Organ Size Research Articles

ПАТОМОРФОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ОРГАНОВ СЕРЕБРИСТО-ЧЕРНЫХ ЛИСИЦ

An alternative protein feed additive based on the biomass of black soldier fly larvae has been proposed to improve the quality of fox fur. The optimal form and dose of application have been established. The experiment used larvae of Hermetia illucens, aged 20–21 days, grown on food waste in the insectarium of the Kazan State Academy of Agricultural Medicine. Biomass of larvae was added to fox diets in dried and natural form. Drying of the larvae was carried out at a temperature of 80–80 °C. The experiment used young silver-black foxes in the conditions of the fur farm of CJSC Biryuli in the Vysokogorsk region of the Republic of Tatarstan, where groups were formed according to the principle of analogues. Foxes of group I received the main diet (minced meat) and served as a control; foxes of experimental groups II and IV received the dried mass of larvae in the amount of 1.0 and 3.0 % of the dry matter of the diet; foxes of experimental groups III and V received the weight of native larvae in the main diet in amounts of 2.0 and 7.0 % of the dry matter of the diet, respectively. The foxes were fed according to zootechnical standards (adopted for slaughter young animals and the main stock), in accordance with the need for nutrients in different biological periods. The animals were kept in the same type – in individual cages in sheds. The duration of use of Black Soldier fly larvae was 30 days – before the technological slaughter of foxes for fur. Morphometric indicators of internal organs were determined by dissecting foxes with further assessment of the mass and size of internal organs.

Fasciclin 2 functions as an expression-level switch on EGFR to control organ shape and size in Drosophila.

Fasciclin 2 (Drosophila NCAM) is a homophilic Cell Adhesion Molecule expressed at moderate levels in the proliferating epithelial cells of imaginal discs, where it engages EGFR in a cell autonomous auto-stimulatory loop that promotes growth along larval development. In addition, Fasciclin 2 is expressed at high levels in the pre-differentiating cells of imaginal discs. Gain-of-function genetic analysis shows that Fasciclin 2 acts as a non-cell autonomous repressor of EGFR when high expression levels are induced during imaginal disc growth. Loss-of-function genetic analysis shows that this Fasciclin 2 functional facet is required at the end of larval development and it is mediated by interaction with IgCAMs CG15630 (Fipi) and CG33543 (Elff). Thus, Fasciclin 2 bears two complementary functional roles which correspond with different levels of expression. The combined results from loss- and gain-of-function analyses suggest a scenario where the Fasciclin 2/EGFR cell autonomous auto-stimulatory loop promotes cell proliferation until reaching a Fasciclin 2 expression threshold where its non-cell autonomous function stops growth. Thus, cellular integration of Fasciclin 2 autonomous and non-cell autonomous signaling from neighbor cells may be a key regulator component to orchestrate the rate of intercalary cell proliferation and the final size and shape of an organ.

Integrated workflow for prediction of organic pore volume in unconventional plays, an example from the Duvernay formation, Canada

Organic pores provide the primary storage space for hydrocarbons in some unconventional plays. However, organic pore volume and pore size distribution data are not routinely collected due to time, labor, and cost. This work presents an efficient workflow for the estimation of organic pore volume in self-sourcing reservoirs using more routinely gathered mineral and geochemical data and machine learning methods. This approach provides comparable results to the analytical approach of using subcritical N2 adsorption, but at significantly reduced cost. The Late Devonian Duvernay Formation of western Canada is used as an example to develop the workflow. This workflow should be adaptable to other locations.This work utilized total organic carbon (TOC), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and mineral data. Data processing was performed prior to modeling to improve prediction accuracy and precision. Specifically, data transformation, stratification, and stratified three-fold cross validation approaches are used to overcome limitations of small datasets and improve model optimization. Multilinear Regression and Random Forest modeling are benchmarked for prediction optimization. Ensuring that training datasets include end-member data is critical to increase the reliability of model generalization. Stepwise regression and factor significance are used to select important factors in the modeling, observing that not all available data are needed for a meaningful prediction.

Patterned apoptosis has an instructive role for local growth and tissue shape regulation in a fast-growing epithelium

What regulates organ size and shape remains one fundamental mystery of modern biology. Research in this area has primarily focused on deciphering the regulation in time and space of growth and cell division, while the contribution of cell death has been overall neglected. This includes studies of the Drosophila wing, one of the best-characterized systems for the study of growth and patterning, undergoing massive growth during larval stage and important morphogenetic remodeling during pupal stage. So far, it has been assumed that cell death was relatively neglectable in this tissue both during larval stage and pupal stage, and as a result, the pattern of growth was usually attributed to the distribution of cell division. Here, using systematic mapping and registration combined with quantitative assessment of clone size and disappearance as well as live imaging, we outline a persistent pattern of cell death and clone elimination emerging in the larval wing disc and persisting during pupal wing morphogenesis. Local variation of cell death is associated with local variation of clone size, pointing to an impact of cell death on local growth that is not fully compensated by proliferation. Using morphometric analyses of adult wing shape and genetic perturbations, we provide evidence that patterned death locally and globally affects adult wing shape and size. This study describes a roadmap for precise assessment of the contribution of cell death to tissue shape and outlines an important instructive role of cell death in modulating quantitatively local growth and morphogenesis of a fast-growing tissue.

Comparison of five equations in describing the variation of leaf area distributions of Alangium chinense (Lour.) Harms.

Previous studies have validated a performance equation (PE) and its generalized version (GPE) in describing the rotated and right-shifted Lorenz curves of organ size (e.g., leaf area and fruit volume) distributions of herbaceous plants. Nevertheless, there are still two questions that have not been adequately addressed by prior work: (i) whether the PE and GPE apply to woody plant species and (ii) how do the PE and GPE perform in comparison with other Lorenz equations when fitting data. To address these deficiencies, we measured the lamina length and width of each leaf on 60 Alangium chinense saplings to compare the performance of the PE and GPE with three other Lorenz equations in quantifying the inequality of leaf area distributions across individual trees. Leaf area is shown to be the product of a proportionality coefficient (k) and leaf length and width. To determine the numerical value of k, we scanned 540 leaves to obtain the leaf area empirically. Using the estimated k, the leaf areas of 60A. chinense saplings were calculated. Using these data, the two performance equations and three other Lorenz equations were then compared and assessed using the root-mean-square error (RMSE) and Akaike information criterion (AIC). The PE and GPE were found to be valid in describing the rotated and right-shifted Lorenz curves of the A. chinense leaf area distributions, and GPE has the lowest RMSE and AIC values. This work validates the GPE as the best model in gauging variations in leaf area of the woody species.

Body traits variation of a reef building polychaete across a latitudinal gradient

Body size is considered the most important trait in ecology, and as such, helps to understand the species-environment interactions. We explored the relationship between body traits and environmental variables along a gradient range using the polychaete Phragmatopoma caudata, with well-defined and diversified morphological structures. Measurements of five traits (body length, opercular crown, branchiae, tentacles and building organ sizes) were taken at nine sites along the Southwestern Atlantic coast and their relationships to temperature, salinity, tidal range, waves height, and dissolved oxygen were assessed. Our results demonstrate that traits were influenced by the environmental gradient and temperature was the main factor that drives this variation in body traits, while the other variables showed a minor influence on this. The approach showed patterns of variation of body traits in a macroscale context, increasing the understanding of its relationships with environmental variables and eventual shifts in the distribution in the future climate scenarios.

Assessing the Impact of Erosion and Farming Practices on the Spatial Distribution of Topsoil Characteristics in a Sloping Vineyard Using an Open-source QGIS Software

Erosion is one of the major threats that negatively affect agricultural soils. Several studies indicated that sloping vineyards are prone to soil erosion due to the soil management method. This study was conducted in a sloping vineyard planted in 2019 (with a slope of 100 and a slope length of 38 m) in Thu Cuc commune, Tan Son district, Phu Tho province, Vietnam. The main objective of the study is to evaluate soil characteristics (pH, particle-size distribution, organic matter, cation exchange capacity (CEC), N, P, and K macronutrients) related to terrain morphology, soil erosion, and farming practices. The open-source QGIS software was used to evaluate the spatial distribution of the soil characteristics. We found that the organic matter content, CEC, and clay content in the soils taken at the footslope zones were higher than those at the top of the hill as a result of soil erosion. In contrast, higher contents of K and silt were observed at the top of the hill compared to the footslope, indicating an unapparent impact of soil erosion on these two factors in the studied vineyard. Phosphorus was evenly distributed throughout the plot and influenced by the soil characteristics. Indeed, a strong correlation between total P content and soil pH, organic matter, and silt content was revealed in our study. On the other hand, cultivation practices exerted a significant impact on the prevailing accumulation of soil organic matter, CEC, total N, and clay particle size at the lower part of the vine rows following the horizontal flow. The vine rows were planted along the contour lines rather than the dominant slope of the vineyard can explain this tendency. In addition, no cover crops sown between the vine rows probably resulted in intense soil erosion at the steepest part of the terrain. Overall, the terrain morphology and farming practices played an essential role in the spatial distribution of soil characteristics. Therefore, integrating geographic information systems into building a digital database and predicting the spatial distribution of soil parameters is necessary to perform soil quality monitoring and serve sustainable land management.

Effect and mechanism of hypoxia on differentiation of porcine-induced pluripotent stem cells into vascular endothelial cells.

Pigs are similar to humans in organ size and physiological function, and are considered as good models for studying cardiovascular diseases. The study of porcine-induced pluripotent stem cells (piPSC) differentiating into vascular endothelial cells (EC) is expected to open up a new way of obtaining high-quality seed cells. Given that the hypoxic environment has an important role in the differentiation process of vascular EC, this work intends to establish a hypoxia-induced differentiation system of piPSC into vascular EC. There is evidence that the hypoxia microenvironment in the initial stage could significantly improve differentiation efficiency. Further study suggests that the hypoxia culture system supports a combined effect of hypoxia inducible factors and their associated regulatory molecules, such as HIF-1α, VEGFA, FGF2, LDH-A, and PDK1, which can efficiently promote the lineage-specific differentiation of piPSC into EC. Most notably, the high level of ETV2 after 4 d of hypoxic treatment indicates that it possibly plays an important role in the promoting process of EC differentiation. The research is expected to help the establishment of new platforms for piPSC directional induction research, so as to obtain adequate seed cells with ideal phenotype and functionality.

Basal spot junctions of Drosophila epithelial tissues respond to morphogenetic forces and regulate Hippo signaling

Organ size is controlled by numerous factors including mechanical forces, which are mediated in part by the Hippo pathway. In growing Drosophila epithelial tissues, cytoskeletal tension influences Hippo signaling by modulating the localization of key pathway proteins to different apical domains. Here, we discovered a Hippo signaling hub at basal spot junctions, which form at the basal-most point of the lateral membranes and resemble adherens junctions in protein composition. Basal spot junctions recruit the central kinase Warts via Ajuba and E-cadherin, which prevent Warts activation by segregating it from upstream Hippo pathway proteins. Basal spot junctions are prominent when tissues undergo morphogenesis and are highly sensitive to fluctuations in cytoskeletal tension. They are distinct from focal adhesions, but the latter profoundly influences basal spot junction abundance by modulating the basal-medial actomyosin network and tension experienced by spot junctions. Thus, basal spot junctions couple morphogenetic forces to Hippo pathway activity and organ growth.

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI PERKEMBANGAN

Abstract. In normal growth and development, a child will see changes in the size of the body's organs (physical) as the child gets older. Body sizes will increase, both those that are visible such as feet, hands, body height and so on, and those that are not visible such as the heart, lungs, muscles and so on. At the same time, changes are also experienced in the spiritual/mental field, namely increasing the ability to observe, remember, feel, and so on, in line with the physical growth mentioned above, so that a healthy soul will develop in accordance with healthy physical growth as well. The research method is by comparing research methods, processing methods, and the results obtained from each article. The research source comes from articles obtained via the internet in the form of research articles discussing early childhood development. The research results show that the conclusions of the factors that influence the development of western and Islamic psychological perspectives are heredity, environment and God's provisions. In western psychology, emphasis is placed on factors such as heredity and environment in understanding individual development, while in Islamic psychology, the factor of Allah's provisions is also considered very important.

Effects of Substituting Synthetic Fertilizer with Organic Materials on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration and Aggregate Size Distribution in Red Soil in South China

Effects of Substituting Synthetic Fertilizer with Organic Materials on Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration and Aggregate Size Distribution in Red Soil in South China

Bisphenol A induces placental ferroptosis and fetal growth restriction via the YAP/TAZ-ferritinophagy axis

Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation leads to fetal growth restriction (FGR), whereby the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we found that FGR patients showed higher levels of BPA in the urine, serum, and placenta; meanwhile, trophoblast ferroptosis was observed in FGR placentas, as indicated by accumulated intracellular iron, impaired antioxidant molecules, and increased lipid peroxidation products. To investigate the role of ferroptosis in placental and fetal growth, BPA stimulation was performed both in vivo and in vitro. BPA exposure during gestation was associated with FGR in mice; also, it induces ferroptosis in mouse placentas and human placental trophoblast. Pretreatment with ferroptosis inhibitor ferritin-1 (Fer-1) alleviated BPA-induced oxidative damage and cell death. Notably, BPA reduced the trophoblastic expression of Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), which regulated tissue growth and organ size. YAP or TAZ siRNA enhanced BPA-induced ferroptosis, suggesting that trophoblast ferroptosis is dependent on YAP/TAZ downregulation after BPA stimulation. Consistently, the protein levels of YAP/TAZ were also reduced in FGR placentas. Further results revealed that silencing YAP/TAZ promoted BPA-induced ferroptosis through autophagy. Pretreatment with autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) attenuated BPA-induced trophoblast ferroptosis. Ferritinophagy, an autophagic degradation of ferritin (FTH1), was observed in FGR placentas. Similarly, BPA reduced the protein level of FTH1 in placental trophoblast. Pretreatment with iron chelator desferrioxamine (DFO) and NCOA4 (an autophagy cargo receptor) siRNA weakened the ferroptosis of trophoblast after exposure to BPA, indicating that autophagy mediates ferroptosis in BPA-stimulated trophoblast by degrading ferritin. In summary, ferroptosis was featured in BPA-associated FGR and trophoblast injury; the regulation of ferroptosis involved the YAP/TAZ-autophagy-ferritin axis.

Effect of the biological castration vaccine (Improvac®) on sex hormones and reproductive organs of pigs in Vietnam

The Improvac® vaccine has been shown to improve growth performance, meat quality, and sexual behavior in swine herds in several countries. This study initially investigated the ability of this vaccine to control sex hormones and the development of reproductive organs in Vietnamese crossbred pigs (Yorkshire – Landrace x Duroc). A total of 45 male piglets were randomly divided into three groups: vaccinated at 12 and 18 weeks old, surgically castrated males at 7 days old, and entire males. Meanwhile, 40 female piglets were randomly assigned to one of two groups: those vaccinated at 12 and 16 weeks of age or entire females. Serum from experimental pigs was collected monthly before and after vaccination until slaughter (25 weeks of age). At the time of slaughter, reproductive organs were obtained to assess changes at the macroscopic and microscopic features. Anti-GnRH antibodies in the immunized male and female pigs increased dramatically and remained for several weeks following a booster shot, while serum levels of sex hormones were significantly lower than in the entire group (P<0.05). In addition, the reproductive organs of the immunized groups were negatively affected compared to the control groups. The male vaccinated group showed a significant reduction in the size of reproductive organs and irreversible disruption of spermatogenesis and testicular structure. The ovary and reproductive organs in the immunized female group revealed degradation in the size and ovarian follicle development. Taken together, the Improvac® vaccine can decrease sex hormones, thereby disrupting the development of reproductive organs in vaccinated male and female pigs.

Alteration of chlorite coats and sandstone porosity reduction: Insights from reactive transport modeling

Chlorite coats are widely recognized as a key element in preserving sandstone porosity because it can inhibit the growth of quartz cements. However, the alteration of chlorite coats and its potential influences on sandstone porosity are rarely discussed. Therefore, this work used reactive transport models under different petrographic and geochemical conditions to investigate the influence of chlorite coats on sandstone porosity in a major dissolution window (100 °C). The HCO3-rich (CO2-charged) and HCO3-depleted (organic acids-charged) waters were injected to induce mineral dissolution and precipitation. The results indicate that the alteration of chlorite coats may result in sandstone porosity reduction. The HCO3-rich water leads to a porosity decrease mainly through the precipitation of magnesite and siderite resulting from chlorite dissolution. In contrast, the HCO3-depleted water causes a porosity decrease mainly through the redistribution of kaolinite and quartz cements. Factors, including pCO2, organic acid concentration, coat coverage, coat thickness, and grain size, have secondary influences on net porosity change. In comparison, factors, including chlorite mineralogy, detrital lithology, and the reduction of K-feldspar dissolution rate caused by chlorite coat, have negligible influences. The alteration of chlorite coats may introduce significant mis-interpretation to the analysis of the relationship between chlorite coats and sedimentary facies. Moreover, the actual impact of pore-filling chlorite on porosity reduction may be either underestimated or overestimated. Therefore, the alteration of chlorite coats should be taken into consideration in future studies.

The effect of plant size on the phytoliths characteristics of short cells in the leaf epidermis of Dactylis glomerata L.

The present study is devoted to the revision of the influence of plant organs size on the size of phytoliths. Phytolith size parameters are used to identify cultivated grasses species in archaeological sites. Understanding how these characteristics are variable is necessary in such studies. The study of the variability of the phytoliths morphometric parameters will increase the possibilities of their use in plant systematics. The article presents a correlation analysis between the average values of the morphometric characteristics of Dactylis glomerata phytoliths from six different habitats with leaf sizes and generative shoots. The cock’s-foot specimens from forest, meadow and anthropogenically disturbed plant communities in the mountainous and plain parts of the south of Western Siberia were studied. Extraction of phytoliths was carried out using dry ashing. The measurement was made using the ImageJ software. Past 4.03 programs was used for statistical processing. The influence of the leaf length on the average values of the parameters of width, equivalent diameter, and inscribed radius of phytoliths of short epidermal cells of leaf was revealed. With an increase in the size of the leaf, the width of the phytolith and the parameters associated with it increase. The length of phytoliths, their area, perimeter, area and perimeter of the described figures weakly depend on the size of the vegetative organs of plants.
 Key words. Crenate, Dactylis glomerata, morphometry, phytoliths, short cells.

YAP1 Recognizes Inflammatory and Mechanical Cues to Exacerbate Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia via Promoting Cell Survival and Fibrosis.

Chronic prostatic inflammation promotes cell survival and fibrosis, leading to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with aggravated urinary symptoms. It is investigated whether yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1), an organ size controller and mechanical transductor, is implicated in inflammation-induced BPH. The correlation between YAP1 expression and fibrosis in human and rat BPH specimens is analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of YAP1 activation on prostatic cell survival and fibrosis, as well as the underlying mechanism, are also studied. As a result, total and nuclear YAP1 expression, along with downstream genes are significantly upregulated in inflammation-associated human and rat specimens. There is a significant positive correlation between YAP1 expression and the severity of fibrosis or clinical performance. YAP1 silencing suppresses cell survival by decreasing cell proliferation and increasing apoptosis, and alleviates fibrosis by reversing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in prostatic BPH-1 and WPMY-1 cells. Mechanistically, inflammatory stimulus and rigid matrix stiffness synergistically activate the RhoA/ROCK1 pathway to provoke cytoskeleton remodeling, thereby promoting YAP1 activation to exacerbate BPH development. Overall, inflammation-triggered mechanical stiffness reinforcement activates the RhoA/ROCK1/F-actin/YAP1 axis, thereby promoting prostatic cell survival and fibrosis to accelerate BPH progression.

Utilizing geometric morphometrics to investigate gene function during organ growth: Insights through the study of beetle horn shape allometry.

Static allometry is a major component of morphological variation. Much of the literature on the development of allometry investigates how functional perturbations of diverse pathways affect the relationship between trait size and body size. Often, this is done with the explicit objective to identify developmental mechanisms that enable the sensing of organ size and the regulation of relative growth. However, changes in relative trait size can also be brought about by a range of other distinctly different developmental processes, such as changes in patterning or tissue folding, yet standard univariate biometric approaches are usually unable to distinguish among alternative explanations. Here, we utilize geometric morphometrics to investigate the degree to which functional genetic manipulations known to affect the size of dung beetle horns also recapitulate the effect of horn shape allometry. We reasoned that the knockdown phenotypes of pathways governing relative growth should closely resemble shape variation induced by natural allometric variation. In contrast, we predicted that if genes primarily affect alternative developmental processes, knockdown effects should align poorly with shape allometry. We find that the knockdown effects of several genes (e.g., doublesex, Foxo) indeed closely aligned with shape allometry, indicating that their corresponding pathways may indeed function primarily in the regulation of relative trait growth. In contrast, other knockdown effects (e.g., Distal-less, dachs) failed to align with allometry, implicating these pathways in potentially scaling-independent processes. Our findings moderate the interpretation of studies focusing on trait length and highlight the usefulness of multivariate approaches to study allometry and phenotypic plasticity.

Abstract C133: BBT-4437, a novel, brain-penetrable, reversible pan-TEAD inhibitor targeting the Hippo signaling pathway in solid tumors

Abstract The Hippo pathway regulates several cellular functions including cell lineage fate, proliferation, migration, apoptosis, maintenance of cell stemness and dedifferentiation, and organ size. TEA domain family members 1-4 (TEAD1-4) are evolutionarily conserved transcription factors and core components of the Hippo pathway. TEADs are functional partners of the oncoproteins YAP (Yes-associated protein) and its paralog TAZ (transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif). Mutations in components of the Hippo pathway have been implicated in several diseases, including cancer. YAP/TEAD activation has also been associated with resistance to targeted therapies by EGFR TKIs in EGFR-mutant NSCLC. Targeting TEAD transcription activity has emerged as a promising approach to addressing cancers with abnormalities in the Hippo pathway. BBT-4437 is a novel, brain-penetrable, reversible pan-TEAD inhibitor that exhibits excellent selectivity in blocking TEAD transcriptional activity in the TEAD reporter gene assay. It demonstrates nanomolar potency in inhibiting cell proliferation in NF2-deficient mesothelioma cells in vitro. BBT-4437 also inhibits the expression of downstream YAP-TEAD target genes (CCN1/CYR61, CCN2/CTGF and IGFBP3) in a concentration-dependent manner in vitro. Moreover, BBT-4437 shows synergistic effect in combination with osimertinib in the H1975 NSCLC cell line. Furthermore, daily oral administration of BBT-4437 leads to significant tumor regression in NF2-deficient H226 and H2373 mesothelioma xenograft models. BBT-4437 demonstrates favorable pharmacokinetic and ADME profiles, including excellent brain penetration. Therefore, BBT-4437 has the potential to be a best-in-class TEAD inhibitor for targeting tumors with aberrant Hippo signaling and overcoming drug resistance caused by upregulation of the Hippo pathway in the clinic. Citation Format: Leila Revollo, Jehrod Brenneman, Sharad Paudyal, Toan Nguyen, Yong-Hee Lee, Taiguang Jimmy Jin. BBT-4437, a novel, brain-penetrable, reversible pan-TEAD inhibitor targeting the Hippo signaling pathway in solid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC Virtual International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2023 Oct 11-15; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2023;22(12 Suppl):Abstract nr C133.

Exploration of the tumorigenic, metabolic, and cognitive consequences of tau protein removal

AbstractBackgroundTau accumulation causes tauopathies and drives cellular senescence, which can lead to inflammation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive impairment. The association between intracellular tau deposition and pathogenesis has prompted therapeutic strategies that reduce tau expression. However, tau is also critical in microtubule stabilization, synaptic plasticity, and maintaining DNA integrity. We investigated the impact of tau removal on brain cell senescence and associated neurocognitive behaviors in aged tau knockout (Mapt0/0) and wild type control (Mapt+/+) mice. We also assessed physical, metabolic, histological, and biochemical outcomes in Mapt0/0 and Mapt+/+ mice and in response to high fat diet (HFD), a stressor that drives DNA damage.Method20‐month‐old female Mapt0/0 and Mapt+/+ mice were subjected to the Elevated Plus Maze to assess anxiety‐like behavior. Mice were then fed control (CTL) or HFD (60% kcal fat) for 9 weeks. Behavioral and physical measures were then assessed, and brain tissue was further analyzed via gene expression, biochemistry, and histological assays.ResultTau knockout and HFD, separately and additively, caused weight gain and insulin resistance. Removing tau primed cells to proliferate, as Mapt0/0 mice had increased body size, organ size, and tumor burden compared to Mapt+/+. We observed no difference in senescence between genotypes on CTL diet. The HFD increased senescence only in Mapt+/+ mice, whereas Mapt0/0 mice displayed increased tumor burden. Mapt0/0 mice displayed anxiety‐ and depressive‐like behaviors on both diets. Transcriptomic and protein expression data revealed that several molecules responded similarly to tau removal and HFD exposure, but Mapt+/+ and Mapt0/0 mice responded differently to HFD. Genotype differences in DNA damage and cell cycle dysregulation were also observed.ConclusionMapt0/0 mice did not accumulate senescent cells but demonstrated anxiety‐like behaviors in the presence of elevated DNA damage; thus tau knockout may drive neuropsychiatric phenotypes which can be dissociated from obesity and senescence. Mapt0/0 mice also developed tumors, suggesting that tau plays a critical role in cell fate decisions, including senescence versus cancer. Overall, we found that tau removal prevents senescent cell accumulation with the tradeoff of tumorigenic, metabolic, and cognitive consequences. We caution against removing tau until a better understanding of its physiological roles are defined.

SMALL PLANT AND ORGAN 1 (SPO1) Encoding a Cellulose Synthase-like Protein D4 (OsCSLD4) Is an Important Regulator for Plant Architecture and Organ Size in Rice

Plant architecture and organ size are considered as important traits in crop breeding and germplasm improvement. Although several factors affecting plant architecture and organ size have been identified in rice, the genetic and regulatory mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Here, we identified and characterized the small plant and organ 1 (spo1) mutant in rice (Oryza sativa), which exhibits narrow and rolled leaf, reductions in plant height, root length, and grain width, and other morphological defects. Map-based cloning revealed that SPO1 is allelic with OsCSLD4, a gene encoding the cellulose synthase-like protein D4, and is highly expressed in the roots at the seedling and tillering stages. Microscopic observation revealed the spo1 mutant had reduced number and width in leaf veins, smaller size of leaf bulliform cells, reduced cell length and cell area in the culm, and decreased width of epidermal cells in the outer glume of the grain. These results indicate the role of SPO1 in modulating cell division and cell expansion, which modulates plant architecture and organ size. It is showed that the contents of endogenous hormones including auxin, abscisic acid, gibberellin, and zeatin tested in the spo1 mutant were significantly altered, compared to the wild type. Furthermore, the transcriptome analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are significantly enriched in the pathways associated with plant hormone signal transduction, cell cycle progression, and cell wall formation. These results indicated that the loss of SPO1/OsCSLD4 function disrupted cell wall cellulose synthase and hormones homeostasis and signaling, thus leading to smaller plant and organ size in spo1. Taken together, we suggest the functional role of SPO1/OsCSLD4 in the control of rice plant and organ size by modulating cell division and expansion, likely through the effects of multiple hormonal pathways on cell wall formation.