Impaired cerebro-cerebellar white matter connectivity and its associations with cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a complex brain disorder of unknown etiology. Based on the notion of "cognitive dysmetria," we aimed to investigate aberrations in structural white matter (WM) connectivity that links the cerebellum to cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. A total of 112 participants (65 patients with schizophrenia and 47 healthy controls [HCs]) were enrolled and underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Between-group voxel-wise comparisons of cerebellar WM regions (superior/middle [MCP]/inferior cerebellar peduncle and pontine crossing fibers) were performed using Tract-Based Spatial Statistics. Cognitive function was assessed using the Trail Making Test Part A/B (TMT-A/B), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and Rey-Kim Memory Test in 46 participants with schizophrenia. WM connectivity, measured as fractional anisotropy (FA), was significantly lower in the MCP in participants with schizophrenia than in HCs. The mean FAs extracted from the significant MCP cluster were inversely correlated with poorer cognitive performance, particularly longer time to complete the TMB-B (r = 0.559, p < 0.001) and more total errors in the WCST (r = 0.442, p = 0.003). Our findings suggest that aberrant cerebro-cerebellar communication due to disrupted WM connectivity may contribute to cognitive impairments, a core characteristic of schizophrenia. Our results may expand our understanding of the neurobiology of schizophrenia based on the cerebro-cerebellar interconnectivity of the brain.

Diversity and saline resistance of endophytic fungi associated with Pinus thunbergii in coastal shelterbelts of Korea.

The Black Pine, Pinus thunbergii, is widely distributed along the eastern coast of Korea and its importance as a shelterbelt was highlighted after tsunamis in Indonesia and Japan. The root endophytic diversity of P. thunbergii was investigated in three coastal regions; Goseong, Uljin, and Busan. Fungi were isolated from the root tips, and growth rates of pure cultures were measured and compared between PDA with and without 3% NaCl to determine their saline resistance. A total of 259 isolates were divided into 136 morphotypes, of which internal transcribed spacer region sequences identified 58 species. Representatives of each major fungi phylum were present: 44 Ascomycota, 8 Zygomycota, and 6 Basidiomycota. Eighteen species exhibited saline resistance, many of which were Penicillium and Trichoderma species. Shoreline habitats harbored higher saline-tolerant endophytic diversity compared with inland sites. This investigation indicates that endophytes of P. thunbergii living closer to the coast may have higher resistance to salinity and potentially have specific relationships with P. thunbergii.

Characterization of Sgr3394 produced only by the A-factor-producin Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350, not by the A-factor deficient mutant.

Protein D (9.7 kDa) is an extracellular protein detected in the culture broth of A-factor-producing Streptomyces griseus IFO 13350, but not of the A-factor-deficient mutant strain S. griseus HH1. Comparison of the N-terminal amino acid sequence with the genomic sequencing data of S. griseus IFO 13350 identified protein D as Sgr3394, which encodes a putative secretory protein with unknown function. The premature Sgr3394 consisted of 128 amino acids (13.5 kDa), showed 87.5% identity with SACT1DRAFT-0503, from Streptomyces sp. ACT-1, and 68.8% identity with SrosN15-18634, from S. roseosporus NRRL15998, and was confirmed to be matured for secretion by a peptide cleavage between the Ala-38 and Ala-39 bond. RT-PCR analysis of Sgr3394 clearly showed that it can be transcribed in the wild-type strain, but not in the A-factor-deficient strain. However, a gel-mobility shift assay of the promoter region of sgr3394 with A-factor-dependent transcriptional regulator (AdpA) showed that AdpA could not specifically recognize the putative AdpA-binding site (5'-TCCCCCGAAT-3'). All of these data strongly suggest that the expression of sgr3394 is not directly induced by AdpA but is regulated indirectly by an A-factor dependent protein. Introduction of sgr3394 on a high-copy-numbered plasmid (pWHM3-sgr3394) into S. lividans TK21 induced massive production of actinorhodin (blue pigment) and undecylprodigiosin (red pigment). Compared to the control, production of each pigment increased by 6.1 and 2.6 times, respectively, on R2YE agar, and 3.1 and 1.4 times, respectively, in R2YE broth; there was little influence on morphogenesis. In S. coelicolor A3(2)/pWHM3-sgr3394, actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin productions were enhanced to 1.8 and 1.1 times those observed in the control, respectively, suggesting that overexpression of sgr3394 can stimulate secondary metabolism, especially actinorhodin biosynthesis, in S. lividans and S. coelicolor.