Transplantation of gut microbiota derived from patients with schizophrenia induces schizophrenia-like behaviors and dysregulated brain transcript response in mice.

Schizophrenia (SCZ), as a neurodevelopmental disorder and devastating disease, affects approximately 1% of the world population. Although numerous studies have attempted to elucidate the causes of SCZ occurrence, it is not clearly understood. Recently, the emerging roles of the gut microbiota in a range of brain disorders, including SCZ, have attracted much attention. While the molecular mechanism of gut microbiota in regulating the pathogenesis of SCZ is still lacking. Here, we first confirmed the difference of gut microbiome between SCZ patients and healthy controls, and then, we performed fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to clarify the roles of SCZ patients-derived microbiota in a specific pathogen free (SPF) mice model. 16 S rDNA sequencing confirmed that a significant difference of gut microbiome was present between two groups of FMT mice, which has a similar trend with the above human gut microbiome. Furthermore, we found that transplantation of fecal microbiota from SCZ patients into SPF mice was sufficient to induce schizophrenia-like (SCZ-like) symptoms, such as deficits in sociability and hyperactivity. Furthermore, the brains of mice colonized with SCZ microbiota displayed dysregulated transcript response and alternative splicing of SCZ-relevant genes. Moreover, 10 key genes were identified to be correlated with SCZ by an integrative transcriptome data analysis. Finally, 4 key genes were identified to be correlated with the 12 differential genera between two groups of FMT mice. Our results thus demonstrated that the gut microbiome might modify the transcriptomic profile in the brain, thereby modulating social behavior, and our present study can help better understand the link between gut microbiota and SCZ pathogenesis through the gut-brain axis.

Peroxy radical chemistry during ozone photochemical pollution season at a suburban site in the boundary of Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region, China.

Ambient peroxy radical (RO2⁎ = HO2 + RO2) concentrations were measured at a suburban site in a major prefecture-level city (Huaibei) in the boundary of Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region, which is the connecting belt of air pollution in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta. Measurements were carried out during the period of September to October 2021 to elucidate the formation mechanism of O3 pollution. The observed maximum concentration of peroxy radicals was 73.8 pptv. A zero-dimensional box model (Framework for 0-Dimensional Atmospheric Modeling, F0AM) based on Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM3.3.1) was used to predict radical concentrations for comparison with observations. The model reproduced the daily variation of peroxy radicals well, but discrepancies still appear in the morning hours. As in previous field campaigns, systematic discrepancies between modelled and measured RO2⁎ concentrations are observed in the morning for NO mixing ratios higher than 1 ppbv. Between 6:00 and 9:00 am, the model significantly underpredicts RO2⁎ by a mean factor of 7.2. This underprediction can be explained by a missing RO2⁎ source of 1.2 ppbv h-1 which originated from the photochemical conversion of an alkene-like chemical species. From the model results it shows that the main sources of ROx (= OH + HO2 + RO2) are the photolysis of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs, 33 %), O3 and HONO (25 %), and HCHO (24 %). And the major sinks of ROx transitioned from a predominant reaction of radicals with NOx in the morning to a predominant peroxy self- and cross-reaction in the late afternoon. The introduction of an alkene-like species increased RO2 radical concentration and resulted in 14 % increase in net daily integrated ozone production, indicating the possible significance of the mechanism of alkene-like species oxidation to peroxy radicals. This study provides important information for subsequent ozone pollution control policies in Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region.

A longitudinal study on the effect of extreme temperature on non-accidental deaths in Hulunbuir City based on DLNM model.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the frequency and effect of extreme temperature on the non-accidental death rate in Hulunbuir, a Chinese ice city. METHODS: From 2014 to 2018, mortality data of residents residing in Hulunbuir City were collected. The lag and cumulative effects of extreme temperature conditions on non-accidental death and respiratory and circulatory diseases were analyzed by distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM). RESULTS: The risk of death was the highest during high-temperature conditions, the RR value was 1.111 (95% CI 1.031 ~ 1.198). The effect was severe and acute. The risk of death during extreme low-temperature conditions peaked on the fifth day, (RR 1.057; 95% CI 1.012 ~ 1.112), then decreased and was maintained for 12 days. The cumulative RR value was 1.289 (95% CI 1.045 ~ 1.589). Heat significantly influenced the incidence of non-accidental death in both men (RR 1.187; 95% CI 1.059-1.331) and women (RR 1.252; 95% CI 1.085-1.445). CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the temperature effect, the risk of death in the elderly group (≥ 65 years) was significantly higher than that of the young group (0-64 years). High-temperature and low-temperature conditions can contribute to the increased number of deaths in Hulunbei. While high-temperature has an acute effect, low-temperature has a lagging effect. Elderly and women, as well as people with circulatory diseases, are more sensitive to extreme temperatures.

Characterization of oral bacterial and fungal microbiome in recovered COVID-19 patients.

COVID-19 has emerged as a global pandemic, challenging the world's economic and health systems. Human oral microbiota comprises the second largest microbial community after the gut microbiota and is closely related to respiratory tract infections; however, oral microbiomes of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 have not yet been thoroughly studied. Herein, we compared the oral bacterial and fungal microbiota after clearance of SARS-CoV-2 in 23 COVID-19 recovered patients to those of 29 healthy individuals. Our results showed that both bacterial and fungal diversity were nearly normalized in recovered patients. The relative abundance of some specific bacteria and fungi, primarily opportunistic pathogens, decreased in recovered patients (RPs), while the abundance of butyrate-producing organisms increased in these patients. Moreover, these differences were still present for some organisms at 12 months after recovery, indicating the need for long-term monitoring of COVID-19 patients after virus clearance.

[Characteristics of O3 Production in the Western Suburb of Hefei in Summer Based on the Observation of Total Peroxy Radical].

In August 2020, the observations of total peroxy radical concentrations were carried out in the western suburb site of Hefei using a peroxy radical chemical amplifier (PERCA) instrument. The ozone production and its sensitivity were characterized with the measured O3 and its precursors. The results showed that the daily variation in total peroxy radical concentrations exhibited an obvious convex tend, with the highest value at approximately 12:00; the average peak peroxy radical concentration was 43.8×10-12; and the concentrations of the peroxy radical and ozone were driven by strong solar radiation and high temperature. The photochemical ozone production rate could be determined with peroxy radical and NO concentration. The average ozone peak production rate in summer was 10.6×10-9 h-1, which was more sensitive to NO concentration. Based on the ratio of the radical loss rate due to reactions with NOx to the radical loss rate (Ln/Q), the characteristics of O3 production in the western suburb of Hefei in summer were analyzed. The results showed that O3 production sensitivity varied greatly during the day. The summer O3 production regime shifted from the VOC-sensitive chemistry in the early morning to NOx-sensitive chemistry in the afternoon, and this regime transition typically occurred in the morning.

Secuer: Ultrafast, scalable and accurate clustering of single-cell RNA-seq data.

Identifying cell clusters is a critical step for single-cell transcriptomics study. Despite the numerous clustering tools developed recently, the rapid growth of scRNA-seq volumes prompts for a more (computationally) efficient clustering method. Here, we introduce Secuer, a Scalable and Efficient speCtral clUstERing algorithm for scRNA-seq data. By employing an anchor-based bipartite graph representation algorithm, Secuer enjoys reduced runtime and memory usage over one order of magnitude for datasets with more than 1 million cells. Meanwhile, Secuer also achieves better or comparable accuracy than competing methods in small and moderate benchmark datasets. Furthermore, we showcase that Secuer can also serve as a building block for a new consensus clustering method, Secuer-consensus, which again improves the runtime and scalability of state-of-the-art consensus clustering methods while also maintaining the accuracy. Overall, Secuer is a versatile, accurate, and scalable clustering framework suitable for small to ultra-large single-cell clustering tasks.

Associations between short-term exposure of PM2.5 constituents and hospital admissions of cardiovascular diseases among 18 major Chinese cities.

Previous studies showed different risk effects on exposure of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass for cardiovascular disease (CVD) globally, which is likely due to different constituents of PM2.5. This study aimed to investigate the association between short-term exposure of PM2.5 constituents and hospital admissions of CVD. Daily counts of city-specific hospital admissions for CVD in 18 cities in China between 2014 and 2017 were extracted from the national Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance database and the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning Information Center database. Directly measured PM2.5 constituents, including ions and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, were collected by the Chinese Environmental Public Health Tracking system. We used the time-stratified case-crossover design to estimate the association between PM2.5 constituents and hospital admissions of CVD. Concentrations of ions accounted for the majority of the detected constituents. Excess risk (ER) of average ions concentrations for CVD was highest as 2.30% (95% CI: 1.62-2.99%) for NH4+, whose major sources are residential and agricultural emissions. This was followed by 1.85% (1.30-2.41%) for NO3- (generally from vehicles), 0.95% (0.28-1.63%) for SO42- (often from fossil fuel burning) respectively. The association for ions were generally consistent with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and ischemic stroke, e.g., NH4+ was associated with IHD (2.50%; 1.52-3.48%) and ischemic stroke (1.77%; 0.65-2.9%). For polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mainly from coal and vehicle-related oil combustion, the constituents were all associated with ischemic stroke but not for IHD. The ER for ischemic stroke was highest at 1.69% (0.99-2.39%) for indeno (123-cd) pyrene. Thus, in terms of the subtypes of CVD, the risks of hospital admissions varied with exposure to different PM2.5 constituents. Exposed to NH4+ had the highest risk to IHD and ischemic stroke, whereas PAHs were predominately associated with ischemic stroke only.

Profiles of Microbial Community and Antibiotic Resistome in Wild Tick Species.

Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens pose high risks to human and animal health worldwide. In recent years, the environment and wildlife as major sources and reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are being increasingly investigated. There have been many reports on bacterial community in ticks, but little is known about ARGs they carry, and the correlation between bacterial and ARGs in wild ticks also remains unknown. Here, the profiles of microbial community and antibiotic resistome in wild tick species were investigated using high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing and smart chip-based high-throughput quantitative PCR approach (HT-qPCR), respectively. We found that bacterial composition in wild tick species is variable; the sequenced reads from all samples were assigned to 37 different phyla at the phylum level. The dominant phylum was Proteobacteria, which accounted for 75.60 ± 10.34%, followed by Bacteroidetes accounting for 13.78 ± 11.68% of the total bacterial community. In total, 100 different ARGs across 12 antibiotic classes and 20 mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were identified by HT-qPCR, and among them aminoglycosides, multidrug, macrolide-clinolamide-streptogramin B, and tetracycline resistance genes were the dominant ARG types. Co-occurrence patterns revealed by network analysis showed that eight bacterial genera may serve as the potential hosts for different ARGs. For the first time, this study provides comprehensive overview of the diversity and abundance of ARGs in wild ticks and highlights the possible role of wild ticks as ARG disseminators into the environment and vertebrate hosts, with implications for human and animal health. IMPORTANCE The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses serious threat to the public health around the world. Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites, surviving via feeding on the blood of various animal hosts. Although some previous studies have confirmed wild ticks carried various bacterial community, the role of wild ticks in the antibiotic resistance remains unknown. Here, identification of microbial community and antibiotic resistome in wild tick species revealed that wild ticks are the reservoir, postulated potential spreaders of antibiotic resistance. Our findings highlight the contribution of wild ticks to the maintenance and dissemination of ARGs, and the associated health risks.

The Simultaneous Detection of Multiple Antibiotics in Milk and Pork Based on an Antibody Chip Biosensor.

In the modern farming industry, the irrational or illegal use of veterinary drugs leads to residues in animal-derived food, which can seriously threaten human health. Efficient detection of low concentrations of drug residues in animal products in a short time is a key challenge for analytical methods. This study proposes to use an antibody chip biosensor for rapid and automated analysis of cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, and sulfonamide antibiotics in pork and milk. 3D polymer slides were applied for the preparation of antibody chips. Ovalbumin (OVA) or bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugates of the haptens were immobilized as spots on disposable chips. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against cefalexin, ceftiofur, gentamicin, neomycin, and sulfonamides allowed the simultaneous detection of the respective analytes. Antibody binding was detected by a second antibody labeled with Cy3-generating fluorescence, which was scanned a with chip scanner. The limits of detection (LOD) for all the analytes were far below the respective maximum residue limits (MRLs) and ranged from 0.51 to 4.3 µg/kg. The average recoveries of all the analytes in each sample were in the range of 81.6-113.6%. The intra- and inter-assay CV was less than 12.9% and showed good accuracy and precision for all the antibiotics at the MRL level. The sample pretreatment method is simple, and the results are confirmed to be accurate by LC-MS/MS; therefore, this method is valuable for the quality control of animal-derived food.

Exosomes Derived From Dendritic Cells Infected With Toxoplasma gondii Show Antitumoral Activity in a Mouse Model of Colorectal Cancer.

Pathogen-based cancer therapies have been widely studied. Parasites, such as Toxoplasma gondii have elicited great interest in cancer therapy. Considering safety in clinical applications, we tried to develop an exosome-based immunomodulator instead of a live parasite for tumor treatment. The exosomes, called DC-Me49-exo were isolated from culture supernatants of dendritic cells (DCs) infected with the Me49 strain of T. gondii and identified. We assessed the antitumoral effect of these exosomes in a mouse model of colorectal cancer (CRC). Results showed that the tumor growth was significantly inhibited after treatment with DC-Me49-exo. Proportion of polymorphonuclear granulocytic bone marrow-derived suppressor cells (G-MDSCs, CD11b+Ly6G+) and monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells (M-MDSCs, CD11b+Ly6C+) were decreased in the DC-Me49-exo group compared with the control groups in vitro and in vivo. The proportion of DCs (CD45+CD11c+) increased significantly in the DC-Me49-exo group. Levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) significantly decreased after treatment with DC-Me49-exo. Furthermore, we found that DC-Me49-exo regulated the lever of MDSC mainly by inhibiting the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3) signaling pathway. These results indicated that exosomes derived from DCs infected with T. gondii could be used as part of a novel cancer therapeutic strategy by reducing the proportion of MDSCs.

Systemic Evaluation of the Effect of Diabetes Mellitus on Breast Cancer in a Mouse Model.

Breast cancer complicated with diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disease. To evaluate the effect of preexisting DM on breast cancer progression without drug interference, we used a streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus BALB/c mouse model. We found that 4T1 breast cancer complicated with DM decreased the mouse survival time compared with 4T1-bearing mice. The diversity of gut microbiome was affected by DM. The infiltration of mucosal-associated invariant T cell (MAIT), CD8+ T cell, and CD4+ T cell in the tumor was significantly decreased in the DM-4T1 group compared with the 4T1 group. The transcriptome data of tumor tissues indicated that the expressions of inflammatory C-C chemokine- and metabolism-related genes were greatly changed. The abnormal expression of these genes may be related with the decreased T-cell infiltration in DM-4T1. In conclusion, the gut microbiome and tumor microenvironment of diabetic breast cancer patients have unique features. The effect of diabetes on breast cancer should be considered in the treatment for diabetic breast cancer patients.

Integrative analysis reveals a lineage-specific circular RNA landscape for adipo-osteogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND: The balance between osteogenesis and adipogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is critical to skeletal development and diseases. As a research hotspot, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have expanded our understanding of a hidden layer of the transcriptome. Yet, their roles during adipo-osteogenesis remain poorly described. METHODS: The identity of human MSCs derived from bone marrow and adipose were first determined by flow cytometry, cellular staining, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Multi-strategic RNA-sequencing was performed using Poly A, RiboMinus and RiboMinus/RNase R methods. Integrative analysis was performed to identify lineage-specific expressed circRNAs. The structural and expressional characteristics were identified by Sanger sequencing and qPCR, respectively. The regulatory effects of adipogenesis-specific circ-CRLF1 were confirmed using siRNA transcfection and qPCR. RESULTS: We generated a whole transcriptome map during adipo-osteogenesis based on 10 Poly A, 20 RiboMinus and 20 RiboMinus/ RNase R datasets. A total of 31,326 circRNAs were identified and quantified from ~ 3.4 billion paired-end reads. Furthermore, the integrative analysis revealed that 1166 circRNA genes exhibited strong lineage-specific expression patterns. Their host genes were enriched in distinct biological functions, such as cell adhesion, cytokine signaling, and cell division. We randomly selected and validated the back-spliced junction sites and expression patterns of 12 lineage-specific circRNAs. Functional analysis indicated that circ-CRLF1 negatively regulated adipogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: Our integrative analysis reveals an accurate and generally applicable lineage-specific circRNA landscape for adipo-osteogenesis of MSCs and provides a potential therapeutic target, circ-CRLF1, for the treatment of skeleton-related disease.

Systematic profiling of antigen bias in humoral response against SARS-CoV-2.

We know little about the antigen bias in SARS-CoV-2 humoral response and the epitopes of spike recognized by the immune system in asymptomatic (AS) patients and symptomatic (S) patients. Here, we used a microarray to evaluate the humoral immune response in the sera collected from 33 COVID-19-recovered patients up to 1 year. We found that the levels of IgG and IgM induced by the 23 proteins differed significantly in the same patients, and were able to distinguish AS and S patients. The N- and S-specific antibodies were detected even at 12 months after onset. Five epitopes were identified to be associated with the clinical adverse events, and three peptides located in RBD. Overall, this study presents a systemic view of the SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and IgM responses between AS and S recovered patients and provide insights to promote precise development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Aquaporin OsPIP2;2 links the H2O2 signal and a membrane-anchored transcription factor to promote plant defense.

To overcome pathogen infection, plants deploy a highly efficient innate immune system, which often uses hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a versatile reactive oxygen species, to activate downstream defense responses. H2O2 is a potential substrate of aquaporins (AQPs), the membrane channels that facilitate the transport of small compounds across plasma membranes or organelle membranes. To date, however, the functional relationship between AQPs and H2O2 in plant immunity is largely undissected. Here, we report that the rice (Oryza sativa) AQP OsPIP2;2 transports pathogen-induced apoplastic H2O2 into the cytoplasm to intensify rice resistance against various pathogens. OsPIP2;2-transported H2O2 is required for microbial molecular pattern flg22 to activate the MAPK cascade and to induce the downstream defense responses. In response to flg22, OsPIP2;2 is phosphorylated at the serine residue S125, and therefore gains the ability to transport H2O2. Phosphorylated OsPIP2;2 also triggers the translocation of OsmaMYB, a membrane-anchored MYB transcription factor, into the plant cell nucleus to impart flg22-induced defense responses against pathogen infection. On the contrary, if OsPIP2;2 is not phosphorylated, OsmaMYB remains associated with the plasma membrane, and plant defense responses are no longer induced. These results suggest that OsPIP2;2 positively regulates plant innate immunity by mediating H2O2 transport into the plant cell and mediating the translocation of OsmaMYB from plasma membrane to nucleus.

Characterization of a single-domain von Willebrand factor type C protein (HaSVC) from the salivary gland of the tick Hyalomma asiaticum.

As a widely distributed arthropod and vector for various pathogens, Hyalomma asiaticum presents great risk and potential losses in animal husbandry. Effective measures, including the use of vaccines, are necessary for controlling ticks and tick-borne diseases. A concise understanding of the tick-host interaction associated molecules and pathways is required for vaccine development. In the present study, a protein containing a single-domain von Willebrand factor type C (HaSVC) was isolated from H. asiaticum and was subjected to functional identification. As a result, the full-length sequence of the HaSVC (506 bp) gene was obtained, which putatively encodes 100 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 11 kDa, excluding the 23-amino acid signal peptide. HaSVC contains 8 cysteines to form 4 disulfide bonds. The native HaSVC protein was detected in multiple tick organs. HaSVC neither attenuated the anti-coagulation process nor directly affected the blood feeding of adult ticks. However, the purified recombinant protein HaSVC (rHaSVC/GST) significantly increased the proliferation of mice spleen cells. This might suggest a regulatory function for HaSVC on inflammation, thus providing new information that may explain the "crosstalk" between ticks and hosts.

Sustainable Fenton-like degradation of methylene blue over MnO2-loaded poly(amidoxime-hydroxamic acid) cellulose microrods.

Catalysts based on cellulose/metal oxide hybrids are considered effective for the remediation of dye wastewater. However, the difficult recovery of commonly used nanocellulose and the weak binding strength of metal oxide nanoparticles restrict their wide application. Herein, MnO2 nanoparticle-loaded poly(amidoxime-hydroxamic acid) modified microcrystalline cellulose (pAHA-MCC@MnO2) catalysts were synthesized via an oximation reaction followed by in-situ growth. Morphology, crystallinity and textural characteristics of pAHA-MCC before and after deposition of MnO2 nanoparticles were characterized by SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD and XPS analyses. The main results indicated the formation of hierarchical porous structured cellulose microrods with uniform distribution of hydrangea flower-like MnO2 nanoparticles. In the presence of H2O2, pAHA-MCC@MnO2 displayed good catalytic performance toward the degradation of methylene blue (MB) over a wide pH range of 3-10, due to the advanced Fenton-like catalysis. Reaction conditions, such as amount of H2O2 used, the initial MB concentration and catalyst dosage were also investigated. The optimized system showed 97.6% removal of MB in 25 min for 100 mg/L MB solution, with very little decrease in performance after 5 cycles. This work provides a facile and promising strategy for the development of biodegradable and sustainable architectures capable of efficiently degrading dye wastewater.

Efficient Congo Red Removal Using Porous Cellulose/Gelatin/Sepiolite Gel Beads: Assembly, Characterization, and Adsorption Mechanism.

Porous sustainable cellulose/gelatin/sepiolite gel beads were fabricated via an efficient 'hydrophilic assembly-floating droplet' two-step method to remove Congo red (CR) from wastewater. The beads comprised microcrystalline cellulose and gelatin, forming a dual network framework, and sepiolite, which acted as a functional component to reinforce the network. The as-prepared gel beads were characterized using FTIR, SEM, XRD, and TGA, with the results indicating a highly porous structure that was also thermally stable. A batch adsorption experiment for CR was performed and evaluated as a function of pH, sepiolite addition, contact time, temperature, and initial concentration. The kinetics and isotherm data obtained were in agreement with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm, with a maximum monolayer capacity of 279.3 mg·g-1 for CR at 303 K. Moreover, thermodynamic analysis demonstrated the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the dye uptake. Importantly, even when subjected to five regeneration cycles, the gel beads retained 87% of their original adsorption value, suggesting their suitability as an efficient and reusable material for dye wastewater treatments.

Purimeth: an integrated web-based tool for estimating and accounting for tumor purity in cancer DNA methylation studies.

Proportion of cancerous cells in a tumor sample, known as "tumor purity", is a major source of confounding factor in cancer data analyses. Lots of computational methods are available for estimating tumor purity from different types of genomics data or based on different platforms, which makes it difficult to compare and integrate the estimated results. To rectify the deviation caused by tumor purity effect, a number of methods for downstream data analysis have been developed, including tumor sample clustering, association study and differential methylation between tumor samples. However, using these computational tools remains a daunting task for many researchers since they require non-trivial computational skills. To this end, we present Purimeth, an integrated web-based tool for estimating and accounting for tumor purity in cancer DNA methylation studies. Purimeth implements three state-of-the-art methods for tumor purity estimation from DNA methylation array data: InfiniumPurify, MEpurity and PAMES. It also provides graphical interface for various analyses including differential methylation (DM), sample clustering, and purification of tumor methylomes, all with the consideration of tumor purities. In addition, Purimeth catalogs estimated tumor purities for TCGA samples from nine methods for users to visualize and explore. In conclusion, Purimeth provides an easy-operated way for researchers to explore tumor purity and implement cancer methylation data analysis. It is developed using Shiny (Version 1.6.0) and freely available at http://purimeth.comp-epi.com/.

Corrigendum: The Tick Microbiota Dysbiosis Promote Tick-Borne Pathogen Transstadial Transmission in a Babesia microti Infected Mouse Model.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2021.713466.].

The Tick Microbiota Dysbiosis Promote Tick-Borne Pathogen Transstadial Transmission in a Babesia microti-Infected Mouse Model.

Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites. They are important vectors for many pathogens, of both medical and veterinary importance. Antibiotic residues in animal food are known, but very little is known about the effects of antibiotic residues in animals on the microbiome diversity of ticks and tick-borne pathogen transmission. We used a Haemaphysalis longicornis-infested mouse model to evaluate the effect of antibiotic usage on tick microbiome. Nymphal ticks were fed on an antibiotic cocktail-treated or water control mice. Adult ticks molted from nymphs fed on the antibiotic cocktail-treated mouse had a dysbiosed microbiota. Nymphal ticks were also fed on a B. microti-infected mice that had been treated with antibiotic cocktail or water. We found that the B. microti infection in adult ticks with a dysbiosed microbiota (44.7%) was increased compared with the control adult ticks (24.2%) by using qPCR targeting 18S rRNA gene. This may increase the risk of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) transmission from adult ticks to a vertebrate host. These results show that an antibiotic-treated mouse can induce tick microbiota dysbiosis. Antibiotic treatment of B. microti-infected mouse poses the possibility of increasing transstadial transmission of B. microti from the nymph to the adult H. longicornis. These findings suggest that B. microti transmission may be exacerbated in high antibiotic usage areas.