BackgroundCotton (Gossypium spp.) is the most important fiber and oil crop in the world. With the emergence of huge -omics data sets, it is essential to have an integrated functional genomics database that allows worldwide users to quickly and easily fetch and visualize genomic information. Currently available cotton-related databases have some weakness in integrating multiple kinds of -omics data from multiple Gossypium species. Therefore, it is necessary to establish an integrated functional genomics database for cotton.DescriptionWe developed CottonFGD (Cotton Functional Genomic Database, https://cottonfgd.org), an integrated database that includes genomic sequences, gene structural and functional annotations, genetic marker data, transcriptome data, and population genome resequencing data for all four of the sequenced Gossypium species. It consists of three interconnected modules: search, profile, and analysis. These modules make CottonFGD enable both single gene review and batch analysis with multiple kinds of -omics data and multiple species. CottonFGD also includes additional pages for data statistics, bulk data download, and a detailed user manual.ConclusionEquipped with specialized functional modules and modernized visualization tools, and populated with multiple kinds of -omics data, CottonFGD provides a quick and easy-to-use data analysis platform for cotton researchers worldwide.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-017-1039-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The bZIP transcription factor (TF) act as an important regulator for the abscisic acid (ABA) mediated abiotic stresses signaling pathways in plants. Here, we reported the cloning and characterization of GhABF2, encoding for typical cotton bZIP TF. Overexpression of GhABF2 significantly improved drought and salt stress tolerance both in Arabidopsis and cotton. However, silencing of GhABF2 made transgenic cotton sensitive to PEG osmotic and salt stress. Expression of GhABF2 was induced by drought and ABA treatments but repressed by high salinity. Transcriptome analysis indicated that GhABF2 increases drought and salt tolerance by regulating genes related to ABA, drought and salt response. The proline contents, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were also significantly increased in GhABF2-overexpression cottons in comparison to wild type after drought and salt treatment. Further, an increase in fiber yield under drought and saline-alkali wetland exhibited the important role of GhABF2 in enhancing the drought and salt tolerance in transgenic lines. In conclusion, manipulation of GhABF2 by biotechnological tools could be a sustainable strategy to deploy drought and salt tolerance in cotton.

The objective of this systematic review was to identify the effectiveness of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) in the treatment of recurrent lumbar disc herniation (rLDH) and to present its indications and techniques. We conducted a comprehensive search in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane databases, searching for relevant studies of managing rLDH with PELD up to July 2015. Only papers published in English were included. Two review authors independently selected the studies, extracted relevant data and assessed their methodological quality. The Cochrane Collaboration's Revman 5.3 software was used for data analyses among the controlled studies. At last, one randomized controlled trial (RCT), two non-randomized control studies and five observational studies including a total of 579 cases were selected for this system review. The methodological quality of these studies was low to modern. The mean overall improvement of leg pain (visual analogue scale) was 66.92% (50.6%-89.87%), back pain (visual analogue scale) 54.91% (29%-67.95%), Oswestry Disability Index 60.9% (40.7%-75%), global perceived effect (MacNab/other) 75.77% (60%-95%). The mean overall of complication rate was 4.89% (0%-9.76%), dural tear rate 0.1% (0%-4.9%), recurrence rate 6.3% (4%-10%), re-operation rate 3.66% (2.33%-4.8%). We conducted a meta-analysis among the control trials. Compared with Open discectomy (OD), PELD resulted in better outcomes in terms of operative time, blood loss, lower complication rates, but with no significance differences regarding hospital stay, second recurrence rate, Macnab criteria and pain reduction. In conclusion, according to the current evidence, PELD is an effective procedure for the treatment of rLDH in terms of reducing complication and shorting hospital course, comparing with OD. Therefore, we suggested that PELD was a feasible alternative to OD in the treatment of the rLDH in the condition of proper indication. High-quality RCTs with large sample sizes are needed to further confirm these results.