RAB37-mediated autophagy guards ovarian homeostasis and function.

Loss of ovarian homeostasis is associated with ovary dysfunction and female diseases; however, the underlying mechanisms responsible for the establishment of homeostasis and its function in the ovary have not been fully elucidated. Here, we showed that conditional knockout of in oocytes impaired macroautophagy/autophagy proficiency in the ovary and interfered with follicular homeostasis and ovary development in mice. Flunarizine treatment upregulated autophagy, thus rescuing the impairment of follicular homeostasis and ovarian dysfunction in knockout mice by reprogramming of homeostasis.

RPGR is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase RAB37 required for retinal function via autophagy regulation.

Although the small GTPase RAB37 acts as an organizer of autophagosome biogenesis, the upstream regulatory mechanism of autophagy via guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-guanosine triphosphate (GTP) exchange in maintaining retinal function has not been determined. We found that retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor that activates RAB37 by accelerating GDP-to-GTP exchange. RPGR directly interacts with RAB37 via the RPGR-RCC1-like domain to promote autophagy through stimulating exchange.

The mechanisms of target and non-target resistance to QoIs in Corynespora Cassiicola.

Corynespora leaf spot, caused by Corynespora cassiicola, is a foliar disease in cucumber. While the application of quinone outside inhibitors (QoIs) is an effective measure for disease control, it carries the risk of resistance development. In our monitoring of trifloxystrobin resistance from 2008 to 2020, C.

Sensing platform for the highly sensitive detection of catechol based on composite coupling with conductive Ni(HITP) and nanosilvers.

Catechol, which has a high toxicity and low degradability, poses significant risks to both human health and the environment. Tracking of catechol residues is essential to protect human health and to assess the safety of the environment. We constructed sensing platforms to detect catechol based on the conductive metal-organic frameworks [Ni(HITP)] and their nanosilver composites.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Involvement of Mitophagy and Peroxisome in the Resistance to QoIs in .

Quinone outside inhibitor fungicides (QoIs) are crucial fungicides for controlling plant diseases, but resistance, mainly caused by G143A, has been widely reported with the high and widespread use of QoIs. However, two phenotypes of (RI and RII) with the same G143A showed significantly different resistance to QoIs in our previous study, which did not match the reported mechanisms. Therefore, transcriptome analysis of RI and RII strains after trifloxystrobin treatment was used to explore the new resistance mechanism in this study.

Monitoring Resistance to Boscalid, Trifloxystrobin, and Carbendazim in China.

Cucumber leaf spot (CLS), caused by , is a serious disease of greenhouse cucumbers. With frequent use of existing fungicides, has developed resistance to some of them, with serious implications for the control of CLS in the field. With a lack of new fungicides, it is necessary to use existing fungicides for effective control.

RNF20 is required for male fertility through regulation of H2B ubiquitination in the Sertoli cells.

Background: Spermatogenesis depends on the supporting of the Sertoli cells and their communications with germ cells. However, the regulation of crosstalk between the Sertoli cells and germ cells remains unclear.

Results: In this report, we used conditional knockout technology to generate the Sertoli cells-specific knockout of Rnf20 in mice.

A Rapid Molecular Detection System for Mutations Conferring Differential Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitor Resistance in .

Cucumber leaf spot, caused by , is a serious disease of cucumbers in greenhouses. Due to the frequent application of succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs), resistance caused by point mutations in the SDHB/C/D gene has been reported. Different mutations lead to different resistance levels, and mutations vary over time and regions.

PGCLCs of human 45,XO reveal pathogenetic pathways of neurocognitive and psychosocial disorders.

Background: Neurocognitive disorders and psychosocial difficulties are common in patients with Turner syndrome and multiple neurodegenerative diseases, yet there is no effective cure. Human primordial germ cells (hPGCs) are pluripotent germline stem cells in early embryo, which pass genetic information from one generation to the next, whereas all somatic cells will die along with the end of life. However, it is not known whether patient hPGCs with Turner syndrome contain information of neurocognitive and psychosocial illness.

Germline stem cells in human.

The germline cells are essential for the propagation of human beings, thus essential for the survival of mankind. The germline stem cells, as a unique cell type, generate various states of germ stem cells and then differentiate into specialized cells, spermatozoa and ova, for producing offspring, while self-renew to generate more stem cells. Abnormal development of germline stem cells often causes severe diseases in humans, including infertility and cancer.

Decoding genome recombination and sex reversal.

Over the past 440 years since the discovery of the medicinal value of swamp eels, much progress has been made in the study of their biology. The fish is emerging as an important model animal in sexual development, in addition to economic and pharmaceutical implications. Tracing genomic history that shapes speciation of the fish has led to discovery of the whole genome-wide chromosome fission/fusion events.

Identification of Histone Modifications Reveals a Role of H2b Monoubiquitination in Transcriptional Regulation of in .

Gonadal trans-differentiation from ovary to testis occurs in a same individual, suggesting a role of epigenetic regulation. However, histone modifications concerning the sex reversal process remain elusive. We analyzed histone modifications using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

SPATA33 functions as a mitophagy receptor in mammalian germline.

Mitophagy is an essential mechanism in maintaining cellular homeostasis, in which damaged and superfluous mitochondria are selectively degraded by the autophagy-lysosome pathway. Our recent study revealed that SPATA33 functions as a novel receptor for mitophagy in the priming of mitochondria for degradation in male germline cells. SPATA33 directly mediates the interaction of the outer mitochondrial membrane protein VDAC2 with the autophagy machinery component ATG16L1 during mitophagy.

DNA methylation modification is associated with gonadal differentiation in Monopterus albus.

Background: Both testis and ovary can be produced sequentially in an individual with the same genome when sex reversal occurs in the teleost Monopterus albus, and epigenetic modification is supposed to be involved in gonadal differentiation. However, DNA methylation regulation mechanism underlying the gonadal differentiation remains unclear.

Results: Here, we used liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) to simultaneously determine endogenous levels of both 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine (mdC) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxycytidine (hmdC) during gonadal differentiation.

An optimized base editor with efficient C-to-T base editing in zebrafish.

Background: Zebrafish is a model organism widely used for the understanding of gene function, including the fundamental basis of human disease, enabled by the presence in its genome of a high number of orthologs to human genes. CRISPR/Cas9 and next-generation gene-editing techniques using cytidine deaminase fused with Cas9 nickase provide fast and efficient tools able to induce sequence-specific single base mutations in various organisms and have also been used to generate genetically modified zebrafish for modeling pathogenic mutations. However, the editing efficiency in zebrafish of currently available base editors is lower than other model organisms, frequently inducing indel formation, which limits the applicability of these tools and calls for the search of more accurate and efficient editors.

SPATA33 is an autophagy mediator for cargo selectivity in germline mitophagy.

Selective autophagic degradation of mitochondria (mitophagy) is important in maintaining proper cellular homeostasis. Here, we found that SPATA33 is a novel autophagy mediator for mitophagy in testis. The SPATA33 protein localizes on mitochondria via its binding of the carboxyl terminal with the outer mitochondrial membrane protein VDAC2.

multiple alleles, transcription activation and evolution in mammals.

Detecting selection signatures in genomes that relates to transcription regulation has been challenges in genetic analysis. Here, we report a set of transcription factors EBF1, E2F1 and EGR2 for transcription activation of promoter by a comparative analysis of promoter activities of in humans, mice, and pigs. Two of the transcription factors bound to and co-regulated promoter in each species.

Srag Regulates Autophagy via Integrating into a Preexisting Autophagy Pathway in Testis.

Spermatogenesis is an essential process for producing sperm cells. Reproductive strategy is successfully evolved for a species to adapt to a certain ecological system. However, roles of newly evolved genes in testis autophagy remain unclear.

Whole genome-wide chromosome fusion and new gene birth in the genome.

Background: Teleost fishes account for over half of extant vertebrate species. A core question in biology is how genomic changes drive phenotypic diversity that relates to the origin of teleost fishes.

Results: Here, we used comparative genomic analyses with chromosome assemblies of diverse lineages of vertebrates and reconstructed an ancestral vertebrate genome, which revealed phylogenomic trajectories in vertebrates.

Sex differences in autophagy-mediated diseases: toward precision medicine.

Nearly all diseases in humans, to a certain extent, exhibit sex differences, including differences in the onset, progression, prevention, therapy, and prognosis of diseases. Accumulating evidence shows that macroautophagy/autophagy, as a mechanism for development, differentiation, survival, and homeostasis, is involved in numerous aspects of sex differences in diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and cardiovascular diseases. Advances in our knowledge regarding sex differences in autophagy-mediated diseases have enabled an understanding of their roles in human diseases, although the underlying molecular mechanisms of sex differences in autophagy remain largely unexplored.

Teaching practice in human genetics integrated into general education.

General education is an important part in higher education, which emphasizes the educational idea of integration of generality with specialty, and practices people-oriented education concept. However, there are some difficulties and puzzles in general education. Now the general education system with Chinese characteristics is needed to be established through practice and development.