Detrital zircon dating and tracing the provenance of dinosaur bone beds from the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group in Zhucheng, Shandong, East China

The mass burial of dinosaur bone fossils in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group in Zhu- cheng, Shandong Province has been a research focus in recent years. However, the prov- enance of the dinosaur bone fossils and the accurate depositional age of the bone beds remain ambiguous. Through U-Pb dating of detrital zircons collected from six conglom- erate samples from the dinosaur bone beds, we found that the youngest single grain age （YSG） of sample 090414-24-D was 77.3 Ma, representing the maximum depositional age of the dinosaur fossil beds and sediments. This also indicates that the Hongtuya Formation was deposited during the Campanian. Dating results revealed an age peak of 120 110 Ma, which corresponds with the peak age of volcanic rocks of the Lower Cretaceous Qingshan Group. The volcanic rocks of the Qingshan Group are mainly exposed in Laiyang, to the north of Zhucheng, although a few also appear to the south and northwest. Through analysis of conglomerate composition and palaeocurrents in the sediments containing the bone beds, we found that the three different data sets of gravel compositions of the con- glomerates were mainly composed of volcanic or pyroclastic rocks. Three different data sets of palaeocurrents suggested that the main sediment source of the Wangshi Group dinosaur bone beds was from the north-northwest of the Basin. Only one data set had a provenance south of the basin. This study revealed that the areas of Laiyang and the Yishu Fault Zone were the main provenance areas of both the dinosaur bone fossils and the sediments of the Wangshi Group in Zhucheng. The southern margin of the Zhucheng Basin may be a secondary source area. This research provides an important basis for judging the deposition time and the sediment source of fossil layers in the Wangshi Group, as well as reconstructing the palaeogeography of the Wangshi Group in the liaolai Basin.

Pharmacogenomics of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters:Relevance to Precision Medicine

The interindividual genetic variations in drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters influence the efficacy and toxicity of numerous drugs. As a fundamental element in precision med- icine, pharmacogenomics, the study of responses of individuals to medication based on their genomic information, enables the evaluation of some specific genetic variants responsible for an individual＇s particular drug response. In this article, we review the contributions of genetic polymorphisms to major individual variations in drug pharmacotherapy, focusing specifically on the pbarmacogenomics of phase-I drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters. Substantial frequency differences in key variants of drug metabolizing enzymes and transporters, as well as their possible functional consequences, have also been discussed across geographic regions. The current effort illustrates the common presence of variability in drug responses among individuals and across all geographic regions. This information will aid health-care professionals in prescribing the most appropriate treatment aimed at achieving the best possible beneficial outcomes while avoiding unwanted effects for a particular patient.

Identification of a germline-expression promoter for genome editing in Bombyx mori

Identification of stage- and tissue-specific cis-regulatory elements will enable more precise genomic editing. In previous studies of the silkworm Bombyx mori, we identified and characterized several tissue- and sex-specific cisregulatory elements using transgenic technology, including a female- and fat body-specific promoter, vitellogenin, testis-specific promoters, Radial spoke head 1 (BmRl) and beta-tubulin 4 (Bmp4). Here we report a c/5-regulatory element specific for a somatic and germ cell-expressed promoter, nanos (Bmnos). We investigated activities of three truncated promoter sequences upstream of the transcriptional initiation site sequences of Bmnos in vitro (nos-0.6kb, nos-1 kb and nos-2kb) and in vivo (nos-2kb). In BmN cultured cells, all three lengths drove expression of the gene encoding enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP), although nos-2kb had the highest fluorescence activity. In transgenic silkworms, nos-2kb drove EGFP expression at the early embryonic stage, and fluorescence was concentrated in the gonads at later embryonic stages. In addition, this cisregulatory element was not sex differentiated. The fluorescence intensity gradually weakened following the larval developmental stage in the gonads and were broadly expressed in the whole body. The nos-2kb promoter drove the Cas9 system with efficiency comparable to that of the broad-spectrum strong IE1 promoter. These results indicate that Bmnos is an effective endogenous cisregulatory element in the early embryo and in the gonad that can be used in applications involving the clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system.

MicroRNA-2738 regulates gene expression in the sex determination pathway in Bombyx mori

MicroRNAs(miRNAs)are a class of short,non-coding transcripts that bind to B'-untranslated regions to trigger messenger RNA degradation or translational inhibition.Here we explored how miRNAs regulate sex determination in Bombyx mori,a lepidopteran model insect.Genes known to be involved in sex determination,BmPSI,Bmdsx,and BmMasc\are predicted targets of the species-specific miR-2738.Using a dual luciferase reporter assay in HEK293T cells,we confirmed that miR-2738 suppressed transcription of BmPSl,Bmdsx,and BmMasc.The levels of BniPSI and BmMasc were significantly down-regulated in B.mori miR-2738 overexpression.In contrast,the genetic disruption of miR-2738 using the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 transgenic system increased the levels of BmPSI and BmMasc transcripts,whereas splicing of Bmdsx was unaltered by miR-2738 depletion or overexpression.Taken together,this study implicates miR-2738 as a minor regulator of sex determination genes in the silkworm.

Corrigendum to “Pharmacogenomics of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters： Relevance to Precision Medicine” [Genomics Proteomics Bioinformatics 14 (5) (2016) 298-313]

The editors regret there was an error in Figure 1 published in Issue 5, 2016. In the figure, “Pharmacodynamics” should be corrected to “Pharmacokinetics”, and “Pharmacokinetics” should be corrected to “Pharmacodynamics”. The corrected Figure 1 is shown below. The editors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused.