The coronavirus disease 2019 was first reported in Wuhan, China and rapidly spread in other countries in December 2019. The infected patients presented with fever, respiratory symptoms, sometimes with digestive and other systemic manifestations, and some progressed with a severe acute respiratory syndrome or even death. Associated digestive symptoms were frequently observed in the patients, with an unknown significance and mechanism. ACE2, as the major known functional receptor of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) attracted our attention. We collected the clinical data of the 2019-nCoV-infected patients from published studies and extracted the data about the incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms. Furthermore, we used online datasets to analyze ACE2 expression in different human organs, especially in the small intestine, to explore the relationship between ACE2 expression patterns and clinical symptoms. We found that diarrhea accounted for a notable proportion of COVID-19 patients, ranging from 8.0% to 12.9%. The results reveal that ACE2 mRNA and protein are highly expressed in the small intestinal enterocytes but not in the goblet cells or intestinal immune cells. High expression of ACE2 on the surface cells in the digestive tract may lead to gastrointestinal symptoms and inflammation susceptibility. Overall, digestive symptoms were common in the COVID-19 patients. ACE2 expression on surface cells of the small intestine may mediate the invasion and amplification of the virus and activation of gastrointestinal inflammation. It is a possible mechanism of digestive symptoms in the COVID-19 patients and explains the presence of the virus in patients' stool samples. The study also highlights the necessity of taking stool samples for suspected patients to help in early diagnosis and assessment of disease status.
BackgroundCultivated rice consists of two important ecotypes, upland and irrigated, that have respectively adapted to either dry land or irrigated cultivation. Upland rice, widely adopted in rainfed upland areas in virtue of its little water requirement, contains abundant untapped genetic resources, such as genes for drought adaptation. With water shortage exacerbated and population expanding, the need for breeding crop varieties with drought adaptation becomes more and more urgent. However, a previous oversight in upland rice research reveals little information regarding its genetic mechanisms for upland adaption, greatly hindering progress in harnessing its genetic resources for breeding and cultivation.ResultsIn this study, we selected 84 upland and 82 irrigated accessions from all over the world, phenotyped them under both irrigated and dry land environments, and investigated the phylogenetic relations and population structure of the upland ecotype using whole genome variation data. Further comparative analysis yields a list of differentiated genes that may account for the phenotypic and physiological differences between upland and irrigated rice.ConclusionsThis study represents the first genomic investigation in a large sample of upland rice, providing valuable gene list for understanding upland rice adaptation, especially drought-related adaptation, and its subsequent utilization in modern agriculture.
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