ABSTRACT
Anoectochilus roxburghii (Wall.) Lindl is a perennial herb of the Orchidaceae family; a yellow-green mutant and a yellow mutant were obtained from the wild type, thereby providing good material for the study of leaf color variation. Pigment content analysis revealed that chlorophyll, carotenoids, and anthocyanin were lower in the yellow-green and yellow mutants than in the wild type. Transcriptome analysis of the yellow mutant and wild type revealed that 78,712 unigenes were obtained, and 599 differentially expressed genes (120 upregulated and 479 downregulated) were identified. Using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis, candidate genes involved in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (five unigenes) and the chlorophyll metabolic pathway (two unigenes) were identified. Meanwhile, the low expression of the chlorophyll and anthocyanin biosynthetic genes resulted in the absence of chlorophylls and anthocyanins in the yellow mutant. This study provides a basis for similar research in other closely related species.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: More than 11 million people were estimated to have been infected by Schistosoma japonicum in China before the 1950s. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate the longitudinal effects of previous schistosome infection (PSI). OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the association of PSI with fatty liver and coronary heart disease in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in regions which were all reportedly heavily endemic for S japonicum in China. All data were collected using a questionnaire administered and health examinations by well-trained medical professionals. 2867 participants aged 40 years and older were enrolled. Among these, 731 patients with PSI were selected as study subjects and 2136 subjects served as controls. Comparisons between groups were performed with or without an adjustment for a covariate, using Student's t tests for continuous variables and chi-square testing for categorical variables. Multivariable logistic models were used to estimate the associations between PSI and fatty liver or coronary heart disease. RESULTS: The PSI participants had significantly lower levels of triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, uric acid, serum creatinine, urea nitrogen, platelet, total protein and globulin as well as a lower prevalence of fatty liver (13.3% vs 53.6%, P < .001) and coronary heart disease (3.4% vs 6.0%, P < .05) compared with the uninfected, contemporaneous controls (without PSI), whereas the PSI participants had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, direct bilirubin and a higher prevalence of hepatic dysfunction compared with those without PSI (P < .05). CONCLUSION: We found PSI significantly negatively associated with fatty liver and coronary heart disease. However, further studies on schistosomiasis may provide new directions for prevention and treatment of fatty liver and coronary heart disease.
