Search

Spodoptera frugiperda damages crops around the world and has developed resistance to many pesticides. Beauveria bassiana, a fungus that is harmless to humans and the environment, is widely used in pest control. In our study, differentially expressed genes between S. frugiperda larvae, both exposed and unexposed, to B. bassiana were analyzed by transcriptome sequencing. More than 160 Gb of clean data were obtained, and 2767 and 2892 DEGs were identified in LH36vsCK36 and LH144vsCK144, respectively. To explore the roles of glycometabolism and antioxidation-related enzyme genes in S. frugiperda against B. bassiana infection, the expression patterns of those genes when under attack from B. bassiana were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The results of enzyme activity experiments revealed that S. frugiperda larvae exposed to B. bassiana could upregulate these genes to produce more enzymes related to the maintainance of normal glucose metabolism, as well as regulate the expression of detoxification and antioxidant factors to enhance the larvae's detoxification and antioxidant capacity. The result implied that glycometabolism and antioxidation-related enzymes and genes played critical roles in the antifungal immune process of S. frugiperda larvae. This study enhances our understanding of the molecular mechanisms related to regulation of metabolism and provides a basis for exploring new methods to combat antifungal resistance in S. frugiperda.

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence and co-prevalence of comorbidities among Chinese individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).MethodsMedical records were retrospectively retrieved from the 3B Study database, which provided a comprehensive assessment of comorbid conditions in Chinese adult outpatients with T2DM. Patient characteristics, laboratory measures, and comorbidities were summarized via descriptive analyses, overall and by subgroups of age (

Spodoptera frugiperda is one of the most harmful pests that attack maize and other major food crops and causes huge economic loss every year in China and other countries and regions. Beauveria bassiana, a kind of entomological fungus that is highly pathogenic to pests, is harmless to the environment and human beings. However, at present, S. frugiperda has gradually developed resistance to many pesticides and microbial insecticides. In this study, transcriptome sequencing was conducted to analyze the differences in gene expression between B. bassiana-infected and -uninfected S. frugiperda. More than 160 Gb of clean data were obtained as 150-bp paired-end reads using the Illumina HiSeq™ 4000 platform, and 2,767 and 2,892 DEGs were identified in LH36vsCK36 and LH144vsCK144, respectively. In order to explore the roles of JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways in antifungal immune response in S. frugiperda against B. bassiana infection, the expression patterns of those signaling pathway-related genes in B. bassiana-infected S. frugiperda were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, antifungal activity experiments revealed that the suppression of JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways by inhibitors could inhibit the antifungal activity to a large extent and lead to increased sensitivity of S. frugiperda to B. bassiana infection, indicating that JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways and their associated genes might be involved in the synthesis and secretion of antifungal substances. This study implied that JAK/STAT, Toll, and Imd signaling pathways played crucial roles in the antifungal immune response of the S. frugiperda larvae, in which the related genes of these signaling pathways could play special regulatory roles in signal transduction. This study would improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying innate immunity and provide the basis for a wide spectrum of strategies against antifungal resistance of S. frugiperda.

Base editing using CRISPR technologies is an invaluable tool for crop breeding. One of the major base editors, the adenine base editor (ABE), has been successfully used in both model plants and many crops. However, owing to limited editing efficiency, the ABE has been difficult to apply in polyploid crops such as allohexaploid bread wheat that often require simultaneous mutation of multiple alleles for fast breeding. We have designed a wheat high-efficiency ABE (WhieABE), using the newly developed high-activity adenosine deaminase TadA8e. In vivo and in vitro analysis demonstrated the improved applicability of TadA8e over the commonly used TadA7.10. Dinitroaniline is a widely used herbicide with high effectiveness and low toxicity to animals. However, wheat cultivars with tolerance to dinitroaniline are rare, limiting the application of dinitroaniline in wheat planting. Using A-to-G editing with WhieABE, we found that a Met-to-Thr mutation in wheat tubulin alleles located on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 1D, 4A, and 4D increased the resistance of wheat to dinitroaniline, revealing a dosage effect of edited tubulins in resistance. The WhieABE promises to be a valuable editing tool for accelerating crop improvement and developing herbicide-resistant wheat germplasm.

Abstract The genus Anastatus comprises a large group of parasitoids, including several biological control agents in agricultural and forest systems. The taxonomy and phylogeny of these species remain controversial. In this study, the mitogenome of A. fulloi Sheng and Wang was sequenced and characterized. The nearly full-length mitogenome of A. fulloi was 15,692 bp, compromising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a control region (CR). The total A + T contents were 83.83%, 82.18%, 87.58%, 87.27%, and 82.13% in the whole mitogenome, 13 PCGs, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, and CR, respectively. The mitogenome presented negative AT skews and positive GC skews, except for the CR. Most PCGs were encoded on the heavy strand, started with ATN codons, and ended with TAA codons. Among the 3736 amino acid-encoding codons, TTA (Leu1), CGA (Arg), TCA (Ser2), and TCT (Ser2) were predominant. Most tRNAs had cloverleaf secondary structures, except trnS1, with the absence of a dihydrouridine (DHU) arm. Compared with mitogenomes of the ancestral insect and another parasitoid within Eupelmidae, large-scale rearrangements were found in the mitogenome of A. fulloi, especially inversions and inverse transpositions of tRNA genes. The gene arrangements of parasitoid mitogenomes within Chalcidoidea were variable. A novel gene arrangement was presented in the mitogenome of A. fulloi. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 13 protein-coding genes of 20 parasitoids indicated that the phylogenetic relationship of 6 superfamilies could be presented as Mymaridae + (Eupelmidae + (Encyrtidae + (Trichogrammatidae + (Pteromalidae + Eulophidae)))). This study presents the first mitogenome of the Anastatus genus and offers insights into the identification, taxonomy, and phylogeny of these parasitoids.

Abstract Trichogramma is a useful species that is widely applied in biocontrol. Temperature profoundly affects the commercial application of T. chilonis. Different developmental transcriptomes of prepupae and pupae of T. chilonis under 10, 25, and 40°C were obtained from our previous study. In this study, transcriptomic analysis was further conducted to gain a clear understanding of the molecular changes in the prepupae of T. chilonis under different thermal conditions. A total of 37,295 unigenes were identified from 3 libraries of prepupae of T. chilonis, 17,293 of which were annotated. Differential expression analysis showed that 408 and 108 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified after heat and cold treatment, respectively. Under heat stress, the pathway of protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum was found to be active. Most of the genes involved in this pathway were annotated as lethal (2) essential for life [l(2)efl] and heat shock protein genes (hsps), which were both highly upregulated. Nevertheless, most of the genes involved in another significantly enriched pathway of starch and sucrose metabolism were downregulated, including 1 alpha‐glucosidase gene and 2 beta‐glucuronidase genes. Under cold stress, no significantly enriched pathway was found, and the significantly enriched GO terms were related to the interaction with host and immune defenses. Together, these results provide us with a comprehensive view of the molecular mechanisms of T. chilonis in response to temperature stresses and will provide new insight into the mass rearing and utilization of T. chilonis.

Abstract Background PhasiRNAs (phased secondary siRNAs) play important regulatory roles in the development processes and biotic or abiotic stresses in plants. Some of phasiRNAs involve in the reproductive development in grasses, which include two categories, 21-nt (nucleotide) and 24-nt phasiRNAs. They are triggered by miR2118 and miR2275 respectively, in premeiotic and meiotic anthers of rice, maize and other grass species. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) with three closely related subgenomes (subA, subB and subD), is a model of allopolyploid in plants. Knowledge about the role of phasiRNAs in the inflorescence development of wheat is absent until now, and the evolution of PHAS loci in polyploid plants is also unavailable. Results Using 261 small RNA expression datasets from various tissues, a batch of PHAS (phasiRNA precursors) loci were identified in the young spike of wheat, most of which were regulated by miR2118 and miR2275 in their target site regions. Dissection of PHAS and their trigger miRNAs among the diploid (AA and DD), tetraploid (AABB) and hexaploid (AABBDD) genomes of Triticum indicated that distribution of PHAS loci were dominant randomly in local chromosomes, while miR2118 was dominant only in the subB genome. The diversity of PHAS loci in the three subgenomes of wheat and their progenitor genomes (AA, DD and AABB) suggested that they originated or diverged at least before the occurrence of the tetraploid AABB genome. The positive correlation between the PHAS loci or the trigger miRNAs and the ploidy of genome indicated the expansion of genome was the major drive force for the increase of PHAS loci and their trigger miRNAs in Triticum. In addition, the expression profiles of the PHAS transcripts suggested they responded to abiotic stresses such as cold stress in wheat. Conclusions Altogether, non-coding phasiRNAs are conserved transcriptional regulators that display quick plasticity in Triticum genome. They may be involved in reproductive development and abiotic stress in wheat. It could be referred to molecular research on male reproductive development in Triticum.

Wheat high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) determine dough elasticity and play an essential role in processing quality. HMW-GS are encoded by Glu-1 genes and controlled primarily at transcriptional level, implemented through the interactions between cis-acting elements and trans-acting factors. However, transcriptional mechanism of Glu-1 genes remains elusive. Here we made a comprehensive analysis of cis-regulatory elements within 1-kb upstream of the Glu-1 start codon (−1000 to −1) and identified 30 conserved motifs. Based on motif distribution pattern, three conserved cis-regulatory modules (CCRMs), CCRM1 (−300 to −101), CCRM2 (−650 to −400), and CCRM3 (−950 to −750), were defined, and their functions were characterized in wheat stable transgenic lines transformed with progressive 5′ deletion promoter::GUS fusion constructs. GUS staining, qPCR and enzyme activity assays indicated that CCRM2 and CCRM3 could enhance the expression level of Glu-1, whereas the 300-bp promoter (−300 to −1), spanning CCRM1 and core region (−100 to −1), was enough to ensure accurate Glu-1 initiation at 7 days after flowering (DAF) and shape its spatiotemporal expression pattern during seed development. Further transgenic assays demonstrated that CCRM1-2 (−300 to −209) containing Complete HMW Enhancer (−246 to −209) was important for expression level but had no effect on expression specificity in the endosperm. In contrast, CCRM1-1 (−208 to −101) was critical for both expression specificity and level of Glu-1. Our findings not only provide new insights to uncover Glu-1 transcription regulatory machinery but also lay foundations for modifying Glu-1 expression. Keywords: Conserved cis-regulatory modules, Glu-1, Transcriptional regulation, Transgenic wheat, Triticum aestivum

Abstract ᅟ The present study comprised 17,096 Chinese hypertensive dyslipidemia patients who received lipid-lowering treatment for > 3 months in order to investigate blood pressure (BP) as well as low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goal attainment rates in Chinese hypertensive dyslipidemia patients on antidyslipidemia drugs. The factors that interfered with BP, or BP and LDL-C goal attainment rates and antihypertensive treatment patterns, were analyzed. In total, 89.9% of the 17,096 hypertensive dyslipidemia patients received antihypertensive medications mainly consisting of a calcium channel blocker (CCB) (48.7%), an angiotensin receptor antagonist (ARB) (25.4%) and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) (15.1%). In cardiology departments, usage rates of β-blockers (19.2%) were unusually high compared to other departments (4.0–8.3%), whereas thiazide diuretics were prescribed at the lowest rate (0.3% vs 1.2–3.6%). The overall goal attainment rates for combined BP and LDL-C as well as BP or LDL-C targets were 22.9, 31.9 and 60.1%, respectively. The lowest BP, LDL-C and BP combined with LDL-C goal attainment rates were achieved in endocrine departments (19.9, 48.9 and 12.4%, respectively). Combination therapies showed no benefit particularly for BP goal achievement. A multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age < 65 years, alcohol consumption, diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), body mass index (BMI) ≥ 28 kg/m2 and not achieving total cholesterol goals were independent predictors for achieving BP, LDL-C or combined BP and LDL-C goals. In summary, the BP and LDL-C goal achievement rates in Chinese dyslipidemia outpatients with hypertension were low, especially in endocrine departments. Combination therapies were not associated with improvement of the goal achievement rates. Trial registration Clinical trial registration number NCT01732952

Insect chemoreception involves many families of genes, including odourant/pheromone binding proteins (OBP/PBPs), chemosensory proteins (CSPs), odourant receptors (ORs), ionotropic receptors (IRs), and sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs), which play irreplaceable roles in mediating insect behaviors such as host location, foraging, mating, oviposition, and avoidance of danger. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of olfactory reception in Chilo sacchariphagus, which is a major pest of sugarcane. A set of 72 candidate chemosensory genes, including 31 OBPs/PBPs, 15 CSPs, 11 ORs, 13 IRs, and two SNMPs, were identified in four transcriptomes from different tissues and genders of C. sacchariphagus. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted on gene families and paralogs from other model insect species. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) showed that most of these chemosensory genes exhibited antennae-biased expression, but some had high expression in bodies. Most of the identified chemosensory genes were likely involved in chemoreception. This study provides a molecular foundation for the function of chemosensory proteins, and an opportunity for understanding how C. sacchariphagus behaviors are mediated via chemical cues. This research might facilitate the discovery of novel strategies for pest management in agricultural ecosystems.

As an invasive weed, Bidens pilosa seriously threatens native ecosystem functions in beach regions in South China. This study aimed to explore the differences in soil nutrients and microorganisms between the invasive weed B. pilosa and native weeds (Cynodon dactylon, Portulaca oleracea, and Eleusine indica), exploring variations in soil functions after B. pilosa invasion. The results showed that soil nutrients varied by the weed species. The total and unique bacterial and fungal amplicon sequence variant (ASV) numbers in B. pilosa were higher than those in the other three weeds. The bacterial composition related to soil carbon metabolism differed between B. pilosa and the other three native weeds. Analysis of bacterial metabolic pathways showed that their soil carbon metabolism ability was higher than that of the other three native weeds. Some pathogenic fungi and Lophotrichus (dark septate endophytes) are enriched in the rhizosphere of B. pilosa. Increasing the relative abundance of beneficial soil bacteria and decreasing the relative abundance of pathogenic soil fungi may be beneficial for resisting the invasion of B. pilosa. In addition, the soil total phosphorus, available phosphorus, and soil organic matter contents were identified as the most important edaphic factors shaping microbial community structure and function in the context of B. pilosa invasion. This study revealed differences in soil microorganisms between B. pilosa and native weeds, and these differences potentially affected the native ecosystem function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Precipitation has been hypothesized to play a key role in the determination of cloud fraction (CF). The relationships between CF and rain rate (R) in marine boundary layer clouds were studied based on long‐term satellite retrievals. We find that both CF and R increase with cloud geometric width (CGW) and thickness (CGT). Increased CGW causes increased R even without cloud deepening, but increasing CGW beyond 15 km leads to a slight decrease in R. Coincident change in CF and R with increased CGW causes a spurious positive CF‐R relationship. When fixing CGT and CGW, CF generally decreases monotonically with increasing R, and the dependence generally weakens with warmer sea surface temperature and thinner, larger clouds. This finding supports well the hypothesis that aerosols could increase cloudiness by suppressing precipitation. This study also emphasizes the importance of cloud morphology in marine boundary layer cloud studies connected to precipitation processes.

Rht24 is a major dwarfing allele that not only reduces plant height but also increases grain weight. The objective of this study was to trace the source, spread, and distribution of Rht24 and determine its frequency in conjunction with other important dwarfing alleles for Rht1 (Rht-B1b), Rht2 (Rht-D1b), and Rht8. Allele-specific cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers were developed for accurate and effective genotyping of Rht1 and Rht2, and closely linked flanking markers were used for genotyping of Rht8 and Rht24. Marker analysis showed that Rht24 occurs at a higher frequency (84.2%) than other important dwarfing alleles in elite wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties and usually couples with Rht2 or Rht8. Geno- typing of old varieties and landraces showed that Rht24 was widely used in wheat breeding before the Green Revolution (GR). 'Akakomugi' and 'Norin 10', the donors of Rht8 and GR genes Rht1 and Rht2, respectively, harbored Rht24, so Rht24 likely followed the transfer routes of GR genes and Rht8 to spread worldwide. Pedigree analysis showed that many Chinese elite lines and backbone parents were derived from Akakomugi, contributing to the high frequency of Rht24 in Chinese varieties. Additionally, Norin 10-derived semidwarf varieties from the CIMMYT were widely used in Chinese wheat breeding. Finally, Rht24 was also detected in 30 old Chinese varieties and landraces. Overall, these findings show that the presence of Rht24 in modern Chinese elite varieties originated from Akakomugi, Norin 10, or Chinese landraces. Thus, Rht24 was introgressed early, spread widely, and became genetically fixed in a wide range of modern Chinese wheat germplasm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the effect of physicians' characteristics and knowledge of LDL-C target goals on the quality of lipid management in China.Methods: A total of 25 317 dyslipidemia patients who had taken lipid-lowering medication for >3 months were enrolled in our study. Patients' demographic data, medical history, lipid profile, their physician's specialty and professional title and their hospital level as well as their LDL-C goal opinions were recorded.Results: Questionnaires were completed by 926 physicians with 6 different specialties and 4 professional statuses, in 3 different-level hospitals. Most (74.5%) of the physicians recognized the importance of considering LDL-C serum concentration for treating dyslipidemia, and set target LDL-C goals according to the 2007 Chinese guidelines for 83.4% of their patients. The LDL-C goal achievement rate was significantly higher for patients whose physicians' knowledge of LDL-C target goals was consistent with guideline recommendations, compared with those whose physicians' knowledge was inconsistent with the guidelines (60.4% vs 31.1%, P < 0.0001). Physicians working in tier 1 (odds ration (OR) = 2.95; 95% CI 2.37-3.67), (OR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.34-1.81) and tier 2 (OR = 2.53; 95% CI 2.22-2.88), (OR = 1.16; 95% CI 1.06-1.27) hospitals, specialized in neurology (OR = 1.13; 95% CI 0.93-1.36), (OR = 1.57; 95% CI 1.40-1.77), internal medicine (OR = 1.07; 95% CI 0.90-1.27), (OR = 1.58; 95% CI 1.39-1.80), endocrinology (OR = 1.02; 95% CI 0.87-1.21), (OR = 1.63; 95% CI 1.47-1.82) and being a resident vs attending physician (OR = 1.05; 95% CI 0.92-1.20), (OR = 1.00; 95% CI 1.00-1.19) were independent risk factors for low knowledge of LDL-C target goals and low LDL-C goal achievement.Conclusion: Chinese physicians' characteristics and knowledge of LDL-C target goals were associated with patients' LDL-C goal achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phytoene synthase 1 (PSY1) is the most important regulatory enzyme in carotenoid biosynthesis, whereas its function is hardly known in common wheat. The aims of the present study were to investigate Psy1 function and genetic regulation using reverse genetics approaches. Results: Transcript levels of Psy1 in RNAi transgenic lines were decreased by 54-76 % and yellow pigment content (YPC) was reduced by 26-35 % compared with controls, confirming the impact of Psy1 on carotenoid accumulation. A series of candidate genes involved in secondary metabolic pathways and core metabolic processes responded to Psy1 down-regulation. The aspartate rich domain (DXXXD) was important for PSY1 function, and conserved nucleotides adjacent to the domain influenced YPC by regulating gene expression, enzyme activity or alternative splicing. Compensatory responses analysis indicated that three Psy1 homoeologs may be coordinately regulated under normal conditions, but separately regulated under stress. The period 14 days post anthesis (DPA) was found to be a key regulation node during grain development. Conclusion: The findings define key aspects of flour color regulation in wheat and facilitate the genetic improvement of wheat quality targeting color/nutritional specifications required for specific end products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the effect of filling different masses of inorganic filler CeO2-ZrO2-Al2O3(CZA) powder on the anticorrosive and mechanical properties of acrylic coatings, CZA powder samples were synthesized by drying and calcination using the co-precipitation method. The obtained CZA powder was fully dispersed in acrylic resin with commonly used dispersants, defoamers and other additives available in the market, and the acrylic anticorrosive coatings with different mass fractions were prepared on treated iron plates by the scraping method. Meanwhile, the XRD, SEM and EDS methods were used to analyze the physical phase of the CZA powder samples, and the mechanical property tests and electrochemical anticorrosion property tests were utilized to evaluate the characteristics of the coatings, such as adhesion, hardness, roughness, bending performance, wear resistance, tensile strength, elongation at break and anticorrosion performance. Results showed that the as-prepared CZA powders were solid solutions and showed a tetrahedral structure. After adding CZA powder, the hardness of the coating increased from HB to 1H, the bending properties were all 1T, wear resistance was improved, and adhesion was all grade 1. CZA increased the anticorrosive properties of the coatings compared to acrylic anticorrosive coatings without CZA addition, and the best anticorrosive properties of the coatings were obtained when the mass fraction of filler addition was 10%. Overall, the acrylic anticorrosive coating had certain anticorrosive properties and could effectively prevent the corrosion of corrosive media on the material, which presented certain application prospects in the field of anti-corrosion in the future.

NCED1 (9-cis-epoxy carotenoid dioxygenase) plays important roles in controlling ABA levels and drought stress tolerance. The relationships between sequence polymorphisms of the TaNCED1 gene and drought resistance in wheat were analysed. Four allelic variations of the TaNCED1-5B generated to drought resistance were identified. Four groups of KASP (kompetitive allele-specific PCR) markers were developed based on the four alleles and were verified in a natural population of 311 wheat cultivars. The distribution of the four alleles of TaNCED1-5B in the natural population was clarified. Among the allelic variations, 84.62% of the wheat varieties with TT/-/C/-, TT/C/C/-, TT/-/C/G or TT/C/C/G haplotypes were dryland cultivars. The common feature of the above four haplotypes is that they all contain the TT (98) and C (343) alleles at the TaNCED1-5B-TT/CG (98) and TaNCED1-5B-C/T (343) loci, which indicated that these two locis had highly positive correlation with drought resistance in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]