Review
Chemistry, Medicinal
Salome Goncalves-Monteiro, Rita Ribeiro-Oliveira, Maria Sofia Vieira-Rocha, Martin Vojtek, Joana B. Sousa, Carmen Diniz
Summary: GPCRs are a large protein superfamily with multiple classes, capable of triggering signaling pathways within cells similar to their counterparts on the cell surface. Nuclear GPCRs play important roles in physiological and disease processes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yanan Yang, Yuanfeng Xu, Peng Zhang, Zhaoxia Cui, Chenchang Bao
Summary: The CHH superfamily neuropeptides, which include CHH, MIH, VIH/GIH, and MOIH, are involved in various biological activities such as metabolism, molting, reproduction, and osmotic regulation. The discovery of ITP in insects expanded the members of CHHs.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Jasper R. L. Depotter, Fabian van Beveren, Luis Rodriguez-Moreno, H. Martin Kramer, Edgar A. Chavarro Carrero, Gabriel L. Fiorin, Grardy C. M. van den Berg, Thomas A. Wood, Bart P. H. J. Thomma, Michael F. Seidl
Summary: Hybridization is an important evolutionary mechanism that enables organisms to adapt to environmental challenges. The study on V. longisporum revealed extensive chromosomal rearrangements, haploidization, and relaxed gene evolution in hybrids, as well as subgenome-specific responses in gene expression. This demonstrates the genomic and transcriptomic plasticity of the fungal hybrid during evolution and its adaptive potential.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Edin Muratspahic, Bernhard Retzl, Leopold Duerrauer, Michael Freissmuth, Christian F. W. Becker, Christian W. Gruber
Summary: Peptides have shown promise in GPCR drug discovery, particularly in the field of analgesics. By genome mining, novel KOR peptide ligands derived from blenny fish have been identified, exhibiting high affinity and potency for KOR activation.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Qiang Wang, Ming Qin, Jeffrey J. Coleman, Wenjing Shang, Xiaoping Hu
Summary: Verticillium wilt, caused by Verticillium dahliae, is a significant soilborne plant disease worldwide. In this study, a detection method using CRISPR/Cas12a and RPA technologies was developed for accurate and rapid detection of V. dahliae. The detection system had a lower detection limit of approximately 10 copies of genomic DNA per reaction and could detect as little as one microsclerotium per gram of soil. This study expands the application of CRISPR/Cas12a nucleic acid detection to soilborne crop diseases and contributes to the development of field-deployable diagnostic tools.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Rachael L. Grime, Richard T. Logan, Stephanie A. Nestorow, Pooja Sridhar, Patricia C. Edwards, Christopher G. Tate, Bert Klumperman, Tim R. Dafforn, David R. Poyner, Philip J. Reeves, Mark Wheatley
Summary: Membrane proteins encapsulated in various polymer-based nano-encapsulation strategies exhibit different conformational changes, leading to the generation of diverse intermediate states for the proteins, which can be useful for studying membrane proteins effectively.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Siyuan Shen, Chang Zhao, Chao Wu, Suyue Sun, Ziyan Li, Wei Yan, Zhenhua Shao
Summary: GPCRs, as the largest family of transmembrane proteins, regulate various physiological processes. However, their complicated signal transduction pathways and difficulties in drug development have presented challenges. By identifying new ligands that bind to allosteric sites, safer drugs for treating various diseases can be designed.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
Manuella R. Clark-Cotton, Katherine C. Jacobs, Daniel J. Lew
Summary: Fungi exhibit a wide range of morphologies through a combination of polar growth, cell division, and cell fusion. Fusion partners in fungi must grow towards each other until they touch and degrade the intervening cell walls without compromising cell integrity. Recent progress has been made in understanding how fungi overcome these challenges, including the use of extracellular chemoattractants and cell polarity circuit searching behavior.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Integrative & Complementary Medicine
Liu Li, Chen Xiwei, Zou Yi
Summary: Genome mining identified two new globin-like enzymes involved in the synthesis of two linear terpenes. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated their ability to catalyze the C-C double bond cleavage of specific terpene precursors. This work reveals an unusual formation mechanism of linear terpenes in fungi and expands the functional repertoire of globin-like enzymes in terpene synthesis.
CHINESE JOURNAL OF NATURAL MEDICINES
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Yahui Deng, Quanjia Chen, Yanying Qu
Summary: This study systematically analyzed the gene family of protein palmitoylation in cotton and identified a potential regulatory role of the GhPAT27 gene in cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt. The findings provide a fundamental understanding of the function of GhPATs and offer a solid foundation for molecular breeding and plant pathogen resistance in cotton.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rebekka Harting, Jessica Starke, Harald Kusch, Stefanie Poeggeler, Isabel Maurus, Rabea Schlueter, Manuel Landesfeind, Ingo Bulla, Minou Nowrousian, Ronnie de Jonge, Gertrud Stahlhut, Katharina J. Hoff, Kathrin P. Asshauer, Andrea Thuermer, Mario Stanke, Rolf Daniel, Burkhard Morgenstern, Bart P. H. J. Thomma, James W. Kronstad, Susanna A. Braus-Stromeyer, Gerhard H. Braus
Summary: The amphidiploid fungal Verticillium longisporum strains Vl43 and Vl32 colonize and penetrate plant roots similarly, but Vl43 exhibits higher proliferation and virulence compared to Vl32. Their highly conserved genomes contain less than 1% unique genes, and their karyotypes display changed genetic synteny due to substantial genomic reshuffling. Furthermore, a specific 20 kb region unique to Vl43 is responsible for mediating virulence-reducing functions, limiting damage on the host plant, and preventing Vl43 from becoming even more virulent.
MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shu-Lei Jia, Mei Zhang, Guang-Lei Liu, Zhen-Ming Chi, Zhe Chi
Summary: The high-quality chromosome-level reference genome assemblies of A. melanogenum TN3-1 and A. melanogenum P16 were constructed using PacBio sequencing and Hi-C technologies, revealing structural variations and gene mutations. The TN3-1 strain was identified as a recent hybrid/fusion with metabolic processes related to harsh environmental adaptability, leading to high pullulan production from glucose.
FUNCTIONAL & INTEGRATIVE GENOMICS
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Murat C. Kalem, John C. Panepinto
Summary: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important regulatory roles in cellular processes and can function as sponges for miRNAs, influencing cellular functions. However, the contribution of lncRNAs to pathogenesis in eukaryotic pathogens is still largely unknown. This article discusses the current state of research on lncRNAs in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans, analyzing trends in lncRNA expression based on RNA sequencing data and exploring their potential implications for pathogenesis.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yun Zhang, Yuanxue Yang, Lang Yu, Aiyu Wang, Chao Xue, Jianhua Zhang, Ailing Duan, Ming Zhao
Summary: This study analyzed the community characteristics of soil microorganisms in cotton fields with different incidences of Verticillium wilt. The results showed differences in fungal and bacterial alpha-diversity indexes in the rhizosphere of diseased plants. Significant differences in fungal beta diversity indexes were also observed. The study also found that the composition of fungi and bacteria in different fields was similar at the genus level, but abundances varied greatly.
PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Daniel Ocampo Daza, Christina A. Bergqvist, Dan Larhammar
Summary: This study provides a parsimonious explanation for the origin of the OTR/VTR gene family, based on phylogenetic and chromosomal conserved synteny analyses. The findings suggest a chromosome quadruplication event associated with whole-genome duplications early in vertebrate evolution, prior to the radiation of jawed vertebrates. The evolution of the OTR/VTR gene family can be explained by two whole-genome duplications followed by differential gene losses of VTR2 genes in different lineages.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2022)