Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles as nanoprobes for bioimaging.

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are a class of nanomaterials composed of lanthanide ions with great potential for paraclinical applications, especially in laboratory and imaging sciences. UCNPs have tunable optical properties and the ability to convert long-wavelength (low energy) excitation light into short-wavelength (high energy) emission in the ultraviolet (UV)-visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions. The core-shell structure of UCNPs can be customized through chemical synthesis to meet the needs of different applications.

Chronic low salinity stress rescued masculinization effect in farmed Cynoglossus semilaevis population.

Salinity, being an indispensable abiotic factor crucial for the survival of marine organisms, has demonstrated diverse alterations globally in response to the current trend of global warming. In this study, the effect of chronic low salinity stress on teleosts' sex differentiation was investigated using Cynoglossus semilaevis, an economically important fish with both genetic and environmental sex determination system. The cultivation experiment was conducted employing artificially simulated seawater of 20 ppt and ambient sea water of 30 ppt to rear juveniles C.

Functionalized Nanomaterials Capable of Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a specialized semipermeable structure that highly regulates exchanges between the central nervous system parenchyma and blood vessels. Thus, the BBB also prevents the passage of various forms of therapeutic agents, nanocarriers, and their cargos. Recently, many multidisciplinary studies focus on developing cargo-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) to overcome these challenges, which are emerging as safe and effective vehicles in neurotheranostics.

Polymeric Dendrimers as Nanocarrier Vectors for Neurotheranostics.

Dendrimers are polymers with well-defined 3D branched structures that are vastly utilized in various neurotheranostics and biomedical applications, particularly as nanocarrier vectors. Imaging agents can be loaded into dendrimers to improve the accuracy of diagnostic imaging processes. Likewise, combining pharmaceutical agents and anticancer drugs with dendrimers can enhance their solubility, biocompatibility, and efficiency.

LncRNA-mRNA integrated profiling analysis in response to white spot syndrome virus in hepatopancreas in Penaeus japonicus.

Penaeus japonicas is an important shrimp species, which is exposed to stressors including a variety of epidemic diseases. To date, little is known about the mechanisms involved in the response to white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) mediated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). A total of 6544 putative lncRNAs were identified in the hepatopancreas in P.

Construction of a high-density linkage map and detection of sex-specific markers in .

is one of the most important farmed shrimp species in many countries. Sexual dimorphism is observed in , in which females grow faster and larger than males; therefore, a unisexual female culture of could improve the efficiency of productivity. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying sex determination in are unclear.

High throughput sequencing of 18S rRNA and its gene to characterize a Prorocentrum shikokuense (Dinophyceae) bloom.

Comparing phytoplankton non-bloom and bloom communities using rRNA and its coding gene can help understand the shift of dominant species and its driving processes (e.g., intrinsic growth or grazing).

Integrative analysis reveals pathways associated with sex reversal in .

Sex reversal is a complex biological phenomenon exhibited by . Some genetic females may irreversibly convert to pseudomales, thus increasing aquaculture costs because males grow much more slowly than females. In this study, an integrative analysis of transcriptome and proteome was performed to compare differences in gene and protein expression in females and pseudomales after gonad differentiation in .

Genomic Prediction of Columnaris Disease Resistance in Catfish.

Catfish is an important aquaculture species in the USA. Columnaris disease is distributed worldwide, affecting a wide variety of fish species including catfish . It leads to huge economic losses each year to the US catfish industry.

A carotenoid oxygenase is responsible for muscle coloration in scallop.

As lipid microconstituents mainly of plant origin, carotenoids are essential nutrients for humans and animals, and carotenoid coloration represents an important meat quality parameter for many farmed animals. Currently, the mechanism of carotenoid bioavailability in animals is largely unknown mainly due to the limited approaches applied, the shortage of suitable model systems and the restricted taxonomic focus. The mollusk Yesso scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis) possessing orange adductor muscle with carotenoid deposition, provides a unique opportunity to research the mechanism underlying carotenoid utilization in animals.

Combined QTL and Genome Scan Analyses With the Help of 2b-RAD Identify Growth-Associated Genetic Markers in a New Fast-Growing Carp Strain.

Common carp is one of the oldest and most popular cultured freshwater fish species both globally and in China. In a previous study, we used a carp strain with a long breeding tradition in China, named Huanghe, to create a new fast-growing strain by selection for fast growth for 6 years. The growth performance at 8 months of age has been improved by 20.

Predicting Growth Traits with Genomic Selection Methods in Zhikong Scallop (Chlamys farreri).

Selective breeding is a common and effective approach for genetic improvement of aquaculture stocks with parental selection as the key factor. Genomic selection (GS) has been proposed as a promising tool to facilitate selective breeding. Here, we evaluated the predictability of four GS methods in Zhikong scallop (Chlamys farreri) through real dataset analyses of four economical traits (e.

New locus reveals the genetic architecture of sex reversal in the Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis).

Sex reversal in insects, amphibians, reptiles, and fishes is a complicated and interesting biological phenomenon. Sex reversal changes the sex ratio of populations and may complicate breeding schemes. In the Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis), genetic females may change into pseudomales, thereby increasing aquaculture costs because of the lower growth rate of the males than that of the females.

An efficient unified model for genome-wide association studies and genomic selection.

Background: A quantitative trait is controlled both by major variants with large genetic effects and by minor variants with small effects. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are an efficient approach to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL), and genomic selection (GS) with high-density single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can achieve higher accuracy of estimated breeding values than conventional best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP). GWAS and GS address different aspects of quantitative traits, but, as statistical models, they are quite similar in their description of the genetic mechanisms that underlie quantitative traits.

Scallop genome provides insights into evolution of bilaterian karyotype and development.

Reconstructing the genomes of bilaterian ancestors is central to our understanding of animal evolution, where knowledge from ancient and/or slow-evolving bilaterian lineages is critical. Here we report a high-quality, chromosome-anchored reference genome for the scallop Patinopecten yessoensis, a bivalve mollusc that has a slow-evolving genome with many ancestral features. Chromosome-based macrosynteny analysis reveals a striking correspondence between the 19 scallop chromosomes and the 17 presumed ancestral bilaterian linkage groups at a level of conservation previously unseen, suggesting that the scallop may have a karyotype close to that of the bilaterian ancestor.

Single Locus Maintains Large Variation of Sex Reversal in Half-Smooth Tongue Sole ().

Sex determination is a fundamental biological process for individual sex development and population sex ratios. However, for some species, the primary sex might be altered during development, and individuals can develop into the opposite sex. Sex reversal may happen in insects, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.

Genome-wide SNP identification for the construction of a high-resolution genetic map of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus): applications to QTL mapping of Vibrio anguillarum disease resistance and comparative genomic analysis.

High-resolution genetic maps are essential for fine mapping of complex traits, genome assembly, and comparative genomic analysis. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the primary molecular markers used for genetic map construction. In this study, we identified 13,362 SNPs evenly distributed across the Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) genome.

A novel genomic selection method combining GBLUP and LASSO.

Genetic prediction of quantitative traits is a critical task in plant and animal breeding. Genomic selection is an accurate and efficient method of estimating genetic merits by using high-density genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP). In the framework of linear mixed models, we extended genomic best linear unbiased prediction (GBLUP) by including additional quantitative trait locus (QTL) information that was extracted from high-throughput SNPs by using least absolute shrinkage selection operator (LASSO).

The fate of recent duplicated genes following a fourth-round whole genome duplication in a tetraploid fish, common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Whole genome duplication (WGD) results in extensive genetic redundancy. In plants and yeast, WGD is followed by rapid gene deletions and intense expression differentiation with slow functional divergence. However, the early evolution of the gene differentiation processes is poorly understood in vertebrates because almost all studied WGDs are extremely ancient, and the genomes have returned to a diploid status.

High-resolution linkage and quantitative trait locus mapping aided by genome survey sequencing: building up an integrative genomic framework for a bivalve mollusc.

Genetic linkage maps are indispensable tools in genetic and genomic studies. Recent development of genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) methods holds great promise for constructing high-resolution linkage maps in organisms lacking extensive genomic resources. In the present study, linkage mapping was conducted for a bivalve mollusc (Chlamys farreri) using a newly developed GBS method-2b-restriction site-associated DNA (2b-RAD).

EMBRYONIC FACTOR 31 encodes a tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase that is essential for seed development.

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) involve the process of catalyzing the ligation of specific amino acids to their cognate tRNAs. Here we identified an Arabidopsis mutant embryonic factor 31 (fac31), its embryos arrested at development from one cell to globular stage. The FAC31 gene was identified by positional cloning and confirmed by a genetic complementation test with two independent T-DNA insertion lines and transgenic rescue with full-length genomic DNA.

[Genomic selection and its application].

Selective breeding is very important in agricultural production and breeding value estimation is the core of selective breeding. With the development of genetic markers, especially high throughput genotyping technology, it becomes available to estimate breeding value at genome level, i.e.

Rates and patterns of microsatellite mutations in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.).

During genotyping 150 microsatellites in a F1 family of common carp, six mutations were found at five microsatellite loci. The overall mutation rate of common carp microsatellites was 2.53 X 10(-4) per locus per generation.