An rs-fMRI based neuroimaging marker for adult absence epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 20-30 % of epilepsy patients exhibit negative findings on routine magnetic resonance imaging, and this condition is known as nonlesional epilepsy. Absence epilepsy (AE) is a prevalent form of nonlesional epilepsy. This study aimed to investigate the clinical diagnostic utility of regional homogeneity (ReHo) assessed through the support vector machine (SVM) approach for identifying AE. METHODS: This research involved 102 healthy individuals and 93 AE patients. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was employed for data acquisition in all participants. ReHo analysis, coupled with SVM methodology, was utilized for data processing. RESULTS: Compared to healthy control individuals, AE patients demonstrated significantly elevated ReHo values in the bilateral putamen, accompanied by decreased ReHo in the bilateral thalamus. SVM was used to differentiate patients with AE from healthy control individuals based on rs-fMRI data. A composite assessment of altered ReHo in the left putamen and left thalamus yielded the highest accuracy at 81.64 %, with a sensitivity of 95.41 % and a specificity of 69.23 %. SIGNIFICANCE: According to the results, altered ReHo values in the bilateral putamen and thalamus could serve as neuroimaging markers for AE, offering objective guidance for its diagnosis.

Combined genome and transcriptome analysis of elite fiber quality in Gossypium barbadense.

Gossypium barbadense, which is one of several species of cotton, is well known for its superior fiber quality. However, the genetic basis of its high-quality fiber remains largely unexplored. Here, we resequenced 269 G. barbadense accessions. Phylogenetic structure analysis showed that the set of accessions was clustered into 3 groups: G1 and G2 mainly included modern cultivars from Xinjiang, China, and G3 was related to widely introduced accessions in different regions worldwide. A genome-wide association study of 5 fiber quality traits across multiple field environments identified a total of 512 qtls (main-effect QTLs) and 94 qtlEs (QTL-by-environment interactions) related to fiber quality, of which 292 qtls and 57 qtlEs colocated with previous studies. We extracted the genes located in these loci and performed expression comparison, local association analysis, and introgression segment identification. The results showed that high expression of hormone-related genes during fiber development, introgressions from Gossypium hirsutum, and the recombination of domesticated elite allelic variation were 3 major contributors to improve the fiber quality of G. barbadense. In total, 839 candidate genes with encoding region variations associated with elite fiber quality were mined. We confirmed that haplotype GB_D03G0092H traced to G. hirsutum introgression, with a 1-bp deletion leading to a frameshift mutation compared with GB_D03G0092B, significantly improved fiber quality. GB_D03G0092H is localized in the plasma membrane, while GB_D03G0092B is in both the nucleus and plasma membrane. Overexpression of GB_D03G0092H in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) significantly improved the elongation of longitudinal cells. Our study systematically reveals the genetic basis of the superior fiber quality of G. barbadense and provides elite segments and gene resources for breeding high-quality cotton cultivars.

Thiamine functions as a key activator for modulating plant health and broad-spectrum tolerance in cotton.

Global climate changes cause an increase of abiotic and biotic stresses that tremendously threaten the world's crop security. However, studies on broad-spectrum response pathways involved in biotic and abiotic stresses are relatively rare. Here, by comparing the time-dependent transcriptional changes and co-expression analysis of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) root tissues under abiotic and biotic stress conditions, we discovered the common stress-responsive genes and stress metabolism pathways under different stresses, which included the circadian rhythm, thiamine and galactose metabolism, carotenoid, phenylpropanoid, flavonoid, and zeatin biosynthesis, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. We found that thiamine metabolism was an important intersection between abiotic and biotic stresses; the key thiamine synthesis genes, GhTHIC and GhTHI1, were highly induced at the early stage of stresses. We confirmed that thiamine was crucial and necessary for cotton growth and development, and its deficiency could be recovered by exogenous thiamine supplement. Furthermore, we revealed that exogenous thiamine enhanced stress tolerance in cotton via increasing calcium signal transduction and activating downstream stress-responsive genes. Overall, our studies demonstrated that thiamine played a crucial role in the tradeoff between plant health and stress resistance. The thiamine deficiency caused by stresses could transiently induce upregulation of thiamine biosynthetic genes in vivo, while it could be totally salvaged by exogenous thiamine application, which could significantly improve cotton broad-spectrum stress tolerance and enhance plant growth and development.

Genome-Wide Association Analysis Reveals Loci and Candidate Genes Involved in Fiber Quality Traits Under Multiple Field Environments in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum).

Fiber length, fiber strength, and fiber micronaire are the main fiber quality parameters in cotton. Thus, mining the elite and stable loci/alleles related to fiber quality traits and elucidating the relationship between the two may accelerate genetic improvement of fiber quality in cotton. Here, genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was performed for fiber quality parameters based on phenotypic data, and 56,010 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using 242 upland cotton accessions under 12 field environments were obtained. Phenotypic analysis exhibited that fiber length (FL) had a positive correlation with fiber strength (FS) and had a negative correlation with fiber micronaire (Mic). Genetic analysis also indicated that FL, FS, and Mic had high heritability of more than 80%. A total of 67 stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified through GWAS analysis, including 31 for FL, 21 for FS, and 22 for Mic. Of them, three pairs homologous QTLs were detected between A and D subgenomes, and seven co-located QTLs with two fiber quality parameters were found. Compared with the reported QTLs, 34 co-located with previous studies, and 33 were newly revealed. Integrated with transcriptome analysis, we selected 256, 244, and 149 candidate genes for FL, FS, and Mic, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis showed that most of the genes located in QTLs interval of the three fiber quality traits were involved in sugar biosynthesis, sugar metabolism, microtubule, and cytoskeleton organization, which played crucial roles in fiber development. Through correlation analysis between haplotypes and phenotypes, three genes (GH_A05G1494, GH_D11G3097, and GH_A05G1082) predominately expressed in fiber development stages were indicated to be potentially responsible for FL, FS, and Mic, respectively. The GH_A05G1494 encoded a protein containing SGS-domain, which is related to tubulin-binding and ubiquitin-protein ligase binding. The GH_D11G3097 encoded 20S proteasome beta subunit G1, and was involved in the ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process. The GH_A05G1082 encoded RAN binding protein 1 with a molecular function of GTPase activator activity. These results provide new insights and candidate loci/genes for the improvement of fiber quality in cotton.

Genome-wide association analysis reveals quantitative trait loci and candidate genes involved in yield components under multiple field environments in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum).

BACKGROUND: Numerous quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes associated with yield-related traits have been identified in cotton by genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis. However, most of the phenotypic data were from a single or few environments, and the stable loci remained to be validated under multiple field environments. RESULTS: Here, 242 upland cotton accessions collected from different origins were continuously investigated for phenotypic data of four main yield components, including boll weight (BW) and lint percentage (LP) under 13 field environments, and boll number per plant (BN) and seed index (SI) under 11 environments. Correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between BN and LP, BW and SI, while SI had a negative correlation with LP and BN. Genetic analysis indicated that LP had the highest heritability estimates of 94.97%, followed by 92.08% for SI, 86.09% for BW, and 72.92% for BN, indicating LP and SI were more suitable traits for genetic improvement. Based on 56,010 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and GWAS analysis, a total of 95 non-redundant QTLs were identified, including 12 of BN, 23 of BW, 45 of LP, and 33 of SI, respectively. Of them, 10 pairs of homologous QTLs were detected between A and D sub-genomes. We also found that 15 co-located QTLs with more than two traits and 12 high-confidence QTLs were detected under more than six environments, respectively. Further, two NET genes (GH_A08G0716 and GH_A08G0783), located in a novel QTL hotspot (qtl24, qtl25 and qlt26) were predominately expressed in early fiber development stages, exhibited significant correlation with LP and SI. The GH_A07G1389 in the stable qtl19 region encoded a tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR)-like superfamily protein and was a homologous gene involved in short fiber mutant ligon lintless-y (Liy), implying important roles in cotton yield. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides a foundation for understanding the regulatory mechanisms of yield components and may enhance yield improvement through molecular breeding in cotton.

Cotton Fiber Development Requires the Pentatricopeptide Repeat Protein GhIm for Splicing of Mitochondrial nad7 mRNA.

Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins encoded by nuclear genomes can bind to organellar RNA and are involved in the regulation of RNA metabolism. However, the functions of many PPR proteins remain unknown in plants, especially in polyploidy crops. Here, through a map-based cloning strategy and Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/cas9 (CRISPR/cas9) gene editing technology, we cloned and verified an allotetraploid cotton immature fiber (im) mutant gene (GhImA) encoding a PPR protein in chromosome A03, that is associated with the non-fluffy fiber phenotype. GhImA protein targeted mitochondrion and could bind to mitochondrial nad7 mRNA, which encodes the NAD7 subunit of Complex I. GhImA and its homolog GhImD had the same function and were dosage-dependent. GhImA in the im mutant was a null allele with a 22 bp deletion in the coding region. Null GhImA resulted in the insufficient GhIm dosage, affected mitochondrial nad7 pre-mRNA splicing, produced less mature nad7 transcripts, and eventually reduced Complex I activities, up-regulated alternative oxidase metabolism, caused reactive oxygen species (ROS) burst and activation of stress or hormone response processes. This study indicates that the GhIm protein participates in mitochondrial nad7 splicing, affects respiratory metabolism, and further regulates cotton fiber development via ATP supply and ROS balance.

Genome-wide association analysis reveals loci and candidate genes involved in fiber quality traits in sea island cotton (Gossypium barbadense).

BACKGROUND: Sea island cotton (Gossypium barbadense) has markedly superior high quality fibers, which plays an important role in the textile industry and acts as a donor for upland cotton (G. hirsutum) fiber quality improvement. The genetic characteristics analysis and the identification of key genes will be helpful to understand the mechanism of fiber development and breeding utilization in sea island cotton. RESULTS: In this study, 279 sea island cotton accessions were collected from different origins for genotyping and phenotyping fiber quality traits. A set of 6303 high quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were obtained by high-density CottonSNP80K array. The population characteristics showed that the sea island cotton accessions had wide genetic diversity and were clustered into three groups, with Group1 closely related to Menoufi, an original sea island cotton landrace, and Group2 and Group3 related to widely introduced accessions from Egypt, USA and Former Soviet Union. Further, we used 249 accessions and evaluated five fiber quality traits under normal and salt environments over 2 years. Except for fiber uniformity (FU), fiber length (FL) and fiber elongation (FE) were significantly decreased in salt conditions, while fiber strength (FS) and fiber micronaire (MIC) were increased. Based on 6303 SNPs and genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis, a total of 34 stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified for the five fiber quality traits with 25 detected simultaneously under normal and salt environments. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis indicated that candidate genes in the 25 overlapped QTLs were enriched mostly in "cellular and biological process". In addition, "xylem development" and "response to hormone" pathways were also found. Haplotype analyses found that GB_A03G0335 encoding an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase in QTL TM6004 had SNP variation (A/C) in gene region, was significantly correlated with FL, FS, FU, and FE, implying a crucial role in fiber quality. CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides a foundation for genetic diversity of sea island cotton accessions and will contribute to fiber quality improvement in breeding practice.

Genome-wide association reveals genetic variation of lint yield components under salty field conditions in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

BACKGROUND: Salinity is one of the most significant environmental factors limiting the productivity of cotton. However, the key genetic components responsible for the reduction in cotton yield in saline-alkali soils are still unclear. RESULTS: Here, we evaluated three main components of lint yield, single boll weight (SBW), lint percentage (LP) and boll number per plant (BNPP), across 316 G. hirsutum accessions under four salt conditions over two years. Phenotypic analysis indicated that LP was unchanged under different salt conditions, however BNPP decreased significantly and SBW increased slightly under high salt conditions. Based on 57,413 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis, a total of 42, 91 and 25 stable quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified for SBW, LP and BNPP, respectively. Phenotypic and QTL analysis suggested that there was little correlation among the three traits. For LP, 8 stable QTLs were detected simultaneously in four different salt conditions, while fewer repeated QTLs for SBW or BNPP were identified. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis indicated that their regulatory mechanisms were also quite different. Via transcriptome profile data, we detected that 10 genes from the 8 stable LP QTLs were predominantly expressed during fiber development. Further, haplotype analyses found that a MYB gene (GhMYB103), with the two SNP variations in cis-regulatory and coding regions, was significantly correlated with lint percentage, implying a crucial role in lint yield. We also identified that 40 candidate genes from BNPP QTLs were salt-inducible. Genes related to carbohydrate metabolism and cell structure maintenance were rich in plants grown in high salt conditions, while genes related to ion transport were active in plants grown in low salt conditions, implying different regulatory mechanisms for BNPP at high and low salt conditions. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a foundation for elucidating cotton salt tolerance mechanisms and contributes gene resources for developing upland cotton varieties with high yields and salt stress tolerance.

GbCYP86A1-1 from Gossypium barbadense positively regulates defence against Verticillium dahliae by cell wall modification and activation of immune pathways.

Suberin acts as stress-induced antipathogen barrier in the root cell wall. CYP86A1 encodes cytochrome P450 fatty acid ω-hydroxylase, which has been reported to be a key enzyme for suberin biosynthesis; however, its role in resistance to fungi and the mechanisms related to immune responses remain unknown. Here, we identified a disease resistance-related gene, GbCYP86A1-1, from Gossypium barbadense cv. Hai7124. There were three homologs of GbCYP86A1 in cotton, which are specifically expressed in roots and induced by Verticillium dahliae. Among them, GbCYP86A1-1 contributed the most significantly to resistance. Silencing of GbCYP86A1-1 in Hai7124 resulted in severely compromised resistance to V. dahliae, while heterologous overexpression of GbCYP86A1-1 in Arabidopsis improved tolerance. Tissue sections showed that the roots of GbCYP86A1-1 transgenic Arabidopsis had more suberin accumulation and significantly higher C16-C18 fatty acid content than control. Transcriptome analysis revealed that overexpression of GbCYP86A1-1 not only affected lipid biosynthesis in roots, but also activated the disease-resistant immune pathway; genes encoding the receptor-like kinases (RLKs), receptor-like proteins (RLPs), hormone-related transcription factors, and pathogenesis-related protein genes (PRs) were more highly expressed in the GbCYP86A1-1 transgenic line than control. Furthermore, we found that when comparing V. dahliae -inoculated and noninoculated plants, few differential genes related to disease immunity were detected in the GbCYP86A1-1 transgenic line; however, a large number of resistance genes were activated in the control. This study highlights the role of GbCYP86A1-1 in the defence against fungi and its underlying molecular immune mechanisms in this process.

Genetic Basis of Fiber Improvement and Decreased Stress Tolerance in Cultivated Versus Semi-Domesticated Upland Cotton.

Crop domestication from wild ancestors has resulted in the wide adaptation coupled with improved yield and quality traits. However, the genetic basis of many domesticated characteristics remains to be explored. Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is the most important tetraploid cotton species, accounting for about 90% of world cotton commerce. Here, we reveal the effects of domestication on fiber and stress traits through comprehensive analyses of semi-domesticated races and cultivated cotton accessions. A total of 416 cotton accessions were genotyped, and a decrease in genetic diversity from races to landraces and modern cultivars was detected. Furthermore, 71 domestication selective sweeps (DSS) and 14 improvement selective sweeps (ISS) were identified, with the Dt sub-genome experiencing stronger selection than the At sub-genome during the both selection types. The more expressed genes and a delay in the expression peak of genes related to secondary cell wall (SCW) development in modern cultivars compared to semi-domesticated cotton races, may have contributed to long fibers in these plants. However, down-regulation of genes related to stress response was responsible for decreasing stress tolerance in modern cultivars. We further experimentally confirmed that silencing of PR1 and WRKY20, genes that showed higher expression in the semi-domesticated races, drastically compromised cotton resistance to V. dahliae. Our results reveal fiber improvement and decreased stress tolerance as a result of the domestication of modern upland cotton cultivars.

Retraction Note: Genetic regulation of salt stress tolerance revealed by RNA-Seq in cotton diploid wild species, Gossypium davidsonii.

This article has been retracted.

Combining genome-wide and transcriptome-wide analyses reveal the evolutionary conservation and functional diversity of aquaporins in cotton.

BACKGROUND: Aquaporins (AQPs) are integral membrane proteins from a larger family of major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) and function in a huge variety of processes such as water transport, plant growth and stress response. The availability of the whole-genome data of different cotton species allows us to study systematic evolution and function of cotton AQPs on a genome-wide level. RESULTS: Here, a total of 53, 58, 113 and 111 AQP genes were identified in G. arboreum, G. raimondii, G. hirsutum and G. barbadense, respectively. A comprehensive analysis of cotton AQPs, involved in exon/intron structure, functional domains, phylogenetic relationships and gene duplications, divided these AQPs into five subfamilies (PIP, NIP, SIP, TIP and XIP). Comparative genome analysis among 30 species from algae to angiosperm as well as common tandem duplication events in 24 well-studied plants further revealed the evolutionary conservation of AQP family in the organism kingdom. Combining transcriptome analysis and Quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) verification, most AQPs exhibited tissue-specific expression patterns both in G. raimondii and G. hirsutum. Meanwhile, a bias of time to peak expression of several AQPs was also detected after treating G. davidsonii and G. hirsutum with 200 mM NaCl. It is interesting that both PIP1;4 h/i/j and PIP2;2a/e showed the highly conserved tandem structure, but differentially contributed to tissue development and stress response in different cotton species. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrated that cotton AQPs were structural conservation while experienced the functional differentiation during the process of evolution and domestication. This study will further broaden our insights into the evolution and functional elucidation of AQP gene family in cotton.

Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal Genetic Variation and Candidate Genes of Drought Stress Related Traits in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

Cotton is an important industrial crop worldwide and upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is most widely cultivated in the world. Due to ever-increasing water deficit, drought stress brings a major threat to cotton production. Thus, it is important to reveal the genetic basis under drought stress and develop drought tolerant cotton cultivars. To address this issue, in present study, 319 upland cotton accessions were genotyped by 55,060 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from high-density CottonSNP80K array and phenotyped nine drought tolerance related traits. The two datasets were used to identify quantitative trait nucleotides (QTNs) for the above nine traits using multi-locus random-SNP-effect mixed linear model method. As a result, a total of 20 QTNs distributed on 16 chromosomes were found to be significantly associated with six drought tolerance related traits. Of the 1,326 genes around the 20 QTNs, 205 were induced after drought stress treatment, and 46 were further mapped to Gene ontology (GO) term "response to stress." Taken genome-wide association study (GWAS) analysis, RNA-seq data and qRT-PCR verification, four genes, RD2 encoding a response to desiccation 2 protein, HAT22 encoding a homeobox-leucine zipper protein, PIP2 encoding a plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2, and PP2C encoding a protein phosphatase 2C, were proposed to be potentially important for drought tolerance in cotton. These results will deepen our understanding of the genetic basis of drought stress tolerance in cotton and provide candidate markers to accelerate the development of drought-tolerant cotton cultivars.

RNA-seq analysis reveals alternative splicing under salt stress in cotton, Gossypium davidsonii.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have focused on the regulation of gene expression in response to salt stress at the transcriptional level; however, little is known about this process at the post-transcriptional level. RESULTS: Using a diploid D genome wild salinity-tolerant cotton species, Gossypium davidsonii, we analyzed alternative splicing (AS) of genes related to salt stress by comparing high-throughput transcriptomes from salt-treated and well-watered roots and leaves. A total of 14,172 AS events were identified involving 6798 genes, of which intron retention (35.73%) was the most frequent, being detected in 3492 genes. Under salt stress, 1287 and 1228 differential alternative splicing (DAS) events were identified in roots and leaves, respectively. These DAS genes were associated with specific functional pathways, such as "responses to stress", "metabolic process" and "RNA splicing", implying that AS represents an important pathway of gene regulation in response to salt stress. Several salt response genes, such as pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthase (P5CS), K+ channel outward (KCO1), plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) and WRKY33 which were involved in osmotic balance, ion homeostasis, water transportation and transcriptional regulation, respectively, were identified with differential alternative splicing under salt stress. Moreover, we revealed that 13 genes encoding Ser/Arg-rich (SR) proteins related to AS regulation were differentially alternatively spliced under salt stress. CONCLUSION: This study first provide a comprehensive view of AS in G. davidsonii, and highlight novel insights into the potential roles of AS in plant responses to salt stress.

High-density 80 K SNP array is a powerful tool for genotyping G. hirsutum accessions and genome analysis.

BACKGROUND: High-throughput genotyping platforms play important roles in plant genomic studies. Cotton (Gossypium spp.) is the world's important natural textile fiber and oil crop. Upland cotton accounts for more than 90% of the world's cotton production, however, modern upland cotton cultivars have narrow genetic diversity. The amounts of genomic sequencing and re-sequencing data released make it possible to develop a high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array for intraspecific genotyping detection in cotton. RESULTS: Here we report a high-throughput CottonSNP80K array and its utilization in genotyping detection in different cotton accessions. 82,259 SNP markers were selected from the re-sequencing data of 100 cotton cultivars and used to produce the array on the Illumina Infinium platform. 77,774 SNP loci (94.55%) were successfully synthesized on the array. Of them, 77,252 (99.33%) had call rates of >95% in 352 cotton accessions and 59,502 (76.51%) were polymorphic loci. Application tests using 22 cotton accessions with parent/F1 combinations or with similar genetic backgrounds showed that CottonSNP80K array had high genotyping accuracy, good repeatability, and wide applicability. Phylogenetic analysis of 312 cotton cultivars and landraces with wide geographical distribution showed that they could be classified into ten groups, irrelevant of their origins. We found that the different landraces were clustered in different subgroups, indicating that these landraces were major contributors to the development of different breeding populations of modern G. hirsutum cultivars in China. We integrated a total of 54,588 SNPs (MAFs >0.05) associated with 10 salt stress traits into 288 G. hirsutum accessions for genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and eight significant SNPs associated with three salt stress traits were detected. CONCLUSIONS: We developed CottonSNP80K array with high polymorphism to distinguish upland cotton accessions. Diverse application tests indicated that the CottonSNP80K play important roles in germplasm genotyping, variety verification, functional genomics studies, and molecular breeding in cotton.

5-Aminolevulinic Acid Dehydratase Gene Dosage Affects Programmed Cell Death and Immunity.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is an important form to protect plants from pathogen attack. However, plants must precisely control the PCD process under microbe attacks to avoid detrimental effects. The complexity of how plants balance the defense activation and PCD requires further clarification. Lesion mimic mutants constitute an excellent material to study the crosstalk between them. Here, we identified a Gossypium hirsutum (cotton) lesion mimic mutant (Ghlmm), which exhibits necrotic leaf damage and enhanced disease resistance. Map-based cloning demonstrated that GhLMMD, encoding 5-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and located on chromosome D5, was responsible for the phenotype. The mutant was resulted from a nonsense mutation within the coding region of GhLMMD It exhibited an overaccumulation of the 5-aminolevulinic acid, elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and salicylic acid, along with constitutive expression of pathogenesis-related genes and enhanced resistance to the Verticillium dahliae infection. Interestingly, GhLMM plays a dosage-dependent role in regulating PCD of cotton leaves and resistance to V. dahliae infection. This study provides a new strategy on the modulation of plant immunity, particularly in polyploidy plants.

Genetic regulation of salt stress tolerance revealed by RNA-Seq in cotton diploid wild species, Gossypium davidsonii.

Cotton is an economically important crop throughout the world, and is a pioneer crop in salt stress tolerance research. Investigation of the genetic regulation of salinity tolerance will provide information for salt stress-resistant breeding. Here, we employed next-generation RNA-Seq technology to elucidate the salt-tolerant mechanisms in cotton using the diploid cotton species Gossypium davidsonii which has superior stress tolerance. A total of 4744 and 5337 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found to be involved in salt stress tolerance in roots and leaves, respectively. Gene function annotation elucidated salt overly sensitive (SOS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling pathways. Furthermore, we found that photosynthesis pathways and metabolism play important roles in ion homeostasis and oxidation balance. Moreover, our studies revealed that alternative splicing also contributes to salt-stress responses at the posttranscriptional level, implying its functional role in response to salinity stress. This study not only provides a valuable resource for understanding the genetic control of salt stress in cotton, but also lays a substantial foundation for the genetic improvement of crop resistance to salt stress.

[Clinical characteristics of hospitalized cases of severe acute respiratory infection with laboratory-confirmed influenza and the risk factors analysis of influenza infection for children under 15 years old in ten provinces in China during 2009-2014].

OBJECTIVE: To identify clinical characteristics of hospitalized laboratory-confirmed influenza cases of children under 15 years old, and their risk factors of influenza infection. METHODS: Analyzing the reports of hospitalized laboratory-confirmed influenza cases of children under 15 years old who were detected by the sentinel surveillance systems in 10 provinces from December 2009 to June 2014. Such data as their demographic, medical history, clinical symptoms and signs, treatment and outcome were collected using questionnaires, with their clinical characteristics and their risk factors of influenza infection described. RESULTS: Of the 2 937 severe acute respiratory infection inpatients, 190 (6.5%) were laboratory-confirmed influenza cases. 123 (64.7%) of such confirmed cases were male, and 139 (73.2%) were children under 5 years old, with age median of 3.0 years (IQR: 1.0-5.0 years). 20 (10.5%) of them had at least one chronic medical condition, mostly chronic cardiovascular disease (3.2%), immunosuppressive disease (3.2%), and cancer/tumor (2.6%). Most common clinical symptoms of the cases were fever (92.6%) and cough (88.8%), of which abnormal pulmonary auscultation (51.1%) and abnormal chest X-ray performance (36.1%) were the most common clinical signs. 29 cases (15.8%) had complications, of which pneumonia (15.3%) was most common. 16 cases (8.6%) used antiviral drugs, and 4 cases (2.2%) were admitted into ICU. Risk factor analysis suggested that age < 6 months (OR = 0.406, 95% CI: 0.203-0.815) was a protective factor against influenza infection; and age 5-9 years old (OR = 2.535, 95% CI: 1.059-6.066) was a risk factor for influenza infection. CONCLUSION: Hospitalized laboratory-confirmed influenza cases were found mostly in children under 5 years old. Risk exposure for influenza infection varied among age groups.

Characterizing the epidemiology, virology, and clinical features of influenza in China's first severe acute respiratory infection sentinel surveillance system, February 2011-October 2013.

BACKGROUND: After the 2009 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic, China established its first severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) sentinel surveillance system. METHODS: We analyzed data from SARI cases in 10 hospitals in 10 provinces in China from February 2011 to October 2013. RESULTS: Among 5,644 SARI cases, 330 (6%) were influenza-positive. Among these, 62% were influenza A and 38% were influenza B. Compared with influenza-negative cases, influenza-positive SARI cases had a higher median age (20.0 years vs.11.0, p=0.003) and were more likely to have at least one underlying chronic medical condition (age adjusted percent: 28% vs. 25%, p<0.001). The types/subtypes of dominant strains identified by SARI surveillance was almost always among dominant strains identified by the influenza like illness (ILI) surveillance system and influenza activity in both systems peaked at the same time. CONCLUSIONS: Data from China's first SARI sentinel surveillance system suggest that types/subtypes of circulating influenza strains and epidemic trends among SARI cases were similar to those among ILI cases.

[Efficacy of intravascular ultrasound guided rotational atherectomy for heavily calcified coronary lesions].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of intravascular ultrasound guided tranradial rotational atherectomy (RA) followed by drug eluting stent (DES) implantation in treating patients with heavily calcified coronary lesions. METHODS: Clinical characteristics, coronary angiogram, intravascular ultrasound images, peri-procedure and follow-up data (including death , myocardial infarction and target lesion revascularization) of 44 patients treated with RA and DES implantation under the guidance of IVUS in our department from March 2011 to March 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. IVUS examination was carried out before RA, after RA and stent implantation to guide whether further RA or post dilatation was needed. According to the arc of calcification, the patients were divided into group A (90°-270°, 18 cases) and group B (271°-360°, 26 cases). RESULTS: In A and B group, the arc of calcification was (195 ± 71)° in group A and (345 ± 23)° in group B (P < 0.01) , length of calcification was (34.4 ± 11.8) mm in group A and (20.0 ± 6.6) mm in group B (P < 0.05). Number of burrs used and size of largest burr used were similar between 2 groups (both P > 0.05). Acute cross sectional area gain after RA was (0.43 ± 0.32) mm in group A and (0.53 ± 0.38) mm² in group B (P > 0.05). After RA, there was significant decrease in the arc of calcification in group B compared with baseline ((324 ± 52)° vs. (345 ± 23)°, P < 0.05). The minimal lumen area and diameter were significantly increased after RA resulting in significant decrease in the plaque burden in both groups (all P < 0.05). The final minimal lumen area after stenting were similar between 2 groups (P > 0.05). Procedure success rate was 100% (44/44) without any major complications such as death, acute myocardial infarction and coronary perforation. During the (16.6 ± 6.3) months follow-up, there was 1 death in group A, 1 target lesion revascularization in group B and there was no acute myocardial infarction in the 2 groups. CONCLUSION: Heavily calcified coronary lesions can be effectively and safely treated by transradial RA under the guidance of IVUS.