Comparative transcriptome and methylome of polar bears, giant and red pandas reveal diet-driven adaptive evolution.

Epigenetic regulation plays an important role in the evolution of species adaptations, yet little information is available on the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the adaptive evolution of bamboo-eating in both giant pandas () and red pandas (). To investigate the potential contribution of epigenetic to the adaptive evolution of bamboo-eating in giant and red pandas, we performed hepatic comparative transcriptome and methylome analyses between bamboo-eating pandas and carnivorous polar bears (). We found that genes involved in carbohydrate, lipid, amino acid, and protein metabolism showed significant differences in methylation and expression levels between the two panda species and polar bears.

CBL knockdown protects cardiomyocytes against hypoxia-reoxygenation injury by downregulating GRB2 expression.

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is an event that follows a myocardial infarction. As such, close observation and appropriate patient management is paramount in the treatment process of interventional surgery. The pathogenesis of MIRI has not been fully elucidated.

Genetic and pathogenic characterization of a novel recombinant avian infectious bronchitis virus derived from GI-1, GI-13, GI-28, and GI-19 strains in Southwestern China.

Avian infectious bronchitis (IB), caused by avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), is an acute and highly contagious disease that is extremely harmful to the poultry industry throughout the world. The cross-using of different attenuated live vaccine strains has led to the occurrence of diverse IBV serotypes. In this study, we isolated an IBV strain from a chicken farm in southwest China and designated it CK/CH/SCMY/160315.

Dulaglutide inhibits high glucose- induced endothelial dysfunction and NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in high glucose- induced endothelial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Dulaglutide, a newly developed glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonist, has been approved for the management of T2DM. In the current study, we aimed to investigate whether dulaglutide possesses a protective effect against high glucose- induced activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome.

Species delimitation of Chinese hop-hornbeams based on molecular and morphological evidence.

Species delimitation through which infers species boundaries is emerging as a major work in modern systematics. Hop-hornbeam species in Ostrya (Betulaceae) are well known for their hard and heavy woods. Five species were described in China and their interspecific delimitations remain unclear.

The Quaternary evolutionary history, potential distribution dynamics, and conservation implications for a Qinghai-Tibet Plateau endemic herbaceous perennial, Anisodus tanguticus (Solanaceae).

Various hypotheses have been proposed about the Quaternary evolutionary history of plant species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), yet only a handful of studies have considered both population genetics and ecological niche context. In this study, we proposed and compared climate refugia hypotheses based on the phylogeographic pattern of Anisodus tanguticus (three plastid DNA fragments and nuclear internal transcribed spacer regions from 32 populations) and present and past species distribution models (SDMs). We detected six plastid haplotypes in two well-differentiated lineages.

An atypical reproductive cycle in a common viviparous Asia Agamid Phrynocephalus vlangalii.

Viviparous lizards living in cold climate of high altitude often exhibit atypical reproductive cycles, in which mating and fertilization occur synchronously and annually with parturition occurring at the end of the year. Nevertheless, detailed case studies on atypical reproductive cycles are few. Using anatomical data combined with behavioral observations, we examined the reproductive cycle of a common Asian agamid, Phrynocephalus vlangalii, from a high-elevation area in Sichuan, China.