Subject(s)
Plant Proteins , Symbiosis , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Conserved Sequence , Rhizobium/physiology , Amino Acid Sequence , Fabaceae/microbiology , Amino Acids/metabolism , Protein Transport , Medicago truncatula/genetics , Medicago truncatula/microbiology , Medicago truncatula/metabolismABSTRACT
Legume nodulation requires the detection of flavonoids in the rhizosphere by rhizobia to activate their production of Nod factor countersignals. Here we investigated the flavonoids involved in nodulation of Medicago truncatula. We biochemically characterized five flavonoid-O-methyltransferases (OMTs) and a lux-based nod gene reporter was used to investigate the response of Sinorhizobium medicae NodD1 to various flavonoids. We found that chalcone-OMT 1 (ChOMT1) and ChOMT3, but not OMT2, 4, and 5, were able to produce 4,4'-dihydroxy-2'-methoxychalcone (DHMC). The bioreporter responded most strongly to DHMC, while isoflavones important for nodulation of soybean (Glycine max) showed no activity. Mutant analysis revealed that loss of ChOMT1 strongly reduced DHMC levels. Furthermore, chomt1 and omt2 showed strongly reduced bioreporter luminescence in their rhizospheres. In addition, loss of both ChOMT1 and ChOMT3 reduced nodulation, and this phenotype was strengthened by the further loss of OMT2. We conclude that: the loss of ChOMT1 greatly reduces root DHMC levels; ChOMT1 or OMT2 are important for nod gene activation in the rhizosphere; and ChOMT1/3 and OMT2 promote nodulation. Our findings suggest a degree of exclusivity in the flavonoids used for nodulation in M. truncatula compared to soybean, supporting a role for flavonoids in rhizobial host range.
Subject(s)
Chalcones , Medicago truncatula , Plant Root Nodulation , Rhizosphere , Medicago truncatula/genetics , Medicago truncatula/microbiology , Medicago truncatula/metabolism , Chalcones/metabolism , Plant Root Nodulation/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Mutation/genetics , Bacterial Proteins/metabolism , Bacterial Proteins/genetics , Flavonoids/metabolism , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Sinorhizobium/physiology , Sinorhizobium/genetics , Methyltransferases/metabolism , Methyltransferases/geneticsABSTRACT
Most legumes can form an endosymbiotic association with soil bacteria called rhizobia, which colonize specialized root structures called nodules where they fix nitrogen. To colonize nodule cells, rhizobia must first traverse the epidermis and outer cortical cell layers of the root. In most legumes, this involves formation of the infection thread, an intracellular structure that becomes colonized by rhizobia, guiding their passage through the outer cell layers of the root and into the newly formed nodule cells. In this brief review, we recount the early research milestones relating to the rhizobial infection thread and highlight two relatively recent advances in the symbiotic infection mechanism, the eukaryotically conserved 'MYB-AUR1-MAP' mitotic module, which links cytokinesis mechanisms to intracellular infection, and the discovery of the 'infectosome' complex, which guides infection thread growth. We also discuss the potential intertwining of the two modules and the hypothesis that cytokinesis served as a foundation for intracellular infection of symbiotic microbes.
Subject(s)
Fabaceae , Rhizobium , Fabaceae/microbiology , Bacteria , Symbiosis , Root Nodules, PlantABSTRACT
Host-controlled intracellular accommodation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria is essential for the establishment of a functional Root Nodule Symbiosis (RNS). In many host plants, this occurs via transcellular tubular structures (infection threads - ITs) that extend across cell layers via polar tip-growth. Comparative phylogenomic studies have identified RPG (RHIZOBIUM-DIRECTED POLAR GROWTH) among the critical genetic determinants for bacterial infection. In Medicago truncatula, RPG is required for effective IT progression within root hairs but the cellular and molecular function of the encoded protein remains elusive. Here, we show that RPG resides in the protein complex formed by the core endosymbiotic components VAPYRIN (VPY) and LUMPY INFECTION (LIN) required for IT polar growth, co-localizes with both VPY and LIN in IT tip- and perinuclear-associated puncta of M. truncatula root hairs undergoing infection and is necessary for VPY recruitment into these structures. Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM) of phosphoinositide species during bacterial infection revealed that functional RPG is required to sustain strong membrane polarization at the advancing tip of the IT. In addition, loss of RPG functionality alters the cytoskeleton-mediated connectivity between the IT tip and the nucleus and affects the polar secretion of the cell wall modifying enzyme NODULE PECTATE LYASE (NPL). Our results integrate RPG into a core host machinery required to support symbiont accommodation, suggesting that its occurrence in plant host genomes is essential to co-opt a multimeric protein module committed to endosymbiosis to sustain IT-mediated bacterial infection.
Subject(s)
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria , Rhizobium , Symbiosis , Cell Nucleus , Cell WallABSTRACT
The subcellular events occurring in cells of legume plants as they form transcellular symbiotic-infection structures have been compared with those occurring in premitotic cells. Here, we demonstrate that Aurora kinase 1 (AUR1), a highly conserved mitotic regulator, is required for intracellular infection by rhizobia in Medicago truncatula. AUR1 interacts with microtubule-associated proteins of the TPXL and MAP65 families, which, respectively, activate and are phosphorylated by AUR1, and localizes with them within preinfection structures. MYB3R1, a rhizobia-induced mitotic transcription factor, directly regulates AUR1 through two closely spaced, mitosis-specific activator cis elements. Our data are consistent with a model in which the MYB3R1-AUR1 regulatory module serves to properly orient preinfection structures to direct the transcellular deposition of cell wall material for the growing infection thread, analogous to its role in cell plate formation. Our findings indicate that the eukaryotically conserved MYB3R1-TPXL-AUR1-MAP65 mitotic module was conscripted to support endosymbiotic infection in legumes.
Subject(s)
Aurora Kinases , Medicago truncatula , Plant Proteins , Rhizobium , Symbiosis , Aurora Kinases/genetics , Aurora Kinases/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Medicago truncatula/genetics , Medicago truncatula/microbiology , Microtubule-Associated Proteins/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Rhizobium/metabolism , Transcription Factors/metabolismABSTRACT
Labs as guide dogs or sniffer dogs in usage have been introduced into China for more than 20 years. These two types of working dogs own blunt or acute olfactory senses, which have been obtained by artificial selection in relatively closed populations. In order to attain stable olfactory attributes and meet use-oriented demands, Chinese breeders keep doing the same artificial selection. Though olfactory behavior is canine genetic behavior, genotypes of OR genes formed by breeding schemes are largely unknown. Here, we characterized 26 SNPs, 2 deletions, and 2 insertions of 7 OR genes between sniffer dogs and guide dogs in order to find out the candidate alleles associated with working specific traits. The results showed that there were candidate functional SNP alleles in one locus that had statistically severely significant differences between the two subpopulations. Furthermore, the levels of polymorphism were not high in all loci and linkage disequilibrium only happened within one OR gene. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) tests showed that there was a higher ratio not in HWE and lower FST within the two working dog populations. We conclude that artificial selection in working capacities has acted on SNP alleles of OR genes in a dog breed and driven the evolution in compliance with people's intentions though the changes are limited in decades of strategic breeding.
Subject(s)
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , Receptors, Odorant , Alleles , Animals , Dogs , Linkage Disequilibrium , Phenotype , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics , Receptors, Odorant/geneticsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is limited information about thymosin α1 (Tα1) as adjuvant immunomodulatory therapy, either used alone or combined with other treatments, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of adjuvant Tα1 treatment on long-term survival in margin-free (R0)-resected stage IA-IIIA NSCLC patients. METHODS: A total of 5746 patients with pathologic stage IA-IIIA NSCLC who underwent R0 resection were included. The patients were divided into the Tα1 group and the control group according to whether they received Tα1 or not. A propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to reduce bias, resulting in 1027 pairs of patients. RESULTS: After PSM, the baseline clinicopathological characteristics were similar between the two groups. The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were significantly higher in the Tα1 group compared with the control group. The multivariable analysis showed that Tα1 treatment was independently associated with an improved prognosis. A longer duration of Tα1 treatment was associated with improved OS and DFS. The subgroup analyses showed that Tα1 therapy could improve the DFS and/or OS in all subgroups of age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), smoking status, and pathological tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, especially for patients with non-squamous cell NSCLC and without targeted therapy. CONCLUSION: Tα1 as adjuvant immunomodulatory therapy can significantly improve DFS and OS in patients with NSCLC after R0 resection, except for patients with squamous cell carcinoma and those receiving targeted therapy. The duration of Tα1 treatment is recommended to be >24 months.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung , Lung Neoplasms , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy , Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/surgery , Chemotherapy, Adjuvant , Humans , Immunomodulation , Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy , Lung Neoplasms/pathology , Lung Neoplasms/surgery , Neoplasm Staging , Propensity Score , Retrospective Studies , ThymalfasinABSTRACT
The preference for nitrate over chloride through regulation of transporters is a fundamental feature of plant ion homeostasis. We show that Medicago truncatula MtNPF6.5, an ortholog of Arabidopsis thaliana AtNPF6.3/NRT1.1, can mediate nitrate and chloride uptake in Xenopus oocytes but is chloride selective and that its close homologue, MtNPF6.7, can transport nitrate and chloride but is nitrate selective. The MtNPF6.5 mutant showed greatly reduced chloride content relative to wild type, and MtNPF6.5 expression was repressed by high chloride, indicating a primary role for MtNPF6.5 in root chloride uptake. MtNPF6.5 and MtNPF6.7 were repressed and induced by nitrate, respectively, and these responses required the transcription factor MtNLP1. Moreover, loss of MtNLP1 prevented the rapid switch from chloride to nitrate as the main anion in nitrate-starved plants after nitrate provision, providing insight into the underlying mechanism for nitrate preference. Sequence analysis revealed three sub-types of AtNPF6.3 orthologs based on their predicted substrate-binding residues: A (chloride selective), B (nitrate selective), and C (legume specific). The absence of B-type AtNPF6.3 homologues in early diverged plant lineages suggests that they evolved from a chloride-selective MtNPF6.5-like protein.
Subject(s)
Anion Transport Proteins/genetics , Chlorides/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Medicago truncatula/metabolism , Nitrates/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Roots/metabolism , Transcription Factors/genetics , Animals , Anion Transport Proteins/metabolism , Arabidopsis/genetics , Arabidopsis/growth & development , Arabidopsis/metabolism , Biological Evolution , Biological Transport , Conserved Sequence , Homeostasis , Medicago truncatula/genetics , Medicago truncatula/growth & development , Oocytes , Phylogeny , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Roots/genetics , Plant Roots/growth & development , Protein Binding , Protein Isoforms/genetics , Protein Isoforms/metabolism , Seedlings/genetics , Seedlings/growth & development , Seedlings/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Transcription Factors/metabolism , Xenopus laevisABSTRACT
Several ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters involved in the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and nodulation have been identified. We describe three previously unreported ABC subfamily B transporters, named AMN1, AMN2, and AMN3 (ABCB for mycorrhization and nodulation), that are expressed early during infection by rhizobia and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These ABCB transporters are strongly expressed in symbiotically infected tissues, including in root-hair cells with rhizobial infection threads and arbusculated cells. During nodulation, the expression of these genes is highly induced by rhizobia and purified Nod factors and is dependent on DMI3 but is not dependent on other known major regulators of infection, such as NIN, NSP1, or NSP2. During mycorrhization their expression is dependent on DMI3 and RAM1 but not on NSP1 and NSP2. Therefore, they may be commonly regulated through a distinct branch of the common symbiotic pathway. Mutants with exonic Tnt1-transposon insertions were isolated for all three genes. None of the single or double mutants showed any differences in colonization by either rhizobia or mycorrhizal fungi, but the triple amn1 amn2 amn3 mutant showed an increase in nodule number. Further studies are needed to identify potential substrates of these transporters and understand their roles in these beneficial symbioses.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Subject(s)
Medicago truncatula , Mycorrhizae , ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Medicago truncatula/genetics , Medicago truncatula/metabolism , Mycorrhizae/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Roots/metabolism , Signal Transduction , SymbiosisABSTRACT
Ecological land is essential to sustainable development of urban agglomeration. Based on the results of remote sensing image interpretation, we analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution of ecological land in 32 research units of ecological land in Wuhan urban agglomeration in 2000-2005, 2005-2010 and 2010-2015, using the land use transition matrix, exploratory regression analysis, the ordinary least squares (OLS) model, and geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. Then, the best regression model was selected after perfecting the traditional index system of influencing factors by data of the location and quantitative information of companies, enterprises and life services, etc., and conducting exploratory regression analysis. Finally, we analyzed the influencing factors and spatial differentiation rules of different research periods with GWR model. The results showed that, from 2000 to 2015, the amount of transition from ecological land use to non-ecological land use in the urban agglomeration showed an inverted U-shaped change pattern, and the space showing the expanding trend from point to surface. Land use patterns of 8.4% area had changed in the urban agglomeration, among which the conversion of cultivated land, forest land, grassland, water body and unused land to non-ecological land accounted for 41.9% of the total area. The spatial pattern gradually expanded from the central urban area of Wuhan to the periphery of the municipal sub-center and county-level towns. The total number of passing models in the three stages of exploratory regression analysis was 326. The GWR and OLS regression were used for comparative analysis of all models. The adjusted R2 in the three stages of selected models were 0.83, 0.91 and 0.76, respectively. The former improved by 0.02, 0.03 and 0.02, and the AICc decreased by 2.88, 3.42 and 0.83, respectively. The results of GWR model showed substantially spatial differentiation of influencing factors of ecological land evolution in Wuhan urban agglomeration, and that the influence patterns was dominated by gradual transition in different directions in space, with other patterns such as "V" distribution. The effects of spatial factors were significant. The potential information of spatial data enhanced the interpretation of ecological land evolution within the urban agglomeration.
Subject(s)
Environmental Monitoring , Spatial Regression , China , Cities , Forests , Least-Squares AnalysisABSTRACT
Most legumes can engage in symbiosis with N-fixing bacteria called rhizobia. This symbiosis, called nodulation, evolved from the more widespread symbiosis that most land plants form with arbuscular mycorrhiza, which is reflected in a common requirement of certain genes for both these symbioses. One key nodulation gene, Nodule Inception (NIN), has been intensively studied. Mutants in NIN are unable to form nodules, which has made it difficult to identify downstream genes under the control of NIN. The analysis of data from our recent transcriptomics study revealed that some genes with an altered expression of nin during nodulation are upregulated in mycorrhizal roots. In addition, another study reported the decreased colonization of nin roots by arbuscular mycorrhiza. We therefore investigated a role for NIN in mycorrhiza formation. Our time course study, using two nin alleles with differing genetic backgrounds, suggests that that loss of NIN does not affect colonization of Medicago truncatula roots, either in the presence or absence of rhizobia. This, and recent phylogenetic analyses showing that the loss of NIN is correlated with loss of nodulation in the FaFaCuRo clade, but not with the ability to form mycorrhiza, argue against NIN being required for arbuscular mycorrhization in legumes.
ABSTRACT
During root nodule symbiosis, intracellular accommodation of rhizobia by legumes is a prerequisite for nitrogen fixation. For many legumes, rhizobial colonization initiates in root hairs through transcellular infection threads. In Medicago truncatula, VAPYRIN (VPY) and a putative E3 ligase LUMPY INFECTIONS (LIN) are required for infection thread development but their cellular and molecular roles are obscure. Here we show that LIN and its homolog LIN-LIKE interact with VPY and VPY-LIKE in a subcellular complex localized to puncta both at the tip of the growing infection thread and at the nuclear periphery in root hairs and that the punctate accumulation of VPY is positively regulated by LIN. We also show that an otherwise nuclear and cytoplasmic exocyst subunit, EXO70H4, systematically co-localizes with VPY and LIN during rhizobial infection. Genetic analysis shows that defective rhizobial infection in exo70h4 is similar to that in vpy and lin. Our results indicate that VPY, LIN and EXO70H4 are part of the symbiosis-specific machinery required for polar growth of infection threads.
Subject(s)
Medicago truncatula/genetics , Medicago truncatula/microbiology , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Sinorhizobium meliloti/physiology , Agrobacterium , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Root Nodulation/genetics , Plant Root Nodulation/physiology , Plant Roots , Symbiosis/physiology , Two-Hybrid System TechniquesABSTRACT
The symbiotic infection of root cells by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia during nodulation requires the transcription factor Nodule Inception (NIN). Our root hair transcriptomic study extends NIN's regulon to include Rhizobium Polar Growth and genes involved in cell wall modification, gibberellin biosynthesis, and a comprehensive group of nutrient (N, P, and S) uptake and assimilation genes, suggesting that NIN's recruitment to nodulation was based on its role as a growth module, a role shared with other NIN-Like Proteins. The expression of jasmonic acid genes in nin suggests the involvement of NIN in the resolution of growth versus defense outcomes. We find that the regulation of the growth module component Nodulation Pectate Lyase by NIN, and its function in rhizobial infection, are conserved in hologalegina legumes, highlighting its recruitment as a major event in the evolution of nodulation. We find that Nodulation Pectate Lyase is secreted to the infection chamber and the lumen of the infection thread. Gene network analysis using the transcription factor mutants for ERF Required for Nodulation1 and Nuclear Factor-Y Subunit A1 confirms hierarchical control of NIN over Nuclear Factor-Y Subunit A1 and shows that ERF Required for Nodulation1 acts independently to control infection. We conclude that while NIN shares functions with other NIN-Like Proteins, the conscription of key infection genes to NIN's control has made it a central regulatory hub for rhizobial infection.
Subject(s)
Medicago truncatula/genetics , Plant Proteins/physiology , Rhizobium/physiology , Biosynthetic Pathways/genetics , Cyclopentanes/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Gene Regulatory Networks , Gibberellins/biosynthesis , Medicago truncatula/microbiology , Oxylipins/metabolism , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Rhizobium/geneticsABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To develop a novel objective standardized endoscopic skill training and assessment system based on artificial intelligence technology. METHODS: By designing five basic skill parts of endoscopic operation including vision location, clamping, delivering, shearing and suturing, we achieved objective standardized indexes which gained automatically with image recognition and refined perception. RESULTS: With Huaxi intelligent endoscopic skill training system, the accurate rates of vision location, clamping, delivering, shearing and suturing were 90%, 95%, 99%, 90%, and 89%, respectively. The response and performance time were 8-10 s, <1 s, <1 s, 1-3 s, and <1 s, respectively. CONCLUSION: Huaxi intelligent endoscopic skill training and assessment system has preliminarily possessed the capability to assess the endoscopic skills of surgeons objectively.
Subject(s)
Clinical Competence , Endoscopy/education , Artificial Intelligence , HumansABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To look at the possible effect of IGF2R rs9456497 on cardiovascular risks in a long-lived population. METHODS: IGF-2R rs9456497 was genotyped by iMLDR for 496 long-lived Zhuang Chinese (90-107 y/o) and their offspring (nâ¯=â¯723, 60-75 y/o) and healthy controls (nâ¯=â¯611, 60-75 y/o). Association analyses were then conducted among genotypes and cardiovascular risks. RESULTS: The G genotype (GA/GG) was found to represent more frequently in males of general population. No significantly difference was detected among genotypes in each group except that G genotype tended to reduce the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) levels in longevity group. However, after sex stratification, total cholesterol (TC) of each genotype in offspring males was elevated versus relevant genotype in longevity and control group; the triglyceride (TG), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and BMI of each genotype in longevity group were lower while SBP and DBP were higher than that of the relevant genotype in offspring and controls. After stratified by lipid status, the frequency of G allele was markedly increased in the dyslipidemic subgroup in the combined population and controls. Linear regressive analyses showed that HDL was positively correlated to rs9456497 GA genotype while BMI was negatively correlated to AA genotype in offspring group, whereas TC and TG were reversely while BMI was positively associated with AA genotype in CG. CONCLUSIONS: IGF-2R rs9456497 G genotype correlates to detrimental cardiovascular risks in ordinary population which might partially interpret their less preservation of health as compared to long-lived cohort.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/etiology , Receptor, IGF Type 2/genetics , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Blood Pressure , Cardiovascular Diseases/genetics , Female , Genotype , Humans , Lipids/blood , Male , Middle Aged , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Hempseed (Cannabis sativa L.) has been used as a health food and folk medicine in China for centuries. In the present study, we sought to define the underlying mechanism by which the extract of Fructus Cannabis (EFC) protects against memory impairment induced by D-galactose in rats. To accelerate aging and induce memory impairment in rats, D-galactose (400 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally once daily for 14 weeks. EFC (200 and 400 mg/kg) was simultaneously administered intragastrically once daily in an attempt to slow the aging process. We found that EFC significantly increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, while lowering levels of malondialdehyde in the hippocampus. Moreover, EFC dramatically elevated the organ indices of some organs, including the heart, the liver, the thymus, and the spleen. In addition, EFC improved the behavioral performance of rats treated with D-galactose in the Morris water maze. Furthermore, EFC inhibited the activation of astrocytes and remarkably attenuated phosphorylated tau and suppressed the expression of presenilin 1 in the brain of D-galactose-treated rats. These findings suggested that EFC exhibits beneficial effects on the cognition of aging rats probably by enhancing antioxidant capacity and anti-neuroinflammation, improving immune function, and modulating tau phosphorylation and presenilin expression.
ABSTRACT
Most legume plants can form nodules, specialized lateral organs that form on roots, and house nitrogen-fixing bacteria collectively called rhizobia. The uptake of the phytohormone auxin into cells is known to be crucial for development of lateral roots. To test the role of auxin influx in nodulation we used the auxin influx inhibitors 1-naphthoxyacetic acid (1-NOA) and 2-NOA, which we found reduced nodulation of Medicago truncatula. This suggested the possible involvement of the AUX/LAX family of auxin influx transporters in nodulation. Gene expression studies identified MtLAX2, a paralogue of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) AUX1, as being induced at early stages of nodule development. MtLAX2 is expressed in nodule primordia, the vasculature of developing nodules, and at the apex of mature nodules. The MtLAX2 promoter contains several auxin response elements, and treatment with indole-acetic acid strongly induces MtLAX2 expression in roots. mtlax2 mutants displayed root phenotypes similar to Arabidopsis aux1 mutants, including altered root gravitropism, fewer lateral roots, shorter root hairs, and auxin resistance. In addition, the activity of the synthetic DR5-GUS auxin reporter was strongly reduced in mtlax2 roots. Following inoculation with rhizobia, mtlax2 roots developed fewer nodules, had decreased DR5-GUS activity associated with infection sites, and had decreased expression of the early auxin responsive gene ARF16a Our data indicate that MtLAX2 is a functional analog of Arabidopsis AUX1 and is required for the accumulation of auxin during nodule formation in tissues underlying sites of rhizobial infection.
Subject(s)
Medicago truncatula/genetics , Membrane Transport Proteins/genetics , Plant Proteins/genetics , Plant Root Nodulation/genetics , Root Nodules, Plant/genetics , Biological Transport , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Gravitropism/genetics , Indoleacetic Acids/metabolism , Medicago truncatula/metabolism , Medicago truncatula/microbiology , Membrane Transport Proteins/metabolism , Mutation , Plant Proteins/metabolism , Plant Roots/genetics , Plant Roots/metabolism , Plants, Genetically Modified , Rhizobium/physiology , Root Nodules, Plant/metabolism , Root Nodules, Plant/microbiology , Symbiosis/geneticsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in cognitive performance and the modulation of several metabolic parameters in some disease models, but its potential roles in successful aging remain unclear. We herein sought to define the putative correlation between BDNF Val66Met and several metabolic risk factors including BMI, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and lipid levels in a long-lived population inhabiting Hongshui River Basin in Guangxi. METHODS: BDNF Val66Met was typed by ARMS-PCR for 487 Zhuang long-lived individuals (age ≥ 90, long-lived group, LG), 593 of their offspring (age 60-77, offspring group, OG) and 582 ethnic-matched healthy controls (aged 60-75, control group, CG) from Hongshui River Basin. The correlations of genotypes with metabolic risks were then determined. RESULTS: As a result, no statistical difference was observed on the distribution of allelic and genotypic frequencies of BDNF Val66Met among the three groups (all P > 0.05) except that AA genotype was dramatically higher in females than in males of CG. The HDL-C level of A allele (GA/AA genotype) carriers was profoundly lower than was non-A (GG genotype) carriers in the total population and the CG (P = 0.009 and 0.006, respectively), which maintained in females, hyperglycemic and normolipidemic subgroup of CG after stratification by gender, BMI, glucose and lipid status. Furthermore, allele A carriers, with a higher systolic blood pressure, exhibited 1.63 folds higher risk than non-A carriers to be overweight in CG (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.05 - 2.55, P = 0.012). Multiple regression analysis displayed that the TC level of LG reversely associated with BDNF Val66Met genotype. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggested that BDNF 66Met may play unfavorable roles in blood pressure and lipid profiles in the general population in Hongshui River area which might in part underscore their poorer survivorship versus the successful aging individuals and their offspring.
Subject(s)
Blood Pressure/genetics , Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/genetics , Lipid Metabolism/genetics , Longevity , Metabolic Diseases , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , China/epidemiology , Ethnicity , Female , Genotype , Humans , Longevity/genetics , Longevity/physiology , Male , Metabolic Diseases/epidemiology , Metabolic Diseases/genetics , Middle Aged , Polymorphism, GeneticABSTRACT
Lupins are important grain legume crops that form a critical part of sustainable farming systems, reducing fertilizer use and providing disease breaks. It has a basal phylogenetic position relative to other crop and model legumes and a high speciation rate. Narrow-leafed lupin (NLL; Lupinus angustifolius L.) is gaining popularity as a health food, which is high in protein and dietary fibre but low in starch and gluten-free. We report the draft genome assembly (609 Mb) of NLL cultivar Tanjil, which has captured >98% of the gene content, sequences of additional lines and a dense genetic map. Lupins are unique among legumes and differ from most other land plants in that they do not form mycorrhizal associations. Remarkably, we find that NLL has lost all mycorrhiza-specific genes, but has retained genes commonly required for mycorrhization and nodulation. In addition, the genome also provided candidate genes for key disease resistance and domestication traits. We also find evidence of a whole-genome triplication at around 25 million years ago in the genistoid lineage leading to Lupinus. Our results will support detailed studies of legume evolution and accelerate lupin breeding programmes.