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JN was funded by a fellowship from the French MENESR.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe

Insulin-related peptide 5 is involved in regulating embryo development and biochemical composition in pea aphid with wing polyphenism

In aphids there is a fecundity-dispersal trade-off between wingless and winged morphs. Recent research on the molecular mechanism of wing morphs associated with dispersal reveals that insulin receptors in the insulin signaling (IS) pathway regulate alteration of wing morphs in planthoppers. However, little is known about whether genes in the IS pathway are involved in developmental regulation in aphid nymphs with different wing morphs. In this study, we show that expression of the insulin-related peptide 5 gene (Apirp5) affects biochemical composition and embryo development of wingless pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum. After comparing expression levels of major genes in the IS pathway between third instar winged and wingless nymphs, we found that Apirp5 showed higher expression in head and thorax of the wingless nymphs than in the winged nymphs. Although microinjection treatment affects physical performance in aphids, nymphs with RNA interference of Apirp5 had less weight, smaller embryo size and higher carbohydrate and protein contents compared to control group. Comparison between winged and wingless nymphs showed a similar trend. These results indicate that Apirp5 is involved in embryo development and metabolic regulation in wing dimorphic pea aphid

Exploring Antibiotic Resistance Genes and Metal Resistance Genes in Plasmid Metagenomes from Wastewater Treatment Plants

Plasmids operate as independent genetic elements in microorganism communities. Through horizontal gene transfer, they can provide their host microorganisms with important functions such as antibiotic resistance and heavy metal resistance. In this study, six metagenomic libraries were constructed with plasmid DNA extracted from influent, activated sludge and digested sludge of two wastewater treatment plants. Compared with the metagenomes of the total DNA extracted from the same sectors of the wastewater treatment plant, the plasmid metagenomes had significantly higher annotation rates, indicating that the functional genes on plasmids are commonly shared by those studied microorganisms. Meanwhile, the plasmid metagenomes also encoded many more genes related to defense mechanisms, including ARGs. Searching against an antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) database and a metal resistance genes (MRGs) database revealed a broad-spectrum of antibiotic (323 out of a total 618 subtypes) and metal resistance genes (23 out of a total 23 types) on these plasmid metagenomes. The influent plasmid metagenomes contained many more resistance genes (both ARGs and MRGs) than the activated sludge and the digested sludge metagenomes. Sixteen novel plasmids with a complete circular structure that carried these resistance genes were assembled from the plasmid metagenomes. The results of this study demonstrated that the plasmids in wastewater treatment plants could be important reservoirs for resistance genes, and may play a significant role in the horizontal transfer of these genes

Phosphoproteomics technologies and applications in plant biology research

Protein phosphorylation has long been recognized as an essential mechanism to regulate many important processes of plant life. However, studies on phosphorylation mediated signaling events in plants are challenged with low stoichiometry and dynamic nature of phosphorylated proteins. Significant advances in mass spectrometry based phosphoproteomics have taken place in recent decade, including phosphoprotein/phosphopeptide enrichment, detection and quantification and phosphorylation site localization. This review describes a variety of separation and enrichment methods for phosphoproteins and phosphopeptides, the applications of technological innovations in plant phosphoproteomics, and highlights significant achievement of phosphoproteomics in the areas of plant signal transduction, growth and development