Genome-wide identification of TBL gene family and functional analysis of GhTBL84 under cold stress in cotton.

Cotton fiber, the mainstay of the world's textile industry, is formed by the differentiation of epidermal cells on the outer peridium of the ovule. The TBL gene family is involved in the regulation of epidermal hair development as well as response to abiotic stress. However, the function of TBL genes in cotton has not been systematically studied yet. Here, we identified 131 and 130 TBL genes in TM-1 (Gossypium hirsutum) and Hai7124 (Gossypium barbadense), respectively. Phylogenetic, gene structure, expression pattern and cis-element of promoter analysis were performed and compared. Single gene association analysis indicated that more TBL genes related to fiber quality traits were found in G. barbadense, whereas more genes associated with yield traits were found in G. hirsutum. One gene, GhTBL84 (GH_D04G0930), was induced by treatment at 4°C for 12 and 24 h in G. hirsutum and silencing of the GhTBL84 gene by VIGS technology in TM-1 can significantly improve the resistance of cotton seedlings to low temperature stress. In sum, our study conducted a genome-wide identification and comparative analysis of TBL family genes in G. hirsutum and G. barbadense and demonstrated a group of TBL genes significantly associated with fiber quality and excavated cold stress responsive gene, such as GhTBL84, providing a theoretical basis for further improving cotton agronomic traits.

18F-FDG PET/CT in Uterine Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma.

ABSTRACT: A 46-year-old woman presented with menorrhagia, abdominal distension, and neck mass for 3 months. Ultrasonography detected a large intra-abdominal mass and enlarged neck lymph nodes. Further 18F-FDG PET/CT scan revealed lesions with intense 18F-FDG avidity in abdominal cavity and neck. The patient underwent a biopsy of the uterine, and the diagnosis of uterine follicular dendritic cell sarcoma was finally achieved. After 6 cycles of CHOP-like chemotherapy, 18F-FDG PET/CT showed complete metabolic and morphologic resolution for follicular dendritic cell sarcoma.

External beam radiation therapy in a centenarian with primary liver cancer: A case report.

RATIONALE: Due to unprecedented global aging, the number of elderly and super-elderly patients with cancer is increasing. However, restricted by comorbidities or fragility, many elderly patients are considered ineligible to receive invasive therapies. A centenarian with primary liver cancer (PLC) was treated by external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). This rare case deserves our attention. PATIENT CONCERNS: We present a rare case of a centenarian with PLC. The super-elderly male patient complained that 2 liver lesions were found by abdominal ultrasonography in June 2016. DIAGNOSES: The Segment 7 (S7) lesion and the Segment 5/8 (S5/8) lesion were clinically diagnosed as PLC successively. INTERVENTIONS: The S7 lesion was considered PLC initially and treated by EBRT in October 2016. In the 1-year follow-up after EBRT, the S7 lesion was well controlled. Unfortunately, the S5/8 lesion had increased in size, was diagnosed as PLC and subsequently treated by CyberKnife in another hospital. However, local failure of the S5/8 lesion was suggested 15 months after CyberKnife. At the age of 102 years, the patient received re-irradiation for the S5/8 lesion. OUTCOMES: Three months after re-irradiation, des-γ-carboxy-prothrombin decreased to normal; no significant change in the S5/8 lesion was found in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. No severe acute or late toxicities were reported after each course of EBRT. Unfortunately, the patient died of respiratory failure caused by severe pneumonia in mid-March 2020. CONCLUSION: Advanced age is not a contraindication for elderly patients with cancer to receive radiotherapy and even re-irradiation.

Mutagenesis Reveals That the OsPPa6 Gene Is Required for Enhancing the Alkaline Tolerance in Rice.

Alkaline stress (AS) is one of the abiotic stressful factors limiting plant's growth and development. Inorganic pyrophosphatase is usually involved in a variety of biological processes in plant in response to the abiotic stresses. Here, to clarify the responsive regulation of inorganic pyrophosphatase in rice under AS, the mutagenesis of the OsPPa6 gene encoding an inorganic pyrophosphatase in rice cv. Kitaake (Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica) was performed by the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Two homozygous independent mutants with cas9-free were obtained by continuously screening. qPCR reveals that the OsPPa6 gene was significantly induced by AS, and the mutagenesis of the OsPPa6 gene apparently delayed rice's growth and development, especially under AS. Measurements demonstrate that the contents of pyrophosphate in the mutants were higher than those in the wild type under AS, however, the accumulation of inorganic phosphate, ATP, chlorophyll, sucrose, and starch in the mutants were decreased significantly, and the mutagenesis of the OsPPa6 gene remarkably lowered the net photosynthetic rate of rice mutants, thus reducing the contents of soluble sugar and proline, but remarkably increasing MDA, osmotic potentials and Na+/K+ ratio in the mutants under AS. Metabonomics measurement shows that the mutants obviously down-regulated the accumulation of phosphorylcholine, choline, anthranilic acid, apigenin, coniferol and dodecanoic acid, but up-regulated the accumulation of L-valine, alpha-ketoglutarate, phenylpyruvate and L-phenylalanine under AS. This study suggests that the OsPPa6 gene is an important osmotic regulatory factor in rice, and the gene-editing of CRISPR/Cas9-guided is an effective method evaluating the responsive regulation of the stress-induced gene, and simultaneously provides a scientific support for the application of the gene encoding a soluble inorganic pyrophosphatase in molecular breeding.

ThPP1 gene, encodes an inorganic pyrophosphatase in Thellungiella halophila, enhanced the tolerance of the transgenic rice to alkali stress.

KEY MESSAGE: An inorganic pyrophosphorylase gene, ThPP1 , modulated the accumulations of phosphate and osmolytes by up-regulating the differentially expression genes, thus enhancing the tolerance of the transgenic rice to alkali stress (AS). Inorganic pyrophosphorylase is essential in catalyzing the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate to inorganic phosphate during plant growth. Here, we report the changes of physiological osmolytes and differentially expression genes in the transgenic rice overexpressing a soluble inorganic pyrophosphatase gene ThPP1 of Thellungiella halophila in response to AS. Analyses showed that the ThPP1 gene was a PPase family I member which is located to the cytoplasm. Data showed that the transgenic lines revealed an enhanced tolerance to AS compared to the wild type, and effectively increased the accumulations of inorganic phosphate and organic small molecules starch, sucrose, proline and chlorophyll, and maintained the balance of osmotic potential by modulating the ratio of Na+/K+ in plant cells. Under AS, total 379 of differentially expression genes were up-regulated in the leaves of the transgenic line compared with control, and the enhanced tolerance of the transgenic rice to the AS seemed to be associated with the up-regulations of the osmotic stress-related genes such as the L-type lectin-domain containing receptor kinase (L-type LecRK), the cation/H+ antiporter gene and the vacuolar cation/proton exchanger 1 gene (CAX1), which conferred the involvements in the biosynthesis and metabolic pathways. Protein interaction showed that the ThPP1 protein specifically interacted with a 16# target partner of the photosystem II light-harvesting-Chl-binding protein. This study suggested that the ThPP1 gene plays an important regulatory role in conferring the tolerance of the transgenic rice to AS, and is an effective candidate in molecular breeding for crop cultivation of the alkali tolerance.