Biology subjects

Jin, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Jin, N..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Fertilizer reduction with bio-organic fertilizer to regulate the root soil microbial community structure to improve Baby Chinese cabbage yield

Using high-throughput sequencing, this study aimed to explore the response of soil microbial community and Baby Chinese cabbage yield to the reduction of chemical fertilizers combined with bio-organic fertilizer in the Gansu plateau, China. Our experiments consisted of conventional fertilizer (CK), 30% chemical fertilizer reduction + 6,000 kg bio-organic fertilizer (T1), 30% chemical fertilizer reduction + 9,000 kg bio-organic fertilizer (T2), 40% chemical fertilizer reduction + 6,000 kg bio-organic fertilizer (T3), and 40% chemical fertilizer reduction + 9,000 kg bio-organic fertilizer (T4). Compared with CK, soil microbial diversity and richness were higher for all treatments with added bio-organic fertilizer. PCoA showed that the bacterial and fungal communities in T2 and T4 were similar to each other. Redundancy and Spearmans correlation analyses of microbial communities and soil physicochemical properties revealed that reductions in chemical fertilizer rate combined with bio-organic fertilizer had a stronger impact on the fungal than the bacterial community. They also increased the relative abundance of the dominant bacterial and fungal phyla. Baby Chinese cabbage yield was relatively higher under the combined bio-organic fertilizer plus reduced chemical fertilizer rate with T2 showing the highest yield. Therefore, this approach is feasible for sustainable agricultural, cost-effective and profitable crop production. ImportanceO_LIBio-organic + moderately reduced chemical fertilizer raised Chinese cabbage yield C_LIO_LIBio-organic + chemical fertilizer was more efficacious than either one alone C_LIO_LIPresence of bio-organic fertilizer enhanced overall rhizosphere physicochemistry C_LIO_LIBio-organic fertilizer improved beneficial bacterial & fungal abundance & diversity C_LIO_LIFertilizer combination sustainably & cost-effectively improves crop & soil quality C_LI

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Predisposition to Proinsulin Misfolding as a Genetic Risk to Diet-Induced Diabetes

Throughout evolution, proinsulin has exhibited significant sequence variation in both C-peptide and insulin moieties. As the proinsulin coding sequence evolves, the gene product continues to be under selection pressure both for ultimate insulin bioactivity and for the ability of proinsulin to be folded for export through the secretory pathway of pancreatic {beta}-cells. The substitution proinsulin-R(B22)E is known to yield a bioactive insulin, although R(B22)Q has been reported as a mutation that falls within the spectrum of Mutant INS-gene induced Diabetes of Youth (MIDY). Here we have studied mice expressing heterozygous (or homozygous) proinsulin-R(B22)E knocked into the Ins2 locus. Neither females nor males bearing the heterozygous mutation develop diabetes at any age examined, but subtle evidence of increased proinsulin misfolding in the endoplasmic reticulum is demonstrable in isolated islets from the heterozygotes. Moreover, males have indications of glucose intolerance and within a few week exposure to a high-fat diet, they develop frank diabetes. Diabetes is more severe in homozygotes, and the development of disease parallels a progressive heterogeneity of {beta}-cells with increasing fractions of proinsulin-rich/insulin-poor cells, as well as glucagon-positive cells. Evidently, sub-threshold predisposition to proinsulin misfolding can go undetected, but provides genetic susceptibility to diet-induced {beta}-cell failure.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Retinal circuits driving a non-image forming visual behavior

Outer retinal circuits that drive non-image forming vision in mammals are unknown. Rods and cones signal light increments and decrements to the brain through the ON and OFF pathways, respectively. Although their contribution to image-forming vision is known, the contributions of the ON and OFF pathway to the pupillary light response (PLR), a non-image forming behavior, are unexplored. Here we use genetically modified mouse lines, to comprehensively define the outer retinal circuits driving the PLR. The OFF pathway, which mirrors the ON pathway in image-forming vision, plays no role in the PLR. We found that rods use the primary rod pathway to drive the PLR at scotopic light levels. At photopic light levels, the primary and secondary rod pathways drive normal PLR. Importantly, we find that cones are unable to compensate for rods. Thus, retinal circuit dynamics allow rods to drive the PLR across a wide range of light intensities.

neuroscience↗