Heterologous expression of ZmNF-YA12 confers tolerance to drought and salt stress in Arabidopsis

Zhang Tongtong,Zheng Dengyu,Zhang Chun,Wu Zhongyi,Yu Rong,Zhang Zhongbao 한국식물생명공학회 2022 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.16 No.4

Drought and salinity are serious environmental factors limiting the growth and productivity of plants worldwide. Therefore, it is necessary to develop ways to improve drought and salinity stress tolerance in plants. In this study, a drought-responsive nuclear factor Y subunit A gene, ZmNF-YA12, was cloned from maize. qPCR revealed ZmNF-YA12 transcript in all vegeta- tive and reproductive tissues, with higher levels in young roots. Expression analyses of maize revealed that ZmNF-YA12 was induced by abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), and abiotic stresses, including dehydration, high salinity, cold, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatment. The heterologous expression of ZmNF-YA12 in Arabidopsis plants resulted in increased root length and better plant growth than in wild-type (WT) plants under conditions of mannitol, salt, and JA stress on 1/2 MS medium. Transgenic Arabidopsis showed improved tolerance to drought and salt stresses in soil, and higher proline content and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content than WT controls. The transgenic plants also maintained higher peroxidase (POD) activities than WT plants under conditions of NaCl stress. A yeast two-hybrid experiment demonstrated that ZmNF-YA12 interacted with ZmNF-YC1 and ZmNF-YC15. Moreover, the transcript levels of stress-responsive genes (RD29A, RD29B, RAB18, and RD22) were markedly increased in transgenic lines under conditions of drought and salt stress. These observa- tions suggested that the ZmNF-YA12 gene may confers drought and salt stress tolerance by regulating stress-related genes or interacting with ZmNF-YC1 and ZmNF-YC15, and has potential applications in molecular breeding with maintenance of production under conditions of stress.

Parameters study on lateral buckling of submarine PIP pipelines

Zhang, Xinhu,Duan, Menglan,Wang, Yingying,Li, Tongtong Techno-Press 2016 Ocean systems engineering Vol.6 No.1

In meeting the technical needs for deepwater conditions and overcoming the shortfalls of single-layer pipes for deepwater applications, pipe-in-pipe (PIP) systems have been developed. While, for PIP pipelines directly laid on the seabed or with partial embedment, one of the primary service risks is lateral buckling. The critical axial force is a key factor governing the global lateral buckling response that has been paid much more attention. It is influenced by global imperfections, submerged weight, stiffness, pipe-soil interaction characteristics, et al. In this study, Finite Element Models for imperfect PIP systems are established on the basis of 3D beam element and tube-to-tube element in Abaqus. A parameter study was conducted to investigate the effects of these parameters on the critical axial force and post-buckling forms. These parameters include structural parameters such as imperfections, clearance, and bulkhead spacing, pipe/soil interaction parameter, for instance, axial and lateral friction properties between pipeline and seabed, and load parameter submerged weight. Python as a programming language is been used to realize parametric modeling in Abaqus. Some conclusions are obtained which can provide a guide for the design of PIP pipelines.

Interactions of tea catechins with intestinal microbiota and their implication for human health

Tongtong Guo,Dan Song,Lu Cheng,Xin Zhang 한국식품과학회 2019 Food Science and Biotechnology Vol.28 No.6

Tea catechins have attracted strong interests inpharmacological field for their extensive biological activities;however, their bioavailability in vivo is relativelylow. Recent studies have shown tea catechins can modulatethe composition of intestinal microbiota and help toimprove hosts’ health. Meanwhile, the gut flora plays acrucial role in regulating the production of the metabolitesof tea catechins and their biological activity. Although theactivities of tea catechins to promote intestinal microecologyhave been extensively studied, little is knownabout the two-way phenol-microbial interactions. Thisreview focuses on the modulatory effect of tea catechins onintestinal microbiota as well as the microbial degradationof tea catechins and the metabolites formed. Finally, thepotential effects of tea catechins on chronic intestinalinflammation are emphasized.

Effect of naphthalene quinoline and H2S on DBT hydrodesulfurization over unsupported NiMoW catalyst

Changlong Yin,Haonan Zhang,Tongtong Wu,Zhuyan Wu,Kunpeng Li,Yan Kong,Chengwu Dong,Chenguang Liu 한국화학공학회 2019 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.36 No.12

Unsupported catalysts have attracted much attention for high activity in comparison with the traditional supported catalyst. Meanwhile, the clear structure of unsupported catalysts is helpful for the recognition of active phase for conducting the industry production. The NiMoW unsupported catalyst was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis and characterized by BET, XRD and HRTEM. The effects of naphthalene, quinoline and H2S on the hydrodesulfurization reactivity of dibenzothiophene (DBT) were investigated in both a batch autoclave and a continuous 10 ml fixed bed micro-reactor over NiMoW and supported catalyst for comparison. The results showed that the hydrogenation reaction and the hydrogenolysis reaction occurred on different active sites. For supported catalyst, the inhibition was relatively weaker, and the inhibition of the hydrodesulfurization pathway was much higher than the direct desulfurization pathway. Although unsupported catalyst was very sensitive to quinoline and H2S in this experiment, the HDS ratio on the unsupported catalyst was maintained at a high level above 99.7%, which is attributed to the very high active site density of unsupported catalysts.

Variations in bacterial and fungal communities through soil depth profiles in a Betula albosinensis forest

Can Du,Zengchao Geng,Qiang Wang,Tongtong Zhang,Wenxiang He,Lin Hou,Yueling Wang 한국미생물학회 2017 The journal of microbiology Vol.55 No.9

Microbial communities in subsurface soil are specialized for their environment, which is distinct from that of the surface communities. However, little is known about the microbial communities (bacteria and fungi) that exist in the deeper soil horizons. Vertical changes in microbial alpha-diversity (Chao1 and Shannon indices) and community composition were investigated at four soil depths (0–10, 10–20, 20–40, and 40–60 cm) in a natural secondary forest of Betula albosinensis by high-throughput sequencing of the 16S and internal transcribed spacer rDNA regions. The numbers of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and the Chao1 and Shannon indices decreased in the deeper soil layers. Each soil layer contained both mutual and specific OTUs. In the 40–60 cm soil layer, 175 and 235 specific bacterial and fungal OTUs were identified, respectively. Acidobacteria was the most dominant bacterial group in all four soil layers, but reached its maximum at 40–60 cm (62.88%). In particular, the 40–60 cm soil layer typically showed the highest abundance of the fungal genus Inocybe (47.46%). The Chao1 and Shannon indices were significantly correlated with the soil organic carbon content. Redundancy analysis indicated that the bacterial communities were closely correlated with soil organic carbon content (P = 0.001). Collectively, these results indicate that soil nutrients alter the microbial diversity and relative abundance and affect the microbial composition.

Curcumin suppresses oxidative stress via regulation of ROS/NF-κB signaling pathway to protect retinal vascular endothelial cell in diabetic retinopathy

Huang Jiang,Yi Quanyong,You Yuhong,Chen Yao,Niu Tongtong,Yi Li,Zhang Ji,Ji Xiaoyan,Xu Guoxu,Zou Weijie,Ji Fangfang,Luo Weifeng 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2021 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.17 No.3

Background The retinal vascular endothelial cells can be damaged by oxidative stress even in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of curcumin on the rat retinal vascular endothelial cells (RRVECs) in high glucose circumstance. Objective The cultured RRVECs were identified and characterized by both of vWF and CD31 immunofluorescence expression. The activation of ROS/NF-κB signal pathway was examined by electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA), immunohistochemistry and Western blot; the apoptosis of RRVECs was tested by flow cytometry. Results We found that curcumin reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and relieved the apoptosis in RRVECs exposed to the high glucose by flow cytometry. It was revealed that the increased activity of NF-κB and phosphorylated NF-κB in RRVECs induced by high glucose concentration was significantly suppressed by curcumin. Conclusion We concluded that curcumin could suppress the oxidative stress via regulation of NF-κB signal to protect the RRVECs in DR. Background The retinal vascular endothelial cells can be damaged by oxidative stress even in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of curcumin on the rat retinal vascular endothelial cells (RRVECs) in high glucose circumstance. Objective The cultured RRVECs were identified and characterized by both of vWF and CD31 immunofluorescence expression. The activation of ROS/NF-κB signal pathway was examined by electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA), immunohistochemistry and Western blot; the apoptosis of RRVECs was tested by flow cytometry. Results We found that curcumin reduced the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and relieved the apoptosis in RRVECs exposed to the high glucose by flow cytometry. It was revealed that the increased activity of NF-κB and phosphorylated NF-κB in RRVECs induced by high glucose concentration was significantly suppressed by curcumin. Conclusion We concluded that curcumin could suppress the oxidative stress via regulation of NF-κB signal to protect the RRVECs in DR.