Developmental time rather than local environment regulates the schedule of epithelial polarization in the zebrafish neural rod.

BACKGROUND: Morphogenesis requires developmental processes to occur both at the right time and in the right place. During neural tube formation in the zebrafish embryo, the generation of the apical specializations of the lumen must occur in the center of the neural rod after the neural cells have undergone convergence, invagination and interdigitation across the midline. How this coordination is achieved is uncertain. One possibility is that environmental signaling at the midline of the neural rod controls the schedule of apical polarization. Alternatively, polarization could be regulated by a timing mechanism and then independent morphogenetic processes ensure the cells are in the correct spatial location. RESULTS: Ectopic transplantation demonstrates the local environment of the neural midline is not required for neural cell polarization. Neural cells can self-organize into epithelial cysts in ectopic locations in the embryo and also in three-dimensional gel cultures. Heterochronic transplants demonstrate that the schedule of polarization and the specialized cell divisions characteristic of the neural rod are more strongly regulated by time than local environmental signals. The cells' schedule for polarization is set prior to gastrulation, is stable through several rounds of cell division and appears independent of the morphogenetic movements of gastrulation and neurulation. CONCLUSIONS: Time rather than local environment regulates the schedule of epithelial polarization in zebrafish neural rod.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Glutathione S-Transferase alpha 4 promotes proliferation and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer cells

Glutathion

Expression characteristics of piRNAs in ovine luteal phase and follicular phase ovaries

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), as a novel class of small non-coding RNAs that have been shown to be indispensable in germline integrity and stem cell development. However, the expressed characteristics and regulatory roles of piRNAs during different reproductive phases of animals remain unknown. In this study, we investigated the piRNAs expression profiles in ovaries of sheep during the luteal phase (LP) and follicular phase (FP) using the Solexa sequencing technique. A total of 85,219 and 1,27,156 piRNAs tags were identified in ovine ovaries across the two phases. Most expressed piRNAs start with uracil. piRNAs with a length of 24 nt or 27–29 nts accounted for the largest proportion. The obvious ping-pong signature appeared in the FP ovary. The piRNA clusters in the sheep ovary were unevenly distributed on the chromosomes, with high density on Chr 3 and 1. For genome distribution, piRNAs in sheep ovary were mainly derived from intron, CDS, and repeat sequence regions. Compared to the LP ovary, a greater number of expressed piRNA clusters were detected in the FP ovary. Simultaneously, we identified 271 differentially expressed (DE) piRNAs between LP and FP ovaries, with 96 piRNAs upregulated and 175 piRNAs downregulated, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis (GO and KEGG) indicated that their target genes were enriched in reproduction-related pathways including oocyte meiosis, PI3K-Akt, Wnt, and TGF-β signaling pathways. Together, our results highlighted the sequence and expression characteristics of the piRNAs in the sheep ovary, which will help us understand the roles of piRNAs in the ovine estrus cycle

The predatory bug Orius strigicollis shows a preference for egg-laying sites based on plant topography

Background. Oviposition site selection is an important factor in determining the success of insect populations. Orius spp. are widely used in the biological control of a wide range of soft-bodied insect pests such as thrips, aphids, and mites. Orius strigicollis (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae) is the dominant Oriusspecies in southern China; however, what factor drives its selection of an oviposition site after mating currently remains unknown. Methods. Here, kidney bean pods (KBPs) were chosen as the oviposition substrate, and choice and nonchoice experiments were conducted to determine the preferences concerning oviposition sites on the KBPs of O. strigicollis. The mechanism of oviposition behavior was revealed through observation and measurement of oviposition action, the egg hatching rate, and the oviposition time. Results. We found that O. strigicollis preferred the seams of the pods for oviposition, especially the seams at the tips of the KBPs. Choice and nonchoice experiments showed that females did not lay eggs when the KBP tail parts were unavailable. The rates of egg hatching on different KBP parts were not significantly different, but the time required for females to lay eggs on the tip seam was significantly lower. Decreased oviposition time is achieved on the tip seam because the insect can exploit support points found there and gain leverage for insertion of the ovipositor. Discussion. The preferences for oviposition sites of O. strigicollis are significantly influenced by the topography of the KBP surface. Revealing such behavior and mechanisms will provide an important scientific basis for the mass rearing of predatory bugs

Pyrimido[4,5‐ d ]pyrimidin‐4(1 H )‐one Derivatives as Selective Inhibitors of EGFR Threonine 790 to Methionine 790 (T790M) Mutants

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99681/1/8387_ftp.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99681/2/anie_201302313_sm_miscellaneous_information.pd

Pyrimido[4,5‐ d ]pyrimidin‐4(1 H )‐one Derivatives as Selective Inhibitors of EGFR Threonine 790 to Methionine 790 (T790M) Mutants

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99673/1/8545_ftp.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99673/2/ange_201302313_sm_miscellaneous_information.pd

Comparative proteomics of ovaries elucidated the potential targets related to ovine prolificacy

Small Tail Han (STH) sheep, a unique Chinese breed, is recognized for its early maturity, year-round estrus, and prolificacy. However, the molecular mechanism of its high prolificacy has not been fully elucidated. The Proteomics approach is feasible and effective to reveal the proteins involved in the complex physiological processes of any organism. Given this, we performed the protein expression profiling of ovarian tissues during the luteal phase using polytocous STH sheep (litter size ≥2, three consecutive lambings) and monotocous STH sheep (litter size =1, three consecutive lambings) (PL vs. ML), and the follicular phase using polytocous STH sheep (litter size ≥2, three consecutive lambings) and monotocous STH sheep (litter size =1, three consecutive lambings) (PF vs. MF), respectively. Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM) was conducted to validate the differentially abundant proteins (DAPs). The tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitative proteomic results showed that a total of 5,237 proteins were identified, of which 49 and 44 showed differential abundance in the PL vs. ML and PF vs. MF groups, respectively. Enrichments analyses indicated that the DAPs including TIA1 cytotoxic granule-associated RNA-binding protein-like 1 (TIAL1), nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), and cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 1 (CRABP1) were enriched at the luteal phase, while TIAL1, inhibin beta-a-subunit (A2ICA4), and W5PG55 were enriched at the follicular phase, potentially mediating reproductive processes in polytocous ewes. Furthermore, six DAPs were verified using PRM, confirming the accuracy of the TMT data acquired in this study. Together, our work expanded the database of indigenous sheep breeds and provided new ovarian candidate molecular targets, which will help in the study of the genetic mechanisms of ovine prolificacy

Linking life table and predation rate for evaluating temperature effects on Orius strigicollis for the biological control of Frankliniella occidentalis

IntroductionOrius spp. are generalist predators released in horticultural and agricultural systems to control thrips. Understanding the effects of temperature on the development, predation rate, and population dynamics of Orius is essential for identifying the optimal timing of Orius release for establishing an adequate population to facilitate synchrony with thrips population growth and to prevent thrips outbreaks. The biological control efficiency of natural enemies as well as predator–prey relationships can be precisely described by integrating life table parameters and the predation rate.MethodsIn this study, the demographic features of Orius strigicollis fed on 2nd instar nymphs of western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis, were compared at 18.5, 23.5, 27, and 33°C using the TWOSEX-MSChart program. The CONSUME-MSChart program was used to examine predation rates under different temperatures (18.5, 23.5, and 27°C).ResultsThe results showed no significant difference in fecundity among those reared at 18.5, 23.5, and 27°C, but fecundity at these temperatures was significantly higher than that at 33°C. The intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), and net reproduction rate (R0) were the highest at 27°C. The net predation rate (C0) and transformation rate (Qp) were significantly higher at 18.5°C (C0 = 168.39 prey/predator, Qp = 8.22) and 23.5°C (C0 = 140.49 prey/predator, Qp = 6.03) than at 27°C (C0 = 138.39 prey/predator, Qp= 3.81); however, the finite predation rate (ω) showed the opposite trend. In addition to temperature, the stage of O. strigicollis at release can affect population dynamics.DiscussionOur study showed that temperature influenced the demographic traits and predation rates of O. strigicollis. When planning a release, the stage of O. strigicollis and temperature should be taken into account to establish an adequate population for the control of WFT