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An imbalance in mitochondrial dynamics induced by oxidative stress may lead to hepatocyte epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and liver fibrosis. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. This study investigated the role of mitochondrial dynamics in hepatocyte EMT and liver fibrosis using an in vitro human (L-02 cells, hepatic cell line) and an in vivo mouse model of liver fibrosis. Findings showed that oxidative stress-induced mitochondrial DNA damage was associated with abnormal mitochondrial fission and hepatocyte EMT. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers apocynin and mito-tempo effectively attenuated carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 )-induced abnormal mitochondrial fission and liver fibrosis. Restoring mitochondrial biogenesis attenuated hepatocyte EMT. Oxidative stress-induced abnormal hepatocyte mitochondrial fission events by a mechanism that involved the down regulation of PGC-1α. PGC-1α knockout mice challenged with CCl 4 had increased abnormal mitochondrial fission and more severe liver fibrosis than wild type mice. These results indicate that PGC-1α has a protective role in oxidative stress-induced-hepatocyte EMT and liver fibrosis.

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To estimate the age of skeletal muscle contusion, the expression of troponin I mRNA in contused skeletal muscle of rats was detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 51 Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into control and contusion groups, and another nine rats received contusion injury after death. At 0.5, 1, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 h after contusion, the rats were killed with a lethal dose of pentobarbital. Total RNA was isolated from muscle specimens using the SV Total RNA Isolation System and reverse transcribed into first-strand cDNA. Sequence-specific primers were then used to conduct real-time PCR to analyze the expression levels of sTnI mRNA. At 0.5, 1, and 6 h after contusion, the expression levels of sTnI mRNA decreased to 78.17% (P < 0.05), 41.58% (P < 0.05), and 32.13% of that in the control group, respectively. However, there were no significant changes in the expression levels of sTnI mRNA from 6 to 36 h (P > 0.05) after contusion when normalized to RpL32 expression. The expression levels of sTnI mRNA in the normal and contused skeletal muscle of postmortem rats were about 70% of that in the control group (P < 0.05), and no significant changes in the expression levels of sTnI mRNA in the postmortem contusion group were noted among different time points after injury. This result suggests that determination of sTnI mRNA levels by real-time PCR is useful for the estimation of wound age.

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is an economically important oil crop, yet the genetic architecture of its complex traits remain largely unknown. Here, genome-wide association study was conducted for eight yield-related traits to dissect the genetic architecture of additive, dominance, epistasis, and their environment interaction. Additionally, the optimal genotype combination and the breeding value of superior line, superior hybrid and existing best line in mapping population were predicted for each trait in two environments based on the predicted genotypic effects. As a result, 17 quantitative trait SNPs (QTSs) were identified significantly for target traits with total heritability varied from 58.47 to 87.98%, most of which were contributed by dominance, epistasis, and environment-specific effects. The results indicated that non-additive effects were large contributions to heritability and epistasis, and also noted that environment interactions were important variants for oilseed breeding. Our study facilitates the understanding of genetic basis of rapeseed yield trait, helps to accelerate rapeseed breading, and also offers a roadmap for precision plant breeding via marker-assisted selection.

The biosynthetic pathway of volatile phenylpropanoids, including eugenol, has been investigated in petunia (Petunia hybrida). However, the regulatory network for eugenol accumulation in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) fruit remains unclear. Here, a R2R3-type MYB transcription factor (FaMYB63) was isolated from strawberry by yeast one-hybrid screening using the promoter of the FaEGS1 (eugenol synthase 1) gene, which encodes the enzyme responsible for the last step in eugenol biosynthesis. FaMYB63 is phylogenetically distinct from other R2R3-MYB transcription factors, including FaEOBІІ, which also participates in regulating eugenol biosynthesis in strawberry receptacles. RT-qPCR assays showed that the expression of FaMYB63 was tissue specific and consistent with eugenol content through strawberry fruit development, was repressed by abscisic acid (ABA), and was activated by auxins (IAA). Overexpression and RNAi-mediated silencing of FaMYB63 resulted in marked changes in the transcript levels of the biosynthetic genes FaEGS1, FaEGS2, and FaCAD1 and, thereby, the accumulation of eugenol. Electrophoretic mobility shift, yeast one-hybrid, GUS activity, and dual-luciferase activity assays demonstrated that the transcript levels of FaEOBІІ and FaMYB10 were regulated by FaMYB63, but not the other way around. Together, these results demonstrate that FaMYB63 directly activates FaEGS1, FaEGS2, FaCAD1, FaEOBІІ, and FaMYB10 to induce eugenol biosynthesis during strawberry fruit development. These findings deepen the understanding of the regulatory network that influences eugenol metabolism in an edible fruit crop.

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In this article, the design problem of event-triggered (E-T) non-fragile dynamic output-feedback controller is addressed for the uncertain Fornasini-Marchesini second (FM-II) model with persistent dwell time (PDT) switching constraint.First of all, a novel E-T scheme is introduced to reduce the measurement transmission ratio so as to decrease the occupancy of the communication channels. Then, by choosing a suitable co-positive type Lyapunov function and utilizing the PDT method, sufficient conditions are obtained under which the obtained closed-loop system is positive, robustly exponentially stable and has an l 1 -gain performance. The corresponding controller design issues are simultaneously discussed, and the parameterized matrices are explicitly designed by solving some linear programming inequalities. Finally, a simulation example is provided to show feasibility of the developed theoretical results.