Huang Qi(黄芪Astragalus membranaceus)is a well-known and widely used herb in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)tonic preparations.It has been used for many ailments over the last 2000 years.Flavonoids,saponins,and poly...Huang Qi(黄芪Astragalus membranaceus)is a well-known and widely used herb in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)tonic preparations.It has been used for many ailments over the last 2000 years.Flavonoids,saponins,and polysaccharides have been shown to be the main compounds responsible for the biological and pharmacological activities,especially the immunomodulatory properties,of such tonic preparations.This review summarizes the published data on Astragalus extracts and fractions and the natural compounds responsible for the immunomodulatory activity with special reference to the modulation of nuclear factor-kappa B and related pathways(e.g.,Nrf2).In addition,this review highlights the importance of Astragalus membranaceus in TCM for treating patients with diseases related to immunocompromised conditions,such as cancer and diabetes.展开更多
The true identity of florigen - the molecule（s） that migrates from leaves to apical meristem to initiate flowering - was notoriously elusive, having made it almost the ＂Bigfoot＂ of plant biology. There was never a...The true identity of florigen - the molecule（s） that migrates from leaves to apical meristem to initiate flowering - was notoriously elusive, having made it almost the ＂Bigfoot＂ of plant biology. There was never a lack of drama in the field of florigen study, and florigen researchers have once again experienced such a swing in the last two years. We wrote a minireview last year in this journal （Yu et al. 2006） to excitedly salute, among other discoveries, the notion that the flowering locus T （FT） mRNA might be the molecular form of a florigen. However, this hypothesis was challenged in a little less than two years after its initial proposition, and the original paper proposed that the FT mRNA hypothesis was retracted （Huang et al. 2005; Bohlenius et al. 2007）. Interestingly enough, the FT gene previously proposed to encode a florigen was never challenged. Rather, the FT protein, instead of the FT mRNA, is now believed to migrate from leaves to the apical meristem to promote floral initiation. In this update, we will share with our readers some entertaining stories concerning the recent studies of florigen in five different plant species. In addition to the published reports referenced inthis update, readers may also refer to our previous minireview and references therein for additional background information （Yu et al. 2006）.展开更多
Dear Editor,Selective pressures emerging from the environmental complexity can drive variation in vertebrate brain size(Sol et al.2005;Sayol et al.2016).It is generally agreed that larger brains can confer better cogn...Dear Editor,Selective pressures emerging from the environmental complexity can drive variation in vertebrate brain size(Sol et al.2005;Sayol et al.2016).It is generally agreed that larger brains can confer better cognitive abilities when species are faced with complex environments(Roth et al.2010;Sayol et al.2016).Indeed,there is evidence that artificial selection on large-brained individuals has enhanced learning abilities such as numerical abilities and spatial mate search and schooling behavior in guppies(Kotrschal et al.2013,2015;Vega-Trejo et al.2020).展开更多
文摘Huang Qi(黄芪Astragalus membranaceus)is a well-known and widely used herb in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)tonic preparations.It has been used for many ailments over the last 2000 years.Flavonoids,saponins,and polysaccharides have been shown to be the main compounds responsible for the biological and pharmacological activities,especially the immunomodulatory properties,of such tonic preparations.This review summarizes the published data on Astragalus extracts and fractions and the natural compounds responsible for the immunomodulatory activity with special reference to the modulation of nuclear factor-kappa B and related pathways(e.g.,Nrf2).In addition,this review highlights the importance of Astragalus membranaceus in TCM for treating patients with diseases related to immunocompromised conditions,such as cancer and diabetes.
文摘The true identity of florigen - the molecule（s） that migrates from leaves to apical meristem to initiate flowering - was notoriously elusive, having made it almost the ＂Bigfoot＂ of plant biology. There was never a lack of drama in the field of florigen study, and florigen researchers have once again experienced such a swing in the last two years. We wrote a minireview last year in this journal （Yu et al. 2006） to excitedly salute, among other discoveries, the notion that the flowering locus T （FT） mRNA might be the molecular form of a florigen. However, this hypothesis was challenged in a little less than two years after its initial proposition, and the original paper proposed that the FT mRNA hypothesis was retracted （Huang et al. 2005; Bohlenius et al. 2007）. Interestingly enough, the FT gene previously proposed to encode a florigen was never challenged. Rather, the FT protein, instead of the FT mRNA, is now believed to migrate from leaves to the apical meristem to promote floral initiation. In this update, we will share with our readers some entertaining stories concerning the recent studies of florigen in five different plant species. In addition to the published reports referenced inthis update, readers may also refer to our previous minireview and references therein for additional background information （Yu et al. 2006）.
基金We thank the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China(31970393)the Key Project of Science and Technology of Sichuan Province(22NSFSC0011)for supporting our study.
文摘Dear Editor,Selective pressures emerging from the environmental complexity can drive variation in vertebrate brain size(Sol et al.2005;Sayol et al.2016).It is generally agreed that larger brains can confer better cognitive abilities when species are faced with complex environments(Roth et al.2010;Sayol et al.2016).Indeed,there is evidence that artificial selection on large-brained individuals has enhanced learning abilities such as numerical abilities and spatial mate search and schooling behavior in guppies(Kotrschal et al.2013,2015;Vega-Trejo et al.2020).
