The chromosome-scale genome provides insights into pigmentation in Acer rubrum.

Acer rubrum L. is one of the most prevalent ornamental species of the genus Acer, due to its straight and tall stems and beautiful leaf colors. For this study, the Oxford Nanopore platform and Hi-C technology were employed to obtain a chromosome-scale genome for A. rubrum. The genome size of A. rubrum was 1.69 Gb with an N50 of 549.44 Kb, and a total of 39 pseudochromosomes were generated with a 99.61% genome. The A. rubrum genome was predicted to have 64644 genes, of which 97.34% were functionally annotated. Genome annotation identified 67.14% as the transposable element (TE) repeat sequence, with long terminal repeats (LTR) being the richest (55.68%). Genome evolution analysis indicated that A. rubrum diverged from A. yangbiense ∼6.34 million years ago. We identified 13 genes related to pigment synthesis in A. rubrum leaves, where the expressions of four ArF3'H genes were consistent with the synthesis of cyanidin (a key pigment) in red leaves. Correlation analysis verified that the pigmentation of A. rubrum leaves was under the coordinated regulation of non-structural carbohydrates and hormones. The genomic sequence of A. rubrum will facilitate genomic breeding research for this species, while providing the valuable utilization of Aceraceae resources.

Interaction between Gelatin and Mulberry Leaf Polysaccharides in Miscible System: Physicochemical Characteristics and Rheological Behavior.

In this study, the miscible system was formed by mixing gelatin (G) with mulberry leaf polysaccharides (MLPs) continuously extracted with a hot buffer (HBSS), a chelating agent (CHSS), a dilute alkali (DASS), and a concentrated alkali (CASS), and the zeta potential, turbidity, particle size, distribution, and rheological properties of the miscible systems were evaluated. Under acidic conditions, the miscible systems of four polysaccharides and gelatin were in a clear state; under alkaline conditions, G-HBSS and G-CHSS were clarified, and G-DASS and G-CASS changed from clarification to turbidity. The zeta potential changed from positive to negative with the increase in pH. When the pH was at 7, it increased with the increase in polysaccharide concentration but was still negative. The four miscible systems all showed polydispersity. The particle sizes of G-HBSS and G-CHSS decreased with the increase in pH, while the particle sizes of G-DASS and G-CASS were increased. The four miscible systems showed "shear thinning" behavior, and the addition of gelatin reduced the apparent viscosity of the four polysaccharide solutions. G-CHSS was highly stable, and G-CASS was more suitable as a stabilizer in the freezing process.

Anticancerous potential of polysaccharides sequentially extracted from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua in Human cervical cancer Hela cells.

The anticancerous effects of PCHPs (HBSS, CHSS, DASS, and CASS) were investigated on Human cervical cancer Hela cells proliferation inhibition, cytotoxicity, caspase-3 activity, cell cycle, and apoptosis. The inhibition rate was expressed as CASS > HBSS > CHSS > DASS, with the maximum inhibition of 74.453 ± 3.399%. Cell cytotoxicity was observed (CASS > CHSS > HBSS > DASS) with the maximum cell death rate of 82.472 ± 3.488%. The caspase-3 activity was induced by CASS > HBSS > DASS > CHSS, with the maximum multiple of 2.954 ± 0.103. CASS induced cell cycle block at the G2/M phase by elevating mRNA expression of CyclinD1, p21, p53 and Wee1, and lowering the expression of Survivin, CHK2, Wee1, CyclinB1, and CDK-1. CASS enhanced the mRNA expression of DR3, DR5, FasL, FADD, PARP, TNF- α, TNF- R1, TRDAA, caspases-8, caspases-10 and the protein expression of FasL and caspases-8, -10 in the death receptor pathway; while, lowered the mRNA expression of antiapoptotic genes (Bcl - 2 and Bcl-xL) and the protein expression of Bcl - 2. The mRNA expression of apoptosis genes (Bak, Cytc, Puma, and caspases-3, -7, -9) and the protein expression of caspases-3, -9 of mitochondria pathway was up regulated which led to cell apoptosis.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of polysaccharides sequentially extracted from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua.

We examined the antioxidant and antimicrobial attributes of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua polysaccharides (HBSS, CHSS, DASS, CASS). The UV spectra and FT-IR results showed the purity and acidic nature of polysaccharides with ß-configurations. DASS (78.585% hydroxyl radical scavenging, 92.794% ABTS radical scavenging, 75.648% DPPH radical scavenging activity, 0.582 reducing power and 98.721% Fe2+ chelation at 5mg/mL) possessed the best antioxidant potential; while, HBSS (21.113% hydroxyl radical scavenging, 14.412% ABTS radical scavenging, 28.005% DPPH radical scavenging activity, 0.285 reducing power and 48.969% Fe2+ chelation at 5mg/mL) was observed with the lowest antioxidant action. The bacterial inhibition effect of four PCHPs on Gram-positive organisms (B. subtilis and S. aureus with the maximum inhibitory diameters of 18.9 and 15.8mm, respectively) was better than that of Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli and S. typhimurium with the maximum inhibitory diameters of 10.9 and 8.4mm, respectively). The bacterial sensitivity was observed in the following order: B. subtilis>S. aureus>E. coli>S. typhimurium. The trend of antibacterial action of PCHPs was in following order: DASS>CHSS>CASS>HBSS. DASS can be considered as natural anti-oxidant as well as spoilage inhibitors to enhance the nutritive and functional values of various foods.

The rheological behavior of polysaccharides sequential extracted from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua.

The present study investigated the rheological properties of polysaccharides (HBSS, CHSS, DASS, CASS) sequentially extracted from Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua. The monosaccharide, uronic acid, total carbohydrate, protein content of four polysaccharides were analyzed. The total carbohydrate content of PCHPs (HBSS, CHSS, DASS, and CASS) were 78.39, 71.86, 69.99 and 73.73% respectively, containing Rha, Ara, Man, Gal besides uronic acid and protein. The non-Newtonian fluidic nature of PCHPs was affected by the types of polysaccharides, concentration, temperature, pH, types and concentration of salt ions. Specifically, the apparent viscosity of four PCHPs solutions at 1%(w/w) concentration were shown as CHSS>HBSS>CHSS>CASS with increased concentration and shear thinning phenomenon and decreased system temperature. Subsequently, the apparent viscosity of four PCHPs at pH 10 or pH 4 were lower than that at pH 7. The Na+ increased the apparent viscosity of HBSS at increasing concentrations, while, decreased for remaining fractions with increasing Na+ concentration. Moreover, higher Ca2+ concentration was inversely proportional to apparent viscosity of four PCHPs. The oscillatory rheological properties showed that linear viscoelastic region of PCHPs was 1-4% which resulted into viscoelastic material. HBSS, DASS and CASS at 0.1%(w/w) showed more viscous behavior at low frequency and enhanced elastic property with the increasing oscillation frequency.

Thermal and Antioxidant Properties of Polysaccharides Sequentially Extracted from Mulberry Leaves (Morus alba L.).

Polysaccharides from natural plant products are gaining considerable attention due to their multi-faceted health effects, as well their functional applications in food production. We reported the sequential extraction of mulberry leaf polysaccharides (MLPs) with hot buffer (HBSS), chelating agent (CHSS), dilute alkali (DASS) and concentrated alkali (CASS), in order to obtain polysaccharide fractions. Monosaccharide analysis proved that galactose (27.07%) and arabinose (25.99%) were the major sugars in HBSS, whereas arabinose (30.55%) was the major sugar in CHSS, and glucose was the major sugar in DASS (24.96%) and CASS (27.51%). The molecular weights of the polysaccharide fractions were 7.812 × 10³ (HBSS), 3.279 × 10³ (CHSS), 6.912 × 10³ (DASS), and 1.408 × 10³ kDa (CASS). HBSS and CASS showed the largest peak temperature and the highest endothermic enthalpy, respectively. Different antioxidant assays showed that the MLPs possessed appreciable antioxidant activities in a dose-dependent manner. At 5 mg/mL, HBSS and DASS possessed the largest 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (96.82%). HBSS exhibited the highest reducing power, and DASS rendered the strongest ABTS radical scavenging activity (99.69%). CHSS performed the best hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (64.22%) and Fe2+-chelating ability (96.36%). Our results suggested that MLPs could be a promising source of natural antioxidants for use in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries.