Control of anthocyanin and non-flavonoid compounds by anthocyanin-regulating MYB and bHLH transcription factors in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves

Coloration of plant organs such as fruit, leaves and flowers through anthocyanin production is governed by a combination of MYB and bHLH type transcription factors (TFs). In this study we introduced Rosea1 (ROS1, a MYB type) and Delila (DEL, a bHLH type), into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves by agroinfiltration. ROS1 and DEL form a pair of well-characterized TFs from Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus), which specifically induce anthocyanin accumulation when expressed in tomato fruit. In N. benthamiana, robust induction of a single anthocyanin, delphinidin-3-rutinoside (D3R) was observed after expression of both ROS1 and DEL. Surprisingly in addition to D3R, a range of additional metabolites were also strongly and specifically up-regulated upon expression of ROS1 and DEL. Except for the D3R, these induced compounds were not derived from the flavonoid pathway. Most notable among these are nornicotine conjugates with butanoyl, hexanoyl, and octanoyl hydrophobic moieties, and phenylpropanoid-polyamine conjugates such as caffeoyl putrescine. The defensive properties of the induced molecules were addressed in bioassays using the tobacco specialist lepidopteran insect Manduca sexta. Our study showed that the effect of ROS1 and DEL expression in N. benthamiana leaves extends beyond the flavonoid pathway. Apparently the same transcription factor may regulate different secondary metabolite pathways in different plant species

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

Bioprospecting of aerobic endospore-forming bacteria with biotechnological potential for growth promotion of banana plants

High amounts of agrochemicals are regularly used for increasing yields in cultivation of banana. The use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) could represent an environmentally friendly alternative that can improve productivity. In this study, we tested a funnel-like strategy to bioprospect aerobic endospore-forming bacteria (AEFB) that could be useful to develop a biotechnological product to promote the growth of banana plants. First, 837 aerobic endospore-forming bacteria were obtained from the rhizosphere of banana and plantain. Then, the isolates were assessed for both: their capacity to promote growth of maize seedlings (used as a model plant) and to display specific biochemical PGPR-associated traits. Twenty-two of these strains significantly increased the dry weight of maize seedlings, some of them showing in vitro PGPR traits. Based on this screening, four isolates were selected to conduct evaluations on banana plants, from which, the bacterial strain Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 was chosen as a promising plant growth -promoting isolate. Further studies with this strain showed that the application of either spores, vegetative cells (both at concentrations 1 x 10(7) and 1 x 10(8) CFU/mL), or the cell-free supernatant (CFS) of its fermentation significantly increased the dry weight of banana plants, compared with the non-treated control. Our results suggest that both cellular structures of B. subtilis EA-CB0575 and the metabolites and/or elements contained in its CFS enhance the growth and development of banana plants. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Supplementary Material for: Lambl's Excrescences: Association with Cerebrovascular Disease and Pathogenesis

<p><b><i>Background:</i></b> Lambl's excrescences (LEx) are detected by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and are characterized as thin, elongated, and hypermobile structures located at the leaflets' coaptation point of the heart valves. The association of LEx with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) is still undefined and yet patients with LEx and suspected CVD receive unproven effective antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy or even undergo valve surgery. Also, the association of LEx with aging and atherogenic, inflammatory, or thrombogenic parameters has not been reported. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Seventy-seven patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (71 women, age 37 ± 12 years) and 26 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (22 women, age 34 ± 11 years) prospectively underwent routine history and physical exam, transcranial Doppler, brain MRI, TEE, carotid duplex, and clinical and laboratory evaluations of atherogenesis, inflammation, platelet activity, coagulation, and fibrinolysis. Subjects without stroke/TIA on enrollment (with and without LEx) had a median follow-up of 57 months. <b><i>Results:</i></b> On enrollment, 33 (43%) of 77 patients had CVD manifested as acute stroke/TIA (23 patients), cerebromicroembolism by transcranial Doppler (17 patients), or cerebral infarcts by MRI (14 patients). Mitral or aortic valve LEx were equally frequent in healthy controls (46%) as in patients with and without any CVD (39 and 43%), stroke/TIA (35 and 43%), cerebromicroembolism (41 and 42%), or cerebral infarcts (36 and 43%) (all p ≥ 0.72). Also, other mechanisms for CVD other than LEx such as Libman-Sacks vegetations, patent foramen ovale or interatrial septal aneurysm, aortic or carotid atherosclerosis, or thrombogenesis were found in ≥94% of patients with CVD. In addition, 36 subjects with and 44 without LEx had similar low incidence of stroke/TIA (1 (1.3%) and 2 (2.5%), respectively, p = 1.0) during follow-up. Finally, LEx were not associated with aging, atherogenic risk factors, atherosclerosis, inflammation, or thrombogenesis. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> In this study, LEx are similarly prevalent in healthy controls and SLE patients, are not associated with CVD, and are not associated with pathogenic risk factors. Therefore, the study findings suggest that LEx may not be cardioembolic substrates, may not represent pathologic valve structures, and may not require therapy.</p

Combining an in vitro reporter gene assay with metabolomics to identify tomato phytochemicals responsible for inducing electrophile-responsive element (EpRE)-mediated gene transcription

The electrophile-responsive element (EpRE) is a transcriptional enhancer involved in cancer-chemoprotective gene expression effects of certain dietary compounds. In this study we measured the ability of extracts of glycosidase treated tomato fruits from 97 different accessions to induce EpRE-mediated luciferase expression using EpRE-LUX reporter cells and analyzed the same extracts using LC–MSbased untargeted metabolomics profiling. We were able to pinpoint those tomato compounds that were most correlated with EpRE-mediated luciferase induction, by combining reporter gene assay data with the metabolic profiles of the same extracts. Flavonoids were the compounds showing the strongest positive correlation with EpRE-LUX activity. These results were validated using a transgenic tomato line accumulating high levels of flavonoids. Results obtained corroborated that flavonoids are an important determinant of the ability of tomato fruit extracts to induce EpRE-mediated beneficial health effects. Overall, these results indicate that combining untargeted metabolomics with reporter gene assays provides a powerful tool for nutritionists, plant breeders and food chemists towards identification of potential health-beneficial constituents of tomato fruits, as well as of other crops and products derived thereof