Genetic dissection of protein and starch during wheat grain development using QTL mapping and GWAS.

Protein, starch, and their components are important for wheat grain yield and end-products, which are affected by wheat grain development. Therefore, QTL mapping and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of grain protein content (GPC), glutenin macropolymer content (GMP), amylopectin content (GApC), and amylose content (GAsC) were performed on wheat grain development at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after anthesis (DAA) in two environments using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of 256 stable lines and a panel of 205 wheat accessions. A total of 29 unconditional QTLs, 13 conditional QTLs, 99 unconditional marker-trait associations (MTAs), and 14 conditional MTAs significantly associated (p < 10-4) with four quality traits were found to be distributed on 15 chromosomes, with the phenotypic variation explained (PVE) ranging from 5.35% to 39.86%. Among these genomic variations, three major QTLs [QGPC3B, QGPC2A, and QGPC(S3|S2)3B] and SNP clusters on the 3A and 6B chromosomes were detected for GPC, and the SNP TA005876-0602 was stably expressed during the three periods in the natural population. The QGMP3B locus was detected five times in three developmental stages in two environments with 5.89%-33.62% PVE, and SNP clusters for GMP content were found on the 3A and 3B chromosomes. For GApC, the QGApC3B.1 locus had the highest PVE of 25.69%, and SNP clusters were found on chromosomes 4A, 4B, 5B, 6B, and 7B. Four major QTLs of GAsC were detected at 21 and 28 DAA. Most interestingly, both QTL mapping and GWAS analysis indicated that four chromosomes (3B, 4A, 6B, and 7A) were mainly involved in the development of protein, GMP, amylopectin, and amylose synthesis. Of these, the wPt-5870-wPt-3620 marker interval on chromosome 3B seemed to be most important because it played an important role in the synthesis of GMP and amylopectin before 7 DAA, in the synthesis of protein and GMP from 14 to 21 DAA, and in the development of GApC and GAsC from 21 to 28 DAA. Using the annotation information of IWGSC Chinese Spring RefSeq v1.1 genome assembly, we predicted 28 and 69 candidate genes for major loci from QTL mapping and GWAS, respectively. Most of them have multiple effects on protein and starch synthesis during grain development. These results provide new insights and information for the potential regulatory network between grain protein and starch synthesis.

The dynamics of chemically propelled dimer motors on a pinning substrate.

The dynamics of self-propelled micro-motors, in a thin fluid film containing an attractive substrate, is investigated by means of a particle-based simulation. A chemically powered sphere dimer, consisting of a catalytic and a noncatalytic sphere, may be captured by a trap on the substrate and consequently rotates around the trap center. A pair of trapped dimers spontaneously forms various configurations, including anti-parallel aligned doublets and head-to-tail rotating doublets. Small traps randomly distributed on the substrate are capable of pinning the dimers. The diffusion coefficient decreases with increasing pinning force or the pinning density, and it falls quickly at a certain critical pinning force beyond which the dimer motor is pinned completely. It is found that the pin array on the substrate gives rise to the formation of clusters of dimers and the underlying mechanism is discussed.

Investigating the core microbiota and its influencing factors in traditional Chinese pickles.

Pickles are a type of traditional fermented food in Northeast China that exhibit a broad variety of preparations, flavors and microbial components. Despite their widespread consumption, the core microorganisms in various traditional pickles and the precise impact of ecological variables on the microbiota remains obscure. The present study aims to unravel the microbial diversity in different pickle types collected from household (12 samples) and industrial (10 samples) sources. Among these 22 samples tested, differences were observed in total acid, amino acid nitrogen, nitrite, and salt content. Firmicutes and Ascomycota emerged as the predominant microbial phyla as observed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Amongst these, the commonly encountered microorganisms were Lactobacillus, Weissella and yeast. Comparative analysis based on non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), showed that the microbial community in the pickles was affected by external conditions such as major ingredients and manufacturing process. Correlation analysis further showed that the resident core microorganisms in pickles could adapt to the changing internal fermentation environment. The insights gained from this study further our understanding of traditional fermented foods and can be used to guide the isolation of excellent fermented strains.

Amyloid-beta (Aß) D7H mutation increases oligomeric Aß42 and alters properties of Aß-zinc/copper assemblies.

Amyloid precursor protein (APP) mutations associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) usually lead to increases in amyloid ß-protein (Aß) levels or aggregation. Here, we identified a novel APP mutation, located within the Aß sequence (Aß(D7H)), in a Taiwanese family with early onset AD and explored the pathogenicity of this mutation. Cellular and biochemical analysis reveal that this mutation increased Aß production, Aß42/40 ratio and prolonged Aß42 oligomer state with higher neurotoxicity. Because the D7H mutant Aß has an additional metal ion-coordinating residue, histidine, we speculate that this mutation may promote susceptibility of Aß to ion. When co-incubated with Zn(2+) or Cu(2+), Aß(D7H) aggregated into low molecular weight oligomers. Together, the D7H mutation could contribute to AD pathology through a "double punch" effect on elevating both Aß production and oligomerization. Although the pathogenic nature of this mutation needs further confirmation, our findings suggest that the Aß N-terminal region potentially modulates APP processing and Aß aggregation, and further provides a genetic indication of the importance of Zn(2+) and Cu(2+) in the etiology of AD.