Plant phenology and species-specific traits control plant CH4 emissions in a northern boreal fen.

Aerenchymatic transport is an important mechanism through which plants affect methane (CH4 ) emissions from peatlands. Controlling environmental factors and the effects of plant phenology remain, however, uncertain. We identified factors controlling seasonal CH4 flux rate and investigated transport efficiency (flux rate per unit of rhizospheric porewater CH4 concentration). We measured CH4 fluxes through individual shoots of Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, Betula nana and Salix lapponum throughout growing seasons in 2020 and 2021 and Equisetum fluviatile and Comarum palustre in high summer 2021 along with water-table level, peat temperature and porewater CH4 concentration. CH4 flux rate of C. rostrata was related to plant phenology and peat temperature. Flux rates of M. trifoliata and shrubs B. nana and S. lapponum were insensitive to the investigated environmental variables. In high summer, flux rate and efficiency were highest for C. rostrata (6.86 mg m-2  h-1 and 0.36 mg m-2  h-1 (µmol l-1 )-1 , respectively). Menyanthes trifoliata showed a high flux rate, but limited efficiency. Low flux rates and efficiency were detected for the remaining species. Knowledge of the species-specific CH4 flux rate and their different responses to plant phenology and environmental factors can significantly improve the estimation of ecosystem-scale CH4 dynamics in boreal peatlands.

Anthropogenic activities dominated tropical forest carbon balance in two contrary ways over the Greater Mekong Subregion in the 21st century.

The tropical forest carbon (C) balance threatened by extensive socio-economic development in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) in Asia is a notable data gap and remains contentious. Here we generated a long-term spatially quantified assessment of changes in forests and C stocks from 1999 to 2019 at a spatial resolution of 30 m, based on multiple streams of state-of-the-art high-resolution satellite imagery and in situ observations. Our results show that (i) about 0.54 million square kilometers (21.0% of the region) experienced forest cover transitions with a net increase in forest cover by 4.3% (0.11 million square kilometers, equivalent to 0.31 petagram of C [Pg C] stocks); (ii) forest losses mainly in Cambodia, Thailand, and in the south of Vietnam, were also counteracted by forest gains in China due mainly to afforestation; and (iii) at the national level during the study period an increase in both C stocks and C sequestration (net C gain of 0.087 Pg C) in China from new plantation, offset anthropogenetic emissions (net C loss of 0.074 Pg C) mainly in Cambodia and Thailand from deforestation. Political, social, and economic factors significantly influenced forest cover change and C sequestration in the GMS, positively in China while negatively in other countries, especially in Cambodia and Thailand. These findings have implications on national strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation in other hotspots of tropical forests.

Membrane protein profiling of Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae under various growth conditions.

Membrane proteins (MPs) of plant pathogenic bacteria have been reported to be able to regulate many essential cellular processes associated with plant disease. The aim of the current study was to examine and compare the expression of MPs of the rice bacterial pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1 under Luria-Bertani (LB) medium, M9 medium, in vivo rice plant conditions and leaf extract (LE) medium mimicking in vivo plant condition. Proteomic analysis identified 95, 72, 75, and 87 MPs under LB, in vivo, M9 and LE conditions, respectively. Among them, six proteins were shared under all tested growth conditions designated as abundant class of proteins. Twenty-six and 21 proteins were expressed uniquely under in vivo versus LB medium and LE versus M9 medium, respectively, with 17 proteins common among these uniquely induced proteins. Moreover, most of the shared proteins are mainly related to energy metabolism, transport of small molecules, protein synthesis and secretion as well as virulence such as NADH, OmpA, secretion proteins. Therefore, the result of this study not only suggests that it may be an alternate method to analyze the in vivo expression of proteins by using LE medium to mimic plant conditions, but also reveals that the two sets of differentially expressed MPs, in particular the common MPs between them, might be important in energy metabolism, stress response and virulence of A. avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1.

Plant-mediated CH4 exchange in wetlands: A review of mechanisms and measurement methods with implications for modelling.

Plant-mediated CH4 transport (PMT) is the dominant pathway through which soil-produced CH4 can escape into the atmosphere and thus plays an important role in controlling ecosystem CH4 emission. PMT is affected by abiotic and biotic factors simultaneously, and the effects of biotic factors, such as the dominant plant species and their traits, can override the effects of abiotic factors. Increasing evidence shows that plant-mediated CH4 fluxes include not only PMT, but also within-plant CH4 production and oxidation due to the detection of methanogens and methanotrophs attached to the shoots. Despite the inter-species and seasonal differences, and the probable contribution of within-plant microbes to total plant-mediated CH4 exchange (PME), current process-based ecosystem models only estimate PMT based on the bulk biomass or leaf area index of aerenchymatous plants. We highlight five knowledge gaps to which more research efforts should be devoted. First, large between-species variation, even within the same family, complicates general estimation of PMT, and calls for further work on the key dominant species in different types of wetlands. Second, the interface (rhizosphere-root, root-shoot, or leaf-atmosphere) and plant traits controlling PMT remain poorly documented, but would be required for generalizations from species to relevant functional groups. Third, the main environmental controls of PMT across species remain uncertain. Fourth, the role of within-plant CH4 production and oxidation is poorly quantified. Fifth, the simplistic description of PMT in current process models results in uncertainty and potentially high errors in predictions of the ecosystem CH4 flux. Our review suggest that flux measurements should be conducted over multiple growing seasons and be paired with trait assessment and microbial analysis, and that trait-based models should be developed. Only then we are capable to accurately estimate plant-mediated CH4 emissions, and eventually ecosystem total CH4 emissions at both regional and global scales.

Octahedral Trifluoromagnesate, an Anomalous Metal Fluoride Species, Stabilizes the Transition State in a Biological Motor.

Isoelectronic metal fluoride transition state analogue (TSA) complexes, MgF3 - and AlF4 -, have proven to be immensely useful in understanding mechanisms of biological motors utilizing phosphoryl transfer. Here we report a previously unobserved octahedral TSA complex, MgF3(H2O)-, in a 1.5 Å resolution Zika virus NS3 helicase crystal structure. 19F NMR provided independent validation and also the direct observation of conformational tightening resulting from ssRNA binding in solution. The TSA stabilizes the two conformations of motif V of the helicase that link ATP hydrolysis with mechanical work. DFT analysis further validated the MgF3(H2O)- species, indicating the significance of this TSA for studies of biological motors.

Retraction: New insights into virulence mechanisms of rice pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1 following exposure to ß-lactam antibiotics.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/srep22241.

New insights into virulence mechanisms of rice pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1 following exposure to ß-lactam antibiotics.

Recent research has shown that pathogen virulence can be altered by exposure to antibiotics, even when the growth rate is unaffected. Investigating this phenomenon provides new insights into understanding the virulence mechanisms of bacterial pathogens. This study investigates the phenotypic and transcriptomic responses of the rice pathogenic bacterium Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae (Aaa) strain RS-1 to ß-lactam antibiotics especially Ampicillin (Amp). Our results indicate that exposure to Amp does not influence bacterial growth and biofilm formation, but alters the virulence, colonization capacity, composition of extracellular polymeric substances and secretion of Type VI secretion system (T6SS) effector Hcp. This attenuation in virulence is linked to unique or differential expression of known virulence-associated genes based on genome-wide transcriptomic analysis. The reliability of expression data generated by RNA-Seq was verified with quantitative real-time PCR of 21 selected T6SS genes, where significant down-regulation in expression of hcp gene, corresponding to the reduction in secretion of Hcp, was observed under exposure to Amp. Hcp is highlighted as a potential target for Amp, with similar changes observed in virulence-associated phenotypes between exposure to Amp and mutation of hcp gene. In addition, Hcp secretion is reduced in knockout mutants of 4 differentially expressed T6SS genes.

Transcriptome analysis of Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae cultivated in vivo and co-culture with Burkholderia seminalis.

Response of bacterial pathogen to environmental bacteria and its host is critical for understanding of microbial adaption and pathogenesis. Here, we used RNA-Seq to comprehensively and quantitatively assess the transcriptional response of Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae strain RS-1 cultivated in vitro, in vivo and in co-culture with rice rhizobacterium Burkholderia seminalis R456. Results revealed a slight response to other bacteria, but a strong response to host. In particular, a large number of virulence associated genes encoding Type I to VI secretion systems, 118 putative non-coding RNAs, and 7 genomic islands (GIs) were differentially expressed in vivo based on comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses. Furthermore, the loss of virulence for knockout mutants of 11 differentially expressed T6SS genes emphasized the importance of these genes in bacterial pathogenicity. In addition, the reliability of expression data obtained by RNA-Seq was supported by quantitative real-time PCR of the 25 selected T6SS genes. Overall, this study highlighted the role of differentially expressed genes in elucidating bacterial pathogenesis based on combined analysis of RNA-Seq data and knockout of T6SS genes.

Differentiation in MALDI-TOF MS and FTIR spectra between two pathovars of Xanthomonas oryzae.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) strains are closely related phenotypically and genetically, which make it difficult to differentiate between the two pathovars based on phenotypic and DNA-based methods. In this study, a fast and accurate method was developed based on the differences in MALDI-TOF MS and FTIR spectra between the two pathovars. MALDI-TOF MS analysis revealed that 9 and 10 peaks are specific to Xoo and Xoc, respectively, which can be used as biomarkers to identify and differentiate the two closely related pathovars. Furthermore, FTIR analysis showed that there is a significant difference in both the band frequencies and absorption intensity of various functional groups between the two pathovars. In particular, the 6 peaks at 3433, 2867, 1273, 1065, 983 and 951cm(-1) were specific to the Xoo strains, while one peak at 1572cm(-1) was specific to the Xoc strains. Overall, this study gives the first attempt to identify and differentiate the two pathovars of X. oryzae based on mass and FTIR spectra, which will be helpful for the early detection and prevention of the two rice diseases caused by both X. oryzae pathovars.

Regulatory role of tetR gene in a novel gene cluster of Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae RS-1 under oxidative stress.

Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae is the causal agent of bacterial brown stripe disease in rice. In this study, we characterized a novel horizontal transfer of a gene cluster, including tetR, on the chromosome of A. avenae subsp. avenae RS-1 by genome-wide analysis. TetR acted as a repressor in this gene cluster and the oxidative stress resistance was enhanced in tetR-deletion mutant strain. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that TetR regulator bound directly to the promoter of this gene cluster. Consistently, the results of quantitative real-time PCR also showed alterations in expression of associated genes. Moreover, the proteins affected by TetR under oxidative stress were revealed by comparing proteomic profiles of wild-type and mutant strains via 1D SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS analyses. Taken together, our results demonstrated that tetR gene in this novel gene cluster contributed to cell survival under oxidative stress, and TetR protein played an important regulatory role in growth kinetics, biofilm-forming capability, superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, and oxide detoxicating ability.

Inhibitory effect and mode of action of chitosan solution against rice bacterial brown stripe pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae RS-1.

Inhibitory effect and mode of action of chitosan solution against rice bacterial brown stripe pathogen Acidovorax avenae subsp. avenae (Aaa) strain RS-1 was examined in this study. Result from this study indicated that chitosan solutions at 0.10, 0.20, and 0.40mg/mL inhibited the in vitro growth of Aaa strain RS-1, and in general the inhibitory efficiency increased with the increase of both chitosan concentration and the incubation time. Antibacterial activity of chitosan in this study may be mainly due to the damage of cell membrane, which was evidenced by both the cell lysis observed by transmission electron microscopy, and the increased release of cell materials based on the measurement of cell membrane integrity. Furthermore, chitosan solutions at concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.4mg/mL markedly inhibited bacterial biofilm formation compared to the control, and the inhibitory effect increased with the increase of chitosan concentration. In addition, quantitative real-time PCR of the 10 secretion system related genes revealed the differential expression of genes in particular ompA/motB, emphasizing the importance of this gene in the response of Aaa strain RS-1 to chitosan stress. These results indicated that the antibacterial mode of action of chitosan may be mainly due to membrane disruption and lysis, reduction of biofilm formation, and gene expression change. Overall, the results clearly indicated that chitosan had the potential to control bacterial brown stripe of rice.