Identification and characterization of CBL and CIPK gene families in canola (Brassica napus L.)

BACKGROUND: Canola (Brassica napus L.) is one of the most important oil-producing crops in China and worldwide. The yield and quality of canola is frequently threatened by environmental stresses including drought, cold and high salinity. Calcium is a ubiquitous intracellular secondary messenger in plants. Calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) are Ca(2+) sensors and regulate a group of Ser/Thr protein kinases called CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). Although the CBL-CIPK network has been demonstrated to play crucial roles in plant development and responses to various environmental stresses in Arabidopsis, little is known about their function in canola. RESULTS: In the present study, we identified seven CBL and 23 CIPK genes from canola by database mining and cloning of cDNA sequences of six CBLs and 17 CIPKs. Phylogenetic analysis of CBL and CIPK gene families across a variety of species suggested genome duplication and diversification. The subcellular localization of three BnaCBLs and two BnaCIPKs were determined using green fluorescence protein (GFP) as the reporter. We also demonstrated interactions between six BnaCBLs and 17 BnaCIPKs using yeast two-hybrid assay, and a subset of interactions were further confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC). Furthermore, the expression levels of six selected BnaCBL and 12 BnaCIPK genes in response to salt, drought, cold, heat, ABA, methyl viologen (MV) and low potassium were examined by quantitative RT-PCR and these CBL or CIPK genes were found to respond to multiple stimuli, suggesting that the canola CBL-CIPK network may be a point of convergence for several different signaling pathways. We also performed a comparison of interaction patterns and expression profiles of CBL and CIPK in Arabidospsis, canola and rice, to examine the differences between orthologs, highlighting the importance of studying CBL-CIPK in canola as a prerequisite for improvement of this crop. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that CBL and CIPK family members may form a dynamic complex to respond to different abiotic or hormone signaling. Our comparative analyses of the CBL-CIPK network between canola, Arabidopsis and rice highlight functional differences and the necessity to study CBL-CIPK gene functions in canola. Our data constitute a valuable resource for CBL and CPK genomics

Low Serum Magnesium Level Is Associated with Microalbuminuria in Chinese Diabetic Patients

Whether serum magnesium deficiency is independently associated with the prevalence of microalbuminuria is still unclear. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the association between serum magnesium and microalbuminuria in diabetic patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 1829 diabetic subjects (aged ≥ 40 years) from Shanghai, China. Subjects were divided into three groups according to serum magnesium tertiles. A first-voided early-morning spot urine sample was obtained for urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (UACR) measurement. Microalbuminuria was defined as 30 mg/g ≤ UACR < 300 mg/g. Overall, 208 (11.37%) of the study population had microalbuminuria, with similar proportions in both genders (). The prevalence of microalbuminuria in tertile 1 of serum magnesium was higher than the prevalence in tertile 2 and tertile 3 (15.98%, 9.72%, and 8.46%, resp.; for trend <0.0001). After adjustment for age, sex, BMI, blood pressure, lipidaemic profile, HbA1c, eGFR, history of cardiovascular disease, HOMA-IR, antihypertensive and antidiabetic medication, and diabetes duration, we found that, compared with the subjects in tertile 3 of serum magnesium, those in tertile 1 had 1.85 times more likeliness to have microalbuminuria. We concluded that low serum magnesium level was significantly associated with the prevalence of microalbuminuria in middle-aged and elderly Chinese

Oily fish and raw vegetable consumption can decrease the risk of AQP4-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: a Mendelian-randomization study

Abstract Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are severe inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system targeting aquaporin‐4 (AQP4). The risk factors for NMOSD remain to be determined, though they may be related to diet and nutrition. This study aimed to explore the possibility of a causal relationship between specific food intake and AQP4-positive NMOSD risk. The study followed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Genetic instruments and self-reported information on the intake of 29 types of food were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 445,779 UK Biobank participants. A total of 132 individuals with AQP4-positive NMOSD and 784 controls from this GWAS were included in our study. The associations were evaluated using inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis, weighted-median analysis, and MR-Egger regression. A high consumption of oily fish and raw vegetables was associated with a decreased risk of AQP4-positive NMOSD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.78 × 10−16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.60 × 10−25–1.22 × 10−7, p = 0.001; OR = 5.28 × 10−6, 95% CI = 4.67 × 10−11–0.598, p = 0.041, respectively). The results were consistent in the sensitivity analyses, and no evidence of directional pleiotropy was observed. Our study provides useful implications for the development of AQP4-positive NMOSD prevention strategies. Further research is needed to determine the exact causal relationship and mechanisms underlying the association between specific food intake and AQP4-positive NMOSD

Structural evolution of the eastern segment of the Irtysh Shear Zone: implications for the collision between the East Junggar Terrane and the Chinese Altai Orogen (northwestern China)

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) involved multiple episodes of arc accretions/collisions, but the reconstruction of these tectonic processes remains relatively poorly constrained. Evidence for a collision between the intra-oceanic island arc system of the East Junggar Terrane and the active margin of the Siberian Craton (Chinese Altai Orogen) is recorded in the eastern segment of the Irtysh Shear Zone (northwestern China). Field observations from the Qinghe area show that this segment of the Irtysh Shear Zone consists of four NW–SE sinistral mylonitic zones, and domains bounded by these mylonitic zones show variable fold patterns. In the northern part of the Irtysh Shear Zone (southern Chinese Altai Orogen), three generations of structures (D–D) are recognized. The earliest generation of foliation (S) is only recognized locally and is transposed to the orientation of the dominant D foliation (S). The latter is associated with a shallowly plunging stretching lineation, which is sub-parallel to the NW–SE hinge of D folds. These third-generation folds (D) show a steeply-dipping axial plane trending NW–SE. In the southern part of the Irtysh Shear Zone (northern East Junggar Terrane), the structural pattern is simpler and only involves a single generation of penetrative foliation (S). New U–Pb detrital zircon and Ar/Ar data provide constraints on the timing of collision and deformation. These results suggest that the collision occurred after the Early Carboniferous, with the timing of sinistral shearing constrained to the Early–Middle Permian. The combination of sinistral shearing and NW–SE D folds likely represents an episode of transpressional deformation, which was driven by oblique collision between the East Junggar Terrane and the Chinese Altai Orogen during the Early–Middle Permian. The occurrence of original sub-horizontal S foliation and associated orogen-parallel stretching lineation might indicate that following the initial collision (after the Early Carboniferous), the southern Chinese Altai Orogen was subjected to orogen-parallel extension. In a larger-scale context, sinistral kinematics along the Irtysh Shear Zone in northwestern China and northeastern Kazakhstan, together with coeval dextral strike-slip deformation farther south, might reflect an eastward escape of orogenic materials, possibly in response to the Permian convergence of the Siberian, Baltic, and Tarim cratons

A Spectral Shift-Based Electrochemiluminescence Sensor for Hydrogen Sulfide

Classic electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assays relying on the change in luminescence intensity face a challenge in the quantitative analysis of complex samples. Here, we report the design and implementation of a new sensing strategy, using the maximum luminescence wavelength (λ_max) shift as the readout to achieve quantitative detection. This approach includes an ECL luminophore (RuSiO₂@GO) and a H₂S-sensitive inner filter absorber (CouMC). The absorbance of CouMC illustrates a dependence on the H₂S concentration, which induces a change in the maximum luminescence wavelength (Δλ_max) of the ECL luminophore. Both experimental and simulated results suggest that the spectral shift of ECL effectively avoids the interference of the total luminescence intensity fluctuations, enabling a highly reliable quantitative analysis. This spectral shift-based ECL assay strategy offers a wide application potential by extending types of ECL luminophores and absorptive chemodosimeters, based on an inner filter effect

Reduced loss aversion in value-based decision-making and edge-centric functional connectivity in patients with internet gaming disorder

Background and aims: Impaired value-based decision-making is a feature of substance and behavioral addictions. Loss aversion is a core of value-based decision-making and its alteration plays an important role in addiction. However, few studies explored it in internet gaming disorder patients (IGD). Methods: In this study, IGD patients (PIGD) and healthy controls (Con-PIGD) performed the Iowa gambling task (IGT), under functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We investigated group differences in loss aversion, brain functional networks of node-centric functional connectivity (nFC) and the overlapping community features of edge-centric functional connectivity (eFC) in IGT. Results: PIGD performed worse with lower average net score in IGT. The computational model results showed that PIGD significantly reduced loss aversion. There was no group difference in nFC. However, there were sig- nificant group differences in the overlapping community features of eFC 1 . Furthermore, in Con-PIGD, loss aversion was positively correlated with the edge community profile similarity of the edge 2 between left IFG and right hippocampus at right caudate. This relationship was suppressed by response con- sistency 3 in PIGD. In addition, reduced loss aversion was negatively correlated with the promoted bottom-to-up neuromodulation from the right hippocampus to the left IFG in PIGD. Discussion and conclusions: The reduced loss aversion in value-based decision making and their related edge-centric functional connectivity support that the IGD showed the same value-based decision-making deficit as the substance use and other behavioral addictive disorders. These findings may have important significance for understanding the definition and mechanism of IGD in the future