Metagenomic analysis revealing the metabolic role of microbial communities in the free amino acid biosynthesis of Monascus rice vinegar during fermentation

Free amino acid(FAA)is the important component of vinegar that infl uences quality perception and consumer acceptance.FAA is one of the major metabolites produced by microorganisms;however,the microbial metabolic network on FAA biosynthesis remains unclear.Through metagenomic analysis,this work aimed to elucidate the roles of microbes in FAA biosynthesis during Monascus rice vinegar fermentation.Taxonomic profiles from functional analyses showed 14 dominant genera with high contributions to the metabolism pathways.The metabolic network for FAA biosynthesis was then constructed,and the microbial distribution in different metabolic pathways was illuminated.The results revealed that 5 functional genera were closely involved in FAA biosynthesis.This study illuminated the metabolic roles of microorganisms in FAA biosynthesis and provided crucial insights into the functional attributes of microbiota in vinegar fermentation.

Effects of dietary olive oil, camellia seed oil and soybean oil on serum lipid composition in women with a high risk of cardiovascular disease: a lipidomic analysis

Numerous studies currently compare the lipid metabolism in patients with cardiovascular disease(CVD)and healthy individuals to identify lipid markers for predicting CVD.In this study,multidimensional mass spectrometry-based shotgun lipidomics was used to examine the serum lipidomics of participants in a clinical randomized controlled feeding trial undergoing olive oil(OO),camellia seed oil(CSO),and soybean oil(SO)dietary interventions.189 lipid molecules are identified,including 14 species of phosphatidylinositol,45 species of ethanolamine glycerols(PE),47 species of choline glycerophospholipids(PC),39 species of triacylglycerols(TAG),18 species of lysophosphatidylcholine,and 26 species of sphingomyelin.After screening,10 lipid markers are found,among which 18:2 fatty acid(FA),16:1 FA,C54:4/C55:11,C54:3/C55:10,and C52:3/C53:10 in TAG pool,p18:0/20:0 and a18:0/18:1 in PC pool,and p18:1/20:4 in PE pool have differential regulation in the SO group compared to OO and CSO.The d16:0/18:1 in PC pool and C52:2/C53:9 in TAG pool are differentially regulated by OO and CSO.The C52:2/C53:9 in TAG pool has a significant negative correlation with aspartate aminotransferase(r=-0.363,P=0.048)and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(r=-0.519,P<0.01).This study provides a reference for researching the effect of dietary fat on blood lipid metabolism.

Data-driven analysis of chemicals,proteins and pathways associated with peanut allergy:from molecular networking to biological interpretation

Peanut allergy is majorly related to severe food induced allergic reactions.Several food including cow's milk,hen's eggs,soy,wheat,peanuts,tree nuts(walnuts,hazelnuts,almonds,cashews,pecans and pistachios),fish and shellfish are responsible for more than 90%of food allergies.Here,we provide promising insights using a large-scale data-driven analysis,comparing the mechanistic feature and biological relevance of different ingredients presents in peanuts,tree nuts(walnuts,almonds,cashews,pecans and pistachios)and soybean.Additionally,we have analysed the chemical compositions of peanuts in different processed form raw,boiled and dry-roasted.Using the data-driven approach we are able to generate new hypotheses to explain why nuclear receptors like the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPARs)and its isoform and their interaction with dietary lipids may have significant effect on allergic response.The results obtained from this study will direct future experimeantal and clinical studies to understand the role of dietary lipids and PPARisoforms to exert pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory functions on cells of the innate immunity and influence antigen presentation to the cells of the adaptive immunity.

Physicochemical Analysis of Locally Made Yoghurt (Kossam) Commercialised in the City of Douala-Cameroon

Yogurt is a traditional dairy product well known in all the regions of the world. In Cameroon, the most popularly known type is “kossam” also called curdled milk. Kossam is a set of milk based beverage from northern Cameroon presenting great symbolic, economic and social values for local population [1]. 150 Kossam samples were collected from neighborhoods of PK8, Bonamoussadi, Nyalla, cite des palmier, Deido and Bedi community and later on reconstituted into 50 different samples of 350 mL, each containing 1/3 of 3 individual samples. They were analyzed for their physiochemical properties such as: PH, titratable acidity, density, brix and dry matter using most at times the standard Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods with slight modifications and results compared to a licensed brand sold in the Cameroonian market. The results of the study showed that, the physico-chemical properties of the locally made yogurts were different within the different samples. Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in the levels of the parameters analyzed in the different yogurt samples (p −1 Kg/L), Brix (8˚ - 24˚B), Dornic (23˚ - 160˚D). others contents per 100 g fresh matter are as follows: dry matter (average mean of 16.54%). Hence, the significant variations in the physico-chemical properties of kossam are a call for concern since as it impacts on the health of the population consuming this product.

Histological Assessment and Transcriptome Analysis Provide Insights into the Toxic Effects of Perfluorooctanoic Acid to Juvenile Half Smooth Tongue Sole Cynoglossus semilaevis

Perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA)is a widespread synthetic persistent organic pollutant that may enrich along the food chain and affect the growth,development,reproduction,and lipid metabolism of aquatic organisms,particularly the benthic organisms.How-ever,the toxic effects of PFOA on the half-smooth tongue sole Cynoglossus semilaevis,a commercial benthic fish in China,have rarely been reported.Because juvenile fish are sensitive to environmental pollutants,in the present study,histological assessment and tran-scriptome sequencing were performed to determine the short-term impact of PFOA on juvenile half-smooth tongue soles.Histologi-cal analysis showed that PFOA exposure caused hepatocyte rupture,intestinal villi breakage,increased goblet cell count,and brain ab-normal.Transcriptome results showed that some interesting signaling pathways,such as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis,PPAR signaling pathway and GABAergic synapse signaling pathway,were enriched after PFOA exposure.In addition,some metabolic,immune and neural genes were differentially expressed,which including ependymin,hbb1-like and gad 1,and they were up-regulated after 14 days of exposure.Transcriptome results also indicated that half-smooth tongue sole might improve energy metabolism in response to PFOA toxicity after 7 days of exposure.These findings provide a basis for studying the ecological effects of PFOA on marine benthic fishes.

Carbon Chain Length Determines Inhibitory Potency of Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonic Acids on Human Placental 3β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase 1:Screening,Structure-Activity Relationship,and In Silico Analysis

Objective This study aimed to compare 9 perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids(PFSA)with carbon chain lengths(C4–C12)to inhibit human placental 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1(3β-HSD1),aromatase,and rat 3β-HSD4 activities.Methods Human and rat placental 3β-HSDs activities were determined by converting pregnenolone to progesterone and progesterone secretion in JEG-3 cells was determined using HPLC/MS–MS,and human aromatase activity was determined by radioimmunoassay.Results PFSA inhibited human 3β-HSD1 structure-dependently in the order:perfluorooctanesulfonic acid(PFOS,half-maximum inhibitory concentration,IC50:9.03±4.83μmol/L)>perfluorodecanesulfonic acid(PFDS,42.52±8.99μmol/L)>perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid(PFHpS,112.6±29.39μmol/L)>perfluorobutanesulfonic acid(PFBS)=perfluoropentanesulfonic acid(PFPS)=perfluorohexanesulfonic acid(PFHxS)=perfluorododecanesulfonic acid(PFDoS)(ineffective at 100μmol/L).6:2FTS(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctanesulfonic acid)and 8:2FTS(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanesulfonic acid)did not inhibit human 3β-HSD1.PFOS and PFHpS are mixed inhibitors,whereas PFDS is a competitive inhibitor.Moreover,1–10μmol/L PFOS and PFDS significantly reduced progesterone biosynthesis in JEG-3 cells.Docking analysis revealed that PFSA binds to the steroid-binding site of human 3β-HSD1 in a carbon chain length-dependent manner.All 100μmol/L PFSA solutions did not affect rat 3β-HSD4 and human placental aromatase activity.Conclusion Carbon chain length determines inhibitory potency of PFSA on human placental 3β-HSD1 in a V-shaped transition at PFOS(C8),with inhibitory potency of PFOS>PFDS>PFHpS>PFBS=PFPS=PFHxS=PFDoS=6:2FTS=8:2FTS.

Identification and expression analysis of chlorogenic acid biosynthesis key gene PpHCT in peach

Shikimic acid/quinic acid hydroxy cinnamyl transferase(HCT)is one of the key enzymes in the phenylpropanoid pathway.However,the role of the HCT gene in chlorogenic acid(CGA)biosynthesis in peach fruit remains unclear.For this,we identified the accumulation pattern of CGA in four peach cultivars,cloned and characterized 11 PpHCT gene members,and further analyzed the expression patterns of these PpHCT genes during fruit development.The contents of CGAs in the four peach cultivars all exhibited a trend of increasing and then decreasing during the fruit growth and development.Moreover,the contents of CGAs in the peel and flesh were tissue-specific.Gene structure analysis indicated that the PpHCT genes were highly conserved,containing two exons and one intron.The protein structure analysis demonstrated that the PpHCT proteins contained two conserved motifs(HXXXD,DFGWG)and a transferase domain(PF02458),which belonged to the BAHD acyltransferase family.The cis-acting element analysis suggested that the promoters of PpHCT genes contained many light-related,hormone-related,stress-related,tissue-specific,and circadian-related elements,and they could participate in a variety of biological processes.Phylogenetic analysis showed that the HCT proteins of peach were closely related to the HCT proteins of plum and had a close evolutionary relationship.The qRT-PCR analysis indicated that the expression levels of PpHCT1 and PpHCT2 showed an opposite trend to the accumulation of CGA,whereas the expression levels of PpHCT4,PpHCT5,PpHCT7,PpHCT8,and PpHCT11 demonstrated the same trend as CGA accumulation.It was worth noting that only PpHCT4 and PpHCT5 were highly expressed in the two high-CGA cultivars but showed low levels of expression in the two low-CGA cultivars.Therefore,it was hypothesized that these two genes might be key genes to the synthesis of CGA in peach fruit.Those findings provide a theoretical basis for further study on the biological functions of the HCT gene and help to reveal the molecular mechanism of CGA.

Transcriptome-based analysis of key genes and pathways affecting the linoleic acid content in chickens

Linoleic acid is an essential polyunsaturated fatty acid that cannot be synthesized by humans or animals themselves and can only be obtained externally.The amount of linoleic acid present has an impact on the quality and flavour of meat and indirectly affects consumer preference.However,the molecular mechanisms influencing the deposition of linoleic acid in organisms are not clear.As the molecular mechanisms of linoleic acid deposition are not well understood,to investigate the main effector genes affecting the linoleic acid content,this study aimed to screen for hub genes in slow-type yellow-feathered chickens by transcriptome sequencing(RNA-Seq)and weighted gene coexpression network analysis(WGCNA).We screened for candidate genes associated with the linoleic acid content in slow-type yellow-feathered broilers.A total of 399 Tiannong partridge chickens were slaughtered at 126 days of age,fatty acid levels were measured in pectoral muscle,and pectoral muscle tissue was collected for transcriptome sequencing.Transcriptome sequencing results were combined with phenotypes for WGCNA to screen for candidate genes.KEGG enrichment analysis was also performed on the genes that were significantly enriched in the modules with the highest correlation.A total of 13310 genes were identified after quality control of transcriptomic data from 399 pectoral muscle tissues.WGCNA was performed,and a total of 26 modules were obtained,eight of which were highly correlated with the linoleic acid content.Four key genes,namely,MDH2,ATP5B,RPL7A and PDGFRA,were screened according to the criteria|GS|>0.2 and|MM|>0.8.The functional enrichment results showed that the genes within the target modules were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways.In this study,a large-sample-size transcriptome analysis revealed that metabolic pathways play an important role in the regulation of the linoleic acid content in Tiannong partridge chickens,and MDH2,ATP5B,RPL7A and PDGFRA were screened as important candidate genes affecting the linoleic acid content.The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for selecting molecular markers and comprehensively understanding the molecular mechanism affecting the linoleic acid content in muscle,providing an important reference for the breeding of slow-type yellowfeathered broiler chickens.

Analysis of the Temporal-spatial Distribution and Seasonal Variation of the Acid Rain in Guangxi Province

The temporal-spatial distribution and seasonal variation of the precipitation acidity in Guangxi Province were statistically analyzed by means of the data from 2003 to 2008 in 10 Stations of Acid Rain Observation in the province and the data from 1996 to 2008 in two Monitoring Spots in Nanning and Baise,respectively.The results showed that annual average pH value of precipitation was <5.6 based on the analysis of the data from 10 Stations of Acid Rain Observation in the province,among which,the data from 5 stations indicated that annual average pH value of precipitation was <4.5.Thus,it can be thought that the serious acid rain had appeared in the province.There was an obvious seasonal variation in the extent of the acidity in precipitation and the acidity of precipitation in spring and winter was heavier than that in summer and autumn.

Study on the Temporal and Spatial Distribution Characteristic of Acid Rain in Guangxi Based on EOF Analysis

Based on acid rain data from ten monitoring sites in Guangxi from 2003 to 2009,the temporal and spatial distribution characteristic of acid rain in Guangxi were analyzed by means of empirical orthogonal function resolution(EOF).The results showed that there was fluctuating change of acid rain frequency in Guangxi,and acid rain pollution became severer in 2004-2008;acid rain frequency changed conformably in the whole region and it was obviously higher in eastern and northwestern Guangxi,while acid rain pollution became severe in western Guangxi;acid rain frequency varied out of phase between northeastern and southwestern Guangxi in an individual year.

Fractal analysis of polyferric chloride-humic acid(PFC-HA) flocs in different topological spaces

The fractal dimensions in different topological spaces of polyferric chloride-humic acid （PFC-HA） flocs, formed in flocculating different kinds of humic acids （HA） water at different initial pH （9.0, 7.0, 5.0） and PFC dosages, were calculated by effective densitymaximum diameter, image analysis, and N2 absorption-desorption methods, respectively. The mass fractal dimensions （De） of PFC-HA floes were calculated by bi-logarithm relation of effective density with maximum diameter and Logan empirical equation. The Df value was more than 2.0 at initial pH of 7,0, which was 11% and 13% higher than those at pH 9.0 and 5.0, respecively, indicating the most compact flocs formed in flocculated HA water at initial pH of 7.0. The image analysis for those flocs indicates that after flocculating the HA water at initial pH greater than 7.0 with PFC flocculant, the fractal dimensions of D2 （logA vs. logdL） and D3 （logVsphere vs. logdL） of PFC-HA floes decreased with the increase of PFC dosages, and PFC-HA floes showed a gradually looser structure. At the optimum dosage of PFC, the D2 （logA vs. logdL） values of the flocs show 14%-43% difference with their corresponding Dr, and they even had different tendency with the change of initial pH values. However, the D2 values of the floes formed at three different initial pH in HA solution had a same tendency with the corresponding Df. Based on fractal Frenkel-Halsey-HiU （FHH） adsorption and desorption equations, the pore surface fractal dimensions （Ds） for dried powders of PFC-HA flocs formed in HA water with initial pH 9.0 and 7.0 were all close to 2.9421, and the Ds values of flocs formed at initial pH 5.0 were less than 2.3746. It indicated that the pore surface fractal dimensions of PFC-HA floes dried powder mainly show the irregularity from the mesopore-size distribution and marcopore-size distribution.

Quantitative analysis of sialic acids in Chinese conventional foods by HPLC-FLD

Background: Sialic acids are a family of ninecarbon sugar compounds with carboxylic acyl derivatives. It exists in bacteria, fish, mammals and other living organisms, participates in and regulates many important life events, such as cell recognition, membrane flow, endocytosis and so on. Sialic acid is usually located in the outermost layer of the sugar part of the cell membrane and the key positions of secreted glycoconjugates (glycolipids, glycoprotein and lipopolysaccharide). Sialic acid (Sia) is an important material foundation for variety of the structure and founction of glycoconjugates. Sia has been known as nearly 50 members, including N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), N-glycoulylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) and deaminoneuraminic acid (KDN) as its core monomer. The rest of the sialic acids are derived from these three monomers. The contents of Sia in Chinese food products are unknown. Objective: To determine the contents of Sia in raw and cooked red meat, seafood, poultry and so on. Design: The following food products were purchased from a Chinese supermarket: pork, beef, lamb, salmon, cod, tuna, cow milk, cheese, butter, duck, chicken and chicken eggs. Human milk was collected from Xiamen Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital (Xiamen, China). All tissues were homogenized and hydrolyzed with 0.05 M, 0.1 M and 0.2 M TFA for 150 min at 80°C in dark, respectively. The concentrations of Neu5Ac, Neu5Gc and KDN were determined by using HPLC with fluorescence detector. Results: The contents of total Sia (μg/g tissue or μg/mL liquid sample) in Chinese raw meat were highest in lamb (269.60), followed by pork (254.88), duck (200.63), chicken (162.86) and beef (88.03). The percentages of Neu5Gc were 36.08%, 26.48%, 0%, 0% and 28.40%, respectively. Cod contained higher levels of Sia (171.63) than salmon (104.43) and tuna (77.98). Only Neu5Ac was 50 found in detected aquatic product. Egg yolk contained the highest level of Sia (682.04), and a higher level of Sia (390.67) was found in the egg white. Also our result showed that human milk contained extremely high level of Sia (602.55). Neu5Ac was the predominant form of Sia in all the deteced samples. KDN was found in cow milk only among the samples, the content was 1.14 μg/g. Conclusion: The highest content of Sia in examined Chinese foods was found in 56 eggs, followed by lamb, pork, duck, cod, chicken, salmon, beef and tuna. Knowledge of the Sia content in conventional foods may help us to better understand possible medical disorders involving the uptake of the “non-human” Neu5Gc from our diet.

Fluorescence Microscopic Image Analysis of Nucleic Acids Based on The Capillary Flow Directed Assembly Ring of Neutral Red-nucleic Acid Supramolecular Complexes

It is critical to establish a direct and precise method with a high sensitivity and selectivity in analytical chemistry. In this research, making use of a well known phenomenon of capillary flow, we have proposed an image analysis method of nucleic acids at the price of a small amount of sample. When a droplet of the supramolecular complex solution, formed by neutral red and nucleic acids(NA) under an approximate neutral condition, was placed on the hydrophobic surface of dimethyl dichlorosilane pretreated glass slides, and it was evaporated, the supramolecular complex exhibited the periphery of the droplet due to the capillary effect, and accumulated there to form a red capillary flow directed assembly ring(CFDAR). A typical CFDAR has an outer diameter of (2 r ) about 1.18 mm and a ring width(2 δ ) of about 41 μm. Depending on the experimental conditions, a variety of CFDAR can be assembled. The experimental results are in agreement with our former theoretical discussion. It was found that when a droplet volume is 0.1 μL, the fluorescence intensity of the CFDAR formed by the NR NA is in proportion to the content of calf thymus DNA in the range of 0-0.28 ng, fish sperm DNA of 0-0.24 ng and yeast RNA of 0-0.16 ng with the limit of detection(3 σ ) of 1 7, 1.4 and 0.9 pg, respectively for the three nucleic acids.

Process design and economic analysis of methacrylic acid extraction for three organic solvents

In this work,a techno-economic study for the solvent based extraction of methacrylic acid from an aqueous solution is presented.The involved phase equilibrium calculations in process design are verified by measured experimental data.First,experiments are conducted with different solvent candidates to measure LLE(liquid–liquid equilibrium)data and to establish the effects of extraction temperature and dosage of solvent.Next,the binary interaction parameters for the UNIQUAC model to be used for equilibrium calculations are fine-tuned with measured data.Then,a process for the solvent based extraction of methacrylic acid recovery is designed and verified through simulation with the regressed UNIQUAC model parameters.The optimal configuration of the process flowsheet is determined by minimizing the total annualized cost.Among the three solvent candidates considered-cyclohexane,hexane and toluene-the highest efficiency and the lowest total annualized cost is found with toluene as the solvent.

Cost benefit analysis of the use of tranexamic acid in primary lower limb arthroplasty: A retrospective cohort study

AIM: To examine the cost benefit conferred by the perioperative administration of intravenous tranexamic acid(TXA) in lower limb arthroplasty.METHODS: This study evaluates the use of TXA in 200 consecutive lower limb arthroplasties performed in a single surgeon series. The initial 100 patients(control group) underwent surgery without perioperative administration of TXA while the subsequent 100 patients(TXA group) all received 1 g TXA at the time of induction of anaesthesia. Pre- and post-operative haemoglobin, platelet count, haematocrit, the use of blood product post-operatively, length of stay were examined. A financial analysis of both groups was then undertaken. RESULTS: The mean age of patients in both groups was 63 ± 13 years. There were no significant differences between groups in terms of gender(P = 0.47), proportion of total hip replacement to total knee replacement(P = 0.25) or pre-operative haemoglobin(P = 0.43). In the control group, the transfusion rate was 22%. In the TXA group, the transfusion rate dropped to 2%(P < 0.001). The mean post-operative haemoglobin was 10.82 ± 1.55g/dL in the control group vs 11.33 ± 1.27 g/dL in the TXA group(P = 0.01). The total cost of transfused blood products was €11055 and €603 respectively. The mean length of stay in the control group was 6.53 ± 5.93 d vs 5.47 ± 4.26 d in the TXA group(P = 0.15) leading to an estimated financial saving of €114586. There was one pulmonary embolus in the control group and one deep venous thrombosis in the TXA group.CONCLUSION: Intravenous TXA reduces blood loss in lower limb arthroplasty. This leads to lower transfusion rates, shorter length of stay in hospital and significant financial savings.

Optimization on the Conversion of Bamboo Shoot Shell to Levulinic Acid with Environmentally Benign Acidic Ionic Liquid and Response Surface Analysis

Levulinic acid（LA） has been identified as a promising green,biomass derived platform chemical.Response surface analysis（RSA） with a four-factor-five-level central composite design（CCD） was applied to optimize the hydrolysis conditions for the conversion of bamboo（Phyllostachys Praecox f.preveynalis） shoot shell（BSS） to LA catalyzed with ionic liquid [C4mim]HSO4.The effects of four main reaction parameters including temperature,time,C[C4mim]HSO4（initial [C4mim]HSO4 concentration） and XBSS（initial BSS intake） on the hydrolysis reaction for yield of LA were analyzed.A quadratic equation model for yield of LA was established and fitted to the data with an R2 of 0.9868,and effects of main factors and their corresponding relationships were obtained with RSA.Model validation and results of CCD showed good correspondence between actual and predicted values.The analysis of variance（ANOVA） of the results indicated that the yield of LA in the range studied was significantly（P＆lt;0.05） affected by the four factors.The optimized reaction conditions were as follows：temperature of 145 ℃,time of 103.8 min,C[C4mim]HSO4 of 0.9 mol.L-1 and XBSS of 2.04%（by mass）,respectively.A high yield [（71±0.41）%（by mol）,triplicate experiment] was obtained at the optimum conditions of temperature of 145 ℃,time of 104 min,C[C4mim]HSO4 of 0.9 mol.L-1 and XBSS of 2%（by mass）,which obtained from the real experiments,concurred with the model prediction [73.8%（by mol） based on available C6 sugars in BSS or 17.9%（by mass） based on the mass of BSS],indicating that the model was adequate for the hydrolysis process.

Analysis of Amino Acids in a Single Human Red Blood Cell by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis with Intracellular NDA- derivatization and Electrochemical Detection

A novel method for determination of amino acids in individual human red blood cells has been developed. In this method, the derivatization reagents (NDA and CN-) are introduced into living cells by electroporation. After completion of derivatization, the amino acids in a single cell is determined by capillary zone electrophoresis with end-column amperometric detection.

The structural analysis of protein sequences based on the quasi-amino acids code

Proteomics is the study of proteins and their interactions in a cell. With the successful completion of the Human Cenome Project, it comes the postgenome era when the proteomics technology is emerging. This paper studies protein molecule from the algebraic point of view. The algebraic system （∑, ＋, ＊） is introduced, where ∑ is the set of 64 codons. According to the characteristics of （∑, ＋, ＊）, a novel quasi-amino acids code classification method is introduced and the corresponding algebraic operation table over the set ZU of the 16 kinds of quasi-amino acids is established. The internal relation is revealed about quasi-amino acids. The results show that there exist some very close correlations between the properties of the quasi-amino acids and the codon. All these correlation relationships may play an important part in establishing the logic relationship between codons and the quasi-amino acids during the course of life origination. According to Ma F et al （2003 J. Anhui Agricultural University 30 439）, the corresponding relation and the excellent properties about amino acids code are very difficult to observe. The present paper shows that （ZU, ＋,×） is a field. Furthermore, the operational results display that the eodon tga has different property from other stop codons. In fact, in the mitochondrion from human and ox genomic codon, tga is just tryptophane, is not the stop codon like in other genetic code, it is the case of the Chen W C et al （2002 Acta Biophysiea Siniea 18（1） 87）. The present theory avoids some inexplicable events of the 20 kinds of amino acids code, in other words it solves the problem of ＇the 64 codon assignments of mRNA to amino acids is probably completely wrong＇ proposed by Yang （2006 Progress in Modern Biomedicine 6 3）.

Phenotype and mechanism analysis of plant dwarfing in pear regulated by abscisic acid

Close planting of dwarf varieties is currently the main cultivation direction for pear trees,and the screening of excellent dwarf varieties is an important goal for breeders.In this study,the dwarfing pear variety‘601D’and its vigorous mutant‘601T’were used to show their biological characteristics and further explore the dwarfing mechanism in‘601D’.The biological characteristics showed that‘601D’had a shorter internode length,a shorter and more compact tree body,thicker and broader leaves,lower stomata density,larger stomata size(dimension),and higher photosynthetic capacity.The biological characteristics of‘601T’showed notable contrasts.The results of endogenous hormone tests indicated that the contents of abscisic acid(ABA),ABA-glucosyl ester,and GA_(4) were higher in‘601D’,but the trans-zeatin content was lower.By transcriptomic analysis,significant differences were found in the biosynthetic and metabolic pathways of ABA.Related transcription factors such as bHLH,WRKY,and homeobox also participated in the regulation of plant dwarfing.We therefore examined three hormones with obvious differences with‘601T’,and found that only ABA could induce‘601T’to return to a dwarfing plant phenotype.Therefore,we conclude that the dwarfing of‘601D’is caused by an excessive accumulation of ABA.This study provides a new theoretical basis for breeding dwarf varieties.

Analysis of fatty acid composition of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus using multivariate statistics

Fatty acids(FAs) provide energy and also can be used to trace trophic relationships among organisms.Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus goes into a state of aestivation during warm summer months.We examined fatty acid profiles in aestivated and non-aestivated A.japonicus using multivariate analyses(PERMANOVA,MDS,ANOSIM,and SIMPER).The results indicate that the fatty acid profiles of aestivated and non-aestivated sea cucumbers differed significantly.The FAs that were produced by bacteria and brown kelp contributed the most to the differences in the fatty acid composition of aestivated and nonaestivated sea cucumbers.Aestivated sea cucumbers may synthesize FAs from heterotrophic bacteria during early aestivation,and long chain FAs such as eicosapentaenoic(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA) that produced from intestinal degradation,are digested during deep aestivation.Specific changes in the fatty acid composition of A.japonicus during aestivation needs more detailed study in the future.