OlCHR, encoding a chromatin remodeling factor, is a killer causing hybrid sterility between rice species Oryza sativa and O. longistaminata.

The genetic mechanisms of reproductive isolation have been widely investigated within Asian cultivated rice (Oryza sativa); however, relevant genes between diverged species have been in sighted rather less. Herein, a gene showing selfish behavior was discovered in hybrids between the distantly related rice species Oryza longistaminata and O. sativa. The selfish allele S13l in the S13 locus impaired male fertility, discriminately eliminating pollens containing the allele S13s from O. sativa in heterozygotes (S13s/S13l). Genetic analysis revealed that a gene encoding a chromatin-remodeling factor (CHR) is involved in this phenomenon and a variety of O. sativa owns the truncated gene OsCHR745, whereas its homologue OlCHR has a complete structure in O. longistaminata. CRISPR-Cas9-mediated loss of function mutants restored fertility in hybrids. African cultivated rice, which naturally lacks the OlCHR homologue, is compatible with both S13s and S13l carriers. These results suggest that OlCHR is a Killer gene, which leads to reproductive isolation.

Boosting the efficacy of anti-MRSA ß-lactam antibiotics via an easily accessible, non-cytotoxic and orally bioavailable FtsZ inhibitor.

The rapid emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains has undermined the therapeutic efficacy of existing ß-lactam antibiotics (BLAs), prompting an urgent need to discover novel BLAs adjuvants that can potentiate their anti-MRSA activities. In this study, cytotoxicity and antibacterial screening of a focused compound library enabled us to identify a compound, namely 28, which exhibited low cytotoxicity against normal cells and robust in vitro bactericidal synergy with different classes of BLAs against a panel of multidrug-resistant clinical MRSA isolates. A series of biochemical assays and microscopic studies have revealed that compound 28 is likely to interact with the S. aureus FtsZ protein at the T7-loop binding pocket and inhibit polymerization of FtsZ protein without interfering with its GTPase activity, resulting in extensive delocalization of Z-ring and morphological changes characterized by significant enlargement of the bacterial cell. Animal studies demonstrated that compound 28 had a favorable pharmacokinetic profile and exhibited potent synergistic efficacy with cefuroxime antibiotic in a murine systemic infection model of MRSA. Overall, compound 28 represents a promising lead of FtsZ inhibitor for further development of efficacious BLAs adjuvants to treat the staphylococcal infection.

Potential therapeutic clue of skin-derived progenitor cells following cytokine-mediated signal overexpressed in injured spinal cord.

Recent evidence indicates that neural progenitor cell characters can be found in the population of adult skin-derived progenitor cells (SPCs). They have the ability to proliferate actively in vitro as spheres in suspension and they contain neural stem cells and several chemokines. Spheres derived from adult skin tissues have a higher capacity to differentiate into neurons in vitro. We report here that intravenous infusion of SPCs from adult skin ameliorated spinal cord lesions and improved motor function in laboratory mice with a spinal cord injury (SCI). After 4-5 weeks, transplanted SPCs survived and migrated into the injured region of the SCI very efficiently, and migrated cells were partially differentiated into neurons and glial cells. Behavioral and ultrastructural tissue analysis revealed that locomotor functions and remyelinated tissue lesions of SPCs engrafted onto SCI mice were restored significantly compared to those of the control group. Efficient migration of SPCs into SCI lesions suggests that SCI-induced chemotaxic factors facilitate the migration of SPCs. Also, we verified that SCI-induced chemotaxic factors play an important role in proliferation, migration, and differentiation of engrafted SPCs. In transplantation paradigms, the interaction between the SCI microenvironment and engrafted cells will be very important in promoting host injury repair through the induction of cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Finally, adult SPCs can behave as a multipotent population, suggesting potential clinical applications for SCI therapy.

New application of tiplaxtinin as an effective FtsZ-targeting chemotype for an antimicrobial study.

The filamenting temperature-sensitive mutant Z (FtsZ) protein is generally recognized as a promising antimicrobial drug target. In the present study, a small organic molecule (tiplaxtinin) was identified for the first time as an excellent cell division inhibitor by using a cell-based screening approach from a library with 250 compounds. Tiplaxtinin possesses potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive pathogens. Both in vitro and in vivo results reveal that the compound is able to disrupt dynamic assembly of FtsZ and Z-ring formation effectively through the mechanism of stimulating FtsZ polymerization and impairing GTPase activity.

Efficient Synthesis of Amine-Linked 2,4,6-Trisubstituted Pyrimidines as a New Class of Bacterial FtsZ Inhibitors.

We have recently identified a new class of filamenting temperature-sensitive mutant Z (FtsZ)-interacting compounds that possess a 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrimidine-quinuclidine scaffold with moderate antibacterial activity. Employing this scaffold as a molecular template, a compound library of amine-linked 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrimidines with 99 candidates was successfully established by employing an efficient convergent synthesis designed to explore their structure-activity relationship. The results of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay against Staphylococcus aureus strains and cytotoxicity assay against the mouse L929 cell line identified those compounds with potent antistaphylococcal properties (MIC ranges from 3 to 8 µg/mL) and some extent of cytotoxicity against normal cells (IC50 ranges from 6 to 27 µM). Importantly, three compounds also exhibited potent antibacterial activities against nine clinically isolated methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains. One of the compounds, 14av_amine16, exhibited low spontaneous frequency of resistance, low toxicity against Galleria mellonella larvae, and the ability to rescue G. mellonella larvae (20% survival rate at a dosage of 100 mg/kg) infected with a lethal dose of MRSA ATCC 43300 strain. Biological characterization of compound 14av_amine16 by saturation transfer difference NMR, light scattering assay, and guanosine triphosphatase hydrolysis assay with purified S. aureus FtsZ protein verified that it interacted with the FtsZ protein. Such a property of FtsZ inhibitors was further confirmed by observing iconic filamentous cell phenotype and mislocalization of the Z-ring formation of Bacillus subtilis. Taken together, these 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrimidine derivatives represent a novel scaffold of S. aureus FtsZ inhibitors.