(+)-Borneol, the main component of "Natural Borneol" in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, is a high-end spice and precious medicine. Plant extraction cannot meet the increasing demand for (+)-borneol, while microbial biosynthesis offers a sustainable supply route. However, its production was extremely low compared with other monoterpenes, even with extensively optimizing the mevalonate pathway. We found that the key challenge is the complex and unusual dephosphorylation reaction of bornyl diphosphate (BPP), which suffers the side-reaction and the competition from the cellular dephosphorylation process, especially lipid metabolism, thus limiting (+)-borneol synthesis. Here, we systematically optimized the dephosphorylation process by identifying, characterizing phosphatases, and balancing cellular dephosphorylation metabolism. For the first time, we identified two endogenous phosphatases and seven heterologous phosphatases, which significantly increased (+)-borneol production by up to 152%. By engineering BPP dephosphorylation and optimizing the MVA pathway, the production of (+)-borneol was increased by 33.8-fold, which enabled the production of 753 mg/L under fed-batch fermentation in shake flasks, so far the highest reported in the literature. This study showed that rewiring dephosphorylation metabolism was essential for high-level production of (+)-borneol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and balancing cellular dephosphorylation is also helpful for efficient biosynthesis of other terpenoids since all whose biosynthesis involves the dephosphorylation procedure.

Danshen, the dried roots and rhizomes of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (S. miltiorrhiza), is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Tanshinones, the bioactive compounds from Danshen, exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties, suggesting their potential for future therapeutic applications. Tanshinone biosynthesis is a complex process involving at least six P450 enzymes that have been identified and characterized, most of which belong to the CYP76 and CYP71 families. In this study, CYP81C16, a member of the CYP71 clan, was identified in S. miltiorrhiza. An in vitro assay revealed that it could catalyze the hydroxylation of four para-quinone-type tanshinones, namely neocryptotanshinone, deoxyneocryptotanshinone, and danshenxinkuns A and B. SmCYP81C16 emerged as a potential broad-spectrum oxidase targeting the C-18 position of para-quinone-type tanshinones with an impressive relative conversion rate exceeding 90%. Kinetic evaluations andin vivo assays underscored its highest affinity towards neocryptotanshinone among the tested substrates. The overexpression of SmCYP81C16 promoted the accumulation of (iso)tanshinone in hairy root lines. The characterization of SmCYP81C16 in this study accentuates its potential as a pivotal tool in the biotechnological production of tanshinones, either through microbial or plant metabolic engineering.
Humans ; Salvia miltiorrhiza/metabolism* ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Quinones/metabolism* ; Plant Roots/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant

Objective? To construct new nurses＇ humanistic care training modules based on the concept of "craftsman spirits", so as to provide the basis of training for nursing managers to improve nurses＇ humanistic care behavior. Methods Underpinned by the "craftsman need-to-know 30 items" in "craftsman spirits", we reviewed the literature about nurses＇ humanistic care training status and patients＇ humanistic needs, and selected 20 typical clinical nursing managers and educators from 3 cities in Jiangsu Province and conducted 2 rounds of consultation by Delphi expert consultation method; we used analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for indicators at various levels to determine the contents and weights of humanistic care training modules for new nurses. Results? After two rounds of consultation, the recovery rate was 100%, the expert authority coefficient (Cr) was 0.92 and 0.87 respectively, and the coordination coefficient(W) was 0.32 and 0.23. The training module of humanistic care for new nurses was finally formulated, including 6 primary indicators, 15 secondary indicators and 30 tertiary indicators. Conclusions The construction method of the new humanistic care nurse training module based on the concept of "craftsman spirits" is scientific and vigorous, the contents are specified and easy to apply, with an emphasis on nurses＇ internal literacy and understanding of the development of the discipline.

OBJECTIVETo study the mechanism of secondary metabolites of some phenolic acids in the hairy roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza induced by methyl jasmonate.

METHODThe hairy roots of S. miltiorrhiza were induced with methyl jasmonate (100 micromol x L(-1)) and collected at 0, 12, 24, 36 h after treatment. Real-time quantitative PCR was used for detecting the mRNA expression level of the key enzyme genes on the secondary metabolites pathway of rosmarinic acid, while a LC-MS method was developed to determine the content of rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid and salvianolic acid B.

RESULT AND CONCLUSIONThe concentration of phenolic acids grew up and accumulated quickly in the hairy roots with exogenous signal molecule MJ induced, and it was showed that the content of CA and RA reached the maximum after 24 h and the content of LAB reached the maximum in 36 h by MJ induced. The induction mechanism may be activated with different levels of RA synthesis in PAL, 4CL, C4H genes on the key enzyme phenylalanine pathway and TAT, HPPR genes on tyrosine pathway. The time of gene expression was different, among them, 4CL and PAL genes were more important. In a word, the result can provide some basis data about the mechanism of secondary metabolites of phenolic acids for further research.

Cyclopentanes ; analysis ; metabolism ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Hydroxybenzoates ; analysis ; metabolism ; Oxylipins ; analysis ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; chemistry ; genetics ; metabolism ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo establish a culture system for transgenic Salvia miltiorrhiza hairy roots.

METHODInvestigated the success rate of different explants, different infection time and different co-culture time to induce hairy roots of S. miltiorrhiza. Co-cultured explants were sterilizated with 400 g x L(-1) Cef water for 5 min, inoculated on MS solid medium supplied with 400 mg x mL(-1) cef and 2.5 g x L(-1) Hyg, and then transfered to the 67-V liquid medium with 2.5 g x L(-1) Hyg after complete sterilization. GFP fluorescence detection was performed to detect positive hairy root lines. PCR method to detect rolC gene which is the specific gene of hairy root. Biomass was determinated in different growth periods of root lines. HPLC was conducted to measure the content of dihydrotanshinone I of transgenic hairy roots.

RESULTLeaf base of S. miltiorrhiza was used as a perfect explant to Induce hairy roots, the success rate can reach 93.3%. Inducing efficiency was up to 63.3% after Agrobacterium infection for 10 min. Co-culture for 2-3 d can reach the best induced effect. It is a high credibiliy to use PCR method combined with detection of GFP fluorescence to identified positive transformants. There is a close contact between biomass increases and secondary metabolite accumulation of transgenic hairy roots.

CONCLUSIONSuccessfully in vitro culture system has been established in transgenic S. miltiorrhiza, and this research can lay foundations for the further genetic engineering applications.

Cells, Cultured ; Culture Media ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Roots ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; genetics ; growth & development ; metabolism ; Tissue Culture Techniques ; methods

OBJECTIVETo establish a convenient, practical and high efficient method of DNA extraction of os cervi, and lay the foundation of identification of animal bones.

METHODThe bones of sika deer, red deer, cattle, dog and pig were used to extract DNA under different decalcification time (24,48,72 h) and decalcification temperature (4,25,37,56,70 degrees C), and extract method.

RESULTIt proved by experiments that demineralization process promotes the cracking of osteocyte. In a broad of decalcification time and temperature, DNA could be extracted from all bone samples successfully while the quantity varied slightly.

CONCLUSIONSamples (about 0.1 g) decalcify with 0. mol x L(-1) EDTA at 4 degrees C for 24 h, then water-bath for 1 h after lysis buffer added, DNA extracted via the method above is of high quality and can be used for PCR.

Animals ; Bone Demineralization Technique ; Bone and Bones ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Cattle ; DNA ; isolation & purification ; Deer ; Dogs ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Swine ; Temperature ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVETo establish the new EST-SSR markers for analyzing the genetic variation of different population of Salvia miltiorrhiza.

METHODIt was dealt with ESTs newly downloaded from Genbank and that of acquired from HMPL lab EGassembler software, and then carried out SSR loci search and SSR type analysis by SSRIT software. After that, it was designed the EST-SSR primer pairs for PCR amplification condition optimization.

RESULTAbundant and high coverage of SSR loci distribution were found in S. miltiorrhiza with having one SSR per 5.8 kb ESTs. Among them, the occurrences of different repeat units were mainly the di- (63.0%) and tri- (35.5%). The CT/AG was the most frequent motif in dinucleotide motif type and the GAA/TCC was the most frequent motif in trinucleotide repeats. Out off 36 primer pairs, 29 primer pairs (80.5%) were successfully amplified in all samples of S. miltiorrhiza while the rest failed to give PCR products at various annealing temperature and Mg2+ concentrations. The selected primer pairs also showed the polymorphism in samples from different S. miltiorrhiza populations.

CONCLUSIONThe newly establishment of EST-SSR markers showed high SSR loci coverage and genetic polymorphisms in S. miltiorrhiza population. It could be used for genetic variation analysis.

Alleles ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Markers ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; genetics

The transcription factor of ethylene responsive factor binding protein (ERF) is belonged to AP2/ERF superfamily, which is known to be unique in plants. AP2/ERF proteins have important functions in the transcriptional regulation of a variety of biological processes related to growth and development, as well as various responses to environmental stimuli. An ERF gene from Salvia miltiorrhiza is cloned and divided into ERF gene family group VII of Arabidopsis and Rice. It contains a MCGGAI (I/L) motif referred to as CMVII-1 and a single intron in the 5'-flanking region of the AP2/ERF domain. Sequence analysis reveals that the region of second extron has abundant polymorphism sites. There are 21 single nucleotide polymorphism sites (SNPs) in the 264 bp region, among them, 14 SNPs are synonymous substitutions and 7 SNPs are non-synonymous substitutions. Though analysis of 181 samples from Shandong, Shaanxi and Sichuan Provinces, it reveals that each production area has its own special genotypes, 5 SNPs show significant difference. Cluster based on UPGMA method reveals that different populations from specific province have clustered together. It shows that SmERF gene will be a candidate molecular marker for the identification of Salvia miltiorrhiza from different areas.

Acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase (AACT) is the first enzyme in the terpene synthesis pathway, catalyzed two units of acetyl-CoA to acetoacetyl-CoA. In order to study the tanshinone biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza, a novel AACT gene, SmAACT, was cloned using cDNA microarray and RACE strategy. The full length cDNA of SmAACT is 1 623 bp (accession No. EF635969), which contained a 1 200 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 399 amino acid protein. Nine introns were found in the genomic sequence. SmAACT was upregulated by YE and Ag+ elicitors both with cDNA microarray and quantitative RT-PCR analyses along with the accumulation of tanshinones. Sequence homology comparison and phylogenetic analysis all suggested that SmAACT belonged to the class of acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase. The transcription level of SmAACT was relatively higher in root than that in stem and leaf tissues. SNP analysis revealed that SmAACT was highly variable in the region of 6 to 9 introns with 33 SNPs in the 600 bp region, there are 5 SNPs in the cDNA region while they are all synonymous cSNPs. Some special genotypes were found in Salvia miltiorrhiza from different areas. SmAACT will be an useful gene for further analyze the mechanism of gene regulation among the tanshinones biosynthesis.