Endophyte-mediated enhancement of salt resistance in Arachis hypogaea L. by regulation of osmotic stress and plant defense-related genes.

Introduction: Soil salinization poses a significant environmental challenge affecting plant growth and agricultural sustainability. This study explores the potential of salt-tolerant endophytes to mitigate the adverse effects of soil salinization, emphasizing their impact on the development and resistance of Arachis hypogaea L. (peanuts). Methods: The diversity of culturable plant endophytic bacteria associated with Miscanthus lutarioriparius was investigated. The study focused on the effects of Bacillus tequilensis, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Bacillus siamensis on the development and germination of A. hypogaea seeds in pots subjected to high NaCl concentrations (200 mM L-1). Results: Under elevated NaCl concentrations, the inoculation of endophytes significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced seedling germination and increased the activities of enzymes such as Superoxide dismutase, catalase, and polyphenol oxidase, while reducing malondialdehyde and peroxidase levels. Additionally, endophyte inoculation resulted in increased root surface area, plant height, biomass contents, and leaf surface area of peanuts under NaCl stress. Transcriptome data revealed an augmented defense and resistance response induced by the applied endophyte (B. tequilensis, S. epidermidis, and B. siamensis) strain, including upregulation of abiotic stress related mechanisms such as fat metabolism, hormones, and glycosyl inositol phosphorylceramide (Na+ receptor). Na+ receptor under salt stress gate Ca2+ influx channels in plants. Notably, the synthesis of secondary metabolites, especially genes related to terpene and phenylpropanoid pathways, was highly regulated. Conclusion: The inoculated endophytes played a possible role in enhancing salt tolerance in peanuts. Future investigations should explore protein-protein interactions between plants and endophytes to unravel the mechanisms underlying endophyte-mediated salt resistance in plants.

Causes of death among early-onset colorectal cancer population in the United States: a large population-based study.

Background: Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) has an alarmingly increasing trend and arouses increasing attention. Causes of death in EOCRC population remain unclear. Methods: Data of EOCRC patients (1975-2018) were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Distribution of death was calculated, and death risk of each cause was compared with the general population by calculating standard mortality ratios (SMRs) at different follow-up time. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were utilized to identify independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). Results: The study included 36,013 patients, among whom 9,998 (27.7%) patients died of colorectal cancer (CRC) and 6,305 (17.5%) patients died of non-CRC causes. CRC death accounted for a high proportion of 74.8%-90.7% death cases within 10 years, while non-CRC death (especially cardiocerebrovascular disease death) was the major cause of death after 10 years. Non-cancer death had the highest SMR in EOCRC population within the first year after cancer diagnosis. Kidney disease [SMR = 2.10; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.65-2.64] and infection (SMR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.48-2.46) were two high-risk causes of death. Age at diagnosis, race, sex, year of diagnosis, grade, SEER stage, and surgery were independent prognostic factors for OS. Conclusion: Most of EOCRC patients died of CRC within 10-year follow-up, while most of patients died of non-CRC causes after 10 years. Within the first year after cancer diagnosis, patients had high non-CRC death risk compared to the general population. Our findings help to guide risk monitoring and management for US EOCRC patients.

Karyotype variation, spontaneous genome rearrangements affecting chemical insensitivity, and expression level polymorphisms in the plant pathogen Phytophthora infestans revealed using its first chromosome-scale assembly.

Natural isolates of the potato and tomato pathogen Phytophthora infestans exhibit substantial variation in virulence, chemical sensitivity, ploidy, and other traits. A chromosome-scale assembly was developed to expand genomic resources for this oomyceteous microbe, and used to explore the basis of variation. Using PacBio and Illumina data, a long-range linking library, and an optical map, an assembly was created and coalesced into 15 pseudochromosomes spanning 219 Mb using SNP-based genetic linkage data. De novo gene prediction combined with transcript evidence identified 19,981 protein-coding genes, plus about eight thousand tRNA genes. The chromosomes were comprised of a mosaic of gene-rich and gene-sparse regions plus very long centromeres. Genes exhibited a biased distribution across chromosomes, especially members of families encoding RXLR and CRN effectors which clustered on certain chromosomes. Strikingly, half of F1 progeny of diploid parents were polyploid or aneuploid. Substantial expression level polymorphisms between strains were identified, much of which could be attributed to differences in chromosome dosage, transposable element insertions, and adjacency to repetitive DNA. QTL analysis identified a locus on the right arm of chromosome 3 governing sensitivity to the crop protection chemical metalaxyl. Strains heterozygous for resistance often experienced megabase-sized deletions of that part of the chromosome when cultured on metalaxyl, increasing resistance due to loss of the sensitive allele. This study sheds light on diverse phenomena affecting variation in P. infestans and relatives, helps explain the prevalence of polyploidy in natural populations, and provides a new foundation for biologic and genetic investigations.

Alkali metal-incorporated spinel oxide nanofibers enable high performance detection of formaldehyde at ppb level.

Sensing material with high sensitivity, excellent selectivity and ultra-low detection limit is crucial for monitoring formaldehyde, which is a kind of hazardous gas to human health at very low concentration. Some one-dimensional semiconductor metal oxides show acceptable responses towards formaldehyde. However, the detection limit and selectivity of these sensors are still not satisfied, especially at ppb level. Herein, alkali metals (K, Na) doped CdGa2O4 nanofibers with excellent formaldehyde sensing performance are prepared by an electrospinning method. These nanofibers have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR), elemental mapping and other techniques. As a result, the sensor based on 7.5 at.% K doped CdGa2O4 gives remarkably improved formaldehyde sensing properties compared with that of pristine CdGa2O4. The greatly increased sensitivity and selectivity should be attributed to the increased chemisorbed oxygen and the enhanced basicity caused by the additional alkali metal, respectively. All in all, the 7.5 at.% K doped CdGa2O4 is a good candidate for the rapid detecting formaldehyde at ppb level.

The lncRNA MALAT1 rs619586 G Variant Confers Decreased Susceptibility to Recurrent Miscarriage.

Cardiovascula disease and recurrent miscarriage have shared risk factors, and some cardiovascular disease-related candidate genes have been confirmed to be associated with recurrent miscarriage. Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) is a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) that is considered to be associated with susceptibility to cardiovascular disease. However, whether lncRNA MALAT1 polymorphisms are related to recurrent miscarriage susceptibility is unclear. We genotyped three lncRNA MALAT1 polymorphisms (rs591291, rs619586, and rs3200401) in 284 patients and 392 controls using TaqMan methods. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) adjusted for age. Our results showed that the rs619586 G variant had protective effects against recurrent miscarriage (AG vs. AA: adjusted OR = 0.670, 95% CI = 0.457-0.982, p = 0.040; GG vs. AA: adjusted OR = 0.278, 95% CI = 0.079-0.975, p = 0.046; GG/AG vs. AA adjusted OR = 0.621, 95% CI = 0.429-0.900, p = 0.012). In a combined analyses of protective genotypes, with regard to the three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we found that individuals with two or three protective genotypes exhibited a significantly lower risk of recurrent miscarriage than those with no or only one protective genotype (adjusted OR = 0.369, 95% CI = 0.199-0.684, p = 0.002). Moreover, the decrease in recurrent miscarriage risk with two or three protective genotypes was most pronounced in women less than 35 years of age (OR = 0.290, 95% CI = 0.142-0.589, p < 0.001) and in women with 2-3 miscarriages (adjusted OR = 0.270, 95% CI = 0.126-0.580, p < 0.001). In conclusion, our study suggests that the rs619586 G variant may have potential protective effects conferring a decreased risk of recurrent miscarriage in the southern Chinese population.

Altered expression of circular RNAs in human placental chorionic plate-derived mesenchymal stem cells pretreated with hypoxia.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxic preconditioning alters the biological properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). It is not known whether this process has an effect on circular RNAs (circRNAs) in MSCs. METHODS: Human placental chorionic plate-derived MSCs (hpcpMSCs) isolated from the same placentae were classed into two groups: hypoxic pretreated (hypoxia) group and normally cultured (normoxia) group. The comparative circRNA microarray analysis was used to determine circRNAs expression and verified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in the two groups. RESULTS: One hundred and two differentially expressed circRNAs in the hypoxia group were found compared to that in the normoxia group (fold change >1.5-fold and P < 0.05). The expression levels of circRNAs by qRT-PCR were consistent with those evaluated by microarray analysis. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that the putative function of their target genes for those differentially expressed circRNAs was primarily involved in cell development and its differentiation and regulation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that transcriptional misregulation in cancer and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway were the most significant. MAPK signaling pathway was found to be the core regulatory pathway triggered by hypoxia. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the altered expression of specific circRNAs in MSCs is associated with hypoxic preconditioning. This finding provides further exploration of underlying mechanisms of the characteristic changes of MSCs with hypoxic preconditioning.

Air tamponade and without heavy liquid usage in pars plana vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment repair.

AIM: To report the results of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) repair after pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) without operative use of heavy liquid, and utilizing air tamponade in selected cases. METHODS: RRD patients without severity of proliferative vitreoretinopathy C2 or more underwent PPV without operative use of heavy liquid, and utilizing air tamponade were consecutively enrolled. Alternative postoperative facedown position or lateral position was required for 3-5d. RESULTS: Totally 36 eyes of 36 patients (24 males, 66.7%) aged 53.8±10.9y underwent this modified surgery. The mean number of retinal break was 2.1±1.3. Most of the eyes (29, 80.6%) had retinal detachment involving more than one quadrant. Twenty-two (61.1%) eyes with cataract had combined phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation. The mean follow up time was 4.6±1.8mo. Two eyes with retinal redetachment underwent a second retinal repair surgery with silicone oil tamponade, yielding the primary reattachment rate to 94.4% (34/36). Six (16.7%) eyes had intraocular pressure higher than 25 mm Hg. The visual acuity (logMAR) improved from 0.98±0.74 preoperatively to 0.52±0.31 postoperatively (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The success rate of this modified retinal repair surgery is comparable with traditional surgery. This technique can be considered for certain retinal detachment patients, since its apparent advantages included lower surgical complications, reduced surgery expenditure, shorter time for postoperative facedown position, and avoiding silicone oil removal surgery.