- Strigolactone perception by parasite seed is mediated by a clade of neofunctionalized KAI2d proteins that evolved from a receptor that mediates karrikin responses in other plants.
- KAI2d proteins use a similar mechanism to perceive SLs as D14, which mediates growth responses to SLs in nonparasites, but activate different signaling pathways.
- Crystal structure analyses and chemical probes reveal features of KAI2d ligand-binding pockets that contribute to their specificity.
- Have we overlooked the role of germination stimulants in facultative parasites?
- What is the biological relevance of the observation that many plant species produce and secrete a range of different strigolactones?
- Have parasitic plants evolved mechanisms to compensate for low phosphorus availability, a condition that stimulates their germination?
- What is the contribution of the HTL strigolactone receptors to host specificity in parasitic plants or does downstream signaling play a role?
- What other, nonstrigolactone, germination stimulants can parasitic plants respond to and does this require adaptation in the HTL receptors?
- What is the role of germination and underlying mechanism in the rapid adaptation of (orobanchaceous) parasitic plants to a new host?
- Increasing access to next‐generation sequencing (NGS) technologies is revolutionizing the life sciences. In disease ecology, NGS‐based methods have the potential to provide higher‐resolution data on communities of parasites found in individual hosts as well as host populations.
- Here, we demonstrate how a novel analytical method, utilizing high‐throughput sequencing of PCR amplicons, can be used to explore variation in blood‐borne parasite (Theileria—Apicomplexa: Piroplasmida) communities of African buffalo at higher resolutions than has been obtained with conventional molecular tools.
- Results reveal temporal patterns of synchronized and opposite fluctuations of prevalence and relative abundance of Theileria spp. within the host population, suggesting heterogeneous transmission across taxa. Furthermore, we show that the community composition of Theileria spp. and their subtypes varies considerably between buffalo, with differences in composition reflected in mean and variance of overall parasitemia, thereby showing potential to elucidate previously unexplained contrasts in infection outcomes for host individuals.
- Importantly, our methods are generalizable as they can be utilized to describe blood‐borne parasite communities in any host species. Furthermore, our methodological framework can be adapted to any parasite system given the appropriate genetic marker.
- The findings of this study demonstrate how a novel NGS‐based analytical approach can provide fine‐scale, quantitative data, unlocking opportunities for discovery in disease ecology.
- Observed biotic interactions between species, such as in pollination, predation, and competition, are determined by combinations of population densities, matching in functional traits and phenology among the organisms, and stochastic events (neutral effects).
- We propose optimal transportation theory as a unified view for modeling species interaction networks with different intensities of interactions. We pose the coupling of two distributions as a constrained optimization problem, maximizing both the system''s average utility and its global entropy, that is, randomness. Our model follows naturally from applying the MaxEnt principle to this problem setting.
- This approach allows for simulating changes in species relative densities as well as to disentangle the impact of trait matching and neutral forces.
- We provide a framework for estimating the pairwise species utilities from data. Experimentally, we show how to use this framework to perform trait matching and predict the coupling in pollination and host–parasite networks.
- Brain organoids offer an in vitro approach to study aspects of human brain development and disease.
- Diverse brain organoid techniques offer bioassays to investigate new phenotypes associated with human brain disorders that are difficult to study in monolayer cultures.
- Brain organoids have been particularly useful to study phenomena and diseases associated with neural progenitor morphology, survival, proliferation, and differentiation.
- Future brain organoid research needs to aim at later stages of neurodevelopment, linked with neuronal activity and connections, to unravel further disease-associated phenotypes.
- Continued improvement of existing organoid protocols is required to generate standardized methods that recapitulate in vivo-like spatial diversity and complexity.
- The chemical toolbox for Cys redoxome profiling has extensively expanded.
- Advanced chemoproteomic platforms have been applied to target specific Cys oxidative posttranslational modifications (OxiPTMs).
- Various reductomic workflows have been widely implemented for reversible Cys OxiPTMs quantification.
- Workflows have been integrated to measure the occupancy of multiple OxiPTMs simultaneously.
- Disulfide-based traps enable the in situ profiling for –SOH sites.
Key message
Structure–activity relationship studies of strigolactones and Striga gesnerioides seed germination revealed strict structural requirements for germination induction and a new function of the plant hormones as germination inhibitors.Abstract
Stereoisomers of the naturally occurring strigolactones, strigol, sorgolactone, orobanchol, sorgomol and 5-deoxystrigol, 36 in total, were prepared and screened for the ability to induce and/or inhibit the germination of Striga hermonthica and Striga gesnerioides seeds collected from mature plants that parasitized on sorghum and cowpea, respectively. All of the compounds induced S. hermonthica seed germination, albeit displayed differential activities. On the other hand, only a limited number of the compounds induced significant germination in S. gesnerioides, thus indicating strict structural requirements. Strigolactones inducing high germination in S. gesnerioides induced low germination in S. hermonthica. Strigolactones with the same configuration at C3a, C8b and C2′ as that in 5-deoxystrigol (9a) induced high germination of S. hermonthica seeds, but most of them inhibited the germination of S. gesnerioides. The differential response of S. gesnerioides to strigolactones may play an important role in the survival of the species. However, the compounds could be used as means of control if mixed cropping of cowpea and sorghum is adopted. 相似文献- Highlights
Rhodococcus erythropolis HX-2 is an effective petroleum degrading strain.
HX-2 is a potential source of biosurfactant production.
The biosurfactant NK reduces surface tension and exhibits high emulsification activity.
The biosurfactant NK is effective over a wide range of temperatures, pH and salinity.
The biosurfactant NK shows high solubilization efficiency for petroleum as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
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- •Characterization of 12 proteins from across the P. falciparum sexual-stages as possible TBV targets.
- •Heterologously expressed recombinant proteins recapitulate native parasite epitopes.
- •Some recombinant proteins exhibit immunoreactivity when tested against sera from individuals from malaria-endemic Burkina Faso and Mali.
- •Purified IgG against the antigen enolase moderately inhibits parasite development in the mosquito midgut.
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- •Multi-omics analysis on mode of action of novel antimalarial, JPC-3210
- •JPC-3210 has rapid parasite killing kinetics.
- •Metabolomics and peptidomics demonstrated JPC-3210 inhibits hemoglobin digestion.
- •Proteomics demonstrated JPC-3210 enriches for translation regulation proteins.
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- •A predictive modelling framework has been established to analyze IgG antibody responses against a large panel of P. falciparum-specific antigens to identify a specific antigen signature of NAI.
- •An individual's immune status can be accurately predicted by measuring IgG responses against a small set of 15 defined parasite antigens.
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- •The developed predictive framework can be adapted for developing novel surveillance and intervention tools for other infectious diseases.
- •OVE26 mice, genetically overexpressing calmodulin in pancreatic beta cells, develop early onset type 1 diabetes.
- •OVE26 mice are a widely used and valuable rodent model which develop severe, progressive diabetic nephropathy, with features of established human diabetic nephropathy.
- •Does gender play a role in determining characteristics of renal lesions and severity of nephropathy?
- •Female OVE26 mice had more severe albuminuria, greater podocyte loss.
- •Female OVE26 mice had additional fibrosis and significantly more inflammatory cell infiltration.
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- •Our findings provide the basis for researchers to better select the age and sex of OVE26 mice in future studies of type 1 DN.
- Receptor proteins have been discovered in host plants (i.e. sunflower, tomato, or cowpea) that detect parasitic plants as an invading pathogen and further induce plant immunity and resistance responses in hosts leading to a parasite rejection.
- Molecular patterns exist in parasitic plants that can be specifically detected by host plant receptors.
- The host plant receptors require co-receptors and signaling components (i.e. BAK1, SOBIR1, etc.) also known from plant immunity against microbes.
- Parasitic plants evolved strategies to circumvent and to suppress host plant immunity, i.e. by manipulating host cells with siRNAs or proteins that act as effectors.
- Similar to the interaction of plants with microbial pathogens, elements of PTI and ETI can be both observed in plant–parasitic plant interactions.
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- •Using ExCYT, genomics, and Mass Spectrometry, we were able to uncover immune cell marker alterations that provide new insight into the biology of early stage ccRCC.
- •Among the CD45+ population, we observed a high level of myeloid cell infiltration in treatment-naïve ccRCC tissues.
- Highlights
Synthesis and characterization of novel indole-derived compounds.
X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate average crystalline size of the compounds.
Metal complexes act as good metallointercalators.
Metal complexes show higher antimicrobial activity compared to ligand.
Prediction of biological activities of the ligand by PASS online software.
Drug-like nature and bioavailability of synthesized compounds predicted by Swiss ADME predictor
Docking of the synthesized compounds with 1BNA and 3EQM using HEX 8.0 software.
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- •Signaling networks can be highly heterogeneous across cells in a tissue.
- •Various technologies allow analyzing signaling networks at single-cell resolution.
- •The advantages and limitations of each single-cell approach are summarized.
- •Confounding factors in single-cell signaling network analysis are discussed.
- Mammals play an important role in seed germination through the ingestion of fruits and seeds. Since seed germination is a basic step in seedling recruitment, understanding how mammals affect germination improves our understanding of the effect of loss of mammal populations on the dynamics of plant communities.
- We used meta-analytical methods to describe global patterns in the effect of seed ingestion by mammals on seed germination success and rate. We collected data from 154 studies that included 115 mammal species and 448 plant species.
- Our results showed a positive cumulative effect of mammals on seed germination. However, this effect differed between mammalian orders; thus, some groups such as elephants, primates, and new world marsupials emerged as important enhancers of seed germination. Also, the effect varied depending on the plant family and the bioregion. Increased seed germination after ingestion was positively related to fast germination.
- This meta-analysis, the first to synthesise and compare most of the information presently available on how mammals affect seed germination after ingestion, shows a global positive effect of mammals as enhancers of seed germination. However, behind that positive effect lies a diversity of neutral, negative, and positive effects of different magnitudes, which may have multifactorial explanations. We hope that the patterns presented here open up new questions and help guide future research efforts.
- Methodological advances in fluorescent protein-based in vivo biosensing have been instrumental for several paradigm shifts in our understanding of cell physiology, metabolism and signaling.
- An increasing number of genetically encoded biosensors has been used to dissect the dynamics of several distinct redox couples and energy physiology in plants.
- In vivo monitoring using biosensors has pioneered the simultaneous read-out of different physiological parameters in different subcellular locations by parallelized plate reader-based, multiwell fluorimetry, or expression strategies for multiple sensors in parallel.
- Sensing dynamic changes in hydrogen peroxide levels is possible with sensors of the HyPer family, or roGFP fusion variants with a thiol peroxidase.
- Peredox and SoNar family sensors enable direct visualization of NADH/NAD+, while iNAP family sensors respond to NADPH concentration in plants.
- Sensor variants with different sensitivity ranges enable use of the most appropriate variant for the specific in vivo environment or experimental scope.
- highlights
The UAE method is more efficient for watermelon seed protein extraction.
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Protein isolate with enhanced functional properties was obtained.
Essential amino acid content was determined.