Transcriptomic analysis of the response of Avena sativa to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DGL1

IntroductionBacillus amyloliquefaciens DGL1, isolated from the arid sandy areas in Dagler, Qinghai Province, China, promotes the growth of Avena sativa variety “Qing Yan 1”.MethodsTo elucidate the transcriptomic changes in the oat root system following interaction with DGL1 and to reveal the molecular mechanism by which DGL1 promotes oat growth, treatment and control groups of oat roots at 2, 4, 8, and 12 h after inoculation with a suspension of strain DGL1 were analyzed using Illumina high-throughput transcriptome sequencing technology. The differentially expressed genes were determined through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, and the metabolic pathways and key genes were analyzed.ResultsThe results showed that 7874, 13,392, 13,169, and 19,026 differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway, amino acid metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, and other related metabolic pathways in the oat roots at 2, 4, 8, and 12 h after inoculation with a DGL1 suspension. The GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the genes encoding plasma membrane ATPase, phosphoglycerate kinase gene PGK, ammonium transporter protein gene AMT, cellulose synthase gene CSLF6, and growth hormone response family gene IAA18 were significantly upregulated.DiscussionIt is hypothesized that the pro-growth mechanism of strain DGL1 in oats is the result of the coordination of multiple pathways through the promotion of oat energy metabolism, phytohormone signaling, secondary metabolite synthesis, and amino acid metabolism

Drought stress tolerance and metabolomics of Medicago sativa induced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DGL1

IntroductionThis study used Bacillus amyloliquefaciens DGL1 isolated from the arid sandy land of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau as the research strain and investigated the effects of DGL1 on the biomass, physiology, and metabolites of Medicago sativa under different intensities of drought stress to provide a high-quality bacterial source and a theoretical basis for the research and development of biological fertilizer suitable for arid areas.MethodsThe exopolysaccharides (EPS), 1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase (ACC), and phosphorus solubilizing capacity of DGL1 were determined. The effects of a DGL1 suspension on alfalfa biomass, physiological indexes, degree of peroxidation of cell membranes, and activity of antioxidant enzymes were determined after irrigating roots under drought stress. The effects on soil physicochemical properties were also evaluated, and metabolomics analysis was performed to explore the effect of DGL1 on the metabolites of alfalfa under drought stress.ResultsStrain DGL1 produced extracellular polysaccharide EPS and ACC deaminase and was capable of phosphorus solubilization. Treatment with DGL1 increased the biomass of alfalfa under different degrees of drought stress, significantly increased the activities of alfalfa antioxidant enzymes Super Oxide Dismutase (SOD), Peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), reduced the content of MDA and H2O2, and increased the content of quick-acting phosphorus, quick-acting potassium, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen in the soil, thus improving soil fertility. Through metabolomics analysis, DGL1 was shown to affect amino acid metabolic pathways, such as arginine, leucine, glutamate, and tyrosine, as well as the levels of energy-providing polysaccharides and lipids, in alfalfa under 15% PEG-6000 drought stress, enhancing alfalfa’s capacity to resist drought stress.DiscussionStrain DGL1 enhances the drought suitability of alfalfa and has the potential for dryland development as a biological agent

Clinical characteristics associated with recurrent viral RNA positivity in patients within two weeks after recovering from the first SARS-CoV-2 infection

Many studies have shown that recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients frequently exhibit recurrent viral RNA positivity (RP) for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Our study aimed to summarize the clinical characteristics of these patients and explore potential reasons for RP occurrence. We divided 439 participants into four groups based on the severity of illness prior to the COVID-19 recovery and age: mild-child group, moderate-child group, mild-adult group, and moderate-adult group. Laboratory data were collected and statistically analyzed using the SPSS software, version 24.0. Significant differences were observed in age, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) levels between the mild-adult group and the moderate-adult group (P < 0.05). Additionally, AST levels differed significantly between the mild-child group and the moderate-child group (P < 0.05). The proportion of RP patients within the four groups varied from 7.95% to 26.13% within a 2-week period. Logistic regression analysis revealed that younger age and moderate symptoms were risk factors for RP in children, while the presence of comorbidities (such as chronic heart, lung, liver, and kidney diseases), elevated IL-6 levels, and NLR were risk factors for RP in adults. We constructed two predictive models containing these relevant parameters, and the results of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves indicated strong predictive utility. Our findings suggest that younger children with more severe symptoms, as well as adult patients with elevated levels of IL-6 and NLR and underlying diseases, are at higher risk of RP occurrence

Interfacial electronic structure at the CH3NH3PbI3/MoOx interface

Interfacial electronic properties of the CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3)/MoOx interface are investigated using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the pristine MAPbI3 film coated onto the substrate of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate)/indium tin oxide by two-step method behaves as an n-type semiconductor, with a band gap of ~1.7 eV and a valence band edge of 1.40 eV below the Fermi energy (EF). With the MoOx deposition of 64A ° upon MAPbI3, the energy levels of MAPbI3 shift toward higher binding energy by 0.25 eV due to electron transfer from MAPbI3 to MoOx. Its conduction band edge is observed to almost pin to the EF, indicating a significant enhancement of conductivity. Meanwhile, the energy levels of MoOx shift toward lower binding energy by ~0.30 eV, and an interface dipole of 2.13 eV is observed at the interface of MAPbI3/MoOx. Most importantly, the chemical reaction taking place at this interface results in unfavorable interface energy level alignment for hole extraction. A potential barrier of ~1.36 eV observed for hole transport will impede the hole extraction from MAPbI3 to MoOx. On the other hand, a potential barrier of ~0.14 eV for electron extraction is too small to efficiently suppress electrons extracted from MAPbI3 to MoOx. Therefore, such an interface is not an ideal choice for hole extraction in organic photovoltaic devices

Structural Based Screening of Antiandrogen Targeting Activation Function-2 Binding Site

Androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCa). Current antiandrogen therapies induce resistant mutations at the hormone binding pocket (HBP) that convert the activity of these agents from antagonist to agonist. Thus, there is a high unmet medical need for the development of novel antiandrogens which circumvent mutation-based resistance. Herein, through the analysis of AR structures with ligands binding to the activation function-2 (AF2) site, we built a combined pharmacophore model. In silico screening and the subsequent biological evaluation lead to the discovery of the novel lead compound IMB-A6 that binds to the AF2 site, which inhibits the activity of either wild-type (WT) or resistance mutated ARs. Our work demonstrates structure-based drug design is an efficient strategy to discover new antiandrogens, and provides a new class of small molecular antiandrogens for the development of novel treatment agents against PCa