Vitamin A regulates mitochondrial biogenesis and function through p38 MAPK‑PGC‑1α signaling pathway and alters the muscle fiber composition of sheep

Background Vitamin A(VA)and its metabolite,retinoic acid(RA),are of great interest for their wide range of physiological functions.However,the regulatory contribution of VA to mitochondrial and muscle fiber composition in sheep has not been reported.Method Lambs were injected with 0(control)or 7,500 IU VA palmitate into the biceps femoris muscle on d 2 after birth.At the age of 3 and 32 weeks,longissimus dorsi(LD)muscle samples were obtained to explore the effect of VA on myofiber type composition.In vitro,we investigated the effects of RA on myofiber type composition and intrinsic mechanisms.Results The proportion of type I myofiber was greatly increased in VA-treated sheep in LD muscle at harvest.VA greatly promoted mitochondrial biogenesis and function in LD muscle of sheep.Further exploration revealed that VA elevated PGC-1αmRNA and protein contents,and enhanced the level of p38 MAPK phosphorylation in LD muscle of sheep.In addition,the number of type I myofibers with RA treatment was significantly increased,and type IIx myofibers was significantly decreased in primary myoblasts.Consistent with in vivo experiment,RA significantly improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function in primary myoblasts of sheep.We then used si-PGC-1αto inhibit PGC-1αexpression and found that si-PGC-1αsignificantly abrogated RA-induced the formation of type I myofibers,mitochondrial biogenesis,MitoTracker staining intensity,UQCRC1 and ATP5A1 expression,SDH activity,and enhanced the level of type IIx muscle fibers.These data suggested that RA improved mitochondrial biogenesis and function by promoting PGC-1αexpression,and increased type I myofibers.In order to prove that the effect of RA on the level of PGC-1αis caused by p38 MAPK signaling,we inhibited the p38 MAPK signaling using a p38 MAPK inhibitor,which significantly reduced RA-induced PGC-1αand MyHC I levels.Conclusion VA promoted PGC-1αexpression through the p38 MAPK signaling pathway,improved mitochondrial biogenesis,and altered the composition of muscle fiber type.

Exp2 polymorphisms associated with variation for fiber quality properties in cotton(Gossypium spp.)

Plant expansins are a group of extracellular proteins thought to affect the quality of cotton fibers. Previous expression profile analysis revealed that six Expansin A genes are present in cotton, of which two(GhExp1 and GhExp2) produce transcripts that are specific to the developing cotton fiber. To identify the phenotypic function of Exp2, and to determine whether nucleotide variation among alleles of Exp2 affects fiber quality, candidate gene association mapping was conducted. Gene-specific primers were designed to amplify the Exp2 gene. By amplicon sequencing, the nucleotide diversity of Exp2 was investigated across92 accessions(including 7 Gossypium arboreum, 74 Gossypium hirsutum, and 11 Gossypium barbadense accessions) with different fiber qualities. Twenty-six SNPs and seven InDels including 14 from the coding region of Exp2 were detected, forming twelve distinct haplotypes in the cotton collection. Among the 14 SNPs in the coding region, five were missense mutations and nine were synonymous nucleotide changes. The average SNP/InDel per nucleotide ratio was 2.61%(one SNP per 39 bp), with 1.81 and 3.87% occurring in coding and non-coding regions, respectively. Nucleotide and haplotype diversity across the entire Exp2 region was 0.00603(π) and 0.844, respectively, and diversity in non-coding regions was higher than that in coding regions. For linkage disequilibrium(LD), the mean r2 value for all polymorphism loci pairs was 0.48, and LD did not decay over 748 bp. Based on132 simple sequence repeat(SSR) loci evenly covering 26 chromosomes, the population structure was estimated, and the accessions were divided into seven groups that agreed well with their genomic origin and evolutionary history. A general linear model was used to calculate the Exp2-wide diversity–trait associations of 5 fiber quality traits, considering population structure(Q). Four SNPs in Exp2 were associated with at least one of the fiber quality traits, but not with fiber elongation. The highest positive effect on UHML and STR was observed for haplotype Hap_6 of Exp2. There was a significant association of Exp2 with fiber quality traits. There were many haplotypes in the Exp2 region, of which the most favorable was Hap_6. The association between nucleotide diversity and these fiber traitssheds light on the gene's potential contribution to the improvement of fiber quality, and should be useful to facilitate MAS programs in cotton.

Vitamin A injection at birth improves muscle growth in lambs

Vitamin A and its metabolite,retinoic acid(RA)play important roles in regulating skeletal muscle development.This study was conducted to investigate the effects of early intramuscular vitamin A injection on the muscle growth of lambs.A total of 16 newborn lambs were given weekly intramuscular injections of corn oil(control group,n=8)or 7,500 IU vitamin A palmitate(vitamin A group,n=8)from birth to 3 wk of age(4 shots in total).At 3 wk of age and weaning,biceps femoris muscle samples were taken to analyze the effects of vitamin A on the myogenic capacity of skeletal muscle cells.All lambs were slaughtered at 8 months of age.The results suggest that vitamin A treatment accelerated the growth rate of lambs and increased the loin eye area(P<0.05).Consistently,vitamin A increased the diameter of myofibers in longissimus thoracis muscle(P<0.01)and increased the final body weight of lambs(P<0.05).Vitamin A injection did not change the protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin and myostatin signaling(P>0.05).Moreover,vitamin A upregulated the expression of PAX7(P<0.05)and the myogenic marker genes including MYOD and MYOG(P<0.01).The skeletal muscle-derived mononuclear cells from vitamin A-treated lambs showed higher expression of myogenic genes(P<0.05)and formed more myotubes(P<0.01)when myogenic differentiation was induced in vitro.In addition,in vitro analysis showed that RA promoted myogenic differentiation of the skeletal muscle-derived mononuclear cells in the first 3 d(P<0.05)but not at the later stage(P>0.05)as evidenced by myogenic gene expression and fusion index.Taken together,neonatal intramuscular vitamin A injection promotes lamb muscle growth by promoting the myogenic potential of satellite cells.

富含钴矿床研究进展与问题分析

钴是各主要工业国家政府定义的重要战略金属.全球钴矿可分为大陆钴矿和现代海底钴矿两大类.大陆钴矿主要为沉积岩赋矿层控型、风化型和岩浆铜镍硫化物伴生矿,其余类型也有独立/共/伴生钴矿产出.在海底富钴的铁锰结壳和结核中虽有大量资源却无法开采.不同构造背景和岩浆含水量下钴的配分系数较稳定,其在岩浆铜镍硫化物矿床形成过程中更容易进入橄榄石中.在热液环境下,钴的溶解度与流体温度和盐度密切相关,流体冷却和流体稀释过程均能造成钴金属沉淀.研究发现富钴矿床成因争论表现同生成因与后期叠加之争.除了少数脉状、黑色页岩型、密西西比河谷型和铁氧化物铜金矿床,钴富集过程均与基性-超基性岩有关.岩浆演化、后期热液过程和风化作用均有利于富集钴元素.而钴的超常富集则往往与多期次成矿作用相关.在今后研究工作中,应尽快研究我国各类钴矿其形成在造山带和克拉通演化中所代表的地球动力学意义,确定我国各类型矿床中钴富集的关键控制因素,厘定钴在高-中-低温热液环境的迁移机制,关注地球系统各圈层间的相互作用与钴矿的形成关系,重视现代海底铁-锰-钴结核分布控制因素研究.

Paleogeomorphy evolution of the Ordovician weathering crust and its implication for reservoir development,eastern Ordos Basin

Gas reservoir development of the Ordovician weathering crust in the Ordos Basin is closely controlled by the pre-Carboniferous paleogeomorphy.Previous studies show that the paleogeomorphy is high in the west and low in the east,and the karst highland,karst slope and karst basin are developed from west to east.With further exploration in recent years,many karst breccia that represent strong karstification,are found in the east area which previously is considered to be the Ordovician karst basin.Thus,it is necessary to revaluate controlling factors of karst paleogeomorphy development from a viewpoint of the dynamic paleogeomorphy evolution,to investigate the paleogeomorphy evolution of the Ordovician weathering crust in geological history and guide further research and prediction of development law of reservoir spaces.In order to reconstruct the paleogeomorphy of the weathering crust in the top of Ordovician in the east Ordos Basin,paleogeography,thickness of residual strata and paleokarst characteristics are well studied.The result shows that a wide range of paleokarst highland occurred in the central to east part of Ordos Basin in the early period,and the karst reservoir spaces were formed;but in the late period,the east part of the basin gradually evolved into the paleokarst basin,the current pre-Carboniferous paleogeomorphy was thus formed,and the dissolution reservoir spaces formed in the early period were mostly filled,accordingly the reservoirs were tight.However fracture networks formed by cave collapse connect intercrystalline pores of dolomite,therefore,the reservoirs can still be well preserved locally and are worthy targets for hydrocarbon exploration.