水稻组织特异性蛋白质相互作用网络构建方法

组织特异的基因表达和蛋白质相互作用是研究基因调控、蛋白质功能、细胞过程的重要部分.相较于其他模式生物在蛋白质相互作用研究方面的进展,高等模式植物水稻中组织特异性蛋白质相互作用的研究十分缺乏.因此,提出了一种用于水稻组织特异性蛋白质相互作用网络构建的计算方法.该方法主要包含三部分:第一,在统一标准下融合多数据识别组织特异的基因;第二,提出了新的同源映射方法,并集成6种模式生物相互作用数据构建和评估目标物种蛋白质相互作用网络;第三,构建不同组织的蛋白质相互作用子网,并筛选高可靠的蛋白质相互作用.为了验证方法的有效性,构建并分析了水稻首个组织特异的蛋白质相互作用网络(PTSN4R:Predicted Tissue-Specific Network for Rice). PTSN4R包含了水稻23个组织的组织特异基因及对应的组织特异蛋白质相互作用子网,为分析组织特异的基因表达和蛋白质相互作用提供了便利条件. PTSN4R有助于理解水稻的生长调控机制,为水稻增产提供线索.同时,提出的方法能够方便的应用到其他物种,促进组织特异的蛋白质相互作用网络的研究.     

Peripheral mRNA Expression and Prognostic Significance of Emotional Stress Biomarkers in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Emotional stress is believed to be associated with increased tumor progression. Stress-induced epigenetic modifications can contribute to the severity of disease and poor prognosis in cancer patients. The current study aimed to investigate the expression profiles along with the prognostic significance of psychological stress-related genes in metastatic breast cancer patients, to rationalize the molecular link between emotional stress and cancer progression. We profiled the expression of selected stress-associated genes (5-HTT, NR3C1, OXTR, and FKBP5) in breast cancer including the stress evaluation of all participants using the Questionnaire on Distress in Cancer Patients–short form (QSC-R10). A survival database, the Kaplan–Meier Plotter, was used to explore the prognostic significance of these genes in breast cancer. Our results showed relatively low expressions of 5-HTT (p = 0.02) and OXTR (p = 0.0387) in metastatic breast cancer patients as compared to the non-metastatic group of patients. The expression of NR3C1 was low in tumor grade III as compared to grade II (p = 0.04). Additionally, the expression of NR3C1 was significantly higher in patients with positive estrogen receptor status. However, no significant difference was found regarding FKBP5 expression in breast cancer. The results suggest a potential implication of these genes in breast cancer pathology and prognosis.     

Bioinformatics Analysis of RNA-seq Data Reveals Genes Related to Cancer Stem Cells in Colorectal Cancerogenesis

Cancer stem cells (CSC) play one of the crucial roles in the pathogenesis of various cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Although great efforts have been made regarding our understanding of the cancerogenesis of CRC, CSC involvement in CRC development is still poorly understood. Using bioinformatics and RNA-seq data of normal mucosa, colorectal adenoma, and carcinoma (n = 106) from GEO and TCGA, we identified candidate CSC genes and analyzed pathway enrichment analysis (PEI) and protein–protein interaction analysis (PPI). Identified CSC-related genes were validated using qPCR and tissue samples from 47 patients with adenoma, adenoma with early carcinoma, and carcinoma without and with lymph node metastasis and were compared to normal mucosa. Six CSC-related genes were identified: ANLN, CDK1, ECT2, PDGFD, TNC, and TNXB. ANLN, CDK1, ECT2, and TNC were differentially expressed between adenoma and adenoma with early carcinoma. TNC was differentially expressed in CRC without lymph node metastases whereas ANLN, CDK1, and PDGFD were differentially expressed in CRC with lymph node metastases compared to normal mucosa. ANLN and PDGFD were differentially expressed between carcinoma without and with lymph node metastasis. Our study identified and validated CSC-related genes that might be involved in early stages of CRC development (ANLN, CDK1, ECT2, TNC) and in development of metastasis (ANLN, PDGFD).     

Roles of Calcium Signaling in Gene Expression and Photosynthetic Acclimatization of Solanum lycopersicum Micro-Tom (MT) after Mechanical Damage

A momentary increase in cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ generates an oscillation responsible for the activation of proteins, such as calmodulin and kinases, which interact with reactive oxygen species (ROS) for the transmission of a stress signal. This study investigated the influence of variations in calcium concentrations on plant defense signaling and photosynthetic acclimatization after mechanical damage. Solanum lycopersicum Micro-Tom was grown with 0, 2 and 4 mM Ca²⁺, with and without mechanical damage. The expression of stress genes was evaluated, along with levels of antioxidant enzymes, hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, histochemistry, photosynthesis and dry mass of organs. The ROS production generated by mechanical damage was further enhanced by calcium-free conditions due to the inactivation of the oxygen evolution complex, contributing to an increase in reactive species. The results indicated that ROS affected mechanical damage signaling because calcium-free plants exhibited high levels of H₂O₂ and enhanced expression of kinase and RBOH1 genes, necessary conditions for an efficient response to stress. We conclude that the plants without calcium supply recognized mechanical damage but did not survive. The highest expression of the RBOH1 gene and the accumulation of H₂O₂ in these plants signaled cell death. Plants grown in the presence of calcium showed higher expression of SlCaM2 and control of H₂O₂ concentration, thus overcoming the stress caused by mechanical damage, with photosynthetic acclimatization and without damage to dry mass production.     

Conservation Study of Imprinted Genes in Maize Triparental Heterozygotic Kernels

Genomic imprinting is a classic epigenetic phenomenon related to the uniparental expression of genes. Imprinting variability exists in seeds and can contribute to observed parent-of-origin effects on seed development. Here, we conducted allelic expression of the embryo and endosperm from four crosses at 11 days after pollination (DAP). First, the F1 progeny of B73(♀) × Mo17(♂) and the inducer line CAU5 were used as parents to obtain reciprocal crosses of BM-C/C-BM. Additionally, the F1 progeny of Mo17(♀) × B73(♂) and CAU5 were used as parents to obtain reciprocal crosses of MB-C/C-MB. In total, 192 and 181 imprinted genes were identified in the BM-C/C-BM and MB-C/C-MB crosses, respectively. Then, by comparing the allelic expression of these imprinted genes in the reciprocal crosses of B73 and CAU5 (BC/CB), fifty-one Mo17-added non-conserved genes were identified as exhibiting imprinting variability. Fifty-one B73-added non-conserved genes were also identified by comparing the allelic expression of imprinted genes identified in BM-C/C-BM, MB-C/C-MB and MC/CM crosses. Specific Gene Ontology (GO) terms were not enriched in B73-added/Mo17-added non-conserved genes. Interestingly, the imprinting status of these genes was less conserved across other species. The cis-element distribution, tissue expression and subcellular location were similar between the B73-added/Mo17-added conserved and B73-added/Mo17-added non-conserved imprinted genes. Finally, genotypic and phenotypic analysis of one non-conserved gene showed that the mutation and overexpression of this gene may affect embryo and kernel size, which indicates that these non-conserved genes may also play an important role in kernel development. The findings of this study will be helpful for elucidating the imprinting mechanism of genes involved in maize kernel development.     

Circadian Rhythm Dysregulation and Leukemia Development: The Role of Clock Genes as Promising Biomarkers

The circadian clock (CC) is a daily system that regulates the oscillations of physiological processes and can respond to the external environment in order to maintain internal homeostasis. For the functioning of the CC, the clock genes (CG) act in different metabolic pathways through the clock-controlled genes (CCG), providing cellular regulation. The CC’s interruption can result in the development of different diseases, such as neurodegenerative and metabolic disorders, as well as cancer. Leukemias correspond to a group of malignancies of the blood and bone marrow that occur when alterations in normal cellular regulatory processes cause the uncontrolled proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells. This review aimed to associate a deregulated CC with the manifestation of leukemia, looking for possible pathways involving CG and their possible role as leukemic biomarkers.     

甘薯渣发酵海洋放线菌MA03产生抗黄曲霉毒素有效成分的响应面优化研究

海洋放线菌菌株MA03能够产生抗黄曲霉毒素有效成分,为了获得其最佳的发酵条件,同时探索甘薯渣资源化利用的新方法,本研究以甘薯渣为营养基质对MA03进行液体发酵,并采用响应面法优化MA03的发酵条件。利用软件Design-Expert 8.0.6通过Plackett-Burman设计,筛选出3个影响产抑制黄曲霉毒素有效成分的显著因素:海水浓度、硫酸铵浓度和接种量,然后经最陡爬坡实验逼近最大响应值区域,再利用Box-Behnken设计对显著因子进行优化。最终确定最优培养条件为:海水浓度0.64%,硫酸铵浓度3.47‰,接种量8.44%,甘薯渣浓度3%,蔗糖浓度2%,硫酸镁浓度1‰,初始p H8.5,发酵温度28℃,发酵时间10d。此条件下黄曲霉毒素抑制率预测值97.62%,对该模型进行验证,验证实验平均值为96.24%±0.38%,与预测值接近,说明该预测模型可靠性较高,可应用于MA03产抗曲霉有效成分的优化。