Sequence Variation and Expression Analysis of Seed Dormancy- and Germination-Associated ABA- and GA-Related Genes in Rice Cultivars

Abscisic acid (ABA) and Gibberellic acid (GA) play key roles in regulating seed dormancy and germination. First, when examining germination of different rice cultivars, we found that their germination timing and dormancy status are rather distinct, coupled with different GA/ABA ratio. Second, we studied genomic sequences of ABA and GA dormancy- and germination-associated genes in rice and discovered single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions (Indels) in both coding and regulatory sequences. We aligned all these variations to the genome assemblies of 9311 and PA64s and demonstrated their relevance to seed dormancy both quantitatively and qualitatively based on gene expression data. Third, we surveyed and compared differentially expressed genes in dry seeds between 9311 and PA64s to show that these differentially expressed genes may play roles in seed dormancy and germination

Hospital-acquired Pneumonia due to Achromobacter spp. in a Geriatric Ward in China: Clinical Characteristics, Biofilm Production, Antibiotic Resistance and Integrons of Isolated Strains.

Background: Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) due to Achromobacter has become a substantial concern in recent years. However, HAP due to Achromobacter in the elderly is rare.Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 15 elderly patients with HAP due to Achromobacter spp., in which the sequence types (STs), integrons, biofilm production and antibiotic resistance of the Achromobacter spp. were examined. Results: The mean age of the 15 elderly patients was 88.8±5.4 years. All patients had at least 3 underlying diseases and catheters. Clinical outcomes improved in 10 of the 15 patients after antibiotic and/or mechanical ventilation treatment, but three patients had chronic infections lasting more than 1 year. The mortality rate was 33.3% (5/15). All strains were resistant to aminoglycosides, aztreonam, nitrofurantoin, and third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins (except ceftazidime and cefoperazone). Six new STs were detected. The most frequent ST was ST306. ST5 was identified in two separate buildings of the hospital. ST313 showed higher MIC in cephalosporins, quinolones and carbapenems, which should be more closely considered in clinical practice. All strains produced biofilm and had integron I and blaOXA-114-like. The main type was blaOXA-114q. The variable region of integron I was different among strains, and the resistance gene of the aminoglycosides was most commonly inserted in integron I. Additionally, blaPSE-1 was first reported in this isolate. Conclusion: Achromobacter spp. infection often occurs in severely ill elders with underlying diseases. The variable region of integrons differs, suggesting that Achromobacter spp. is a reservoir of various resistance genes

Citrus PH5-like H+-ATPase genes: identification and transcript analysis to investigate their possible relationship with citrate accumulation in fruits

PH5 is a petunia gene that encodes a plasma membrane H+-ATPase and determines the vacuolar pH. The citrate content of fruit cell vacuoles influences citrus organoleptic qualities. Although citrus could have PH5-like homologs that are involved in citrate accumulation, the details are still unknown. In this study, extensive data-mining with the PH5 sequence and PCR amplification confirmed that there are at least eight PH5-like genes (CsPH1-8) in the citrus genome. CsPHs have a molecular mass of approximately 100 kDa, and they have high similarity to PhPH5, AtAHA10 or AtAHA2 (from 64.6% to 80.9%). They contain 13-21 exons and 12-20 introns and were evenly distributed into four subgroups of the P3A-subfamily (CsPH1, CsPH2, and CsPH3 in Group I, CsPH4 and CsPH5 in Group II, CsPH6 in Group IV, and CsPH7 and CsPH8 in Group III together with PhPH5). A transcript analysis showed that CsPH1, 3, and 4 were predominantly expressed in mature leaves, whereas CsPH2 and 7 were predominantly expressed in roots, CsPH5 and 6 were predominantly expressed in flowers, and CsPH8 was predominantly expressed in fruit juice sacs. Moreover, the CsPH transcript profiles differed between orange and pummelo, as well as between high-acid and low-acid cultivars. The low-acid orange ‘Honganliu’ exhibits low transcript levels of CsPH3, CsPH4, CsPH5, and CsPH8, whereas the acid-free pummelo has only a low transcript level of CsPH8. In addition, ABA injection increased the citrate content significantly, which was accompanied by the obvious induction of CsPH2, 6, 7, and 8 transcript levels. Taken together, we suggest that CsPH8 seems likely to regulate citrate accumulation in the citrus fruit vacuole

Cathodic stripping voltammetric determination of chromium in coastal waters on cubic Nano-titanium carbide loaded gold nanoparticles modified electrode

The novel cubical nano-titanium carbide loaded gold nanoparticles modified electrode for selective and sensitive detection of trace chromium (Cr) in coastal water was established based on a simple approach. Nano-titanium carbide is used as the typical cubical nanomaterial with wonderful catalytic activity towards the reduction of Cr(VI). Gold nanoparticles with excellent physical and chemical properties can facilitate electron transfer and enhance the catalytic activity of the modified electrode. Taking advantage of the synergistic effects of nano-titanium carbide and gold nanoparticles, the excellent cathodic signal responses for the stripping determination of Cr(VI) can be obtained. The detection limit of this method is calculated as 2.08 μg L-1 with the linear calibration curve ranged from 5.2 to 1040 μg L-1. This analytical method can be used to detect Cr(VI) effectively without using any complexing agent. The fabricated electrode was successfully applied for the detection of chromium in coastal waters collected from the estuary giving Cr concentrations between 12.48 and 22.88 μg L-1 with the recovery between 96% and 105%

1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the posterior parietal cortex modulates spatial attention

Lesion and neuroimaging studies have suggested that regions in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are involved in visual spatial attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects in spatial attention resulting from a transient parietal impairment induced by 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). We examined 50 healthy subjects using the Attention Network Test after first applying rTMS to right or left PPC. The right parietal rTMS, but not left PPC rTMS, caused a significant slowing in the mean reaction time (RT) to spatial cues during the ANT test. There were no significant effects of rTMS on mean RT under the no cue, center cue, and double cue conditions, or for each flanker type among the experimental groups. Moreover, after rTMS to the right PPC, test subjects displayed deficits in networks related to alerting and orienting, whereas they exhibited improvement following rTMS to the left PPC. These findings indicate that the right PPC serves an important function in spatial orienting and the alerting activities. We considered that the enhancement in spatial alerting and orienting function resulting from the commonly received idea of inter-hemispheric inhibition was the disinhibition of right PPC caused by the low frequency rTMS induced 'virtual lesions' of left PPC

Impairment of oligodendroglia maturation leads to aberrantly increased cortical glutamate and anxiety-like behaviors in juvenile mice

Adolescence is the critical time for developing proper oligodendro (OL)-neuron interaction and the peak of onset for many cognitive diseases, among which anxiety disorders display the highest prevalence. However, whether impairment of de novo OL development causes neuronal abnormalities and contributes to the early onset of anxiety phenotype in childhood still remains unexplored. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that defects in OL maturation manifests cortical neuron function and leads to anxiety-like behaviors in juvenile mice. We report here that conditional knockout of the Olig2 gene (Olig2 cKO) specifically in differentiating OLs in the mouse brain preferentially impaired OL maturation in the grey matter of cerebral cortex. Interestingly, localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed that Olig2 cKO mice displayed abnormally elevated cortical glutamate levels. In addition, transmission electron microscopy demonstrated increased vesicle density in excitatory glutamatergic synapses in the cortex of the Olig2 cKO mice. Moreover, juvenile Olig2 cKO mice exhibited anxiety-like behaviors and impairment in behavioral inhibition. Taken together, our results suggest that impaired OL development affects glutamatergic neuron function in the cortex and causes anxiety-related behaviors in juvenile mice. These discoveries raise an intriguing possibility that OL defects may be a contributing mechanism for the onset of anxiety in childhood

LPAIV H9N2 drives the differential expression of goose interferons and proinflammatory cytokines in both in vitro and in vivo studies

Geese, as aquatic birds, are an important natural reservoir of avian influenza virus (AIV). To characterize the innate antiviral immune response against AIV H9N2 strain infection in geese as well as the probable relationship between the expression of immune-related genes and the distribution of viral antigens, we investigated the levels of immune-related gene transcription both in AIV H9N2 strain-infected geese and in vitro. The patterns of viral location and the tissue distribution of CD4- and CD8α-positive cells were concurrently detected by immunohistochemical staining, which revealed respiratory and digestive organs as the primary sites of antigen-positive signals. Average AIV H9N2 viral loads were detected in the faeces, Harderian gland and trachea, where higher copy numbers were detected compared with the rectum. Our results suggested the strong induction of proinflammatory cytokine expression compared with interferons (IFNs). Notably, in most tissues from the AIV H9N2 strain-infected birds, IFNα and IFNγ gene transcripts were differentially expressed. However, inverse changes in IFNα and IFNγ expression after AIV H9N2 strain infection were observed in vitro. Taken together, the results suggest that AIV H9N2 is widely distributed in multiple tissues, efficiently induces inflammatory cytokines in the Harderian gland and spleen of goslings and inversely influences type I and II IFN expression both in vivo and in vitro. The findings of this study further our understanding of host defence mechanisms and the pathogenesis of the H9N2 influenza virus in geese