Fine-mapping and transcriptome analysis of the photosensitive leaf-yellowing gene CaLY1 in pepper(Capsicum annuum L.)

Leaf color is directly related to altered photosynthesis.Hence,leaf yellowing mutants can be widely used for the researching plant physiology and functional genomes,for cultivating new varieties of popular horticultural plants,and for identifying hybrid purity(as markers).Here,we constructed a^(60)Co-γF_(2)population from the leaf-yellowing mutant R24 via radiation mutation with the inbred line WT21 of pepper.Genetic analysis showed that the leaf-yellowing of the mutant was controlled by a single recessive gene.By applying the Bulk Segregation Analysis and Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR markers,the leaf-yellowing gene CaLY1(Capsicum annuum Leaf yellow 1)was mapped on chromosome 9,SNP5791587-SNP6011215,with a size of 214.5 kb.One non-synonymous mutated gene Capana09g000166 was found in the interval.The gene encoded a Psb X,which is the core complex of PSⅡ.Transcriptome analysis further showed that 2301 differentially expressed genes were identified under shading treatment for 24 h in R24.The Gene Ontology enrichment pathways were related to photosynthesis light harvesting,cell wall,activity of quercetin 3-O-glucosyltransferase and flavonoid metabolic process,which likely regulate the response of pepper leaves to different light levels.Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the most abundant pathways were photosynthesis antenna proteins and metabolic.

A novel single-base mutation in CaSGR1 confers the stay-green phenotype in pepper

The stay-green trait is of considerable importance in extending the shelf life of green pepper fruit(Capsicum annuum L.)and in enhancing the appearance of ornamental plants.The study revealed the genetic and regulatory mechanisms of the stay-green trait in pepper,which will aid in the selection of ornamental pepper varieties.In this study,a pepper mutant with stay-green fruit named TNX348 was identified from a germplasm resource bank.Two segregating populations were constructed using the stay-green mutant TNX348 and then used in bulked segregant analysis combined with RNA sequencing and linkage analyses.The causal gene of the stay-green trait was mapped to an approximately 131-kb region,and a senescence-induced chloroplast protein gene,CaSGR1(Capana01g000359),was identified as a candidate gene.Sequencing analysis revealed a G→A single-base mutation of CaSGR1 in TNX348 that led to early termination of translation.Based on the single-base mutation,a single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)marker co-segregating with the stay-green trait was developed.Furthermore,in transcriptome analysis,expression patterns of 11 hormone transduction-related transcription factors,such as abscisic acid-insensitive(ABI),abscisic acidresponsive element-binding factor(ABF),and NAC transcription factor,were similar or opposite to that of CaSGR1.The results indicated that the transcription factors might mediate chlorophyll degradation by regulating the expression of CaSGR1.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis between Cytoplasmic Male-sterile Line and Its Maintainer During the Floral Bud Development of Pepper

The male-sterile line has been largely used in the hybrid seed production of pepper, which can effectively improve the efficiency of hybrid seed production. However, the formation mechanism of male sterility in pepper remains unclear. In the present study, we compared the gene expression patterns between pepper cytoplasmic male sterile line 9704 A and its maintainer 9704 B during floral bud development using RNA sequencing technology. A total of 547 976 and 2 416 Differentially Expressed Genes(DEGs) were identified in the stage S1, S2 and S3, respectively,and more than 70% of the DEGs were down-regulated in the sterile line. Gene Ontology(GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to further understand the functions of these identified DEGs. The results showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways of starch and sucrose metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions. A number of genes, such as MS1, PME5, ATPB, and lots of transcription factors were found down-regulated in the sterile line, and we also identified a series of genes with large differences in expression patterns between sterile line and maintainer line. Collectively, our findings laid a foundation for further molecular breeding in pepper and provided new insights into its mechanism underlying the male sterility.

Metabolite profiling and transcriptome analyses reveal novel regulatory mechanisms of melatonin biosynthesis in hickory

Studies have shown that melatonin regulates the expression of various elements in the biosynthesis and catabolism of plant hormones.In contrast,the effects of these different plant hormones on the biosynthesis and metabolism of melatonin and their underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear.In this study,the melatonin biosynthesis pathway was proposed from constructed metabolomic and transcriptomic libraries from hickory(Carya cathayensis Sarg.)nuts.The candidate pathway genes were further identified by phylogenetic analysis,amino-acid sequence alignment,and subcellular localization.Notably,most of the transcription factor-related genes coexpressed with melatonin pathway genes were hormone-responsive genes.Furthermore,dual-luciferase and yeast one‐hybrid assays revealed that CcEIN3(response to ethylene)and CcAZF2(response to abscisic acid)could activate melatonin biosynthesis pathway genes,a tryptophan decarboxylase coding gene(CcTDC1)and an N-acetylserotonin methyltransferase coding gene(CcASMT1),by directly binding to their promoters,respectively.Our results provide a molecular basis for the characterization of novel melatonin biosynthesis regulatory mechanisms and demonstrate for the first time that abscisic acid and ethylene can regulate melatonin biosynthesis.

Research progress of vegetable oil and derivative in microbial fermentation for high-value-added metabolite production

Vegetable oil and derivative,as well as waste cooking oil,are important resources for microbial fermentation to produce high-value-added metabolites.Diversity of their compositions not only provides more choices for the fermentation by different microorganisms,but also is a challenge for their systematic utilization.According to the previous literature,4 main functions of vegetable oil and derivative can be summarized,such as carbon source,precursor,inducer and cell protectant during fermentation process.Currently,there is still insufficient knowledge about application of vegetable oil and derivative for high-value-added metabolite production.Therefore,this article firstly presented a comprehensive summary of compositions of vegetable oils and their derivatives,variety of corresponding microbial metabolites,limiting factors and optimization of fermentation process.

Dietary flaxseed oil regulate lipid metabolism associated with modulation of gut microbiota in high-fat-diet fed mice

Accumulating data suggest that consuming dietary flaxseed oil(FSO)was a potential strategy for treating diet-induced lipid metabolism disorder(LMD).Effects of FSO on high-fat-diet(HFD)induced LMD and gut microbiota were studied in C57/BL6J mice.Results showed that FSO remarkably suppressed body weight gain induced by HFD and also attenuated LMD by decreasing levels of total cholesterol(TC),total triglyceride(TG),lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),non-esterified fatty acid(NEFA)and fasting bloodglucose(FBG)in serum.FSO treatment modulated mRNA expression level of genes associated with glucose and lipid metabolism.It regulated gut microbiome at different taxonomic levels by increasing proportions of beneficial Alistipes,Anaeroplasma,Bifidobacterium and inhibiting the growth of insulin resistance or obesity-associated bacteria such as Adlercreutzia,Dorea and Sporosarcina,compared with HFD group.Spearman's correlation analysis suggested that modulation of gut microbiota by FSO were closely related with LMD parameters.These findings might help us to better understand FSO impact on human health.

Isolation and characterization of melanin from rapeseed meal

Melanin involves in various biological functions, widely used in cosmetic, pharmacology medicine and other fields. However, melanin application is limited due to low productivity and high cost. In this work, melanin extraction method from rapeseed meal(RSM) was explored. Effects of hydrochloric acid(HCl) concentration, ethanol concentration, extraction temperature and time, and solid-liquid ratio were evaluated systematically. According to results of single factor experiment and Box-Behnken experiment, the optimum extraction conditions of melanin from RSM were as follows: HCl concentration, 0.5 mol/L; ethanol concentration, 70%; extraction temperature, 40 o C; extraction time, 1 h; solid liquid ratio, 1/4 g/mL. Under these conditions, extraction yields of crude melanin(CM) and purified melanin(PM) were 9.00% and 1.44%, respectively. Compared with synthetic melanin(SM) from Sigma, the relative purities of CM and PM were 7.82% and 29.57%, respectively. Moreover, feedstuff value of RSM residue was also improved after melanin isolation by significantly reducing glucosinolate content.

Utility of the Surgical Apgar Score in pancreatic cancer and modification

Objectives:The Surgical Apgar Score(SAS)can predict the incidence of complications in different surgical fields.However,it is rarely studied in pancreatic cancer.The aim of the present study was to assess the predictive value of the SAS in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC),and then propose a modified SAS which was more suitable for pancreatic cancer patients.Materials and methods:A prospective cohort study of 160 PDAC patients was concluded.The primary endpoint was 30-day major complications.The SAS was calculated as described.The overall discriminatory power of the score was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic curves and the area under the curve(AUC)with respect to major complications or death.Results:It showed a significant predictive value of SAS in major complications or death in PDAC(p=0.020,AUC=0.606),especially in complication of pneumonia(p=0.022)and pleural effusion(p=0.023).In addition,the SAS exert significant predictive value in distal pancreatectomy group,but it has a weak predictive value for pancreaticoduodenectomy group.On multivariable analyses,occurrence of major postoperative complications was associated with lowest mean arterial pressure,estimated blood loss and operative time.Interestingly,as a characteristic of SAS,lowest heart rate was not involved.The modified SAS we proposed including lowest mean arterial pressure,estimated blood loss and operative time increased AUC from 0.606 to 0.743.Conclusions:The SAS can be a simple,rapid scoring system that effectively predicts major postoperative complications.Besides,the modified SAS we proposed in this study,which included lowest mean arterial pressure,estimated blood loss and operative time,exert a better predictive value in PDAC patients.

基于堆叠式对抗变分循环神经网络的多维时间序列异常检测

为了建模多维时间序列(multivariate time series,MTS)中复杂的时序依赖性与随机性,并实现对它的无监督异常检测这一工业机器或互联网基础设施设备质量管理中的关键任务,本文提出了一种堆叠式对抗变分循环神经网络(stacked adversarial variational recurrent neural network,SaVRNN).SaVRNN是一个层次化概率动态模型,它将层次化概率生成模型、堆叠式循环结构和多层对抗优化方式整合到一个联合贝叶斯框架下.具体来说,SaVRNN核心思想是利用堆叠循环结构捕捉多层次与长距离的时序相关性,利用层次化的概率生成操作建模多层的结构特性,进而实现对多维时间序列正常模式的学习,最后通过重构的概率来判断异常模式.为了实现模型的高效推理,本文创新性地提出了一种向上–向下对抗变分推理方案,实现对隐层变量后验的准确估计.针对多层对抗网络中难以实现生成器与判别器的更新平衡导致的SaVRNN训练困难的问题,本文基于条件传输(conditional transport,CT)提出了一个新的优化方法.最后,基于Sa VRNN的层次化结构,本文将多层似然进行融合以改进传统的异常检测策略.在两个公共数据集和一个实测数据集上显示所提方法在F1-score指标上实现了相比目前主流方法的更优性能,证明了所提模型在时间序列在线异常检测任务上的有效性.

GelNB molecular coating as a biophysical barrier to isolate intestinal irritating metabolites and regulate intestinal microbial homeostasis in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is a chronic,immune-mediated inflammatory disease characterized by the destruction of the structure and function of the intestinal epithelial barrier.Due to the poor remission effect and severe adverse events associated with current clinical medications,IBD remains an incurable disease.Here,we demonstrated a novel treatment strategy with high safety and effective inflammation remission via tissue-adhesive molecular coating.The molecular coating is composed of o-nitrobenzaldehyde(NB)-modified Gelatin(GelNB),which can strongly bond with-NH_(2)on the intestinal surface of tissue to form a thin biophysical barrier.We found that this molecular coating was able to stay on the surface of the intestine for long periods of time,effectively protecting the damaged intestinal epithelium from irritations of external intestinal metabolites and harmful flora.In addition,our results showed that this coating not only provided a beneficial environment for cell migration and proliferation to promote intestinal repair and regeneration,but also achieved a better outcome of IBD by reducing intestinal inflammation.Moreover,the in vivo experiments showed that the GelNB was better than the classic clinical medication-mesalazine.Therefore,our molecular coating showed potential as a promising strategy for the prevention and treatment of IBD.

An Electromagnetic Perspective of Artificial Intelligence Neuromorphic Chips

The emergence of artificial intelligence has represented great potential in solving a wide range of complex problems.However,traditional general-purpose chips based on von Neumann architectures face the“memory wall”problem when applied in artificial intelligence applications.Based on the efficiency of the human brain,many intelligent neuromorphic chips have been proposed to emulate its working mechanism and neuron-synapse structure.With the emergence of spiking-based neuromorphic chips,the computation and energy efficiency of such devices could be enhanced by integrating a variety of features inspired by the biological brain.Aligning with the rapid development of neuromorphic chips,it is of great importance to quickly initiate the investigation of the electromagnetic interference and signal integrity issues related to neuromorphic chips for both CMOS-based and memristor-based artificial intelligence integrated circuits.Here,this paper provides a review of neuromorphic circuit design and algorithms in terms of electromagnetic issues and opportunities with a focus on signal integrity issues,modeling,and optimization.Moreover,the heterogeneous structures of neuromorphic circuits and other circuits,such as memory arrays and sensors using different integration technologies,are also reviewed,and locations where signal integrity might be compromised are discussed.Finally,we provide future trends in electromagnetic interference and signal integrity and outline prospects for upcoming neuromorphic devices.

Improved Calculation of Turbulence Parameters Based on Six Tropical Cyclone Cases:Implication to Wind Turbine Design in Typhoon-Prone Areas

In view of the absence or insufficiency of tropical cyclone(TC) turbulence parameters in current design standards of wind turbines, in this paper, TC turbulence parameter models with roughness length involved are developed based on six landfall TCs observed from meteorological towers located on various underlying surfaces, so as to provide references for the wind turbine design under TC conditions. Firstly, the roughness length values are examined in order to reduce the effect on turbulence parameters of the various underlying surfaces. On this basis, the reference turbulence intensity is normalized by the roughness length. The related turbulence parameters are parameterized, including the turbulence standard deviation and the turbulence spectrum;and the turbulence parameters available under TC conditions for turbulence turbine design are presented finally. Comparisons of the wind parameter models presented in this paper with those used in current turbine design standards suggest that the former can represent TC characteristics more accurately. In order to withstand TCs, we suggest that the turbulence parameter models recommended in this paper be included in future wind turbine design standards under TC conditions.

Persistent excitation of spin waves for kπ-state skyrmions

In this study,we investigated the micromagnetic dynamics of kπ-state skyrmions in a magnetic nanodot under a circular spinpolarized current and found an excited spin wave that can propagate persistently along the direction of the radius toward the center.This dynamic process is associated with two energetically favorable states in an oscillating period of spin waves.In this case,the spin-polarized current plays a role similar to effective perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and decreases the minimum energy in the magnetic system.Our findings provide insight into understanding the dynamic behaviors of topological magnetic textures.

PepperHub, an Informatics Hub for the Chili Pepper Research Community

Dear Editor Pepper belongs to the Solanaceae family, which includes many important vegetable crops such as tomato, potato, and eggplant. Not only widely used as vegetables and spicy ingredients, pepper also has diverse applications in pharmaceutics, natural coloring agents, cosmetics, defense repellents, and as ornamental plants （Kim et al., 2014; Qin et al., 2014）. Pepper is among the most widely cultivated and consumed vegetables in the world, with annual production reachincl to 38 million tons in 2011 （www.fao.