Phytochemical and underlying mechanism of Mikania micrantha Kunth on antibiotic resistance genes, and pathogenic microbes during chicken manure composting.

Chicken manure is a source of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogenic microbes. Mikania micrantha Kunth (MM) is an invasive plant containing phytochemicals as antimicrobial agents. To explore its impacts on ARGs and pathogen-host interactions (PHIs), MM was added to composting mixtures. The findings indicated that compared with control (CK), MM significantly improved the phytochemical abundances, particularly stilbenoids and diarylheptanoids (4.87%), and ubiquinones (2.66%) in the treatment (T) compost. Besides, significant ARGs reduction was noted, where rpoB2, RbpA, FosB1, vatC, and vatB were removed from T compost. PHIs significantly declined in T compost, where the growth of Xanthomonas citri, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Fusarium graminearum, Vibrio cholerae, and Xanthomonas campestris were inhibited. Multiple variable analyses demonstrated that temperature and pH revealed a significant role in ARGs and PHIs decline. Accordingly, this study considerably recommends MM as a promising compost additive in terms of its antimicrobial potential toward pathogenic microbes and ARGs.

The chromosome-scale genome assembly, annotation and evolution of Rhododendron henanense subsp. lingbaoense.

Rhododendron henanense subsp. lingbaoense (hereafter referred to as R. henanense) is an endemic species naturally distributed in the Henan province, China, with high horticultural, ornamental and medicinal value. Herein, we report a de novo genome assembly for R. henanense using a combination of PacBio long read and Illumina short read sequencing technologies. In total, we assembled 634.07 Mb with a contig N50 of 2.5 Mb, representing ~96.93% of the estimated genome size. By applying Hi-C data, 13 pseudochromosomes of R. henanense genome were assembled, covering ~98.21% of the genome assembly. The genome was composed of ~65.76% repetitive sequences and 31,098 protein-coding genes, 88.77% of which could be functionally annotated. Rhododendron henanense displayed a high level of synteny with other Rhododendron species from the Hymenanthes subgenus. Our data also suggests that R. henanense genes related to stress responses have undergone expansion, which may underly the unique abiotic and biotic stress resistance of the species. This alpine Rhododendron chromosome-scale genome assembly provides fundamental molecular resources for germplasm conservation, breeding efforts, evolutionary studies, and elucidating the unique biological characteristics of R. henanense.

An insoluble polysaccharide from the sclerotium of Poria cocos improves hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hepatic steatosis in ob/ob mice via modulation of gut microbiota.

Metabolic syndrome characterized by obesity, hyperglycemia and liver steatosis is becoming prevalent all over the world. Herein, a water insoluble polysaccharide (WIP) was isolated and identified from the sclerotium of Poria cocos, a widely used Traditional Chinese Medicine. WIP was confirmed to be a (1-3)-ß-D-glucan with an average Mw of 4.486 × 106 Da by NMR and SEC-RI-MALLS analyses. Furthermore, oral treatment with WIP from P. cocos significantly improved glucose and lipid metabolism and alleviated hepatic steatosis in ob/ob mice. 16S DNA sequencing analysis of cecum content from WIP-treated mice indicated the increase of butyrate-producing bacteria Lachnospiracea, Clostridium. It was also observed that WIP treatment elevated the level of butyrate in gut, improved the gut mucosal integrity and activated the intestinal PPAR-γ pathway. Fecal transplantation experiments definitely confirmed the causative role of gut microbiota in mediating the benefits of WIP. It is the first report that the water insoluble polysaccharide from the sclerotium of P. cocos modulates gut microbiota to improve hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia. Thereby, WIP from P. cocos, as a prebiotic, has the potential for the prevention or cure of metabolic diseases and may elucidate new mechanism for the efficacies of this traditional herbal medicine on the regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism.

Characterization and transferability of microsatellites for Gentiana lawrencei var. farreri (Gentianaceae).

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Microsatellite markers were developed for a medicinal herb, Gentiana lawrencei var. farreri (Gentianaceae), for the future assessment of population genetic structure and potential hybridization events with related taxa. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the 454 FLX+ sequencing platform, we obtained 81,717 clean reads with an average length of 291 bp. A total of 3031 primer pairs were designed, and 96 were selected for validation. A set of 20 fluorescently labeled primer pairs was further selected and screened for polymorphisms in three G. lawrencei var. farreri populations and one G. veitchiorum population. Among the four populations, the average number of alleles per locus was 15.2. Finally, a set of 17 unlinked loci were determined to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after two linked loci were removed. CONCLUSIONS: The identified simple sequence repeat markers will be useful for genetic diversity and evolution studies in G. lawrencei var. farreri and related taxa.

Chemical identification and quality evaluation of Lycopus lucidus Turcz by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS and HPLC-MS/MS and hierarchical clustering analysis.

Lycopus lucidus Turcz has been used as a traditional phytomedicine for menstrual disorder, amenorrhea, menstrual cramps, inflammation and cardiovascular diseases. However, there is not enough information about identification and quantification for the chemical constituents of L. lucidus Turcz. In this work, a simple, rapid and sensitive UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS method was developed for characterization and identification of the phytochemical compositions in L. lucidus Turcz in negative ion mode. A total of 37 compounds, including 15 phenolic acids, 12 flavonoids, three triterpenoids and seven organic acids were tentatively characterized and identified by means of the retention time, accurate mass and characteristic fragment ions. Thirteen compounds were reported for the first time in L. lucidus Turcz. Among of them, 11 compounds were further quantified by multiple reactions monitoring. The results showed good performance with respect to linearity (r > 0.9959), repeatability (RSD < 2.6%), intra- and inter-day precision (RSD < 3.2%), recovery (93.1-104.9%), and lower limit of quantification (5-50 ng/mL). Subsequently, the results were analyzed and classified by hierarchical cluster analysis. The research could be applied for identification and quality evaluation for L. lucidus Turcz.

Leojaponic acids A and B, two new homologous terpenoids, isolated from Leonurus japonicus.

The present study aimed at isolation and purification of the bioactive terpenoids from the herb of Leonurus japonicus by chromatographic separations such as silica gel, sephadex LH-20 and C18 reversed phase silica gel, as well as preparative HPLC. As a result, leojaponic acids A (1, C17H24O4) and B (2, C18H26O4), two homologous terpenoids, together with (-)-loliolide (3), 1-(3-ethylphenyl) ethane-1, 2-diol (4) and dibutyl phthalate (5), were isolated from the EtOH extract of L. japonicus. All the chemical structures of the isolates were elucidated on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR analyses. Compounds 1 and 2 were new terpenoids, and Compounds 3 and 4 were isolated and identified for the first time from this plant. In addition, the α-glucosidase and tyrosinase inhibitory activity of the new compounds were evaluated.

Analysis of bacterial diversity in two oil blocks from two low-permeability reservoirs with high salinities.

The community diversities of two oil reservoirs with low permeability of 1.81 × 10(-3) and 2.29 × 10(-3) µm(2) in Changqing, China, were investigated using a high throughput sequencing technique to analyze the influence of biostimulation with a nutrient activator on the bacterial communities. These two blocks differed significantly in salinity (average 17,500 vs 40,900 mg/L). A core simulation test was used to evaluate the effectiveness of indigenous microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The results indicated that in the two high salinity oil reservoirs, one reservoir having relatively lower salinity level and a narrow salinity range had higher bacterial and phylogenetic diversity. The addition of the nutrient activator increased the diversity of the bacterial community structure and the diversity differences between the two blocks. The results of the core simulation test showed that the bacterial community in the reservoir with a salinity level of 17,500 mg/L did not show significant higher MEOR efficiency compared with the reservoir with 40,900 mg/L i.e. MEOR efficiency of 8.12% vs 6.56% (test p = 0.291 > 0.05). Therefore, salinity levels affected the bacterial diversities in the two low permeability oil blocks remarkably. But the influence of salinity for the MEOR recovery was slightly.

[Rhizosphere enhanced remediation of petroleum contaminated soil].

The effects of growing tall fescue on the biodegradation of hydrocarbons was studied in laboratory scale pots. Degradation of hydrocarbons as well as microbial counts, soil fluorescein diacetate activity, catalase activity and dehydrogenase activity were determined. The results showed that, in the rhizosphere soil system, total petroleum hydrocarbons disappeared faster than that in unvegetated pots soil. After 10 weeks, 11.8% and 27.4% of spiked petroleum hydrocarbons disappeared from the bulk and rhizosphere soils respectively. Abiotic loss of petroleum hydrocarbons by evaporation was of minor significance in the test. The microbial plate counts and soil enzyme activities were significantly higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil. Petroleum compounds had significant effect on fluorescein diacetate hydrolyzing activity. Vegetation resulted in significantly greater first-order decay constants compared to the unvegetated control. Oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that were present in the soil were generally degraded more slowly than the parent compounds, suggesting that they were formed during the treatment or that they are more persistent. Four oxidation products of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1-acenaphthenone, 9-fluorenone, anthraquinone, and benzfluorenone were found at significantly higher concentrations at the end of the study.