Summary
The output of genetic mutant screenings in soya bean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] has been limited by its paleopolypoid genome. CRISPR‐Cas9 can generate multiplex mutants in crops with complex genomes. Nevertheless, the transformation efficiency of soya bean remains low and, hence, remains the major obstacle in the application of CRISPR‐Cas9 as a mutant screening tool. Here, we report a pooled CRISPR‐Cas9 platform to generate soya bean multiplex mutagenesis populations. We optimized the key steps in the screening protocol, including vector construction, sgRNA assessment, pooled transformation, sgRNA identification and gene editing verification. We constructed 70 CRISPR‐Cas9 vectors to target 102 candidate genes and their paralogs which were subjected to pooled transformation in 16 batches. A population consisting of 407 T0 lines was obtained containing all sgRNAs at an average mutagenesis frequency of 59.2%, including 35.6% lines carrying multiplex mutations. The mutation frequency in the T1 progeny could be increased further despite obtaining a transgenic chimera. In this population, we characterized gmric1/gmric2 double mutants with increased nodule numbers and gmrdn1‐1/1‐2/1‐3 triple mutant lines with decreased nodulation. Our study provides an advanced strategy for the generation of a targeted multiplex mutant population to overcome the gene redundancy problem in soya bean as well as in other major crops.
Objective
This study aimed to examine the latest prevalence of abdominal obesity in China based on nationally representative data.
Methods
A stratified, multistage, random sampling method was used to obtain a nationally representative sample of residents aged ≥ 18 years from 31 provinces in mainland China from October 2012 to December 2015. Abdominal obesity was defined as a waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for men and a waist circumference ≥ 85 cm for women.
Results
The data of 441,306 participants were analyzed. The prevalence of abdominal obesity was 29.1% (28.6% in men and 29.6% in women); the number of adults with abdominal obesity was estimated to be 277.8 million (approximately 140.1 million in men and 137.7 million in women). The prevalence of abdominal obesity varied considerably among provinces. In general, the prevalence of abdominal obesity was higher in the northern, lower in the southern, higher in the western, and lower in the eastern areas of China. Besides the regional disparities, the prevalence of abdominal obesity varied greatly among different population subgroups.
Conclusions
Abdominal obesity is highly prevalent among Chinese adults. National and provincial obesity control and prevention strategies should be public health priorities in China. To better control obesity, the underlying reasons for the regional disparities need to be addressed.
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