Complete mitochondrial genome of a predominant parasitoid, Necremnus tutae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) of the South American tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

The complete mitochondrial genome of a predominant parasitoid, Necremnus tutae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) (GenBank accession number MT916846) is 15,252 bp in length, and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and an A + T-rich region. The overall base composition is 38.86% for A, 7.14% for C, 8.57% for G, and 45.43% for T, with a high AT bias of 84.29%. ATA, ATT, ATG were initiation codons and TAA and T were termination codons. All the 22 tRNAs displayed a typical cloverleaf secondary structure, except for trnS1 and trnR which lacked the dihydrouracil (DHU) arm. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using 13 PCGs showed that N. tutae is closely related to Tenthredo tienmushana, which in accordance with the traditional classification.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Relationship between adiponectin and testosterone in patients with type 2 diabetes

Introduction: This study was designed to investigate the relationship between serum adiponectin and testosterone in patients with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: Serum level of adiponectin and testosterone were prospectively measured in 65 patients with type 2 diabetes and in 20 healthy subjects. Testosterone was determined by the radio-immunoassay, whereas adiponectin levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The average serum testosterone did not differ between the diabetes and the control group, but the average adiponectin in the diabetes group was lower (14.6 (14.2-15.0) vs. 24.3 (24.05-24.55) ng/mL, P = 0.001). In the diabetes group, the serum adiponectin level in patients with renal dysfunction (22.3 (21.5-23.1) ng/mL) was higher than in patients with no complications (12.1 (11.45-12.75) ng/mL) and than in patients with coronary artery disease (11.2 (10.25-12.15) ng/mL) (P = 0.009). Univariate correlation analysis showed an inverse weak correlation between adiponectin and testosterone concentrations in male diabetic patients (r = -0.27, P = 0.009). There was no significant correlation between adiponectin and testosterone in female patients (r = -0.05, P = 0.167). Conclusions: We conclude that patients with type 2 diabetes have lower serum adiponectin concen-tration than healthy individuals, and that there is a weak inverse correlation between adiponectin and testosterone serum concentrations in male diabetics

Symptom clusters after chemoradiotherapy in discharged nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients

ObjectiveTo investigate the incidence of complications and types of chemoradiotherepy induces symptom clusters in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who were first diagnosed after treatment and discharged from hospital.MethodsAfter their discharge home, 130 NPC patients who had been treated with chemoradiotherapy were asked to complete a modified Chinese version of the Quality of Life Questionnaire–Head and Neck Module developed by the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer in the Head and Neck. Symptom clusters in patients were identified through exploratory factor analysis.ResultsThe most serious symptoms for discharged NPC patients who had received chemoradiotherapy were dental problems, a sense of obstruction while swallowing, embarrassment in physical contact with family members and friends, difficulty in speaking with others, and embarrassment in public. The six symptom clusters identified through exploratory factor analysis were (1) painful eating, (2) social difficulties, (3) psychological disorders, (4) symptomatic shame, (5) teeth/throat injuries, and (6) sensory abnormalities. The total contribution rate of variance was 65.73%.ConclusionNPC patients who are treated with chemoradiotherapy can experience adverse symptom clusters that continue after discharge. Nurses should evaluate the patients’ symptoms before discharge and provide targeted health education services which would reduce the patients’ complications and improve the quality of life at home. Besides, medical staff should evaluate the complications in a timely and comprehensive manner and provide individualized health education for the affected patients to help them manage chemoradiotherapy side effects

Altered cofactor regulation with disease-associated p97/VCP mutations

Dominant mutations in p97/VCP (valosin-containing protein) cause a rare multisystem degenerative disease with varied phenotypes that include inclusion body myopathy, Paget’s disease of bone, frontotemporal dementia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. p97 disease mutants have altered N-domain conformations, elevated ATPase activity, and altered cofactor association. We have now discovered a previously unidentified disease-relevant functional property of p97 by identifying how the cofactors p37 and p47 regulate p97 ATPase activity. We define p37 as, to our knowledge, the first known p97-activating cofactor, which enhances the catalytic efficiency (k_(cat)/K_m) of p97 by 11-fold. Whereas both p37 and p47 decrease the K_m of ATP in p97, p37 increases the k_(cat) of p97. In contrast, regulation by p47 is biphasic, with decreased k_(cat) at low levels but increased k_(cat) at higher levels. By deleting a region of p47 that lacks homology to p37 (amino acids 69–92), we changed p47 from an inhibitory cofactor to an activating cofactor, similar to p37. Our data suggest that cofactors regulate p97 ATPase activity by binding to the N domain. Induced conformation changes affect ADP/ATP binding at the D1 domain, which in turn controls ATPase cycling. Most importantly, we found that the D2 domain of disease mutants failed to be activated by p37 or p47. Our results show that cofactors play a critical role in controlling p97 ATPase activity, and suggest that lack of cofactor-regulated communication may contribute to p97-associated disease pathogenesis

Conserved L464 in p97 D1–D2 linker is critical for p97 cofactor regulated ATPase activity

p97 protein is a highly conserved, abundant, functionally diverse, structurally dynamic homohexameric AAA enzyme-containing N, D1, and D2 domains. A truncated p97 protein containing the N and D1 domains and the D1–D2 linker (ND1L) exhibits 79% of wild-type (WT) ATPase activity whereas the ND1 domain alone without the linker only has 2% of WT activity. To investigate the relationship between the D1–D2 linker and the D1 domain, we produced p97 ND1L mutants and demonstrated that this 22-residue linker region is essential for D1 ATPase activity. The conserved amino acid leucine 464 (L464) is critical for regulating D1 and D2 ATPase activity by p97 cofactors p37, p47, and Npl4–Ufd1 (NU). Changing leucine to alanine, proline, or glutamate increased the maximum rate of ATP turnover (k_(cat)) of p47-regulated ATPase activities for these mutants, but not for WT. p37 and p47 increased the k_(cat) of the proline substituted linker, suggesting that they induced linker conformations facilitating ATP hydrolysis. NU inhibited D1 ATPase activities of WT and mutant ND1L proteins, but activated D2 ATPase activity of full-length p97. To further understand the mutant mechanism, we used single-particle cryo-EM to visualize the full-length p97^(L464P) and revealed the conformational change of the D1–D2 linker, resulting in a movement of the helix-turn-helix motif (543–569). Taken together with the biochemical and structural results we conclude that the linker helps maintain D1 in a competent conformation and relays the communication to/from the N-domain to the D1 and D2 ATPase domains, which are ∼50 Å away

Complete mitochondrial genome of the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

The complete mitochondrial genome of the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta was determined in this study. It is 15,290 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a putative control region. All the 13 PCGs were initiated with typical ATN start codons, except for cox1 with the CGA. These PCGs were terminated by the typical TAA codon or the incomplete T– – codon. The phylogenetic relationships based on neighbour-joining method revealed that T. absoluta is clustered with six Gelechiidae species, which agree with the conventional taxonomy

Presence of Native Prey Does Not Divert Predation on Exotic Pests by Harmonia axyridis in Its Indigenous Range.

In China, two invasive pests, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 (Gennadius) and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), often co-occur with the native pest, Aphis gossypii (Glover), on plants of Malvaceae and Cucurbitaceae. All three are preyed on by the native ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas); however, the native predator might be expected to prefer native prey to the exotic ones due to a shared evolutionary past. In order to clarify whether the presence of native prey affected the consumption of these two invasive species by the native predator, field-cage experiments were conducted. A duplex qPCR was used to simultaneously detect both non-native pests within the gut of the predator. H. axyridis readily accepted both invasive prey species, but preferred B. tabaci. With all three prey species available, H. axyridis consumption of B. tabaci was 39.3±2.2% greater than consumption of F. occidentalis. The presence of A. gossypii reduced (by 59.9% on B. tabaci, and by 60.6% on F. occidentalis), but did not stop predation on the two exotic prey when all three were present. The consumption of B. tabaci was similar whether it was alone or together with A. gossypii. However, the presence of aphids reduced predation on the invasive thrips. Thus, some invasive prey may be incorporated into the prey range of a native generalist predator even in the presence of preferred native prey