The effect of β-cyclocitral treatment on the carotenoid content of transgenic Marsh grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) suspension-cultured cells

Zheng, Xiongjie, Zhu, Kaijie, Ye, Junli, Price, Elliott J., Deng, Xiuxin, Fraser, Paul D. (2020): The effect of β-cyclocitral treatment on the carotenoid content of transgenic Marsh grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) suspension-cultured cells. Phytochemistry (112509) 180: 1-8, DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2020.112509, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.phytochem.2020.11250

Di-μ-benzoato-κ3 O,O′:O;κ3 O:O,O′-bis­[(acetato-κO)(1,10-phenanthroline-κ2 N,N′)lead(II)] dihydrate

The title compound, [Pb2(CH3COO)2(C7H5O2)2(C12H8N2)2]·2H2O, consists of dimeric units built up around a crystallographic centre of symmetry and two non-coordinating water mol­ecules. Each PbII unit is six-coordinated by a bidentate 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligand, a monodentate acetate anion and a bidentate benzoate anion, which also acts as a bridge linking the two PbII atoms. The crystal packing is stabilized by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and by π–π inter­actions between the phen rings of neighboring mol­ecules, with a centroid–centroid distance of 3.577 (3) Å

Comparative transcripts profiling reveals new insight into molecular processes regulating lycopene accumulation in a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) red-flesh mutant

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interest in lycopene metabolism and regulation is growing rapidly because accumulative studies have suggested an important role for lycopene in human health promotion. However, little is known about the molecular processes regulating lycopene accumulation in fruits other than tomato so far.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>On a spontaneous sweet orange bud mutant with abnormal lycopene accumulation in fruits and its wild type, comparative transcripts profiling was performed using Massively Parallel Signature Sequencing (MPSS). A total of 6,877,027 and 6,275,309 reliable signatures were obtained for the wild type (WT) and the mutant (MT), respectively. Interpretation of the MPSS signatures revealed that the total number of transcribed gene in MT is 18,106, larger than that in WT 17,670, suggesting that newly initiated transcription occurs in the MT. Further comparison of the transcripts abundance between MT and WT revealed that 3,738 genes show more than two fold expression difference, and 582 genes are up- or down-regulated at 0.05% significance level by more than three fold difference. Functional assignments of the differentially expressed genes indicated that 26 reliable metabolic pathways are altered in the mutant; the most noticeable ones are carotenoid biosynthesis, photosynthesis, and citrate cycle. These data suggest that enhanced photosynthesis and partial impairment of lycopene downstream flux are critical for the formation of lycopene accumulation trait in the mutant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provided a global picture of the gene expression changes in a sweet orange red-flesh mutant as compared to the wild type. Interpretation of the differentially expressed genes revealed new insight into the molecular processes regulating lycopene accumulation in the sweet orange red-flesh mutant.</p

Combined Transcriptome and Proteome Analysis of RpoS Regulon Reveals Its Role in Spoilage Potential of Pseudomonas fluorescens

Microbial contamination is considered the main cause of food spoilage. Pseudomonas fluorescens is a typical spoilage bacterium contributing to a large extent to the spoilage process of proteinaceous foods. RpoS is known as an alternative sigma factor controlling stress resistance and virulence in many pathogens. Our previous work revealed that RpoS contributes to the spoilage activities of P. fluorescens by regulating resistance to different stress conditions, extracellular acylated homoserine lactone (AHL) levels, extracellular protease and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) production. However, RpoS-dependent genes in P. fluorescens remained undefined. RNA-seq transcriptomics analysis combined with quantitative proteomics analysis based on multiplexed isobaric tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling was performed in the P. fluorescens wild-type strain UK4 and its derivative carrying an rpoS mutation. A total of 375 differentially expressed coding sequences (DECs) and 212 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. The DECs were further verified by qRT-PCR. The combined transcriptome and proteome analyses revealed the involvement of this regulator in several cellular processes, mainly including polysaccharide metabolism, intracellular secretion, extracellular structures, cell wall biogenesis, stress responses, and amino acid and biogenic amine metabolism, which may contribute to the biofilm formation, stress resistance, and spoilage activities of P. fluorescens. Moreover, we indeed observed that RpoS contributed to the production of the macrocolony biofilm's matrix. Our results provide insights into the regulatory network of RpoS and expand the knowledge about the role of RpoS in the functioning of P. fluorescens in food spoilage

Urban Expansion Assessment in Huaihe River Basin, China, from 1998 to 2013 Using Remote Sensing Data

Urbanization reflects the overall behavior of human society; thus, characterization of its associated spatial and temporal trends has been extensively researched. This study examines the process of urban expansion in the Huaihe River Basin (HRB) which is a key transition region within China’s urban system. In order to grasp the urban expansion process in different temporal sequences objectively, rapidly, and accurately, we used remote sensing data to assess the urban expansion in time and space. Urban expansion rules were defined for the urban area, urbanization intensification, extended dynamic degree, and spatial pattern. The research findings show that the urban area expansion speed was at medium level throughout the entire HRB and within each province. Presently, the formation of a whole urban agglomeration or urban system is not complete in the HRB; urban expansion in the HRB displayed space-time disequilibrium tendencies during 1998–2013

Relationship of the metabolic score for insulin resistance and the risk of stroke in patients with hypertension: A cohort study

BackgroundThe current status of the dose-response relationship between the metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) and new-onset stroke in hypertensive patients and its subtypes is unclear. This study aimed to determine the association between METS-IR and incident stroke and its subtypes within a cohort of Chinese hypertensive patients.MethodsA total of 14032 hospitalized patients with hypertension from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2021, were included in this retrospective cohort study. Cox models and restricted cubic splines were applied to determine the association between METS-IR and the risk of stroke.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 4.80 years, 1067 incident stroke cases occurred. Patients in the highest quartile group of METS-IR levels exhibited a higher risk of stroke (HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.50-2.17) and ischemic stroke (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.60–2.42) than those in the lowest quartile group. However, no significant associations were observed between METS-IR and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Restricted cubic spline analysis suggested a nearly J-shaped association between METS-IR and risk of stroke and ischemic stroke (P for nonlinearity &lt; 0.001). METS-IR did produce a significant improvement in the C statistic when added to the basic model (from 0.637 to 0.664, P &lt; 0.001). Notably, the addition of METS-IR to the basic model resulted in a significant improvement in predicting incident total stroke and ischemic stroke.ConclusionsThis cohort study suggests a relationship between METS-IR and the risk of stroke and ischemic stroke. Further studies are required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms