Liquid‒liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a ubiquitous process in which proteins, RNA, and biomolecules assemble into membrane-less compartments, playing important roles in many biological functions and diseases. The current knowledge on the biophysical and biochemical principles of LLPS is largely from in vitro studies; however, the physiological environment in living cells is complex and not at equilibrium. The characteristics of intracellular dynamics and their roles in physiological LLPS remain to be resolved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntracellular transport is the basis for the transfer of matter, energy, and information in cells and is critical to many cellular functions. Within the nonequilibrium environment of living cells, the transport behaviours are far from the traditional motion in liquid but are more complex and active. With the advantage of high spatial and temporal resolution, the single-particle tracking (SPT) method is widely utilized and has achieved great advances in revealing intracellular transport dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Schistosomiasis is very common in the southern part of the Yangtze River Basin in China. It is mainly manifested as appendicitis, ulcers, hematomas, and thickening of the intestinal tract. Schistosomiasis of the appendix is rare, mainly manifested as appendicitis, which is easy to be misdiagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpen Med (Wars)
April 2020
Aim: The aim of this study is to explain the effects of miRNA-186 in renal injury induced by sepsis.
Methods: The Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups: the Sham group, Sepsis model group and the miRNA-186 group based on the model group; there were 9 rats in every group. The rat sepsis model was reproduced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP).
Telomeres are specific nucleoprotein structures that are located at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes and play crucial roles in genomic stability. Telomere DNA consists of simple repeats of a short G-rich sequence: TTAGGG in mammals and TTTAGGG in most plants. In recent years, the mammalian telomeric G-rich repeats have been shown to form G-quadruplex (G4) structures, which are crucial for modulating telomere functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyosin light chain isoform 1 (MLC1) is reported to be a novel allergen in crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). However, little information is available about its allergic epitopes. In this study, recombinant crayfish MLC1 (rMLC1) was expressed and confirmed by mass spectrometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGuanine (G) quadruplexes (G4s) can be formed by G-rich sequences when stabilized by the binding of cations (typically K or Na) and play an essential role in replication, recombination, transcription, and telomere maintenance. Understanding of the G4 folding process is crucial for determining their cellular functions. However, G4-K interactions and folding pathways are still not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNorthwestern China has a wealth of endemic species, which has been hypothesized to be affected by the complex paleoclimatic and paleogeographic history during Quaternary. In this paper, we used as a model to address the evolutionary history and current population genetic structure of species in northwestern China. We employed two chloroplast DNA fragments (16 and B-I), one nuclear DNA fragment (ITS), and simple sequence repeat (SSRs) to investigate the spatial genetic pattern of .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mud crab ( Scylla paramamosain) is widely consumed but can cause a severe food allergic reaction. To reduce allergenicity to arginine kinase (AK), site-directed mutagenesis was used to destroy disulfide bonds or mutate critical amino acids of conformational epitopes. Three hypoallergenic mutant AKs (mAK1, mAK2, and mAK3) were generated, with the immunoreactivity decreasing by 54.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Scylla paramamosain is one of the most common and serious food allergens in Asia. Therefore, research on its prevalence, accurate diagnosis, and IgE-binding pattern of the allergens is crucial.
Objective: To identify the IgE epitopes of the myosinogen allergens in S.
Mud crab ( Scylla serrata), which is widely consumed, can cause severe allergic symptoms. Eight linear epitopes and seven conformational epitopes of tropomyosin (TM) from S. serrata were identified using phage display.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Tianshan Mountains, located in arid Central Asia, have a humid climate and are biodiversity hotspots. Here, we aimed to clarify whether the pattern of species diversity and the phylogenetic structure of plant communities is affected by environmental variables and glacial refugia. In this study, plant community assemblies of 17 research sites with a total of 35 sample plots were investigated at the grassland/woodland boundaries on the Tianshan Mountains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Tianshan Mountains play a significant role in the Central Asian flora and vegetation. Lagochilus has a distribution concentration in Tianshan Mountains and Central Asia. To investigate generic spatiotemporal evolution, we sampled most Lagochilus species and sequenced six cpDNA locations (rps16, psbA-trnH, matK, trnL-trnF, psbB-psbH, psbK-psbI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriosephosphate isomerase (TIM) is a key enzyme in glycolysis and has been identified as an allergen in saltwater products. In this study, TIM with a molecular mass of 28 kDa was purified from the freshwater crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) muscle. A 90-kDa protein that showed IgG/IgE cross-reactivity with TIM was purified and identified as filamin C (FLN c), which is an actin-binding protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn China, species of Atraphaxis (Polygonaceae) primarily inhabit arid zones across temperate steppe and desert regions. The complex geologic history (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBased on two chloroplast DNA sequences, psbA-trnH and trnT-trnF, phylogeographical patterns of a desert shrub, Ephedra przewalskii, were examined across most of its geographic range in northwestern China. A total of sixteen haplotypes were detected. There was a common haplotype in each basin, that was haplotype A in Tarim Basin, haplotype G in Junggar Basin, and haplotype M in Qaidam Basin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComplex geological movements more or less affected or changed floristic structures, while the alternation of glacials and interglacials is presumed to have further shaped the present discontinuous genetic pattern of temperate plants. Here we consider Capparis spinosa, a xeromorphic Tethyan relict, to discuss its divergence pattern and explore how it responded in a stepwise fashion to Pleistocene geologic and climatic changes. 267 individuals from 31 populations were sampled and 24 haplotypes were identified, based on three cpDNA fragments (trnL-trnF, rps12-rpl20, and ndhF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA previous study demonstrated that birds that are exposed to light at night develop advanced reproductive systems. However, spectrum might also affect the photoperiodic response of birds. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of spectral composition on the growth and reproductive physiology of female breeders, using pure light-emitting diode spectra.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany cases of intercontinental disjunct distributions of seed plants have been investigated, however few have concerned the continents of Eurasia (mainly Central Asia), Africa, and Australia, especially the xerophytic lineages are lacking. Nitraria (Nitrariaceae) is just one of these xerophytic lineages. Previous Nitraria studies have hypothesized either Africa as the ancient center, with dispersals to Australia and Eurasia, or alternatively Central Asia, due to a concentration of endemism and diversity there.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThermopsideae has 45 species and exhibits a series of interesting biogeographical distribution patterns, such as Madrean-Tethyan disjunction and East Asia-North America disjunction, with a center of endemism in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau (QTP) and Central Asia. Phylogenetic analysis in this paper employed maximum likelihood using ITS, rps16, psbA-trnH, and trnL-F sequence data; biogeographical approaches included BEAST molecular dating and Bayesian dispersal and vicariance analysis (S-DIVA). The results indicate that the core genistoides most likely originated in Africa during the Eocene to Oligocene, ca.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Central Asian flora plays a significant role in Eurasia and the Northern Hemisphere. Calophaca, a member of this flora, includes eight currently recognized species, and is centered in Central Asia, with some taxa extending into adjacent areas. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus utilizing nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid trnS-trnG and rbcL sequences was carried out in order to confirm its taxonomic status and reconstruct its evolutionary history.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZygophyllum xanthoxylon, a desert species, displaying a broad east-west continuous distribution pattern in arid Northwestern China, can be considered as a model species to investigate the biogeographical history of this region. We sequenced two chloroplast DNA spacers (psbK-psbI and rpl32-trnL) in 226 individuals from 31 populations to explore the phylogeographical structure. Median-joining network was constructed and analysis of AMOVA, SMOVA, neutrality tests and distribution analysis were used to examine genetic structure and potential range expansion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClimatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene are usually considered as a significant factor in shaping intraspecific genetic variation and influencing demographic histories. To well-understand these processes in desert northwest China, we selected arid adapted Atraphaxis frutescens as the study species. Two cpDNA regions (psbK-psbI, psbB-psbH) were sequenced in 272 individuals from 33 natural populations across the range of this shrub, and 10 haplotypes were identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 210Pb(ex) activities and nutrient (TOC, TN and TP) contents in sediment cores of Fuxian Lake and Dianchi Lake were measured by traditional methods, as well as their vertical distribution and relationship were also comparatively analyzed in this paper. The study results indicated that the vertical distributions of 210Pb(ex) and nutrients were significantly different between Fuxian Lake and Dianchi Lake. The variation amplitude of 210Pb(ex) activities in Dianchi Lake was higher than that in Fuxian Lake.
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