Project description:Different research works have described goldenberry calyx as a source of bioactive compounds, but limited information is available about its effects at the transcriptome and metabolome levels To apply a Foodomics approach to study the effects of a goldenberry calyx PLE-extract on the transcriptome and metabolome of HT-29 colon cancer cells.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential small RNA molecules that regulate the expression of target mRNAs in plants and animals. Here, we aimed to identify miRNAs and their putative targets in Hibiscus syriacus, the national flower of South Korea. Therefore, we employed high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs obtained from four different tissues (i.e., leaf, root, flower, and ovary) and identified 33 conserved and 30 novel miRNA families, many of which showed differential tissue-specific expressions. In addition, we computationally predicted novel targets of miRNAs and validated some of them using 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends analysis. One of the validated novel targets of miR477 was a terpene synthase, the primary gene involved in the formation of disease-resistant terpene metabolites such as sterols and phytoalexins. In addition, a predicted target of conserved miRNAs, miR396, is SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE, which is involved in flower initiation and is duplicated in Hibiscus syriacus. Collectively, this study provides the first reliable draft of the Hibiscus syriacus miRNA transcriptome that should constitute a basis for understanding the biological roles of miRNAs in Hibiscus syriacus.
Project description:‘Kuerlexiangli’ (Pyrus sinkiangensis Yu) is an important market pear in China. The shape and quality of the fruit is negatively affected by the presence of a persistent calyx. Here, to explore the molecular mechanism of calyx abscission, we designed an experiment to compare protein expression at two critical stages of the calyx abscission process under three treatments: a calyx abscising treatment (6000 × Flusilazole + 300 × PBO), a calyx persisting treatment (50 mg L−1 GA3), and a water control. We investigated the collected protein fragments using isobaric tags for relative and absolute protein quantitation (iTRAQ) to identify candidate proteins and perform relative quantification. We identified 378,078 spectra and 3,873 proteins, of which there were 2,371 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) having Gene Ontology terms and associating with 124 defined pathways from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. The DAPs that were correlated with calyx abscission were mainly those known to be involved in photosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, cell-wall modification, and carbohydrate metabolism. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to confirm the results of the digital transcript abundance measurements. Among the isolated candidate proteins, polygalacturonase and chitinase appear to play key roles during the process of calyx abscission. We identified candidate proteins that exhibit highly dynamic expression changes during the calyx abscission progress. These proteins are potential targets for future functional identification and should be valuable to explore the mechanism of the calyx abscission, and finally for the development of a method for inducing calyx abscission in fruit production based on the use of small molecules.
Project description:Calyx of Held giant presynaptic terminals in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body of the auditory brainstem form axosomatic synapses that have advanced to one of the best-studied synaptic system of the mammalian brain. As the auditory system matures and adjusts to high fidelity synaptic transmission, the calyx undergoes extensive structural and functional changes: it is formed around postnatal day 3 (P3), achieves immature function until hearing onset around P10 and can be considered mature from P21 onwards. This setting provides the unique opportunity to examine the repertoire of genes driving synaptic structure and function. We performed cell type-specific gene expression profiling of globular bushy cells (GBCs), the neurons giving rise to the calyx of Held, at different maturational stages (P3, P8 and P21).
Project description:Calyx of Held giant presynaptic terminals in the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body of the auditory brainstem form axosomatic synapses that have advanced to one of the best-studied synaptic system of the mammalian brain. As the auditory system matures and adjusts to high fidelity synaptic transmission, the calyx undergoes extensive structural and functional changes: it is formed around postnatal day 3 (P3), achieves immature function until hearing onset around P10 and can be considered mature from P21 onwards. This setting provides the unique opportunity to examine the repertoire of genes driving synaptic structure and function. We performed cell type-specific gene expression profiling of globular bushy cells (GBCs), the neurons giving rise to the calyx of Held, at different maturational stages (P3, P8 and P21). We identified GBCs by stereotaxic injection of fluorescently labelled retrograde tracer Cholera toxin B into the contralateral MNTB of anesthetized rats. Animals were sacrificed 24h after injection, the brain was taken out and flash frozen. 12um thick brainstem cryosections were prepared and 200 fluorescently labelled GBCs per animal were excised from the VCN using laser microdissection. Cells were collected from 6 animals at P3 (synapse formation), 9 animals at P8 (juvenile synapse) and 5 animals at P21 (mature synapse). RNA was isolated from the collected cells and linearly amplified in order to perform cell-type specific expression profiling.
Project description:Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common problem in long-term care facilities. Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn.) has been used in fold medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent. In this study, we surveyed the effect of roselle drink on the prevention of UTI in long-term care facilities and analyzed the anti-inflammatory potential of roselle on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced renal inflammation. By survey questionnaires, we found that roselle drink was the most commonly used treatment for the routine care of residents. In addition, taking roselle drink in residents with urinary catheters reduced the incidence of UTI by 36%. Roselle suppressed LPS-induced nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation in cells in a dose-dependent manner, and the maximal inhibition (73.75±4.11%) was observed at 100 μg/ml roselle drink. Roselle also suppressed LPS-induced interleukin-1β (IL-1β) production in mice. Gene expression profile of roselle in kidney showed that roselle downregulated the expression of inflammatory genes, and NF-κB was the main transcription factor involved in the regulation of roselle-regulated gene expression. Immunohistochemical staining further showed that roselle inhibited LPS-induced NF-κB activation and inflammatory cell infiltration in kidney. In conclusion, our findings suggested that roselle drink might be a potent benefit herbal supplement for UTI. Moreover, roselle ameliorated LPS-induced renal inflammation via regulating inflammatory gene expression and NF-κB pathway.