Transient virus-induced gene silencing of MaBAM9b efficiently suppressed starch degradation during postharvest banana fruit ripening

Liu Mengting,Li Meng,Wang Yudi,Wang Jingyi,Miao Hongxia,Wang Zhuo,Xu Biyu,Li Xinguo,Jin Zhiqiang,Liu Juhua 한국식물생명공학회 2021 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.15 No.4

The genetic basis of metabolic pathways that operate during fruit ripening needs to be understood before the nutritional value of the banana can be improved. The banana is a typical starch conversion fruit, and β-amylase is a key enzyme that may play an important role in starch degradation during the ripening process. Musa acuminata β-amylase 9b (MaBAM9b) is closely related to starch degradation. However, its exact function in starch degradation has not been demonstrated in banana. Stable genetic transformation to identify gene function is a time- and energy-consuming process. Thus, an efficient and rapid method is needed for functional identification. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a reverse-genetics method based on RNA-mediated antiviral plant defense that has been used to rapidly identify gene functions in plants. The aim of this study was to optimize a transient VIGS system and functionally elucidate MaBAM9b in postharvest banana fruit. Using 2- to 4-mm-thick fruit slices, vacuum infiltration of suspensions of Agrobacterium strains carrying TRV1 and TRV2-MaBAM9b, 0.5% iodine-potassium-iodide (I2-KI) staining for 150 s, and 1:3 TRV1:TRV2-MaBAM9b cultivation at 30 mmHg for 30 s achieved an optical density (OD) of 0.8 at 600 nm; after being incubated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) media for 5 days (d), starch degradation was efficiently suppressed during postharvest banana fruit ripening, as determined by I2-KI staining, total starch content, β-amylase activity, soluble sugar content, and endogenous MaBAM9b expression. The system described here is particularly useful for studying genes and networks involved in starch conversion in fruits, which alone would not produce a visual phenotype. This system will provide a platform for functional genomics and fruit quality improvement in banana.

The Clinical Characteristic and Management of Patients with Nocardiosis in a Tertiary Hospital in China

Liu Peilin,Wang Zhiqian,Jian Zijuan,Liu Xuan,Li Yanming,Yan Qun,Zhong Baiyun,Liao Mengting,Liang Xianghui,Liu Wenen 한국미생물·생명공학회 2023 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.33 No.5

Nocardiosis is an uncommon opportunistic bacterial infection which becomes a significant health problem due to its increasing incidence and high mortality rate. However, many nocardiosis patients are underdiagnosed by physicians. To summarize the clinical characteristics and management of nocardiosis would help with better diagnosis and prognosis of nocardiosis. This retrospective study was conducted based on the medical records of nocardiosis patients between January 2015 and December 2021 in a tertiary hospital in China. Overall, 44 nocardiosis patients with 54 specimens were included. The patients consisted of 26 males and 18 females with a mean age of 50.4 ± 13.2 years. Among 44 patients, 26 (59.1%) were previously given immunosuppressive therapy. Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) were the most common underlying disease (16/44). The most frequent infection sites were the lungs (17/44) and skin or soft tissues (8/44). Common symptoms included cough (23/44), expectoration (18/44), fever (15/44), and subcutaneous abscesses (15/44). Forty-five out of 54 specimens (83.3%) required over 48 hours of culture time for nocardiosis detection. Thirty-six patients were cured or improved, 5 patients were discharged from the hospital due to poor prognosis, and 1 patient died. The average diagnosis time of poor prognosis cases was 19.7 days, which was significantly longer than those of improved or cured patients (7.3 days). Immunosuppressed patients comprise a large part of nocardiosis cases, which is worth attention in clinical practice. Early diagnosis, specifically through prolonged cultivation time of specimen, could help achieve better prognosis of nocardiosis patients.

Using tyrosinase as a tri-modality reporter gene to monitor transplanted stem cells in acute myocardial infarction

Mei Liu,Yichun Wang,Mengting Li,Hongyan Feng,Qingyao Liu,Chunxia Qin,Yongxue Zhang,Xiaoli Lan 생화학분자생물학회 2018 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.50 No.-

The study aimed to investigate the feasibility of noninvasive monitoring of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transduced with the tyrosinase reporter gene for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with photoacoustic imaging (PAI), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) in vitro and in vivo. MSCs were transduced with a lentivirus carrying a tyrosinase reporter gene. After transduction, the rate of 18F-5-fluoro-N-(2- [diethylamino]ethyl)picolinamide (18F-5-FPN) uptake was measured. PAI and MRI of stable cell lines expressing tyrosinase (TYR-MSCs) were performed in vitro. An AMI model was induced and verified. TYR-MSCs and MSCs were injected into the margins of the infarcted areas, and PAI, MRI, and PET images were acquired 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after cell injection. Sham-operated models without injection were used as the control group. TYR-MSCs showed noticeably higher uptake of 18F-5-FPN and stronger signals in T1-weighted MRI and PAI than non-transduced MSCs. In vivo studies revealed prominent signals in the injected area of the infarcted myocardium on PAI/MRI/PET images, whereas no signal could be seen in rats injected with non-transduced MSCs or sham-operated rats. The uptake values of 18F-5-FPN in vivo showed a slight decrease over 28 days, whereas MRI and PAI signal intensity decreased dramatically. MSCs stably transduced with the tyrosinase reporter gene could be monitored in vivo in myocardial infarction models by PET, MRI, and PAI, providing a feasible and reliable method for checking the viability, location, and dwell time of transplanted stem cells.

Integrated analysis of DNA methylome and transcriptome reveals SFRP1 and LIPG as potential drivers of ovarian cancer metastasis

Jiani Yi,Mengting Wu,Zhihong Zheng,Qing Zhou,Xufan Li,Yan Lu,Pengyuan Liu 대한부인종양학회 2023 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.34 No.6

Objective: More than 75% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed at advanced stages and die of tumor cell metastasis. This study aimed to identify new epigenetic and transcriptomic alterations associated with ovarian cancer metastasis. Methods: Two cell sublines with low- and high-metastasis potentials were derived from the ovarian cancer cell line A2780. Genome-wide DNA methylome and transcriptome profiling were carried out in these two sublines by Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing and RNA-seq technologies. Cell-based assays were conducted to support the clinical findings. Results: There are distinct DNA methylation and gene expression patterns between the two cell sublines with low- and high-metastasis potentials. Integrated analysis identified 33 methylation-induced genes potentially involved in ovarian cancer metastasis. The DNA methylation patterns of two of them (i.e., SFRP1 and LIPG) were further validated in human specimens, indicating that they were hypermethylated and downregulated in peritoneal metastatic ovarian carcinoma compared to primary ovarian carcinoma. Patients with lower SFRP1 and LIPG expression tend to have a worse prognosis. Functionally, knockdown of SFRP1 and LIPG promoted cell growth and migration, whereas their overexpression resulted in the opposite effects. In particular, knockdown of SFRP1 could phosphorylate GSK3β and increase β-catenin expression, leading to deregulated activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Conclusion: Many systemic and important epigenetic and transcriptomic alterations occur in the progression of ovarian cancer. In particular, epigenetic silencing of SFRP1 and LIPG is a potential driver event in ovarian cancer metastasis. They can be used as prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer patients.

Design of low-loaded NiRe bimetallic catalyst on N-doped mesoporous carbon for highly selective deoxygenation of oleic acid to n-heptadecane

Zuojun Wei,Yuran Cheng,Mengting Chen,Yuhua Ye,Yingxin Liu 한국화학공학회 2022 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.39 No.7

Using nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) as the support, several NiRe bimetallic catalysts withlow metal loading of 1 wt% were designed and prepared for the selective deoxygenation of oleic acid to n-heptadecanein the absence of hydrogen. Results showed that the Ni80Re20/NMC catalyst with a Ni/Re molar ratio of 80 : 20 achievedthe highest yield of n-heptadecane (92.3%) at 330 oC for 2 h in isopropanol solvent, and at a metal/oleic acid weightratio of 1 : 333. The catalyst can be reused at least five times with slight activity loss. Combined with the results of insituXRD, HRTEM, XPS and CO2-TPD, the formation of NiRe alloy, the very fine NiRe nanoparticle size at 2.30 nm, aswell as the hydrophobic, mesoporous and weakly basic properties of the NMC support surface were demonstrated tocontribute to the excellent catalytic performance of the catalyst.

Band Gap Modulation of Lead Sulfide QDs

Pengyu Zeng,Wei Li,Yun Zhao,Mengting Liu 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2018 NANO Vol.13 No.6

Lead sulfide quantum dots (QDs) were prepared by liquid phase method. The particle size can be controlled by changing the concentration of reactants and surfactant and the size of the QDs varies from 7 nm to 20 nm, which results in the change of the optical properties and the band gap of the particles. The optical band gap of lead sulfide QDs increased drastically with the decrease of the diameter of the sample QDs.

Study on Application of Crude Ingredients in Cosmetics

陈,妍,(Chen Yan),黄,蓉(Huang Rong),夏梦,婷,(Xia Mengting),刘,耀鸿,(Liu Yaohong),胡林峰(Hu Linfeng) 아시아사회과학학회 2021 International Science Research Vol.1 No.1

The composition analysis about 1030 products of well-known cosmetic brands such as Estee Lauder, L Oreal, Shiseido, LVHM, Chanel, Amore Pacific, Procter & Gamble, LG Group was carried out to study the application of crude pharmaceutical ingredients in cosmetics.