Summary The family Euphorbiaceae includes some of the most efficient biomass accumulators. Whole genome sequencing and the development of genetic maps of these species are important components in molecular breeding and genetic improvement. Here we report the draft genome of physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.), a biodiesel plant. The assembled genome has a total length of 320.5 Mbp and contains 27 172 putative protein‐coding genes. We established a linkage map containing 1208 markers and anchored the genome assembly (81.7%) to this map to produce 11 pseudochromosomes. After gene family clustering, 15 268 families were identified, of which 13 887 existed in the castor bean genome. Analysis of the genome highlighted specific expansion and contraction of a number of gene families during the evolution of this species, including the ribosome‐inactivating proteins and oil biosynthesis pathway enzymes. The genomic sequence and linkage map provide a valuable resource not only for fundamental and applied research on physic nut but also for evolutionary and comparative genomics analysis, particularly in the Euphorbiaceae.

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO-1) is emerging as an important new therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer, neurological disorders, and other diseases that are characterized by pathological tryptophan metabolism. However, only a few structural classes are known to be IDO-1 inhibitors. In this study, a natural compound tryptanthrin was discovered to be a novel potent IDO-1 inhibitor by screening of indole-based structures. Three series of 13 tryptanthrin derivatives were synthesized, and the structure-activity analysis was undertaken. The optimization led to the identification of 5c, which exhibited the inhibitory activity at a nanomolar level. In vitro 5c dramatically augmented the proliferation of T cells. When administered to Lewis lung cancer (LLC) tumor-bearing mice, 5c significantly inhibited IDO-1 activity and suppressed tumor growth. In addition, 5c reduced the numbers of Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs), which are known to prevent the development of efficient antitumor immune responses.

Investigation of transcription factors (TFs) and their downstream regulated genes (targets) is a significant issue in post-genome era, which can provide a brand new vision for some vital biological process. However, information of TFs and their targets in mammalian is far from sufficient. Here, we developed an integrated TF platform (ITFP), which included abundant TFs and their targets of mammalian. In current release, ITFP includes 4105 putative TFs and 69 496 potential TF-target pairs for human, 3134 putative TFs and 37 040 potential TF-target pairs for mouse, and 1114 putative TFs and 18 055 potential TF-target pairs for rat. In short, ITFP will serve as an important resource for the research community of transcription and provide strong support for regulatory network study.