The combination of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) biosensor with graphene oxide (GO) provides a promising perspective for detecting DNA mutation. The GO-modified SAW biosensor was prepared by conjugating GO onto the SAW chip surface via electrostatic interaction. Afterward, the probe was immobilized on the GO surface, and detection of DNA mutation was realized by hybridization. The hybridization with a variety of targets would yield different mass and conformational changes on the chip surface, causing the different SAW signals in real time. A total of 137 clinical samples were detected by a single-shot analytical assay based on GO-modified SAW biosensor and direct sequencing in parallel. The diagnostic performance (both sensitivity and specificity) of the assay was evaluated with the direct sequencing as a reference testing method. The phase-shift value of three genotypes in 137 clinical samples was significantly different (p < 0.001). Furthermore, testing of diagnostic performance yielded diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 88.6% for identifying CT and CC genotype, 98.0% and 96.2% for identifying CT and TT genotype, respectively. The single-shot analytical assay based on the GO-modified SAW biosensor could be exploited as a potential useful tool to identify CYP2D6*10 polymorphisms in clinical practice of personalized medicine.

Emergency granulopoiesis occurs in response to severe microbial infection. However, whether and how other blood components, particularly monocytes/macrophages and their progenitors, including hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs), participate in the process and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unknown. In this study, we challenged zebrafish larvae via direct injection of Escherichia coli into the bloodstream, which resulted in systemic inoculation with this microbe. The reaction of hematopoietic cells, including HSPCs, in the caudal hematopoietic tissue was carefully analysed. Both macrophages and neutrophils clearly expanded following the challenge. Thus, emergency myelopoiesis, including monopoiesis and granulopoiesis, occurred following systemic bacterial infection. The HSPC reaction was dependent on the bacterial burden, manifesting as a slight increase under low burden, but an obvious reduction following the administration of an excessive volume of bacteria. Pu.1 was important for the effective elimination of the microbes to prevent excessive HSPC apoptosis in response to stress. Moreover, Pu.1 played different roles in steady and emergency monopoiesis. Although Pu.1 was essential for normal macrophage development, it played suppressive roles in emergency monopoiesis. Overall, our study established a systemic bacterial infection model that led to emergency myelopoiesis, thereby improving our understanding of the function of Pu.1 in this scenario.

Genes whose dysfunction do not affect normal survival is a common phenomenon. Are they only meaningless residues during evolution? Here, we identified a fish-specific new gene, which we named lg. Gene knockout resulted in no obvious phenotype in zebrafish, but lg evolves an amino acid mutation that is under positive selection in the modern haplochromine (MH) cichlid fish lineage, the well-known adaptive radiative lineage. Moreover, the cichlid fish-specific upstream region of lg can drive new eGFP expression profiles in tissues related to adaptation. Besides, this homologous region from different cichlid fishes drive different eGFP expressions which is simply due to three MH-segregated SNPs mutations that are predicted to bind a hormone related transcription factor. We thus revealed an initially redundant gene evolving new functions in an adaptive radiative lineage. This further illuminates the mechanism about the emergence of new gene function with respect to evo-devo in a broad way.