Genome-wide DNA polymorphisms in two cultivars of mei (Prunus mume sieb. et zucc.)

BACKGROUND: Mei (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) is a famous ornamental plant and fruit crop grown in East Asian countries. Limited genetic resources, especially molecular markers, have hindered the progress of mei breeding projects. Here, we performed low-depth whole-genome sequencing of Prunus mume ‘Fenban’ and Prunus mume ‘Kouzi Yudie’ to identify high-quality polymorphic markers between the two cultivars on a large scale. RESULTS: A total of 1464.1 Mb and 1422.1 Mb of ‘Fenban’ and ‘Kouzi Yudie’ sequencing data were uniquely mapped to the mei reference genome with about 6-fold coverage, respectively. We detected a large number of putative polymorphic markers from the 196.9 Mb of sequencing data shared by the two cultivars, which together contained 200,627 SNPs, 4,900 InDels, and 7,063 SSRs. Among these markers, 38,773 SNPs, 174 InDels, and 418 SSRs were distributed in the 22.4 Mb CDS region, and 63.0% of these marker-containing CDS sequences were assigned to GO terms. Subsequently, 670 selected SNPs were validated using an Agilent’s SureSelect solution phase hybridization assay. A subset of 599 SNPs was used to assess the genetic similarity of a panel of mei germplasm samples and a plum (P. salicina) cultivar, producing a set of informative diversity data. We also analyzed the frequency and distribution of detected InDels and SSRs in mei genome and validated their usefulness as DNA markers. These markers were successfully amplified in the cultivars and in their segregating progeny. CONCLUSIONS: A large set of high-quality polymorphic SNPs, InDels, and SSRs were identified in parallel between ‘Fenban’ and ‘Kouzi Yudie’ using low-depth whole-genome sequencing. The study presents extensive data on these polymorphic markers, which can be useful for constructing high-resolution genetic maps, performing genome-wide association studies, and designing genomic selection strategies in mei

The radiative association of PO/PH+ and the photodissociation of PH+

The potential energy curves (PECs) and transition dipole moments (TDMs) of PH+ and PO are computed with the multireference configuration interaction method, and the cross-sections for the radiative association (RA) of PH+ and PO, which is the most efficient way to form the ground states, are presented via the quantum mechanical (QM) theory and computed using ab initio molecular data. The thermal rate coefficients are also expressed and fitted with the standard formula kT=AT300αe−βT in the range of 10 K–15,000 K. Meanwhile, the photodissociation, that is the inverse process of RA for PH+, is also studied, including eight photodissociation channels for the computation of state-resolved cross-sections. Careful comparisons with the Leiden Observatory database are made. Considering the cross-sections mentioned above, the local thermodynamic equilibrium cross-sections at the temperatures of 0, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 K are also shown. We expect the results to be helpful for studies of phosphorus chemistry in the interstellar medium and planetary atmospheres

Identification of avian polyomavirus and its pathogenicity to SPF chickens

The research aimed to study an Avian polyomavirus strain that was isolated in Shandong, China. To study the pathogenicity of APV in SPF chickens, and provide references for epidemiological research and disease prevention and control of APV. The genetic characterization of APV strain (termed APV-20) was analyzed and the pathogenicity of APV was investigated from two aspects: different age SPF chickens, and different infection doses. The results revealed that the APV-20 exhibits a nucleotide homology of 99% with the other three APV strains, and the evolution of APV In China was slow. In addition, the APV-20 infection in chickens caused depression, drowsiness, clustering, and fluffy feathers, but no deaths occurred in the infected chickens. The main manifestations of necropsy, and Hematoxylin and Eosin staining (HE) showed that one-day-old SPF chickens were the most susceptible, and there was a positive correlation between viral load and infection dose in the same tissue. This study showed that SPF chickens were susceptible to APV, and an experimental animal model was established. This study can provide a reference for the pathogenic mechanism of immune prevention and control of APV

Strain-restricted transfer of ferromagnetic electrodes for constructing reproducibly superior-quality spintronic devices

Spintronic device is the fundamental platform for spin-related academic and practical studies. However, conventional techniques with energetic deposition or boorish transfer of ferromagnetic metal inevitably introduce uncontrollable damage and undesired contamination in various spin-transport-channel materials, leading to partially attenuated and widely distributed spintronic device performances. These issues will eventually confuse the conclusions of academic studies and limit the practical applications of spintronics. Here we propose a polymer-assistant strain-restricted transfer technique that allows perfectly transferring the pre-patterned ferromagnetic electrodes onto channel materials without any damage and change on the properties of magnetism, interface, and channel. This technique is found productive for pursuing superior-quality spintronic devices with high controllability and reproducibility. It can also apply to various-kind (organic, inorganic, organic-inorganic hybrid, or carbon-based) and diverse-morphology (smooth, rough, even discontinuous) channel materials. This technique can be very useful for reliable device construction and will facilitate the technological transition of spintronic study

Effects of Yinzhihuang Granules on Serum Liver Enzymes in Jaundice Patients: A Real-World Study Based on HIS Data

Objective. Our aim was to analyze the influence of Yinzhihuang granules on serum liver enzymes in jaundice patients and to provide real-world evidence for the efficacy evaluation of Yinzhihuang granules in treating jaundice. Methods. We constructed a data warehouse which integrates real-world electronic medical records from the hospital information system of multiple 3A hospitals in China and used a descriptive statistical method to analyze the changes in the serum liver enzymes of the jaundice patients treated with Yinzhihuang granules and then used Wilcoxon signed-rank to test the changes in the indicators caused by the treatment. Results. After being treated with Yinzhihuang granules, the jaundice patients had a decrease in the average serum levels of total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamyl transpeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase, and the differences were statistically significant (P0.05). Conclusion. The data analysis on the real-world electronic medical records demonstrate that Yinzhihuang granules help to reduce jaundice patients’ serum levels of total bilirubin, indirect bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamyl transpeptidase, and alkaline phosphatase, but there is no evidence that Yinzhihuang granules help to reduce the jaundice patients’ serum levels of direct bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase

Multichannel Saliency Detection Based on Visual Bionics

Inspired by the visual properties of the human eyes, the depth information of visual attention is integrated into the saliency detection to effectively solve problems such as low accuracy and poor stability under similar or complex background interference. Firstly, the improved SLIC algorithm was used to segment and cluster the RGBD image. Secondly, the depth saliency of the image region was obtained according to the anisotropic center-surround difference method. Then, the global feature saliency of RGB image was calculated according to the colour perception rule of human vision. The obtained multichannel saliency maps were weighted and fused based on information entropy to highlighting the target area and get the final detection results. The proposed method works within a complexity of O(N), and the experimental results show that our algorithm based on visual bionics effectively suppress the interference of similar or complex background and has high accuracy and stability

Figure 1 The amidation of phenylacetic acid with benzylamine catalysed by nickel metal; Figure 2 The yield of direct amidation with recycle catalysts; Table 1 Optimization of the reaction conditions using different solvents ; Table 2 Synthesis of amide derivatives from carboxylic acids and amines using NiCl2 as catalyst;The original spectra for all compouds from Direct amidation of non-activated phenyl acetic acid and benzyl amine derivatives catalysed by NiCl₂

Figure 1 showed the performance of different nickel catalysts used for the amidation of phenylacetic acid and benzylamine in toluene at 110℃. And the catalytic activities of the different nickel catalysts were NiCl2>DPPE·NiCl2>(CH3COO)2Ni>Ni(acac)2>DPPP·NiCl2>NiCl2(Pph3)2>NiCl2·6H2O>none. ;Catalyst recyclability is an essential aspect of the green chemistry. Our best-performance direct amidation catalyst NiCl2 was found to be equally effective from fresh up to the 3rd and 3th cycle without significant loss of activity as showed in Figure 2. In the fourth cycle, the yield decreased obviously because of the loss of the catalyst. ;The influences of different solvents and reaction time on the direct amidation of phenylacetic acid with benzylamine catalysed by NiCl2 were investigated (Table 1). And from Table 1.;With the above knowledge in hand, we investigated the acid 1 and benzylamine 2 scopes of the NiCl2-catalysed direct amidation protocol at the same reaction condition. And the results showed in Table 2.;The original hydrogen spectra, carbon spectra and the mass spectra for all compound

The genomics of ornamental plants: current status and opportunities

With the rapid development of sequencing technologies, followed by the reduction of sequencing cost, numerous ornamental plants have been sequenced, resulting in their genomic studies shifting from gene cloning and marker development to whole genome profiling. A profound understanding of genome structure and function at the whole genome level can not only help to modify ornamental traits, such as fragrance, color and flower shape, through genetic engineering, but also infer the genetic relationship and evolutionary history of ornamental plants via comparative genomics analysis. In this paper, we review the current situation of sequencing strategies and the application of genomics to study the origin and evolution of ornamental plants. We highlight challenges of ornamental plant genomic research. The use of cutting-edge technologies, such as genomics, gene editing and molecular design polymerization breeding, can facilitate our understanding of genetic regulation mechanisms and the germplasm innovation of important traits in ornamental plants. The results can be expected to significantly increase the breeding efficiency of ornamental plants

Epigenetic Variance, Performing Cooperative Structure with Genetics, Is Associated with Leaf Shape Traits in Widely Distributed Populations of Ornamental Tree Prunus mume

Increasing evidence shows that epigenetics plays an important role in phenotypic variance. However, little is known about epigenetic variation in the important ornamental tree Prunus mume. We used amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) techniques, and association analysis and sequencing to investigate epigenetic variation and its relationships with genetic variance, environment factors, and traits. By performing leaf sampling, the relative total methylation level (29.80%) was detected in 96 accessions of P. mume. And the relative hemi-methylation level (15.77%) was higher than the relative full methylation level (14.03%). The epigenetic diversity (I∗ = 0.575, h∗ = 0.393) was higher than the genetic diversity (I = 0.484, h = 0.319). The cultivated population displayed greater epigenetic diversity than the wild populations in both southwest and southeast China. We found that epigenetic variance and genetic variance, and environmental factors performed cooperative structures, respectively. In particular, leaf length, width and area were positively correlated with relative full methylation level and total methylation level, indicating that the DNA methylation level played a role in trait variation. In total, 203 AFLP and 423 MSAP associated markers were detected and 68 of them were sequenced. Homologous analysis and functional prediction suggested that the candidate marker-linked genes were essential for leaf morphology development and metabolism, implying that these markers play critical roles in the establishment of leaf length, width, area, and ratio of length to width