Kofodklit6447

Accumulating evidences revealed the connections between arsenic exposure and mitochondrial dysfunctions induced reproductive toxicology. Meanwhile, production declines were found in livestock suffering from arsenic exposure. However, the connections between arsenic exposure and livestock meiotic defects remain unclear. In this study, the effects of sodium arsenite (NaAsO2) exposure during the in vitro maturation (IVM) on the meiotic potentials of ovine oocytes were analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of glutathione (GSH) supplementation on the meiotic defects of NaAsO2 exposed ovine oocytes were investigated by the assay of nuclear maturation, spindle organization, chromosome alignment, cytoskeleton assembly, cortical granule (CGs) dynamics, mitochondrial dysfunctions, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, oxidative DNA damages, cellular apoptosis, epigenetic modifications and fertilization capacities. The results showed that the meiotic defects of NaAsO2 exposed ovine oocytes were effectively ameliorated by the GSH supplementation via the inhibition of mitochondrial dysfunctions, which not only promoted the nuclear maturation, spindle organization, chromosome alignment, cytoskeleton assembly, CGs dynamic and fertilization capacities, but also inhibited the ROS accumulation, oxidative DNA damages and apoptosis of ovine MII oocytes. The abnormal expressions of 5mC, H3K4me3 and H3K9me3 in NaAsO2 exposed ovine oocytes, indicating the abnormal epimutations of DNA methylation and histone methylation, were also effectively ameliorated by the GSH supplementation. Taken together, this study confirmed the connections between arsenic exposure and meiotic defects of ovine oocytes. Meanwhile, the effects of GSH supplementation on the developmental competence of livestock oocytes, especially for these suffering from arsenic exposure were also founded, benefiting the extended researches for the GSH applications.Emerging evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to ambient SO2 or NO2 induces fetal brain-damage. However, effects of prenatal exposure to SO2 or NO2 on toddler neurodevelopment and the effect-modification by ambient temperature remain unclear. Therefore, a prospective birth-cohort study was conducted from 2010 to 2012 in Shanghai, and 225 mother-child pairs were followed-up from mid-to-late pregnancy until 24-36 months postpartum. During the whole pregnancy, daily SO2/NO2 and temperature levels were obtained for each woman. Gesell-Development-Schedule was used to assess toddler neurodevelopment in the domains of gross-motor, fine-motor, adaptive-behavior, language and social-behavior. Distributed-lag-nonlinear-models simultaneously accounting for exposure-response and lag-response associations were applied to assess the impacts of prenatal SO2/NO2 exposure on neurodevelopment. Each 10-μg/m3 increase in weekly average SO2 concentrations had adverse associations with gross-motor in gestational-weeks 1-6, wit2-induced neurotoxicity.The effect of water source on cognitive functioning is poorly understood. The present study explored the associations between water source and cognition in 9921 participants from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Cognitive functioning was measured from three aspects orientation and attention, episodic memory, and visuo-construction. Water sources included tap and non-tap water. Generalized linear models and multiple logistic regression models were conducted to investigate the associations of cognitive scores with water source among the whole population and different subgroups. Results from cross-sectional analysis reported that participants without access to tap water showed a lower cognitive score (β = - 0.57; 95% CI - 0.74, - 0.39) than those with tap water as a water source; and this phenomenon was pronounced for both sexes and across all residences. During 4-years' follow-up, a greater decline of cognitive score was associated with no tap water use in the lowest quartile of baseline cognitive scores (β = - 0.67; 95% CI - 1.26, - 0.08). Additionally, the utilization rate of tap water was lower in rural areas compared to urban areas. The lowest utilization rates were observed in urban areas of the Anhui province (0.38 in 2011 and 0.55 in 2015) and in rural areas of Inner Mongolia (0.09 in 2011 and 0.20 in 2015). These findings suggest that having no tap water may be a risk factor for cognition impairment, particularly for those with a low basic cognition score. Additionally, our results support the need to expand tap water use in China.Soil cadmium (Cd) contamination is a serious problem on agricultural land. Adequate nitrogen (N) may help ameliorate plant fitness under Cd stress. This study examined the role of N application in improving maize tolerance to Cd stress. Two maize genotypes, Zhongke11 (larger root system) and Shengrui999 (smaller root system), were grown in a loessal soil amended with Cd (Cd0, no added Cd; Cd1, 20 mg kg-1 soil as CdCl2·2.5 H2O) and N (N0, no added N; N1, 100 mg kg-1 soil as urea) under greenhouse, and plants were assessed at silking and maturity stages. Maize plants exhibited moderate Cd stress with significantly reduced grain yield, especially under low N (N1). Roots accumulated more Cd than above-ground parts. Grain Cd concentration was the least (0.05-0.06 μg g-1) among all organs which is below the safety threshold. Leaf Cd concentrations (0.24-1.18 mg kg-1) were also under the toxicity threshold. Nitrogen addition significantly improved plant growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthesis traits, and tissue Cd contents, and reduced Cd concentration in soil compared to N0 treatment. Nitrogen promoted Cd bioconcentration and translocation factors in stem and leaves. Cadmium stress reduced N fertilizer agronomic efficiency at maturity. At maturity, root Cd content was positively correlated with root N and calcium accumulation, and stem Cd content was positively correlated with stem N content (both P ≤ 0.05). Genotypes with different root system size differed in response to Cd toxicity and / or N deficit. The small-rooted genotype Shengrui999 was more tolerant to moderate Cd stress than the large-rooted Zhongke11. Addition of N ameliorated Cd stress in both maize genotypes by improving plant growth performance, and regulating Cd translocations among plant organs.Consumption of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the major pathways for heavy metal bioaccumulation in humans over time. Understanding the molecular responses of rice to heavy metal contamination in agriculture is useful for eco-toxicological assessment of cadmium (Cd) and its interaction with zinc (Zn). In certain crops, the impacts of Cd stress or Zn nutrition on the biophysical chemistry and gene expression have been widely investigated, but their molecular interactions at transcriptomic level, particularly in rice roots, are still elusive. Here, hydroponic investigations were carried out with two rice genotypes (Yinni-801 and Heizhan-43), varying in Cd contents in plant tissues to determine their transcriptomic responses upon Cd15 (15 µM) and Cd15+Zn50 (50 µM) treatments. High throughput RNA-sequencing analysis confirmed that 496 and 2407 DEGs were significantly affected by Cd15 and Cd15+Zn50, respectively, among which 1016 DEGs were commonly induced in both genotypes. Multitude of DEGs fell under the cated reduced Cd for sustainable rice production.The large-scale commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) cotton has brought significant economic and environmental benefits. However, GM crops must undergo strict environmental monitoring and long-term observation. An important natural enemy insect in cotton fields, Geocoris pallidipennis, can ingest the Bt protein expressed in GM cotton by feeding on herbivorous insects that feed on the cotton. However, the potential risk of GM cotton to G. pallidipennis is still unclear. We here evaluated the effects of Bt cotton expressing the Cry1Ac/1Ab protein on nymphs and adults G. pallidipennis. Cry1Ac protein was detected in the midgut of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, after it ingested Bt cotton, and in the midgut of G. pallidipennis nymphs and adults preying on Bt-fed H. armigera. MALT1inhibitor However, the survival rate, growth, development, and fecundity of G. pallidipennis were not adversely affected. Furthermore, G. pallidipennis cadherins, and those genes related to detoxification, antioxidant activity, nutrient utilization, and immune function were not differentially expressed in response to Cry1Ac exposure. Finally, we showed that Cry1Ac could not bind to brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) proteins in G. pallidipennis nymphs or adults. In summary, these results indicate that the potential negative effect of transgenic Cry1Ac/1Ab cotton on the insect redator G. pallidipennis is negligible.The anthranilic diamide insecticide chlorantraniliprole is highly effective against Lepidoptera pests, but the underlying mechanisms of toxic effects of chlorantraniliprole exposures for adapting to the chemical environment are poorly known in fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E.Smith). FAW being one of the most pests of maize in Latin America, suddenly appeared in China in 2019 and spread rapidly. In this study, using bioassay and transcriptomic and biochemical analyses, we comprehensively investigated gene expression changes of third instar larvae in response to different sublethal concentrations (LC10 and LC30) of chlorantraniliprole in this insect. Exposure to LC10 chlorantraniliprole (0.73 mg/L) causes 1266 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 578 are up-regulated and 688 down-regulated. Exposure to LC30 (2.49 mg/L) causes differential expression of 3637 DEGs (1545 up-, 2092 down-regulated). Interestingly, the LC30 treatment led to a significant increase in the number of DEGs compared to that of the LC10, indicating a concentration effect manner. Moreover, enrichment analysis identified important DEGs belonging to specific categories, such as amino acid, carbohydrate, lipid, energy, xenobiotics metabolisms, signal transduction, and posttranslational modification pathways, and enzymes activities in enriched pathways were significantly altered at the LC10 and LC30, which matched transcriptome analysis to mediate toxic mechanisms. The DEGs encoding detoxification-related genes were identified and validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), which correlated with the RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first toxicity mechanisms for a better understanding of chlorantraniliprole action and detoxification in FAW and other insect pests at molecular level.Cadmium (Cd) has well-known central nervous system toxicity, and mitochondria are direct targets of Cd-induced neuronal toxicity. However, how Cd induces mitochondrial mass decrease in terms of its neurotoxic effects remains unknown. Puerarin, an isoflavone extracted from kudzu root, can cross the blood-brain barrier and exert protective effects in nervous system disease. The purpose of the study was to determine the mechanism of Cd-induced mitochondrial mass decrease and the protective role of puerarin in rat cortical neurons. The results indicated that Cd induced mitochondrial mass decrease by activating mitophagy mediated by the PTEN-induced putative kinase protein 1 (PINK1)-E3 ubiquitin ligase (Parkin) and Nip3-like protein X (Nix) pathways in rat cortical neurons. Puerarin improved the Cd-induced decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in vitro, and blocked PINK1-Parkin and Nix-mediated mitophagy, inhibiting Cd-induced mitochondrial mass decrease in rat cortical neurons in vitro and in vivo. In summary, our data clearly indicated that puerarin protects rat cortical neurons against Cd-induced neurotoxicity by ameliorating mitochondrial damage, inhibiting mitophagy-mediated mitochondrial mass decrease.