Enhancement of the anthocyanin contents of leaves and petioles via metabolic engineering with co-overexpression of AtPAP1 and ZmLc transcription factors.

Introduction: Metabolic engineering of anthocyanin synthesis is an active research area for pigment breeding and remains a research hotspot involving AtPAP1 and ZmLc transcription factors. is a desirable anthocyanin metabolic engineering receptor, with its abundant leaf color and stable genetic transformation system.

Methods: We transformed with and and successfully obtained transgenic plants.

An exotic plant successfully invaded as a passenger driven by light availability.

Invasive exotic plant species (IEPs) are widely distributed across the globe, but whether IEPs are drivers or passengers of habitat change in the invaded spaces remains unclear. Here, we carried out a vegetation and soil survey in 2018 and two independent field experiments ( removal in 2014 and 2015, and fertilization experiment since 2012) and found that the invasive annual was at a disadvantage in light competition compared with perennial native grasses, but the successful invasion of was due to the sufficient light resources provided by the reduced coverage of the native species. Conversely, nitrogen enrichment can effectively inhibit invasion by increasing the photocompetitive advantage of the native species.

Herpesvirus-Mimicking DNAzyme-Loaded Nanoparticles as a Mitochondrial DNA Stress Inducer to Activate Innate Immunity for Tumor Therapy.

Virus-based immunotherapy is a promising approach to treat tumor. Closely mimicking the structure and sequential infection processes of natural viruses is highly desirable for effective tumor immunotherapy but remains challenging. Here, inspired by the robust innate immunity induced by herpesvirus, a herpesvirus-mimicking nanoparticle (named Vir-ZM@TD) is engineered for tumor therapy by mimicking the structure and infection processes of herpesvirus.

A Legume Host Benefits More from Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Than a Grass Host in the Presence of a Root Hemiparasitic Plant.

In nature, most plants parasitized by root hemiparasites are also colonized by mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, highlighting the prevalence of this tripartite interaction. AM colonization is generally found to improve the growth of parasitized legumes but has little impact on grass hosts parasitized by root hemiparasites, and the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we conducted a pot experiment to test the influence of AM fungus () on the growth and photosynthesis of leguminous and gramineous in the presence of a root hemiparasitic plant ().

Preparation of formate-free PMA@MOF-808 catalysts for deep oxidative desulfurization of model fuels.

Due to the increasingly serious environmental problems caused by the combustion of sulfides in fuel, deep desulfurization of fuel became particularly urgent. Herein, the catalyst (PMA@MOF-808) of the Zr-based metal-organic framework (MOF-808) encapsulating phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) was prepared via a one-pot hydrothermal method. Besides, the formate ions of PMA@MOF-808 were removed by posttreatment with methanol, resulting in formate-free PMA@MOF-808-H catalysts with unsaturated open metal sites.

Genomes shed light on the evolution of Begonia, a mega-diverse genus.

Clarifying the evolutionary processes underlying species diversification and adaptation is a key focus of evolutionary biology. Begonia (Begoniaceae) is one of the most species-rich angiosperm genera with c. 2000 species, most of which are shade-adapted.

Boosting 5-ALA-based photodynamic therapy by a liposomal nanomedicine through intracellular iron ion regulation.

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) has been approved for clinical photodynamic therapy (PDT) due to its negligible photosensitive toxicity. However, the curative effect of 5-ALA is restricted by intracellular biotransformation inactivation of 5-ALA and potential DNA repair of tumor cells. Inspired by the crucial function of iron ions in 5-ALA transformation and DNA repair, a liposomal nanomedicine (MFLs@5-ALA/DFO) with intracellular iron ion regulation property was developed for boosting the PDT of 5-ALA, which was prepared by co-encapsulating 5-ALA and DFO (deferoxamine, a special iron chelator) into the membrane fusion liposomes (MFLs).

The bright side of parasitic plants: what are they good for?

Parasitic plants are mostly viewed as pests. This is caused by several species causing serious damage to agriculture and forestry. There is however much more to parasitic plants than presumed weeds.

Non-invasive red-light optogenetic control of Drosophila cardiac function.

Drosophila is a powerful genetic model system for cardiovascular studies. Recently, optogenetic pacing tools have been developed to control Drosophila heart rhythm noninvasively with blue light, which has a limited penetration depth. Here we developed both a red-light sensitive opsin expressing Drosophila system and an integrated red-light stimulation and optical coherence microscopy (OCM) imaging system.

FlyNet 2.0: drosophila heart 3D (2D + time) segmentation in optical coherence microscopy images using a convolutional long short-term memory neural network.

A custom convolutional neural network (CNN) integrated with convolutional long short-term memory (LSTM) achieves accurate 3D (2D + time) segmentation in cross-sectional videos of the Drosophila heart acquired by an optical coherence microscopy (OCM) system. While our previous FlyNet 1.0 model utilized regular CNNs to extract 2D spatial information from individual video frames, convolutional LSTM, FlyNet 2.

Root hemiparasitism in (Olacaceae), a neglected aspect in research of the highly valued tree species.

(Olacaceae) is a valued tree species, mostly because its seeds have high precious fatty acid content (particularly nervonic acid). However, seedling mortality rates are often high and regeneration of this tree has been problematic, which greatly hinders its utilization at a large scale. Cultivation difficulties of some tree species in the family Olacaceae have been attributed to their root hemiparasitic habit.

US-triggered ultra-sensitive "thrombus constructor" for precise tumor therapy.

Embolization therapy is an attractive strategy for antitumor therapy, especially for solid tumors. In vivo self-coagulation behavior holds great potential in a new type of tumor embolization therapy. However, spatiotemporal controllable in situ formation of thrombus in tumor is a challenge.

Sub-3 nm Rh nanoclusters confined within a metal-organic framework for enhanced hydrogen generation.

Ultrafine sub-3 nm Rh nanoclusters confined within a metal-organic framework (UIO-66) were constructed through a double-solvent host-guest strategy and achieved superior hydrogen generation via ammonia borane hydrolysis compared with Rh nanoclusters dispersed on the exterior walls.

Fast and abundant spontaneous haustorium formation in root hemiparasitic plant Maxim. (Orobanchaceae).

Haustorium formation is the characteristic feature of all parasitic plants and a vital process for successful parasitism. Previous investigations on haustorium initiation and development are constricted to induced processes by host-derived signals or synthetic analogs. Spontaneous haustorium formation in the absence of host signals, a process representing an early stage in the evolution of parasitic plants, remains largely unexplored.

Quantitative Analysis of Neuronal Dendritic Arborization Complexity in Drosophila.

Dendrites are the branched projections of a neuron, and dendritic morphology reflects synaptic organization during the development of the nervous system. Drosophila larval neuronal dendritic arborization (da) is an ideal model for studying morphogenesis of neural dendrites and gene function in the development of nervous system. There are four classes of da neurons.

Analysis of hidradenitis suppurativa-linked mutations in four genes and the effects of PSEN1-P242LfsX11 on cytokine and chemokine expression in macrophages.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), or acne inversa, is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized clinically with acne-like lesions in apocrine gland-bearing skin, follicular occlusion and recurrent inflammation. Thirty-four unique mutations in patients with HS have been found in three genes encoding the γ-secretase complex: nicastrin (NCSTN), presenilin 1 (PSEN1), presenilin enhancer 2 (PSENEN) and in POGLUT1, an endoplasmic reticulum O-glucosyltransferase involved in Notch signaling. We have carried out a system review and have performed a functional analysis of the 34 unique reported HS-linked mutations in NCSTN, PSEN1, PSENEN and POGLUT1.

N-P fertilization did not reduce AMF abundance or diversity but alter AMF composition in an alpine grassland infested by a root hemiparasitic plant.

Fertilization has been shown to have suppressive effects on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and root hemiparasites separately in numerous investigations, but its effects on AMF in the presence of root hemiparasites remain untested. In view of the contrasting nutritional effects of AMF and root hemiparasites on host plants, we tested the hypothesis that fertilization may not show strong suppressive effects on AMF when a plant community was infested by abundant hemiparasitic plants. Plants and soil samples were collected from experimental field plots in Bayanbulak Grassland, where N and P fertilizers had been applied for three continuous years for control against a spreading root hemiparasite, .

A neglected alliance in battles against parasitic plants: arbuscular mycorrhizal and rhizobial symbioses alleviate damage to a legume host by root hemiparasitic Pedicularis species.

Despite their ubiquitous distribution and significant ecological roles, soil microorganisms have long been neglected in investigations addressing parasitic plant-host interactions. Because nutrient deprivation is a primary cause of host damage by parasitic plants, we hypothesized that beneficial soil microorganisms conferring nutrient benefits to parasitized hosts may play important roles in alleviating damage. We conducted a pot cultivation experiment to test the inoculation effect of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus mosseae), a rhizobium (Rhizobium leguminosarum) and their interactive effects, on alleviation of damage to a legume host (Trifolium repens) by two root hemiparasitic plants with different nutrient requirements (N-demanding Pedicularis rex and P-demanding P.

Segmentation of Drosophila heart in optical coherence microscopy images using convolutional neural networks.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are powerful tools for image segmentation and classification. Here, we use this method to identify and mark the heart region of Drosophila at different developmental stages in the cross-sectional images acquired by a custom optical coherence microscopy (OCM) system. With our well-trained CNN model, the heart regions through multiple heartbeat cycles can be marked with an intersection over union of ~86%.

CD90 cardiac fibroblasts reduce fibrosis of acute myocardial injury in rats.

Objective: To explore the differentiation tendency of CD90 cardiac fibroblast (CFs) into cardiomyogenic cells in vitro and repair functions in acute myocardial infarction rats.

Methods: CD90 subpopulation was sorted from rat CFs by flow cytometry. 10 μmoL/L of 5-Azacytosine (5-aza) was used to induce differentiation of CFs into cardiomyogenic cells.

N-P Fertilization Inhibits Growth of Root Hemiparasite in Natural Grassland.

Fertilization has been shown to affect interactions between root hemiparasitic plants and their host plants, alleviating damage to the hosts by parasitism. However, as a majority of studies were conducted in pot cultivation, the influence of fertilizer application on root hemiparasites and the surrounding plant community in field conditions as well as relevant mechanisms remain unclear. We manipulated soil nutrient resources in a semi-arid subalpine grassland in the Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China, to explore the links between fertilization and plant community composition, productivity, survival, and growth of a weedy root hemiparasite ().

Altered expression of and in a rat model of Adriamycin-induced chronic heart failure.

A small number of cardiac stem cells that express the c-Kit and Nanog biomarkers can be differentiated into myocardial cells, which suggests that these stem cells may be able to repair damage and provide an internal reserve for tissue regeneration. It is unknown, however, whether the levels of myocardial stem cells are altered after heart failure (HF), and whether HF affects the myocardial regenerative ability. In this study, to address this question, we developed a rat model of chronic HF induced by Adriamycin, and examined the morphological changes in c-Kit and Nanog-expressing stem cells in heart tissue of normal and HF rats.

A Highly Active CoFe Layered Double Hydroxide for Water Splitting.

Highly active, cost-effective, and durable catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are required in energy conversion and storage processes. A facile synthesis of CoFe layered double hydroxide (CoFe LDH) is reported as a highly active and stable oxygen evolution catalyst. By varying the concentration of the metal ion precursor, the Co/Fe ratios of LDH products can be tuned from 0.

Silencing of the Drosophila ortholog of SOX5 leads to abnormal neuronal development and behavioral impairment.

SOX5 encodes a transcription factor that is expressed in multiple tissues including heart, lung and brain. Mutations in SOX5 have been previously found in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and developmental delay, intellectual disability and dysmorphic features. To characterize the neuronal role of SOX5, we silenced the Drosophila ortholog of SOX5, Sox102F, by RNAi in various neuronal subtypes in Drosophila.