The NAC proteins form one of the largest families of plant-specific transcription factors (TFs) and play essential roles in developmental processes and stress responses. In this study, we characterized a NAC domain transcription factor, OoNAC72 , from a legume Oxytropis ochrocephala . OoNAC72 was proved to be localized in the nuclei in tobacco lower epidermal cells and had transcriptional activation activity in yeast, confirming its transcription activity. OoNAC72 expression could be induced by drought, salinity and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) in O. ochrocephala seedlings. Furthermore, over-expression of OoNAC72 driven by CaMV35S promoter in Arabidopsis resulted in ABA hypersensitivity and enhanced tolerance to drought and salt stresses during seed germination and post-germinative growth periods. In addition, over-expression of OoNAC72 enhanced the expression of stress-responsive genes such as RD29A , RD29B , RD26 , LEA14 , ANACOR19 , ZAT10 , PP2CA , and NCED3 . These results highlight the important regulatory role of OoNAC72 in multiple abiotic stress tolerance, and may provide an underlying reason for the spread of O. ochrocephala .

AbstractBackground and aimTo explore the diagnostic value of recombinant heparin-binding hemagglutinin adhesin (HBHA) protein antigen in spinal tuberculosis.Materials and methodsForty patients with spinal tuberculosis were included in the experimental group and 40 healthy people were included in the control group. Serum IgG antibody expression level was detected with recombinant HBHA protein as the antigen, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detection.ResultsPatients with spinal tuberculosis and healthy volunteers were included in this study. A total of 40 eligible patients with spinal tuberculosis were included (24 males and 16 females, aged 18-72 years, with an average age of 41.24 ± 15.74 years). Forty healthy people were included (21 males and 19 females, aged 18-70 years, with an average age of 41.33 ± 12.36 years). On comparing the groups, no significant difference was found in the general data (P >0.05). IgG antibody level in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was significant (P < 0.00001).ConclusionsDetection of serum HBHA protein antibody is of great value in the auxiliary diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis, and high HBHA expression can be used as an indicator for diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis.

Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play important roles in vertebrate immunocompetence. MHC genes thus offer females indirect benefits to mate choice through the production of offspring of an optimal MHC genotype. Females may choose males with specific MHC haplotypes, dissimilar MHC genotypes, MHC heterozygous males or MHC‐diverse males. We tested these four alternatives for both female social and paternal choice in wild golden snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) by examining overall genetic variability (via microsatellites) and four MHC‐genes (DRB1, DRB2, DQA1 and DQB1). Monte Carlo randomization tests showed that MHC dissimilarity was favoured for social choice (males to which females were socially affiliated) and intermediate MHC dissimilarity was favoured in paternal choice (fathers of offspring). No evidence of inbreeding avoidance was found for either social or paternal mates. We found that MHC heterozygotes, higher microsatellite multilocus heterozygosity and higher microsatellites diversity were favoured for social mates, and higher microsatellite diversity was favoured for paternal mates. Independent of male age, we found that the formation of male–female social pairings is significantly predicted by compatibility based on the sharing of MHC haplotypes. However, we found no evidence of independent genetic effects on the duration of male–female social pairings, male social status (achieving OMU leader male status or not), the number of females with which individual leader males paired, the likelihood of potential male–female pairings producing offspring, or whether males fathered offspring or not. Overall, our findings suggest different genetic factors are involved in social and paternal choice in R. roxellana.

Huperzia serrata (H. serrata) produces various types of effective lycopodium alkaloids, especially Huperzine A (HupA), which is a promising drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Numerous studies focused on the chemistry, bioactivities, toxicology, and clinical trials of HupA; however, the public genomic and transcriptomic resources are very limited for H. serrata research, especially for the selection of optimum reference genes. Based on the full‐length transcriptome datasets and previous studies, 10 traditional and three new candidate reference genes were selected in different tissue of H. serrata. Then, two optimal reference genes GAPDHB and HisH2A were confirmed by four analysis methods. In order to further verify the accuracy of the two reference genes, they were used to analyze the expression patterns of four HupA‐biosynthetic genes (lysine decarboxylas, RS‐norcoclaurine 6‐O‐methyltransferase, cytochrome P45072A1, and copper amine oxidase). The data suggested that the expression pattern of HupA‐biosynthetic genes was consistent with them in transcriptome sequencing in different tissue of H. serrata. This study identified that GAPDHB and HisH2A provides the reliable normalization for analyzing the HupA biosynthetic gene expression in different tissues of H. serrata on the transcriptional level.