Vicia ervilia lectin (VEA) has an antibiofilm effect on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria.

Bacterial growing resistance to antibiotics poses a critical threat to global health. This study investigates, for the first time, the antibiofilm properties of Vicia ervilia agglutinin (VEA) from six different V. ervilia accessions against pathogenic bacteria, and the yeast Candida albicans. In the absence of antimicrobial properties, purified VEA significantly inhibited biofilm formation, both in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but not in C. albicans. With an inhibitory concentration ranging from 100 to 500 µg/ml, the VEA antibiofilm activity was more relevant against the Gram-positive bacteria Streptococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, whose biofilm was reduced up to 50% by VEA purified from accessions #5 and #36. VEA antibiofilm variability between accessions was observed, likely due to co-purified small molecules rather than differences in VEA protein sequences. In conclusion, VEA seed extracts from the accessions with the highest antibiofilm activity could represent a valid approach for the development of an effective antibiofilm agent.

The homomorphic self-incompatibility system in Oleaceae is controlled by a hemizygous genomic region expressing a gibberellin pathway gene.

In flowering plants, outcrossing is commonly ensured by self-incompatibility (SI) systems. These can be homomorphic (typically with many different allelic specificities) or can accompany flower heteromorphism (mostly with just two specificities and corresponding floral types). The SI system of the Oleaceae family is unusual, with the long-term maintenance of only two specificities but often without flower morphology differences. To elucidate the genomic architecture and molecular basis of this SI system, we obtained chromosome-scale genome assemblies of Phillyrea angustifolia individuals and related them to a genetic map. The S-locus region proved to have a segregating 543-kb indel unique to one specificity, suggesting a hemizygous region, as observed in all distylous systems so far studied at the genomic level. Only one of the predicted genes in this indel region is found in the olive tree, Olea europaea, genome, also within a segregating indel. We describe complete association between the presence/absence of this gene and the SI types determined for individuals of seven distantly related Oleaceae species. This gene is predicted to be involved in catabolism of the gibberellic acid (GA) hormone, and experimental manipulation of GA levels in developing buds modified the male and female SI responses of the two specificities in different ways. Our results provide a unique example of a homomorphic SI system, where a single conserved gibberellin-related gene in a hemizygous indel underlies the long-term maintenance of two groups of reproductive compatibility.

Adipose-derived stem cell exosomes act as delivery vehicles of microRNAs in a dog model of chronic hepatitis.

Exosomes are nanosized extracellular vesicles secreted by all cell types, including canine adipose-derived stem cells (cADSCs). By mediating intercellular communication, exosomes modulate the biology of adjacent and distant cells by transferring their cargo. In the present work after isolation and characterization of exosomes derived from canine adipose tissue, we treated the same canine donors affected by hepatopathies with the previously isolated exosomes. We hypothesize that cADSC-sourced miRNAs are among the factors responsible for a regenerative and anti-inflammatory effect in the treatment of hepatopathies in dogs, providing the clinical veterinary field with an effective and innovative cell-free therapy. Exosomes were isolated and characterized for size, distribution, surface markers, and for their miRNomic cargo by microRNA sequencing. 295 dogs affected with hepatopathies were treated and followed up for 6 months to keep track of their biochemical marker levels. Results confirmed that exosomes derived from cADSCs exhibited an average diameter of 91 nm, and positivity to 8 known exosome markers. The administration of exosomes to dogs affected by liver-associated inflammatory pathologies resulted in the recovery of the animal alongside the normalization of biochemical parameters of kidney function. In conclusion, cADSCs-derived exosomes are a promising therapeutic tool for treating inflammatory disorders in animal companions.