Biology subjects

Lan, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Lan, D..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

The world's first cloned golden wild yak via interspecific SCNT: 4800m donor origin and 4200m vitrified blastocyst transfer

Primarily inhabiting the harsh, high-altitude environment of the Qiangtang National Nature Reserve exceeding 5,000 meters above the sea (m.a.s.l.), the golden wild yak is critically endangered, with fewer than 300 individuals remaining in the world, a situation exacerbated by the significant challenges of conducting research and conservation of their genetic resources. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) can be an effective method for their preservation, but facing several obstacles in this context, including the hypoxic stress at high altitude that impairs embryonic development due to in vitro manipulation, and constraints of long-distance embryo transport. In the present study, the ear tissue was collected from a childhood male golden wild yak at Xizang Geye Wildlife Rescue Station (4800 m.a.s.l.) and send to Institute of Animal Science at Beijing to derive fibroblast cells. Using fibroblast cells of the golden wild yak as nuclear donors, and bovine oocytes from a local slaughterhouse at Beijing as recipients, the interspecific SCNT (iSCNT) embryos were generated and in vitro developed to blastocysts. To maintain the embryonic viability after long-distance transportation from Beijing to Xizang, iSCNT blastocysts were subjected to cryopreservation by vitrification method. Thawing of vitrified iSCNT blastocysts were completed at Xizang Dangxiong Yak Breeding Innovation Base (4200 m.a.s.l.), and transferred into the uterine horn of domestic yaks. 257 days after blastocyst transfer, a cloned golden wild yak was successfully harvested on January 10, 2026. This work demonstrates, for the first time, that interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer can successfully produce a cloned offspring under extreme conditions, spanning 4800 m.a.s.l. donor origin, long-distance vitrified embryo transportation, and high-altitude blastocyst transfer at 4200 m.a.s.l., establishing a viable strategy for conserving critically endangered high-altitude species.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Distinct roles of hippocampus and neocortex in symbolic compositional generalization

Humans can combine symbols to generate new meanings. Here, we studied the regional neural mechanisms that might make this possible. We asked participants to combine two discrete, symbolic features (a shape and a colour) to make a novel spatial inference. BOLD data suggested that the hippocampus encoded elementary visual attributes in a high-dimensional, parallel format that permitted flexible individuation. In ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and primary visual cortex (V1), neural patterns for novel stimuli (composites) could be predicted as a linear combination of signals for familiar stimuli (elements). In vmPFC, this composition occurred in a high-dimensional format, but in PPC and V1, it took place in a low-dimensional, spatial, response-consistent frame of reference. These data offer new insights into the neural circuit underlying compositional generalization.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Microbial Weathering Analysis of Anshun Tunbao Artifacts

AbstractsCultural heritages are the crystallization of human technology, culture and embody the efforts of many craftsmen in ancient times. Wooden cultural heritages are affected by their own materials, and are very susceptible to microbial invasion under suitable temperature and humidity conditions. This project mainly studies the microbial weathering of the core wood carving masks and wooden ancient stage in Anshun Tunpu cultural heritage, and uses scanning electron microscopy, high-throughput sequencing and traditional culture methods to analyze the characteristics of their microbial communities, and finds that the bacteria represented by Pseudomonas, Paenibacillus and Stenotrophomonas, and the fungi represented by Cladosporium, Alternaria and Aspergillus, are the core microorganisms shared by indoor and outdoor cultural heritage. The dominant genera such as Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Cladosporium showed lignocellulose deradation ability. By cultivating insect eggs extracted from sampled specimens and analyzing the correlation with surface microbiota, we verified the role of insect eggs as vectors in dispersing key microbial communities. We speculate that these insects are likely to be Anobiidae family. Furthermore, by comparing the microbial compositions under different climatic conditions, we validated the influence of temperature, humidity, vegetation diversity, and microbial intrinsic structures on microbial growth. Therefore, monitoring the surrounding environment is crucial in microbial weathering studies and cultural heritage preservation efforts. This study pioneered the investigation of microbial weathering aspects on unique heritage of the Tuenbao culture, emphasizing the importance of preserving distinctive ethnic cultures. Additionally, it presented a case study on the microbial weathering of wooden artifacts in karst landscape environments.

microbiology↗