Drought stress and plant ecotype drive microbiome recruitment in switchgrass rhizosheath

The rhizosheath, a layer of soil grains that adheres firmly to roots, is beneficial for plant growth and adaptation to drought environments. Switchgrass is a perennial C4 grass which can form contact rhizosheath under drought conditions. In this study, we characterized the microbiomes of four different rhizocompartments of two switchgrass ecotypes (Alamo and Kanlow) grown under drought or well-watered conditions via 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. These four rhizocompartments, the bulk soil, rhizosheath soil, rhizoplane, and root endosphere, harbored both distinct and overlapping microbial communities. The root compartments (rhizoplane and root endosphere) displayed low-complexity communities dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Compared to bulk soil, Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidetes were selectively enriched, while Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were selectively depleted, in rhizosheath soil. Taxa from Proteobacteria or Firmicutes were specifically selected in Alamo or Kanlow rhizosheath soil. Following drought stress, Citrobacter and Acinetobacter were further enriched in rhizosheath soil, suggesting that rhizosheath microbiome assembly is driven by drought stress. Additionally, the ecotype-specific recruitment of rhizosheath microbiome reveals their differences in drought stress responses. Collectively, these results shed light on rhizosheath microbiome recruitment in switchgrass and lay the foundation for the improvement of drought tolerance in switchgrass by regulating the rhizosheath microbiome.     

罗氏沼虾MrLc3a基因cDNA的克隆及在副溶血弧菌胁迫下的表达分析

虾类和果蝇同属节肢动物.果蝇的相关研究表明自噬与免疫关系密切,而虾类自噬机制研究鲜少.微管相关蛋白1轻链3 (microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3,Lc3)与自噬基因Atg8同源,其与自噬体的形成密切相关,是自噬活性的标志分子.本研究利用RACE技术克隆了罗氏沼虾的MrLc3a基因的全长cDNA,用RT-qPCR检测了该基因在罗氏沼虾主要组织中的表达量;并研究了正常和副溶血弧菌感染两种情况下MrLc3a基因和免疫基因Relish的表达变化情况,为其在病害防御方面的应用提供了前期数据.试验结果表明:MrLc3a基因全长653 bp,其中包括195 bp的5'-UTR、378 bp的ORF开放阅读框和80 bp的3'-UTR,共编码126个氨基酸;序列比对结果显示,其编码的氨基酸序列和南美白对虾Lc3a编码的氨基酸序列具有较高的同源性,并在系统发育树上聚为一支;RT-qPCR结果显示,MrLc3a基因在罗氏沼虾各个组织均有表达,其中在脑、鳃、胃中的表达量较高,在肝胰腺和性腺中的表达量较少;副溶血弧菌感染罗氏沼虾后显著影响了MrLc3a和Relish基因在罗氏沼虾肝胰腺组织中的转录情况,MrLc3a和Relish基因随时间变化都呈现出先上升后下降的趋势,表明MrLc3a基因通过参与细胞自噬过程而参与了免疫反应.     

A whole-genome association approach for large-scale interspecies traits

Science China Life Sciences -     

Synergistic inhibitory effect of berberine and icotinib on non-small cell lung cancer cells via inducing autophagic cell death and apoptosis

Apoptosis - Resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosin kinase inhibitors (TKIs, e.g. icotinib) remains a major clinical challenge. Non-small cell lung cancer patients with wild-type...     

The catabolic pathways of in situ rhizosphere PAH degraders and the main factors driving PAH rhizoremediation in oil-contaminated soil

Rhizoremediation is a potential technique for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) remediation; however, the catabolic pathways of in situ rhizosphere PAH degraders and the main factors driving PAH rhizoremediation remain unclear. To address these issues, stable-isotope-probing coupled with metagenomics and molecular ecological network analyses were first used to investigate the phenanthrene rhizoremediation by three different prairie grasses in this study. All rhizospheres exhibited a significant increase in phenanthrene removal and markedly modified the diversity of phenanthrene degraders by increasing their populations and interactions with other microbes. Of all the active phenanthrene degraders, Marinobacter and Enterobacteriaceae dominated in the bare and switchgrass rhizosphere respectively; Achromobacter was markedly enriched in ryegrass and tall fescue rhizospheres. Metagenomes of ¹³C-DNA illustrated several complete pathways of phenanthrene degradation for each rhizosphere, which clearly explained their unique rhizoremediation mechanisms. Additionally, propanoate and inositol phosphate of carbohydrates were identified as the dominant factors that drove PAH rhizoremediation by strengthening the ecological networks of soil microbial communities. This was verified by the results of rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric treatments supplemented with these two substances, further confirming their key roles in PAH removal and in situ PAH rhizoremediation. Our study offers novel insights into the mechanisms of in situ rhizoremediation at PAH-contaminated sites.     

ALPK2 acts as tumor promotor in development of bladder cancer through targeting DEPDC1A

Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the urinary system. The development and improvement of treatment efficiency require the deepening of the understanding of its molecular mechanism. This study investigated the role of ALPK2, which is rarely studied in malignant tumors, in the development of bladder cancer. Our results showed the upregulation of ALPK2 in bladder cancer, and data mining of TCGA database showed the association between ALPK2 and pathological parameters of patients with bladder cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that knockdown of ALPK2 could inhibit bladder cancer development through regulating cell proliferation, cell apoptosis, and cell migration. Additionally, DEPDC1A is identified as a potential downstream of ALPK2 with direct interaction, whose overexpression/downregulation can inhibit/promote the malignant behavioral of bladder cancer cells. Moreover, the overexpression of DEPDC1A can rescue the inhibitory effects of ALPK2 knockdown on bladder cancer. In conclusion, ALPK2 exerts a cancer-promoting role in the development of bladder cancer by regulating DEPDC1A, which may become a promising target to improve the treatment strategy of bladder cancer.Subject terms: Cancer models, Bladder cancer