Fulvic acid application increases rice seedlings performance under low phosphorus stress.

BACKGROUND: Fulvic acid enhances plant growth and interacts synergistically with phosphate fertilizer to alleviate the agricultural production problem of low phosphorus fertilizer utilization efficiency. However, the underlying mechanism of its action remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the impact of fulvic acid application with varying concentrations (0, 40, 60, 80 and 120 mg/L) on rice performance in plants grown in a hydroponic system subjected to low phosphorus stress. The rice growth phenotypes, biomass, root morphology, phosphorus uptake, and the impact of fulvic acid on the rhizosphere environment of rice, were assessed. RESULTS: The findings showed that adding appropriate concentrations of exogenous fulvic acid could promote the growth performance of rice under low phosphorus stress. Particularly at T1 (40 mg/L) and T2 (60 mg/L) over the control effectively increased rice biomass by 25.42% and 24.56%, respectively. Fulvic acid treatments stimulated root morphogenesis, up-regulated phosphate transporter genes, and facilitated phosphorus absorption and accumulation. Especially T1 (20.52%), T2 (18.10%) and T3 (20.48%) treatments significantly increased phosphorus uptake in rice, thereby alleviating low phosphorus stress. Additionally, fulvic acid elevated organic acids concentration in roots and up-regulated plasma membrane H+-ATPase genes, promoting organic acids secretion. This metabolic alteration can also alleviate low phosphorus stress in rice. CONCLUSIONS: The effect of exogenous fulvic acid on physiological indicators is concentration-dependent under low phosphorus stress, enhances rice performance and reduces reliance on phosphorus fertilizer. This provides new insights to shed light on the mechanism of alleviating low phosphorus stress in rice through fulvic acid application, an eco-friendly tool.

Sirt3 restricts tumor initiation via promoting LONP1 deacetylation and K63 ubiquitination.

BACKGROUND: Sirtuin 3 (Sirt3) is a controversial regulator of carcinogenesis. It residents in the mitochondria and gradually decays during aging. In this study, we tried to investigate the role of Sirt3 in carcinogenesis and to explore its involvement in metabolic alteration. METHODS: We generated conditional intestinal epithelium Sirt3-knockout mice by crossing ApcMin/+; Villin-Cre with Sirt3fl/fl (AVS) mice. The deacetylation site of Lon protease-1 (LONP1) was identified with Mass spectrometry. The metabolic flux phenotype was determined by Seahorse bioanalyzer. RESULTS: We found that intestinal epithelial cell-specific ablation of Sirt3 promotes primary tumor growth via stabilizing mitochondrial LONP1. Notably, we newly identified that Sirt3 deacetylates human oncogene LONP1 at N terminal residue lysine 145 (K145). The LONP1 hyperacetylation-mutant K145Q enhances oxidative phosphorylation to accelerate tumor growth, whereas the deacetylation-mutant K145R produces calorie-restriction like phenotype to restrain tumorigenesis. Sirt3 deacetylates LONP1 at K145 and subsequently facilitates the ESCRT0 complex sorting and K63-ubiquitination that resulted in the degradation of LONP1. Our results sustain the notion that Sirt3 is a tumor-suppressor to maintain the appropriate ubiquitination and degradation of oncogene LONP1. CONCLUSION: Sirt3 represents a targetable metabolic checkpoint of oncogenesis, which produces energy restriction effects via maintaining LONP1 K145 deacetylation and subsequent K63 ubiquitination.

Phosphorus Fertilization Boosts Mineral-Associated Soil Organic Carbon Formation Associated with Phagotrophic Protists.

Long-term fertilization affects soil organic C accumulation. A growing body of research has revealed critical roles of bacteria in soil organic C accumulation, particularly through mineral-associated organic C (MAOC) formation. Protists are essential components of soil microbiome, but the relationships between MAOC formation and protists under long-term fertilization remain unclear. Here, we used cropland soil from a long-term fertilization field trial and conducted two microcosm experiments with 13C-glucose addition to investigate the effects of N and P fertilizations on MAOC formation and the relationships with protists. The results showed that long-term fertilization (especially P fertilization) significantly (P < 0.05) increased 13C-MAOC content. Compared with P-deficient treatment, P replenishment enriched the number of protists (mainly Amoebozoa and Cercozoa) and bacteria (mainly Acidobacteriota, Bacteroidota, and Gammaproteobacteria), and significantly (P < 0.001) promoted the abundances of bacterial functional genes controlling C, N, P, and S metabolisms. The community composition of phagotrophic protists prominently (P < 0.001) correlated with the bacterial community composition, bacterial functional gene abundance, and 13C-MAOC content. Co-occurrence networks of phagotrophic protists and bacteria were more connected in soil with the N inoculum added than in soil with the NP inoculum added. P replenishment strengthened bacterial 13C assimilation (i.e., 13C-phospholipid fatty acid content), which negatively (P < 0.05) correlated with the number and relative abundance of phagotrophic Cercozoa. Together, these results suggested that P fertilization boosts MAOC formation associated with phagotrophic protists. Our study paves the way for future research to harness the potential of protists to promote belowground C accrual in agroecosystems.

Dahuang Fuzi Baijiang decoction restricts progenitor to terminally exhausted T cell differentiation in colorectal cancer.

Obesity increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) by 30%. The obese tumor microenvironment compromises antitumor immunity by eliciting exhausted T cells (Tex). Hypothesizing that Dahuang Fuzi Baijiang decoction (DFB) is a combined classical prescription from the "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber". We first determined that DFB regresses tumor growth in high-fat diet-induced obese mice by expanding the TIM3- subset with intermediate expression of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1int TIM3- ) and restricting the PD-1hi TIM3+ subset. Transcription factor 1 (TCF1) is highly expressed in the PD-1int TIM3- subset but is absent in PD-1hi TIM3+ cells. We next confirmed that progenitor PD-1int TCF+ cells robustly produce tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and interferon-γ, whereas terminally differentiated PD-1int TCF+ cells have defects in generating TNFα. With transgenic ob/ob mice, we found that DFB produces cooperative efficacy with anti-PD-1 (αPD-1) by limiting the PD-1hi Tim3+ subset and amplifying the PD-1int TCF+ population. Finally, we defined the recombinant chemokine C-C-motif receptor 2 (CCR2)+ CD8+ subset as terminal Tex and identified that the differentiation from progenitor to terminal Tex is driven, at least in part, by the chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2)/CCR2 axis. The CCR2 inhibitor enhances the response to αPD-1 by promoting the counts of progenitor Tex. Altogether, DFB dampens CCL2 and preserves progenitor Tex in the obese microenvironment to restrain CRC progression. These findings provide unambiguous evidence that the traditional Chinese formula DFB can prevent tumor progression by modulating adaptive immunity and establish a strong rationale for further clinical verification.

Controllable 3D Porous Ni Current Collector Coupled with Surface Phosphorization Enhances Na Storage of Ni3 S2 Nanosheet Arrays.

3D porous Ni is fabricated via an easily scalable electroless plating method using a dynamic template formed through in-situ hydrogen bubbles. The pore size in the range of several micrometers is controllable through adjusting the Ni2+ depositing rate and hydrogen bubbles releasing rate. The Ni3 S2 nanosheet arrays anode is then grown on the unique 3D porous Ni current collector followed by subsequent surface phosphorization. The tremendous interconnected pores and rich voids between the Ni3 S2 nanosheet arrays cannot only provide rapid transferring channels for Na+ , but also accommodate volumetric changes of the Ni3 S2 electrode during cycling, guaranteeing the integrity of the active material. In addition, the surface phosphorized layer enhances the electronic conductivity through providing an electron transport highway along the 3D Ni3 S2 , NiP2 layer, and 3D porous Ni current collector, and simultaneously stabilizes the electrode/electrolyte interphase as a protecting layer. Because of these merits, the phosphorized 3D porous Ni3 S2 (3D P-Ni3 S2 ) electrode is capable of delivering an ultra-stable capacity of 387.5 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 , and a high capacity retention of 85.3% even at a high current density of 1.6 A g-1 .

LncRNA NKILA integrates RXFP1/AKT and NF-κB signalling to regulate osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are previously found to have potential capacity to differentiate into osteocytes when exposed to specific stimuli. However, the detailed molecular mechanism during this progress remains largely unknown. In the current study, we characterized the lncRNA NKILA as a crucial positive regulator for osteogenesis of MSCs. NKILA attenuation significantly inhibits the calcium deposition and alkaline phosphatase activity of MSCs. More interestingly, we defined that NKILA is functionally involved in the regulation of RXFP1/PI3K-AKT and NF-κB signalling. Knockdown of NKILA dramatically down-regulates the expression of RXFP1 and then reduces the activity of AKT, a downstream regulator of RXFP1 signalling which is widely accepted as an activator of osteogenesis. Moreover, we identify NF-κB as another critical regulator implicated in NKILA-mediated osteogenic differentiation. Inhibition of NF-κB can induce the expression of RUNX2, a master transcription factor of osteogenesis, in a HDAC2-mediated deacetylation manner. Thus, this study illustrates the regulatory function of NKILA in osteogenesis through distinct signalling pathways, therefore providing a new insight into searching for new molecular targets for bone tissue repair and regeneration.

Effects of micro-/nano-hydroxyapatite and phytoremediation on fungal community structure in copper contaminated soil.

Micro-/nano-hydroxyapatite (MHA/NHA) has been used to reduce the concentration of available heavy metals and increase soil pH in the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. However, little is known about the effects of MHA and NHA on soil fungal communities and function. In this study, fungal community composition was characterized from copper-contaminated soils amended with MHA, NHA and three other classic amendments combined with Elsholtzia splendens during a 3-year immobilization experiment. High-throughput sequencing results showed that applications of MHA increased the richness and diversity of the fungal community, which was opposite the results of NHA. SIMPER analysis indicated that both the relative abundance of fungi associated with biosorption and plant growth promotion increased, whereas the relative abundance of fungi related to bioleaching and potential pathogens decreased after applying MHA. Redundancy (RDA) analysis revealed that the soil pH was a crucial environmental factor in the succession of fungal communities. In addition, the results of functional prediction via FUNGuild suggested that the application of MHA had the potential to reduce the risk of pathogens infecting animals and plants in the soil but that NHA had some environmental risks. Overall, fungal community showed a synergistic effect of immobilization with the test amendments, and MHA was better for the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils than the other test amendments.

Environment and geographic distance differ in relative importance for determining fungal community of rhizosphere and bulk soil.

Rhizospheric fungi play major roles in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. However, little is known about the determinants of their diversity and biogeographic patterns. Here, we compared fungal communities in rhizosphere and bulk soils of wheat fields in the North China Plain. The rhizosphere had a lower fungal diversity (observed OTUs and Chao1) than bulk soil, and a distinct fungal community structure in rhizosphere compared with bulk soil. The relative importance of environmental factors and geographic distance for fungal distribution differed between rhizosphere and bulk soil. Environmental factors were the primary cause of variations in total fungal community and major fungal phyla in bulk soil. By contrast, fungal communities in soils loosely attached to roots were predictable from both environmental factors and influences of geographic distance. Communities in soils tightly attached to roots were mainly determined by geographic distance. Our results suggest that both contemporary environment processes (present-day abiotic and biotic environment characters) and historical processes (spatial isolation, dispersal limitation occurred in the past) dominate variations of fungal communities in wheat fields, but their relative importance of all these processes depends on the proximity of fungal community to the plant roots.

Effect of blood biochemical factors on nontraumatic necrosis of the femoral head : Logistic regression analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This case-control study aimed to identify the risk factors of nontraumatic necrosis of the femoral head (NONFH). METHODS: In all, 242 patients with NONFH treated at the hip disease research center of our hospital between March 2012 and October 2015 were included. After excluding 19 patients with tumor or tuberculosis, 223 patients were enrolled. Controls comprised 223 healthy persons selected from our hospital database. Single-factor variance analysis and t test were performed to select the index of statistical significance. The 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and normal range of the selected indicators were compared, and abnormal related indexes were selected from the femoral head necrosis group. The selected indicators were based on the increase or decrease to locate the risk indicators and render their corresponding assignment. Logistic regression analysis of the risk factors was performed after the assignment. RESULTS: The necrotic group of patients with decreased carbon dioxide combining power (CO2CP), increased total cholesterol, increased low-density lipoprotein, and decreased high-density lipoprotein levels had statistically significant partial regression coefficient values and the odds ratios were 73.5 (95% CI 24.59-219.74), 7.15 (3.51-14.85), 633.07 (121.7-3304.78), and 20.11 (9.36-43.8), respectively, indicating that these are strong risk factors for NONFH. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal lipid metabolism is a strong risk factor of NONFH. Lipid examination can be used as a screening tool for NONFH in high-risk populations, for alcoholism, and many hormone applications. The decreased CO2CP was associated with NONFH, and bone microcirculation was considered to possibly lead various conditions such as ischemia and hypoxia-related bone metabolic acidosis. However, further study is needed.

Fungal community composition in soils subjected to long-term chemical fertilization is most influenced by the type of organic matter.

Organic matter application is a widely used practice to increase soil carbon content and maintain soil fertility. However, little is known about the effect of different types of organic matter, or the input of exogenous species from these materials, on soil fungal communities. In this study, fungal community composition was characterized from soils amended with three types of organic matter over a 30-year fertilization experiment. Chemical fertilization significantly changed soil fungal community composition and structure, which was exacerbated by the addition of organic matter, with the direction of change influenced by the type of organic matter used. The addition of organic matter significantly increased soil fungal richness, with the greatest richness achieved in soils amended with pig manure. Importantly, following addition of cow and pig manure, fungal taxa associated with these materials could be found in the soil, suggesting that these exogenous species can augment soil fungal composition. Moreover, the addition of organic matter decreased the relative abundance of potential pathogenic fungi. Overall, these results indicate that organic matter addition influences the composition and structure of soil fungal communities in predictable ways.