CYR61/CCN1: A novel mediator of redox response in corneal stromal cells of keratoconus.

Keratoconus (KC) is a progressive, multifactorial and ectatic corneal disorder that characterized by steepening thinning of the cornea. It was previously demonstrated that oxidative stress has a strong link with KC progression. However, the molecular mechanism underlying oxidative stress response in KC remains unclear. Hence, the present study analyzed the heterogeneity of response of corneal stromal cells (CSCs) to oxidative stress in order to further illustrate how oxidative shape the pathophysiology of KC. Single-cell transcriptomics analysis revealed that CSCs demonstrated significant higher oxidative stress score in the KC group compared to the Ctrl group. The expression of oxidative markers verified by experiments illustrated elevated oxidative stress levels and insufficient antioxidant levels in CSCs of KC. In further single-cell transcriptomics analysis, we identified CYR61 to distinguish different subgroups of CSCs responding to oxidative stress. The cornea stroma cells in KC could be differentiated into CYR61high cells and CYR61low cells. Of note, the CYR61high cells showed lower score in collagen production process and higher score in collagen catabolic process. Further experiments illustrated that CYR61 was elevated in KC and associated with collagen production.

UCSCXenaShiny: an R/CRAN package for interactive analysis of UCSC Xena data.

SUMMARY: UCSC Xena platform provides huge amounts of processed cancer omics data from large cancer research projects (e.g. TCGA, CCLE and PCAWG) or individual research groups and enables unprecedented research opportunities. However, a graphical user interface-based tool for interactively analyzing UCSC Xena data and generating elegant plots is still lacking, especially for cancer researchers and clinicians with limited programming experience. Here, we present UCSCXenaShiny, an R Shiny package for quickly searching, downloading, exploring, analyzing and visualizing data from UCSC Xena data hubs. This tool could effectively promote the practical use of public data, and can serve as an important complement to the current Xena genomics explorer. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: UCSCXenaShiny is an open source R package under GPLv3 license and it is freely available at https://github.com/openbiox/UCSCXenaShiny or https://cran.r-project.org/package=UCSCXenaShiny. The docker image is available at https://hub.docker.com/r/shixiangwang/ucscxenashiny. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Lysine demethylase LSD1 delivered via small extracellular vesicles promotes gastric cancer cell stemness.

Several studies have examined the functions of nucleic acids in small extracellular vesicles (sEVs). However, much less is known about the protein cargos of sEVs and their functions in recipient cells. This study demonstrates the presence of lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1), which is the first identified histone demethylase, in the culture medium of gastric cancer cells. We show that sEVs derived from gastric cancer cells and the plasma of patients with gastric cancer harbor LSD1. The shuttling of LSD1-containing sEVs from donor cells to recipient gastric cancer cells promotes cancer cell stemness by positively regulating the expression of Nanog, OCT4, SOX2, and CD44. Additionally, sEV-delivered LSD1 suppresses oxaliplatin response of recipient cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas LSD1-depleted sEVs do not. Taken together, we demonstrate that LSD1-loaded sEVs can promote stemness and chemoresistance to oxaliplatin. These findings suggest that the LSD1 content of sEV could serve as a biomarker to predict oxaliplatin response in gastric cancer patients.

Generation, secretion and degradation of cancer immunotherapy target PD-L1.

Cancer immunotherapy is a rapidly developing and effective method for the treatment of a variety of malignancies in recent years. As a significant immune checkpoint, programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) and its receptor programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) play the most significant role in cancer immune escape and cancer immunotherapy. Though PD-L1 have become an important target for drug development and there have been various approved drugs and clinic trials targeting it, and various clinical response rate and adverse reactions prevent many patients from benefiting from it. In recent years, combination trials have become the main direction of PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies development. Here, we summarized PD-L1 biofunctions and key roles in various cancers along with the development of PD-L1 inhibitors. The regulators that are involved in controlling PD-L1 expression including post-translational modification, mRNA level regulation as well as degradation and exosome secretory pathway of PD-L1 were focused. This systematic summary may provide comprehensive understanding of different regulations on PD-L1 as well as a broad prospect for the search of the important regulator of PD-L1. The regulatory factors of PD-L1 can be potential targets for immunotherapy and increase strategies of immunotherapy in combination.

LSD1 deletion decreases exosomal PD-L1 and restores T-cell response in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Histone lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) expression has been shown to be significantly elevated in gastric cancer (GC) and may be associated with the proliferation and metastasis of GC. It has been reported that LSD1 repressed tumor immunity through programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) in melanoma and breast cancer. The role of LSD1 in the immune microenvironment of GC is unknown. METHODS: Expression LSD1 and PD-L1 in GC patients was analyzed by immunohistochemical (IHC) and Western blotting. Exosomes were isolated from the culture medium of GC cells using an ultracentrifugation method and characterized by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), sucrose gradient centrifugation, and Western blotting. The role of exosomal PD-L1 in T-cell dysfunction was assessed by flow cytometry, T-cell killing and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Through in vivo exploration, mouse forestomach carcinoma (MFC) cells with LSD1 knockout (KO) showed significantly slow growth in 615 mice than T-cell-deficient BALB/c nude mice. Meanwhile, in GC specimens, expression of LSD1 was negatively correlated with that of CD8 and positively correlated with that of PD-L1. Further study showed that LSD1 inhibited the response of T cells in the microenvironment of GC by inducing the accumulation of PD-L1 in exosomes, while the membrane PD-L1 stayed constant in GC cells. Using exosomes as vehicles, LSD1 also obstructed T-cell response of other cancer cells while LSD1 deletion rescued T-cell function. It was found that while relying on the existence of LSD1 in donor cells, exosomes can regulate MFC cells proliferation with distinct roles depending on exosomal PD-L1-mediated T-cell immunity in vivo. CONCLUSION: LSD1 deletion decreases exosomal PD-L1 and restores T-cell response in GC; this finding indicates a new mechanism with which LSD1 may regulate cancer immunity in GC and provides a new target for immunotherapy against GC.

Risk assessment of bioavailable heavy metals in the water and sediments in the Yongding New River, North China.

To explore the pollution status of heavy metals and potential risks in the Yongding New River of Tianjin, China, a comparative study of concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, and Hg) in surface sediments from submerged areas (SA), fluctuant flooded district (FFD), and non-flooded district (NFD) was conducted. In the present study, a modified three-stage European Community Bureau of Reference sequential extraction procedure and EDTA-Na2 single extraction were used to determine the heavy metal distribution in different sediment samples. Results showed that Cd was the metal with the highest contamination level compared to a background value of Tianjin soils, particularly in SA, followed by As. The concentrations of Cr, Pb, Cu, and Zn were relatively higher in upstream. Cu and Pb had higher bioavailability when compared with the other metals, indicating the two metals were easier to be mobilized. The Pearson correlation coefficient is applied to assess the degree of correlation between heavy metals. As, Cu, Zn, and Hg had the strong correlation, implying they may have common sources. Human activity in the riparian such as agricultural production, vehicle, and burning coal increased inputs of heavy metals in the surface sediments and influenced their distribution spatially. Besides, we also calculated geo-accumulation indexes (Igeo) and eco-risk index to assess the degree of risk of heavy metals in sediments. The Igeo were higher in SA than in FFD and NFD. Based on Igeo and potential eco-risk index, Cd has the highest risk, followed by As and Hg.

Insights into non-symbiotic plant growth promotion bacteria associated with nodules of Sphaerophysa salsula growing in northwestern China.

In addition to rhizobia, other non-symbiotic endophytic bacteria also have been simultaneously isolated from the same root nodules. The existence of non-symbiotic endophytic bacteria in leguminous root nodules is a universal phenomenon. The vast majority of studies have detected endophytic bacteria in other plant tissues. In contrast, little systemic observation has been made on the non-symbiotic endophytic bacteria within leguminous root nodules. The present investigation was carried out to isolate plant growth-promoting endophytic non-symbiotic bacteria from indigenous leguminous Sphaerophysa salsula and their influence on plant growth. A total of 65 endophytic root nodule-associated bacteria were isolated from indigenous legume S. salsula growing in the northwestern arid regions of China. When combining our previous work with the current study, sequence analysis of the nifH gene revealed that the strain belonging to non-nodulating Bacillus pumilus Qtx-10 had genes similar to those of Rhizobium leguminosarum Qtx-10-1. The results indicated that horizontal gene transfer could have occurred between rhizobia and non-symbiotic endophyties. Under pot culture conditions, out of the 20 representative endophytic isolates, 15 with plant growth-promoting traits, such as IAA production, ACC deaminase, phosphate solubilization, chitinase, siderophore, and fungal inhibition activity showed plant growth-promoting activity with respect to various plant parameters such as chlorophyll content, fresh weight of plant, shoot length, nodule number per plant and average nodule weight per plant when co-inoculated with rhizobial bioinoculant Mesorhizobium sp. Zw-19 under N-free culture conditions. Among them, Bacillus pumilus Qtx-10 and Streptomyces bottropensis Gt-10 were excellent plant growth-promoting bacteria, which enhanced the seeding fresh weight by 87.5% and the shoot length by 89.4%, respectively. The number of nodules grew more than 31.89% under field conditions. Our findings indicate the frequent presence of these non-symbiotic endophytic bacteria within root nodules, and that they help to improve nodulation and nitrogen fixation in legume plants through synergistic interactions with rhizobia.

Effects of electric fields on Cd accumulation and photosynthesis in Zea mays seedlings.

Phytoremediation enhanced by electrokinetic has been considered as a potential technology for remediating contaminated soils. However, the effects of electric fields on Cd accumulation and photosynthesis in Zea mays (as a cathode) is still unclear. In the present study, Zea mays seedlings were exposed to various doses of Cd2+ (10, 50, 100 µM) to explore the impact of electric fields on Cd accumulation and photosynthesis of Zea mays. Results showed that upon exposure to a concentration of 100 µM Cd, electric fields significantly altered the Cd contents in maize shoots, whereas the concentration of 50 µM Cd increased the Cd contents in maize roots as well as affected the Cd transport from roots to shoots. Uptake index (UI) increased by 1.34%-66.16% with the application of electric fields. The variation of photosynthetic rates attributed to the open or closure of stoma was similar to the change of shoot fresh weight, particularly in maize exposed to high Cd stress. This study proposes a new technology in Cd phytoremediation and provides important information on physiological processes in maize when exposed to Cd stress and electric fields.

Design, synthesis and biological mechanisms research on 1,2,3-triazole derivatives of Jiyuan Oridonin A.

Two series of derivatives with 1,2,3-triazole as heterocyclic moiety of Jiyuan Oridonin A, a new ent-kaurene diterpenoid which was isolated from genus Isodon rubescens, were synthesized and biologically evaluated. All the derivatives possessed good anti-proliferative activities. Among them, compound 8g was found to significantly induce cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in MGC-803 via a series of signals activated by the increased intracellular ROS levels.

[Screening, resistance and growth-promoting effect of endophytic bacteria with ACC deaminase activity isolated from soybean nodules].

Objective: We screened endophytic bacteria containing ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate) deaminase from soybean nodules, and evaluated salt-alkaline resistance, phylogenetic status and the growthpromoting of representative strain. Methods: The features of strains producing ACC deaminase were determined by using the ACC as a sole nitrogen source, adopting standard curve method, colorimetric method, solid medium screening method, bacterial morphology, physio-biochemical characteristics, similarity analysis of 16S rRNA gene, inoculation tests. Results: Eight endophytic bacteria containing ACC deaminase were screened from soybean nodules collected from 36 points of 13 cities (regions)in Henan province. Enzymaticactivity of DD132 was the highest (15.712 U/mg). Screened strain tolerated to medium of 4%-6% NaCl concentration. Among of them, DD165 and DD132 could tolerate 9% NaCl concentration. Five bacteria growing well under pH 11, showing that these strains had stronger alkali resistance. Eight strains containing ACC deaminase activity were affiliated to four genera: Bacillus, Enterobacter, Stenotrophomonas and Pantoea. Inoculation test showed that DD132 had a significant growthpromoting effect on wheat seedlings. Conclusions: Endophytic bacteria containing high ACC deaminase activity from soybean nodules have stronger salt-alkaline resistance. DD132 has obvious growth-promoting effect on wheat seedlings.

Proteomic profiling and biomarker discovery for predicting the response to PD-1 inhibitor immunotherapy in gastric cancer patients.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized cancer treatment; however, a significant proportion of gastric cancer (GC) patients do not respond to this therapy. Consequently, there is an urgent need to elucidate the mechanisms underlying resistance to ICIs and identify robust biomarkers capable of predicting the response to ICIs at treatment initiation. Methods: In this study, we collected GC tissues from 28 patients prior to the administration of anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) immunotherapy and conducted protein quantification using high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS). Subsequently, we analyzed differences in protein expression, pathways, and the tumor microenvironment (TME) between responders and non-responders. Furthermore, we explored the potential of these differences as predictive indicators. Finally, using machine learning algorithms, we screened for biomarkers and constructed a predictive model. Results: Our proteomics-based analysis revealed that low activity in the complement and coagulation cascades pathway (CCCP) and a high abundance of activated CD8 T cells are positive signals corresponding to ICIs. By using machine learning, we successfully identified a set of 10 protein biomarkers, and the constructed model demonstrated excellent performance in predicting the response in an independent validation set (N = 14; area under the curve [AUC] = 0.959). Conclusion: In summary, our proteomic analyses unveiled unique potential biomarkers for predicting the response to PD-1 inhibitor immunotherapy in GC patients, which may provide the impetus for precision immunotherapy.

Impact of cellulose and lignin on restoration of vegetation and soil chemical properties for saline-alkali soil of songnen plain.

To explore the effects of cellulose and lignin on stimulating vegetation restoration and improving soil chemical properties in saline-alkali soil, a large area test was carried out, and 2 treatments were set up: T (cellulose and lignin+ Planted seeds) and CK (Planted seeds). In this study, the species, quantity, plant height, above-ground biomass, biodiversity of vegetation in the treated plots, the determination of soil chemical nutrient content, and the effect of cellulose and lignin on vegetation restoration in saline-alkali land were investigated. The results showed that: 1) Cellulose and lignin contributed to vegetation growth. Compared with CK treatment, plant height and aboveground biomass of T increased by 158.73% and 240.13%, respectively; 2) Cellulose and lignin improved soil structure, and soil porosity, and decreased soil compaction (21.95%); 3) Compared with CK treatment, T treatment decreased soil pH by 0.5 units, total salt content decreased by 30.95%, exchangeable Na+ decreased by 63.00%, and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) decreased by 61.51%. Furthermore, cellulose and lignin effectively improved the physical and chemical properties of saline-alkali soil, promoted the recovery of ecological environment in saline-alkali soil, and improved regional biodiversity, which will provide new methods for soil remediation and improvement in saline-alkali areas.

The Role of Hydrogen in ReRAM.

Previous research on transistor gate oxides reveals a clear link between hydrogen content and oxide breakdown. This has implications for redox-based resistive random access memory (ReRAM) devices, which exploit soft, reversible, dielectric breakdown, as hydrogen is often not considered in modeling or measured experimentally. Here quantitative measurements, corroborated across multiple techniques are reported, that reveal ReRAM devices, whether manufactured in a university setting or research foundry, contain concentrations of hydrogen at levels likely to impact resistance switching behavior. To the knowledge this is the first empirical measurement depth profiling hydrogen concentration through a ReRAM device. Applying a recently-developed Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry analysis technique enables to measure hydrogen diffusion across the interfaces of SiOx ReRAM devices as a result of operation. These techniques can be applied to a broad range of devices to further understand ReRAM operation. Careful control of temperatures, precursors, and exposure to ambient during fabrication should limit hydrogen concentration. Additionally, using thin oxynitride or TiO2 capping layers should prevent diffusion of hydrogen and other contaminants into devices during operation. Applying these principles to ReRAM devices will enable considerable, informed, improvements in performance.

Haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation with or without an unrelated cord blood unit for adult acute myeloid leukemia: a multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial.

Coinfusion of unrelated cord blood (UCB) units in haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) (haplo-cord HCT) for hematopoietic malignancies showed promising results in previous reports, but the efficiency of haplo-cord HCT in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) still lacks sufficient evidence. This multicenter, randomized, phase 3 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03719534) aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of haplo-cord HCT in AML patients. A total of 268 eligible patients aged 18-60 years, diagnosed with measurable residual disease in AML (excluding acute promyelocytic leukemia), with available haploidentical donors and suitable for allotransplantation, were randomly allocated (1:1) to receive haplo-cord HCT (n = 134) or haplo-HCT (n = 134). The 3-year overall survival (OS) was the primary endpoint in this study. Overall median follow-up was 36.50 months (IQR 24.75-46.50). The 3-year OS of Haplo-cord HCT group was better than haplo-HCT group (80.5%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 73.7-87.9 vs. 67.8% 95% CI 60.0-76.5, p = 0.013). Favorable progression-free survival (70.3%, 95% CI 62.6-78.8 vs. 57.6%, 95% CI 49.6-67.0, p = 0.012) and cumulative incidence of relapse (12.1%, 95% CI 12.0-12.2 vs. 30.3%, 95% CI 30.1-30.4, p = 0.024) were observed in haplo-cord HCT group. Grade 3-4 adverse events (AEs) within two years posttransplantation in the two groups were similar. Haplo-cord HCT patients exhibited a faster cumulative incidence of neutrophil recovery (p = 0.026) and increased T-cell reconstitution in the early period posttransplantation. Haplo-cord HCT can improve OS in AML patients without excessive AEs, which may exert additional benefits for recipients of haplo-HCT.

Topical JAK inhibition ameliorates EGFR inhibitor-induced rash in rodents and humans.

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRis) are used to treat many cancers, but their use is complicated by the development of a skin rash that may be severe, limiting their use and adversely affecting patient quality of life. Most studies of EGFRi-induced rash have focused on the fully developed stage of this skin disorder, and early pathological changes remain unclear. We analyzed high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of skin samples from rats exposed to the EGFRi afatinib and identified that keratinocyte activation is an early pathological alteration in EGFRi-induced rash. Mechanistically, the induction of S100 calcium-binding protein A9 (S100A9) occurred before skin barrier disruption and led to keratinocyte activation, resulting in expression of specific cytokines, chemokines, and surface molecules such as interleukin 6 (Il6) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) to recruit and activate monocytes through activation of the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) pathway, further recruiting more immune cells. Topical JAK inhibition suppressed the recruitment of immune cells and ameliorated the severity of skin rash in afatinib-treated rats and mice with epidermal deletion of EGFR, while having no effect on EGFRi efficacy in tumor-bearing mice. In a pilot clinical trial (NCT05120362), 11 patients with EGFRi-induced rash were treated with delgocitinib ointment, resulting in improvement in rash severity by at least one grade in 10 of them according to the MASCC EGFR inhibitor skin toxicity tool (MESTT) criteria. These findings provide a better understanding of the early pathophysiology of EGFRi-induced rash and suggest a strategy to manage this condition.

Optimum method of applying and removing a shaped-function signal for low-light-level image detection.

This paper presents an optimum method that exploits the principle of diffuse scattering and employs the least squares method (LSM) to apply and remove a shaped-function signal for low-light-level image detection. With the help of a sawtooth-shaped-function light signal applied to an image sensor, the LSM is employed to remove the sawtooth signal from the captured images and restore the weak image signal. The experiment process and result verify that this method can not only maintain the capability of upgrading the image sensor's sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio like the previous method, but it also can improve the imaging speed in the low-light level, decrease the computation cost of the extraction process, and eliminate the influence of the environment light to satisfy the requirement of long-distance detection.

Application of conjugated materials in sports training.

In recent years, with the rapid development of the sports industry, the quality of sports training products on the market is uneven. Problems such as inaccurate detection of athletes' physical indicators, low comfort of sportswear, and reduced satisfaction with sports equipment often occur. To this end, this article proposes to apply conjugated materials with excellent optical, electrical, thermal and other properties to sports training and sports products, by summarizing the properties of conjugated materials and their applications in sports training, explores the potential of conjugated materials in improving athletes' training effects, monitoring sports status, and improving sports equipment. This article rates the application of conjugated materials in sports training products in terms of comfort, waterproofness, portability, lightness, aesthetics and breathability. The results showed that the average scores of the 20 sports participants on sportswear were 9.0475, 9.0075, 9.01, 9.025, 9.0325 and 9.04 respectively; the average scores on sports shoes were 9.035, 9.055, 9.02, 9.085, 9.0175 and 8.9975 respectively. Research shows that applying conjugated materials to sports training can improve athletes' performance and contribute to the better development of sports.

Advances in Roles of Salicylic Acid in Plant Tolerance Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses.

A multitude of biotic and abiotic stress factors do harm to plants by bringing about diseases and inhibiting normal growth and development. As a pivotal signaling molecule, salicylic acid (SA) plays crucial roles in plant tolerance responses to both biotic and abiotic stresses, thereby maintaining plant normal growth and improving yields under stress. In view of this, this paper mainly discusses the role of SA in both biotic and abiotic stresses of plants. SA regulates the expression of genes involved in defense signaling pathways, thus enhancing plant immunity. In addition, SA mitigates the negative effects of abiotic stresses, and acts as a signaling molecule to induce the expression of stress-responsive genes and the synthesis of stress-related proteins. In addition, SA also improves certain yield-related photosynthetic indexes, thereby enhancing crop yield under stress. On the other hand, SA acts with other signaling molecules, such as jasmonic acid (JA), auxin, ethylene (ETH), and so on, in regulating plant growth and improving tolerance under stress. This paper reviews recent advances in SA's roles in plant stress tolerance, so as to provide theoretical references for further studies concerning the decryption of molecular mechanisms for SA's roles and the improvement of crop management under stress.

A temporal-spectral value and shape change detection method integrating thematic index information and spectral band information.

Satellite imagery time series change detection methods are effective in avoiding pseudochange due to vegetation phenology to a certain extent. Traditional time series change detection methods use thematic indexes (e.g., NDVI, RVI) to obtain time series information for corresponding change detection. However, change detection methods using several thematic index time series may not make full use of other spectral band information in remotely sensed images and may still suffer from over- and under-detections. To address this challenge, a temporal-spectral value and shape change detection method integrating thematic index information and spectral band information (TISB) is proposed. Possible clouds and cloud shadowing phenomena are removed according to the changes in the spectral values of the remotely sensed images to avoid the generation of pseudochanges in clouds. The spectral and time series information is used to obtain change information from the value perspective, and then, further possible enhanced change regions from a shape perspective to obtain the final change detection results through the expectation-maximization (EM) method. Experiments with Landsat images have shown that the TISB method improves detection results by approximately 1-4% compared to the comparison method.

Species variations in the gut microbiota of captive snub-nosed monkeys.

Introduction: Snub-nosed monkeys are species in danger of extinction due to habitat fragmentation and human activities. Captivity has been suggested as an Auxiliary Conservation Area (ASA) strategy. However, little is known about the adaptation of different species of snub-nosed monkeys to captive environments. Methods: This study compared the gut microbiota between Rhinopithecus bieti, R. brelichi, and R. roxellana under identical captive conditions to provide insights for improving captive conservation strategies. Results: The results showed that these three Rhinopithecus species shared 80.94% of their Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU), indicating high similarity in gut microbiota composition. The predominant phyla were Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes for all three Rhinopithecus species, but differences were observed in diversity, characteristic bacterial communities, and predicted function. Significant enrichment of cellulolytic families, including Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiales vadinBB60 group, Christensenellaceae, and Erysipelotrichaceae, and pathways involved in propionate and butyrate metabolism in the gut of R. bieti suggested that it may have a superior dietary fiber utilization capacity. In contrast, Bacteroidetes, Ruminoccaceae, and Trichospiraceae were more abundant in R. brelichi and R. roxellana, and were associated with saccharide and glycan metabolic pathways. Moreover, R. brelichi and R. roxellana also had higher similarity in microbiota composition and predicted function. Discussion: In conclusion, the results demonstrate that host species are associated with the composition and function of the gut microbiota in snub-nosed monkeys. Thus, host species should be considered when formulating nutritional strategies and disease surveillance in captive snub-nosed monkeys.