Transcriptome and gut microbiota analyses reveal a possible mechanism underlying rifampin-mediated interruption of the larval development of chironomid Propsilocerus akamusi (Diptera: Chironomidae).

Chironomids, the most abundant insect group found in freshwater habitats, are known to be pollution tolerate and serve as important bioindicators of contaminant stress. Gut microbiota has recently been shown to potentially provide a number of beneficial services to insect hosts. However, the antibiotic-mediated interruption of chironomid gut microbial community and its subsequent influence on host body are still unclear. In the present study, the effects of rifampin on chironomid larvae were investigated at both transcriptome and microbiome level to assess the relationship between gut bacteria and associated genes. Our data indicated that the rifampin-induced imbalance of gut ecosystem could inhibit the development of chironomid larvae via decreasing the body weight, body length and larval eclosion rate during 96-h treatment. Both the community structure and taxonomic composition were significantly altered due to the invasion of rifampin in digestive tracts. The relative abundance of phylum Deferribacterota and Bacteroidota were dramatically increased with rifampin exposure. A set of genes involved in amino acid synthesis as well as xenobiotic metabolism pathways were greatly changed and proved to have tight correlation with certain genus. Bacterial genus Tyzzerella was positively correlated with detoxifying PaCYP6GF1 and PaCYP9HL1 genes. This study provides a reference for understanding the environmental risks of antibiotic and aims to accelerate new biological insights into the effects of antibiotic on the fitness of chironomids and into the microbe mediated-regulatory mechanism of aquatic insects.

Density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics reveal atomistic mechanisms for carbonate clumped isotope reordering.

Carbon (13C) and oxygen (18O) isotopes in carbonates form clumped isotope species inversely correlated with temperature, providing a valuable paleothermometer for sedimentary carbonates and fossils. However, this signal resets ("reorders") with increasing temperature after burial. Research on reordering kinetics has characterized reordering rates and hypothesized the effects of impurities and trapped water, but the atomistic mechanism remains obscure. This work studies carbonate-clumped isotope reordering in calcite via first-principles simulations. We developed an atomistic view of the isotope exchange reaction between carbonate pairs in calcite, discovering a preferred configuration and elucidating how Mg2+ substitution and Ca2+ vacancies lower the free energy of activation (ΔA‡) compared to pristine calcite. Regarding water-assisted isotopic exchange, the H+-O coordination distorts the transition state configuration and reduces ΔA‡. We proposed a water-mediated exchange mechanism showing the lowest ΔA‡ involving a reaction pathway with a hydroxylated four-coordinated carbon atom, confirming that internal water facilitates clumped isotope reordering.

Copper and chlorpyrifos stress affect the gut microbiota of chironomid larvae (Propsilocerus akamusi).

Chironomids are characterized by their ubiquitous distribution, global diversity and tolerant ability to deal with environmental stressors. To our knowledge, this is the first study presenting the gut microbial structure of chironomid larvae and examining the microbial alteration induced by invading chlorpyrifos and copper with different dosages. Lethal bioassay displayed a significantly decreased percentage survival of Propsilocerus akamusi larvae exposed to 800 mg/L copper and 50 µg/L chlorpyrifos at 96 h. Larvae with deficient gut microbiota exhibited a depressed level of glutathione S-transferase activity after stressful exposure. The high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing was adopted to investigate the community structure and it turned out that both copper and chlorpyrifos were able to generate distinguished variations of gut microbiota in the stressor-specific and concentration-dependent manner. Of note, the relative abundance of Comamonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Yersinia remarkably elevated in the presence of copper while chlorpyrifos exposure upregulated the prevalence of certain genera (e.g. Serratia). Flavobacterium was greatly attenuated in chlorpyrifos group with lethal dosage exhibiting more severe impacts. The predicted gene functions of the gut commensals differed between normal samples and those subjected to distinct toxins. Besides, more positive associations and limited modularity of microbial interactions were observed in stressor-challenged larvae, presenting a network with impaired complexity and stability. The appearance of either copper or chlorpyrifos exhibited strong positive correlations with genera belonging to Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Collectively, this investigation introduces a general outline of gut microbiota obtained from chironomid individuals with latent adaptive tactics to nocuous factors (heavy metal and pesticide), which could build a fundamental basis for us to further explore the protective roles of chironomid gut bacterial colonizers in defending against aquatic contaminants.

Genome-Wide Identification of P450 Genes in Chironomid Propsilocerus akamusi Reveals Candidate Genes Involved in Gut Microbiota-Mediated Detoxification of Chlorpyrifos.

Chironomids commonly dominate macroinvertebrate assemblages in aquatic habitats and these non-biting midges are known for their ability to tolerate contaminants. Studies regarding the interplay between gut microbiota and host detoxification ability is currently a point of interest. Cytochrome P450s (P450s) are critical metabolic enzymes in which a subset is involved in xenobiotic detoxification. In this study, we first conducted an integrated global investigation of P450s based on the whole genomic sequence of Propsilocerus akamusi and retrieved a series of 64 P450 genes which were further classified into 4 clans and 25 families on the basis of phylogenetic relationships. With assistance of RNA-Seq and RT-qPCR validation, the expression profile of screened PaP450s in guts was compared between chlorpyrifos-challenged larvae with deficient gut microbiota (GD) and those with a conventional gut community (CV). An increasing prevalence of chlorpyrifos from sublethal to lethal dosages induced a greater mortality rate of individuals coupled with remarkable downregulation of 14 P450s in GD larval guts when compared to CV ones. Moreover, it turned out that the decreased level of PaCYP3998B1 and PaCYP3987D1 might imply impaired host endogenous detoxification capability potentiated by gut dysbiosis, reflected by a remarkably severe mortality in GD larvae treated with lethal chlorpyrifos. Collectively, our study unveiled candidate P450 genes that might be mediated by gut symbionts in chlorpyrifos-challenged P. akamusi larvae, possibly facilitating further understanding of the detoxified mechanism that chironomids might employ to alleviate poisonousness.

Molecular characterization of a novel p38 MAPK cDNA from Cyclina sinensis and its potential immune-related function under the threat of Vibrio anguillarum.

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is one important member of MAPK family and reported to serve a predominant function in regulating innate immunity after the occurrence of certain infection. In the present study, one novel p38 MAPK gene was acquired from Cyclina sinensis based on the RNA-seq analysis and designated as Csp38 MAPK. This novel gene contained a full length of 1781 bp, 1104 bp of which was deemed as open reading frames and gave rise to a peptide of 367 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 42.31 KDa. A conserved serine/threonine protein kinase (S_Tkc) region along with a Thr-Gly-Tyr motif was discovered in the deduced sequence. According to the phylogenetic analysis, there was a close relationship between this kinase and Meretrix petechialis p38 MAPK. As for the expression pattern, this newly-identified Csp38 MAPK was ubiquitously distributed in several tissues throughout the body but with varied abundance. After the challenge of Vibrio anguillarum, both the transcription and phosphorylation level of Csp38 MAPK in hemolymph were coordinately altered with a time-dependent manner. Besides, with the application of double strand RNA homologous to myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) of C. sinensis, the activation of Csp38 MAPK was found to obviously decrease in hemolymph after the pathogen stimulation. Hence, our experimental data presented evidence for the potential involvement of p38 MAPK in response to bacterial invaders in C. sinensis, possibly facilitating the understanding for pathogen-induced innate immunity in clams.

Identification and expression pattern of chemosensory genes in the transcriptome of Propsilocerus akamusi.

Chironomidae is the most ecologically diverse insects in aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats. Propsilocerus akamusi (Tokunaga) is a dominant and ubiquitous chironomid species in Eastern Asia and its morphologically unique larvae are also considered as indicator organisms to detect water contamination, potential toxicity and waterborne pathogens. Since few studies to date have focused on the olfactory system of P. akamusi, our study aims to elucidate the potential functions of chemosensory genes in P. akamusi. In our study, we found that although signals released from male groups might attract female swarmers, it was a completely male-dominated mating process. Sequencing the transcriptome of P. akamusi on an Illumina HiSeq platform generated 4.42, 4.46 and 4.53 Gb of clean reads for heads, legs, and antennae, respectively. 27,609 unigenes, 20,379 coding sequences (CDSs), and 8,073 simple sequence repeats were finally obtained. The gene-level differential expression analysis demonstrated variants among three different tissues, including 2,019 genes specifically expressed in heads, 1,540 genes in legs, and 2,071 genes in antennae. Additionally, we identified an assortment of putative olfactory genes consisting of 34 odorant binding proteins, 17 odorant receptors, 32 gustatory receptors, 22 ionotropic receptors, six chemosensory proteins as well as 3 sensory neuron membrane proteins; their relative abundances in the above three tissues were also determined by RT-qPCR. Our finding could allow a more plausible understanding of certain olfaction-mediated behaviors in groups of this macroinvertebrate.

Lactobacillus salivarius alleviates inflammation via NF-κB signaling in ETEC K88-induced IPEC-J2 cells.

BACKGROUND: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 commonly colonize in the small intestine and keep releasing enterotoxins to impair the intestinal barrier function and trigger inflammatory reaction. Although Lactobacillus salivarius (L. salivarius) has been reported to enhance intestinal health, it remains to be seen whether there is a functional role of L. salivarius in intestinal inflammatory response in intestinal porcine epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2) when stimulated with ETEC K88. In the present study, IPEC-J2 cells were first treated with L. salivarius followed by the stimulation of ETEC K88 for distinct time period. ETEC K88 adherent status, pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) mRNA, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation, the release of pro-inflammation cytokines and cell integrity were examined. RESULTS: Aside from an inhibited adhesion of ETEC K88 to IPEC-J2 cells, L. salivarius was capable of remarkably attenuating the expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), IL-8, Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein (NLRP) 3 and NLRP6. This alternation was accompanied by a significantly decreased phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and p65 NF-κB during ETEC K88 infection with L. salivarius pretreatment. Western blot analysis revealed that L. salivarius increased the expression levels of zona occludens 1 (ZO-1) and occludin (P < 0.05) in ETEC K88-infected IPEC-J2 cells. Compared with ETEC K88-infected groups, the addition of L. salivarius as well as extra inhibitors for MAPKs and NF-κB to ETEC K88-infected IPEC-J2 cells had the capability to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our results suggest that L. salivarius might reduce inflammation-related cytokines through attenuating phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and blocking the NF-κB signaling pathways. Besides, L. salivarius displayed a potency in the enhancement of IPEC-J2 cell integrity.

CcOBP2 plays a crucial role in 3-carene olfactory response of the parasitoid wasp Chouioia cunea.

Chouioia cunea (Yang) is a pupal parasitoid wasp and this species is able to seek host insects depending on its olfactory system. However, the molecular mechanism of the olfactory system in the C. cunea is still limited. To identify putative semiochemicals bound to CcOBP2, a protein specifically expressed in antennae, 14 compounds from the pupae of H. cunea and 11 common volatile compounds from plants were selected for competitive fluorescence binding assay. The result of the binding assay showed that five compounds were able to bind toCcOBP2. The electroantennogram (EAG) demonstrated that the antennae had a significant response to the 3-Carene, a bicyclic monoterpene, and C. cunea could be obviously attracted by this compound. The behavioral response to 3- carene was dramatically weakened when CcOBP2 was specifically knocked down. The molecular docking result indicated that several amino acids especially Ile-81, Val-122, Phe-123 of CcOBP2 were responsible for binding to 3-Carene. Furthermore, there was a repellent effect on the host H. cunea with the treatment of the 3-Carene. This study illustrated that CcOBP2 might be a crucial protein involved in the olfactory signaling pathway and the 3-Carene, secreted from plants, could probably have a potential role in repelling pests as well as attracting natural enemies.

Lactobacillus salivarius, a Potential Probiotic to Improve the Health of LPS-Challenged Piglet Intestine by Alleviating Inflammation as Well as Oxidative Stress in a Dose-Dependent Manner During Weaning Transition.

Intestinal health is a critical issue for piglets during their weaning transition period. Previous reports have emphasized the promise of distinct probiotics in improving the enteric health. Here in this research, a newly isolated Lactobacillus salivarius strain was pretreated to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged piglets and its association with integrity of the intestinal barrier coupled with effective dosage were expected to be signified. In the present study, 72 piglets (Landrace × Yorkshiere × Duroc) were randomly allotted to four groups, each group with six replicates. The subjects in the control group were provided with basal diet while those in other tested groups with extra 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2% L. salivarius, respectively. Fourteen days later, LPS was intraperitoneally injected and sodium pentobarbital was then delivered to euthanize those LPS-challenged piglets. An increase of average daily gain and body weight along with an apparent decline of diarrhea rate were observed in L. salivarius-treated groups. Both 0.1 and 0.2% L. salivarius supplement in total diet had the capability to markedly elevate levels of CAT, GSH-Px, SOD, anti-inflammatory cytokine from the serum as well as tight junction proteins (Claudin-1, Occludin, and ZO-1) extracted from intestine in LPS-challenged piglets. These changes were accompanied by the obvious downregulation of D-lactic acid, DAO, MDA and pro-inflammatory mediators in the serum, including IL-1ß, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. Meanwhile, the expression levels of TLR2 and TLR4 in spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes were significantly lower whereas the oxidation-related gene, ho-1 was up-regulated with L. salivarius administration. Our findings suggested that relatively high dose L. salivarius (0.1-0.2%) could regulate the progression of inflammatory response and oxidative stress when individuals were exposed to LPS, thus probably offering valuable assistance in restoring barrier function and improving overall performance.

Full-Length Transcriptome Survey and Expression Analysis of Parasitoid Wasp Chouioia cunea upon Exposure to 1-Dodecene.

Chouioia cunea (Yang) is an endoparasitic wasp which parasitizes pupae and thus plays an important role in the biological control of the fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea Drury), an important quarantine pest in the entire world and a major invasive pest in China. For the purposes of investigating which proteins are involved in the response of C. cunea to 1-Docecene, one of the chemical compounds of pupae of H. cunea with a significant attracting action to mated female C. cunea, 11.5 Gb transcriptome data was sequenced on the PacBio RS II platform from 1-day old C. cunea adults to generate a reference assembly. Afterwards, 46.88 Gb of clean RNA-Seq data were obtained to assess the transcriptional response of these insects before and after the stimulation with 1-Docecene. After removing redundancy using CD-HIT, a sequence structure analysis predicted 29,105 complete coding sequence (CDS) regions, 51,458 single-sequence repeats (SSRs), and 2,375 long non-coding RNAs. Based on the early transcriptome sequencing in our laboratory, we revealed some new sequences corresponding to chemosensory genes such as odorant binding proteins (OBPs), odorant receptor (OR), gustatory receptors(GRs). Results of quantitative real-time PCR experiments revealed that CcOBP7, CcOBP18, CcCSP4, CcOR2, and CcGR18 were up-regulated after 1-Dodecene stimulation. In addition, the expression of 31 genes, including 1 gene related to phospholipid biosynthesis and 2 genes related to transmembrane transport were up-regulated after 1-Dodecene stimulation; meanwhile, the expression of 22 genes, including 5 genes related to protein phosphorylation and protein serine/threonine kinase activity were significantly down-regulated after 1-Dodecene stimulation. These results suggest that the attraction of adult C. cunea to 1-dodecane is associated with the transmembrane signal transduction and dephosphorylation of some proteins. Our findings will provide useful targets for further studies on the molecular mechanism of host recognition in C. cunea.

Loading-Induced Reduction in Sclerostin as a Mechanism of Subchondral Bone Plate Sclerosis in Mouse Knee Joints During Late-Stage Osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an unbiased, 3-dimensional (3-D) approach that quantifies subchondral bone plate (SBP) changes in mouse joints, and to investigate the mechanism that mediates SBP sclerosis at a late stage of osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: A new micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) protocol was developed to characterize the entire thickness of the SBP in the distal femur of a normal mouse knee. Four mouse models of severe joint OA were generated: cartilage-specific Egfr-knockout (Egfr-CKO) mice at 2 months after surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM), Egfr-CKO mice with aging-related spontaneous OA, wild-type (WT) mice at 10 months after DMM, and WT mice at 14 weeks after DMM plus hemisectomy of the meniscus (DMMH) surgery. As an additional model, mice with knockout of the sclerostin gene (Sost-KO) were subjected to DMMH surgery. Knee joints were examined by micro-CT, histology, and immunohistochemical analyses. RESULTS: Examination of the mouse distal femur by 3-D micro-CT revealed a positive correlation between SBP thickness and the loading status in normal knees. In all 4 mouse models of late-stage OA, SBP sclerosis was restricted to the areas under severely eroded articular cartilage. This was accompanied by elevated bone formation at the bone marrow side of the SBP and a drastic reduction in the levels of sclerostin in osteocytes within the SBP. Unlike in WT mice, no further increase in the thickness of the SBP was observed in response to DMMH in Sost-KO mice. CONCLUSION: Since focal stress on the SBP underlying sites of cartilage damage increases during late stages of OA, these findings establish mechanical loading-induced attenuation of sclerostin expression and elevation of bone formation along the SBP surface as the major mechanisms characterizing subchondral bone phenotypes associated with severe late-stage OA in mice.

EGFR signaling is critical for maintaining the superficial layer of articular cartilage and preventing osteoarthritis initiation.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease, characterized by progressive destruction of the articular cartilage. The surface of joint cartilage is the first defensive and affected site of OA, but our knowledge of genesis and homeostasis of this superficial zone is scarce. EGFR signaling is important for tissue homeostasis. Immunostaining revealed that its activity is mostly dominant in the superficial layer of healthy cartilage but greatly diminished when OA initiates. To evaluate the role of EGFR signaling in the articular cartilage, we studied a cartilage-specific Egfr-deficient (CKO) mouse model (Col2-Cre EgfrWa5/flox). These mice developed early cartilage degeneration at 6 mo of age. By 2 mo of age, although their gross cartilage morphology appears normal, CKO mice had a drastically reduced number of superficial chondrocytes and decreased lubricant secretion at the surface. Using superficial chondrocyte and cartilage explant cultures, we demonstrated that EGFR signaling is critical for maintaining the number and properties of superficial chondrocytes, promoting chondrogenic proteoglycan 4 (Prg4) expression, and stimulating the lubrication function of the cartilage surface. In addition, EGFR deficiency greatly disorganized collagen fibrils in articular cartilage and strikingly reduced cartilage surface modulus. After surgical induction of OA at 3 mo of age, CKO mice quickly developed the most severe OA phenotype, including a complete loss of cartilage, extremely high surface modulus, subchondral bone plate thickening, and elevated joint pain. Taken together, our studies establish EGFR signaling as an important regulator of the superficial layer during articular cartilage development and OA initiation.