Gene expression profiles of hepatic cell-type specific marker genes in progression of liver fibrosis

AIM: To determine the gene expression profile data for the whole liver during development of dimethylni-trosamine (DMN)-induced hepatic fibrosis.METHODS: Marker genes were identified for different types of hepatic cells, including hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), Kupffer cells (including other inflammatory cells), and hepatocytes, using independent temporal DNA microarray data obtained from isolated hepatic cells. RESULTS: The cell-type analysis of gene expression gave several key results and led to formation of three hypotheses: (1) changes in the expression of HSC-specific marker genes during fibrosis were similar to gene expression data in in vitro cultured HSCs, suggesting a major role of the self-activating characteristics of HSCs in formation of fibrosis; (2) expression of mast cell-specific marker genes reached a peak during liver fibrosis, suggesting a possible role of mast cells in formation of fibrosis; and (3) abnormal expression of hepatocyte-specific marker genes was found across several metabolic pathways during fibrosis, including sulfur-containing amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and drug metabolism, suggesting a mechanistic relationship between these abnormalities and symptoms of liver fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Analysis of marker genes for specific hepatic cell types can identify the key aspects of fibro-genesis. Sequential activation of inflammatory cells and the self-supporting properties of HSCs play an important role in development of fibrosis.

Application of Functional Markers to Identify Genes for Bacterial Blight Resistance in Oryza rufipogon

Field resistances of nine accessions of common wild rice （Oryza rufipogon Griff.） and one rice variety （IR24） were evaluated by using nine strains of bacterial blight pathogen （Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae） from the Philippines. IR24 was highly susceptible to all the strains, and six common wild rice accessions resisted all the nine strains, with a resistance frequency of 67%. The accessions Yulin and Wanning were only susceptible to PXO280 and PXO71, respectively. The accession Gaozhou was susceptible to the three strains PXO79, PXO99 and PXO339, whereas resistant to the other six strains. It could be concluded that there is at least one resistance gene in each common wild rice accession. The functional markers of the genes xa5, xa13, Xa21 and Xa27 were used to detect the presence of these resistance genes in the nine tested wild rice accessions, and it was found that four wild rice accessions contained heterozygous xa13. Among the nine common wild rice accessions, five were homozygous for Xa27 and three homozygous for xa27, and the accession Laibin contained neither xa27 nor Xa27. In addition, there were no xa5 and Xa21 in all of these accessions.

The transcriptional landscape of the developmental switch from regular pollen maturation towards microspore-derived plant regeneration in barley

Plant formation from in vitro-cultivated microspores involves a complex network of internal and environmental factors.Haploids/doubled haploids(DHs)derived from in vitro-cultured microspores are widely used in plant breeding and genetic engineering.However,the mechanism underlying the developmental switch from regular pollen maturation towards microspore-derived plant regeneration remains poorly defined.Here,RNA-sequencing was employed to elucidate the transcriptional landscapes of four early stages of microspore embryogenesis(ME)in barley cultivars Golden Promise and Igri,which exhibit contrasting responsiveness to microspore-derived plant formation.Our experiments revealed fundamental regulatory networks,specific groups of genes,and transcription factor(TF)families potentially regulating the developmental switch.We identified a set of candidate genes crucial for genotype-dependent responsiveness/recalcitrance to ME.Our high-resolution temporal transcriptome atlas provides an important resource for future functional studies on the genetic control of microspore developmental transition.

Computational prediction and experimental validation of novel markers for detection of STEC O157:H7

AIM:To identify and assess the novel makers for detection of Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 with an integrated computational and experimental approach. METHODS:High-throughput NCBI blast (E-value cutoff e-5) was used to search homologous genes among all sequenced prokaryotic genomes of each gene encoded in each of the three strains of STEC O157:H7 with complete genomes,aiming to find unique genes in O157:H7 as its potential markers. To ensure that the identified markers from the three strains of STEC O157:H7 can serve as general markers for all the STEC O157:H7 strains,a genomic barcode approach was used to select the markers to minimize the possibility of choosing a marker gene as part of a transposable element. Effectiveness of the markers predicted was then validated by running polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on 18 strains of O157:H7 with 5 additional genomes used as negative controls. RESULTS:The blast search identified 20,16 and 20 genes,respectively,in the three sequenced strains of STEC O157:H7,which had no homologs in any of the other prokaryotic genomes. Three genes,wzy,Z0372 and Z0344,common to the three gene lists,were selected based on the genomic barcode approach. PCR showed an identification accuracy of 100% on the 18 tested strains and the 5 controls. CONCLUSION:The three identified novel markers,wzy,Z0372 and Z0344,are highly promising for the detection of STEC O157:H7,in complementary to the known markers.

Construction of Expression Vector Capable of Excising Selectable Marker Gene

[ Objective] This study was to construct an expression vector capable of excising selectable marker gene, further eliminating the effect of marker gene on the functional study of target gene. [ Method] By using Cre/LoxP site-specific recombination system, DsRed2-1 vector was modified by introducing LoxP se- quence and multiple cloning site sequence, then the TK gene was ligated into this vector for negative selection. [ Results] The fragments introduced were recom- bined at the molecular level under induced condition, and the specific red fluorescence was also observed in the recombinant vector transfected cells at the cellular level. [ Conclusion] It is feasible to use this Cre/loxP system to excise marker genes, showing a broad application prospect.

Serial changes in expression of functionally clustered genes in progression of liver fibrosis in hepatitis C patients

AIM: To investigate the relationship of changes in expression of marker genes in functional categories or molecular networks comprising one functional category or multiple categories in progression of hepatic fibrosis in hepatitis C (HCV) patients. METHODS: Marker genes were initially identified using DNA microarray data from a rat liver fibrosis model. The expression level of each fibrosis associated marker gene was analyzed using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in clinical biopsy specimens from HCV-positive patients (n = 61). Analysis of changes in expression patterns and interactions of marker genes in functional categories was used to assess the biological mechanism of fibrosis. RESULTS: The profile data showed several biological changes associated with progression of hepatic fibrosis. Clustered genes in functional categories showed sequential changes in expression. Several sets of clustered genes, including those related to the extracellular matrix (ECM), inflammation, lipid metabolism, steroid metabolism, and some transcription factors important for hepatic biology showed expression changes in the immediate early phase (F1/F2) of fibrosis. Genes associated with aromatic amino acid (AA) metabolism, sulfur-containing AA metabolism and insulin/ Wnt signaling showed expression changes in the middle phase (F2/F3), and some genes related to glucose metabolism showed altered expression in the late phase of fibrosis (F3/F4). Therefore, molecular networks showing serial changes in gene expression are present in liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C patients. CONCLUSION: Analysis of gene expression profiles from a perspective of functional categories or molecular networks provides an understanding of disease and suggests new diagnostic methods. Selected marker genes have potential utility for biological identification of advanced fibrosis.

Identification of a RAPD marker linked to a blast resistance gene in Oryza sativa L

Marker-aided selection has received more attention in recent years. This relies on the exploitation of dose linkage between molecular markers and target gene(s). We report here a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker tightly linked to the blast resistance gene Pi-ll(t) derived from Hongjiaozhan, which confers the resistance to race ZB1 of Pyricularia oryzae Cav.

Mapping of putative sucking inhibitory gene to whitebacked planthopper by linkage analysis with CAPS markers

Resistance to whitebacked planthopper(WBPH)in Chinese japonica riceChunjiang 06(CJ-06)was mediated by sucking inhibitory and ovicidal mecha-nism.The ovicidal reponse was a common self-defense mechanism againstWBPH in japonica.The ovicidal gene and its chromosomal position had alreadybeen identified.The sucking inhibitory nature of CJ-06 caused a definenon-preference behavior of WBPH in fields.A single dominant gene governed

Single-cell and spatial heterogeneity landscapes of mature epicardial cells

Tbx18,Wt1,and Tcf21 have been identified as epicardial markers during the early embryonic stage.However,the gene markers of mature epicardial cells remain unclear.Single-cell transcriptomic analysis was performed with the Seurat,Monocle,and CellphoneDB packages in R software with standard procedures.Spatial transcriptomics was performed on chilled Visium Tissue Optimization Slides(10x Genomics)and Visium Spatial Gene Expression Slides(10x Genomics).Spatial transcriptomics analysis was performed with Space Ranger software and R software.Immunofluorescence,whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization and X-gal staining were performed to validate the analysis results.Spatial transcriptomics analysis revealed distinct transcriptional profiles and functions between epicardial tissue and non-epicardial tissue.Several gene markers specific to postnatal epicardial tissue were identified,including Msln,C3,Efemp1,and Upk3b.Single-cell transcriptomic analysis revealed that cardiac cells from wildtype mouse hearts(from embryonic day 9.5 to postnatal day 9)could be categorized into six major cell types,which included epicardial cells.Throughout epicardial development,Wt1,Tbx18,and Upk3b were consistently expressed,whereas genes including Msln,C3,and Efemp1 exhibited increased expression during the mature stages of development.Pseudotime analysis further revealed two epicardial cell fates during maturation.Moreover,Upk3b,Msln,Efemp1,and C3 positive epicardial cells were enriched in extracellular matrix signaling.Our results suggested Upk3b,Efemp1,Msln,C3,and other genes were mature epicardium markers.Extracellular matrix signaling was found to play a critical role in the mature epicardium,thus suggesting potential therapeutic targets for heart regeneration in future clinical practice.

Diversity,community structure,and quantity of eukaryotic phytoplankton revealed using 18S rRNA and plastid 16S rRNA genes and pigment markers:a case study of the Pearl River Estuary

Understanding consistencies and discrepancies in characterizing diversity and quantity of phytoplankton is essential for better modeling ecosystem change.In this study,eukaryotic phytoplankton in the Pearl River Estuary,South China Sea were investigated using nuclear 18S rRNA and plastid 16S or 23S rRNA genes and pigment analysis.It was found that 18S abundance poorly explained the variations in total chlorophyll a(Chl-a).However,the ratios of log-transformed 18S abundance to Chl-a in the major phytoplankton groups were generally environment dependent,suggesting that the ratio has potential as an indicator of the physiological state of phytoplankton.The richness of 18S-based operational taxonomic units was positively correlated with the richness of 16S-based amplicon sequence variants of the whole phytoplankton community,but insignifcant or weak for individual phytoplankton groups.Overall,the 18S based,rather than the 16S based,community structure had a greater similarity to pigment-based estimations.Relative to the pigment data,the proportion of haptophytes in the 18S dataset,and diatoms and cryptophytes in the 16S dataset,were underestimated.This study highlights that 18S metabarcoding tends to refect biomass-based community organization of eukaryotic phytoplankton.Because there were lower copy numbers of plastid 16S than 18S per genome,metabarcoding of 16S probably approximates cell abundance-based community organization.Changes in biomass organization of the pigment-based community were sensitive to environmental changes.Taken together,multiple methodologies are recommended to be applied to more accurately profle the diversity and community composition of phytoplankton in natural ecosystems.

Research Progress on Mechanized Mixed Sowing Seed Production Technology of Hybrid Rice

Hybrid rice planting has been widely popularized and applied in the world. However, the high cost of seed production and the complicated procedures have become a bottleneck in the development of hybrid rice. The research progress on mixed sowing seed production techniques of hybrid rice was introduced from the aspects of rice resources creation, breeding, sowing seed technology research and cost benefit analysis. The production technology of the new mixed seeding combina- tion ＂Xinhunyou 6＂ was investigated, including the research and validation of benta- zon treatment period and dosage, mixing ratio of male and female parents, and the comparative test of different different sowing methods, which revealed that the mechanization technology of seed production of hybrid rice was mature and feasible and would be one of the most important development trend of technological devel- opment of hybrid rice production.

Single-cell transcriptome analysis reveals a cancer-associated fibroblast marker gene signature in hepatocellular carcinoma that predicts prognosis

Background and aims:Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is one of the leading causes of cancer death.Multi-pathway combination therapy is used to treat HCC,and immunotherapy is also a routine part of treatment.As a major component of the tumor microenvironment(TME),cancer-associated fibroblasts(CAFs)actively participate in cancer progression through complex functions.However,because CAFs dynamically change during cancer development,most of the current treatment strategies targeting CAFs fail.We created a prognostic CAF marker gene signature(CAFMGS)to investigate the utility of CAFs as a prognostic factor and therapeutic target.Methods:Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)single-cell RNA sequencing(Sc-RNA-seq)data were analyzed to identify CAF marker genes in HCC.The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database was used as a training cohort to construct the CAFMGS model and the International Cancer Genome Consortium(ICGC)dataset was used to validate the CAFMGS.Results:Marker genes in the CAFMGS model were(0.0001-SPP1),(0.0084-VCX3A),(0.0015-HMGA1),(0.0082-PLOD2),and(0.0075-CACYBP).The CAFMGS_score was separated into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the median of the patients’OS.Univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that CAFMGS_score was an independent prognostic factor in the training group.CAFMGS_score was a more accurate prognostic indicator compared with clinicopathological score and tumor mutational burden score.Conclusion:CAFMGS offers a fresh perspective on stromal cell marker genes in HCC prognosis and expands our knowledge of CAF heterogeneity and functional diversity,perhaps paving the way for CAF-targeted immunotherapy in HCC patients.

Survival of Pseudomonas fluorescence X16(luxAB)Strain in Soils Accumulated with Mixed Rare Earth Elements

Rare earth elements(REE)are applied as micro-fertilizer in large scale in China and there is growing concern about the environmental effects of REE accumulation in soils. Accumulation of REE was simulated in lab by adding REE to three soils and the survival of Pseudomonas fluorescence X16 strain marked with luxAB gene in soils was detected. Curvilinear regression method was applied to analyze the survival pattern. The stimulation values, EC_(50) and NOEC values for X16 strain were calculated to compare the toxic intensity of REE in different soils. The stimulation(peak)values in red soil, yellow fluovo-aquic soil and yellow cinnamon soil, are 11.55～18.08,(0～2.13), 2.37～4.62 mg·kg^(-1) , respectively. EC_(50) values are 13.47～39.12, 6.59～56.18, 372～1034 (mg·kg^(-1)), respectively.NOEC values are 5.62 ～21.41, 0.00～4.53, 133.3～327.1 mg·kg^(-1), respectively. Tangents values of regression equation of the survival of X16 strain in red soil are the maximum ones indicating that REE accumulation in red soil has stronger inhibitory effects than in other two soils. The soil order, reflecting toxic intensity of REE is as follows: red soil>yellow fluovic-aquic soil>yellow cinnamon soil.

Profile of biological characterizations and clinical application of corneal stem/progenitor cells

Corneal stem/progenitor cells are typical adult stem/progenitor cells.The human cornea covers the front of the eyeball,which protects the eye from the outside environment while allowing vision.The location and function demand the cornea to maintain its transparency and to continuously renew its epithelial surface by replacing injured or aged cells through a rapid turnover process in which corneal stem/progenitor cells play an important role.Corneal stem/progenitor cells include mainly corneal epithelial stem cells,corneal endothelial cell progenitors and corneal stromal stem cells.Since the discovery of corneal epithelial stem cells(also known as limbal stem cells)in 1971,an increasing number of markers for corneal stem/progenitor cells have been proposed,but there is no consensus regarding the definitive markers for them.Therefore,the identification,isolation and cultivation of these cells remain challenging without a unified approach.In this review,we systematically introduce the profile of biological characterizations,such as anatomy,characteristics,isolation,cultivation and molecular markers,and clinical applications of the three categories of corneal stem/progenitor cells.

EXPRESSION OF rhBMP-7 GENE IN TRANSDUCED BONE MARROW DERIVED STROMAL CELLS

OBJECTIVE: To explore the possibility of expression of exogenous gene in transduced bone marrow derived stromal cells (BMSCs). METHODS: The marker gene, pbLacZ, was transferred into cultured BMSCs and the expression of transduced gene by X-gal staining was examined. Then plasmid pcDNA3-rhBMP7 was delivered to cultured BMSCs. Through immunohistochemical staining and RT-PCR assay, the expression of rhBMP7 gene was detected. RESULTS: The exogenous gene could be expressed efficiently in transduced BMSCs. CONCLUSION: The present study provided a theoretical basis to gene therapy on the problems of bone and cartilage tissue.

A Modified Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm for Tumor Marker Gene Selection

Microarray data are often extremely asymmetric in dimensionality, such as thousands or even tens of thousands of genes but only a few hundreds of samples or less. Such extreme asymmetry between the dimensionality of genes and samples can lead to inaccurate diagnosis of disease in clinic. Therefore, it has been shown that selecting a small set of marker genes can lead to improved classification accuracy. In this paper, a simple modified ant colony optimization （ACO） algorithm is proposed to select tumorelated marker genes, and support vector machine （SVM） is used as classifier to evaluate the performance of the extracted gene subset. Experimental results on several benchmark tumor microarray datasets showed that the proposed approach produces better recognition with fewer marker genes than many other methods. It has been demonstrated that the modified ACO is a useful tool for selecting marker genes and mining high dimension data

Verification of Bacteroidales 16S rRNA markers as a complementary tool for detecting swine fecal pollution in the Yangtze Delta

To correctly assess and properly manage the public health risks associated with exposure to contaminated water,it is necessary to identify the source of fecal pollution in a watershed.In this study,we evaluated the efficacy of our two previously developed real time-quantitative PCR(qPCR)assays for the detection of swine-associated Bacteroidales genetic markers(gene 1-38,gene 3-53)in the Yangtze Delta watershed of southeastern China.The results indicated that the gene 1-38 and 3-53 markers exhibited high accuracy(92.5%,91.7%conditional probability,respectively)in detecting Bacteroidales spp.in water samples.According to binary logistic regression(BLR),these two swine-associated markers were well correlated(P<0.05)with fecal indicators(Escherichia coli and Enterococci spp.)and zoonotic pathogens(E.coli O157:H7,Salmonella spp.and Campylobacter spp.)in water samples.In contrast,concentrations of conventional fecal indicator bacteria(FIB)were not correlated with zoonotic pathogens,suggesting that they are noneffective at detecting fecal pollution events.Collectively,the results obtained in this study demonstrated that a swinetargeted qPCR assay based on two Bacteroidales genes markers(gene 1-38,gene 3-53)could be a useful tool in determining the swine-associated impacts of fecal contamination in a watershed.

Glow in the Dark： Fluorescent Proteins as Cell and Tissue-Specific Markers in Plants

Since the hallmark discovery of Aequorea victoria＇s Green Fluorescent Protein （GFP） and its adaptation for efficient use in plants, fluorescent protein tags marking expression profiles or genuine proteins of interest have been used to recognize plant tissues and cell types, to monitor dynamic cell fate selection processes, and to obtain cell type-specific transcriptomes. Fluorescent tagging enabled visualization in living tissues and the precise recordings of dy- namic expression pattern changes. The resulting accurate recording of cell fate acquisition kinetics in space and time has strongly stimulated mathematical modeling of self-organizing feedback mechanisms. In developmental studies, the use of fluorescent proteins has become critical, where morphological markers of tissues, cell types, or differentiation stages are either not known or not easily recognizable. In this review, we focus on the use of fluorescent markers to identify and illuminate otherwise invisible cell states in plant development.

A practical guide to amplicon and metagenomic analysis of microbiome data

Advances in high-throughput sequencing(HTS)have fostered rapid developments in the field of microbiome research,and massive microbiome datasets are now being generated.However,the diversity of software tools and the complexity of analysis pipelines make it difficult to access this field.Here,we systematically summarize the advantages and limitations of microbiome methods.Then,we recommend specific pipelines for amplicon and metagenomic analyses,and describe commonly-used software and databases,to help researchers select the appropriate tools.Furthermore,we introduce statistical and visualization methods suitable for microbiome analysis,including alpha-and betadiversity,taxonomic composition,difference comparisons,correlation,networks,machine learning,evolution,source tracing,and common visualization styles to help researchers make informed choices.Finally,a stepby-step reproducible analysis guide is introduced.We hope this review will allow researchers to carry out data analysis more effectively and to quickly select the appropriate tools in order to efficiently mine the biological significance behind the data.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals a high-resolution cell atlas of xylem in Populus

High-throughputsingle-cellRNAsequencing(sc RNA-seq) has advantages over traditional RNA-seq to explore spatiotemporal information on gene dynamic expressions in heterogenous tissues. We performed Drop-seq, a method for the dropwise sequestration of single cells for sequencing, on protoplasts from the differentiating xylem of Populus alba × Populus glandulosa. The sc RNA-seq profiled9,798 cells, which were grouped into 12 clusters.Through characterization of differentially expressed genes in each cluster and RNA in situ hybridizations,we identified vessel cells, fiber cells, ray parenchyma cells and xylem precursor cells. Diffusion pseudotime analyses revealed the differentiating trajectory of vessels, fiber cells and ray parenchyma cells and indicated a different differentiation process between vessels and fiber cells, and a similar differentiation process between fiber cells and ray parenchyma cells. We identified marker genes for each cell type(cluster) and key candidate regulators during developmental stages of xylem cell differentiation. Our study generates a high-resolution expression atlas of wood formation at the single cell level and provides valuable information on wood formation.