Sequencing and analysis of transcriptome to reveal regulation of gene expression for polysaccharide synthesis in Dendrobium officinale under different light quality

Light is a key factor affecting the growth and quality formation of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo. In this study, we used D. officinale under different light conditions as experimental materials to explore the key genes that regulate its polysaccharide content. In addition, we cloned the UGPase gene and validated the gene by bioinformatics analysis and real-time quantitative PCR. Compared with the natural light control group, 494, 1630 and 599 differentially expressed genes were screened under different light quality conditions of red, blue and yellow, respectively. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of these differentially expressed genes showed that the differentially expressed genes were enriched in the light signal transduction process under different light quality conditions. Bioinformatics analyses showed that the sequences of the genes were highly conserved with the sequences of the UGPase genes of other species, and had the highest sequence similarity with Phalaenopsis, which is also a member of the orchid family. Real-time quantitative PCR results showed that red light had the most significant promoting effect on the UGPase gene of D. officinale. In this study, we applied high-throughput sequencing technology to establish a transcriptome database of D. officinale under different light conditions and obtained a large amount of transcriptional information about D. officinale. The related genes affecting the quality of D. officinale were analysed at the transcriptional level, and the D. officinale UGPase gene was cloned, and its expression was analysed in different tissues and under different light conditions

Experimental and Simulation Identification of Xanthohumol as an Inhibitor and Substrate of ABCB1

Xanthohumol (XN) is a well-known prenylated flavonoid found in Humulus lupulus L. It is involved in several pharmacological activities, including the sensitization of doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer (MCF-7/ADR) cells to doxorubicin (DOX) through a reduction in cell viability and stemness. In the present study, we revealed another mechanism to further explain the reverse of the drug resistance of XN. In the MCF-7/ADR cell line, we found that XN inhibited the efflux functions of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1). We also observed that XN was a substrate of ABCB1 and stimulated its ATPase activity. Moreover, our results revealed that XN showed a synergic effect with the ABCB1 substrate colchicine (COL) in the MCF-7/ADR cell line. Further, we showed that XN bound to the central transmembrane domain (TMD) site, overlapping with the DOX binding site. This mechanism was supported by molecular modeling and simulation data, which revealed that XN bound to the ABCB1 transmembrane domain, where doxorubicin also binds, and its binding affinity was stronger than that of doxorubicin, resulting in less protein and ligand position fluctuation. These results support the XN-induced reversal of drug resistance via the inhibition of ABCB1-mediated transport of doxorubicin, stimulating ABCB1 ATPase activity and acting as a substrate of ABCB1

Study on the Aral Sea crisis from the risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and organochlorine pesticides in surface water of Amu Darya river basin in Uzbekistan

The Amu Darya River, as one of the important flows of the Aral Sea located in the semi-arid area of Central Asia, also performed as the primary water supply for Uzbekistan. Therefore, the residues and risks of anthropogenic-related persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in waters of the Amu Darya River were conducted in the present study to elucidate their possible effects on the water safety in such a specific area as well as on the Aral Sea Crisis from a new perspective. Thirty-nine water samples distributed along the Amu Darya River to the coastal of the Aral Sea were analyzed for both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) occurrence, showing the total concentrations of ΣOCPs and ΣPAHs in the range of 1.16–22.75 ng/L and 3.18–506.26 ng/L, respectively. Spatial differences showed higher levels for both OCPs and PAHs along the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River due to intense human activities. Source identification performed by isomer ratios indicated that dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) probably originated from recent use, while hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), chlordanes, and endosulfans originated mainly from historical usage. Furthermore, the principal component analysis showed PAHs were from coal and petroleum combustion (65.2%), biomass combustion (27.2%), and industrial chemical combustion (7.64%). The human health risk assessment demonstrated no carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic risks at present. However, moderate to high ecological risks to aquatic organisms especially were observed along the lower reaches, especially the delta area. The results obtained would not only provide important basic data for such a semi-arid area but also show us the possible toxic effects induced by such pollutants, which should attract more attention in the shrinking case of the Aral Sea

Experimental and Simulation Identification of Xanthohumol as an Inhibitor and Substrate of ABCB1

Xanthohumol (XN) is a well-known prenylated flavonoid found in Humulus lupulus L. It is involved in several pharmacological activities, including the sensitization of doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer (MCF-7/ADR) cells to doxorubicin (DOX) through a reduction in cell viability and stemness. In the present study, we revealed another mechanism to further explain the reverse of the drug resistance of XN. In the MCF-7/ADR cell line, we found that XN inhibited the efflux functions of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1). We also observed that XN was a substrate of ABCB1 and stimulated its ATPase activity. Moreover, our results revealed that XN showed a synergic effect with the ABCB1 substrate colchicine (COL) in the MCF-7/ADR cell line. Further, we showed that XN bound to the central transmembrane domain (TMD) site, overlapping with the DOX binding site. This mechanism was supported by molecular modeling and simulation data, which revealed that XN bound to the ABCB1 transmembrane domain, where doxorubicin also binds, and its binding affinity was stronger than that of doxorubicin, resulting in less protein and ligand position fluctuation. These results support the XN-induced reversal of drug resistance via the inhibition of ABCB1-mediated transport of doxorubicin, stimulating ABCB1 ATPase activity and acting as a substrate of ABCB1

Short-term Preservation of Porcine Oocytes in Ambient Temperature: Novel Approaches

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of preserving porcine oocytes without freezing. To optimize preservation conditions, porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were preserved in TCM-199, porcine follicular fluid (pFF) and FCS at different temperatures (4°C, 20°C, 25°C, 27.5°C, 30°C and 38.5°C) for 1 day, 2 days or 3 days. After preservation, oocyte morphology, germinal vesicle (GV) rate, actin cytoskeleton organization, cortical granule distribution, mitochondrial translocation and intracellular glutathione level were evaluated. Oocyte maturation was indicated by first polar body emission and spindle morphology after in vitro culture. Strikingly, when COCs were stored at 27.5°C for 3 days in pFF or FCS, more than 60% oocytes were still arrested at the GV stage and more than 50% oocytes matured into MII stages after culture. Almost 80% oocytes showed normal actin organization and cortical granule relocation to the cortex, and approximately 50% oocytes showed diffused mitochondria distribution patterns and normal spindle configurations. While stored in TCM-199, all these criteria decreased significantly. Glutathione (GSH) level in the pFF or FCS group was higher than in the TCM-199 group, but lower than in the non-preserved control group. The preserved oocytes could be fertilized and developed to blastocysts (about 10%) with normal cell number, which is clear evidence for their retaining the developmental potentiality after 3d preservation. Thus, we have developed a simple method for preserving immature pig oocytes at an ambient temperature for several days without evident damage of cytoplasm and keeping oocyte developmental competence

Design of the PMT underwater cascade implosion protection system for JUNO

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are widely used underwater in large-scale neutrino experiments. As a hollow glass spherelike structure, implosion is unavoidable during long-term operation under large water pressure. There is a possibility of cascade implosion to neighbor PMTs due to shockwave. Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory designed a protection structure for each 20-inch PMT, consisting of a top cover, a bottom cover, and their connection. This paper introduces the requirement and design of the PMT protection system, including the material selection, investigation of manufacture technology, and prototyping. Optimization and validation by simulation and underwater experiments are also presented.Comment: 10 pages, 15 figure

Pharmacological profile of Xanthohumol, a Prenylated Flavonoid from Hops (Humulus lupulus)

The female inflorescences of hops (Humulus lupulus L.), a well-known bittering agent used in the brewing industry, have long been used in traditional medicines. Xanthohumol (XN) is one of the bioactive substances contributing to its medical applications. Among foodstuffs XN is found primarily in beer and its natural occurrence is surveyed. In recent years, XN has received much attention for its biological effects. The present review describes the pharmacological aspects of XN and summarizes the most interesting findings obtained in the preclinical research related to this compound, including the pharmacological activity, the pharmacokinetics, and the safety of XN. Furthermore, the potential use of XN as a food additive considering its many positive biological effects is discussed

Neutrino Physics with JUNO

The Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), a 20 kton multi-purposeunderground liquid scintillator detector, was proposed with the determinationof the neutrino mass hierarchy as a primary physics goal. It is also capable ofobserving neutrinos from terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sources, includingsupernova burst neutrinos, diffuse supernova neutrino background, geoneutrinos,atmospheric neutrinos, solar neutrinos, as well as exotic searches such asnucleon decays, dark matter, sterile neutrinos, etc. We present the physicsmotivations and the anticipated performance of the JUNO detector for variousproposed measurements. By detecting reactor antineutrinos from two power plantsat 53-km distance, JUNO will determine the neutrino mass hierarchy at a 3-4sigma significance with six years of running. The measurement of antineutrinospectrum will also lead to the precise determination of three out of the sixoscillation parameters to an accuracy of better than 1\%. Neutrino burst from atypical core-collapse supernova at 10 kpc would lead to ~5000inverse-beta-decay events and ~2000 all-flavor neutrino-proton elasticscattering events in JUNO. Detection of DSNB would provide valuable informationon the cosmic star-formation rate and the average core-collapsed neutrinoenergy spectrum. Geo-neutrinos can be detected in JUNO with a rate of ~400events per year, significantly improving the statistics of existing geoneutrinosamples. The JUNO detector is sensitive to several exotic searches, e.g. protondecay via the $p\to K^++\bar\nu$ decay channel. The JUNO detector will providea unique facility to address many outstanding crucial questions in particle andastrophysics. It holds the great potential for further advancing our quest tounderstanding the fundamental properties of neutrinos, one of the buildingblocks of our Universe