated oceanic island characterized by high degrees of endemism at all taxonomic levels. The waters surrounding Madagascar are still poorly studied for benthic marine diatom assemblages. The aim of our study was to analyse the taxonomic biodiversity and molecular phylogeny of the diatom assemblages of the Nosy Be archipelago in terms of their ubiquity/rarity. A total of 65 samples from 14 sampling sites were collected from the Nosy Be and Nosy Tanikely islands in June/July 2014. Diatom identification, based on light and electron microscopic examination, revealed 332 diatom taxa. From those, ∼90 strains were isolated and successfully cultured. So far, DNA has been extracted and one chloroplast gene (rbcL) sequenced from 21 strains in order to reconstruct their single gene phylogeny. Taxa selected for sequencing and the preliminary phylogeny are from genera considered common benthic and planktonic forms in the marine littoral: Bellerochea, Melosira, Paralia, Triceratium, Navicula, Hippodonta, Auricula, Nitzschia, Cocconeis, and some araphids. For each site, Shannon and Simpson biodiversity indices were calculated. Diatom assemblages of Nosy Be were characterized by high biodiversity. The most abundant species was Cocconeis scutellum. Whereas some of the cultured taxa seem to represent cosmopolitan or zonal forms: e.g., Bellerochea malleus, Triceratium dubium, Melosira lineata, Paralia crawfordii, or Nitzschia inconspicua, most of the taxa isolated in culture and sequenced have not been observed in earlier works based on use of molecular markers. The dominant taxa were generally those with broad geographic distribution with global/Indo-Pacific affinities. Amongst all 332 taxa, only 35% have been identified to the species level. Many of the taxa identified to the generic level may turn out to represent taxa new to science after further SEM examination and DNA sequencing.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) dough strength and extensibility are mainly determined by the polymerization of glutenin. The number of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) differs in various wheat varieties due to the silencing of some genes. The effects of Ax1 or Dx2 subunit absence on glutenin polymerization, dough mixing properties and gluten micro structure were investigated with two groups of near-isogenic lines. The results showed that Ax1 or Dx2 absence decreased the accumulation rate of glutenin polymers and thus delayed the rapid increase period for glutenin polymerization by at least ten days, which led to lower percentage of polymeric protein in mature grain. Ax1 or Dx2 absence significantly decreased the dough development time and dough stability, but increased the uniformity of micro structure. Lacunarity, derived from quantitative analysis of gluten network, is suggested as a new indicator for wheat quality.

We report the chloroplast genome sequence of Nanofrustulum shiloi, a tiny araphid pennate diatom collected from the Adriatic Sea. The 160,994-bp N. shiloi genome displays a quadripartite structure and its gene repertoire resembles those of other diatom chloroplast genomes. Besides the genes located in the inverted repeat, psbY is duplicated. A gene-poor region in the large single-copy region contains multiple ORFs sharing sequence similarities with plasmids and chloroplast ORFs found in other diatom species. The genome features a single intron, a group II intron in petB. Phylogenomic analysis identified N. shiloi at a basal position within the araphid 2 clade.

Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia triticina, is an important fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and causes significant yield losses worldwide. To determine quantitative trait loci (QTLs) responsible for leaf rust resistance, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed from a cross of Ning7840 × Clark was evaluated for leaf rust severity, and was genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using 9K Illumina chips, and with simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Two major QTLs on chromosome arms 7DS and 3BS, and two minor QTLs on chromosomes 5AS and 6AS showed a significant effect on leaf rust severity. The 7DS QTL from Ning7840 and the 3BS QTL from Clark explained, respectively, about 35% and 18% of the phenotypic variation for leaf rust resistance. The QTL on 7DS was confirmed to be Lr34. The QTL on 3BS, QLr.hwwg-3B.1, was associated with adult plant resistance and was provisionally identified as Lr74. QLr.hwwg-5AS and QLr.hwwg-6AS from Ning7840 and Clark, respectively, may correspond to previously described QTLs. Lr34, QLr.hwwg-3BS.1, and QLr.hwwg-6AS had an additive effect on leaf rust severity. RILs with all three favorable alleles showed the highest resistance to leaf rust and the RILs with none of them showed the lowest resistance.

Hyperparathyroidism-induced hypercalcemic crisis is a rare presentation of primary hyperparathyroidism. Primary hyperparathyroidism is caused by uncontrolled and immoderate secretion of parathyroid hormone. The most common presentation in primary hyperparathyroidism is renal stones, soft tissue calcification, cystic bone disease, and even hypercalcemic crisis. We report a patient who presented with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome due to extreme hypercalcemia (serum calcium concentration, 4.79 mmol/L [2.15–2.25 mmol/L]) resulting from primary hyperparathyroidism (serum parathyroid hormone concentration, 2215 pg/mL). The complications in this patient were complete cardiac damage and acute kidney injury. On the basis of the hypercalcemic crisis, the patient subsequently underwent surgical resection of parathyroid adenoma. Two days after surgery, her serum calcium and parathyroid hormone concentrations were normal. The patient had a good recovery after a series of other relevant therapies. In conclusion, surgery should be taken into consideration for hyperparathyroidism.

The focus of this paper is the sexual reproduction and phylogeny of Schizostauron Grunow, which were studied using clonal cultures isolated from the Indian Ocean coast of Mozambique near Tofo and Bazaruto. Taxa of Schizostauron were characterized by light and electron microscopy and a phylogeny derived from three genes (rbcL, psbC and short subunit). Schizostauron was established in the second half of the 19th century, then forgotten, with its taxa included in Cocconeis or Achnanthes sensu lato. Schizostauron, together with Astartiella and perhaps also Kolbesia and Karayevia, seems to form a third lineage of monoraphid diatoms, which are related to biraphid diatoms belonging to the Stauroneidaceae and Parlibellus, but not to the two other lineages of monoraphids (Achnanthes and the Achnanthidiaceae–Cocconeidaceae group). In culture, size reduction was followed by release of gametes and auxosporulation in mixtures of clones. Despite some morphological differences, four clones from the Bazaruto po...

Background Silverleaf sunflower, Helianthus argophyllus , is one of the most important wild species that have been usually used for the improvement of cultivated sunflower. Although a reference genome is now available for the cultivated species, H. annuus , its effect in helping understanding the mechanisms underlying the traits of H. argophyllus is limited by the substantial genomic variance between these two species.Results In this study, we generated a high-quality reference transcriptome of H. argophyllus using Iso-seq strategy. This assembly contains 50,153 unique genes covering more than 91% of the whole genes. Among them, we find 205 genes that are absent in the cultivated species and 475 fusion genes containing components of coding or non-coding sequences from the genome of H. annuus . It is interesting that in line with the strong disease resistance observed for H. argophyllus , these H. argophyllus -specific genes are predominantly related to functions of resistance. We have also profiled the gene expressions in leaf and root under normal or salt stressed conditions and, as a result, find distinct transcriptomic responses to salt stress in leaf and root. Particularly, genes involved in several critical processes including the synthesis and metabolism of glutamate and carbohydrate transport are reversely regulated in leaf and root.Conclusions Overall, this study provided insights into the genomic mechanisms underlying the disease resistance and salt tolerance of silverleaf sunflower and the transcriptome assembly and the genes identified in this study can serve as a complement data resources for future research and breeding programs of sunflowers.

Cuticular wax accumulation and composition affects drought resistance in plants. Brachypodium distachyon plants subjected to water deficit and polyethylene glycol treatments resulted in a significant increase in total wax load, in which very-long-chain (VLC) alkanes were more sensitive to these treatments than other wax compounds, implying that VLC alkanes biosynthesis plays a more important role in drought resistance in B. distachyon. ECERIFERUM1 (CER1) has been reported to encode a core enzyme involved in VLC alkanes biosynthesis in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), but few corresponding genes are investigated in B. distachyon. Here, we identified eight CER1 homologous genes in B. distachyon, namely BdCER1-1 to BdCER1-8, and then analyzed their sequences feature, expression patterns, stress induction, and biochemical activities. These genes had similar protein structure to other reported CER1 and CER1-like genes, but displayed closer phylogenetic relationship to the rice OsGL1 genes. They were further found to exhibit various tissue expression patterns after being induced by abiotic stresses. Among them, BdCER1-8 gene showed extremely high expression in leaves. Heterologous introduction of BdCER1-8 into the Arabidopsis cer1 mutant rescued VLC alkanes biosynthesis. These results indicate that BdCER1 genes are likely to be involved in VLC alkanes biosynthesis of B. distachyon. Taken together, BdCER1-8 seems to play an explicit and predominant role in VLC alkanes biosynthesis in leaf. Our work provides important clues for further characterizing function of CER1 homologous genes in B. distachyon and also an option to improve drought resistance of cereal crops.

Although previous phylogenetic analyses suggested that the araphid diatom family Plagiogrammaceae is monophyletic, there is still not a clear understanding of relationships among the genera, and the taxonomy of several genera--Dimeregramma and Plagiogramma--remains questionable in light of paraphyly for both genera using molecular and morphological data. We have expanded the available DNA for molecular work for dozens of plagiogrammacean clones and analyzed 29 morphological characters from plagiogrammarian taxa and closely related genera, to increase understanding of the evolutionary history and systematics of the family and re-evaluate the current taxonomical classification of plagiogrammacean genera. The addition of more taxa and more data confirm the results from previous molecular phylogenies: most plagiogrammacean genera are monophyletic, except for Dimeregramma and Plagiogramma. Interestingly, the morphological analysis resolves only Talaroneis and Glyphodesmis as monophyletic. Given these results, we feel there is limited support for retaining Dimeregramma and Plagiogramma as distinct genera, and formally propose amending Plagiogramma and transferring six Dimeregramma species. As the Plagiogrammaceae is also one of the first-diverging clades of pennate diatoms, we also used these molecular data to estimate the age of the family, based on multiple calibration points derived from fossil taxa within or close to the Plagiogrammaceae. The results indicated that the Plagiogrammaceae evolved more than 114 million year ago and its diversification appears to correspond to a time of climate cooling. Additionally, we described a new monotypic genus (Coccinelloidea) with one new species C. gracilis, and five new species within established genera, e.g. Plagiogramma marginalis, Plagiogramma harenae, Plagiogramma porcipellis, Neofragilaria montgomeryii and Psammogramma anacarae.