Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Mol Ecol 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy.

Wolbachia is a maternally inherited obligate endosymbiont that can induce a wide spectrum of effects in its host, ranging from mutualism to reproductive parasitism. At the genomic level, recombination within and between strains, transposable elements, and horizontal transfer of strains between host species make Wolbachia an evolutionarily dynamic bacterial system. The invasive cherry fruit fly Rhagoletis cingulata arrived in Europe from North America ~40 years ago, where it now co-occurs with the native cherry pest R. Read More

Plant J 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Plant Breeding, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Phytophthora infestans is a pathogenic oomycete that causes the infamous potato late blight disease. Resistance (R) genes from diverse Solanum species encode intracellular receptors that trigger effective defence responses upon the recognition of cognate RXLR avirulence (Avr) effector proteins. To deploy these R genes in a durable fashion in agriculture, we need to understand the mechanism of effector recognition and the way the pathogen evades recognition. Read More

Aging (Albany NY) 2021 Apr 21;13. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

School of Life Science and Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Experimental Teratology, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.

Piccolo is a presynaptic protein with high conservation among different species, and the expression of Piccolo is extensive in vertebrates. Recently, a small fragment of Piccolo (Piccolino), arising due to the incomplete splicing of intron 5/6, was found to be present in the synapses of retinas and cochleae. However, the comprehensive function of Piccolo in the retina and cochlea remains unclear. Read More

Gene 2021 Apr 18:145667. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Collaborative Innovation Center of Recovery and Reconstruction of Degraded Ecosystem in Wanjiang Basin Co-founded by Anhui Province and Ministry of Education, School of Ecology and Environment, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui 241000, China. Electronic address:

To date, a relatively complete classification of Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) has been generated, but the phylogeny of the family remains need to be fully resolved. Some phylogenetic relationships within Sphingidae still remains uncertain, especially the taxonomic status of the subfamily Langiinae and its sole included genus and species, Langia zenzeroides. To begin to address this problem, we generated nine new complete mitochondrial genomes, including that of Langia, and together with that of Theretra oldenlandiae from our previous study and 25 other Sphingidae mitogenomes downloaded from GenBank, analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of Sphingidae and investigated the mitogenomic differences among members of the Langiinae, Sphinginae, Smerinthinae and Macroglossinae. Read More

J Invertebr Pathol 2021 Apr 18:107591. Epub 2021 Apr 18.

Department of Entomology and Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, MOA, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address:

Wolbachia are common intracellular endosymbionts of arthropods, but the interactions between Wolbachia and arthropods are only partially understood. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a model insect for understanding Wolbachia-host interactions. Here the native wMel strain of D. Read More

Cancer 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves outcomes in unfavorable-risk prostate cancer (PCa) treated with radiation therapy (RT). It was hypothesized that replacing luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists with a 5-α-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) would improve hormonal health-related quality of life (HRQOL) without differentially suppressing androgen-responsive (AR) gene expression.

Methods: Patients with localized unfavorable-risk PCa, aged ≥70 years or Charlson Comorbidity Index score ≥2 were treated with oral ADT (oADT), consisting of 4 months of bicalutamide, a 5-ARI, and RT at 78 Gy. Read More

PLoS One 2021 21;16(4):e0250267. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

School of Medicine, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, China.

4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA), a terminal aromatic substituted fatty acid, is used widely to specifically attenuate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inhibit histone deacetylases (HDACs). In this study, we investigated the effect of 4-PBA on cardiac differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Herein, we found that 4-PBA regulated cardiac differentiation in a stage-specific manner just like trichostatin A (TSA), a well-known HDAC inhibitor. Read More

Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021 Apr;71(4)

School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.

A polyphasic study was undertaken to determine the taxonomic position of two halophilic archaeal strains, TH32 and YPL4, isolated from saline soil and a salt mine in PR China, respectively. Strains TH32 and YPL4 both have two dissimilar 16S rRNA genes. The two strains exhibited sequence similarities of 91. Read More

Sci Prog 2021 Apr-Jun;104(2):368504211011344

Clinical Laboratory, Danyang People's Hospital of Jiangsu Province, Danyang, Jiangsu, China.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. As far as we know, no biomarker has been widely accepted for early diagnosis and prognosis prediction of GC. The purpose of this study is to find potential biomarkers to predict the prognosis of GC. Read More

Plant Dis 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Yantai University, No.30, Qingquan Road, Yantai, Shandong, China, 264005;

Wheat powdery mildew is a devastating disease that seriously threatens yield worldwide. Utilization of host resistance is considered an effective strategy to minimize powdery mildew damage. Pm21, PmV, and Pm12 confer broad-spectrum resistance to wheat powdery mildew in China, of which Pm21 and PmV are allelic genes derived from the 6VS chromosome of Dasypyrum villosum, and Pm12 is derived from the 6SS chromosome of Aegilops speltoides and most likely orthologous to the former two genes. Read More

Phytopathology 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Guizhou University, 71206, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Huaxi District, Guiyang, Guizhou Province of China, Guiyang, China, 550025;

Tea leaf spot, caused by the fungal phytopathogen Didymella segeticola (Q. Chen) Q. Chen, Crous & L. Read More

Adv Ther 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Urology, The First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, No. 258 of Cultural North Road, Haigang District, Qinhuangdao, 066000, China.

Introduction: Metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) is responsible for most prostate cancer (PCa) deaths worldwide. The present study aims to explore the molecular differences between mPCa and PCa.

Methods: The authors downloaded GSE6752, GSE6919, and GSE32269 from the Gene Expression Omnibus and employed integrated analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between mPCa and PCa. Read More

Mol Biol Rep 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Animal Biotechnology Lab, ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology (NIANP), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

The role of copper and selenium on activation of estradiol synthesis pathways viz. PKA/AKT/WNT is not clearly elucidated. On this background we attempt to elcuiated the role of copper and selenium on mRNA expression of genes associated with estradiol synthesis in caprine ovarian granulose cell models. Read More

Biometals 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.

Transcription factor, skinhead-1 (skn-1) has been demonstrated to play central roles in regulation of oxidative damage. Arsenite is an oxidative damage inducer in the environment. However, the role of skn-1 in arsenite-induced oxidative damage remains unclear. Read More

Rice (N Y) 2021 Apr 21;14(1):37. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences/National Key Facility for Crop Gene Resources and Genetic Improvement, Beijing, 100081, China.

Anthocyanins cause purple, brown or red colors in various tissues of rice plants, but the specific determinant factors and regulatory systems for anthocyanin biosynthesis in almost all tissues remain largely unknown. In the present study, we mapped and isolated two complementary genes, OsC1 encoding a R2R3-MYB transcriptional factor and OsDFR encoding a dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, which are responsible for the purple coloration of apiculi and stigmas in indica cultivar Xieqingzao by the map-based cloning strategy. We also identified two tissue-specific pigmentation genes, OsPa for apiculi and OsPs for stigmas, by phylogenetic analysis of all anthocyanin biosynthesis-associated bHLH transcriptional factors in maize and rice, CRISPR/Cas9 knockout and transcriptional expression analysis. Read More

Pediatr Nephrol 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain.

Background: Primary distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a rare genetic disorder caused by impaired distal mechanisms of urinary acidification. Most cases are secondary to pathogenic variants in ATP6V0A4, ATP6V1B1, and SLC4A1 genes, which encode transporters regulating acid-base balance in the collecting duct.

Methods: Retrospective study of molecular and clinical data from diagnosis and long-term follow-up (10, 20, and 40±10 years) of 16 patients with primary dRTA diagnosed in childhood. Read More

Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Laboratório de Bacteriologia Vegetal, Instituto Biológico, Centro Avançado em Proteção de Plantas e Sanidade Animal-CAPSA, Alameda Dos Vidoeiros, 1097, Gramado, Campinas, SP, CEP:13101-680, Brazil.

This study aimed to characterize six Streptomyces strains associated with potato scab in south Brazil through polyphasic taxonomy involving morphology, pathogenicity and genetic features. These strains were compared with other potato-scab Streptomyces species mainly S. europaeiscabiei, S. Read More

Arch Virol 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

College of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu, China.

Bovine torovirus (BToV) is an important diarrhea-causing pathogen affecting bovines. To facilitate BToV detection, a reverse transcription insulated isothermal PCR (RT-iiPCR) assay was developed that targets the BToV M gene with high specificity and reproducibility. The assay has a limit of detection of 23 copies/μL. Read More

Genome Biol Evol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.

A major goal of evolutionary genetics and evo-devo is to understand how changes in genotype manifest as changes in phenotype. Bumble bees display remarkable color pattern diversity while converging onto numerous regional Müllerian mimicry patterns, thus enabling exploration of the genetic mechanisms underlying convergent phenotypic evolution. In western North America, multiple bumble bee species converge onto local mimicry patterns through parallel shifts of midabdominal segments from red to black. Read More

Food Funct 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.

The effects of Rhodiola extract (RE) on longevity and stress resistance in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), and the underlying molecular mechanisms were explored in the present study. Results showed that the lifespan of C. Read More

ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland (UQ), 288 Herston Rd, Hertson, Queensland 4006, Australia.

The combination of macro- and microporosity is a potent manner of enhancing osteogenic potential, but the biological events leading to this increase in osteogenesis are not well understood. In this study, we investigated the effect of a dual pore size scaffold on the physical and biological properties, with the hypothesis that cell condensation is the determining factor for enhanced osteogenic differentiation. To this end, a hierarchical scaffold possessing a dual (large and small) pore size was fabricated by combining two additive manufacturing techniques: melt electrospinning writing (MEW) and fused deposition modeling (FDM). Read More

Vestn Oftalmol 2021 ;137(2):5-11

Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, Moscow, Russia.

The gene encoding the cone-rod homeobox protein is a specific photoreceptor transcription factor crucial for retinal function. Persons temporarily residing in the Arctic zone during the polar summer may suffer from disturbances associated with extremely high ambient illumination. These environmental changes are mediated by retinal photoreceptors; therefore, it is important to study the expression of retinal genes in order to assess individual capacities of sensory adaptation to polar day conditions. Read More

Vet Dermatol 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Clinical Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing concern in canine Staphylococcus pseudintermedius dermatitis. Treatment with rifampicin (RFP) is considered only in meticillin-resistant and multidrug-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MDR-MRSP). Read More

Food Funct 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Food Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510632, P. R. China.

Researchers have noted that organ-organ communication between bone and intestine has significant effects on bone health and its related diseases. In this study, we collected colonic epithelial tissue from dexamethasone-induced osteoporotic rats and Astragalus polysaccharide (APS)-alleviated osteoporotic rats and employed transcriptome sequencing to investigate the functional changes that occurred in the intestine. Principal component analysis showed that both dexamethasone (inducer of osteoporosis) and APS reprogrammed the gene expression profile of the intestine. Read More

J Helminthol 2021 Apr 21;95:e23. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113Sofia, Bulgaria.

The aim of the study is to test a hypothesis for the phylogenetic relationships among mammalian hymenolepidid tapeworms, based on partial (D1-D3) nuclear 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, by estimating new molecular phylogenies for the group based on partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and nuclear 18S rRNA genes, as well as a combined analysis using all three genes. New sequences of COI and 18S rRNA genes were obtained for Coronacanthus integrus, C. magnihamatus, C. Read More

J Oral Pathol Med 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Ear-Nose-Throat, Maoming People's Hospital, Maoming, 525000, P.R. China.

Background: Early detection and prognostic prediction are crucial in improving the survival of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Therefore, we provided potential molecular markers in this study for early diagnosis and prognosis of this cancer based on the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database analysis and experimental validations.

Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HNSCC tumor and normal samples were identified by TCGA database-based analyses. Read More

Immunology 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Tropical Disease Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, L3 5QA, United Kingdom.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is an established treatment for numerous autoimmune conditions. Although Fc fragments derived from IVIG have shown efficacy in controlling immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in children, the mechanisms of action are unclear and controversial. The aim of this study is to dissect IVIG effector mechanisms using further adapted Fc fragments on demyelination in an ex vivo model of the central nervous system (CNS)-immune interface. Read More

Physiol Plant 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Tobacco Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Tobacco Biology and Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qingdao, China.

Cadmium (Cd) is known as one of the most hazardous elements in the environment and a persistent soil constraint toxic to all flora and fauna. In this study, we conducted physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic analyses of Nicotiana rustica (N. rustica) and Nicotiana tabacum (N. Read More

Mol Med Rep 2021 Jun 21;23(6). Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Division of Cell Recognition, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi 981‑8558, Japan.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a universally lethal type of cancer that is increasing in incidence worldwide; therefore, the development of new drugs for MPM is an urgent task. Bullfrog sialic acid‑binding lectin (cSBL) is a multifunctional protein that has carbohydrate‑binding and ribonuclease activities. cSBL exerts marked antitumor activity against numerous types of cancer cells, with low toxicity to normal cells. Read More

Mol Med Rep 2021 Jun 21;23(6). Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Qinghai University Medical College, Xining, Qinghai 810016, P.R. China.

Musk ketone exerts antiproliferative effects on several types of cancer, such as lung and breast cancer. However, the effects and underlying mechanisms of action of musk ketone in gastric cancer (GC) are poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of musk ketone in GC cells. Read More