Diversity of Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Four Types of Stands in Pinus massoniana Plantation in the West of China

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi can form symbioses with plant roots, which play an important role in regulating the rhizosphere microenvironment. As a broad-spectrum ECM tree species, Pinus massoniana forms symbiotic relationship called mycorrhiza with various ECM fungal species. In this study, four types of forests were selected from a 38-year-old Pinus plantation in eastern Sichuan, namely, pure P. massoniana forest (MC), P. massoniana mixed with Cunninghamia lanceolata forest (MS), P. massoniana–Cryptomeria fortunei forest (ML), and P. massoniana–broadleaved forest (MK), the species mixture ratio of all forests was 1:1. The ITS2 segment of ECM root tip sequenced by high-throughput sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. (1) The ECM fungi of these four P. massoniana forests showed similar dominant genera but different relative abundances in community structure during the three seasons. (2) The alpha diversity index of ECM fungi was significantly influenced by season and forest type. (3) Soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), C/N ratio, and total phosphorus (TP) influenced the ECM fungal community structure in different seasons. In summary, there were significant differences in ECM fungal communities among different forest types and different seasons; the colonization rate of ECM fungal in P. massoniana–Cunninghamia lanceolata was the highest, so we infer that Cunninghamia lanceolata is the most suitable tree species for mixed with P. massoniana in three mixture forests

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression on oncologic outcome in renal cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

<div><p>The phosphatase and tensin homolog (<i>PTEN</i>) gene is suggested to be a dormant tumor suppressor. However, the prognostic value of the loss of <i>PTEN</i> expression in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of <i>PTEN</i> expression with the clinicopathological presentations and outcomes of patients with RCC through immunohistochemistry staining analysis. We systematically searched for relevant studies in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase until March 2016. Data regarding clinical stage, pathological type, Fuhrman grade, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) was analyzed in the present study. In total, there were 12 studies with 2,368 patients included in this meta-analysis. The low <i>PTEN</i> expression in RCC was significantly associated with unfavorable DSS (HR = 1.568, 95% CI 1.015–2.242) in a random-effects model but not with OS (HR = 1.046, 95% CI 0.93–1.176) and PFS (HR = 1.244, 95% CI 0.907–1.704). Other results indicated that <i>PTEN</i> expression was not correlated with clinical stage, pathological type, and Fuhrman grade. This meta-analysis suggests that <i>PTEN</i> expression is of limited value in predicting the prognosis of patients with RCC for OS and PFS via immunohistochemistry staining analysis; and that for DSS, low <i>PTEN</i> expression is significantly associated with an unfavorable outcome.</p></div

Sensitivity analysis for OS, PFS and DSS.

<p>a. Sensitivity analysis for OS; b. Sensitivity analysis for PFS; c. Sensitivity analysis for DSS.</p

Begg's funnel plots of publication bias for OS, PFS and DSS.

<p>a. Begg's funnel plot for OS; b. Begg's funnel plot for PFS; c. Begg's funnel plot for DSS.</p

Meta-analysis results of <i>PTEN</i> expression level and clinical features.

<p>Meta-analysis results of <i>PTEN</i> expression level and clinical features.</p

Meta-analysis results on <i>PTEN</i> expression and OS.

<p>Forest plot of the association between <i>PTEN</i> expression and overall survival of patients with RCC.</p

Results of meta-analysis on <i>PTEN</i> expression.

<p>Results of meta-analysis on <i>PTEN</i> expression.</p

Flowchart of selection literature.

<p>Flowchart of selection literature.</p