Gibberellin is an essential plant hormone that plays an important regulatory role throughout the life cycle of higher plants. A total of 23 genes involved in gibberellin action were identified from Phyllostachys edulis genome, including 8 GA20ox and 1 GA3ox genes involved in the gibberellin biosynthesis, 8 GA2ox genes involved in the metabolism of gibberellin, 2 GID1 genes involved in gibberellin perception, 2 GID2 genes and 2 DELLA genes involved in gibberellin signal transduction. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes from Arabidopsis, Oryza sativa and Phyllostachys edulis revealed that gibberellin biosynthesis, metabolism, and signaling pathways are conserved in these species. Treatment of seeds and seedlings of bamboo with exogenous gibberellin revealed that gibberellin significantly increased seed germination rate and stem elongation of seedlings, and had the best concentration of action. The expression levels of GA20ox and GA3ox genes in the bamboo seedlings were down-regulated and the expression of the active gibberellin-degrading gene GA2ox was up-regulated after GA3 treatment, and the transcriptional level of the gibberellin receptor GID1 and the positive regulatory gene GID2 was significantly increased while the expression of the negative regulatory gene DELLA was decreased. These genes have significant differences in the expression of different spatial locations of bamboo shoot stems, GA20ox, GA3ox, GA2ox, GID1 and GID2 are all expressed in the upper part of bamboo shoots, while the repressor gene DELLA accumulates at the bottom of the shoots and is hardly expressed at the top.
Arabidopsis ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gibberellins ; biosynthesis ; Phylogeny ; Plant Growth Regulators ; Plant Proteins ; Poaceae

The flower of Hibiscus syriacus has good ornamental and edible-medicinal values.In this study,four samples of two varieties,namely white multiple petals flower and pink multiple petals flower,were selected as test materials.And the optimum extraction conditions,relative molecular weight,monosaccharide composition and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides in flower were investigated.Through single factor experiment and response surface,the optimal extract conditions of polysaccharide were designed as follows:extraction temperature at 96.8℃,ratio of material to liquid of 43.5∶1 m L·g~(-1),extraction time of 3.1 h.Polysaccharides of H.syriacus flowers were analyzed by high performance gel chromatography.The average molecular masses of the 4 polysaccharide samples were1.49×10~5,1.25×10~5,1.01×10~5,1.37×10~5,respectively.Polysaccharides of H.syriacus flowers were mainly composed of glucose,mannose,galactose,rhamnose and arabinose by pre-column derivatization HPLC.The ratio of galactose was the highest in five monosaccharide,and the ratio of galactose to glucose was 1.656-4.496.In addition,crude polysaccharides of H.syriacus flowers showed potential antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical(DPPH)assay,total reducing capacity assay and ABTS assay in vitro,and its antioxidant effect showed a good dose-effect relationship with the concentration of crude polysaccharides.Among the tested varieties,polysaccharides of pink multiple petals flower and white multiple petals flower had the same molecular masses and monosaccharides composition,but the antioxidant activity of the polysaccharides of pink multiple petals flower was higher than that of the white flowers.The results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for the application of H.syriacus flower in the field of functional foods.
Antioxidants ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Flowers ; chemistry ; Hibiscus ; chemistry ; Monosaccharides ; chemistry ; Phytochemicals ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Pigmentation ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; pharmacology

The non-starch polysaccharides,mainly composed of glucomannans,are the major bioactive compounds in Dendrobium catenatum. In order to evaluate the quality of the medicinal materials and guide the production and processing,a quantification method of non-starch polysaccharides was established by stems of D. catenatum C15 strain collected from the pear epiphytic cultivation. The non-starch polysaccharides were obtained by " water extraction,α-amylase pretreatment,and alcohol precipitation once" method. The contents of starches,non-starch polysaccharides and monosaccharides were analyzed. In addition,the system suitability was tested. Compared with method of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia( 2015 edition),the contents of total polysaccharides,glucose,and mannose were decreased by 20. 9%,58. 8% and 1. 6% respectively. The method effectively digested starch and retained non-starch polysaccharides,and the analysis result was accurate and repeatable. Therefore,it is suitable for the content measurement of non-starch polysaccharides of D. catenatum. Furthermore,it could be an alternative method for quality control of D. catenatum and a reference in the determination of non-starch polysaccharides in other starch-containing medicinal materials.
Dendrobium ; chemistry ; Monosaccharides ; analysis ; Phytochemicals ; analysis ; Polysaccharides ; analysis ; Starch ; analysis

In order to investigate the effect of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) gene in melon resistance to powdery mildew, according to the previous results of EST sequences from cDNA-AFLP library and the melon genome sequence data, the SAMDC gene was isolated from Chinese wild melon clone 'Yuntian930' by RT-PCR and designated as CmSAMDC (GenBank Accession No. KF151861). The mORF (main open reading frame) was 1 095 bp encoding 364 amino acids with a molecular mass of 40 kDa. The predicted protein sequence showed high similarity with Cucumis sativus and Citrofortunella microcarpa. The SDS-PAGE showed that the expression protein was a fusion protein with the molecular weight of 40 kDa, which perfectly matched the mass calculated from the amino acid sequence. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that the expression level of CmSAMDC reached a maximum at 48 hpi (hours post inoculation) that over 7-fold to 0 hpi, and the expression of CmSAMDC was also detected in tendril, root, leaf and stem. These results indicate that CmSAMDC gene may play protective roles in melon resistance to powdery mildew infection.

Stem cell research has become a frontier in the field of life sciences, and provides an ideal model for exploring developmental biology problems such as embryogenesis, histiocytosis, and gene expression regulation, as well as opens up new doors for clinical tissue defective and inheritance diseases. Among them, menstrual blood-derived stem cells (MenSCs) are characterized by wide source, multi-directional differentiation potential, low immune rejection characteristics. Thus, MenSCs can achieve individual treatment and have the most advantage of the clinical application. The central nervous system, including brain and spinal cord, is susceptible to injury. And lethality and morbidity of them tops the list of all types of trauma. Compared to peripheral nervous system, recovery of central nervous system after damage remains extremely hard. However, the treatment of stem cells, especially MenSCs, is expected to solve this problem. Therefore, biological characteristics of MenSCs and their treatment in the respect of central nervous system diseases have been reviewed at home and abroad in recent years, so as to provide reference for the treatment of central nervous system diseases.

The study is aimed to fully analyze antioxidant activty and stability of color-related components from Dendrobium officinale flower. The contents of anthocyanins,carotenoids and flavonoids of 10 varieties including whole flower and labellum of D.officinale flower were detected using UV visible spectroscopy technique and evaluated for their 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH·), superoxide anion radical (·O⁻₂) and hydroxy radical (·OH) scavenging activty. And the effects of 4 kinds of metal ions (Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺,K⁺) and 2 kinds of food additives were investigated on the stability of anthocyanins pigment from D.officinale flower. The results indicated that the flower of D.officinale contained anthocyanins,carotenoids and flavonoids,and their contents in different parts of different families varied. The content of anthocyanins (1 330.9 μg·g⁻¹) in labellum was significantly higher than that in the whole flower (696.3 μg·g⁻¹). The content of carotenoids was positively correlated with the content of anthocyanins,and there was significant positive correlation between the scavenging capacities of the three free radicals and the contents of anthocyanin,respectively (0.415,0.384,0.455). The Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, K⁺ and glucose showed significant color-enhancing effect and could increase the stability of anthocyanin in D.officinale flower,while ascorbic acids showed remarkably degradation effect of anthocyanin in D.officinale flower.

Antibodies, Monoclonal ; chemistry ; metabolism ; therapeutic use ; B7-H1 Antigen ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Humans ; Kinetics ; Models, Molecular ; Protein Binding

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study tested the effectiveness of a brief alcohol-related intervention delivered by the social media app WeChat to teach about ethanol-induced facial flushing and increase the willingness of students who see another student flushing to suggest that he or she should reduce or stop drinking. In the context of Chinese drinking culture, it is sometimes socially difficult to refuse a drink, even when experiencing physical discomfort, such as flushing. METHODS: Classrooms of students in a medical university in China were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Students in the intervention group were invited to view 3 alcohol education lessons on WeChat during a 2-week period. A pretest and posttest before and after the 2-week period assessed changes in students’ willingness to intervene if they saw someone flush while drinking. Data were collected about students’ alcohol use and their ratings of the lessons. RESULTS: Mixed-design analysis of variance yielded a significant time-by-treatment interaction effect on the variable of willingness to suggest that a flushing person stop or slow down their drinking, and the change was significant between the intervention and control groups. One-way analysis of covariance yielded a significant treatment effect at the posttest, after controlling for the pretest score. Students rated the lessons above the midpoint of the scale for being informative, interesting, and useful. CONCLUSIONS: The pilot study showed that a brief alcohol-related intervention delivered by WeChat could produce a measurable positive change in the willingness of university students to suggest that a student who flushes should stop drinking. This pilot study also suggested improvements for future lessons and evaluation design.
Acetaldehyde ; Aldehyde Dehydrogenase ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China* ; Drinking ; Education ; Ethanol ; Flushing* ; Humans ; Pilot Projects* ; Social Media

A simple and rapid immunochromatographic test strip incorporating a colloidal gold-labeled recombinant Nsp7 antigen probe was successfully developed for the detection of anti-porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) antibodies in swine. Recombinant Nsp7 protein of PRRSV labeled with colloidal gold was dispensed on a conjugate pad for use as the detector. Staphylococcal protein A and purified porcine anti-Nsp7 antibodies were blotted on a nitrocellulose membrane to form test and control lines, respectively. A comparison of the strip with standard diagnostic tests, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and immunoperoxidase monolayer assay, was also performed. The immunochromatographic test strip was shown to be of high specificity and sensitivity. Furthermore, the strip assay is rapid and easy to perform with no requirement for professional-level skills or equipment. It is suggested that the immunochromatographic test strip can be used to quickly and accurately detect PRRSV antibody and to be suitable for diagnostic purposes in the field.
Antibodies* ; Collodion ; Colloids ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gold Colloid ; Immunochromatography ; Membranes ; Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome* ; Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Swine

Rutin-degrading enzymes (RDE) can degrade rutin into poorly water soluble compound, quercetin, and cause the bitter taste in tartary buckwheat. In the present study RDE from Yu 6-21 tartary buckwheat seeds was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation, followed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography on Phenyl Sepharose CL-4B, ion exchange chromatography on CM-Cellulose and gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-150. Purified RDE showed single band with molecular weight of 66 kDa on SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature of RDE were 5.0 and 50 ℃ respectively. The Km was 0.27 mmol/L, and the Vmax was 39.68 U/mg. The RDE activity could be inhibited by Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺ and EDTA, and showed tolerance to 50% methanol (V/V). The N terminal sequence (TVSRSSFPDGFLFGL) was obtained by Edman degradation method and 15 internal peptide sequences were determined by MALDI-TOF-MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry). These results established the foundations for identification of the candidate gene of RDE via transcriptome data and further studying RDE biological function.