Editorial: Molecular intricacies of Trichoderma-plant-pathogen interactions

Trichoderma spp. are widely used as plant disease biocontrol agents around the world (Guzmán-Guzmán, 2019). Initial research on Trichoderma focused on their biocontrol ability mediated by mycoparasitism and antibiosis. Trichoderma spp. are known for direct antagonistic action on plant pathogenic fungi, and more recently for indirect suppression via induced defense. Thus, with the discovery that Trichoderma spp. can internally colonize roots and invoke defense responses in plants, attention of the research community largely shifted toward understanding how the plants and Trichoderma communicate with each other leading to a symbiosis-like relationship (Harman et al., 2004; Hohmann, 2012). At the initial attachment stage, Trichoderma spp. are known to secrete hydrophobins that could aid in adhesion to the root surface (Viterbo and Chet, 2006). Following attachment, secretion of plant cell wall degrading enzymes like pectate lyase (Morán Diez et al., 2009) and swollenin (Brotman et al., 2008; Andberg et al., 2015; Cosgrove, 2017) could facilitate penetration. It is important to note that penetration into the root is limited, and indeed genes encoding plant cell wall degrading enyzymes are downregulated early in root colonization (Estrada-Rivera et al., 2020). This occurs along with high representation of glycosyl hydrolases in the secretome (Nogueira-Lopez et al., 2018). Soluble enzymes may still be present in the secretome after the corresponding transcripts decrease, highlighting the need for obtaining well-resolved time course experiments for both gene expression and protein abundance during early colonization events. Trichoderma fungi are known to secrete a large number of small secreted cysteine-rich proteins (SSCPs) that might be involved in modulation of plant defense, fine tuning of which may be responsible for the outcome of this association. Though not clearly established, it seems possible that Trichoderma SSCPs initially suppress plant defense, and once the colonization is complete, induces plant defense to enter into a symbiosis-like relationship. Unlike mycorrhiza, there seems to exist no specificity in Trichoderma-plant association, which appears to be quite universal. For example, AM mycorrhizal fungi cannot colonize cruciferous roots exhibiting a level of specificity, but Trichoderma can effectively colonize such roots, indicating a generalist type of lifestyle

Evolution of the adaptogenic concept from traditional use to medical systems: Pharmacology of stress- and aging-related diseases

Adaptogens comprise a category of herbal medicinal and nutritional products promoting adaptability, resilience, and survival of living organisms in stress. The aim of this review was to summarize the growing knowledge about common adaptogenic plants used in various traditional medical systems (TMS) and conventional medicine and to provide a modern rationale for their use in the treatment of stress-induced and aging-related disorders. Adaptogens have pharmacologically pleiotropic effects on the neuroendocrine-immune system, which explain their traditional use for the treatment of a wide range of conditions. They exhibit a biphasic dose-effect response: at low doses they function as mild stress-mimetics, which activate the adaptive stress-response signaling pathways to cope with severe stress. That is in line with their traditional use for preventing premature aging and to maintain good health and vitality. However, the potential of adaptogens remains poorly explored. Treatment of stress and aging-related diseases require novel approaches. Some combinations of adaptogenic plants provide unique effects due to their synergistic interactions in organisms not obtainable by any ingredient independently. Further progress in this field needs to focus on discovering new combinations of adaptogens based on traditional medical concepts. Robust and rigorous approaches including network pharmacology and systems pharmacology could help in analyzing potential synergistic effects and, more broadly, future uses of adaptogens. In conclusion, the evolution of the adaptogenic concept has led back to basics of TMS and a new level of understanding of holistic approach. It provides a rationale for their use in stress-induced and aging-related diseases

Risk Assessment of a Synthetic Pyrethroid, Bifenthrin on Pulses

This work was undertaken to determine the pre-harvest interval of bifenthrin and to minimize its residues in pulses and thereby ensure consumer safety and avoid non-compliance in terms of residues violations in export market. Furthermore the residue dynamics in the soil under pulses was explored to assess the environmental safety. The residues of bifenthrin dissipated following first order kinetics. The residues in harvest time grains were below the maximum residue limit (MRL) of 0.02 mg/kg applicable for European Union. In soil the degradation rate was fast with a half life of 2–3 days. This work is of high practical significance to the domestic and export pulse industry of India to ensure safety compliance in respect of bifenthrin residues, keeping in view the requirements of international trade

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Not AvailableThe study was carried out to analyse the potential of bajra napier hybrid (BN hybrid) as a quality green fodder on cost of milk production and replacement of concentrate in dairy animals. Farmers (120) were selected randomly who adopted BN hybrid cultivation with the initiatives of ICAR-IVRI, Izatnagar. The stem cuttings of BN hybrid were supplied to these adopted farmers through personal contact and postal services to the farmers of distant places. The results clearly revealed that cost of milk production and feeding price of dairy farm got reduced after adoption of BN hybrid cultivation. Further, milk productivity and lactation period of dairy animals also showed significant improvement after inclusion of BN hybrid as a quality green fodder in their daily diet.Not Availabl

Phosphorylation of the androgen receptor is associated with reduced survival in hormonerefractory prostate cancer patients

Cell line studies demonstrate that the PI3K/Akt pathway is upregulated in hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) and can result in phosphorylation of the androgen receptor (AR). The current study therefore aims to establish if this has relevance to the development of clinical HRPC. Immunohistochemistry was employed to investigate the expression and phosphorylation status of Akt and AR in matched hormone-sensitive and -refractory prostate cancer tumours from 68 patients. In the hormone-refractory tissue, only phosphorylated AR (pAR) was associated with shorter time to death from relapse (<i>P</i>=0.003). However, when an increase in expression in the transition from hormone-sensitive to -refractory prostate cancer was investigated, an increase in expression of PI3K was associated with decreased time to biochemical relapse (<i>P</i>=0.014), and an increase in expression of pAkt<sup>473</sup> and pAR<sup>210</sup> were associated with decreased disease-specific survival (<i>P</i>=0.0019 and 0.0015, respectively). Protein expression of pAkt<sup>473</sup> and pAR<sup>210</sup> also strongly correlated (<i>P</i><0.001, c.c.=0.711) in the hormone-refractory prostate tumours. These results provide evidence using clinical specimens, that upregulation of the PI3K/Akt pathway is associated with phosphorylation of the AR during development of HRPC, suggesting that this pathway could be a potential therapeutic target

Addison's disease presenting with idiopathic intracranial hypertension in 24-year-old woman: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Idiopathic intracranial hypertension can rarely be associated with an underlying endocrine disorder such as Cushing's syndrome, hyperthyroidism, or with administration of thyroxine or growth hormone. Though cases of idiopathic intracranial hypertension associated with Addison's disease in children have been reported, there is only one documented case report of this association in adults. We describe a case of an acute adrenal insufficiency precipitated by idiopathic intracranial hypertension in a Caucasian female.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 24-year-old Caucasian woman was acutely unwell with a background of several months of generalised fatigue and intermittent headaches. She had unremarkable neurological and systemic examination with a normal computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Normal cerebrospinal fluid but increased opening pressure at lumbar puncture suggested intracranial hypertension. A flat short synacthen test and raised level of adrenocorticotrophic hormone were consistent with primary adrenal failure.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Addison's disease can remain unrecognised until precipitated by acute stress. This case suggests that idiopathic intracranial hypertension can rarely be associated with Addison's disease and present as an acute illness. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is possibly related to an increase in the levels of arginine vasopressin peptide in serum and cerebrospinal fluid secondary to a glucocorticoid deficient state.</p

Radium ion: A possible candidate for measuring atomic parity violation

Single trapped and laser cooled Radium ion as a possible candidate for measuring the parity violation induced frequency shift has been discussed here. Even though the technique to be used is similar to that proposed by Fortson [1], Radium has its own advantages and disadvantages. The most attractive part of Radium ion as compared to that of Barium ion is its mass which comes along with added complexity of instability as well as other issues which are discussed hereComment: Conference proceedin

Genetic variation in the HLA region is associated with susceptibility to herpes zoster.

Herpes zoster, commonly referred to as shingles, is caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV). VZV initially manifests as chicken pox, most commonly in childhood, can remain asymptomatically latent in nerve tissues for many years and often re-emerges as shingles. Although reactivation may be related to immune suppression, aging and female sex, most inter-individual variability in re-emergence risk has not been explained to date. We performed a genome-wide association analyses in 22,981 participants (2280 shingles cases) from the electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network. Using Cox survival and logistic regression, we identified a genomic region in the combined and European ancestry groups that has an age of onset effect reaching genome-wide significance (P&gt;1.0 × 10(-8)). This region tags the non-coding gene HCP5 (HLA Complex P5) in the major histocompatibility complex. This gene is an endogenous retrovirus and likely influences viral activity through regulatory functions. Variants in this genetic region are known to be associated with delay in development of AIDS in people infected by HIV. Our study provides further suggestion that this region may have a critical role in viral suppression and could potentially harbor a clinically actionable variant for the shingles vaccine

Differential trajectories of hypometabolism across cognitively-defined Alzheimer’s disease subgroups

Disentangling biologically distinct subgroups of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may facilitate a deeper understanding of the neurobiology underlying clinical heterogeneity. We employed longitudinal [18F]FDG-PET standardized uptake value ratios (SUVRs) to map hypometabolism across cognitively-defined AD subgroups. Participants were 384 amyloid-positive individuals with an AD dementia diagnosis from ADNI who had a total of 1028 FDG-scans (mean time between first and last scan: 1.6 ± 1.8 years). These participants were categorized into subgroups on the basis of substantial impairment at time of dementia diagnosis in a specific cognitive domain relative to the average across domains. This approach resulted in groups of AD-Memory (n = 135), AD-Executive (n = 8), AD-Language (n = 22), AD-Visuospatial (n = 44), AD-Multiple Domains (n = 15) and AD-No Domains (for whom no domain showed substantial relative impairment; n = 160). Voxelwise contrasts against controls revealed that all AD-subgroups showed progressive hypometabolism compared to controls across temporoparietal regions at time of AD diagnosis. Voxelwise and regions-of-interest (ROI)-based linear mixed model analyses revealed there were also subgroup-specific hypometabolism patterns and trajectories. The AD-Memory group had more pronounced hypometabolism compared to all other groups in the medial temporal lobe and posterior cingulate, and faster decline in metabolism in the medial temporal lobe compared to AD-Visuospatial. The AD-Language group had pronounced lateral temporal hypometabolism compared to all other groups, and the pattern of metabolism was also more asymmetrical (left < right) than all other groups. The AD-Visuospatial group had faster decline in metabolism in parietal regions compared to all other groups, as well as faster decline in the precuneus compared to AD-Memory and AD-No Domains. Taken together, in addition to a common pattern, cognitively-defined subgroups of people with AD dementia show subgroup-specific hypometabolism patterns, as well as differences in trajectories of metabolism over time. These findings provide support to the notion that cognitively-defined subgroups are biologically distinct