Various temperature effects on spikelet growth in hulless oat during grain-filling stage

Temperature conditions affect growth and grain development during the grain-filling stage, but a comprehensive analysis of oat subjected to different temperatures during grain development has not been studied. In this study, an integrated physiological and proteomic examination of oat spikelets was performed to analyze the influence of five different day-time temperatures on stress-relative parameters and grain development. Physiological analysis showed decrease of total chlorophyll, shoot dry weight and spikelet shape development and increased activation of MDA, soluble sugar and antioxidant enzymes, with increase of temperatures. However, considering major grain yield components and storage materials, there should be an optimum temperature during ripening period. The result of proteomic analysis showed significantly high expressions of stress-related gene in high temperature treatment and grain storage materials in optimum temperature. Our findings indicate that temperature conditions during the grain-filling period exert a major influence on yield potential

Silicon@porous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres through a bottom-up approach are highly robust lithium-ion battery anodes

Due to its excellent capacity, around 4000 mA h g(-1), silicon has been recognized as one of the most promising lithium-ion battery anodes, especially for future large-scale applications including electrical vehicles and utility power grids. Nevertheless, Si suffers from a short cycle life as well as limitations for scalable electrode fabrication. Herein, we report a novel design for highly robust and scalable Si anodes: Si nanoparticles embedded in porous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres (NCSs). The porous nature of NCSs buffers the volume changes of Si nanoparticles and thus resolves critical issues of Si anode operations, such as pulverization, vulnerable contacts between Si and carbon conductors, and an unstable solid-electrolyte interphase. The unique electrode structure exhibits outstanding performance with a gravimetric capacity as high as 1579 mA h g(-1) at a C/10 rate based on the mass of both Si and C, a cycle life of 300 cycles with 94% capacity retention, as well as a discharge rate capability of 6 min while retaining a capacity of 702 mA h g(-1). Significantly, the coulombic efficiencies of this structure reach 99.99%. The assembled structure suggests a design principle for high capacity alloying electrodes that suffer from volume changes during battery operations.

Ruptured duodenal varices arising from the main portal vein successfully treated with endoscopic injection sclerotherapy: a case report

Duodenal varices result from retroperitoneal portosystemic shunts that usually come from the pancreaticoduodenal vein and drain into the inferior vena cava. Because they are a rare but fatal cause of gastrointestinal bleeding, a prompt hemostatic intervention is mandatory. A 62-year-old man who had a history of excessive alcohol consumption presented with massive hematemesis and melena. Emergent endoscopy revealed ruptured varices with an adhering whitish fibrin clot on the postbulbar portion of the duodenum. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated a cirrhotic liver with venous collaterals around the duodenum and extravasated contrast in the second and third portions. The collaterals originated from the main portal vein and drained via the right renal vein into the inferior vena cava. Endoscopic injection sclerotherapy with cyanoacrylate was successful in achieving hemostasis, and resulted in the near eradication of duodenal varices at a 6-month follow-up

LYL1 gene amplification predicts poor survival of patients with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma: analysis of the Cancer genome atlas data

Background Somatic amplifications of the LYL1 gene are relatively common occurrences in patients who develop uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) as opposed to other cancers. This study was undertaken to determine whether such genetic alterations affect survival outcomes of UCEC. Methods In 370 patients with UCEC, we analysed clinicopathologic characteristics and corresponding genomic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Patients were stratified according to LYL1 gene status, grouped as amplification or non-amplification. Heightened levels of cancer-related genes expressed in concert with LYL1 amplification were similarly investigated through differentially expressed gene and gene set enrichment analyses. Factors associated with survival outcomes were also identified. Results Somatic LYL1 gene amplification was observed in 22 patients (5.9%) with UCEC. Patients displaying amplification (vs. non-amplification) were significantly older at the time of diagnosis and more often were marked by non-endometrioid, high-grade, or advanced disease. In survival analysis, the amplification subset showed poorer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates (3-year PFS: 34.4% vs. 79.9%, P = 0.031; 5-year OS: 25.1% vs. 84.9%, P = 0.014). However, multivariate analyses adjusted for tumor histologic type, grade, and stage did not confirm LYL1 gene amplification as an independent prognostic factor for either PFS or OS. Nevertheless, MAPK, WNT, and cell cycle pathways were significantly enriched by LYL1 gene amplification (P < 0.001, P = 0.002, and P = 0.004, respectively). Conclusions Despite not being identified as an independent prognostic factor in UCEC, LYL1 gene amplification is associated with other poor prognostic factors and correlated with upregulation of cancer-related pathways

Application of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) quality assessment

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), used for quantitative determination of the relative concentrations of antibody binding proteins, and two antibodies, specifically an anti-secalin monoclonal antibody (ASMab) and an anti-gliadin monoclonal antibody (AGMab), were used for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) quality prediction. The anti-secalin monoclonal antibody (AGMab) was capable of identifying wheats carrying rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome arm 1RS, in each of the 16 production environments, and also was able to discriminate among lines that carried 1AL/1RS, 1BL/1RS, or were heterogeneous for 1BL/1RS. When all genotypes (normal and 1RS wheats) were considered, negative correlations between the ELISA optical density variables and the quality parameters were observed. However, correlations between ELISA optical densities and quality parameters were actually positive among 1RS lines. This might be due to similar synthesis of secalin and wheat quality-related gluten proteins during grain filling period. The anti-gliadin monoclonal antibody (AGMab) was found to have high specificity for gamma-gliadin proteins. Immunoblot experiments, using Chinese Spring euploid and aneuploid lines, confirmed that AGMab bound primarily to gliadins encoded by the short arm of chromosome 1A. Few significant correlations were observed between AGMab ELISA optical density parameters and quality parameters, among all genotypes. However, within specific genotypes, significant correlations were detected with several quality parameters. This suggests that use of AGMab for the prediction of quality would be limited to certain responsive genotypes

Identification of genome-specific transcripts in wheat–rye translocation lines

Studying gene expression in wheat–rye translocation lines is complicated due to the presence of homeologs in hexaploid wheat and high levels of synteny between wheat and rye genomes (Naranjo and Fernandez-Rueda, 1991 [1]; Devos et al., 1995 [2]; Lee et al., 2010 [3]; Lee et al., 2013 [4]). To overcome limitations of current gene expression studies on wheat–rye translocation lines and identify genome-specific transcripts, we developed a custom Roche NimbleGen Gene Expression microarray that contains probes derived from the sequence of hexaploid wheat, diploid rye and diploid progenitors of hexaploid wheat genome (Lee et al., 2014). Using the array developed, we identified genome-specific transcripts in a wheat–rye translocation line (Lee et al., 2014). Expression data are deposited in the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) under accession number GSE58678. Here we report the details of the methods used in the array workflow and data analysis

Genome-wide transcript analysis of inflorescence development in wheat

The process of inflorescence development is directly related to yield components that determine the final grain yield in most cereal crops. Here, microarray analysis was conducted for four different developmental stages of inflorescence to identify genes expressed specifically during inflorescence development. To select inflorescence-specific expressed genes, we conducted meta-analysis using 1245 Affymetrix GeneChip array sets obtained from various development stages, organs, and tissues of Poaceae members. The early stage of inflorescence development was accompanied by a significant upregulation of a large number of cell differentiation genes, such as those associated with the cell cycle, cell division, DNA repair, and DNA synthesis. Moreover, key regulatory genes, including the MADS-box gene, KNOTTED-1-like homeobox genes, GROWTH-REGULATING FACTOR 1 gene, and the histone methyltransferase gene, were highly expressed in the early inflorescence development stage. In contrast, fewer genes were expressed in the later stage of inflorescence development, and played roles in hormone biosynthesis and meiosis-associated genes. Our work provides novel information regarding the gene regulatory network of cell division, and on key genes involved in the differentiation of inflorescence in wheat, and regulation mechanism of inflorescence development that are crucial stage for determining final grain number per spike, and the yield potential of wheat.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Identification of candidate genes for the seed coat colour change in a Brachypodium distachyon mutant induced by gamma radiation using whole-genome re-sequencing

Brachypodium distachyon has been proposed as a model plant for agriculturally important cereal crops such as wheat and barley. Seed coat colour change from brown-red to yellow was observed in a mutant line (142-3) of B. distachyon, which was induced by chronic gamma radiation. In addition, dwarf phenotypes were observed in each of the lines 142-3, 421-2, and 1376-1. In order to identify causal mutations for the seed coat colour change, the three mutant lines and the wild type were subjected to whole-genome re-sequencing. After removing natural variations, 906, 1057, and 978 DNA polymorphisms were detected in 142-3, 421-2, and 1376-1, respectively. A total of 13 high-risk DNA polymorphisms were identified in mutant 142-3. Based on a comparison with DNA polymorphisms in 421-2 and 1376-1, candidate causal mutations for the seed coat colour change in 142-3 were selected. In the two independent A. thaliana lines carrying T-DNA insertions in the AtCHI, seed colour change was observed. We propose a frameshift mutation in BdCHI1 as a causal mutation responsible for seed colour change in 142-3. The DNA polymorphism information for these mutant lines can be utilized for functional genomics in B. distachyon and cereal crops.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Development of single-nucleotide polymorphism markers of salinity tolerance for Tunisian durum wheat using RNA sequencing

Salinity stress is a critical abiotic stress that reduces crop productivity. Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) is an essential cereal in Tunisia, a country threatened by salinity stress. In this study, 26 accessions of Tunisian durum wheat were subjected to salinity stress induced by 500 mM NaCl, and their salinity tolerance was evaluated by examining phenotypic parameters and calculating the salinity tolerance trait index and salinity tolerance index. Furthermore, two Tunisian durum wheat cultivars, namely ‘Om Rabia’ (salinity-tolerant) and ‘Mahmoudi’ (salinity-susceptible), were subjected to RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected from the RNA-Seq data of these two cultivars. The impacts of all SNP variants on genes were predicted, and 157 candidate SNP primer pairs were designed preferentially using high-impact transcripts. Following confirmation using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of data from ‘Om Rabia’ and ‘Mahmoudi’, 17 SNP markers were developed and applied to assess the remaining 26 Tunisian durum wheat lines. Three developed SNP markers (KUCMB_TRIDC7AG078450.6_12, KUCMB_TRIDC2BG061830.1_05, and KUCMB_TRIDC2BG061830.1_08) showed PCR bands only in salinity-tolerant lines but not in moderately tolerant or susceptible lines. Therefore, the developed SNP markers may be used to screen the salinity tolerance of various durum wheat accessions