Characterization of LC-MS based urine metabolomics in healthy children and adults

Previous studies reported that sex and age could influence urine metabolomics, which should be considered in biomarker discovery. As a consequence, for the baseline of urine metabolomics characteristics, it becomes critical to avoid confounding effects in clinical cohort studies. In this study, we provided a comprehensive lifespan characterization of urine metabolomics in a cohort of 348 healthy children and 315 adults, aged 1 to 78 years, using liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry. Our results suggest that sex-dependent urine metabolites are much greater in adults than in children. The pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis and alanine metabolism pathways were enriched in early life. Androgen and estrogen metabolism showed high activity during adolescence and youth stages. Pyrimidine metabolism was enriched in the geriatric stage. Based on the above analysis, metabolomic characteristics of each age stage were provided. This work could help us understand the baseline of urine metabolism characteristics and contribute to further studies of clinical disease biomarker discovery

Wheat TaRab7 GTPase Is Part of the Signaling Pathway in Responses to Stripe Rust and Abiotic Stimuli

Small GTP-binding proteins function as regulators of specific intercellular fundamental biological processes. In this study, a small GTP-binding protein Rab7 gene, designated as TaRab7, was identified and characterized from a cDNA library of wheat leaves infected with Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) the wheat stripe rust pathogen. The gene was predicted to encode a protein of 206 amino acids, with a molecular mass of 23.13 KDa and an isoeletric point (pI) of 5.13. Further analysis revealed the presence of a conserved signature that is characteristic of Rab7, and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that TaRab7 has the highest similarity to a small GTP binding protein gene (BdRab7-like) from Brachypodium distachyon. Quantitative real-time PCR assays revealed that the expression of TaRab7 was higher in the early stage of the incompatible interactions between wheat and Pst than in the compatible interaction, and the transcription level of TaRab7 was also highly induced by environmental stress stimuli. Furthermore, knocking down TaRab7 expression by virus induced gene silencing enhanced the susceptibility of wheat cv. Suwon 11 to an avirulent race CYR23. These results imply that TaRab7 plays an important role in the early stage of wheat-stripe rust fungus interaction and in stress tolerance

The role of vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE) from Nicotiana benthamiana in the elicitor-triggered hypersensitive response and stomatal closure

Elicitors/pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) trigger the plant immune system, leading to rapid programmed cell death (hypersensitive response, HR) and stomatal closure. Previous reports have shown that the vacuolar processing enzyme (VPE), a cysteine proteinase responsible for the maturation of vacuolar proteins, has caspase-1-like activity and mediates TMV- and mycotoxin-induced cell death. The role of VPE from Nicotiana benthamiana in the response to three elicitors: bacterial harpin, fungal Nep1, and oomycete boehmerin, is described here. Single-silenced (NbVPE1a or NbVPE1b) and dual-silenced (NbVPE1a/1b) N. benthamiana plants were produced by virus-induced gene silencing. Although NbVPE silencing does not affect H2O2 accumulation triggered by boehmerin, harpin, or Nep1, the HR is absent in NbVPE1a- and NbVPE1a/1b-silenced plants treated with harpin alone. However, NbVPE-silenced plants develop a normal HR after boehmerin and Nep1 treatment. These results suggest that harpin-triggered HR is VPE-dependent. Surprisingly, all gene-silenced plants show significantly impaired elicitor-induced stomatal closure and elicitor-promoted nitric oxide (NO) production in guard cells. Dual-silenced plants show increased elicitor-triggered AOS production in guard cells. The accumulation of transcripts associated with defence and cell redox is modified by VPE silencing in elicitor signalling. Overall, these results indicate that VPE from N. benthamiana functions not only in elicitor-induced HR, but also in elicitor-induced stomatal closure, suggesting that VPE may be involved in elicitor-triggered immunity

Simultaneous Mutations in Multi-Viral Proteins Are Required for Soybean mosaic virus to Gain Virulence on Soybean Genotypes Carrying Different R Genes

BACKGROUND: Genetic resistance is the most effective and sustainable approach to the control of plant pathogens that are a major constraint to agriculture worldwide. In soybean, three dominant R genes, i.e., Rsv1, Rsv3 and Rsv4, have been identified and deployed against Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) with strain-specificities. Molecular identification of virulent determinants of SMV on these resistance genes will provide essential information for the proper utilization of these resistance genes to protect soybean against SMV, and advance knowledge of virus-host interactions in general. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To study the gain and loss of SMV virulence on all the three resistance loci, SMV strains G7 and two G2 isolates L and LRB were used as parental viruses. SMV chimeras and mutants were created by partial genome swapping and point mutagenesis and then assessed for virulence on soybean cultivars PI96983 (Rsv1), L-29 (Rsv3), V94-5152 (Rsv4) and Williams 82 (rsv). It was found that P3 played an essential role in virulence determination on all three resistance loci and CI was required for virulence on Rsv1- and Rsv3-genotype soybeans. In addition, essential mutations in HC-Pro were also required for the gain of virulence on Rsv1-genotype soybean. To our best knowledge, this is the first report that CI and P3 are involved in virulence on Rsv1- and Rsv3-mediated resistance, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Multiple viral proteins, i.e., HC-Pro, P3 and CI, are involved in virulence on the three resistance loci and simultaneous mutations at essential positions of different viral proteins are required for an avirulent SMV strain to gain virulence on all three resistance loci. The likelihood of such mutations occurring naturally and concurrently on multiple viral proteins is low. Thus, incorporation of all three resistance genes in a soybean cultivar through gene pyramiding may provide durable resistance to SMV

Research on Shape Remain of Near-Earth Radial Collinear 4-Craft Coulomb Formation

This paper investigates the non-linear relative kinetic model of the collinear 4-craft Coulomb formation in geostationary orbit. Considering the fact that the formation remains statically fixed in the radial direction, using the equilibrium conditions to linearize the dynamic model. To keep the radial static stability of the collinear 4-craft Coulomb formation, the LQR controller is designed based on the linear dynamic model, taking the Coulomb force as the only control force. Considering the unmodeled disturbance force and the model error, the improved LQR control law is designed to improve the robustness of the traditional LQR controller. Simulation is executed by Matlab/Simulink, and numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the dynamic model and the proposed control strategy

Research on Shape Remain of Near-Earth Radial Collinear 4-Craft Coulomb Formation

This paper investigates the non-linear relative kinetic model of the collinear 4-craft Coulomb formation in geostationary orbit. Considering the fact that the formation remains statically fixed in the radial direction, using the equilibrium conditions to linearize the dynamic model. To keep the radial static stability of the collinear 4-craft Coulomb formation, the LQR controller is designed based on the linear dynamic model, taking the Coulomb force as the only control force. Considering the unmodeled disturbance force and the model error, the improved LQR control law is designed to improve the robustness of the traditional LQR controller. Simulation is executed by Matlab/Simulink, and numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the dynamic model and the proposed control strategy

Modeling epidemic in metapopulation networks with heterogeneous diffusion rates

In this paper, the process of the infectious diseases among cities is studied in metapopulation networks. Based on the heterogeneous diffusion rate, the epidemic model in metapopulation networks is established. The factors affecting diffusion rate are discussed, and the relationship among diffusion rate, connectivity of cities and the heterogeneity parameter of traffic flow is obtained. The existence and stability of the disease-free equilibrium and the endemic equilibrium are analyzed, and epidemic threshold is also obtained. It is shown that the more developed traffic of the city, the greater the diffusion rate, which resulting in the large number of infected individuals; the stronger the heterogeneity of the traffic flow, the greater the threshold of the disease outbreak. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the analytical results

Proteomic Analysis of Liver Proteins in a Rat Model of Chronic Restraint Stress-Induced Depression

Depression is a global mental disorder disease and greatly threatened human health and stress is considered to be one of the important factors that lead to depression. In this study, we used newly developed iTRAQ labeling and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrum united analysis technology obtained the 2176 accurate proteins. Successively, we used the GO analysis and IPA software to analyze the 98 differentially expressed proteins of liver in depression rats due to chronic restraint stress, showing a map of proteomics analysis of liver proteins from the aspects of related functions, disease and function analysis, canonical pathway analysis, and associated network. This study provide important information for comprehensively understanding the mechanisms of dysfunction or injury in the liver in depression