The common toad, Bufo bufo(Linnaeus, 1758), is widely distributed in Europe and parts of Africa. Previous studies of the genetic relationships among B. bufo populations have not included Asian populations. Here, we in...The common toad, Bufo bufo(Linnaeus, 1758), is widely distributed in Europe and parts of Africa. Previous studies of the genetic relationships among B. bufo populations have not included Asian populations. Here, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of B. bufo, including a population from Xinjiang, China, using 722 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence and identified six subclades and 85 haplotypes in populations from 22 countries. Phylogenetic analyses and pedigree differentiation revealed that the subclade containing the Xinjiang population has undergone a relatively recent expansion. Combining our results with those of previous studies, we found that the common toad population of Xinjiang, China, belongs to the European-Caucasian lineage and that its closest relatives based on phylogenetic relationships were eastern European populations. Our research contributes to expanding knowledge of the geographic distribution of B. bufo and illuminates the lineage and genetic relationships of the B. bu fo population in Xinjiang, China. Future research should continue to update the geographic distribution of B. bufo and complete a genetic investigation of the full range of this species.展开更多
The fungal infection called chytridiomycosis,caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis(Bd),has given rise to dramatic declines or extinctions of many amphibian species around the world;however,in Asia,this disease has ...The fungal infection called chytridiomycosis,caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis(Bd),has given rise to dramatic declines or extinctions of many amphibian species around the world;however,in Asia,this disease has shown a low zoospore load or scant mortality.One potential reason for this may be that certain unique community structures of amphibian skin symbiosis contribute to the outcome of the disease;nevertheless,we know very little about the microbiota in this region. In this study,we used skin swabs of five sympatric amphibian species that have various habitat preferences in Lishui,Zhejiang Province,a place in southeastern China,to explore the skin bacterial communities by using 16 S rRNA amplicon sequencing.We detected a total of 1020 OTUs,belonging to 17 phyla,among which Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated all five host species.Enterobacteriaceae and Exiguobacteraceae and the genera Escherichia and Exiguobacterium belonging to these two families were identified as the most abundant taxa on our focal species.The alpha diversity was significantly lower on the terrestrial species,and also the highly enriched Proteobacteria was found on the terrestrial species,Rana zhenhaiensis,whereas Actinobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes were more abundant on aquatic species than on the terrestrial species.Our results suggest that both host species and habitat sites are important factors driving skin microbial diversity and composition and that amphibians in China may harbour unique skin bacterial communities.This study helps elucidate amphibian skin microbial ecology,and with further efforts,the specific mechanism of the interaction between Bd and host amphibians in China could be elucidated.展开更多
Guanosine-based hydrogels have attracted considerable attention because of their simplicity and easy preparation.However,the sugar moiety limits its further applications because of the necessity of sugar in the hydrog...Guanosine-based hydrogels have attracted considerable attention because of their simplicity and easy preparation.However,the sugar moiety limits its further applications because of the necessity of sugar in the hydrogel formation.This work reports a G-quadruplexes-based hydrogel consisting of guanine and peptide epitope to form a supramolecular hydrogel in the presence of metal cations.Using the metal ion-responsive peptide epitope from the ion channel to replace sugar motif at N9 position of guanosine results in a novel nucleopeptide.The results show that the gelation time,the diameter of nanofibers,the anisotropic property,and the mechanical property of the hydrogel can be simply controlled using metal cations.The magnesium and calcium ions direct the alignment of nanofibers to form anisotropic nano-bundles.The mechanistic studies indicate the formation of G-quadruplexes in the hydrogel.Compared to the storage modulus of nucleopeptide without the metal cation,adding zinc ions results in an over three-order increase in mechanical properties.Cytotoxicity experiment indicates the good biocompatibility of our hydrogel.Moreover,we demonstrate that the guanine-capped peptide could release STING agonist in a controlled manner.This work illustrates a simple way to modulate the property of the nucleopeptide hydrogel to develop soft materials.展开更多
Spinal cord injury(SCI)involves diverse injury responses in different cell types in a temporally and spatially specific manner.Here,using single-cell transcriptomic analyses combined with classic anatomical,behavioral...Spinal cord injury(SCI)involves diverse injury responses in different cell types in a temporally and spatially specific manner.Here,using single-cell transcriptomic analyses combined with classic anatomical,behavioral,electrophysiological analyses,we report,with single-cell resolution,temporal molecular and cellular changes in crush-injured adult mouse spinal cord.Data revealed pathological changes of 12 different major cell types,three of which infiltrated into the spinal cord at distinct times post-injury.We discovered novel microglia and astrocyte subtypes in the uninjured spinal cord,and their dynamic conversions into additional stage-specific subtypes/states.Most dynamic changes occur at 3-days post-injury and by day-14 the second wave of microglial activation emerged,accompanied with changes in various cell types including neurons,indicative of the second round of attacks.By day-38,major cell types are still substantially deviated from uninjured states,demonstrating prolonged alterations.This study provides a comprehensive mapping of cellular/molecular pathological changes along the temporal axis after SCI,which may facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies,including those targeting microglia.展开更多
基金supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (31872249 and 31530088 )。
文摘The common toad, Bufo bufo(Linnaeus, 1758), is widely distributed in Europe and parts of Africa. Previous studies of the genetic relationships among B. bufo populations have not included Asian populations. Here, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships of B. bufo, including a population from Xinjiang, China, using 722 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence and identified six subclades and 85 haplotypes in populations from 22 countries. Phylogenetic analyses and pedigree differentiation revealed that the subclade containing the Xinjiang population has undergone a relatively recent expansion. Combining our results with those of previous studies, we found that the common toad population of Xinjiang, China, belongs to the European-Caucasian lineage and that its closest relatives based on phylogenetic relationships were eastern European populations. Our research contributes to expanding knowledge of the geographic distribution of B. bufo and illuminates the lineage and genetic relationships of the B. bu fo population in Xinjiang, China. Future research should continue to update the geographic distribution of B. bufo and complete a genetic investigation of the full range of this species.
基金supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31872249 and 31530088)。
文摘The fungal infection called chytridiomycosis,caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis(Bd),has given rise to dramatic declines or extinctions of many amphibian species around the world;however,in Asia,this disease has shown a low zoospore load or scant mortality.One potential reason for this may be that certain unique community structures of amphibian skin symbiosis contribute to the outcome of the disease;nevertheless,we know very little about the microbiota in this region. In this study,we used skin swabs of five sympatric amphibian species that have various habitat preferences in Lishui,Zhejiang Province,a place in southeastern China,to explore the skin bacterial communities by using 16 S rRNA amplicon sequencing.We detected a total of 1020 OTUs,belonging to 17 phyla,among which Proteobacteria,Firmicutes,Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated all five host species.Enterobacteriaceae and Exiguobacteraceae and the genera Escherichia and Exiguobacterium belonging to these two families were identified as the most abundant taxa on our focal species.The alpha diversity was significantly lower on the terrestrial species,and also the highly enriched Proteobacteria was found on the terrestrial species,Rana zhenhaiensis,whereas Actinobacteria,Bacteroidetes,Cyanobacteria and Firmicutes were more abundant on aquatic species than on the terrestrial species.Our results suggest that both host species and habitat sites are important factors driving skin microbial diversity and composition and that amphibians in China may harbour unique skin bacterial communities.This study helps elucidate amphibian skin microbial ecology,and with further efforts,the specific mechanism of the interaction between Bd and host amphibians in China could be elucidated.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82022038)。
文摘Guanosine-based hydrogels have attracted considerable attention because of their simplicity and easy preparation.However,the sugar moiety limits its further applications because of the necessity of sugar in the hydrogel formation.This work reports a G-quadruplexes-based hydrogel consisting of guanine and peptide epitope to form a supramolecular hydrogel in the presence of metal cations.Using the metal ion-responsive peptide epitope from the ion channel to replace sugar motif at N9 position of guanosine results in a novel nucleopeptide.The results show that the gelation time,the diameter of nanofibers,the anisotropic property,and the mechanical property of the hydrogel can be simply controlled using metal cations.The magnesium and calcium ions direct the alignment of nanofibers to form anisotropic nano-bundles.The mechanistic studies indicate the formation of G-quadruplexes in the hydrogel.Compared to the storage modulus of nucleopeptide without the metal cation,adding zinc ions results in an over three-order increase in mechanical properties.Cytotoxicity experiment indicates the good biocompatibility of our hydrogel.Moreover,we demonstrate that the guanine-capped peptide could release STING agonist in a controlled manner.This work illustrates a simple way to modulate the property of the nucleopeptide hydrogel to develop soft materials.
基金grants from the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2016YFA0100800)the International(regional)cooperation and communication program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81820108013,31620103904,82030035)the State Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81330030).
文摘Spinal cord injury(SCI)involves diverse injury responses in different cell types in a temporally and spatially specific manner.Here,using single-cell transcriptomic analyses combined with classic anatomical,behavioral,electrophysiological analyses,we report,with single-cell resolution,temporal molecular and cellular changes in crush-injured adult mouse spinal cord.Data revealed pathological changes of 12 different major cell types,three of which infiltrated into the spinal cord at distinct times post-injury.We discovered novel microglia and astrocyte subtypes in the uninjured spinal cord,and their dynamic conversions into additional stage-specific subtypes/states.Most dynamic changes occur at 3-days post-injury and by day-14 the second wave of microglial activation emerged,accompanied with changes in various cell types including neurons,indicative of the second round of attacks.By day-38,major cell types are still substantially deviated from uninjured states,demonstrating prolonged alterations.This study provides a comprehensive mapping of cellular/molecular pathological changes along the temporal axis after SCI,which may facilitate the development of novel therapeutic strategies,including those targeting microglia.