Improving crop health by synthetic microbial communities: Progress and prospects.

Crop health directly affects yields and food security. At present, agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides are mainly used in agricultural production to promote crop health. However, long-term excessive utilization of agrochemicals will damage the ecological environment of farmlands and increase the safety risk of agricultural products. It is urgent to explore efficient and environment-friendly agricultural products. Rhizosphere microbiome are considered as the second genome of plants, which are closely related to crop health. Understanding the key functional microbes, microbe-microbe interactions, and plant-microbe interactions are fundamental for exploring the potential of beneficial microbes in promoting crop health. However, due to the heterogeneity and complexity of the natural environment, stimulating the function of indigenous microorganisms remains uncertain. Synthetic microbial community (SynCom) is an artificial combination of two or more different strain isolates of microorganisms, with different taxonomic, genetic, or functional characteristic. Because of the advantages of maintaining species diversity and community stability, SynCom has been widely applied in the fields of human health, environmental governance and industrial production, and may also have great potential in promoting crop health. We summarized the concept and research status of SynCom, expounded the principles and methods of constructing SynCom, and analyzed the research on the promotion of crop health by exploring the mechanism of plant-microbe interactions, promoting plant growth and development, and improving stress resistance. Finally, we envisaged the future prospects to guide the using SynCom to improve crop health.

[Clinical Study of miRNAs Derived from Serum Exosomes in Multiple Myeloma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression level and prognostic value of miR-21, miR-18a, miR-146a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). METHODS: Serum exosomes were extracted from 57 MM patients and 20 healthy persons using ExoQuick exosome precipitation solution kit, and the relative expression level of miR-21, miR-18a, miR-146a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes was measured by RT-qPCR. Correlations of the expression levels of all miRNAs mentioned above with routine laboratory parameters were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. The relationship between the expression level of miR-21, miR-18a, miR-146a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes and overall survival of patients with MM was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. RESULTS: The expression levels of miR-21, miR-18a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes in patients with MM were significantly lower than those in the normal control group (P<0.001), while the expression level of miR-146a between the two groups was not significantly different (P>0.05). The expression level of miR-21 was strongly negatively correlated with serum ß2-microglobulin concentration (r=-0.830), and weakly negatively correlated with serum creatinine, corrected serum calcium, and cystatin C (r=-0.488, -0.282, -0.627). The expression levels of Let-7b and miR-18a were also weakly negatively correlated with the corrected serum calcium, ß2-microglobulin, and cystatin C concentration (r=-0.305, -0.362, -0.461; -0.317, -0.542, -0.434). However, there was no significant correlation between the expression level of miR-146a and routine laboratory parameters in MM patients. The overall survival rate of MM patients with low expression level of miR-21, miR-18a, and Let-7b significantly decreased compared with high expression level group (P<0.05), however, the expression level of miR-146a was not related to the overall survival rate. CONCLUSION: Aberrant low expression levels of miR-21, miR-18a, and Let-7b derived from serum exosomes exist in patients with MM, which are associated with a worse overall survival rate.

[Applied Value of Serum Bone Turnover Markers in Patients with Myeloma Bone Disease].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical value of serum bone turnover markers including ß-CrossLaps (ß-CTx), N-MID Osteocalcin (Osteocalcin), and total procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (TP1NP) in patients with myeloma bone disease (MBD). METHODS: A total of 55 MBD patients(MBD group) and 20 healthy volunteers(control group) were selected, and the serum was collected for detecting ß-CTx, Osteocalcin and TP1NP by Roche analyzer of automated electrochemiluminescence. Meanwhile, the imaging techniques such as MRI and CT were used for evaluation of bone destruction and the damage extent in MBD patients. RESULTS: Measurement data is expressed as median (P25, P75) according to distribution characteristics of data. The detection results showed that concentrations of ß-CTx in MBD patients and control group were 0.72(0.48, 1.28) ng/mL and 0.53(0.34, 0.61) ng/mL respectively, the ß-CTx concentration in MBD patients was significantly higher than that in control group(P=0.002). The ratio ß-CTx to TP1NP (%) in MBD patients and control group was 1.50 (1.05, 3.36) and 1.25 (0.86, 1.35) respectively, the ratio in MBD patients was significantly higher than that in control group (P=0.007). The serum ß-CTx concentrations in MBD patients of localized bone destruction type and extensive bone destruction type were 0.41(0.31, 0.66) ng/mL and 1.14(0.72, 1.81) ng/mL respectively, the ß-CTx concentration in MBD patients of extensive bone destruction type was significantly higher than that in MBD patients of localized bone destruction type (P＜0.001). The ratio of ß-CTx to TP1NP(%) in MBD patients of localized and extensive bone destruction type was 1.30 (0.90, 2.49) and 1.98 (1.18, 3.76) respectively, the ratio in the MBD patients of extensive bone destruction type was significantly higher than that in MBD patients of localized bone destruction type (P=0.019). The serum osteocalcin concentrations in MBD patients of localized and extensive bone destruction type were 14.31 (8.82, 19.39) ng/mL and 21.52 (14.42, 47.76) ng/mL respectively, the osteocalcin concentration in MBD patients of extensive bone destruction type was higher than that in MBD patients of localized bone destruction type (P=0.008). The AUC of ß-CTx was 0.88 (95% CI: 0.78-0.98)(P＜0.001), and the cut-off value was 0.69 ng/ml in the diagnosis of extensive bone injury for MBD patients, and the sensitivity and specificity were 80.65% and 83.33% respectively. CONCLUSION: The MBD patients show bone resorption hyperthyroidism and high bone turnover. The ß-CTx and osteocalcin in serum bone turnover markers can effectively reflect the extent of bone damage in MBD patients, especially the ß-CTx is more efficient for the diagnosis of MBD patients of extensive bone destruction type. However, ß-CTx, osteocalcin and TP1NP are not relate with the MM disease progression.

(E)-3-(9-Anthr-yl)-1-(4-fluoro-phen-yl)-2-(4-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title compound, C(26)H(16)FN(3)O(3), the dihedral angle between the anthryl and fluoro-phenyl groups is 37.8 (1)°. With respect to the imidazolyl group, the twist angles between the imidazolyl group and the anthryl unit and between the imidazoly group and the fluoro-phenyl group are 64.4 (1) and 74.5 (1)°, respectively.

2-Bromo-2-(5-bromo-1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-(2,4-difluoro-phen-yl)ethanone.

In the title compound, C(10)H(5)Br(2)F(2)N(3)O, the mean planes of the benzene and triazole rings form a dihedral angle of 84.86 (2)°. In the crystal structure, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules into extended chains propagating along the c axis.

(Z)-3-(9-Anthr-yl)-1-(4-bromo-phen-yl)-2-(4-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title mol-ecule, C(26)H(16)BrN(3)O(3), the anthracene and benzene mean planes make dihedral angles of 63.79 (2) and 14.67 (2)°, respectively, with the plane of the imidazole ring. In the crystal structure, weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol-ecules to form centrosymmetric dimers. Weak π-π stacking inter-actions, with centroid-centroid distances of 3.779 (2) and 3.826 (2) Å, supply additional stabilization. The crystal packing also exhibits short inter-molecular contacts between the nitro groups and Br atoms [Br⋯O = 3.114 (2) Å].

N,N'-[(2,3,5,6-Tetra-methyl-p-phenyl-ene)dimethyl-ene]bis-[2-chloro-N-(2-chloro-ethyl)ethanamine].

The title mol-ecule, C(20)H(32)Cl(4)N(2), lies on an inversion center. A weak intra-molecular C-H⋯N hydrogen bond may, in part, influence the conformation of the mol-ecule.

(Z)-1-(2,4-Difluoro-phen-yl)-3-phenyl-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title mol-ecule, C(17)H(11)F(2)N(3)O, the triazole ring makes dihedral angles of 83.00 (5) and 16.63 (5)°, respectively, with the phenyl and benzene rings. Weak inter-molecular C-H⋯F and C-H⋯N inter-actions contribute to the crystal packing.

(Z)-3-(9-Anthryl)-1-(4-chloro-phen-yl)-2-(4-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title compound, C(26)H(16)ClN(3)O(3), the dihedral angle between the anthracene mean plane and imidazole ring is 64.75 (2)°. In the crystal, π-π inter-actions between anthracene fragments lead to the formation of stacks of mol-ecules propagating in [100]. The short distance between the carbonyl groups of symmetry-related molecules [C⋯O = 2.985 (2) Å] indicates the existence of dipole-dipole inter-actions. The crystal packing also exhibits short inter-molecular contacts between the nitro groups and Cl atoms [Cl⋯O = 3.181 (2) Å].

3-Meth-oxy-4-[3-(2-methyl-4-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)prop-oxy]benzaldehyde.

In the title mol-ecule, C(15)H(17)N(3)O(5), the dihedral angle between the benzene and imidazole rings is 3.69 (2)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by weak inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking inter-actions with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.614 (1) Å.

(E)-3-(9-Anthr-yl)-1-(4-fluoro-phen-yl)-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

The C=C double-bond in the title compound, C(25)H(16)FN(3)O, has an E configuration. The dihedral angle between the fluoro-phenyl and triazole rings is 80.57 (2)°.

(Z)-3-(9-Anthr-yl)-2-(4-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)-1-p-tolyl-prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title mol-ecule, C(27)H(19)N(3)O(3), the imidazole and benzene rings make dihedral angles of 64.72 (4) and 64.02 (4)°, respectively, with the anthracene ring system (r.m.s. deviation = 0.043 Å). The nitro group is coplanar with the imidazole ring [dihedral angle = 1.1 (1)°]. The crystal packing is stabilized by weak π-π inter-actions with centroid-centroid distances of 3.7342 (10) and 3.7627 (9) Å.

(E)-3-(9-Anthr-yl)-1-(4-chloro-phen-yl)-2-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one.

In the title compound, C(25)H(16)ClN(3)O, the anthryl and chloro-phenyl substituents are on opposite sides of the triazole ring. The anthryl and benzene mean planes are aligned at 83.35 (2) and 89.09 (2)°, respectively, with respect to the triazole ring.