Synergistic Regulation of Pigment Cell Precursors' Differentiation and Migration by and in Nile Tilapia.

The evolutionary loss of in specific vertebrate lineages, such as mammals and cypriniform fish, raises fundamental questions about its functional necessity and potential redundancy or synergy with paralogous endothelin receptors in pigment cell development. In teleosts possessing both and (e.g.

Creation of colorless transparent tilapia using CRISPR/Cas9 mediated multi-gene mutation.

Transparent mutant fish have been obtained from small-sized fish (medaka, zebrafish, and killifish), and are often used as experimental models in biological and medical research. However, transparent fish have never been created in medium- or large-sized fish through gene editing. In this study, mutants without xanthophores, erythrophores and pigmented melanophores were first obtained by crossing to form tyrb;csf1ra double mutant tilapia.

Carotenoids, instead of pteridines, determine color of xanthophores and erythrophores in tilapia.

There has been controversy over whether the chromogenic substances of xanthophores and erythrophores are pteridines or carotenoids in fish. In this study, we first extracted and quantified carotenoids and pteridines from erythrophores and xanthophores in tilapia, respectively. The results showed that the carotenoids and pteridines in erythrophores were significantly higher than those of xanthophores, and the carotenoids were significantly higher than the pteridines in both types of cells.

High-Efficiency Catalytic Ozonation Degradation of Ni Complex Wastewater Using Mn-N Codoped Active Carbon Catalyst.

With the rapid development of electroless nickel (Ni) plating industry, a large amount of Ni complex wastewater is inevitably produced, which is a serious threat to the ecological environment. Herein, a novel Mn-N codoped active carbon (Mn-N@AC) catalyst with high catalytic ozonation ability was synthesized by the impregnation precipitation method and was characterized by BET, XRD, Raman, SEM, FTIR, and TPR. Meanwhile, Mn-N@AC showed excellent catalytic ozonation ability, stability, and applicability.

Novel insights related to soil microplastic abundance and vegetable microplastic contamination.

Despite evidence of the uptake of soil microplastics (MPs) by crops, there is a paucity of knowledge regarding the contamination of vegetables in real-world environments with microplastics. This study establishes a correlation between the presence of microplastics in farmland and the concentration of microplastics in crops. The soil samples were found to contain Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Assessment of macro, trace and toxic element intake from rice: differences between cultivars, pigmented and non-pigmented rice.

Pigmented and non-pigmented rice varieties (grown in different areas) were collected in China, Yunnan, to investigate the content of macro-, trace elements and potentially toxic elements (PTEs), and to assess the health risk associated with dietary intake. The order of elemental concentrations in rice was Mn > Zn > Fe > Cu > Se for trace elements, P > K > Mg > Ca > Na for macro elements, and Cr > As > Cd for PTEs. Rice with a high concentration of essential elements also associated with a high content of PTEs.

Multiple spinal gas in an 86-year-old diabetic man.

Although spinal gas is common and can be found in various sites and lesions, it should prompt a search for the underlying cause, given that the clinical significance of ectopic gas varies from benign to scary. Spinal gas can occur in the traumatic, iatrogenic, degenerative, osteoporotic, infectious, or neoplastic lesions. The imaging similarity may cause the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis which sometimes requires immediate attention.

Identification of 3H-benzo[b] [1,4] diazepine derivatives as PPARα agonists by studies and biochemical evaluation.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the world, whose pathologic features include dysregulated glucose homeostasis and lipid accumulation. Peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a key regulator of fatty acid metabolism and ketogenesis due to its regulatory pathways involve activating fatty acid uptake, accelerating fatty acid oxidation, inhibiting gluconeogenesis, and suppressing inflammation and fibrosis. Therefore, PPARα is considered as a potential target for the treatment of NAFLD and some agonists have entered clinical trials, which drove us to discover more novel PPARα agonists.

Smoothened mediates medaka spermatogonia proliferation via Gli1-Rgcc-Cdk1 axis†.

The proliferation of spermatogonia directly affects spermatogenesis and male fertility, but its underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study, Smoothened (Smo), the central transducer of Hedgehog signaling pathway, was characterized in medaka (Oryzias latipes), and its role and underlying mechanisms in the proliferation of spermatogonia were investigated. Smo was highly expressed in spermatogonia.

Circular RNA CircDHRS3 Aggravates IL-1β-induced ECM Degradation, Apoptosis, and Inflammatory Response via Mediating MECP2 Expression.

Previous studies have reported that circular RNA hsa_circ_0010024 (circDHRS3), microRNA (miR)-193a-3p, and Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) are unconventionally expressed in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage samples. However, the regulatory mechanisms among circDHRS3, miR-193a-3p, and MECP2 in OA pathogenesis are unclear. Changes of circDHRS3, miR-193a-3p, and MECP2 mRNA were detected by qRT-PCR.

Physicochemical properties of Tunisian pomegranate fruits L. grown at different climatic zones of Yunnan, China.

The artificial cultivation of Mengzi pomegranate has been conducted on a large area for more than 30 years in Yunnan, China. As the quality of pomegranate cultivars have degraded seriously, new cultivars have gradually been introduced to meet market demand. Comparative quality evaluation of different pomegranate varieties is beneficial to guide cultivar improvement and cultural program modification.

Mutation Causes Progressive Microphthalmia and Blindness in Nile Tilapia.

The normal development of lens fiber cells plays a critical role in lens morphogenesis and maintaining transparency. Factors involved in the development of lens fiber cells are largely unknown in vertebrates. In this study, we reported that GATA2 is essential for lens morphogenesis in Nile tilapia ().

Homozygous Mutation of Causes Infertility in Female Nile Tilapia ().

Gonadal somatic cell-derived factor (Gsdf) is a member of the TGF-β superfamily, which exists mainly in fishes. Homozygous mutations in Japanese medaka and zebrafish resulted in infertile females, and the reasons for their infertility remain unknown. This study presents functional studies of Gsdf in ovary development using CRISPR/Cas9 in Nile tilapia ().

Desert hedgehog mediates the proliferation of medaka spermatogonia through Smoothened signaling.

Desert hedgehog (DHH) signaling has been reported to be involved in spermatogenesis and the self-renewal of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). However, the role of DHH in proliferation of spermatogonia including SSCs remains to be elucidated. Here, we report that Dhh from medaka (Oryizas latipes) (named as OlDhh) could directly mediate the proliferation of spermatogonia via Smoothened (Smo) signaling.

Roles of anti-Müllerian hormone and its duplicates in sex determination and germ cell proliferation of Nile tilapia.

Duplicates of amh are crucial for fish sex determination and differentiation. In Nile tilapia, unlike in other teleosts, amh is located on X chromosome. The Y chromosome amh (amhΔ-y) is mutated with 5 bp insertion and 233 bp deletion in the coding sequence, and tandem duplicate of amh on Y chromosome (amhy) has been identified as the sex determiner.

Circ_SPG11 plays contributing effects on IL-1β-induced chondrocyte apoptosis and ECM degradation via miR-665 inhibition-mediated GREM1 upregulation.

The dysregulation of circular RNA (circRNA) has been monitored in osteoarthritis (OA) cartilage, hinting that circRNA deregulation modulates OA progression. We thus aimed to unveil the role of circRNA spastic paraplegia 11 (circ_SPG11) in OA conditions. The upregulation of circ_SPG11 was observed in OA cartilage and IL-1β-treated chondrocytes.

Posttranslational Modification of Waxy to Genetically Improve Starch Quality in Rice Grain.

The () gene, encoding the granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS), is responsible for amylose biosynthesis and plays a crucial role in defining eating and cooking quality. The waxy locus controls both the non-waxy and waxy rice phenotypes. Rice starch can be altered into various forms by either reducing or increasing the amylose content, depending on consumer preference and region.

Nile Tilapia: A Model for Studying Teleost Color Patterns.

The diverse color patterns of cichlid fishes play an important role in mate choice and speciation. Here we develop the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as a model system for studying the developmental genetics of cichlid color patterns. We identified 4 types of pigment cells: melanophores, xanthophores, iridophores and erythrophores, and characterized their first appearance in wild-type fish.

Germline sexual fate is determined by the antagonistic action of dmrt1 and foxl3/foxl2 in tilapia.

Germline sexual fate has long been believed to be determined by the somatic environment, but this idea is challenged by recent studies of foxl3 mutants in medaka. Here, we demonstrate that the sexual fate of tilapia germline is determined by the antagonistic interaction of dmrt1 and foxl3, which are transcriptionally repressed in male and female germ cells, respectively. Loss of dmrt1 rescued the germ cell sex reversal in foxl3Δ7/Δ7 XX fish, and loss of foxl3 partially rescued germ cell sex reversal but not somatic cell fate in dmrt1Δ5/Δ5 XY fish.

A Mini Review on Bismuth-Based Z-Scheme Photocatalysts.

Recently, the bismuth-based (Bi-based) Z-scheme photocatalysts have been paid great attention due to their good solar energy utilization capacity, the high separation rate of their photogenerated hole-electron pairs, and strong redox ability. They are considerably more promising materials than single semiconductors for alleviating the energy crisis and environmental deterioration by efficiently utilizing sunlight to motivate various photocatalytic reactions for energy production and pollutant removal. In this review, the traits and recent research progress of Bi-based semiconductors and recent achievements in the synthesis methods of Bi-based direct Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts are explored.

The level variation of N-(carboxymethyl)lysine is correlated with chlorogenic acids in Arabica L. Coffee beans under different process conditions.

N-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) is universally used as a marker of the occurrence of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in foods. This study investigated the level changes of CML, chlorogenic acids (CQAs), lysine (Lys), fat and pH in coffee during roasting. The CML level went up slowly in the first 10 mins, then declined sharply during the next 2 mins, and kept increasing constantly in the following baking time, while the lowest CML level was obtained by roasting at 235 °C for 12 mins.

Computational simulation studies on the binding selectivity of Wee1 and Checkpoint kinase 1 by molecular dynamics simulation combined with free energy calculations.

Wee1 kinase and Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) kinase, which are well known to be involved in cancer, are promising targets for cancer therapy. Most of developed Wee1 inhibitors can inhibit activity of Chk1 kinase to different degrees as well. The poor selectivity brought side effects and selective inhibitor is needed.

Regulation of Female Folliculogenesis by Tsp1a in Nile Tilapia ().

TSP1 was reported to be involved in multiple biological processes including the activation of TGF-β signaling pathways and the regulation of angiogenesis during wound repair and tumor growth, while its role in ovarian folliculogenesis remains to be elucidated. In the present study, Tsp1a was found to be expressed in the oogonia and granulosa cells of phase I to phase IV follicles in the ovaries of Nile tilapia by immunofluorescence. homozygous mutants were generated by CRISPR/Cas9.

[Rapid determination of multiple prohibited and restricted veterinary drug residues in fish and shrimp by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry].

A method was established for the rapid determination of 28 prohibited and restricted veterinary drugs of five classes (sulfonamides, quinolones, chloramphenicols, nitrofurans metabolites and triphenylmethane) in fish and shrimp by ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) coupled with simultaneous extraction and purification. After optimizing the sample pretreatment methods and chromatographic conditions, the samples were hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid. The five kinds of residual drugs were simultaneously extracted with acetonitrile after nitrofuran metabolites derivatized with 2-nitrobenzaldehyde.