Male reproductive development is a complex biological process which includes the formation of the stamen with differentiated anther tissues, in which microspores/pollens are generated, then anther dehiscence and subsequently pollination. Stamen specification and anther development involve a number of extraordinary events such as meristem transition, cell division and differentiation, cell to cell communication, etc., which need the cooperative interaction of sporophytic and gametophytic genes. The advent of various tools for rice functional gene identification, such as complete genome sequence, genome-wide microarrays, collections of mutants, has greatly facilitated our understanding of mechanisms of rice stamen specification and anther development. Male sterile lines are critical for hybrid rice breeding, therefore understanding these processes will not only contribute greatly to the basic knowledge of crop developmental biology, but also to the development of new varieties for hybrid rice breeding in the future.
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ofPCSK1 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1) related to obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Methods: In this case-control observational study, four candidate SNPs (rs6234, rs155971, rs6232, rs3811951) ofPCSK1 were genotyped in 732 NAFLD patients and 823 healthy control participants, all of whom were of ethnic Han Chinese descent. All participants came from Shanghai, China, and joined our study during 2015 to 2016. The frequencies of each allele and genotype, paired linkage disequilibrium, and haplotype were calculated on the SHEsis platform. In addition to SHEsis, five different genetic models (codominant, dominant, recessive, overdominant, and log-additive) were employed to identify the correlation between genotype frequency and NAFLD. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approved No. 2017LCSY069).Results: In a comparison of NAFLD patients and healthy participants, none of the fourPCSK1 SNPs were significantly correlated with the occurrence of NAFLD (P>0.05), in either genotypic or allelic distribution. The recessive model of rs3811951 appeared to show a correlation (odds ratio=1.077;95% confidence interval=0.924-1.256;P=0.04), but there was no statistical significance after Bonferroni correction (Pcorr>0.0125).Conclusions: Four obesity-relatedPCSK1 SNPs (rs6234, rs155971, rs6232, rs3811951) showed no significant correlation with the development of NAFLD in a Han Chinese population.
In higher plants, male reproductive development is a complex biological process that includes cell division and differentiation, cell to cell communication etc., while the mechanism underlying plant male reproductive development remains less understood. GAMYB encodes a gibberellins acid （GA） inducible transcription factor that is required for the early anther development in rice （Oryza sativa L.）. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of a new allele gamyb-4 with a C base deletion in the second exon （-I-2308）, causing a frame shift and premature translational termination. Histological analysis showed that gamyb-4 developed abnormal enlarged tapetum and could not undergo normal meiosis. To understand the regulatory role of GAMYB, we carried out quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis and comparison of microarray data. These results revealed that the expression of TDR （TAPETUM DEGENERATION RETARDATION）, a tapetal cell death regulator, was downregulated in gamyb-4 and udtl （undeveloped tapetuml）. While the GAMYB expression was not obviously changed in tdr and udtl-1, and no apparent expression fold change of UDT1 in tdr and gamyb-4, suggesting that TDR may act downstream of GAMYB and UDT1, and GAMYB and UDT1 work in parallel to regulate rice early anther development. This work is helpful in understanding the regulatory network in rice anther development.
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms （SNPs） of ADIPOQ, ADIPOR1, and ADIPOR2 have been associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM）, but there are many conflicting results especially in Chinese populations. To investigate the contribution of the adiponectin genes and their receptors to T2DM, a case-control study was performed and 11 SNPs ofADIPOQ, ADIPOR1, and ADIPOR2 were genotyped in 985 T2DM and 1,050 control subjects, rs 16861194 （-11426 A〉G） in the putative promoter of ADIPOQ was associated with T2DM （P = 0.007; OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.08-1.55）. None of the other 10 SNPs were associated with T2DM in this study, although rs2241766 and rs1501299 were reported to be associated with T2DM in previous Chinese studies. There was also no significant difference found from the ADIPOQ haplotype analysis, which contains rs 16861194. In addition, we also assessed potential gene-gene interactions in three genes and no interactions were found. In conclusion, our results supported the ADIPOQ gene as a possible risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Han Chinese population.
To understand the molecular mechanism of male reproductive development in the model crop rice,we isolated a complete male sterile mutant post-meiotic deficient anther1 （pda1） from a γ-ray-treated rice mutant library.Genetic analysis revealed that the pda1 mutant was controlled by a recessive nucleus gene.The pda1 mutant anther seemed smaller with white appearance.Histological analysis demonstrated that the pda1 mutant anther undergoes normal early tapetum development without obvious altered meiosis.However,the pda1 mutant displayed obvious defects in postmeiotic tapetal development,abnormal degeneration occurred in the tapetal cells at stage 9 of anther development.Also we observed abnormal lipidic Ubisch bodies from the tapetal layer of the pda1 mutant,causing no obvious pollen exine formation.RT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression of genes involved in anther development including GAMYB,OsC4 and Wax-deficient anther1 （WDA1） was greatly reduced in the pda1 mutant anther.Using map-based cloning approach,the PDA1 gene was finely mapped between two markers HLF610 and HLF627 on chromosome 6 using 3,883 individuals of F2 population.The physical distance between HLF610 and HLF627 was about 194 kb.This work suggests that PDA1 is required for post-meiotic tapetal development and pollen/microspore formation in rice.
Oxidative stress has been identified as a possible element in the neuropathological processes of schizophrenia(SCZ).Alteration of oxidative stress markers has been reported in SCZ studies,but with inconsistent results.To evaluate the risk of oxidative stress to schizophrenia,a meta-analysis was conducted,including five markers of oxidative stress [thiobarbituric reactive substances(TBARS),nitric oxide(NO),catalase(CAT),glutathione peroxidase(GP) and superoxide dismutase(SOD)] in SCZ patients versus healthy controls.This study showed that TBARS and NO significantly increased in SCZ,while SOD activity significantly decreased in the disorganized type of SCZ patients.No significant effect size was found for the activities of GP and CAT in SCZ patients(P>0.05).Egger’s regression test observed no significant publication bias across the oxidative stress markers,but found high heterogeneities in all the 5 markers.The subgroup analysis suggested that the ethnicity,sample size of patients and sample sources may contribute to the heterogeneity of the results for TBARS,NO and SOD.The result further demonstrated the involvement of oxidative stress in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
ZHANG Ming1,2,ZHAO ZhongMing3,HE Lin1,2,4 & WAN ChunLing1,2 1 Bio-X Center,Key Laboratory for the Genetics of Developmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders(Ministry of Education),Shanghai Jiao Tong University,Shanghai 200030,China
Background Subjective well-being(SWB),also known as happiness,plays an important role in evaluating both mental and physical health.Adolescents deserve specific attention because they are under a great variety of stresses and are at risk for mental disorders during adulthood.Aim The present paper aims to predict undergraduate students1 SWB by machine learning method.Methods Gradient Boosting Classifier which was an innovative yet validated machine learning approach was used to analyse data from 10518 Chinese adolescents.The online survey included 298 factors such as depression and personality.Quality control procedure was used to minimise biases due to online survey reports.We applied feature selection to achieve the balance between optimal prediction and result interpretation.Results The top 20 happiness risks and protective factors were finally brought into the predicting model.Approximately 90%individuals'SWB can be predicted correctly,and the sensitivity and specificity were about 92%and 90%,respectively.Conclusions This result identifies at-risk individuals according to new characteristics and established the foundation for adolescent prevention strategies.
WUSCHEL-related homeobox （WOX） genes form a large gene family specifically expressed in plants.They are known to play important roles in regulating the development of plant tissues and organs by determining cell fate.Recent available whole genome sequences allow us to do more comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the WOX genes in plants.In the present study,we identified 11 and 21 WOXs from sorghum （Sorghum bicolor） and maize （Zea mays）,respectively.The 72 WOX genes from rice （Oryza sativa）,sorghum,maize,Arabidopsis （Arabidopsis thaliana） and poplar （Populus trichocarpa） were grouped into three well supported clades with nine subgroups according to the amino acid sequences of their homodomains.Their phylogenetic relationship was also supported by the observation of the motifs outside the homodomain.We observed the variation of duplication events among the nine sub-groups between monocots and eudicots,for instance,more gene duplication events of WOXs within subgroup A for monocots,while,less for dicots in this subgroup.Furthermore,we observed the conserved intron/exon structural patterns of WOX genes in rice,sorghum and Arabidopsis.In addition,WUS （Wuschel）-box and EAR （the ERF-associated amphiphilic repression）-like motif were observed to be conserved among several WOX subgroups in these five plants.Comparative analysis of expression patterns of WOX genes in rice and Arabidopsis suggest that the WOX genes play conserved and various roles in plants.This work provides insights into the evolution of the WOX gene family and is useful for future research.
