Biomedical subjects

Peng Zeng

Publications and source records attributed to Peng Zeng.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2026

Structural and functional characterization of peanut expansin proteins identifies AhEXPA3 as a stress-responsive regulator of seed germination.

Expansins are cell wall-associated proteins that play important roles in plant growth, development, and environmental responses, yet their structural features and functional significance in peanut remain insufficiently understood. Here, we performed a genome-wide identification and characterization of 70 expansin proteins in cultivated peanut. Phylogenetic analysis classified these genes into four subfamilies (EXPA, EXPB, EXLA, and EXLB), with conserved motif patterns and subgroup-specific exon-intron structures. Collinearity and evolutionary analyses revealed that segmental duplication mainly drove peanut expansin family expansion, with most duplicated gene pairs subsequently undergoing purifying selection. Promoter analysis identified abundant cis-regulatory elements associated with light responses, hormone signaling, and stress responses. Expression profiling indicated that many AhEXP genes were differentially expressed during seed germination and in response to abscisic acid (ABA), salt, and osmotic stresses. Among them, AhEXPA3 was identified as a stress-responsive expansin protein with marked transcriptional induction under abiotic stress conditions. Subcellular localization analysis suggested that AhEXPA3 exhibits an endoplasmic reticulum-associated localization pattern. Functional assays further demonstrated that heterologous expression of AhEXPA3 inhibited seed germination and early seedling establishment under stress conditions in both Arabidopsis thaliana and rice. These findings support a negative regulatory role of AhEXPA3 in stress-responsive seed germination and broaden current understanding of expansin protein function in legumes.

Germination↗

PubMed2026

A chromosome-level genome assembly of Lycoris radiata reveals the evolutionary origin of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids and elucidates the complete galanthamine biosynthetic pathway.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids (AmAs) comprise a structurally diverse group of specialized metabolites produced almost exclusively by species of the Amaryllidoideae subfamily and are of substantial pharmacological importance. However, the limited availability of high-quality genomes from Amaryllidoideae plants has constrained systematic investigations of the genes and evolutionary processes underlying AmA biosynthesis. Here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly of Lycoris radiata, which enabled the discovery of key downstream enzymes in the galanthamine biosynthetic pathway and uncovered reversible reactions between two critical metabolite pairs. These findings provide new mechanistic insight into pathway architecture and enable reconstruction of the galanthamine biosynthetic pathway in Yarrowia lipolytica. Comparative genomic analyses indicate that several core genes for AmA biosynthesis originated in ancestral angiosperms, whereas the complete pathway was likely assembled in the Amaryllidoideae subfamily through gene duplication and neofunctionalization. Furthermore, integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses suggest that roots contribute actively to AmA metabolism in Lycoris. Together, these findings provide a genomic and biochemical framework for understanding the evolution and engineering of AmA biosynthesis.

Lycoris↗

PubMed2024

A comprehensive analysis of ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 for carcinogenesis in pan-cancer.

BACKGROUND: Although there is evidence that ribonucleotide reductase subunit M2 (RRM2) is associated with numerous cancers, pan-cancer analysis has seldom been conducted. This study aimed to explore the potential carcinogenesis of RRM2 in pan-cancer using datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). METHODS: Data from the UCSC Xena database were analyzed to investigate the differential expression of RRM2 across multiple cancer types. Clinical data such as age, race, sex, tumor stage, and status were acquired to analyze the influence of RRM2 on the clinical characteristics of the patients. The role of RRM2 in the onset and progression of multiple cancers has been examined in terms of genetic changes at the molecular level, including tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), biological pathway changes, and the immune microenvironment. RESULTS: RRM2 was highly expressed in most cancers, and there was an obvious correlation between RRM2 expression and patient prognosis. RRM2 expression is associated with the infiltration of diverse immune and endothelial cells, immune checkpoints, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and microsatellite instability (MSI). Moreover, the cell cycle is involved in the functional mechanisms of RRM2. CONCLUSIONS: Our pan-cancer study provides a comprehensive understanding of the carcinogenesis of RRM2 in various tumors.

Humans↗