In the present study, the karyotypes of six populations of Agropyron cristatum distributed from Northern Europe to Southwest Asia are reported. Their chromosome numbers were 14, 28 or 42. The karyotypcial formulae are suggested as follows: Sweden population (PI 297869), 2n = 2x = 14 = 14m; Bulgaria population (PI 636511), 2n = 2x = 14 = 8m + 6sm; Iran population (PI 401074) 2n = 4x = 28 = 10m + 18sm; Russian Federation population (PI 439948) 2n = 4x = 28 = 20m + 8sm, Russian Federation population (PI 564878), 2n = 4x = 28 = 18m + 10sm; and Iran population (PI 401080), 2n = 6x = 42 = 20m + 22sm. The relative length of the longest chromosome was 8.40 in Bulgaria population, but 4.57 in Iran population. These results indicated that discrepancies on chromosome structure and numbers existed among these populations. Sweden population is placed in 1A, and the other populations are placed in 2A for karyotype symmetry.

Five new diterpenoids (1-5) were isolated from the roots of Aralia melanocarpa, together with four known compounds, 7β-hydroxy-ent-pimara-8(14),15-diene-19-oic acid (6), 18-norpimara-8(14),15-dien-4-ol (7), ent-16βH,17-isovalerate-kauran-19-oic acid (8), and ent-16α,17-dihydroxykauran-19-oic acid (9). Based on the MS, IR, and NMR spectral analysis, the structures of the five new diterpenoids (1-5) were elucidated. The cytotoxic activities of compounds 1-9 were assayed, and compounds 1 and 2 showed cytotoxicity in four cancer cell lines with IC50s from 4.2 to 8.2 µM.

Genome-wide studies on high-altitude adaptation have received increased attention as a classical case of organismal evolution under extreme environment. However, the current genetic understanding of high-altitude adaptation emanated mainly from autosomal analyses. Only a few earlier genomic studies paid attention to the allosome. In this study, we performed an intensive scan of the X chromosome of public genomic data generated from Tibetan Mastiff (TM) and five other dog populations for indications of high-altitude adaptation. We identified five genes showing signatures of selection on the X chromosome. Notable among these genes was angiomotin (AMOT), which is related to the process of angiogenesis. We sampled additional 11 dog populations (175 individuals in total) at continuous altitudes in China from 300 to 4,000 meters to validate and test the association between the haplotype frequency of AMOT gene and altitude adaptation. The results suggest that AMOT gene may be a notable candidate gene for the adaptation of TM to high-altitude hypoxic conditions. Our study shows that X chromosome deserves consideration in future studies of adaptive evolution.

Four new clerodane diterpenes, namely sagittatayunnanosides A-D (1-4), were isolated from the roots of Tinospora sagittata var. yunnanensis, together with two known compounds, tinospinoside C (5) and tinospinoside E (6). The structures of the four new compounds were well elucidated by extensive analyses of the MS, IR, and 1D and 2D NMR data. The cytotoxic and antifouling activities of compounds 1-6 were evaluated.