Advancements in culture technology of adipose-derived stromal/stem cells: implications for diabetes and its complications

Stem cell-based therapies exhibit considerable promise in the treatment of diabetes and its complications. Extensive research has been dedicated to elucidate the characteristics and potential applications of adipose-derived stromal/stem cells (ASCs). Three-dimensional (3D) culture, characterized by rapid advancements, holds promise for efficacious treatment of diabetes and its complications. Notably, 3D cultured ASCs manifest enhanced cellular properties and functions compared to traditional monolayer-culture. In this review, the factors influencing the biological functions of ASCs during culture are summarized. Additionally, the effects of 3D cultured techniques on cellular properties compared to two-dimensional culture is described. Furthermore, the therapeutic potential of 3D cultured ASCs in diabetes and its complications are discussed to provide insights for future research

Transcriptome-wide characterization and functional analysis of MATE transporters in response to aluminum toxicity in Medicago sativa L.

Multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE) transporters contribute to multidrug resistance and play major determinants of aluminum (Al) tolerance in plants. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most extensively cultivated forage crop in the world, yet most alfalfa cultivars are not Al tolerant. The basic knowledge of the MATE transcripts family and the characterisation of specific MATE members involved in alfalfa Al stress remain unclear. In this study, 88 alfalfa MATE (MsMATE) transporters were identified at the whole transcriptome level. Phylogenetic analysis classified them into four subfamilies comprising 11 subgroups. Generally, five kinds of motifs were found in group G1, and most were located at the N-terminus, which might confer these genes with Al detoxification functions. Furthermore, 10 putative Al detoxification-related MsMATE genes were identified and the expression of five genes was significantly increased after Al treatment, indicating that these genes might play important roles in conferring Al tolerance to alfalfa. Considering the limited functional understanding of MATE transcripts in alfalfa, our findings will be valuable for the functional investigation and application of this family in alfalfa

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Root and Leaf Transcript Profiles Reveals the Coordinated Mechanisms in Response to Salinity Stress in Common Vetch

Owing to its strong environmental suitability to adverse abiotic stress conditions, common vetch (Vicia sativa) is grown worldwide for both forage and green manure purposes and is an important protein source for human consumption and livestock feed. The germination of common vetch seeds and growth of seedlings are severely affected by salinity stress, and the response of common vetch to salinity stress at the molecular level is still poorly understood. In this study, we report the first comparative transcriptomic analysis of the leaves and roots of common vetch under salinity stress. A total of 6361 differentially expressed genes were identified in leaves and roots. In the roots, the stress response was dominated by genes involved in peroxidase activity. However, the genes in leaves focused mainly on Ca2+ transport. Overexpression of six salinity-inducible transcription factors in yeast further confirmed their biological functions in the salinity stress response. Our study provides the most comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of common vetch leaf and root responses to salinity stress. Our findings broaden the knowledge of the common and distinct intrinsic molecular mechanisms within the leaves and roots of common vetch and could help to develop common vetch cultivars with high salinity tolerance

Rethinking the intensified disparity in urbanization trajectory of a Chinese coastal province and its implications

Given the complexity and diversity of local conditions and institutional arrangements that influence the regional urbanization in a country like China, the existing of regional disparity is predictable or even inevitable. However, excessive imbalance and lack of coordination will induce a series of social, economic and environmental problems that seriously threaten the sustainability of urbanization. The aim is to explore the changing trend of regional disparity through revisiting and comparing the differentiated trajectories of urban development in coastal and mountainous regions. An index system including 19 indices has been developed to evaluate the integrated level of regional urbanization from four perspectives: population, economy, society and space. Using a coastal province, Fujian, as a case study, the comparative analysis of coastal and mountainous urbanization from 2001 to 2012 has revealed that: 1) the coast-mountain gap has been doubled during the past decade; 2) the recent regional disparity is not merely quantitative but more qualitative and structural; 3) large scale mountain-to-coast migration and irrational investment are the main causes for an uncoordinated urbanizai:ion. Based on these results, the pertinence and effectiveness of the &#39;new-type&#39; urbanization strategy are discussed in view of regional urbanization regulation and suggestions to improve the &#39;mountain-coast&#39; coordination are put forward. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</p

Asymmetric Synthesis of Contact Sex Pheromone of <i>Tetropium fuscum</i> and Its Enantiomer

Tetropium fuscum is a harmful forest pest and attacks spruces. The contact sex pheromone of this pest, (S)-11-methyl-heptacosane, and its enantiomer were synthesized via Evans’ chiral auxiliaries. The key steps of this approach included acylation of carboxylic acid, diastereoselective methylation of oxazolidinone amide, and Wittig coupling of the aldehyde with chiral phosphonium salt. The synthetic pheromones would have potential utility in the control of this pest

Molecular Characterization of the miR156/MsSPL Model in Regulating the Compound Leaf Development and Abiotic Stress Response in Alfalfa

Plant leaf patterns and shapes are spectacularly diverse. Changing the complexity of leaflet numbers is a valuable approach to increase its nutrition and photosynthesis. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is the most important forage legume species and has diversified compound leaf patterns, which makes it a model species for studying compound leaf development. However, transcriptomic information from alfalfa remains limited. In this study, RNA-Seq technology was used to identify 3746 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between multifoliate and trifoliate alfalfa. Through an analysis of annotation information and expression data, SPL, one of the key regulators in modifiable plant development and abiotic stress response, was further analyzed. Here, thirty MsSPL genes were obtained from the alfalfa genome, of which 16 had the putative miR156 binding site. A tissue expression pattern analysis showed that the miR156-targeted MsSPLs were divided into two classes, namely, either tissue-specific or widely expressed in all tissues. All miR156-targeted SPLs strongly showed diversification and positive roles under drought and salt conditions. Importantly, miR156/MsSPL08 was significantly suppressed in multifoliate alfalfa. Furthermore, in the paralogous mutant of MsSPL08 isolated from Medicago truncatula, the phenotypes of mutant plants reveal that miR156/MsSPL08 is involved not only involved the branches but also especially regulates the number of leaflets. The legume is a typical compound leaf plant; the ratio of the leaflet often affects the quality of the forage. This study sheds light on new functions of SPL genes that regulate leaflet number development

Genome-Wide Development of MicroRNA-Based SSR Markers in Medicago truncatula with Their Transferability Analysis and Utilization in Related Legume Species

Microsatellite (simple sequence repeats, SSRs) marker is one of the most widely used markers in marker-assisted breeding. As one type of functional markers, MicroRNA-based SSR (miRNA-SSR) markers have been exploited mainly in animals, but the development and characterization of miRNA-SSR markers in plants are still limited. In the present study, miRNA-SSR markers for Medicago truncatula (M. truncatula) were developed and their cross-species transferability in six leguminous species was evaluated. A total of 169 primer pairs were successfully designed from 130 M. truncatula miRNA genes, the majority of which were mononucleotide repeats (70.41%), followed by dinucleotide repeats (14.20%), compound repeats (11.24%) and trinucleotide repeats (4.14%). Functional classification of SSR-containing miRNA genes showed that all targets could be grouped into three Gene Ontology (GO) categories: 17 in biological process, 11 in molecular function, and 14 in cellular component. The miRNA-SSR markers showed high transferability in other six leguminous species, ranged from 74.56% to 90.53%. Furthermore, 25 Mt-miRNA-SSR markers were used to evaluate polymorphisms in 20 alfalfa accessions, and the polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.39 to 0.89 with an average of 0.71, the allele number per marker varied from 3 to 18 with an average of 7.88, indicating a high level of informativeness. The present study is the first time developed and characterized of M. truncatula miRNA-SSRs and demonstrated their utility in transferability, these novel markers will be valuable for genetic diversity analysis, marker-assisted selection and genotyping in leguminous species

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the <i>Dof</i> Transcription Factor in Annual Alfalfa <i>Medicago polymorpha</i>

The Dof transcription factor is a plant-specific transcription gene family that plays various biological functions in plant development and stress response. However, no relevant research has been conducted on Medicago polymorpha. Here, 36 MpDof genes were identified in the M. polymorpha genome and further divided into 10 groups based on the comparative phylogenetic analysis. The essential information of MpDof genes, such as chromosomal localization, gene structure, conserved motifs, and selective pressures were systematically analyzed. All 36 MpDof genes were predicted to contain more cis-acting elements related to hormone response. MpDof24 and MpDof25 were predicted to interact with MpDof11 and MpDof26 to involve in the photoperiod blooms process. The MpDof genes showed a diverse expression pattern in different tissues. Notably, MpDof29 and MpDof31 were specifically expressed in the large pod and root, respectively, suggesting their crucial role in the pod and root development. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression levels of MpDof10, MpDof25, MpDof26, and MpDof29 were obviously up-regulated under drought, salt, and cold stress. Collectively, genome-wide identification, evolutionary, and expression analysis of the Dof transcription gene family in M. polymorpha will provide new information to further understand and utilize the function of these Dof genes in Medicago plants

Image_2_Full-length transcriptional analysis reveals the complex relationship of leaves and roots in responses to cold-drought combined stress in common vetch.TIF

Plant responses to single or combined abiotic stresses between aboveground and underground parts are complex and require crosstalk signaling pathways. In this study, we explored the transcriptome data of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) subjected to cold and drought stress between leaves and roots via meta-analysis to identify the hub abiotic stress-responsive genes. A total of 4,836 and 3,103 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the leaves and roots, respectively. Transcriptome analysis results showed that the set of stress-responsive DEGs to concurrent stress is distinct from single stress, indicating a specialized and unique response to combined stresses in common vetch. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analyses identified that “Photosystem II,” “Defence response,” and “Sucrose synthase/metabolic activity” were the most significantly enriched categories in leaves, roots, and both tissues, respectively. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis results indicated that “ABC transporters” are the most enriched pathway and that all of the genes were upregulated in roots. Furthermore, 29 co-induced DEGs were identified as hub genes based on the consensus expression profile module of single and co-occurrence stress analysis. In transgenic yeast, the overexpression of three cross-stress tolerance candidate genes increased yeast tolerance to cold-drought combined stress. The elucidation of the combined stress-responsive network in common vetch to better parse the complex regulation of abiotic responses in plants facilitates more adequate legume forage breeding for combined stress tolerance.</p