In maize,prolificacy,the number of ears per plant,is a trait of interest to maize breeders for breeding high grain-yielding cultivars or specialty corn,as well as being a model trait for decoding the molecular mechani...In maize,prolificacy,the number of ears per plant,is a trait of interest to maize breeders for breeding high grain-yielding cultivars or specialty corn,as well as being a model trait for decoding the molecular mechanism of maize evolution.Its genetic basis remains largely unknown.We identified a stable quantitative trait locus,qEN7,for ear number on chromosome 7 in both F2 and F2:3 populations derived from a single cross between the nonprolific inbred line Mo17 and the prolific inbred line LAN404 derived from the landrace PI217404.qEN7 explained 10.7%-11.9%of phenotypic variation,and the LAN404 allele at this locus was associated with an increase of around one ear per plant.qEN7 was confined by fine-mapping to a 0.56-Mb region containing eight annotated genes.Analysis of selection,gene expression patterns in various maize tissues,and sequence polymorphisms between the two parental lines suggested that Zm00001d020683,which encodes a putative INDETERMINATE DOMAIN(IDD)transcription factor,is the most likely candidate gene underlying qEN7.Zm00001d020683 is expressed mainly in the vegetative meristem,immature ears,and internodes and has undergone selection during maize improvement.The identification of qEN7 and the prediction of its candidate gene sheds some light on the evolution of maize ear number and provides a novel resource for breeding of multi-ear maize cultivars.展开更多
We report the formation of colloidal polymers consisting of disk-like silica nanoparticles(NPs)with polystyrene(PS)chains at the bottom of their two cavities assembled through reduction of the solvent quality for the ...We report the formation of colloidal polymers consisting of disk-like silica nanoparticles(NPs)with polystyrene(PS)chains at the bottom of their two cavities assembled through reduction of the solvent quality for the PS chains and linked by hydrophobic associations.We show that this NPs assembly exhibits a two-stage process involving reaction-controlled polymerization and diffusion-controlled polymerization.Colloidal polymer networks are produced by the incorporation of three-patch NPs,which serve as branching points between the colloidal chains.By co-assembling preformed homopolymers composed of patchy NPs of different sizes or surface chemical groups,block copolymers are also achieved.This study provides insight into the process of self-assembly of two-patch NPs by precisely designing the components to generate colloidal analogues of linear macromolecular chains.展开更多
Decidualization is the differentiation of endometrial stromal cells into secretory decidual stromal cells.Human decidualization involves some amount of signaling molecules and pathways as well as genetic reprogramming...Decidualization is the differentiation of endometrial stromal cells into secretory decidual stromal cells.Human decidualization involves some amount of signaling molecules and pathways as well as genetic reprogramming,which is driven by the postovulatory rise in progesterone levels and local cyclic adenosine monophosphate production.Decidualization extends from the primary decidual zone to the secondary decidual zone,and then exits through apoptosis.Evidences support that decidual fibroblasts function as the pool of decidual stromal cells during pregnancy.Decidualization undergoes an acute inflammatory phase,an anti-inflammatory secretory phase to the final recession phase.The decidualization of the inner layer of endometrium,termed decidua,is the most critical determinant of pregnancy success,which can promote placenta formation,modulate immune tolerance,foster resistance to oxidative stress,sense embryo quality,and control labor.Failure to adequate decidualization in terms of hormones,biochemistry,and immunology leads to adverse pregnancy outcomes,including diseases such as preeclampsia,miscarriage,premature labor,repeated implantation failures,and some age-related decline in reproductive capacity.The development of animal models and in vitro culture systems combined with emerging technologies provides a powerful system to explore the mechanism of decidualization.However,decidualization is a dynamic,multi-step process,and translating of current research progress into disease predictions and interventions for pregnancy complications remains to be achieved.The study of periodic regeneration and spontaneous decidualization of the endometrium will be beneficial to the diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy diseases.展开更多
Preeclampsia(PE)is a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disorder which poses a severe threat to maternal and fetal health.1 Defective decidualization may contribute to PE.^(2) N6-methyladenosine(m6A)is associated with va...Preeclampsia(PE)is a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disorder which poses a severe threat to maternal and fetal health.1 Defective decidualization may contribute to PE.^(2) N6-methyladenosine(m6A)is associated with various diseases.The regulatory mechanism of m6A in PE is not well established to date.We aimed to identify differentially expressed m6A and explore its regulatory role in the pathogenesis of PE.展开更多
Crop domestication has fundamentally altered the course of human history,causing a shift from huntergatherer to agricultural societies and stimulating the rise of modern civilization.A greater understanding of crop do...Crop domestication has fundamentally altered the course of human history,causing a shift from huntergatherer to agricultural societies and stimulating the rise of modern civilization.A greater understanding of crop domestication would provide a theoretical basis for how we could improve current crops and develop new crops to deal with environmental challenges in a sustainable manner.Here,we provide a comprehensive summary of the similarities and differences in the domestication processes of maize and rice,two major staple food crops that feed the world.We propose that maize and rice might have evolved distinct genetic solutions toward domestication.Maize and rice domestication appears to be associated with distinct regulatory and evolutionary mechanisms.Rice domestication tended to select de novo,loss-of-function,coding variation,while maize domestication more frequently favored standing,gain-offunction,regulatory variation.At the gene network level,distinct genetic paths were used to acquire convergent phenotypes in maize and rice domestication,during which different central genes were utilized,orthologous genes played different evolutionary roles,and unique genes or regulatory modules were acquired for establishing new traits.Finally,we discuss how the knowledge gained from past domestication processes,together with emerging technologies,could be exploited to improve modern crop breeding and domesticate new crops to meet increasing human demands.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(91935302)the Beijing Outstanding Young Scientist Program(BJJWZYJH01201910019026)the Chinese Universities Scientific Fund(2022TC035).
文摘In maize,prolificacy,the number of ears per plant,is a trait of interest to maize breeders for breeding high grain-yielding cultivars or specialty corn,as well as being a model trait for decoding the molecular mechanism of maize evolution.Its genetic basis remains largely unknown.We identified a stable quantitative trait locus,qEN7,for ear number on chromosome 7 in both F2 and F2:3 populations derived from a single cross between the nonprolific inbred line Mo17 and the prolific inbred line LAN404 derived from the landrace PI217404.qEN7 explained 10.7%-11.9%of phenotypic variation,and the LAN404 allele at this locus was associated with an increase of around one ear per plant.qEN7 was confined by fine-mapping to a 0.56-Mb region containing eight annotated genes.Analysis of selection,gene expression patterns in various maize tissues,and sequence polymorphisms between the two parental lines suggested that Zm00001d020683,which encodes a putative INDETERMINATE DOMAIN(IDD)transcription factor,is the most likely candidate gene underlying qEN7.Zm00001d020683 is expressed mainly in the vegetative meristem,immature ears,and internodes and has undergone selection during maize improvement.The identification of qEN7 and the prediction of its candidate gene sheds some light on the evolution of maize ear number and provides a novel resource for breeding of multi-ear maize cultivars.
基金This work was supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche(ENLARgER project,No.ANR-15-CE09-0010)the LabEx AMADEus(No.ANR-10-LABX-42)IdEx Bordeaux(No.ANR-10-IDEX-03-02)。
文摘We report the formation of colloidal polymers consisting of disk-like silica nanoparticles(NPs)with polystyrene(PS)chains at the bottom of their two cavities assembled through reduction of the solvent quality for the PS chains and linked by hydrophobic associations.We show that this NPs assembly exhibits a two-stage process involving reaction-controlled polymerization and diffusion-controlled polymerization.Colloidal polymer networks are produced by the incorporation of three-patch NPs,which serve as branching points between the colloidal chains.By co-assembling preformed homopolymers composed of patchy NPs of different sizes or surface chemical groups,block copolymers are also achieved.This study provides insight into the process of self-assembly of two-patch NPs by precisely designing the components to generate colloidal analogues of linear macromolecular chains.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(2019YFA0802600)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32170863,31871512,and 31671199)to C.Z.Support was also received from grants from the Shanghai Commission of Science and Technology(17DZ2271100)Open Project of Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine(SDKL2017018).
文摘Decidualization is the differentiation of endometrial stromal cells into secretory decidual stromal cells.Human decidualization involves some amount of signaling molecules and pathways as well as genetic reprogramming,which is driven by the postovulatory rise in progesterone levels and local cyclic adenosine monophosphate production.Decidualization extends from the primary decidual zone to the secondary decidual zone,and then exits through apoptosis.Evidences support that decidual fibroblasts function as the pool of decidual stromal cells during pregnancy.Decidualization undergoes an acute inflammatory phase,an anti-inflammatory secretory phase to the final recession phase.The decidualization of the inner layer of endometrium,termed decidua,is the most critical determinant of pregnancy success,which can promote placenta formation,modulate immune tolerance,foster resistance to oxidative stress,sense embryo quality,and control labor.Failure to adequate decidualization in terms of hormones,biochemistry,and immunology leads to adverse pregnancy outcomes,including diseases such as preeclampsia,miscarriage,premature labor,repeated implantation failures,and some age-related decline in reproductive capacity.The development of animal models and in vitro culture systems combined with emerging technologies provides a powerful system to explore the mechanism of decidualization.However,decidualization is a dynamic,multi-step process,and translating of current research progress into disease predictions and interventions for pregnancy complications remains to be achieved.The study of periodic regeneration and spontaneous decidualization of the endometrium will be beneficial to the diagnosis and treatment of pregnancy diseases.
基金supported by grants from the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2019YFA0802600)and NSFC(No.32170863,31871512)to C.ZhangSupport was also obtained from the Shanghai Commission of Science and Technology(No.17DZ2271100)Open Project of Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine(No.SDKL2017018),China.
文摘Preeclampsia(PE)is a pregnancy-specific hypertensive disorder which poses a severe threat to maternal and fetal health.1 Defective decidualization may contribute to PE.^(2) N6-methyladenosine(m6A)is associated with various diseases.The regulatory mechanism of m6A in PE is not well established to date.We aimed to identify differentially expressed m6A and explore its regulatory role in the pathogenesis of PE.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32025027 and 31971892)the National Key Research and Exploiting Maize and Rice Domestication Development Program of China(2016YFD0100303)the Recruitment Program of Global Experts,and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities to F.T.Q.C.was supported by US NSF grant IOS 1934865 to John Doebley.
文摘Crop domestication has fundamentally altered the course of human history,causing a shift from huntergatherer to agricultural societies and stimulating the rise of modern civilization.A greater understanding of crop domestication would provide a theoretical basis for how we could improve current crops and develop new crops to deal with environmental challenges in a sustainable manner.Here,we provide a comprehensive summary of the similarities and differences in the domestication processes of maize and rice,two major staple food crops that feed the world.We propose that maize and rice might have evolved distinct genetic solutions toward domestication.Maize and rice domestication appears to be associated with distinct regulatory and evolutionary mechanisms.Rice domestication tended to select de novo,loss-of-function,coding variation,while maize domestication more frequently favored standing,gain-offunction,regulatory variation.At the gene network level,distinct genetic paths were used to acquire convergent phenotypes in maize and rice domestication,during which different central genes were utilized,orthologous genes played different evolutionary roles,and unique genes or regulatory modules were acquired for establishing new traits.Finally,we discuss how the knowledge gained from past domestication processes,together with emerging technologies,could be exploited to improve modern crop breeding and domesticate new crops to meet increasing human demands.
