Revealing mechanism of Caulis Sargentodoxae for the treatment of ulcerative colitis based on network pharmacology approach

Objective: The traditional Chinese medicine Caulis Sargentodoxae is widely used in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC), but the mechanism remains unknown. The present study aims to reveal its effective components, targets and pathways through network pharmacology and bioinformatics approaches.Materials and methods: Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) was used to identify effective components. The ligand-based targets prediction was achieved through SwissTargetPrediction and TargetNet. UC-related targets were identified using Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data and DisGeNET. The common targets of disease and components were constructed and analyzed by PPI network. Lastly, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses are used to explain the functions of these common targets. Components-Targets-Pathways network was visualized and analyzed to further reveal the connection between the components and targets.Results: Eight active components and 102 key targets were identified to play an important role in UC. These targets were related to regulation of protein serine/threonine kinase activity, positive regulation of cell motility, response to molecule of bacterial origin, response to toxic substance, ERK1 and ERK2 cascade, peptidyl-tyrosine modification, inositol lipid-mediated signaling, cellular response to drug, regulation of inflammatory response and leukocyte migration. Moreover, HIF-1 signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway were the key targets involved in UC-related signaling pathways.Conclusion: The eight active components of Caulis Sargentodoxae mainly play a therapeutic role for UC through synergistic regulation of HIF-1 signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.     

DNA barcoding of Oryza: conventional,specific, and super barcodes

Key message

We applied the phylogenomics to clarify the concept of rice species, aid in the identification and use of rice germplasms, and support rice biodiversity.

Abstract

Rice (genus Oryza) is one of the most important crops in the world, supporting half of the world’s population. Breeding of high-yielding and quality cultivars relies on genetic resources from both cultivated and wild species, which are collected and maintained in seed banks. Unfortunately, numerous seeds are mislabeled due to taxonomic issues or misidentifications. Here, we applied the phylogenomics of 58 complete chloroplast genomes and two hypervariable nuclear genes to determine species identity in rice seeds. Twenty-one Oryza species were identified. Conspecific relationships were determined between O. glaberrima and O. barthii, O. glumipatula and O. longistaminata, O. grandiglumis and O. alta, O. meyeriana and O. granulata, O. minuta and O. malampuzhaensis, O. nivara and O. sativa subsp. indica, and O. sativa subsp. japonica and O. rufipogon. D and L genome types were not found and the H genome type was extinct. Importantly, we evaluated the performance of four conventional plant DNA barcodes (matK, rbcL, psbA-trnH, and ITS), six rice-specific chloroplast DNA barcodes (psaJ-rpl33, trnC-rpoB, rps16-trnQ, rpl22-rps19, trnK-matK, and ndhC-trnV), two rice-specific nuclear DNA barcodes (NP78 and R22), and a chloroplast genome super DNA barcode. The latter was the most reliable marker. The six rice-specific chloroplast barcodes revealed that 17% of the 53 seed accessions from rice seed banks or field collections were mislabeled. These results are expected to clarify the concept of rice species, aid in the identification and use of rice germplasms, and support rice biodiversity.

     

Effects of long-term antibiotic treatment on mice urinary aromatic amino acid profiles

The gut microbiota–host co-metabolites are good indicators for representing the cross-talk between host and gut microbiota in a bi-direct manner. There is increasing evidence that levels of aromatic amino acids (AAAs) are associated with the alteration of intestinal microbial community though the effects of long-term microbial disturbance remain unclear. Here we monitored the gut microbiota composition and host–microbiota co-metabolites AAA profiles of mice after gentamicin and ceftriaxone treatments for nearly 4 months since their weaning to reveal the relationship between host and microbiome in long- term microbial disturbances. The study was performed employing targeted LC-MS measurement of AAA-related metabolites and 16S RNA sequence of mice cecal contents. The results showed obvious decreased gut microbial diversity and decreased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio in the cecal contents after long-term antibiotics treatment. The accumulated AAA (tyrosine, phenylalanine and tryptophan) and re-distribution of their downstreaming metabolites that produced under the existence of intestinal flora were found in mice treated with antibiotics for 4 months. Our results suggested that the long-term antibiotic treatment significantly changed the composition of the gut microbiota and destroyed the homeostasis in the intestinal metabolism. And the urinary AAA could be an indicator for exploring interactions between host and gut microbiota.     

High nitrogen inhibits photosynthetic performance in a shade-tolerant and N-sensitive species Panax notoginseng

Photosynthesis Research - Nitrogen (N) is a primary factor limiting leaf photosynthesis. However, the mechanism of high-N-driven inhibition on photosynthetic efficiency and photoprotection is still...     

Cytotoxic,clonal fidelity,and antioxidant evaluation of in vitro propagated Vitex negundo var. cannabifolia

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - Vitex negundo L. var. cannabifolia (Sieb. et Zucc.) Hand.-Mazz. is an important medicinal plant rich in bioactive compounds. In vitro tissue culture...     

Fertilization effects on microbial community composition and aggregate formation in saline‐alkaline soil

Plant and Soil - Soil was sampled (0–20 cm) from a 5-year Yellow River Delta paddy field experiment: no fertilizers (Control), mineral fertilizers (NPK), and NPK plus organic...     

GeSUT4 mediates sucrose import at the symbiotic interface for carbon allocation of heterotrophic Gastrodia elata (Orchidaceae)

Gastrodia elata, a fully mycoheterotrophic orchid without photosynthetic ability, only grows symbiotically with the fungus Armillaria. The mechanism of carbon distribution in this mycoheterotrophy is unknown. We detected high sucrose concentrations in all stages of Gastrodia tubers, suggesting sucrose may be the major sugar transported between fungus and orchid. Thick symplasm‐isolated wall interfaces in colonized and adjacent large cells implied involvement of sucrose importers. Two sucrose transporter (SUT)‐like genes, GeSUT4 and GeSUT3, were identified that were highly expressed in young Armillaria‐colonized tubers. Yeast complementation and isotope tracer experiments confirmed that GeSUT4 functioned as a high‐affinity sucrose‐specific proton‐dependent importer. Plasma‐membrane/tonoplast localization of GeSUT4‐GFP fusions and high RNA expression of GeSUT4 in symbiotic and large cells indicated that GeSUT4 likely functions in active sucrose transport for intercellular allocation and intracellular homeostasis. Transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing GeSUT4 had larger leaves but were sensitive to excess sucrose and roots were colonized with fewer mutualistic Bacillus, supporting the role of GeSUT4 in regulating sugar allocation. This is not only the first documented carbon import system in a mycoheterotrophic interaction but also highlights the evolutionary importance of sucrose transporters for regulation of carbon flow in all types of plant‐microbe interactions.