Two lysin motif extracellular (LysMe) proteins are deployed in rice to facilitate arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

During arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, plant innate immunity is modulated to a prime state to allow for fungal colonization. The underlying mechanisms remain to be further explored. In this study, two rice genes encoding LysM extracellular (LysMe) proteins were investigated. By obtaining OsLysMepro:GUS transgenic plants and generating oslysme1, oslysme2 and oslysme1oslysme2 mutants via CRISPR/Cas9 technique, OsLysMe genes were revealed to be specifically induced in the arbusculated cells and mutations in either gene caused significantly reduced root colonization rate by AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. Overexpression of OsLysMe1 or OsLysMe2 dramatically increased the colonization rates in rice and Medicago truncatula. The electrophoretic mobility shift assay and dual-luciferase reporter assay supported that OsLysMe genes are regulated by OsWRI5a. Either OsLysMe1 or OsLysMe2 can efficiently rescue the impaired AM phenotype of the mtlysme2 mutant, supporting a conserved function of LysMe across monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. The co-localization of OsLysMe proteins with the apoplast marker SP-OsRAmy3A implies their probable localization to the periarbuscular space (PAS) during symbiosis. Relative to the fungal biomass marker RiTEF, some defense-related genes showed disproportionately high expression levels in the oslysme mutants. These data support that rice plants deploy two OsLysMe proteins to facilitate AM symbiosis, likely by diminishing plant defense responses.

Salmonella Phages Affect the Intestinal Barrier in Chicks by Altering the Composition of Early Intestinal Flora: Association With Time of Phage Use.

Phages show promise in replacing antibiotics to treat or prevent bacterial diseases in the chicken breeding industry. Chicks are easily affected by their environment during early growth. Thus, this study investigated whether oral phages could affect the intestinal barrier function of chicks with a focus on the cecal microbiome. In a two-week trial, forty one-day-old hens were randomly divided into four groups: (1) NC, negative control; (2) Phage 1, 109 PFU phage/day (days 3-5); (3) Phage 2, 109 PFU phage/day (days 8-10); and (4) AMX, 1 mg/mL amoxicillin/day (days 8-10). High-throughput sequencing results of cecal contents showed that oral administration of phages significantly affected microbial community structure and community composition, and increased the relative abundance of Enterococcus. The number of different species in the Phage 1 group was much higher than that in the Phage 2 group, and differences in alpha and beta diversity also indicated that the magnitude of changes in the composition of the cecal microbiota correlated with the time of phage use. Particularly in the first stage of cecal microbiota development, oral administration of bacteriophages targeting Salmonella may cause substantial changes in chicks, as evidenced by the results of the PICRUSt2 software function prediction, reminding us to be cautious about the time of phage use in chicks and to avoid high oral doses of phages during the first stage. Additionally, the Phage 2 samples not only showed a significant increase in the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium and Subdoligranulum, but also improved the intestinal morphology (jejunum) and increased the mRNA expression level of occludin and ZO-1. We concluded that phages do not directly interact with eukaryotic cells. The enhancement of intestinal barrier function by phages in chicks may be related to changes in the intestinal flora induced by phages. This implies that phages may affect intestinal health by regulating the intestinal flora. This study provides new ideas for phage prevention of intestinal bacterial infections and promotes large-scale application of phages in the poultry industry.

Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms for Biophysical Studies of Cancer with Single-Cell Resolution.

Recent cancer research has more strongly emphasized the biophysical aspects of tumor development, progression, and microenvironment. In addition to genetic modifications and mutations in cancer cells, it is now well accepted that the physical properties of cancer cells such as stiffness, electrical impedance, and refractive index vary with tumor progression and can identify a malignant phenotype. Moreover, cancer heterogeneity renders population-based characterization techniques inadequate, as individual cellular features are lost in the average. Hence, platforms for fast and accurate characterization of biophysical properties of cancer cells at the single-cell level are required. Here, we highlight some of the recent advances in the field of cancer biophysics and the development of lab-on-a-chip platforms for single-cell biophysical analyses of cancer cells.

Tepidimonas fonticaldi sp. nov., a slightly thermophilic betaproteobacterium isolated from a hot spring.

A slightly thermophilic bacterial strain, designated AT-A2(T), was isolated from a hot spring water sample taken from the Antun hot spring in Taiwan and characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Cells of strain AT-A2(T) were aerobic, Gram-negative, motile by a single polar flagellum and formed non-pigmented colonies. Growth occurred at 35-60 °C (optimum, 55 °C), with 0-1.0 % NaCl (optimum, 0.2 %) and at pH 7.0-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain AT-A2(T) belonged to the genus Tepidimonas and its closest neighbour was Tepidimonas thermarum AA-1(T) with a sequence similarity of 97.5 %. The predominant cellular fatty acids were C16 : 0 (40.2 %), summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c; 20.1 %) and C17 : 0 cyclo (11.5 %). The major respiratory quinone was Q-8. The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, an uncharacterized aminolipid and several uncharacterized phospholipids. The DNA G+C content of strain AT-A2(T) was 70.1 mol%. The mean level of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain AT-A2(T) and Tepidimonas thermarum AA-1(T) was 23.9 %. On the basis of the phylogenetic and phenotypic data, strain AT-A2(T) should be classified as representing a novel species, for which the name Tepidimonas fonticaldi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is AT-A2(T) ( = LMG 26746(T) = KCTC 23862(T) = BCRC 80391(T)).

[Combination therapy of biofeedback with electrical stimulation for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the combination therapy of biofeedback with electrical stimulation on chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) through clinical trials. METHODS: A total of 140 cases of diagnosed CP/CPPS were randomly divided into a control group (n = 20), a biofeedback group (BF, n = 40), an electrical stimulation group (ES, n = 40), and a biofeedback plus electrical stimulation group (BF + ES, n = 40). The latter three groups were treated by corresponding methods 5 times a week for 2 weeks, while the controls left untreated. After the treatment, all the patients were followed up for 30 days. The NIH chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI) scores and the results of uroflowmetry were obtained and compared before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the scores on pain, urinary symptoms and quality of life (QOL) and the total NIH-CPSI scores were obviously decreased (P < 0.05), and the maximum flow rate (MFR) markedly improved (P < 0.05) in the BF, ES and BF + ES groups after the treatment, with significant differences between the former two and the latter one (P < 0.05), but not between the BF and ES groups (P > 0.05), nor in the control group before and after the treatment (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination therapy of biofeedback with electrical stimulation has a synergistic effect on CP/CPPS by alleviating pain and urinary symptoms, improving QOL and elevating MFR.

Dynamic expression of proteins associated with adventitial remodeling in adventitial fibroblasts from spontaneously hypertensive rats.

AIM: To identify proteins that could potentially be involved in adventitial remodeling in vascular adventitial fibroblasts (AFs) from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). METHODS: AFs were isolated from thoracic aortas of 4-, 8-, 16-, and 24-week-old male SHR and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and cultured to passage 4. Proteomic differential expression profiles between SHR-AFs and WKY-AFs were investigated using 2-D electrophoresis (2-DE), whereas gel image analysis was processed using Image Master 2D Platinum. Protein spots were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Expression levels of annexin A1 in AFs and aortas from SHR and WKY rats were detected with Western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. RESULTS: In 4-, 8-, 16-, and 24-week-old SHR-AFs, 49, 59, 54, and 69 protein spots were found to have significant differences from the age-matched WKY-AFs. Fourteen spots with the same changes in patterns were analyzed in 4-, 8-, 16-, and 24-week-old SHR-AFs with mass spectrometry. Except for cytoskeleton proteins such as tubulin beta 5, it was found that annexin A1, translation elongation factor Tu, endoplasmic reticulum protein 29 and calcium-binding protein 1 were expressed in vascular AFs and their levels changed significantly in SHR-AFs compared with those in WKY-AFs. A decrease in annexin A1 in SHR-AFs was confirmed with Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining at the cell and tissue levels. CONCLUSION: The application of proteomic techniques revealed a number of novel proteins involved in adventitial remodeling of AFs from SHR, which provide new mechanisms responsible for the occurrence and development of hypertension and potential targets for influencing vascular remodeling in hypertension.

[Effects of Songling Xuemaikang Capsule on ambulatory blood pressure in treatment of essential hypertension: a single-blind randomized controlled trial].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of Western medicine including Ca(2+) channel antagonist and angiotensin-receptor antagonist combined with Songling Xuemaikang Capsule (SXC), a compound traditional Chinese herbal medicine for calming liver and suppressing liver yang, on blood pressure indexes derived from 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), and to evaluate the effects and stability of SXC in lowering blood pressure. METHODS: Seventy patients with essential hypertension of grade 2 or grade 3 were randomly assigned to routine group and SXC group. There were 35 cases in each group. The patients in the routine group were administered with 2.5 mg levoamlodipine and 40 mg telmisartan once daily, and 1.5 g SXC was administered orally to the patients in the SXC group three times daily besides levoamlodipine and telmisartan treatment. They were all treated for two weeks. Twenty-four-hour ABPM, trough to peak ratio and smoothness index were measured before and after the treatment. RESULTS: Twenty-four-hour, day and night average systolic blood pressure (SBP) and 24-hour, day and night SBP load in the two groups were lowered as compared with before treatment (P < 0.05). The effects of Western medicine combined with SXC on blood pressure depression were better than those of Western medicine (P < 0.05). Western medicine combined with SXC had a significant influence on diastolic blood pressure (DBP) as compared with Western medicine (P < 0.05). The heart rate in the SXC group was reduced as compared with before treatment and the routine group (P < 0.05). Trough to peak ratio in SXC group was higher than that in the routine group, while there was no significant difference in smoothness index between the two groups. Morning surge in blood pressure in the two groups was improved as compared with before treatment (P < 0.05), and there was a significant difference in morning surge in blood pressure between the two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Western medicine combined with SXC has long-lasting effects in lowering heart rate and blood pressure, especially for SBP and SBP load. SXC plus Western medicine also has an inhibition effect on morning surge in blood pressure.

[The P and K concentration characteristics and their effect factors in the meadow albic bleached soil in the Sanjiang Plain].

During the growth season of wetland plant in the Sanjiang Plain, the representative meadow albic bleached soil developed in the Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland was chosen as the study objects, soil was sampled by soil layer monthly, their P and K concentration and correlative environmental factors were measured synchronously. Based on these data, with SPSS software and grey relating analyse means, this paper discussed the P and K concentration characteristics and their effect degree in the meadow albic bleached soil. The results were as following: The P and K concentration has obvious layered phenomenon in the soil profile, the correlations between P and K concentration and soil layer are remarkable, all their correlation coefficients are above 0.94. The P and K concentrations of every soil layer have an obvious seasonal dynamics in plant growth season. Their one-factor non-linear regression simulation models are suitable. The same environmental factor's affection degrees on the total P, total K, rapidly available P and rapidly available K of same layer or different layer are not same. Different environmental factor's affection degrees on same object are different also. Rainfall has the biggest affection degree in all environmental factors. The surface soil layer is more sensitive than bottom soil layer in the affection degree of environmental factors.