Assembly and comparative analysis of the first complete mitochondrial genome of Acer truncatum Bunge: a woody oil-tree species producing nervonic acid

Background Acer truncatum (purpleblow maple) is a woody tree species that produces seeds with high levels of valuable fatty acids (especially nervonic acid). The species is admired as a landscape plant with high developmental prospects and scientific research value. The A. truncatum chloroplast genome has recently been reported; however, the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is still unexplored. Results We characterized the A. truncatum mitogenome, which was assembled using reads from PacBio and Illumina sequencing platforms, performed a comparative analysis against different species of Acer. The circular mitogenome of A. truncatum has a length of 791,052 bp, with a base composition of 27.11% A, 27.21% T, 22.79% G, and 22.89% C. The A. truncatum mitogenome contains 62 genes, including 35 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA genes and 4 rRNA genes. We also examined codon usage, sequence repeats, RNA editing and selective pressure in the A. truncatum mitogenome. To determine the evolutionary and taxonomic status of A. truncatum, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitogenomes of A. truncatum and 25 other taxa. In addition, the gene migration from chloroplast and nuclear genomes to the mitogenome were analyzed. Finally, we developed a novel NAD1 intron indel marker for distinguishing several Acer species. Conclusions In this study, we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of A. truncatum, a woody oil-tree species producing nervonic acid. The results of our analyses provide comprehensive information on the A. truncatum mitogenome, which would facilitate evolutionary research and molecular barcoding in Acer.

Fruiting character variability in wild individuals of Malania oleifera, a highly valued endemic species

Malania oleifera (Olacaceae), a tree species endemic to Southwest China, has seed oils enriched with nervonic acid and is therefore good source of this chemical. Because of this, there are promising industrial perspective in the artificial cultivation and use of this species. Understanding the variability in the fruit characters among individuals forms the basis or resource prospection. In the current investigation, fifty-three mature fruiting trees were sampled from two locations with divergent climates (Guangnan and Funing). Morphological characterization of fruits (fruit and stone weight, fruit transverse and longitudinal diameter, stone transverse and longitudinal diameter) was conducted, and the concentration of seed oil and its fatty acid composition were also analyzed in all individuals. Differences in all the morphological characters studied were more significant among individual trees than between different geographic localities, even though these had different climates. Eleven fatty acids were identified contributing between 91.39 and 96.34% of the lipids, and the major components were nervonic acid (38.93–47.24%), octadecenoic acid (26.79–32.08%), docosenoic acid (10.94–17.24%). The seed oil content (proportion of oil in seed kernel) and the proportion of nervonic acid were both higher in Funing, which has a higher average climatic temperature than Guangnan. The concentrations of nervonic acid and octadecenoic acid with the low coefficients of variation in the seed oil of M. oleifera were relatively stable in contrast to the other fatty acids. There were significant positive correlations between fruit morphological characters, but the amount of seed oil and the concentrations of its components were not correlated with any morphological character. This study provides an understanding of morphological variation in wild M. oleifera individuals. Wild individuals with excellent fruit traits could be selected and would make promising candidates for commercial cultivation.

The Abnormal Metabolites in Tongue Coating of Chronic Gastritis Patients Reflect the Changes in Indexes of Gastroscopic Observation and Gastric Mucosal Pathology

ObjectiveIn this study, we analyzed the correlation between different metabolites in the tongue coating of patients with chronic gastritis, gastroscopy and pathological indexes, and discussed the metabolic mechanism at different pathological stages in the development of chronic gastritis.MethodsWe used GC-TOF-MS and UHPLC-QE-MS metabonomics to detect the distribution of metabolites in the tongue coating of patients with chronic gastritis, and analyzed the correlation between different metabolites in the tongue coating of patients with chronic gastritis and gastroscopy and pathological indexes.ResultsCompared with 50 healthy people, 54 metabolites were upregulated and 47 metabolites were downregulated in 350 patients with chronic gastritis. The main differential metabolites were Lipids and lipid-like molecules, which contain 47 metabolites. The best diagnostic model was composed of 5 metabolites, with an accuracy of 95.4%, a specificity of 87.4% and a sensitivity of 88.0%. These 5 metabolites were 1-methyladenosine, Sphinganine 1-phosphate, 3-Hydroxycapric acid, 4-Ipomeanol, and Nervonic acid. Compared with healthy people, Sphinganine 1-phosphate, 4-Ipomeanol, and Nervonic acid were significantly upregulated in chronic gastritis patients, and 1-methyladenosine and 3-Hydroxycapric acid were significantly downregulated in chronic gastritis patients. After correlation analysis between differential metabolites in tongue coatings and gastroscopic indexes, we found that Trimethylaminoacetone, Sphinganine1-phosphate, alpha-Carboxy-delta-decalactone, and 5,6-Dihydroxyindole were positively correlated with intestinal metaplasia. Conduritol-beta-expoxide, Tetracosanoic acid, Lactosylceramide(d18:1/26:0), Chondrillasterol 3-[glucosyl-(1->4)-glucoside], Azelaic acid, and 1-Methyladenosine were negatively correlated with intestinal metaplasia. Sphinganine1-phosphate, alpha-Carboxy-delta-decalactone, and 5,6-Dihydroxyindole were positively correlated with atrophic. Octadecanol, conduritol-beta-expoxide, Tetracosanoic acid, Smilanippin A, Lactosylceramide(d18:1/26:0), Chondrillasterol 3-[glucosyl-(1->4)-glucoside], and Azelaic acid were negatively correlated with atrophic. 6-deoxyglucitol was negatively correlated with bile reflux, methylmaleic acid, 4-methylcatechol, and 2,4-dichloro-1-(2-chloroethenyl)-benzene were negatively correlated with Hp, 3-benzoyloxy-11-oxo-12-ursen-28-oic acid was negatively correlated with gastric mucosal erosion. From the change trend of different metabolites in different pathological stages, we found that the content of conduritol-beta-expoxide decreased significantly in mild atrophic compared with moderate atrophic and the content of conduritol-beta-expoxide decreased significantly in mild intestinal metaplasia compared with moderate intestinal metaplasia.ConclusionsWe found that Lipids and lipid-like molecules were the main abnormal metabolites in patients with chronic gastritis. Among them, Sphinganine 1-phosphate, which was significantly positively correlated with the aggravation of atrophic and intestinal metaplasia, could be used as one of the diagnostic model markers for chronic gastritis. Additionally, the amount of conduritol-beta-expoxide significantly decreased with the aggravation of atrophic and intestinal metaplasia. We believe that these differential markers in tongue coating may help us to establish a noninvasive and convenient auxiliary detection method for gastritis and gastric precancerous lesion in the future.

Assembly And Comparative Analysis of The First Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Acer Truncatum Bunge: A Woody Oil-Tree Species Producing Nervonic Acid

Background: Acer truncatum (purpleblow maple) is a woody tree species that produces seeds with high levels of valuable fatty acids (especially nervonic acid). The species is also admired as a landscape plant with high developmental prospects and scientific research value. The A. truncatum chloroplast genome has recently been reported; however, the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is still unexplored.Results: We characterized the A. truncatum mitogenome, which was assembled using reads from Pacbio and Illumina sequencing platforms, and performed a comparative analysis against different species of Acer. The circular mitogenome of A. truncatum has a length of 791,052 bp, with a base composition of 27.11% A, 22.21% T, 22.79% G, and 22.89% C. The A. truncatum mitogenome contains 62 genes, including 35 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. We also examined codon usage, sequence repeats, RNA editing, and selective pressure in the A. truncatum mitogenome. To determine the evolutionary and taxonomic status of A. truncatum, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitogenomes of A. truncatum and 25 other taxa. We also analyzed gene migration from chloroplast and nuclear genomes to the mitogenome. Finally, we developed a novel NAD1 intron indel marker for distinguishing several Acer species. Conclusions: In this study, we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of A. truncatum, a woody oil-tree species producing nervonic acid. The results of our analyses provide comprehensive information on the A. truncatum mitogenome, which should facilitate evolutionary research and molecular barcoding in Acer.

Investigation of Dried Blood Spot Cards for Fatty Acid Analysis Using Porcine Blood

Fatty acids, especially omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, are important for reproductive and cardiovascular health in animals. While monitoring fatty acids is traditionally conducted using frozen blood fractions such as serum and plasma, advancements in analytical technology have developed a method of collecting microsamples of dried whole blood on Ahlstrom 226 grade filter paper that can provide information on long-term fatty acid status of animals. Blood samples were collected from five male pigs in both the traditional frozen method and on dried blood spot cards (DBS). The DBS samples were collected with untreated syringes and tubes, and approximately 320 μL of blood was placed on each card with approximately 80 μL per spot (4 spots). Statistical analysis was performed to compare the two sample groups to each other using the Mann–Whitney U-test and determine if DBS samples were similar to traditional whole blood samples. Of the 30 fatty acids and fatty acid groups with measurable concentrations, only four individual fatty acids, behenic acid, omega-3 docosapentaenoic acid, nervonic acid, and adrenic acid, had statistical differences. Most of these differences were minor and could be due to analytical errors or contamination. Comparisons between sample types found similar concentrations of key omega fatty acids and PUFAs and support the use of DBS collection as a less invasive method of blood collection and fatty acid analysis.

Bioactive Metabolomic Profiles of Scleroderma-PAH are different than idiopathic PAH and associated with worse clinical outcomes

The molecular signature in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SSc-PAH) relative to idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) remain unclear. We hypothesize that patients with SSc-PAH exhibit unfavorable bioactive metabolite derangements compared to IPAH that contribute to their poor prognosis and limited response to therapy. We sought to determine whether circulating bioactive metabolites are differentially altered in SSc-PAH versus IPAH. Plasma biosamples from 415 patients with SSc-PAH (cases) and 1115 patients with IPAH (controls) were included in the study. Over 700 bioactive metabolites were assayed in plasma samples from independent discovery and validation cohorts using liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based approaches. Regression analyses were used to identify metabolites which exhibited differential levels between SSc-PAH and IPAH and associated with disease severity. From among hundreds of circulating bioactive molecules, twelve metabolites were found to distinguish between SSc-PAH and IPAH, as well as associate with PAH disease severity. SSc-PAH patients had increased levels of fatty acid metabolites including lignoceric acid and nervonic acid, as well as kynurenine, polyamines, eicosanoids/oxylipins and sex hormone metabolites relative to IPAH. In conclusion, SSc-PAH patients are characterized by an unfavorable bioactive metabolic profile that may explain the poor and limited response to therapy. These data provide important metabolic insights into the pathogenesis of SSc-PAH.

A Review of Nervonic Acid Production in Plants: Prospects for the Genetic Engineering of High Nervonic Acid Cultivars Plants

Nervonic acid (NA) is a very-long-chain monounsaturated fatty acid that plays crucial roles in brain development and has attracted widespread research interest. The markets encouraged the development of a refined, NA-enriched plant oil as feedstocks for the needed further studies of NA biological functions to the end commercial application. Plant seed oils offer a renewable and environmentally friendly source of NA, but their industrial production is presently hindered by various factors. This review focuses on the NA biosynthesis and assembly, NA resources from plants, and the genetic engineering of NA biosynthesis in oil crops, discusses the factors that affect NA production in genetically engineered oil crops, and provides prospects for the application of NA and prospective trends in the engineering of NA. This review emphasizes the progress made toward various NA-related topics and explores the limitations and trends, thereby providing integrated and comprehensive insight into the nature of NA production mechanisms during genetic engineering. Furthermore, this report supports further work involving the manipulation of NA production through transgenic technologies and molecular breeding for the enhancement of crop nutritional quality or creation of plant biochemical factories to produce NA for use in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries.

Fatty acids, bioactive substances, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of Ankyropetalum spp., a novel source of nervonic acid

Ankyropetalum extracts were obtained by using two different extractors (Soxhlet and ultrasonic bath). The phenol, flavonoid, DPPH, FRAP, and antimicrobial activity properties of the extracts were investigated. In addition, the fatty acid composition was determined in GC-MS. High values were found in A. reuteri and A. gypsophiloides for total phenolic and flavonoid contents, respectively. DPPH and FRAP values were high in A. arsusianum and A. gypsophiloides, respectively. Better results were obtained by using methanol as the solvent and soxhlet as the extractor. The results showed that the extracts seem to be reasonably effective against test organisms including clinical isolates. The most promising results were obtained with all species USB extracts against Candida parapsilosis. It is notable that the levels of nervonic acid in A. arsusianum and A. reuteri reached 40%. Unlike other sources of nervonic acid in the world, the absence of erucic acid in plant oil increases the value of these plants.