The production of cereal crops is frequently affected by diseases caused by Fusarium graminearum and Magnaporthe oryzae, two devastating fungal pathogens. To improve crop resistance, many studies ...have focused on understanding the mechanisms of host defense against these two fungi individually. However, our knowledge of the common and different host defenses against these pathogens is very limited. In this study, we employed Brachypodium distachyon as a model for cereal crops and performed comparative transcriptomics to study the dynamics of host gene expression at different infection stages. We found that infection with either F. graminearum or M. oryzae triggered massive transcriptomic reprogramming in the diseased tissues. Numerous defense-related genes were induced with dynamic changes during the time course of infection, including genes that function in pattern detection, MAPK cascade, phytohormone signaling, transcription, protein degradation, and secondary metabolism. In particular, the expression of jasmonic acid signaling genes and proteasome component genes were likely specifically inhibited or manipulated upon infection by F. graminearum. Our analysis showed that, although the affected host pathways are similar, their expression programs and regulations are distinct during infection by F. graminearum and M. oryzae. The results provide valuable insight into the interactions between B. distachyon and two important cereal pathogens.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Cholesterol gallstone disease is a worldwide common disease. Cholesterol supersaturation in gallbladder bile is the prerequisite for its pathogenesis, while the mechanism is not completely ...understood. In this study, we find enrichment of gut microbiota (especially Desulfovibrionales) in patients with gallstone disease. Fecal transplantation of gut microbiota from gallstone patients to gallstone-resistant strain of mice can induce gallstone formation. Carrying Desulfovibrionales is associated with enhanced cecal secondary bile acids production and increase of bile acid hydrophobicity facilitating intestinal cholesterol absorption. Meanwhile, the metabolic product of Desulfovibrionales, H
S increase and is shown to induce hepatic FXR and inhibit CYP7A1 expression. Mice carrying Desulfovibrionales present induction of hepatic expression of cholesterol transporters Abcg5/g8 to promote biliary secretion of cholesterol as well. Our study demonstrates the role of gut microbiota, Desulfovibrionales, as an environmental regulator contributing to gallstone formation through its influence on bile acid and cholesterol metabolism.
Significant differences in the adoption of energy-saving measures between homeowners and renters were found in the survey data of 1,248 households from the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. In this ...study, we examined the influence of split incentive effects between homeowners and renters, which stem from differences between those who pay and those who enjoy the benefits of the adoption of energy-efficient (EE) technology and energy-saving behaviors. Average marginal effects were used to measure the magnitude of the “split incentive” effect by considering many EE technologies and energy-saving behaviors. Both split incentive effects were measured and compared for the first time, producing some interesting results. There is clear evidence of split incentive problems for both measures, and on average, homeowners were found to be16.08% more likely than renters to have access to adoptable EE technologies, while the effects were much smaller (only 4.28%) for adopting behavioral measures. The results were highly robust for household characteristics and specific psychological determinants, such as willingness-to-pay and environmental beliefs. Policy implications are provided to address the split incentive problems in rental markets in household sectors, based on our results.
•Split incentive effects for household energy-saving measures are examined.•A survey of 1,248 households in Western Europe was carried out.•The differences between technical and behavioral measures were identified together.•There is clear evidence of principal-agent problems for both measures.•Homeowners are 16.08% more likely than renters to adopt energy efficiency measures.
In addition to rotavirus and norovirus, human adenovirus (HAdV) and classic human astrovirus (classic HAstV) are important pathogens of acute diarrhea in infants and young children. Here, we present ...the molecular epidemiology of HAdV and classic HAstV in children with acute diarrhea in Shanghai. Fecal specimens were collected from 804 outpatient infants and young children diagnosed with acute diarrhea in Shanghai from January 2017 to December 2018. All of the samples were screened for the presence of HAdV and classic HAstV. HAdV and classic HAstV were detected using traditional PCR and reverse-transcription PCR, respectively. All of the HAdV and classic HAstV positive samples were genotyped by phylogenetic analysis. Among the 804 fecal samples, 8.58% (69/804) of samples were infected with either HAdV or classic HAstV, and five were co-infected with two diarrhea viruses. The overall detection rates of HAdV and classic HAstV were 3.47% (28/804) and 5.22% (42/804), respectively. Four subgroups (A, B, C, and F) and seven genotypes (HAdV-C1, -C2, -B3, -C5, -A31, -F40, and -F41) of HAdV were detected. Subgroup F had the highest constituent ratio at 64.29% (18/28), followed by non-enteric HAdV of subgroup C (21.43%, 6/28) and subgroup B 10.71% (3/28). HAdV-F41 (60.71%, 17/28) was the dominant genotype, followed by HAdV-C2 (14.29%, 4/28) and HAdV-B3 (10.71%, 3/28). Two genotypes of classic HAstV (HAstV-1 and HAstV-5) were identified in 42 samples during the study period; HAstV-1 (95.24%, 40/42) was the predominant genotype, and the other two strains were genotyped as HAstV-5. No significant differences were found between boys and girls in the detection rates of HAdV (P = 0.604) and classic HAstV (P = 0.275). Over half of the HAdV infections (82.14%, 23/28) and classic HAstV infections (66.67%, 28/42) occurred in children less than 36 months. Seasonal preferences of HAdV and classic HAstV infections were summer and winter, respectively. In this study, the common clinical symptoms of children with acute diarrhea were diarrhea, vomiting, fever and abdominal pain. Our findings indicate that HAdV and classic HAstV play important roles in the pathogenesis of acute diarrhea in children in Shanghai. Systematic and long-term surveillance of HAdV and classic HAstV are needed to monitor their prevalence in children and prevent major outbreak.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this work, we propose a novel framework to address the formation control problem for a class of multirobot systems with two types of constraints, namely the performance constraints and the ...feasibility constraints. For the performance constraints, we consider the constraint requirements on the distance tracking errors between the real and the desired trajectories for each robot, so that to ensure precise tracking of the robot without deviating too much from its desired trajectory, as well as the constraints on the interrobot distance, so that to ensure the safe operation of the team. For the feasibility constraints, we consider the constraints on the heading angle, so that the controllers designed in the brief are feasible. Universal barrier functions are adopted in the controller design and analysis, which is a generic framework that can address systems with different types of constraints in a unified controller architecture. Through rigorous analysis, exponential convergence rate can be guaranteed on the distance tracking errors, while all constraints are satisfied during the operation. A simulation example and an experiment using three AmigoBot mobile robots further demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control framework.
Rice false smut caused by Ustilaginoidea virens is one of the most important diseases of rice worldwide. Although its genome has been sequenced, to date there is no report on targeted gene deletion ...in U. virens and no molecular studies on genetic mechanisms regulating the infection processes of this destructive pathogen. In this study, we attempted to generate knockout mutants of the ortholog of yeast HOG1 MAP kinase gene in U. virens. One Uvhog1 deletion mutant was identified after screening over 600 hygromycin-resistant transformants generated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation. The Uvhog1 mutant was reduced in growth rate and conidiation but had increased sensitivities to SDS, Congo red, and hyperosmotic stress. Deletion of UvHOG1 resulted in reduced expression of the stress response-related genes UvATF1 and UvSKN7. In the Uvhog1 mutant, NaCl treatment failed to stimulate the accumulation of sorbitol and glycerol. In addition, the Uvhog1 mutant had reduced toxicity on shoot growth in rice seed germination assays. Overall, as the first report of targeted gene deletion mutant in U. virens, our results showed that UvHOG1 likely has conserved roles in regulating stress responses, hyphal growth, and possibly secondary metabolism.
In this study, we investigate the driving forces behind the changes in residential energy consumption (REC) in China’s urban and rural areas over the 2001–2012 period. Based on the logarithmic mean ...Divisia index method, the REC changes are decomposed into seven driving forces, which are climate change, energy price, energy expenditure mix, energy cost share (in total expenditure), expenditure share (in income), per capita income and population effects. According to the results, climate effect due to increasing days with abnormal temperature, energy cost share effect characterized by more expenditure to be paid for energy use, income effect describing constant income growth in the residential sector definitely increase REC in both urban and rural areas. In contrast, energy prices and energy expenditure mix effects negatively contribute to the REC increase, respectively because of the increase in energy prices and the transition from the low-priced energy to high-priced energy. Expenditure share and population effects play opposite roles in urban and rural areas, and the reasons and implications are analysed in depth.
•We investigate driving factors behind urban and rural REC changes in China.•Contribution from climate change effect to REC changes is first measured.•Climate, energy cost share and income effects obviously increase REC in both areas.•Energy prices and energy expenditure mix effects decrease the REC.•Expenditure share and population effects show heterogeneity in both areas.
The presence of estrogens residues in dairy products is a growing concern due to their potential health risk. Herein, in this study, we have developed a membrane-protected magnetic solid-phase ...extraction (MP-MSPE) method that utilized a magnetic adsorbent (Fe
O
@COF-LZU1) with in-situ growth for the efficient extraction of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). When combined with HPLC-FLD, this method allows for the efficient detection of estrogens in dairy products. The stability of the MP-MSPE was improved by the presence of a dialysis membrane, which remained a high extraction efficiency (90 %) even after ten reuse cycles. The hydrogen bonding, π-π interactions and pore size effect contribute to the excellent adsorption of three estrogens onto Fe
O
@COF-LZU1. Under optimal conditions, the method exhibits a low detection limit (0.01-0.15 μg L
), wide linear range (0.1-800 μg L
), and favorable recoveries (77.3 %-109.4 %) at three concentration levels (10, 50 and 100 μg L
). This proposed method is characterized by its simplicity, high efficiency and eco-friendliness, making it a promising approach for extracting estrogens from dairy products.
SUMOylation is an important part of post-translational protein modifications and regulates thousands of proteins in a dynamic manner. The dysregulation of SUMOylation is detected in many cancers. ...However, the comprehensive role of SUMOylation in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. Using 174 SUMOylation-related genes (SRGs) from the MigDSB database and the transcript data of PCa from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), we constructed a SUMOylation-related risk score and correlated it with prognosis, tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor microenvironment (TME) infiltration, and response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Moreover, we validated two vital SRGs by RT-qPCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Two vital SRGs (DNMT3B and NUP210) were finally selected. The risk score based on these genes exhibited excellent predictive efficacy in predicting the biochemical recurrence (BCR) of PCa. A nomogram involving the risk score and T stage was established to further explore the clinical value of the risk score. We found the high-score group was correlated with worse prognosis, higher TMB, a more suppressive immune microenvironment, and a better response to Docetaxel but worse to PD-1/CTLA-4 blockade. Meanwhile, we validated the significantly higher expression level of NUP210 in PCa at mRNA and protein levels. This study elucidated the comprehensive role of SUMOylation-related genes in PCa. Importantly, we highlighted the role of an important SRG, NUP210, in PCa, which might be a promising target in PCa treatment. A better understanding of SUMOylation and utilizing the SUMOylation risk score could aid in precision medicine and improve the prognosis of PCa.
Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are a common cause of familial and sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD). Elevated LRRK2 kinase activity and neurodegeneration are linked, but the ...phosphosubstrate that connects LRRK2 kinase activity to neurodegeneration is not known. Here, we show that ribosomal protein s15 is a key pathogenic LRRK2 substrate in Drosophila and human neuron PD models. Phosphodeficient s15 carrying a threonine 136 to alanine substitution rescues dopamine neuron degeneration and age-related locomotor deficits in G2019S LRRK2 transgenic Drosophila and substantially reduces G2019S LRRK2-mediated neurite loss and cell death in human dopamine and cortical neurons. Remarkably, pathogenic LRRK2 stimulates both cap-dependent and cap-independent mRNA translation and induces a bulk increase in protein synthesis in Drosophila, which can be prevented by phosphodeficient T136A s15. These results reveal a novel mechanism of PD pathogenesis linked to elevated LRRK2 kinase activity and aberrant protein synthesis in vivo.
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