Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alasteir Ong, Mark R. O'Brian
Summary: In Bradyrhizobium japonicum, iron uptake involves selective outer membrane proteins and non-selective periplasmic and cytoplasmic membrane components. FsrB is identified as an iron-regulated gene required for growth on catecholate- and hydroxymate-type siderophores. The activity of FsrB occurs in the periplasm and is involved in the reduction and dissociation of iron from the siderophore.
MOLECULAR MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Siva Sankari, Vignesh M. P. Babu, Ke Bian, Areej Alhhazmi, Mary C. Andorfer, Dante M. Avalos, Tyler A. Smith, Kwan Yoon, Catherine L. Drennan, Michael B. Yaffe, Sebastian Lourido, Graham C. Walker
Summary: Symbiotic partnership with rhizobial bacteria allows legumes to grow without nitrogen fertilizer. Legumes produce peptides that bind haem to reduce its availability, inducing iron-starvation response in rhizobia, which is required for nitrogenase activity.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Jie Zhu, Xin Jiang, Dawei Guan, Yaowei Kang, Li Li, Fengming Cao, Baisuo Zhao, Mingchao Ma, Ji Zhao, Jun Li
Summary: This study revealed differential gene expression of Bradyrhizobium japonicum 5038 under water-deplete and subsequent water-replete conditions. The analysis showed that genes related to signaling transduction, inorganic ion transport, energy production, and metabolism were up-regulated under 10% RH, while genes involved in transcription, translation, cell membrane regulation, replication and repair, and protein processing were highly up-regulated during the subsequent rehydration process. Interestingly, most of the genes induced by 10% RH were rehydration-repressed, except for three genes encoding heat shock proteins (Hsp20).
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Qingli Song, Lishan Zhang, Guibin Wang, Huanhuan Song, Shuangziying Zhang, Jindong Yao, Xiangmin Lin
Summary: This study used quantitative proteomics to compare differentially expressed proteins between the delta ahcirA and wild-type strains of Aeromonas hydrophila. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the expression of peptide, histidine, and arginine ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter system-related proteins was significantly higher in the delta ahcirA strain. Further experiments revealed that delta ahcirA grew slower than the wild-type strain in nutrient-limited medium supplemented with dipeptide, histidine, and arginine. Far-western blot analysis confirmed that AhCirA can directly bind to histidine/arginine and dipeptide small-molecule substrates. These findings suggest that AhCirA plays a role in amino acid and peptide uptake as a channel-forming porin and interacts with ABC transporters to transport nutrient substances.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Jie Jiang, Junhui Li, Yu Zhang, Chen Zhou, Chen Guo, Zhaoqin Zhou, Yingzi Ming
Summary: The soluble egg antigen (SEA) of Schistosoma japonicum has been found to suppress rejection and prolong the survival of skin grafts in mouse transplantation models. It achieves this by regulating immune responses, specifically affecting the cellular response to interferon-gamma, IL-17 signaling, chemokine signaling pathways, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. These findings suggest that SEA treatment could be a potential new therapeutic strategy for anti-rejection therapy and inducing tolerance.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Zhao Li, Yu Chi, Xianyan Su, Zhenghe Ye, Xuexiang Ren
Summary: In this study, soaking maize seeds in Bradyrhizobium japonicum significantly increased the roots, stalks, and fresh weight of maize. Transcriptome sequencing results showed that multiple growth and development-related genes were highly up-regulated in the whole maize plant soaked in B. japonicum. Moreover, the abundance of plant growth promoting bacteria increased while the abundance of multiple pathogens decreased. Inoculation with B. japonicum also inhibited the infection of the pathogen Fusarium graminearum in maize. These findings suggest that soaking seeds in B. japonicum can affect the expression of maize growth and development-related genes through changing the soil microorganism community structure, providing new opportunities for food security.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Manon Watzky, Solene Huard, Ludmila Juricek, Julien Dairou, Caroline Chauvet, Xavier Coumoul, Anne Letessier, Benoit Miotto
Summary: This study reveals that the metabolic enzyme HK2, which fuels cancer cell growth, is a transcriptional target and modulator of AHR. In addition, high HK2 expression and low AHR methylation in tumors are associated with a worse overall survival in patients.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Martin K. Bakht, Yasutaka Yamada, Sheng-Yu Ku, Varadha Balaji Venkadakrishnan, Joshua A. Korsen, Teja M. Kalidindi, Kei Mizuno, Shin Hye Ahn, Ji-Heui Seo, Maria Mica Garcia, Francesca Khani, Olivier Elemento, Henry W. W. Long, Alain Chaglassian, Nagavarakishore Pillarsetty, Jason S. Lewis, Matthew Freedman, Anthony P. Belanger, Quang-De Nguyen, Himisha Beltran
Summary: Beltran and colleagues explore the regulatory roles of HOXB13 and AR in the heterogeneous expression of PSMA in castration-resistant prostate cancer. They found that PSMA expression is lost in a subset of CRPC patients and is influenced by the microenvironment. The study also identifies HOXB13 as an upstream regulator of PSMA, independent of AR expression. These findings provide insights for the development of PSMA-targeted therapies and complementary biomarkers.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Vitoria Fernanda Bertolazzi Zocca, Graciely Gomes Correa, Milca Rachel da Costa Ribeiro Lins, Victor Nunes de Jesus, Leonardo Ferro Tavares, Laura Araujo da Silva Amorim, Guilherme Engelberto Kundlatsch, Danielle Biscaro Pedrolli
Summary: CRISPR technology has revolutionized genome engineering through the development of a wide range of tools for editing genomes and controlling gene expression. Various tools have been successfully developed for point mutation, gene insertion, and gene deletion.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Grace Orstad, Gabriela Fort, Timothy J. Parnell, Alex Jones, Chris Stubben, Brian Lohman, Katherine L. Gillis, Walter Orellana, Rushmeen Tariq, Olaf Klingbeil, Klaus Kaestner, Christopher R. Vakoc, Benjamin T. Spike, Eric L. Snyder
Summary: Changes in cellular identity can drive malignant progression and resistance to therapy in lung adenocarcinoma. Loss of FoxA1/2 impairs tumorigenesis in NKX2-1-positive LUAD and leads to collapse of a dual-identity state, driving alternative cellular identity programs associated with non-proliferative states.
DEVELOPMENTAL CELL
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jannik Hornbergs, Karolin Montag, Jennifer Loschwitz, Inga Mohr, Gereon Poschmann, Anika Schnake, Regina Gratz, Tzvetina Brumbarova, Monique Eutebach, Kalina Angrand, Claudia Fink-Straube, Kai Stuehler, Juergen Zeier, Laura Hartmann, Birgit Strodel, Rumen Ivanov, Petra Bauer
Summary: This study reveals a significant connection between vitamin E, metal ion transport, and antioxidant activities in response to iron in root cells.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Beibei Zhang, Jing Li, Xianlong Zong, Jianling Wang, Lianlian Xin, Haiyao Song, Wenxue Zhang, Stephane Koda, Hui Hua, Bo Zhang, Qian Yu, Kui-Yang Zheng, Chao Yan
Summary: This study found that hepatocyte-specific FXR deficiency aggravates liver damage caused by S. japonicum infection by disrupting bile acid homeostasis and inhibiting autophagy.
PLOS NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jialin Liu, Rebecca R. Viales, Pierre Khoueiry, James P. Reddington, Charles Girardot, Eileen E. M. Furlong, Marc Robinson-Rechavi
Summary: Inter-species comparisons reveal an hourglass expression pattern during embryogenesis, with a higher proportion of conserved enhancers at the phylotypic period. Positive selection is detected on developmental enhancers at early and late stages, with a depletion at the phylotypic period, suggesting positive selection as an evolutionary mechanism underlying the hourglass pattern of animal evolution.
Article
Plant Sciences
Wenjing Tao, Jianxin Bian, Minqiang Tang, Yan Zeng, Ruihan Luo, Qinglin Ke, Tingting Li, Yihan Li, Licao Cui
Summary: Our study comprehensively analyzed the evolutionary, structural, and functional divergence between positively selected genes (PSGs) and negatively selected genes (NSGs) in cultivated barley. We found that PSGs evolved more rapidly with fewer exons and lower GC content. They were also shorter in length and had lower expression levels and tissue specificity, as well as weaker codon usage bias, compared to NSGs. Nucleotide diversity analysis revealed a severe genetic bottleneck for PSGs. Several candidate PSGs involved in plant growth and development were identified, providing potential targets for molecular breeding of barley.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Daniel Osorio, James J. Cai
Summary: The study found that the average mtDNA% in human scRNA-seq data is significantly higher than in mouse tissues. While the 5% threshold performs well for distinguishing between healthy and low-quality cells in mouse tissues, it may not be accurate for human tissues. Omitting or using a suboptimal mtDNA% threshold in scRNA-seq data analysis could lead to erroneous biological interpretations.