Acetic acid enhances drought tolerance more in female than in male willows.

Drought is an important stress factor that limits plant growth and development. Female willows generally display stronger drought tolerance than males. The application of exogenous acetic acid (AA) has emerged as an efficient and eco-friendly approach to facilitate drought tolerance in willows. However, whether AA exerts sexually different effects on willows remains undefined. In this study, we comprehensively performed morphological and physiological analyses on three willow species, Salix rehderiana, Salix babylonica, and Salix matsudana, to investigate the sexually different responses to drought and AA. The results indicated that willow females were more drought-tolerant than males. AA application effectively enhanced willows' drought tolerance, and females applied with AA displayed greater root distribution and activity, stronger osmotic and antioxidant capacity and photosynthetic rate but less reactive oxygen species, or abscisic acid-mediated stomatal closure than males. In addition, AA application enhanced the jasmonic acid signaling pathway in females but inhibited it in males, conferring stronger drought defense capacity in female willows than in males. Overall, AA application improves drought tolerance more in female than in male willows, further enlarging the sexual differences in willows under drought-stressed conditions.

Efficacy and safety of belimumab therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Belimumab is the first biological agent approved for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The efficacy and safety of belimumab for SLE patients are not clear. Therefore, this meta-analysis is integrating the efficacy and safety of belimumab for patients with SLE. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that studied the efficacy and safety of belimumab plus standard therapy before November 1, 2021. Data were pooled using the random-effects model and are expressed as risk ratios (RRs) or mean difference (MD) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed and quantified using I2. RESULTS: Seven RCTs with 3,009 participants were included in this meta-analysis. Belimumab showed significantly decreased at least a 4-point improvement in Safety of Estrogen in Lupus National Assessment (SELENA)-Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score than placebo (RR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.21-1.44; p < 0.001). However, belimumab significantly reduced the prednisone dose by 50% or more than placebo (RR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.17-2.15; p = 0.003) and belimumab significantly increased the 36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) score (MD, 1.60; 95% CI, 0.30-2.90; p = 0.02). Regarding adverse events, there was no significant difference between the belimumab group and the control group. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that belimumab plus standard therapy is more effective than placebo plus standard therapy in SLE patients.

Acetic acid alters rhizosphere microbes and metabolic composition to improve willows drought resistance.

The adverse effects of drought on plants are gradually exacerbated with global climatic change. Amelioration of the drought stress that is induced by low doses of acetic acid (AA) has been caused great interest in plants. However, whether AA can change soil microbial composition is still unknown. Here, we investigated how exogenous AA regulates the physiology, rhizosphere soil microorganisms and metabolic composition on Salix myrtillacea under drought stress. The physiological results showed that AA could improve the drought tolerance of S. myrtillacea. Azotobacter and Pseudomonas were enriched in the rhizosphere by AA irrigation. AA significantly increased the relative contents of amino acid metabolites (e.g., glycyl-L-tyrosine, l-glutamine and seryl-tryptophan) and decreased the relative contents of phenylpropane metabolites (e.g., fraxetin and sinapyl aldehyde) in soils. The enrichments of Azotobacter and Pseudomonas were significantly correlated with glycyl-L-tyrosine, l-glutamine, seryl-tryptophan, fraxetin and sinapyl aldehyde, which could increase the stress resistance by promoting nitrogen (N) uptake for willows. Furthermore, inoculation with Azotobacter chroococcum and Pseudomonas fluorescens could significantly improve willows drought tolerance. Therefore, our results reveal that the changes of plant physiology, rhizosphere soil microorganisms and metabolic composition induced by AA can improve willows drought resistance by enhancing N uptake.