Ganoderma lucidum is a widely used medicinal macrofungus in traditional Chinese medicine that creates a diverse set of bioactive compounds. Here we report its 43.3-Mb genome, encoding 16,113 predicted genes, obtained using next-generation sequencing and optical mapping approaches. The sequence analysis reveals an impressive array of genes encoding cytochrome P450s (CYPs), transporters and regulatory proteins that cooperate in secondary metabolism. The genome also encodes one of the richest sets of wood degradation enzymes among all of the sequenced basidiomycetes. In all, 24 physical CYP gene clusters are identified. Moreover, 78 CYP genes are coexpressed with lanosterol synthase, and 16 of these show high similarity to fungal CYPs that specifically hydroxylate testosterone, suggesting their possible roles in triterpenoid biosynthesis. The elucidation of the G. lucidum genome makes this organism a potential model system for the study of secondary metabolic pathways and their regulation in medicinal fungi.

A DNA barcode is a short piece of DNA sequence used for species determination and discovery. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS/ITS2) region has been proposed as the standard DNA barcode for fungi and seed plants and has been widely used in DNA barcoding analyses for other biological groups, for example algae, protists and animals. The ITS region consists of both ITS1 and ITS2 regions. Here, a large-scale meta-analysis was carried out to compare ITS1 and ITS2 from three aspects: PCR amplification, DNA sequencing and species discrimination, in terms of the presence of DNA barcoding gaps, species discrimination efficiency, sequence length distribution, GC content distribution and primer universality. In total, 85 345 sequence pairs in 10 major groups of eukaryotes, including ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, liverworts, mosses, ferns, gymnosperms, monocotyledons, eudicotyledons, insects and fishes, covering 611 families, 3694 genera, and 19 060 species, were analysed. Using similarity-based methods, we calculated species discrimination efficiencies for ITS1 and ITS2 in all major groups, families and genera. Using Fisher's exact test, we found that ITS1 has significantly higher efficiencies than ITS2 in 17 of the 47 families and 20 of the 49 genera, which are sample-rich. By in silico PCR amplification evaluation, primer universality of the extensively applied ITS1 primers was found superior to that of ITS2 primers. Additionally, shorter length of amplification product and lower GC content was discovered to be two other advantages of ITS1 for sequencing. In summary, ITS1 represents a better DNA barcode than ITS2 for eukaryotic species.

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BackgroundDozens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulas have been used for promotion of "blood production" for centuries, and we are interested in developing novel thrombopoietic medicines from these TCMs. Our previous studies have demonstrated the hematopoietic effects of DangGui BuXue Tong (DBT), a formula composed of Radix Angelicae Sinensis and Radix Astragali in animal and cellular models. As a step further to identify and characterize the active chemical components of DBT, we tested the hematopoietic and particularly, thrombopoietic effects of polysaccharide-enriched fractions from the root of Radix Angelicae Sinensis (APS) in this study.MethodsA myelosuppression mouse model was treated with APS (10 mg/kg/day). Peripheral blood cells from APS, thrombopoietin and vehicle-treated samples were then counted at different time-points. Using the colony-forming unit (CFU) assays, we determined the effects of APS on the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and megakaryocytic lineages. Using a megakaryocytic cell line M-07e as model, we analyzed the cellular apoptosis progression with and without APS treatment by Annexin V, Mitochondrial Membrane Potential and Caspase 3 assays. Last, the anti-apoptotic effect of APS on cells treated with Ly294002, a Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinse inhibitor (PI3K) was also tested.ResultsIn animal models, APS significantly enhanced not only the recovery of platelets, other blood cells and their progenitor cells, but also the formation of Colony Forming Unit (CFU). In M-07e cells, we observed the anti-apoptotic effect of APS. Treatment by Ly294002 alone increased the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis. However, addition of APS to Ly294002-treated cells significantly reduced the percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis.ConclusionsAPS promotes hematopoiesis and thrombopoiesis in the mouse model. This effect likely resulted from the anti-apoptosis activity of APS and is likely to involve the PI3K/AKT pathway.

To summarize epidemiological evidences on the association between glaucoma and the risk of retinal vein occlusion (RVO). Relevant studies were identified by searching in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane until February 2018. Fifteen eligible observational studies were aggregated in this analysis. All results were analysed and pooled using random effects models with 95% confidence intervals (CI). In all studies, the odds ratio (OR) of glaucoma as a risk factor for RVO was 4.01 (95% CI: 3.28–4.91). In RVO subtype‐differentiated subgroup analyses (six studies), the pooled OR showed that glaucoma was associated with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) (OR: 6.21; 95% CI: 4.64–8.31), branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) (OR: 2.38; 95% CI: 1.77–3.19) and hemiretinal vein occlusion (HRVO) (OR: 4.60; 95% CI: 2.26–9.35). In glaucoma‐classified subgroup analyses (five studies), primary open‐angle glaucoma (POAG) (OR: 5.03; 95% CI: 3.97–6.37) and chronic open‐angle glaucoma (COAG) (OR: 2.36; 95% CI: 1.39–4.02) were significant risk factors for RVO development. There was a plausible relationship between primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG) and RVO risk (OR: 1.85; 95% CI: 0.41–8.35); to be precise, the OR was 5.3 in PACG and CRVO risk (95% CI: 1.04–26.95; p = 0.045), while the OR was 0.65 in PACG and BRVO risk (95% CI: 0.07–6.27; p = 0.707). To sum up, this meta‐analysis shows that glaucoma is associated with the risk of RVO. Glaucoma should be kept in mind when investigating patients with RVO in the clinic.