OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and adipokine-ameliorating effects of Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, in obese rats. METHODS: After 2 weeks of a...OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and adipokine-ameliorating effects of Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, in obese rats. METHODS: After 2 weeks of acclimation with free access to regular rodent chow and water, obese-prone-caesarean-derived (OP-CD) rats were fed a modified AIN-93G diet containing 60% energy from fat. Treatment was performed twice daily by gavage feeding with 500, 1 500, or 3 500 mg/kg body weight LWDH suspended in water (n=12 rats per group). Twelve obese-resistant-CD (OR-CD) rats were fed the atherogenic diet and gavaged with water, and served as the normal control. Blood biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and adiponectin were measured post-sacrifice and used to determine the treatment effect of LWDH and assess the suitability of OR/OP-CD rats for studying these parameters. RESULTS: After 9 weeks of treatment, LWDH lowered serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels showed a tendency towards reduction, but were not significantly different from the OP-CD control. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was increased in response to all three doses of LWDH, while the levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were unchanged. Serum adiponectin levels were increased in response to oral administration of LWDH at the dose of either 500 or 1 500 mg/kg body weight. In addition, comparisons between OR-CD and OP-CD rats revealed differential, and for some biomarkers, conflicting characteristics of high-fat diet-fed OP-CD rats in reference to obese human subjects in terms of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers and circulating adiponectin levels. CONCLUSION: The results show, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress and adiponectin-ameliorating effects of LWDH in obese rats. The suitability of the OP-JOP-CD rat model as a research tool to study inflammation, oxidative stress, and adipokine production requires further investigation.展开更多
FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)can promote early flowering in annual species,but such role has not been well demonstrated in woody species.We produced self and reciprocal grafts involving non-transgenic blueberry(NT)and transge...FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)can promote early flowering in annual species,but such role has not been well demonstrated in woody species.We produced self and reciprocal grafts involving non-transgenic blueberry(NT)and transgenic blueberry(T)carrying a 35S-driven blueberry FT(VcFT-OX).We demonstrated that the transgenic VcFT-OX rootstock promoted flowering of non-transgenic blueberry scions in the NT(scion):T(rootstock)grafts.We further analyzed RNASeq profiles and six groups of phytohormones in both NT:T and NT:NT plants.We observed content changes of several hormone metabolites,in a descending order,in the transgenic NT:T,non-transgenic NT:T,and non-transgenic NT:NT leaves.By comparing differential expression transcripts(DETs)of these tissues in relative to their control,we found that the non-transgenic NT:T leaves had many DETs shared with the transgenic NT:T leaves,but very few with the transgenic NT:T roots.Interestingly,a number of these shared DETs belong to hormone pathway genes,concurring with the content changes of hormone metabolites in both transgenic and non-transgenic leaves of the NT:T plants.These results suggest that phytohormones induced by VcFT-OX in the transgenic leaves might serve as part of the signals that resulted in early flowering in both transgenic plants and the non-transgenic NT:T scions.展开更多
Phosphite (Phi)-based fungicides are used to control the oomycete Phytophthora infestans which causes late blight disease, the most devastating disease in potatoes. In order to examine the effects of Phi-based fungici...Phosphite (Phi)-based fungicides are used to control the oomycete Phytophthora infestans which causes late blight disease, the most devastating disease in potatoes. In order to examine the effects of Phi-based fungicides on potato tubers through foliar or post-harvest application, a metabolite profiling approach based on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been established. A total of 132 metabolites were detected using the GC-MS approach. Among these, 34 metabolites were identified after normalization and annotated with a compound name with standard mass spectral library. Metabolomic analysis of Phi-treated plants showed significant differences in the levels of many metabolites especially amino acids. Multivariate statistical approaches, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), were employed to explore the relationships between metabolites to detect group differences. A good discrimination between the control and the Phi-treated plants was observed, which demonstrated that significant changes in the metabolite profile have been caused by the two different Phi applications (foliar or post-harvest). This finding suggests that the alteration of specific metabolite levels by accumulation of Phi can lead to resistance against the pathogen.展开更多
The molecular mechanism underlying dormancy release and the induction of flowering remains poorly understood in woody plants.Mu-legacy is a valuable blueberry mutant,in which a transgene insertion caused increased exp...The molecular mechanism underlying dormancy release and the induction of flowering remains poorly understood in woody plants.Mu-legacy is a valuable blueberry mutant,in which a transgene insertion caused increased expression of a RESPONSE REGULATOR 2-like gene(VcRR2).Mu-legacy plants,compared with nontransgenic‘Legacy’plants,show dwarfing,promotion of flower bud formation,and can flower under nonchilling conditions.We conducted transcriptomic comparisons in leaves,chilled and nonchilled flowering buds,and late-pink buds,and analyzed a total of 41 metabolites of six groups of hormones in leaf tissues of both Mu-legacy and‘Legacy’plants.These analyses uncovered that increased VcRR2 expression promotes the expression of a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana ENTCOPALYL DIPHOSPHATE SYNTHETASE 1(VcGA1),which induces new homeostasis of hormones,including increased gibberellin 4(GA4)levels in Mu-legacy leaves.Consequently,increased expression of VcRR2 and VcGA1,which function in cytokinin responses and gibberellin synthesis,respectively,initiated the reduction in plant height and the enhancement of flower bud formation of the Mu-legacy plants through interactions of multiple approaches.In nonchilled flower buds,29 differentially expressed transcripts of 17 genes of five groups of hormones were identified in transcriptome comparisons between Mu-legacy and‘Legacy’plants,of which 22 were chilling responsive.Thus,these analyses suggest that increased expression of VcRR2 was collectively responsible for promoting flower bud formation in highbush blueberry under nonchilling conditions.We report here for the first time the importance of VcRR2 to induce a suite of downstream hormones that promote flowering in woody plants.展开更多
The impact of osmotic stress on growth, physiolo- gy, and metabolism of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) was investigated by detailed analysis of biomass traits, hormone metabolites and osmolytes in two genet...The impact of osmotic stress on growth, physiolo- gy, and metabolism of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) was investigated by detailed analysis of biomass traits, hormone metabolites and osmolytes in two genetically unrelated drought-tolerant genotypes and two unrelated drought-sensitive genotypes. Seedlings were grown in vitro under controlled conditions and osmotic stress was simulated by applying a gradual treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG 6ooo), followed by hypo-osmotic treatment of variants used for metabolite determination. The results provide a basis for the identification of reliable selection criteria for drought resistance in oilseed rape. The in vitro cultivation system established during this study enabled effective discrimination of early osmotic stress responses between drought-resistant and -susceptible oilseed rape genotypes that also show large differences in relative seed yield under drought conditions in the field. Clear physiological and metabolic differences wereobserved between the drought-resistant and drought-sensitive genotypes, suggesting that osmotic adjustment is a key component of drought response in oilseed rape. Unexpected- ly, however, the drought-resistant genotypes did not show typical hormonal adjustment and osmolyte accumulation, suggesting that they possess alternative physiological mech- anisms enabling avoidance of stress symptoms.展开更多
基金supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research(CIHR)-China-Canada Joint Health Research Initiative(CCI-92219)
文摘OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and adipokine-ameliorating effects of Liuwei Dihuang (LWDH), a traditional Chinese herbal formula, in obese rats. METHODS: After 2 weeks of acclimation with free access to regular rodent chow and water, obese-prone-caesarean-derived (OP-CD) rats were fed a modified AIN-93G diet containing 60% energy from fat. Treatment was performed twice daily by gavage feeding with 500, 1 500, or 3 500 mg/kg body weight LWDH suspended in water (n=12 rats per group). Twelve obese-resistant-CD (OR-CD) rats were fed the atherogenic diet and gavaged with water, and served as the normal control. Blood biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and adiponectin were measured post-sacrifice and used to determine the treatment effect of LWDH and assess the suitability of OR/OP-CD rats for studying these parameters. RESULTS: After 9 weeks of treatment, LWDH lowered serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels showed a tendency towards reduction, but were not significantly different from the OP-CD control. Liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was increased in response to all three doses of LWDH, while the levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were unchanged. Serum adiponectin levels were increased in response to oral administration of LWDH at the dose of either 500 or 1 500 mg/kg body weight. In addition, comparisons between OR-CD and OP-CD rats revealed differential, and for some biomarkers, conflicting characteristics of high-fat diet-fed OP-CD rats in reference to obese human subjects in terms of inflammatory and oxidative stress biomarkers and circulating adiponectin levels. CONCLUSION: The results show, for the first time, the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress and adiponectin-ameliorating effects of LWDH in obese rats. The suitability of the OP-JOP-CD rat model as a research tool to study inflammation, oxidative stress, and adipokine production requires further investigation.
文摘FLOWERING LOCUS T(FT)can promote early flowering in annual species,but such role has not been well demonstrated in woody species.We produced self and reciprocal grafts involving non-transgenic blueberry(NT)and transgenic blueberry(T)carrying a 35S-driven blueberry FT(VcFT-OX).We demonstrated that the transgenic VcFT-OX rootstock promoted flowering of non-transgenic blueberry scions in the NT(scion):T(rootstock)grafts.We further analyzed RNASeq profiles and six groups of phytohormones in both NT:T and NT:NT plants.We observed content changes of several hormone metabolites,in a descending order,in the transgenic NT:T,non-transgenic NT:T,and non-transgenic NT:NT leaves.By comparing differential expression transcripts(DETs)of these tissues in relative to their control,we found that the non-transgenic NT:T leaves had many DETs shared with the transgenic NT:T leaves,but very few with the transgenic NT:T roots.Interestingly,a number of these shared DETs belong to hormone pathway genes,concurring with the content changes of hormone metabolites in both transgenic and non-transgenic leaves of the NT:T plants.These results suggest that phytohormones induced by VcFT-OX in the transgenic leaves might serve as part of the signals that resulted in early flowering in both transgenic plants and the non-transgenic NT:T scions.
文摘Phosphite (Phi)-based fungicides are used to control the oomycete Phytophthora infestans which causes late blight disease, the most devastating disease in potatoes. In order to examine the effects of Phi-based fungicides on potato tubers through foliar or post-harvest application, a metabolite profiling approach based on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been established. A total of 132 metabolites were detected using the GC-MS approach. Among these, 34 metabolites were identified after normalization and annotated with a compound name with standard mass spectral library. Metabolomic analysis of Phi-treated plants showed significant differences in the levels of many metabolites especially amino acids. Multivariate statistical approaches, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), were employed to explore the relationships between metabolites to detect group differences. A good discrimination between the control and the Phi-treated plants was observed, which demonstrated that significant changes in the metabolite profile have been caused by the two different Phi applications (foliar or post-harvest). This finding suggests that the alteration of specific metabolite levels by accumulation of Phi can lead to resistance against the pathogen.
基金supported by AgBioResearch of Michigan State University(http://www.canr.msu.edu/research/agbioresearch/)and USDA-NIFA AFRI 1015241 to P.P.E.and G.S.
文摘The molecular mechanism underlying dormancy release and the induction of flowering remains poorly understood in woody plants.Mu-legacy is a valuable blueberry mutant,in which a transgene insertion caused increased expression of a RESPONSE REGULATOR 2-like gene(VcRR2).Mu-legacy plants,compared with nontransgenic‘Legacy’plants,show dwarfing,promotion of flower bud formation,and can flower under nonchilling conditions.We conducted transcriptomic comparisons in leaves,chilled and nonchilled flowering buds,and late-pink buds,and analyzed a total of 41 metabolites of six groups of hormones in leaf tissues of both Mu-legacy and‘Legacy’plants.These analyses uncovered that increased VcRR2 expression promotes the expression of a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana ENTCOPALYL DIPHOSPHATE SYNTHETASE 1(VcGA1),which induces new homeostasis of hormones,including increased gibberellin 4(GA4)levels in Mu-legacy leaves.Consequently,increased expression of VcRR2 and VcGA1,which function in cytokinin responses and gibberellin synthesis,respectively,initiated the reduction in plant height and the enhancement of flower bud formation of the Mu-legacy plants through interactions of multiple approaches.In nonchilled flower buds,29 differentially expressed transcripts of 17 genes of five groups of hormones were identified in transcriptome comparisons between Mu-legacy and‘Legacy’plants,of which 22 were chilling responsive.Thus,these analyses suggest that increased expression of VcRR2 was collectively responsible for promoting flower bud formation in highbush blueberry under nonchilling conditions.We report here for the first time the importance of VcRR2 to induce a suite of downstream hormones that promote flowering in woody plants.
基金financial support from the French National Research Agency ANRthe National Research Council of Canada’s Genomics and Health Initiative program+2 种基金the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), within the European Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) consortium CONVIGOURthe Innovation Program "Breeding of climate-adapted crops" funded by the German Ministry of Consumer Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture, via the Federal Agency of Agriculture and Nutrition (BLE, Bonn)the German Society for the Promotion of Private Plant Breeding (GFP e.V.).
文摘The impact of osmotic stress on growth, physiolo- gy, and metabolism of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) was investigated by detailed analysis of biomass traits, hormone metabolites and osmolytes in two genetically unrelated drought-tolerant genotypes and two unrelated drought-sensitive genotypes. Seedlings were grown in vitro under controlled conditions and osmotic stress was simulated by applying a gradual treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG 6ooo), followed by hypo-osmotic treatment of variants used for metabolite determination. The results provide a basis for the identification of reliable selection criteria for drought resistance in oilseed rape. The in vitro cultivation system established during this study enabled effective discrimination of early osmotic stress responses between drought-resistant and -susceptible oilseed rape genotypes that also show large differences in relative seed yield under drought conditions in the field. Clear physiological and metabolic differences wereobserved between the drought-resistant and drought-sensitive genotypes, suggesting that osmotic adjustment is a key component of drought response in oilseed rape. Unexpected- ly, however, the drought-resistant genotypes did not show typical hormonal adjustment and osmolyte accumulation, suggesting that they possess alternative physiological mech- anisms enabling avoidance of stress symptoms.