The effect of hemolysis on quality control metrics for noninvasive prenatal testing.

Background: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is the testing of blood samples from pregnant women to screen for fetal risk of chromosomal disorders. Even though in vitro hemolysis of blood specimens is common in clinical laboratories, its influence on NIPT has not been well investigated.

Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 205 pregnant women and categorized according to the concentration of free hemoglobin in the plasma.

FHY3 interacts with phytochrome B and regulates seed dormancy and germination.

Seed dormancy and germination are fundamental processes for plant propagation, both of which are tightly regulated by internal and external cues. Phytochrome B (phyB) is a major red/far-red-absorbing photoreceptor that senses light signals that modulate seed dormancy and germination. However, the components that directly transduce that signal downstream of phyB are mostly unknown.

A pentatricopeptide repeat protein DUA1 interacts with sigma factor 1 to regulate chloroplast gene expression in Rice.

Chloroplast gene expression is controlled by both plastid-encoded RNA polymerase (PEP) and nuclear-encoded RNA polymerase and is crucial for chloroplast development and photosynthesis. Environmental factors such as light and temperature can influence transcription in chloroplasts. In this study, we showed that mutation in DUA1, which encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein in rice (Oryza sativa), led to deficiency in chloroplast development and chlorophyll biosynthesis, impaired photosystems, and reduced expression of PEP-dependent transcripts at low temperature especially under low-light conditions.

PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR-LIKE14 and SLENDER RICE1 Interaction Controls Seedling Growth under Salt Stress.

Early seedling development and emergence from the soil, which are critical for plant growth and important for crop production, are controlled by internal factors, such as phytohormones, and external factors, such as light and salt. However, little is known about how light and salt signals are integrated with endogenous cues in controlling plant physiological processes. Here, we show that overexpression of rice () PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR-LIKE14 (OsPIL14) or loss of function of the DELLA protein SLENDER RICE1 (SLR1) promotes mesocotyl and root growth, specifically in the dark and under salt stress.

FF-QuantSC: accurate quantification of fetal fraction by a neural network model.

Background: Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is one of the most commonly employed clinical measures for screening of fetal aneuploidy. Fetal Fraction (ff) has been demonstrated to be one of the key factors affecting the performance of NIPT. Accurate quantification of ff plays vital role in NIPT.

Rice FLUORESCENT1 Is Involved in the Regulation of Chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll biosynthesis plays essential roles in photosynthesis and plant growth in response to environmental conditions. The accumulation of excess chlorophyll biosynthesis intermediates under light results in the production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. In this study, we identified a rice (Oryza sativa) mutant, oxidation under photoperiod (oxp), that displayed photobleached lesions on its leaves, reduced growth and decreased chlorophyll content during light/dark cycles or following a dark-to-light transition.

Design, Analysis and Experiment of a Tactile Force Sensor for Underwater Dexterous Hand Intelligent Grasping.

This paper proposes a novel underwater dexterous hand structure whose fingertip is equipped with underwater tactile force sensor (UTFS) array to realize the grasping sample location determination and force perception. The measurement structure, theoretical analysis, prototype development and experimental verification of the UTFS are purposefully studied in order to achieve accurate measurement under huge water pressure influence. The UTFS is designed as capsule shape type with differential pressure structure, and the external water pressure signal is separately transmitted to the silicon cup bottom which is considered to be an elastomer with four strain elements distribution through the upper and lower flexible contacts and the silicone oil filled in the upper and lower cavities of UTFS.

A PIF1/PIF3-HY5-BBX23 Transcription Factor Cascade Affects Photomorphogenesis.

Light signaling plays an essential role in controlling higher plants' early developmental process termed as photomorphogenesis. Transcriptional regulation is a vital mechanism that is orchestrated by transcription factors and other regulatory proteins working in concert to finely tune gene expression. Although many transcription factors/regulators have been characterized in the light-signaling pathway, their interregulation remains largely unknown.

Phytochrome B and REVEILLE1/2-mediated signalling controls seed dormancy and germination in Arabidopsis.

Seeds maintain a dormant state to withstand adverse conditions and germinate when conditions become favourable to give rise to a new generation of flowering plants. Seed dormancy and germination are tightly controlled by internal and external signals. Although phytochrome photoreceptors are proposed to regulate primary seed dormancy, the underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive.

A pair of light signaling factors FHY3 and FAR1 regulates plant immunity by modulating chlorophyll biosynthesis.

Light and chloroplast function is known to affect the plant immune response; however, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. We previously demonstrated that two light signaling factors, FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 3 (FHY3) and FAR-RED IMPAIRED RESPONSE 1 (FAR1), regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis and seedling growth via controlling HEMB1 expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we reveal that FHY3 and FAR1 are involved in modulating plant immunity.

Tetrapyrrole biosynthetic enzyme protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase 1 is required for plastid RNA editing.

RNA editing is a posttranscriptional process that covalently alters the sequence of RNA molecules and plays important biological roles in both animals and land plants. In flowering plants, RNA editing converts specific cytidine residues to uridine in both plastid and mitochondrial transcripts. Previous studies identified pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) motif-containing proteins as site-specific recognition factors for cytidine targets in RNA sequences.

FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL3 and FAR-RED IMPAIRED RESPONSE1 transcription factors integrate light and abscisic acid signaling in Arabidopsis.

Light and the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulate overlapping processes in plants, such as seed germination and seedling development. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the interaction between light and ABA signaling is largely unknown. Here, we show that FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL3 (FHY3) and FAR-RED IMPAIRED RESPONSE1 (FAR1), two key positive transcription factors in the phytochrome A pathway, directly bind to the promoter of ABA-Insensitive5 and activate its expression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

Antagonistic basic helix-loop-helix/bZIP transcription factors form transcriptional modules that integrate light and reactive oxygen species signaling in Arabidopsis.

The critical developmental switch from heterotrophic to autotrophic growth of plants involves light signaling transduction and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS function as signaling molecules that regulate multiple developmental processes, including cell death. However, the relationship between light and ROS signaling remains unclear.

Arabidopsis chromatin remodeling factor PICKLE interacts with transcription factor HY5 to regulate hypocotyl cell elongation.

Photomorphogenesis is a critical plant developmental process that involves light-mediated transcriptome changes, histone modifications, and inhibition of hypocotyl growth. However, the chromatin-based regulatory mechanism underlying this process remains largely unknown. Here, we identify ENHANCED PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1 (EPP1), previously known as PICKLE (PKL), an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling factor of the chromodomain/helicase/DNA binding family, as a repressor of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Transposase-derived proteins FHY3/FAR1 interact with PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR1 to regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis by modulating HEMB1 during deetiolation in Arabidopsis.

Successful chlorophyll biosynthesis during initial light exposure is critical for plant survival and growth, as excess accumulation of chlorophyll precursors in darkness can cause photooxidative damage to cells. Therefore, efficient mechanisms have evolved to precisely regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis in plants. Here, we identify FAR-RED ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL3 (FHY3) and FAR-RED IMPAIRED RESPONSE1 (FAR1), two transposase-derived transcription factors, as positive regulators of chlorophyll biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

A dynamic gene expression atlas covering the entire life cycle of rice.

Growth and development of a plant are controlled by programmed expression of suits of genes at the appropriate time, tissue and abundance. Although genomic resources have been developed rapidly in recent years in rice, a model plant for cereal genome research, data of gene expression profiling are still insufficient to relate the developmental processes to transcriptomes, leaving a large gap between the genome sequence and phenotype. In this study, we generated genome-wide expression data by hybridizing 190 Affymetrix GeneChip Rice Genome Arrays with RNA from 39 tissues collected throughout the life cycle of the rice plant from two varieties, Zhenshan 97 and Minghui 63.

Natural variation in Ghd7 is an important regulator of heading date and yield potential in rice.

Yield potential, plant height and heading date are three classes of traits that determine the productivity of many crop plants. Here we show that the quantitative trait locus (QTL) Ghd7, isolated from an elite rice hybrid and encoding a CCT domain protein, has major effects on an array of traits in rice, including number of grains per panicle, plant height and heading date. Enhanced expression of Ghd7 under long-day conditions delays heading and increases plant height and panicle size.