South China Agricultural University 4 articles published in JoVE Medicine A Surgical Model of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction in Tibetan Minipigs Xiaohui Li*1,2, Weijiang Tan*1,3, Xiang Li*1, Shuang Zheng*1, Xiaoshen Zhang2, Honghua Chen1, Zhanhong Pan1, Caiyi Zhu1, Feng Hua Yang1 1Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, 2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital, Jinan University, 3College of Veterinary Medicine, South China Agricultural University The present protocol describes a step-by-step procedure to establish a minipig model of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction using descending aortic constriction. The methods for evaluating cardiac morphology, histology, and function of this disease model are also presented. Genetics Discrimintion and Mapping of the Primary and Processed Transcripts in Maize Mitochondrion Using a Circular RT-PCR-based Strategy Yafeng Zhang1,2, Xun Liao2, Peihua Luo2, Kui Peng2, Wenyi Ye2, Tengxiang Lian1,2, Qibin Ma1,2, Hai Nian1,2 1State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, South China Agricultural University, 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Breeding, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University We present a circular RT-PCR-based strategy by combining circular RT-PCR, quantitative RT-PCR, RNA 5' polyphosphatase-treatment, and Northern blot. This protocol includes a normalization step to minimize the influence of unstable 5' triphosphate, and it is suitable for discriminating and mapping the primary and processed transcripts stably accumulated in maize mitochondrion. Environment Choice and No-Choice Bioassays to Study the Pupation Preference and Emergence Success of Ectropis grisescens Cai Wang1, Huifang Wang1, Tao Ma1,2, Qiang Xiao3, Panrong Cao4, Xuan Chen5, Hongpeng Xiong1, Wenquan Qin1, Zhaohui Sun1, Xiujun Wen1 1Guangdong Key Laboratory for Innovation Development and Utilization of Forest Plant Germplasm, College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, 2College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, 3Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 4College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, 5College of Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University Here, we present a protocol to investigate the pupation preference of mature larvae of Ectropis grisescens in response to soil factors (e.g., substrate type and moisture content) using choice bioassays. We also present a protocol of no-choice bioassays to determine the factors that affect the pupation behaviors and survivorship of E. grisescens. Chemistry Co-expression of Multiple Chimeric Fluorescent Fusion Proteins in an Efficient Way in Plants Xiaomin Peng*1, Guitao Zhong*1, Hao Wang1 1College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University We have developed a novel method for co-expressing multiple chimeric fluorescent fusion proteins in plants to overcome the difficulties of conventional methods. It takes advantage of using a single expression plasmid that contains multiple functionally independent protein expressing cassettes to achieve protein co-expression.