Genome-wide association study and transcriptome analysis reveal new QTL and candidate genes for nitrogen-deficiency tolerance in rice

The development of rice cultivars with improved nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)is desirable for sustainable agriculture.Achieving this goal depends in part on understanding how rice responds to low soil nitrogen(N)and identifying causative genes underlying this trait.To identify quantitative trait loci(QTL)or genes associated with low N response,we conducted a genome-wide association study(GWAS)using a diverse panel of 230 rice accessions and performed a transcriptomic investigation of rice accessions with differential responses to low N stress at two N levels.We detected 411 GWAS-associated genes in 5 QTL and 2722 differentially expressed genes in response to low N,of which 24 were identified by both methods and ranked according to gene annotations,literature queries,gene expression,and genetic diversity analysis.The large-scale datasets obtained from this study reveal low N-responsive characteristics and provide insights towards understanding the regulatory mechanisms of N-deficiency tolerance in rice,and the candidate genes or QTL would be valuable resources for increasing rice NUE via molecular biotechnology.

Identification of FUT7 hypomethylation as the blood biomarker in the prediction of early-stage lung cancer

Early detection of lung cancer (LC) is vital for reducing LC-related mortality. However, noninvasive diagnostic tools remain a great challenge. We aim to identify blood-based biomarkers for the early detection of LC. Here, LC-associated hypomethylation in alpha-1,3-fucosyltransferase VII (FUT7) is identified via the Illumina 850K array in a discovery study and validated by mass spectrometry in two independent casecontrol studies with blood samples from 1720 LC patients (86.8% LC at stage I, blood is collected before surgery and treatment) and 3143 healthy controls. Compared to the controls, blood-based FUT7 hypomethylation is identified in LC patients at stage I, and even in LC patients with malignant nodules ≤1 cm and in patients with adenocarcinoma in situ. Gender plays a role in the LC-associated FUT7 hypomethylation in blood, which is more significant in males than in females. We also reveal that FUT7 hypomethylation in LC could be enhanced by the advanced stage of cancer, involvement of lymph nodes, and larger tumor size. Based on a large sample size and semi-quantitative methods, our study reveals a strong association between blood-based FUT7 hypomethylation and LC, suggesting that methylation signatures in blood may be a group of potential biomarkers for detection of early-stage LC.

BCAT1 promotes lung adenocarcinoma progression through enhanced mitochondrial function and NF-κB pathway activation

Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent and malignant cancers,among which lung adenocarcinoma(LUAD)accounts for the majority and remains a major cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide(Cui et al.,2019).Despite the growing intensity of research on the pathobiology and progression of lung cancer and the fact that many genes have been identified as potential drivers and targets for therapy(Luo et al.,2019;Zhang et al.,2019),the treatment and prognosis of lung cancer patients have hardly improved.Therefore,this study aimed to investigate the precise mechanism of lung cancer development and explore efficient diagnostic and therapeutic methods for clinical treatment.