Cloning and characteristics of the antibacterial peptide gene abaecin in the bumblebee Bombus lantschouensis (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Wang Leiyu,Dong Kun,He Shaoyu,Li Jilian,Jie Wu,Huang Jiaxing 한국응용곤충학회 2021 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.24 No.1

Among the antimicrobial peptides, abaecin is rich in proline content and plays a vital role in insect innate im mune defense. Here, the full-length gene of abaecin from the bumblebee Bombus lantschouensis was cloned, and its expression profiles for different tissues, developmental stages and reproductive statuses were analyzed by RTqPCR. Meanwhile, the responses of abaecin to a bacterium (Escherichia coli) and a fungus (Beauveria bassiana) were tested. The full length of abaecin cDNA was 470 bp, and the open reading frame (ORF) was 258 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 85 amino acids. The abaecin gene consists of three exons and two introns. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Bombus ignitus was the closest species to B. lantschouensis base on putative Abaecin protein sequence. Expression analysis showed that abaecin was expressed broadly in different tissues, with the highest expression in fat bodies and extremely low expression in antennae. Regarding developmental stage, low expression of abacein was detected in eggs and larvae, and high expression was detected in pupal stages. The highest expression was observed at the Pw pupal stage (pupae with an unpigmented body cuticle and white eyes), and the expression then decreased from the Pp (pupae with pink eyes) to the Pdd (dark-eye pupae with a dark-pigmented cuticle) stages. In addition, the expression of abaecin was higher in egg-laying than in non-egglaying female bumblebees. Both E. coli and B. bassiana infections induced the expression of abaecin. Our results indicated that the abaecin gene plays important roles in the development, reproduction and immune responses of bumblebees. During the artificial rearing of bumblebees, a good environment should be created to avoid infection with bacteria or fungi.

Effects of pulsed laser surface remelting on microstructure, hardness and lead-bismuth corrosion behavior of a ferrite/martensitic steel

Hao Wang,Qian Yuan,Linjiang Chai,Ke Zhao,Ning Guo,Jun Xiao,Xing Yin,Bin Tang,Yuqiong Li,Shaoyu Qiu 한국원자력학회 2022 Nuclear Engineering and Technology Vol.54 No.6

A typical ferritic/martensitic (F/M) steel sheet was subjected to pulsed laser surface remelting (LSR) andcorrosion test in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) at 550 C. There present two modification zones withdistinct microstructures in the LSRed specimen: (1) remelted zone (RZ) consisting of both bulk d-ferritegrains and martensitic plates and (2) heat-affected zone (HAZ) below the RZ, mainly composed ofmartensitic plates and high-density precipitates. Martensitic transformation occurs in both the RZ andthe HAZ with the Kurdjumov-Sachs and Nishiyama-Wassermann orientation relationships followedconcurrently, resulting in scattered orientations and specific misorientation characteristics. Hardnessesof the RZ and the HAZ are 364 ± 7 HV and 451 ± 15 HV, respectively, considerably higher than that of thematrix (267 ± 3 HV). In oxygen-saturated and oxygen-depleted LBE, thicknesses of oxide layers developed on both the as-received and the LSRed specimens increase with prolonging corrosion time (oxidelayers always thinner under the oxygen-depleted condition). The corrosion resistance of the LSRed F/Msteel in oxygen-saturated LBE is improved, which can be attributed to the grain-refinement acceleratedformation of dense FeeCr spinel. In oxygen-depleted LBE, the growth of oxide layers is very low withboth types of specimens showing similar corrosion resistance

Changes in plant anthocyanin levels in response to abiotic stresses: a meta-analysis

Yan Wenjie,Li Juanjuan,Lin Xinyue,Wang Lina,Yang Xiaoxiao,Xia Xiangyu,Zhang Yuxin,Yang Shaoyu,Li Hongbing,Deng Xiping,Ke Qingbo 한국식물생명공학회 2022 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.16 No.5

Anthocyanins are small molecule antioxidants that play important roles in plant response and resistance to abiotic stresses. Their levels increase when plants are exposed to abiotic stress. However, the general response patterns and magnitude of anthocyanin increase, and how they confer resistance to abiotic stresses, are difficult to evaluate because of the influence of experimental variables. In this study, changes in plant anthocyanin content under different abiotic stresses and the effect of anthocyanin overproduction on various physiological indicators were investigated through meta-analysis derived from 1039 datasets of 102 studies. Results showed that among the different stress types, heavy metals, especially copper (Cu) and mercury (Hg), induced the most significant synthesis of anthocyanins. Among the different types of drought treatments, mannitol caused anthocyanin content in plants to increase by 2.4-fold, which was more significant than that of polyethylene glycol and natural drought. Furthermore, UV stress led plant anthocyanins to increase 1.3-fold in C4 plants, which was higher than that in C3 plants. In addition, anthocyanins increased the most when the applied stresses were low and moderate, and of short duration. Moreover, plants overexpressing genes encoding MYB transcription factors increased anthocyanin content by 5.8-fold and significantly improved plant stress tolerance. Among the 21 physiological indicators, glutathione and proline levels increased the most in transgenic plants overproducing anthocyanins when exposed to abiotic stress. Taken together, this meta-analysis indicates that anthocyanins enhance stress tolerance by improving the antioxidant, metal-chelating, and osmoregulatory abilities of the plant. The results presented here can help guide future applications of anthocyanins as plant growth regulators in dryland agriculture and breeding for plant stress tolerance.

In vitro Screening of Traditional Chinese Medicines Compounds Derived with Anti-encephalomyocarditis Virus Activities

Jiangang Zheng,Yinlan Xu,Ajab Khan,Shaoyu Wang,Hongquan Li,Na Sun 한국생물공학회 2020 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.25 No.2

The prevalence of encephalomyocarditis virus has brought about enormous financial losses to the swine industry throughout the globe. Chinese herbal medicines have potential antiviral activity which has been proved. Fifteen traditional Chinese medicine compounds were screened for anti-encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) activity. The maximum non-toxic concentration (MNTC), cytotoxic concentration 50% (CC50), maximal inhibition rate (MIR), and effective concentration 50% (EC50) against EMCV were measured using MTT and antiviral assays on baby hamster syrian kidney (BHK-21) cells. Two of the compounds, baicalin and matrine, with MIR > 50% and selective index (SI) > 3 were chosen for further virus load analysis. The results showed that the MIRs of baicalin and matrine were higher than that of positive control ribavirin while the SI values were much smaller than that of the control. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis demonstrated that baicalin and matrine have significant (p < 0.05) anti- EMCV activity compared to the control. It is a baseline study concluded that baicalin and matrine needs further development as an independent drugs or part of a Chinese medicine prescription for the treatment of EMCV infection.

Intensity of Intraoperative Spinal Cord Hyperechogenicity as a Novel Potential Predictive Indicator of Neurological Recovery for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy

Chen Guoliang,Wei Fuxin,Li Jiachun,Shi Liangyu,Zhang Wei,Wang Xianxiang,Xu Zuofeng,Liu Xizhe,Zou Xuenong,Liu Shaoyu 대한영상의학회 2021 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.22 No.7

Objective: To analyze the correlations between intraoperative ultrasound and MRI metrics of the spinal cord in degenerative cervical myelopathy and identify novel potential predictive ultrasonic indicators of neurological recovery for degenerative cervical myelopathy. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients who underwent French-door laminoplasty for multilevel degenerative cervical myelopathy were followed up for 12 months. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores were assessed preoperatively and 12 months postoperatively. Maximum spinal cord compression and compression rates were measured and calculated using both intraoperative ultrasound imaging and preoperative T2-weight (T2W) MRI. Signal change rates of the spinal cord on preoperative T2W MRI and gray value ratios of dorsal and ventral spinal cord hyperechogenicity on intraoperative ultrasound imaging were measured and calculated. Correlations between intraoperative ultrasound metrics, MRI metrics, and the recovery rate JOA scores were analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis. Results: The postoperative JOA scores improved significantly, with a mean recovery rate of 65.0 ± 20.3% (p < 0.001). No significant correlations were found between the operative ultrasound metrics and MRI metrics. The gray value ratios of the spinal cord hyperechogenicity was negatively correlated with the recovery rate of JOA scores (ρ = -0.638, p = 0.001), while the ventral and dorsal gray value ratios of spinal cord hyperechogenicity were negatively correlated with the recovery rate of JOA-motor scores (ρ = -0.582, p = 0.004) and JOA-sensory scores (ρ = -0.452, p = 0.035), respectively. The dorsal gray value ratio was significantly higher than the ventral gray value ratio (p < 0.001), while the recovery rate of JOA-motor scores was better than that of JOA-sensory scores at 12 months post-surgery (p = 0.028). Conclusion: For degenerative cervical myelopathy, the correlations between intraoperative ultrasound and preoperative T2W MRI metrics were not significant. Gray value ratios of the spinal cord hyperechogenicity and dorsal and ventral spinal cord hyperechogenicity were significantly correlated with neurological recovery at 12 months postoperatively.