Melatonin improves synapse development by PI3K/Akt signaling in a mouse model of autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorders are a group of neurodevelopmental disorders involving more than 1100 genes,including Ctnnd2 as a candidate gene.Ctnnd2knockout mice,serving as an animal model of autis m,have been demonstrated to exhibit decreased density of dendritic spines.The role of melatonin,as a neuro hormone capable of effectively alleviating social interaction deficits and regulating the development of dendritic spines,in Ctnnd2 deletion-induced nerve injury remains unclea r.In the present study,we discove red that the deletion of exon 2 of the Ctnnd2 gene was linked to social interaction deficits,spine loss,impaired inhibitory neurons,and suppressed phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase(PI3K)/protein kinase B(Akt) signal pathway in the prefrontal cortex.Our findings demonstrated that the long-term oral administration of melatonin for 28 days effectively alleviated the aforementioned abnormalities in Ctnnd2 gene-knockout mice.Furthermore,the administration of melatonin in the prefro ntal cortex was found to improve synaptic function and activate the PI3K/Akt signal pathway in this region.The pharmacological blockade of the PI3K/Akt signal pathway with a PI3K/Akt inhibitor,wo rtmannin,and melatonin receptor antagonists,luzindole and 4-phenyl-2-propionamidotetralin,prevented the melatonin-induced enhancement of GABAergic synaptic function.These findings suggest that melatonin treatment can ameliorate GABAe rgic synaptic function by activating the PI3K/Akt signal pathway,which may contribute to the improvement of dendritic spine abnormalities in autism spectrum disorders.

An environmentally sensitive zinc-selective two-photon NIR fluorescent turn-on probe and zinc sensing in stroke

A two-photon near infrared(NIR)fluorescence turn-on sensor with high selectivity and sensitivity for Zn^(2+)detection has been developed.This sensor exhibits a large Stokes'shift(-300 nm)and can be excited from 900 to 1000 nm,with an emission wavelength of-785 nm,making it ideal for imaging in biological tissues.The sensor's high selectivity for Zn^(2+)over other structurally similar cations,such as Cd^(2+),makes it a promising tool for monitoring zinc ion levels in biological systems.Given the high concentration of zinc in thrombi,this sensor could provide a useful tool for in vivo thrombus imaging.

Phytohormones Accumulation and Distribution in Shoots and Roots of Haploid,Diploid and Tetraploid Barley Seedlings Derived from Microspore Culture

Phytohormones play important roles in plant growth and development,and polyploids are thought to be an important method for plant breeding.However,the relationship between ploidy and phytohormone is still unclear.In this study,barley at three ploidy levels were produced by microspore culture.Therefore,we further analyzed the phytohormone content in the shoots and roots of the three kinds of barley materials to study the effect of ploidy on phytohormones accumulation and distribution.The results showed that Abscisic acid(ABA),gibberellin(GA),jasmonic acid(JA),auxin(IAA),salicylic acid(SA)and cytokinin(CTK)were successfully determined in shoots and roots using LC-MS(liquid chromatography mass spectrometry).By comparing the shoots of the haploid and diploid plants,it was found that the distribution trend of the six phytohormones was consistent,and another consistent trend was found in the roots of the diploid and tetraploid plants.In addition,we further analyzed the shoot/root ratio of the different phytohormones to identify the potential differences for haploid,diploid and tetraploid.Here,the relationship between ploidy and phytohormone we provided would provide new insights into understanding the new phenotypes that occur in polyploid species.

Transcriptome Profiling of Barley Cultivar Hua 30 MDEC in Response to Agrobacterium Infection

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation has been widely used in plants.However,the mechanism in plant cells’response to Agrobacterium infection was very complex.The mechanism of the determinants in host cell remains obscure,especially in barley,which is recalcitrant for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.In the present study,microspore-derived embryogenic calli(MDEC)from barley elite cultivar were employed as unique subjects to characterize the mechanisms during the Agrobacterium infection process.Hua 30 MDEC can be successfully infected by Agrobacterium.RNA-sequencing at different infection points(0,2,6,12,24 hpi)was performed.The average expressional intensity of the whole genomics increased from 0 to 2 hpi,and then decreased subsequently.More upregulated than downregulated differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were counted at the same time.GO enrichment analysis showed that protein modification was significantly overrepresented in upregulated DEGs.Chromosome-related biological processes,gene expression and cellular metabolic processes were significantly overrepresented in downregulated DEGs.KEGG analysis showed that plant defense responses,phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and biosynthesis of amino acids were significantly enriched across the infection time course.Nine DEGs related to defense responses were identified.All DEGs were upregulated from 2 to 24 hpi.We speculate that these genes are possibly related to Agrobacterium infection.These findings will provide deep insights into the molecular events occurring during the process of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.

Genome-Wide Identification of Candidate Genes Associated with β-glucan Traits in a Hulled and Hulless Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Population

Barley grain is a valuable source ofβ-glucan,which is an important component of dietary fiber with significant human health benefits.Although the genetic basis ofβ-glucan biosynthesis has been widely studied,a genome-wide association study(GWAS)is still required for a scan of the candidate genes related to the complex quantitative trait based on the high-quality barley reference genome.In this study,a GWAS was conducted using a population composed of 87 barley landraces(39 hulled and 48 hulless,β-glucan from 2.07%to 6.56%)with 191,098 nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)markers to cover the chromosomes with the highest density.The population was divided into four sub-populations(POP1~POP4),and theβ-glucan content in POP2 was significantly higher than that in other groups,in which most of the hulless barley landraces are from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China.Among seven SNP markers identified by GWAS,two(SNP2 and SNP3)of them showed positive correlation toβ-glucan trait and the remaining five(SNP1,SNP4,SNP5,SNP6 and SNP7)showed the negative relationship.Two candidate genes linked to SNP7,HORVU7Hr1G000320 and HORVU7Hr1G000040,belong to the nucleotide triphosphate hydrolase super-family which is probable to affect the activities ofβ-glucan synthase.Another candidate gene associated with SNP1,HORVU1Hr1G000010,is possibly involved in sugar response.In conclusion,our results provide new insights into the genetic basis ofβ-glucan accumulation in barley grains,and the discovery of new SNP markers distributed in each chromosome and the associated candidate genes will be valuable for the breeding of functional barley varieties with high β-glucan.

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor gene,OsbHLH38,plays a key role in controlling rice salt tolerance

The plant hormone abscisic acid(ABA)is crucial for plant seed germination and abiotic stress tolerance.However,the association between ABA sensitivity and plant abiotic stress tolerance remains largely unknown.In this study,436 rice accessions were assessed for their sensitivity to ABA during seed germination.The considerable diversity in ABA sensitivity among rice germplasm accessions was primarily reflected by the differentiation between the Xian(indica)and Geng(japonica)subspecies and between the upland-Geng and lowland-Geng ecotypes.The upland-Geng accessions were most sensitive to ABA.Genome-wide association analyses identified four major quantitative trait loci containing21 candidate genes associated with ABA sensitivity of which a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor gene,OsbHLH38,was the most important for ABA sensitivity.Comprehensive functional analyses using knockout and overexpression transgenic lines revealed that OsbHLH38 expression was responsive to multiple abiotic stresses.Overexpression of OsbHLH38 increased seedling salt tolerance,while knockout of OsbHLH38 increased sensitivity to salt stress.A salt-responsive transcription factor,OsDREB2A,interacted with OsbHLH38 and was directly regulated by OsbHLH38.Moreover,OsbHLH38 affected rice abiotic stress tolerance by mediating the expression of a large set of transporter genes of phytohormones,transcription factor genes,and many downstream genes with diverse functions,including photosynthesis,redox homeostasis,and abiotic stress responsiveness.These results demonstrated that OsbHLH38 is a key regulator in plant abiotic stress tolerance.

A chromosome-scale genome assembly of Dasypyrum villosum provides insights into its application as a broad-spectrum disease resistance resource for wheat improvement

Dasypyrum villosum is one of the most valuable gene resources in wheat improvement,especially for disease resistance.The mining of favorable genes from D.villosum is frustrated by the lack of a whole genome sequence.In this study,we generated a doubled-haploid line,91C43^(DH),using microspore culture and obtained a 4.05-GB high-quality,chromosome-scale genome assembly for D.villosum.The assembly contains39727 high-confidence genes,and 85.31% of the sequences are repetitive.Two reciprocal translocation events were detected,and 7VS-4VL is a unique translocation in D.villosum.The prolamin seed storage protein-coding genes were found to be duplicated;in particular,the genes encoding low-molecular-weight glutenin at the Glu-V3 locus were significantly expanded.RNA sequencing(RNA-seq)analysis indicated that,after Blumeria graminearum f.sp tritici(Bgt)inoculation,there were more upregulated genes involved in the pattern-triggered immunity and effector-triggered immunity defense pathways in D.villosum than in Triticum urartu.MNase hypersensitive sequencing(MH-seq)identified two Bgt-inducible MH sites(MHSs),one in the promoter and one in the 3'terminal region of the powdery mildew resistance(Pm)gene NLR1-V.Each site had two subpeaks and they were termed MHS1(MHS1.1/1.2)and MHS2(MHS2.1/2.2).Bgt-inducible MHS2.2 was uniquely present in D.villosum,and MHS1.1 was more inducible in D.villosum than in wheat,suggesting that MHSs may be critical for regulation of NLR1-V expression and plant defense.In summary,this study provides a valuable genome resource for functional genomics studies and wheat-D.villosum introgression breeding.The identified regulatory mechanisms may also be exploited to develop new strategies for enhancing Pm resistance by optimizing gene expression in wheat.

Physical artificial intelligence(PAI):the next-generation artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence(AI)has been a driving force for innovation and social progress in various domains(Pan,2017).However,most of its industrial applications have focused on the signal processing domain,which relies on data generated and collected by different sensors.

Numerical analysis of residence time distribution of solids in a bubbling fluidized bed based on the modified structure-based drag model

The residence time distribution （RTD） of solids and the fluidized structure of a bubbling fluidized bed were investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics simulations coupled with the modified structure-based drag model. A general comparison of the simulated results with theoretical values shows reasonable agreement. As the mean residence time is increased, the RTD initial peak intensity decreases and the RTD curve tail extends farther. Numerous small peaks on the RTD curve are induced by the back- mixing and aggregation of particles, which attests to the non-uniform flow structure of the bubbling fluidized bed. The low value of t50 results in poor contact between phases, and the complete exit age of the overflow particles is much longer for back-mixed solids and those caught in dead regions. The formation of a gulf-stream flow and back-mixing for solids induces an even wider spread of RTD.