Genetic dissection of heterosis using epistatic association mapping in a partial NCII mating design

Heterosis refers to the phenomenon in which an F1 hybrid exhibits enhanced growth or agronomic performance. However, previous theoretical studies on heterosis have been based on bi-parental segregating populations instead of F1 hybrids. To understand the genetic basis of heterosis, here we used a subset of F1 hybrids, named a partial North Carolina II design, to perform association mapping for dependent variables: original trait value, general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and mid-parental heterosis (MPH). Our models jointly fitted all the additive, dominance and epistatic effects. The analyses resulted in several important findings: 1) Main components are additive and additive-by-additive effects for GCA and dominance-related effects for SCA and MPH, and additive-by-dominant effect for MPH was partly identified as additive effect; 2) the ranking of factors affecting heterosis was dominance > dominance-by-dominance > over-dominance > complete dominance; and 3) increasing the proportion of F1 hybrids in the population could significantly increase the power to detect dominance-related effects, and slightly reduce the power to detect additive and additive-by-additive effects. Analyses of cotton and rapeseed datasets showed that more additive-by-additive QTL were detected from GCA than from trait phenotype, and fewer QTL were from MPH than from other dependent variables

Decreasing the use of edible oils in China using WeChat and theories of behavior change: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

The consumption of edible oils in China has increased rapidly in recent years, and the total amount of edible-oil intake in the country has ranked first in the world. The choice and intake of edible oils, as a source of fats, are important factors that affect people's health. Many chronic diseases are closely associated with high-calorie and saturated-fat intake. The influence of traditional concepts that promote the use of edible oils among women, particularly housewives, plays a key role in a household's diet and nutrition because the diet-related knowledge, attitude and behaviour of housewives are dominant factors in planning and preparing their family's meals. WeChat, which was developed by Tencent, is a multipurpose messaging, social media and mobile payment application (app) in China. Described by Forbes as one of the world's most powerful apps, WeChat provides considerable convenience in disseminating knowledge. Accordingly, this study aims to design a pilot intervention to decrease the use of edible oils in Chinese households. The intervention, which is based on theories of behaviour change, will be implemented through WeChat. The study design is a randomised controlled trial that adopts knowledge, attitude and practice, social cognitive and stages of change theories as theoretical models. A total of 800 housewives between the ages of 25 and 45 years will be recruited on WeChat and from the communities in four areas (including rural and urban) in Chongqing, China. A self-administered questionnaire will be used to collect information regarding age, educational level, occupation, family members, edible-oil intake habits, knowledge of edible oils and WeChat usage habits. A total of 200 participants will be selected and randomly assigned to two equal-sized groups: group A (the intervention group) and group B (the control group). Group A will receive health education regarding edible oils for four consecutive weeks, whereas group B will be treated as the blank control. Each participant will complete a battery of knowledge, attitude and behaviour tests immediately, 3 months and 6 months after the intervention. In addition, weight, moisture rate, fat rate, visceral fat level and body mass index will be calculated using a multifunctional weighing scale, namely, Tanita BC-601 (Japan). The study is currently in the design stage. This study aims to increase knowledge and awareness of the appropriate use of edible oils, thereby encouraging participants to change behaviour by decreasing the intake of unhealthy levels of edible oils. It will be the first intervention to investigate the use of edible oils in China through WeChat. We predict that receiving health education regarding edible oils through WeChat will substantially improve the knowledge and attitude of the respondents. The members of the intervention group will have increased awareness and will be willing to decrease their use of edible oils to remain healthy. Results of this study may provide scientific evidence for the effect of health education through WeChat on edible oil-intake behaviour, thereby offering a comprehensive intervention to decrease the use of edible oils and promote a healthy lifestyle. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (primary registry in the World Health Organisation registry network): ChiCTR-IOR-17013472 . Registered on 21 November 2017

Proteomics analysis of serum protein profiling in pancreatic cancer patients by DIGE: up-regulation of mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pancreatic cancer has significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Good prognosis relies on an early diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to develop techniques for identifying cancer biomarkers in the serum of patients with pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Serum samples from five individuals with pancreatic cancer and five individuals without cancer were compared. Highly abundant serum proteins were depleted by immuno-affinity column. Differential protein analysis was performed using 2-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among these protein spots, we found that 16 protein spots were differently expressed between the two mixtures; 8 of these were up-regulated and 8 were down-regulated in cancer. Mass spectrometry and database searching allowed the identification of the proteins corresponding to the gel spots. Up-regulation of mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2, which have not previously been implicated in pancreatic cancer, were observed. In an independent series of serum samples from 16 patients with pancreatic cancer and 16 non-cancer-bearing controls, increased levels of mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2 were confirmed by western blot.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that affinity column enrichment and DIGE can be used to identify proteins differentially expressed in serum from pancreatic cancer patients. These two proteins 'mannose-binding lectin 2 and myosin light chain kinase 2' might be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of the pancreatic cancer.</p

The Anopheles gambiae Oxidation Resistance 1 (OXR1) Gene Regulates Expression of Enzymes That Detoxify Reactive Oxygen Species

OXR1 is an ancient gene, present in all eukaryotes examined so far that confers protection from oxidative stress by an unknown mechanism. The most highly conserved region of the gene is the carboxyl-terminal TLDc domain, which has been shown to be sufficient to prevent oxidative damage.OXR1 has a complex genomic structure in the mosquito A. gambiae, and we confirm that multiple splice forms are expressed in adult females. Our studies revealed that OXR1 regulates the basal levels of catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) expression, two enzymes involved in detoxification of hydrogen peroxide, giving new insight into the mechanism of action of OXR1. Gene silencing experiments indicate that the Jun Kinase (JNK) gene acts upstream of OXR1 and also regulates expression of CAT and GPx. Both OXR1 and JNK genes are required for adult female mosquitoes to survive chronic oxidative stress. OXR1 silencing decreases P. berghei oocyst formation. Unexpectedly, JNK silencing has the opposite effect and enhances Plasmodium infection in the mosquito, suggesting that JNK may also mediate some, yet to be defined, antiparasitic response.The JNK pathway regulates OXR1 expression and OXR1, in turn, regulates expression of enzymes that detoxify reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Anopheles gambiae. OXR1 silencing decreases Plasmodium infection in the mosquito, while JNK silencing has the opposite effect and enhances infection