PubMed

FASEB J. 2023 Aug;37(8):e23086. doi: 10.1096/fj.202300395RRR.ABSTRACTCathepsin S (CTSS) is a widely expressed cysteinyl protease that has garnered attention because of its enzymatic and non-enzymatic functions under inflammatory and metabolic pathological conditions. Here, we examined whether CTSS participates in stress-related skeletal muscle mass loss and dysfunction, focusing on protein metabolic imbalance. Eight-week-old male wildtype (CTSS+/+ ) and CTSS-knockout (CTSS-/- ) mice were randomly assigned to non-stress and variable-stress groups for 2 weeks, and then processed for morphological and biochemical studies. Compared with non-stressed mice, stressed CTSS+/+ mice showed significant losses of muscle mass, muscle function, and muscle fiber area. In this setting, the stress-induced harmful changes in the levels of oxidative stress-related (gp91phox and p22phox ,), inflammation-related (SDF-1, CXCR4, IL-1β, TNF-α, MCP-1, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1), mitochondrial biogenesis-related (PPAR-γ and PGC-1α) genes and/or proteins and protein metabolism-related (p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-FoxO3α, MuRF-1, and MAFbx1) proteins; and these alterations were rectified by CTSS deletion. Metabolomic analysis revealed that stressed CTSS-/- mice exhibited a significant improvement in the levels of glutamine metabolism pathway products. Thus, these findings indicated that CTSS can control chronic stress-related skeletal muscle atrophy and dysfunction by modulating protein metabolic imbalance, and thus CTSS was suggested to be a promising new therapeutic target for chronic stress-related muscular diseases.PMID:37428652 | DOI:10.1096/fj.202300395RRR

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jul 10. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-28343-w. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn recent years, environmental pollutants such as pesticide residues have become one of the severe public problems that endanger the ecological environment and affect human health. The development of biotechnology to rapidly and efficiently degrade pesticides is essential to reduce their environmental risks. Azoxystrobin (AZ) is representative of the most widely used agricultural fungicide in the world. A large number of studies have shown that AZ has toxic effects on non-target organisms such as fish, algae, earthworms, etc., which may pose a potential threat to the environmental ecosystem. Therefore, it is particularly important to develop new AZ phytoremediation methods. Based on the constructed Arabidopsis UGT72E2 knockout (KO) and overexpression (OE) lines, this study found that overexpression of UGT72E2 in Arabidopsis can enhance resistance to exogenous AZ stress and maintain a relatively stable physiological state while enhancing the metabolic degradation of AZ. Correspondingly, knockout mutants showed the opposite results. The results showed that the AZ glycosylation and malonyl glycosylation products produced by UGT72E2 overexpression lines increased by 10%~20% compared with normal lines, and increased by 7%~47% compared with gene knockout plants, and exhibited lower phytotoxicity. In summary, our findings highlight the critical role of UGT72E2 overexpression in constructing new varieties of phytoremediation and may provide new ideas for reducing the indirect or direct risks of pesticides or other environmental pollutants to non-target organisms and improving biological and environmental resilience.PMID:37428316 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-023-28343-w

ACS Infect Dis. 2023 Jul 10. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00585. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIntra-household contacts (HCs) of leprosy patients are at increased risk of infection by Mycobacterium leprae and about ∼5-10% will develop active disease. A prognostic tool to identify HCs with the greatest risk of progressing to active disease would enhance early leprosy diagnosis and optimize prophylactic intervention. Previous metabolomics studies suggest that host lipid mediators derived from ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are potential biomarkers for leprosy. In this study, we investigated retrospective sera of leprosy HCs by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and enzyme-linked immunoassay to determine whether circulating levels of ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA metabolites were altered in HCs that developed leprosy (HCDL) in comparison to those that did not (HCNDL). Sera were collected from HCs at the time of index case diagnosis and before clinical signs/symptoms of leprosy. Our findings showed that HCDL sera exhibited a distinct metabolic profile in comparison to HCDNL. Specifically, arachidonic acid, leukotriene B4, 11-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, prostaglandin D2, and lipoxin A4 were elevated in HCDL. In contrast, prostaglandin E2 levels were reduced in HCDL. The ω-3 PUFAs, docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and the docosahexaenoic acid-derived resolvin D1 and maresin-1 were also elevated in HCDL individuals compared to HCNDL. Principal component analyses provided further evidence that lipid mediators could serve as an early biomarker for progression to active leprosy. A logistic model identified resolvin D1 and D2, and prostaglandin D2 as having the greatest potential for early detection of HCs that will manifest leprosy.PMID:37428112 | DOI:10.1021/acsinfecdis.2c00585

Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jul 10:e0059023. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.00590-23. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTChanges in diet and environment can lead to acute diarrhea in companion animals, but the composition and interactions of the gut microbiome during acute diarrhea remain unclear. In this multicenter case-control study, we investigated the relationship between intestinal flora and acute diarrhea in two breeds of cats. Acutely diarrheic American Shorthair (MD, n = 12) and British Shorthair (BD, n = 12) and healthy American Shorthair (MH, n = 12) and British Shorthair (BH, n = 12) cats were recruited. Gut microbial 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomic sequencing, and untargeted metabolomic analysis were performed. We observed significant differences in beta-diversity (Adonis, P < 0.05) across breeds and disease state cohorts. Profound differences in gut microbial structure and function were found between the two cat breeds. In comparison to healthy British Shorthair cats, Prevotella, Providencia, and Sutterella were enriched while Blautia, Peptoclostridium, and Tyzzerella were reduced in American Shorthair cats. In the case-control cohort, cats with acute diarrhea exhibited an increased abundance of Bacteroidota, Prevotella, and Prevotella copri and a decreased abundance of Bacilli, Erysipelotrichales, and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae (both MD and BD cats, P < 0.05). Metabolomic analysis identified significant changes in the BD intestine, affecting 45 metabolic pathways. Moreover, using a random forest classifier, we successfully predicted the occurrence of acute diarrhea with an area under the curve of 0.95. Our findings indicate a distinct gut microbiome profile that is associated with the presence of acute diarrhea in cats. However, further investigations using larger cohorts of cats with diverse conditions are required to validate and extend these findings. IMPORTANCE Acute diarrhea is common in cats, and our understanding of the gut microbiome variations across breeds and disease states remains unclear. We investigated the gut microbiome of two cat breeds (British Shorthair and American Shorthair) with acute diarrhea. Our study revealed significant effects of breeds and disease states on the structure and function of the gut microbiota in cats. These findings emphasize the need to consider breed-related factors in animal nutrition and research models. Additionally, we observed an altered gut metabolome in cats with acute diarrhea, closely linked to changes in bacterial genera. We identified a panel of microbial biomarkers with high diagnostic accuracy for feline acute diarrhea. These findings provide novel insights into the diagnosis, classification, and treatment of feline gastrointestinal diseases.PMID:37428087 | DOI:10.1128/spectrum.00590-23

Phytother Res. 2023 Jul 10. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7926. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCryptotanshinone (CPT), a major biological active ingredient extracted from root of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), has shown several pharmacological activities. However, the effect of CPT on radiation-induced lung fibrosis (RILF) is unknown. In this study, we explored the protective effects of CPT on RILF from gut-lung axis angle, specifically focusing on the bile acid (BA)-gut microbiota axis. We found that CPT could inhibit the process of epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and suppress inflammation to reduce the deposition of extracellular matrix in lung fibrosis in mice induced by radiation. In addition, 16S rDNA gene sequencing and BAs-targeted metabolomics analysis demonstrated that CPT could improve the dysbiosis of gut microbiota and BA metabolites in RILF mice. CPT significantly enriched the proportion of the beneficial genera Enterorhabdus and Akkermansia, and depleted that of Erysipelatoclostridium, which were correlated with increased intestinal levels of several farnesoid X receptor (FXR) natural agonists, such as deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid, activating the FXR pathway. Taken together, these results suggested that CPT can regulate radiation-induced disruption of gut microbiota and BAs metabolism of mice, and reduce the radiation-induced lung inflammation and fibrosis. Thus, CPT may be a promising drug candidate for treating RILF.PMID:37427974 | DOI:10.1002/ptr.7926

Biol Reprod. 2023 Jul 10:ioad074. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioad074. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSperm storage by females after mating for species-dependent periods is used widely among animals with internal fertilization to allow asynchrony between mating and ovulation. Many mammals store sperm in the lower oviduct where specific glycans on oviduct epithelial cells retain sperm to form a reservoir. Binding to oviduct cells suppresses sperm intracellular Ca2+ and increases sperm longevity. We investigated the mechanisms by which a specific oviduct glycan, 3-O-sulfated Lewis X trisaccharide (suLeX), prolongs the lifespan of porcine sperm. Using targeted metabolomics, we found that binding to suLeX diminishes the abundance of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, the precursor to ubiquinone (also known as Coenzyme Q), 30 min after addition. Ubiquinone functions as an electron acceptor in the electron transport chain (ETC). suLeX also suppressed the formation of fumarate. A component of the citric acid cycle, fumarate is synthesized by succinate-coenzyme Q reductase, which employs ubiquinone and is also known as Complex II in the electron transport chain. Consistent with the reduced activity of the electron transport chain, the production of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) was diminished. The enhanced sperm lifespan in the oviduct may be due to suppressed ROS production because high ROS concentrations have toxic effects on sperm.PMID:37427962 | DOI:10.1093/biolre/ioad074

Plant Physiol. 2023 Jul 10:kiad400. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiad400. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTWurfbainia longiligularis and Wurfbainia villosa are both rich in volatile terpenoids and are two primary plant sources of Fructus Amomi used for curing gastrointestinal diseases. Metabolomic profiling has demonstrated that bornyl diphosphate (BPP)-related terpenoids are more abundant in the W. villosa seeds and have a wider tissue distribution in W. longiligularis. To explore the genetic mechanisms underlying the volatile terpenoids divergence, a high-quality chromosome-level genome of W. longiligularis (2.29 Gb, contig N50 of 80.39 Mb) was assembled. Functional characterization of 17 terpene synthases (WlTPSs) revealed that WlBPPS, along with WlTPS 24/26/28 with bornyl diphosphate synthase (BPPS) activity, contribute to the wider tissue distribution of BPP-related terpenoids in W. longiligularis compared to W. villosa. Furthermore, transgenic Nicotiana tabacum showed that the GCN4-motif element positively regulates seed expression of WvBPPS and thus promotes the enrichment of BPP-related terpenoids in W. villosa seeds. Systematic identification and analysis of candidate TPS in 29 monocot plants from 16 families indicated that substantial expansion of TPS-a and TPS-b subfamily genes in Zingiberaceae may have driven increased diversity and production of volatile terpenoids. Evolutionary analysis and functional identification of BPPS genes showed that BPP-related terpenoids may be distributed only in the Zingiberaceae of monocot plants. This research provides valuable genomic resources for breeding and improving Fructus Amomi with medicinal and edible value and sheds light on the evolution of terpenoid biosynthesis in Zingiberaceae.PMID:37427874 | DOI:10.1093/plphys/kiad400

J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2023 Jul 10. doi: 10.1021/jasms.3c00171. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIsobaric tags typically leverage an a1 type fragmentation to produce constant mass reporter ions. While this motif allows for efficient reporter formation, isobaric tags lack structural diversity, which limits the number and type of isotopes that are synthetically available. Presented here are two examples of dual fragmentation isobaric tagging. The first example mimics the typical isobaric tag structure through trimethylamine neutral loss and cyclization. Subsequent fragmentation releases a constant mass reporter with high efficiency. This provides a route to create a variety of isobaric tags with regard to both the reporter and the balancer mass. The second example is a set of six-plex isobaric, thiol-reactive tags that produce constant mass reporters by a similar sequential fragmentation mechanism. A trimethylamine neutral loss allows for the incorporation of up to 13 total isotopes in the balancer region, while minimizing deuterium retention time shifts. A subsequent C-S bond cleavage produces a constant mass reporter in the low-mass region. The thiols investigated produced an average RSD of 14% and R2 of 0.98 when analyzed as a six-plex injection. Thiol metabolism was disrupted using the glutamyl-cysteine synthetase inhibitor buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). Endothelial cells were incubated with BSO and showed significant decreases in glutathione and cysteinyl-glycine compared to control. Overall, a new method to generate constant mass reporters using a dual fragmentation scheme is presented.PMID:37427806 | DOI:10.1021/jasms.3c00171

Plant Cell Environ. 2023 Jul 10. doi: 10.1111/pce.14664. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTHigh-temperature stress limits plant growth and reproduction. Exposure to high temperature, however, also elicits a physiological response, which protects plants from the damage evoked by heat. This response involves a partial reconfiguration of the metabolome including the accumulation of the trisaccharide raffinose. In this study, we explored the intraspecific variation of warm temperature-induced raffinose accumulation as a metabolic marker for temperature responsiveness with the aim to identify genes that contribute to thermotolerance. By combining raffinose measurements in 250 Arabidopsis thaliana accessions following a mild heat treatment with genome-wide association studies, we identified five genomic regions that were associated with the observed trait variation. Subsequent functional analyses confirmed a causal relationship between TREHALOSE-6-PHOSPHATE SYNTHASE 1 (TPS1) and warm temperature-dependent raffinose synthesis. Moreover, complementation of the tps1-1 null mutant with functionally distinct TPS1 isoforms differentially affected carbohydrate metabolism under more severe heat stress. While higher TPS1 activity was associated with reduced endogenous sucrose levels and thermotolerance, disruption of trehalose 6-phosphate signalling resulted in higher accumulation of transitory starch and sucrose and was associated with enhanced heat resistance. Taken together, our findings suggest a role of trehalose 6-phosphate in thermotolerance, most likely through its regulatory function in carbon partitioning and sucrose homoeostasis.PMID:37427798 | DOI:10.1111/pce.14664

J Pak Med Assoc. 2023 Jun;73(6):1349-1352. doi: 10.47391/JPMA.23-47.ABSTRACTInstitute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), organised a two day's conference on Biomedical Sciences. IBMS being the part of one of the largest public sector health universities of Pakistan, is now transforming the research trends to be effectively translated at the community level. Currently with a strong PhD faculty line in basic and clinical sciences, DUHS has a significant contribution in research output of the country. The scientific data however represents a small population per scientific study and the generalization of results may not be inferred. It must be extended through translational research for effectiveness. The conference was planned with a theme to bridge the gap between basic and translational research. The two day's conference conducted in second week of March 2023 at Dow International Medical College Ojha Campus DUHS was able to attract more than 300 participants. The scientific sessions encompassed a vast variety of health issues and their proposed solutions including neurosciences, virtual biopsies, metabolomics, medical writings and incorporation of engineering and artificial intelligence to facilitate detection and prognosis of disease. The conference was able to conclude that the multidisciplinary research studies with collaboration of two or more institutes/organizations are the need of time. Young researchers need an effective platform to showcase their research and make collaborations. Moreover, the incorporation of artificial intelligence would enhance patient care within health systems.PMID:37427652 | DOI:10.47391/JPMA.23-47

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Jun 23;11:1164757. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1164757. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTThe non-invasive and rapid assessment of the developmental potential of embryos is of great clinical importance in assisted reproductive technology (ART). In this retrospective study, we analyzed the metabolomics of 107 samples provided by volunteers and utilized Raman spectroscopy to detect the substance composition in the discarded culture medium of 53 embryos resulting in successful pregnancies and 54 embryos that did not result in pregnancy after implantation. The culture medium from D3 cleavage-stage embryos was collected after transplantation and a total of 535 (107 × 5) original Raman spectra were obtained. By combining several machine learning methods, we predicted the developmental potential of embryos, and the principal component analysis-convolutional neural network (PCA-CNN) model achieved an accuracy rate of 71.5%. Furthermore, the chemometric algorithm was used to analyze seven amino acid metabolites in the culture medium, and the data showed significant differences in tyrosine, tryptophan, and serine between the pregnancy and non-pregnancy groups. The results suggest that Raman spectroscopy, as a non-invasive and rapid molecular fingerprint detection technology, shows potential for clinical application in assisted reproduction.PMID:37427383 | PMC:PMC10326628 | DOI:10.3389/fcell.2023.1164757

Front Oncol. 2023 Jun 22;13:1184786. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1184786. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: Xiaoai Jiedu recipe (XJR), a classical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been clinically proven to be effective in ameliorating colorectal cancer (CRC). However, its exact mechanism of action is still elusive, limiting its clinical application and promotion to a certain extent. This study aims to evaluate the effect of XJR on CRC and further illustrate mechanism underlying its action.METHODS: We investigated the anti-tumor efficacy of XJR in vitro and vivo experiments. An integrated 16S rRNA gene sequencing and UPLC-MS based metabolomics approach were performed to explore possible mechanism of XJR anti-CRC on the gut microbiota and serum metabolic profiles. The correlation between altered gut microbiota and disturbed serum metabolites was investigated using Pearson's correlation analysis.RESULTS: XJR effectively displayed anti-CRC effect both in vitro and in vivo. The abundance of aggressive bacteria such as Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides, and Prevotellaceae decreased, while the levels of beneficial bacteria increased (Firmicutes, Roseburia, and Actinobacteria). Metabolomics analysis identified 12 potential metabolic pathways and 50 serum metabolites with different abundances possibly affected by XJR. Correlation analysis showed that the relative abundance of aggressive bacteria was positively correlated with the levels of Arachidonic acid, Adrenic acid, 15(S)-HpETE, DL-Arginine, and Lysopc 18:2, which was different from the beneficial bacteria.DISCUSSION: The regulation of gut microbiota and related metabolites may be potential breakthrough point to elucidate the mechanism of XJR in the treatment of the CRC. The strategy employed would provide theoretical basis for clinical application of TCM.PMID:37427121 | PMC:PMC10325652 | DOI:10.3389/fonc.2023.1184786

Transl Pediatr. 2023 Jun 30;12(6):1192-1203. doi: 10.21037/tp-23-199. Epub 2023 Jun 28.ABSTRACTBACKGROUND: Viral pneumonia in children is common and has grave consequences. The study aims to better understand the pathophysiological processes involved in the onset and progression of viral pneumonia and identify common effects or biomarkers across different viruses.METHODS: This study collected urine samples from 96 patients with viral pneumonia including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (n=30), influenza virus (IV) (n=23), parainfluenza virus (PIV) (n=24), and adenovirus (ADV) (n=19), and 31 age- and sex-matched normal control (NC) subjects. The samples were analyzed using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to identify endogenous substances. The XCMS Online platform was utilized for data processing and analysis , including feature detection, retention time correction, alignment, annotation, and statistical analysis for difference between groups and biomarker identification.RESULTS: A total of 948 typical metabolites were identified using the XCMS Online platform with the Mummichog technique. After analyzing the data, 24 metabolites were selected as potential biomarkers for viral pneumonia, of which 16 were aspartate and asparagine metabolites, byproducts of alanine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation, and butanoate metabolites.CONCLUSIONS: This study specific metabolites and altered pathways in children with viral pneumonia and propose that these findings could contribute to the discovery of new treatments and the development of antiviral drugs.PMID:37427067 | PMC:PMC10326753 | DOI:10.21037/tp-23-199

Hortic Res. 2023 May 19;10(6):uhad099. doi: 10.1093/hr/uhad099. eCollection 2023 Jun.ABSTRACTThe dwarfing rootstocks-mediated high-density apple orchard is becoming the main practice management. Currently, dwarfing rootstocks are widely used worldwide, but their shallow root system and drought sensitivity necessitate high irrigation requirements. Here, the root transcriptome and metabolome of dwarfing (M9-T337, a drought-sensitive rootstock) and vigorous rootstocks (Malus sieversii, a drought-tolerant species, is commonly used as a rootstock) showed that a coumarin derivative, 4-Methylumbelliferon (4-MU), was found to accumulate significantly in the roots of vigorous rootstock under drought condition. When exogenous 4-MU was applied to the roots of dwarfing rootstock under drought treatment, the plants displayed increased root biomass, higher root-to-shoot ratio, greater photosynthesis, and elevated water use efficiency. In addition, diversity and structure analysis of the rhizosphere soil microbial community demonstrated that 4-MU treatment increased the relative abundance of putatively beneficial bacteria and fungi. Of these, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Streptomyces, and Chryseolinea bacterial strains and Acremonium, Trichoderma, and Phoma fungal strains known for root growth, or systemic resistance against drought stress, were significantly accumulated in the roots of dwarfing rootstock after 4-MU treatment under drought stress condition. Taken together, we identified a promising compound-4-MU, as a useful tool, to strengthen the drought tolerance of apple dwarfing rootstock.PMID:37427035 | PMC:PMC10327542 | DOI:10.1093/hr/uhad099

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jun 22;14:1235466. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1235466. eCollection 2023.NO ABSTRACTPMID:37426989 | PMC:PMC10325649 | DOI:10.3389/fpls.2023.1235466

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jun 20;14:1213257. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1213257. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTINTRODUCTION: The brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stål, BPH) is one of the most economically significant pests of rice. The Bph30 gene has been successfully cloned and conferred rice with broad-spectrum resistance to BPH. However, the molecular mechanisms by which Bph30 enhances resistance to BPH remain poorly understood.METHODS: Here, we conducted a transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of Bph30-transgenic (BPH30T) and BPH-susceptible Nipponbare plants to elucidate the response of Bph30 to BPH infestation.RESULTS: Transcriptomic analyses revealed that the pathway of plant hormone signal transduction enriched exclusively in Nipponbare, and the greatest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were involved in indole 3-acetic acid (IAA) signal transduction. Analysis of differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) revealed that DAMs involved in the amino acids and derivatives category were down-regulated in BPH30T plants following BPH feeding, and the great majority of DAMs in flavonoids category displayed the trend of increasing in BPH30T plants; the opposite pattern was observed in Nipponbare plants. Combined transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis revealed that the pathways of amino acids biosynthesis, plant hormone signal transduction, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis were enriched. The content of IAA significantly decreased in BPH30T plants following BPH feeding, and the content of IAA remained unchanged in Nipponbare. The exogenous application of IAA weakened the BPH resistance conferred by Bph30.DISCUSSION: Our results indicated that Bph30 might coordinate the movement of primary and secondary metabolites and hormones in plants via the shikimate pathway to enhance the resistance of rice to BPH. Our results have important reference significance for the resistance mechanisms analysis and the efficient utilization of major BPH-resistance genes.PMID:37426975 | PMC:PMC10327896 | DOI:10.3389/fpls.2023.1213257

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jun 23;14:1147390. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1147390. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTThe global population growth has led to a higher demand for food production, necessitating improvements in agricultural productivity. However, abiotic and biotic stresses pose significant challenges, reducing crop yields and impacting economic and social welfare. Drought, in particular, severely constrains agriculture, resulting in unproductive soil, reduced farmland, and jeopardized food security. Recently, the role of cyanobacteria from soil biocrusts in rehabilitating degraded land has gained attention due to their ability to enhance soil fertility and prevent erosion. The present study focused on Nostoc calcicola BOT1, an aquatic, diazotrophic cyanobacterial strain collected from an agricultural field at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. The aim was to investigate the effects of different dehydration treatments, specifically air drying (AD) and desiccator drying (DD) at various time intervals, on the physicochemical properties of N. calcicola BOT1. The impact of dehydration was assessed by analyzing the photosynthetic efficiency, pigments, biomolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, osmoprotectants), stress biomarkers, and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Furthermore, an analysis of the metabolic profiles of 96-hour DD and control mats was conducted using UHPLC-HRMS. Notably, there was a significant decrease in amino acid levels, while phenolic content, fatty acids, and lipids increased. These changes in metabolic activity during dehydration highlighted the presence of metabolite pools that contribute to the physiological and biochemical adjustments of N. calcicola BOT1, mitigating the impact of dehydration to some extent. Overall, present study demonstrated the accumulation of biochemical and non-enzymatic antioxidants in dehydrated mats, which could be utilized to stabilize unfavorable environmental conditions. Additionally, the strain N. calcicola BOT1 holds promise as a biofertilizer for semi-arid regions.PMID:37426961 | PMC:PMC10327440 | DOI:10.3389/fpls.2023.1147390

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Jun 22;14:1200253. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1200253. eCollection 2023.ABSTRACTIndustrial chicory (Cichorium intybus var. sativum) and witloof (C. intybus var. foliosum) are crops with an important economic value, mainly cultivated for inulin production and as a leafy vegetable, respectively. Both crops are rich in nutritionally relevant specialized metabolites with beneficial effects for human health. However, their bitter taste, caused by the sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) produced in leaves and taproot, limits wider applications in the food industry. Changing the bitterness would thus create new opportunities with a great economic impact. Known genes encoding enzymes involved in the SL biosynthetic pathway are GERMACRENE A SYNTHASE (GAS), GERMACRENE A OXIDASE (GAO), COSTUNOLIDE SYNTHASE (COS) and KAUNIOLIDE SYNTHASE (KLS). In this study, we integrated genome and transcriptome mining to further unravel SL biosynthesis. We found that C. intybus SL biosynthesis is controlled by the phytohormone methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Gene family annotation and MeJA inducibility enabled the pinpointing of candidate genes related with the SL biosynthetic pathway. We specifically focused on members of subclade CYP71 of the cytochrome P450 family. We verified the biochemical activity of 14 C. intybus CYP71 enzymes transiently produced in Nicotiana benthamiana and identified several functional paralogs for each of the GAO, COS and KLS genes, pointing to redundancy in and robustness of the SL biosynthetic pathway. Gene functionality was further analyzed using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in C. intybus. Metabolite profiling of mutant C. intybus lines demonstrated a successful reduction in SL metabolite production. Together, this study increases our insights into the C. intybus SL biosynthetic pathway and paves the way for the engineering of C. intybus bitterness.PMID:37426959 | PMC:PMC10324620 | DOI:10.3389/fpls.2023.1200253

Hortic Res. 2023 May 12;10(7):uhad098. doi: 10.1093/hr/uhad098. eCollection 2023 Jun.ABSTRACTLight quality and intensity can have a significant impact on plant health and crop productivity. Chlorophylls and carotenoids are classes of plant pigments that are responsible for harvesting light energy and protecting plants from the damaging effects of intense light. Our understanding of the role played by plant pigments in light sensitivity has been aided by light-sensitive mutants that change colors upon exposure to light of variable intensity. In this study, we conducted transcriptomic, metabolomic, and hormone analyses on a novel yellowing mutant of pepper (yl1) to shed light on the molecular mechanism that regulates the transition from green to yellow leaves in this mutant upon exposure to high-intensity light. Our results revealed greater accumulation of the carotenoid precursor phytoene and the carotenoids phytofluene, antheraxanthin, and zeaxanthin in yl1 compared with wild-type plants under high light intensity. A transcriptomic analysis confirmed that enzymes involved in zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin biosynthesis were upregulated in yl1 upon exposure to high-intensity light. We also identified a single basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, bHLH71-like, that was differentially expressed and positively correlated with light intensity in yl1. Silencing of bHLH71-like in pepper plants suppressed the yellowing phenotype and led to reduced accumulation of zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin. We propose that the yellow phenotype of yl1 induced by high light intensity could be caused by an increase in yellow carotenoid pigments, concurrent with a decrease in chlorophyll accumulation. Our results also suggest that bHLH71-like functions as a positive regulator of carotenoid biosynthesis in pepper.PMID:37426880 | PMC:PMC10323627 | DOI:10.1093/hr/uhad098

Heliyon. 2023 Jun 14;9(6):e17305. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17305. eCollection 2023 Jun.ABSTRACTIn this study, four kinds of Longjing tea, the famous flat green tea and the protected geographical indication product in China, were used to explore the quality difference of the same green tea due to the cultivar, geographic origin, and storage time under the premise of consistent picking conditions and processing technology using the widely targeted metabolomics. Results showed that 483 flavonoid metabolites with 10 subgroups of flavonoids were screened and 118 differential flavonoid metabolites were identified. The number and subgroups of differential flavonoid metabolites produced by different cultivars of Longjing tea were the largest, followed by storage time, and third by the geographic origin. Glycosidification and methylation or methoxylation were the main structural modifications of differential flavonoid metabolites. This study has enriched the understanding of the effects of the cultivar, the geographic origin, and the storage time on the flavonoid metabolic profiles of Longjing tea, and provided worthy information for the traceability of green tea.PMID:37426805 | PMC:PMC10329133 | DOI:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17305