Prediction of the Risk Distributions for Anopheles sinensis, a Vector for Malaria in Shanghai, China.

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by Plasmodium, and Anopheles sinensis is a vector of malaria. Although malaria is no longer indigenous to China, a high risk remains for local transmission of imported malaria. This study aimed to identify the risk distribution of vector An. sinensis and malaria transmission. Using data collected from routine monitoring in Shanghai from 2010 to 2020, online databases for An. sinensis and malaria, and environmental variables including climate, geography, vegetation, and hosts, we constructed 10 algorithms and developed ensemble models. The ensemble models combining multiple algorithms (An. sinensis: area under the curve [AUC] = 0.981, kappa = 0.920; malaria: AUC = 0.959, kappa = 0.800), with the best out-of-sample performance, were used to identify important environmental predictors for the risk distributions of An. sinensis and malaria transmission. For An. sinensis, the most important predictor in the ensemble model was moisture index, which reflected degree of wetness; the risk of An. sinensis decreased with higher degrees of wetness. For malaria transmission, the most important predictor in the ensemble model was the normalized differential vegetation index, which reflected vegetation cover; the risk of malaria transmission decreased with more vegetation cover. Risk levels for An. sinensis and malaria transmission for each district of Shanghai were presented; however, there was a mismatch between the risk classification maps of An. sinensis and malaria transmission. Facing the challenge of malaria transmission in Shanghai, in addition to precise An. sinensis monitoring in risk areas of malaria transmission, malaria surveillance should occur even in low-risk areas for An. sinensis.

First record of disk-footed bat Eudiscopus denticulus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) from China and resolution of phylogenetic position of the genus.

The disk-footed bat Eudiscopus denticulus(Osgood, 1932) is a rare species in Southeast Asia. During two chiropteran surveys in the summer of 1981 and 2019, eight and three small Myotis-like bats with distinct disk-like hindfeet were collected from Yunnan Province, China, respectively. External, craniodental, and phylogenetic evidence confirmed these specimens as E. denticulus, representing a new genus in China. The complete mitochondrial genome consistently showed robust support for E. denticulus as a basal lineage within Myotinae. The coding patterns and characteristics of its mitochondrial genome were similar to that of other published genomes from Myotis. The echolocation signals of the newly collected individuals were analyzed. The potential distribution range of Eudiscopus in Southeast Asia inferred using the MaxEnt model indicated its potential occurrence along the southern border region of Yunnan, China.

[Responses of stomata and Kranz anatomy of maize leaves to soil water shortages].

Seedlings of the popular maize cultivar "Zhengdan-958" growing in pots individually were exposed to suitable soil water conditions as control, light water shortage, moderate water shortage, and severe water shortage, corresponding to soil water contents between 75%-85%, 65%-75%, 55%-65%, and 45%-55% of field water capacity, respectively. Responses of stomatal aperture, Kranz anatomy, and vascular bundle structure to different water contents of maize leaves were investigated. Results showed that under increased water shortages, the levels of H2O2 in both guard cells and subsidiary cells were enhanced, also the fluorescence intensity of H2O2 labeled with fluorescent dye increased, while stomatal aperture and conductance decreased gradually. Moreover, Kranz cells were messily arranged and the cell size became smaller and smaller, and the structure of bundle sheath cells went irregular; and the sectional area of the big bundle and xylem, the cell number of phloem, and the thickness of whole leaf and of upper and lower epidermis reduced. In addition, the number of chloroplasts in mesophyll cells and vascular bundle sheath cells decreased, particularly under the moderate water deficit, chloroplasts in Kranz cells which located in the inside of cytoplasmic membrane and cling on the cell wall spread to the direction of cell center. It demonstrated that stomatal closing of maize could be regulated by H2O2 in guard cells and subsidiary cells together, and H2O2 in subsidiary cells maybe played a cooperative role. In conclusion, under increased soil water shortages, drought-induced H2O2 accumulations in both guard cells and subsidiary cells of maize leaves participated in the regulation of stomatal closing. And, the size of Kranz cells and bundle sheath cells, the cell number of phloem, and the area of the xylem and phloem re- duced, thereby, reducing water shortage-induced damage.

A novel approach to cloning and expression of human thymidylate synthase.

Thymidylate synthase (TS) catalyzes the transfer of a methyl group from methylenetetrahydrofolate to dUMP to form dTMP. It is a primary target in the chemotherapy of colorectal cancers and some other neoplasms. In order to obtain pure protein for analysis of structure and biological function, an expression vector TS-pET28b (+) was constructed by inserting wild-type human thymidylate synthase (hTS) cDNA into pET28b (+). Then an expression strain was selected after transformation of the recombined plasmid into Rosetta (DE3). Fusion protein with His-tag was efficiently expressed in the form of inclusion bodies after IPTG induction and the content was approximately 40.0% of total bacteria proteins after optimizing expression conditions. When inclusion bodies were washed, dissolved and purified by Ni-NTA under denatured conditions, the purity was up to 90%. On SDS-PAGE and West-blotting, the protein band was found to match well with the predicted relative molecular mass-36kDa. Bioactivity was 0.1 U/mg. The results indicated that high-level expression of wild-type hTS cDNA can be achieved in prokaryotes with our novel method, facilitating research into related chemotherapy.

GmDREB2, a soybean DRE-binding transcription factor, conferred drought and high-salt tolerance in transgenic plants.

A novel DREB (dehydration responsive element binding protein) homologous gene, GmDREB2, was isolated from soybean. Based on its similarity with AP2 domains, GmDREB2 was classified into A-5 subgroup in DREB subfamily in AP2/EREBP family. Expression of GmDREB2 gene was induced by drought, high salt, and low temperature stresses and abscisic acid treatment. The GmDREB2 bound specifically to DRE element in vitro. Furthermore, the overexpression of GmDREB2 activated expression of downstream genes in transgenic Arabidopsis, resulting in enhanced tolerance to drought and high-salt stresses and did not cause growth retardation. Analysis of free proline contents in transgenic tobacco indicated that the overexpression of GmDREB2 accumulated higher level of free proline compared to the wild type plants under drought condition. The results from this study indicate that this novel soybean GmDREB2 gene functions as an important transcriptional activator and may be useful in improving of plant tolerance to abiotic stresses in plants.