Insects in Tenebrionidae have unique stress adaptations that allow them to survive temperature extremes. We report here a gene expression profiling of Microdera punctipennis, a beetle in desert region, to gain a global view of its environmental adaptations. A total of 48,158,004 reads were obtained by transcriptome sequencing, and the de novo assembly yielded 56,348 unigenes with an average length of 666 bp. Based on similarity searches with a cut-off E-value of 10−5 against two protein sequence databases, 41,109 of the unigenes (about 72.96 %) were matched to known proteins. An in-depth analysis of the data revealed a large number of genes were associated with environmental stress, including genes that encode heat shock proteins, antifreeze proteins, and enzymes such as chitinase, trehalose, and trehalose-6-phosphate synthase. This study generated a substantial number of M. punctipennis transcript sequences that can be used to discover novel genes associated with stress adaptation. These sequences are a valuable resource for future studies of the desert beetle and other insects in Tenebrionidae. Transcriptome analysis based on Illumina paired-end sequencing is a powerful approach for gene discovery and molecular marker development for non-model species.
Background and Purpose: Humans have been fighting vitiligo for centuries but still being inferior due to the lack of efficiency drugs and therapies. While some research has implied the therapeutic potential of Wnt/β-catenin signalling on curing vitiligo but correlation mechanism is not clear and no Wnt-specific anti-vitiligo drug has been reported. Here, We identified how vitiligo could be treated by regulating Wnt and two lead compounds of new anti-vitiligo drugs have been found. Experimental Approach: Wnt agonists were rational synthesized and then be evaluated their effects on vitiligo in B16 cells and C57B/L mouse. Furthermore, Co-IP and Site-directed mutagenesis were employed to indicate the mechanism and the target of the compounds. Key Results: HCJA121 and HCJA404 could significantly promote the synthesis of melanin, restore the pigmented function of skin, and improve the symptoms of vitiligo. Mechanism studies indicated that HCJA121 and HCJA404 target the DAX domain of Axin by binding to LYS781 and LEU784 then potentiate the Axin-LRP6 association and eventually promoted melanogenesis. Conclusions and Implications: These findings imply an alternative regulatory mechanism of melanogenesis and the Axin protein could be a new target for anti-vitiligo agents which reveal a therapeutic strategy for vitiligo. Besides, HCJA121 and HCJA404 may represent potential compounds for vitiligo treatment.
Modern hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; AABBDD) evolved from a hybrid of tetraploid wheat (closely related to Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum (Desf.) Husn., AABB) and goatgrass (Aegilops tauschii Coss., DD). Variations in chromosome structure and ploidy played important roles in wheat evolution. How these variations occurred and their role in expanding the genetic diversity in modern wheat is mostly unknown. Synthetic hexaploid wheat (SHW) can be used to investigate chromosome variation that occurs during the early generations of existence. SHW lines derived by crossing durum wheat ‘Langdon’ with twelve Ae. tauschii accessions were analyzed using oligonucelotide probe multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to metaphase chromosomes and SNP markers. Cluster analysis based on SNP markers categorized them into three groups. Among 702 plants from the S8 and S9 generations, 415 (59.12%) carried chromosome variations involving all 21 chromosomes but with different frequencies for each chromosome and sub-genome. Total chromosome variation frequencies varied between lines, but there was no significant difference among the three groups. The non-random chromosome variations in SHW lines detected in this research may be an indication that similar variations occurred in the early stages of wheat polyploidization and played important roles in wheat evolution.
In recent years, deep-sea-derived fungi have become an important source of marine natural products. Aspergillus tubingensis is extremely rich in secondary metabolites, which is a valuable deep-sea-derived fungus needs to be further explored. So far, many small molecular compounds with novel structure and significant biological activity have been discovered from A. tubingensis, among which terpenoids account for about 20%, showing great research potential in anti-tumor, antiviral and antibacteria. Although more and more new terpenoids have been discovered from A. tubingensis and their structures have been identified, few studies have investigated the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid. In order to further elucidate the mechanism of terpenoid biosynthesis, the key genes and enzymes involved in terpenoid biosynthesis were successfully mined and further analyzed based on genome sequencing analysis. Subsequently, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase, mevalonate kinase, phosphomevalonate kinase as well as diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase were annotated, which played important roles in terpenoid biosynthesis of A. tubingensis. Furthermore, the biosynthetic pathway of terpenoid in A. tubingensis has been constructed, which could be applied to develop the metabolic regulation of A. tubingensis. This study would provide more sufficient scientific basis and new ideas for the genetic regulation of terpenoid biosynthesis in A. tubingensis.
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