MiR-497-5p promotes osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation of stem cells from the apical papilla by regulation of the TGF-β Smad pathway through Smurf2

Purpose: To study the influence of miR-497-5p on osteogenic/odontogenic differentiation (OOD) of SCAP, and the signal route involved. Methods: Four groups were set up: miR-497-5p overexpression group (OEG), overexpression control OEC), miR-497-5p inhibition group, and inhibition control group. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was assayed, and calcified nodules measured. Protein expression levels of dentine salivary phosphoprotein (DSPP), collagen type I, ALP, osteoblast-related factors (Runx2, OSX and OPN) were also assayed. The mRNA expression levels of osteogenesis/dentin-related genes were determined. Results: ALP activity was significantly higher in miR-497-5p overexpression cells than in control, but was reduced, relative to inhibition control group (p < 0.05). The miR-497-5p OEG had significantly more calcified nodules than OEC (p < 0.05). There were markedly up-regulated protein expressions in cells of miR-497-5p OEG than in OCG. Furthermore, protein expressions of Smad2, Smad3 and Smad4 in cells of miR-497-5p OEG were significantly up-regulated, relative to those in OEC, but wer lower in miR-497- 5p inhibitory cells than in inhibitory cells. Conclusion: MiR-497-5p enhances the OOD of SCAP via a mechanism involving TGF-β Smad pathway and Smurf2. Thus, Mir-497-5p may be used as a target for OOD-related drugs

Expression pattern of GmLAX genes under different stresses in soybean drought sensitive cultivar and tolerant cultivar

Auxin has been reported to regulate plant growth and development, as well as to mediate plant adaption to abiotic stresses, including drought. AUX/LAX family displays auxin uptake functions and comprises four highly conserved genes AUX1 and LIKE AUX1 (LAX1, LAX2, and LAX3) in Arabidopsis. There are fifteen GmLAX family genes in the soybean genomes and several members were regulated by dehydration stress. In this study, the sequence differences and expression pattern of GmLAXs-I were analyzed under stress treatment between the soybean drought-tolerant Jindou 21 and drought-sensitive varieties Zhongdou 33. Five homologous genes of AUX1 were all responsive to PEG, salt, ABA and IAA stimuli. There were two SNPs in the promoter region of GmLAX4 gene, and this gene was differentially expressed in two cultivars. Moreover, our results showed YFP-GmLAXs are predominantly localized in plasma membrane. Taken together, our results suggest that GmLAXs are involved in abiotic response, which can provide theoretical and technical support for the genetic improvement of soybean drought tolerance

Diagenetic Facies and Their Controls on the Quality of Tight Sandstone Reservoirs: A Case Study from the Upper Paleozoic Gas Reservoir in the Eastern Ordos Basin, North China

Diagenetic facies play a significant role in the evaluation and prediction of reservoirs as they comprehensively reflect the spatial distribution characteristics of deposition, diagenesis, and petrophysical properties. Based on the petrographic observation and considering pores, lithology, and diagenesis types, the diagenetic facies types were identified, and the pore evolution process and its influence on the quality of low permeability tight gas reservoirs were analyzed. The results show that six types of diagenetic facies were identified, including siliceous cementation intergranular pore facies (A), carbonate dissolution pore facies (B), matrix dissolution pore facies (C), clastic dissolution pore facies (D), matrix filling and strong compaction tight facies (E), and carbonate cementation and metasomatism tight facies (F). The evolution process of porosity shows that the restored original porosity is indicated to be between 34.2% and 36.0%. The average porosity loss caused by compaction was 17.1%, while the average porosity loss caused by cementation is 14.1%. The average porosity increased by 2.5% on diagenetic facies B, C, and D due to dissolution. Consequently, diagenetic facies A with weak compaction and diagenetic facies B, C, and D with strong dissolution are effective reservoirs with porosity greater than 6.6% and permeability greater than 0.25−0.6×10−3 μm2. The distribution areas of A, B, C, and D are favorable areas for tight gas exploration and are important indicators for the prediction of tight gas in the Upper Paleozoic Shanxi Formation in the eastern Ordos Basin. This study provides a new petrographic method for reservoir prediction and exploration of natural gas, which has practical value and economic significance

Identification and Comparative Analysis of CBS Domain-Containing Proteins in Soybean (Glycine max) and the Primary Function of GmCBS21 in Enhanced Tolerance to Low Nitrogen Stress

Nitrogen is an important macronutrient required for plant growth, and is a limiting factor for crop productivity. Improving the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is therefore crucial. At present, the NUE mechanism is unclear and information on the genes associated with NUE in soybeans is lacking. cystathionine beta synthase (CBS) domain-containing proteins (CDCPs) may be implicated in abiotic stress tolerance in plants. We identified and classified a CBS domain–containing protein superfamily in soybean. A candidate gene for NUE, GmCBS21, was identified. GmCBS21 gene characteristics, the temporal expression pattern of the GmCBS21 gene, and the phenotype of GmCBS21 overexpression in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana under low nitrogen stress were analyzed. The phenotypes suggested that the transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings performed better under the nitrogen-deficient condition. GmCBS21-overexpressing transgenic plants exhibit higher low nitrogen stress tolerance than WT plants, and this suggests its role in low nitrogen stress tolerance in plants. We conclude that GmCBS21 may serve as an excellent candidate for breeding crops with enhanced NUE and better yield

A GATA Transcription Factor from Soybean (Glycine max) Regulates Chlorophyll Biosynthesis and Suppresses Growth in the Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana

Chlorophyll plays an essential role in photosynthetic light harvesting and energy transduction in green tissues of higher plants and is closely related to photosynthesis and crop yield. Identification of transcription factors (TFs) involved in regulating chlorophyll biosynthesis is still limited in soybean (Glycine max), and the previously identified GmGATA58 is suggested to potentially modulate chlorophyll and nitrogen metabolisms, but its complete function is still unknown. In this study, subcellular localization assay showed that GmGATA58 was localized in the nucleus. Histochemical GUS assay and qPCR assay indicated that GmGATA58 was mainly expressed in leaves and responded to nitrogen, light and phytohormone treatments. Overexpression of GmGATA58 in the Arabidopsis thaliana ortholog AtGATA21 (gnc) mutant complemented the greening defect, while overexpression in Arabidopsis wild-type led to increasing chlorophyll content in leaves through up-regulating the expression levels of the large of chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway genes, but suppressing plant growth and yield, although the net photosynthetic rate was slightly improved. Dual-luciferase reporter assay also supported that GmGATA58 activated the transcription activities of three promoters of key chlorophyll biosynthetic genes of soybean in transformed protoplast of Arabidopsis. It is concluded that GmGATA58 played an important role in regulating chlorophyll biosynthesis, but suppressed plant growth and yield in transgenic Arabidopsis

Controllable fabrication and magnetic properties of double-shell cobalt oxides hollow particles

Double-shell cobalt monoxide (CoO) hollow particles were successfully synthesized by a facile and effective one-pot solution-based synthetic route. The inner architecture and outer structure of the double-shell CoO hollow particles could be readily created through controlling experimental parameters. A possible formation mechanism was proposed based on the experimental results. The current synthetic strategy has good prospects for the future production of other transition-metal oxides particles with hollow interior. Furthermore, double-shell cobalt oxide (Co3O4) hollow particles could also be obtained through calcinating corresponding CoO hollow particles. The magnetic measurements revealed double-shell CoO and Co3O4 hollow particles exhibit ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic behaviour, respectively.</p

Engineering the Near-Surface Structure of WO₃ by an Amorphous Layer with Trivalent Ni and Self-Adapting Oxygen Vacancies for Efficient Photocatalytic and Photoelectrochemical Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Exploiting an effective strategy to tailor the construction, composition, and local electronic structure of the photocatalyst surface is pivotal to photocatalytic activity, but remains challenging. Transition metal elements can boost the oxygen evolution reaction activity especially one like Ni in high oxidation states, whereas it is uneasy to prepare Ni3+ under mild conditions or play to their strengths in acidic conditions. In this article, we report a facile “etch and dope” synthesis of Ni3+-doped WO3 nanosheets with oxygen vacancies. Through detailed experimental and theoretical studies, it is established that the abundant oxygen vacancies and the doped Ni3+ ions in the near-surface amorphous layer can synergistically optimize the surface electronic structure of WO3 and the adsorption and desorption of intermediates. Impressively, the etched WO3 nanosheets coupled with Ni3+ offer a greatly promoted photocatalytic performance of 1.78 mmol g–1 h–1, and the photoanode achieves a photocurrent density of 2.11 mA cm–2 at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (VRHE). This work provides a new inspiration for rational manufacture of defects and high-valence metal ions in catalysts for photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical reactions