Transposable elements are enriched within or in close proximity to xenobiotic-metabolizing cytochrome P450 genes

BACKGROUND: Transposons, i.e. transposable elements (TEs), are the major internal spontaneous mutation agents for the variability of eukaryotic genomes. To address the general issue of whether transposons mediate genomic changes in environment-adaptation genes, we scanned two alleles per each of the six xenobiotic-metabolizing Helicoverpa zea cytochrome P450 loci, including CYP6B8, CYP6B27, CYP321A1, CYP321A2, CYP9A12v3 and CYP9A14, for the presence of transposon insertions by genome walking and sequence analysis. We also scanned thirteen Drosophila melanogaster P450s genes for TE insertions by in silico mapping and literature search. RESULTS: Twelve novel transposons, including LINEs (long interspersed nuclear elements), SINEs (short interspersed nuclear elements), MITEs (miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements), one full-length transib-like transposon, and one full-length Tcl-like DNA transpson, are identified from the alleles of the six H. zea P450 genes. The twelve transposons are inserted into the 5'flanking region, 3'flanking region, exon, or intron of the six environment-adaptation P450 genes. In D. melanogaster, seven out of the eight Drosophila P450s (CYP4E2, CYP6A2, CYP6A8, CYP6A9, CYP6G1, CYP6W1, CYP12A4, CYP12D1) implicated in insecticide resistance are associated with a variety of transposons. By contrast, all the five Drosophila P450s (CYP302A1, CYP306A1, CYP307A1, CYP314A1 and CYP315A1) involved in ecdysone biosynthesis and developmental regulation are free of TE insertions. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that TEs are selectively retained within or in close proximity to xenobiotic-metabolizing P450 genes

Characterization of Three Novel SINE Families with Unusual Features in Helicoverpa armigera

Although more than 120 families of short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs) have been isolated from the eukaryotic genomes, little is known about SINEs in insects. Here, we characterize three novel SINEs from the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. Two of them, HaSE1 and HaSE2, share similar 5′ -structure including a tRNA-related region immediately followed by conserved central domain. The 3′ -tail of HaSE1 is significantly similar to that of one LINE retrotransposon element, HaRTE1.1, in H. armigera genome. The 3′ -region of HaSE2 showed high identity with one mariner-like element in H. armigera. The third family, termed HaSE3, is a 5S rRNA-derived SINE and shares both body part and 3′-tail with HaSE1, thus may represent the first example of a chimera generated by recombination between 5S rRNA and tRNA-derived SINE in insect species. Further database searches revealed the presence of these SINEs in several other related insect species, but not in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, indicating a relatively narrow distribution of these SINEs in Lepidopterans. Apart from above, we found a copy of HaSE2 in the GenBank EST entry for the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii, suggesting the occurrence of horizontal transfer

Effects of mycorrhizal fungi on plant growth, nutrient absorption and phytohormones levels in tea under shading condition

High temperature and strong light could induce bitterness and astringency of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) in summer. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus and shading could change tea growth surroundings and improve its quality. The present study evaluated the inoculated effects of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Glomus etunicatum, on plant growth, root morphology, leaf nutrient status, phytohormones and the relative expression of root CsCPC, CsTTG1, CsAUX1, CsYUCCA1, CsNCED2, CsGA3OX1, CsDWF4 and CsAOS genes in Camellia sinensis  ‘Xinyang population’ seedlings in sands under shading conditions. After 14 weeks of AMF inoculation, root mycorrhizal colonization ranged from 18.5% to 48.00%. AMF inoculation and shading heavily increased plant height, shoot and root biomass, total root length and volume, leaf nutrients content (except Fe), respectively. Both mycorrhizal inoculation and shading significantly increased root hair growth respectively, in company with up-regulation gene CsCPC and down-regulation gene CsTTG1. Root auxin level and its transport gene CsAUX1 was both up-regulated by mycorrhizal inoculation and shading. Interestingly, auxin biosynthesis gene CsYUCCA1 has not been affected, which suggested that both mycorrhizal and shading mainly regulate auxin transport but not biosynthesis pathway. The contents of gibberellin (GA) and brassinosteroid (BR) in root were notably increased by mycorrhizal inoculation and shading, accompanied with up-regulation of its biosynthesis genes, CsGA3OX1 and CsDWF4. With regard to the growth inhibiting phytohormones abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA), mycorrhizal inoculation and shading significantly decreased their levels in root, in company with down-regulation of biosynthesis genes, CsNCED2 and CsAOS. These results implied that both AMF inoculation and shading could enhance the tea plant stress resistance and increase nutrient absorption, root biomass and the contents of root phytohormones by up-regulating its transport and biosynthesis pathway

Genetic analysis of phytoene synthase 1 (Psy1) gene function and regulation in common wheat

Transcriptome details for three transgenic lines with the most significantly reduced YPC and non-transformed controls. (DOCX 18 kb

Differential stepwise evolution of SARS coronavirus functional proteins in different host species

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) was identified as the etiological agent of SARS, and extensive investigations indicated that it originated from an animal source (probably bats) and was recently introduced into the human population via wildlife animals from wet markets in southern China. Previous studies revealed that the spike (S) protein of SARS had experienced adaptive evolution, but whether other functional proteins of SARS have undergone adaptive evolution is not known.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We employed several methods to investigate selective pressure among different SARS-CoV groups representing different epidemic periods and hosts. Our results suggest that most functional proteins of SARS-CoV have experienced a stepwise adaptive evolutionary pathway. Similar to previous studies, the spike protein underwent strong positive selection in the early and middle phases, and became stabilized in the late phase. In addition, the replicase experienced positive selection only in human patients, whereas assembly proteins experienced positive selection mainly in the middle and late phases. No positive selection was found in any proteins of bat SARS-like-CoV. Furthermore, specific amino acid sites that may be the targets of positive selection in each group are identified.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This extensive evolutionary analysis revealed the stepwise evolution of different functional proteins of SARS-CoVs at different epidemic stages and different hosts. These results support the hypothesis that SARS-CoV originated from bats and that the spill over into civets and humans were more recent events.</p

Meta-analysis of the efficacy of invisible orthodontic appliances for maxillary molar distalization in adult patients

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of invisible orthodontic appliances without brackets for the distal movement of maxillary molars to improve the ability of orthodontists to predict treatment outcomes. Methods Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Wanfang Database, CNKI Database, and VIP Database were searched for studies investigating the efficacy of invisible orthodontic appliances for distal movement of maxillary molars in adult patients and published from database inception to August 1, 2023. A total of three researchers screened the studies and evaluated their quality and conducted a meta-analysis of those that met quality standards. Results This study included 13 pre- and postcontrol trials with a total sample size of 281 patients. The meta-analysis revealed no significant differences in the sagittal or vertical parameters of the jawbone after treatment when compared with those before treatment (P&gt;0.05). The displacement of the first molar was MD=-2.34, 95% CI (-2.83, -1.85); the displacement was MD=-0.95, 95% CI (-1.34, -0.56); and the inclination was MD=-2.51, 95% CI (-3.56, -1.46). There was a statistically significant difference in the change in sagittal, vertical, and axial tilt of the first molar before and after treatment. After treatment, the average adduction distance of the incisors was MD=-0.82, 95% CI (-1.54, -0.09), and the decrease in lip inclination was MD=-1.61, 95% CI (-2.86, -0.36); these values were significantly different from those before treatment (P&lt;0.05). Conclusion Invisible orthodontic appliances can effectively move the upper molars in a distal direction and control the vertical position of the molars. When the molars move further away, there is some degree of compression and distal tilt movement, which is beneficial for patients with high angles. The sagittal movement of incisors is beneficial for improving the patient's profile

Transposon insertion causes cadherin mis-splicing and confers resistance to Bt cotton in pink bollworm from China

Transgenic crops producing insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are cultivated extensively, but rapid evolution of resistance by pests reduces their efficacy. We report a 3,370-bp insertion in a cadherin gene associated with resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac in the pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), a devastating global cotton pest. We found the allele (r15) harboring this insertion in a field population from China. The insertion is a miniature inverted repeat transposable element (MITE) that contains two additional transposons and produces two mis-spliced transcript variants (r15A and r15B). A strain homozygous for r15 had 290-fold resistance to Cry1Ac, little or no cross-resistance to Cry2Ab, and completed its life cycle on Bt cotton producing Cry1Ac. Inheritance of resistance was recessive and tightly linked with r15. For transformed insect cells, susceptibility to Cry1Ac was greater for cells producing the wild-type cadherin than for cells producing the r15 mutant proteins. Recombinant cadherin protein occurred on the cell surface in cells transformed with the wildtype or r15A sequences, but not in cells transformed with the r15B sequence. The similar resistance of pink bollworm to Cry1Ac in laboratory-and field-selected insects from China, India and the U.S. provides a basis for developing international resistance management practices.China's Key Project for Breeding Genetically Modified Organisms [2016ZX08012-004]; Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture [2018-67013-27821]Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

The research progress of perioperative non-pharmacological interventions on postoperative cognitive dysfunction: a narrative review

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common neurological complication in elderly patients after surgery and general anesthesia. The occurrence of POCD seriously affects the postoperative recovery of patients, and leads to prolonged hospital stay, reduced quality of life, increased medical costs, and even higher mortality. There is no definite and effective drug treatment for POCD. More evidence shows that perioperative non-pharmacological intervention can improve postoperative cognitive function and reduce the incidence of POCD. Therefore, our studies summarize the current non-pharmacological interventions of POCD from the aspects of cognitive training, physical activity, transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation, noninvasive brain stimulation, non-pharmacological sleep improvement, music therapy, environment, and multimodal combination Interventions, to provide more data for clinical application and research

Comparison of low molecular weight glutenin subunits identified by SDS-PAGE, 2-DE, MALDI-TOF-MS and PCR in common wheat

Low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) play a crucial role in determining end-use quality of common wheat by influencing the viscoelastic properties of dough. Four different methods - sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE, IEF × SDS-PAGE), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), were used to characterize the LMW-GS composition in 103 cultivars from 12 countries