Metagenomic investigation reveals bacteriophage-mediated horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in microbial communities of an organic agricultural ecosystem.

Antibiotic resistance has become a serious health concern worldwide. The potential impact of viruses, bacteriophages in particular, on spreading antibiotic resistance genes is still controversial due to the complexity of bacteriophage-bacterial interactions within diverse environments. In this study, we determined the microbiome profiles and the potential antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) transfer between bacterial and viral populations in different agricultural samples using a high-resolution analysis of the metagenomes.

Novel genes and alleles of the BTB/POZ protein family in Oryza rufipogon.

The BTB/POZ family of proteins is widespread in plants and animals, playing important roles in development, growth, metabolism, and environmental responses. Although members of the expanded BTB/POZ gene family (OsBTB) have been identified in cultivated rice (Oryza sativa), their conservation, novelty, and potential applications for allele mining in O. rufipogon, the direct progenitor of O.

MicroRNA-mediated host defense mechanisms against pathogens and herbivores in rice: balancing gains from genetic resistance with trade-offs to productivity potential.

Background: Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the major source of daily caloric intake for more than 30% of the human population. However, the sustained productivity of this staple food crop is continuously threatened by various pathogens and herbivores.

Applicability of hyperspectral imaging during salinity stress in rice for tracking Na+ and K+ levels in planta.

The ratio of Na+ and K+ is an important determinant of the magnitude of Na+ toxicity and osmotic stress in plant cells. Traditional analytical approaches involve destructive tissue sampling and chemical analysis, where real-time observation of spatio-temporal experiments across genetic or breeding populations is unrealistic. Such an approach can also be very inaccurate and prone to erroneous biological interpretation.

DECUSSATE network with flowering genes explains the variable effects of qDTY12.1 to rice yield under drought across genetic backgrounds.

The impact of qDTY12.1 in maintaining yield under drought has not been consistent across genetic backgrounds. We hypothesized that synergism or antagonism with additive-effect peripheral genes across the background genome either enhances or undermines its full potential.

Responses of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes to ozone treatment on non-host tomato: Efficacy of intervention and evidence of induced acclimation.

Because of the continuous rise of foodborne illnesses caused by the consumption of raw fruits and vegetables, effective post-harvest anti-microbial strategies are necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-microbial efficacy of ozone (O3) against two common causes of fresh produce contamination, the Gram-negative Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Gram-positive Listeria monocytogenes, and to relate its effects to potential mechanisms of xenobiosis by transcriptional network modeling. The study on non-host tomato environment correlated the dose × time aspects of xenobiosis by examining the correlation between bacterial survival in terms of log-reduction and defense responses at the level of gene expression.

Novel and Transgressive Salinity Tolerance in Recombinant Inbred Lines of Rice Created by Physiological Coupling-Uncoupling and Network Rewiring Effects.

The phenomenon of transgressive segregation, where a small minority of recombinants are outliers relative to the range of parental phenotypes, is commonly observed in plant breeding populations. While this phenomenon has been attributed to complementation and epistatic effects, the physiological and developmental synergism involved have not been fully illuminated by the QTL mapping approach alone, especially for stress-adaptive traits involving highly complex interactions. By systems-level profiling of the IR29 × Pokkali recombinant inbred population of rice, we addressed the hypothesis that novel salinity tolerance phenotypes are created by reconfigured physiological networks due to positive or negative coupling-uncoupling of developmental and physiological attributes of each parent.

Networks of Physiological Adjustments and Defenses, and Their Synergy With Sodium (Na) Homeostasis Explain the Hidden Variation for Salinity Tolerance Across the Cultivated Germplasm.

The abilities to mobilize and/or sequester excess ions within and outside the plant cell are important components of salt-tolerance mechanisms. Mobilization and sequestration of Na involves three transport systems facilitated by the plasma membrane H/Na antiporter (SOS1), vacuolar H/Na antiporter (NHX1), and Na/K transporter in vascular tissues (HKT1). Many of these mechanisms are conserved across the plant kingdom.

Contributions of Adaptive Plant Architecture to Transgressive Salinity Tolerance in Recombinant Inbred Lines of Rice: Molecular Mechanisms Based on Transcriptional Networks.

Genetic novelties are important nucleators of adaptive speciation. Transgressive segregation is a major mechanism that creates genetic novelties with morphological and developmental attributes that confer adaptive advantages in certain environments. This study examined the morpho-developmental and physiological profiles of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the salt-sensitive IR29 and salt-tolerant Pokkali rice, representing the total range of salt tolerance including the outliers at both ends of the spectrum.

Xenobiotic Effects of Chlorine Dioxide to O157:H7 on Non-host Tomato Environment Revealed by Transcriptional Network Modeling: Implications to Adaptation and Selection.

serotype O157:H7 is one of the major agents of pathogen outbreaks associated with fresh fruits and vegetables. Gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO) has been reported to be an effective intervention to eliminate bacterial contamination on fresh produce. Although remarkable positive effects of low doses of ClO have been reported, the genetic regulatory machinery coordinating the mechanisms of xenobiotic effects and the potential bacterial adaptation remained unclear.

Novel allelic variation in the Phospholipase D alpha1 gene (OsPLDα1) of wild Oryza species implies to its low expression in rice bran.

Rice bran, a by-product after milling, is a rich source of phytonutrients like oryzanols, tocopherols, tocotrienols, phytosterols, and dietary fibers. Moreover, exceptional properties of the rice bran oil make it unparalleled to other vegetable oils. However, a lipolytic enzyme Phospholipase D alpha1 (OsPLDα1) causes rancidity and 'stale flavor' in the oil, and thus limits the rice bran usage for human consumption.

Novel cis-acting regulatory elements in wild Oryza species impart improved rice bran quality by lowering the expression of phospholipase D alpha1 enzyme (OsPLDα1).

Rice bran oil is good quality edible oil, rich in antioxidants and comprised typically of oleic-linoleic type fatty acids. However, presence of a highly lipolytic enzyme Phospholipase D alpha1 (OsPLDα1) increases free fatty acid content in the oil which further leads to stale flavor and rancidity of the oil, making it unfit for human consumption. In this study, we compared the upstream regions of OsPLDα1 orthologs across 34 accessions representing 5 wild Oryza species and 8 cultivars, to uncover sequence variations and identify cis-elements involved in differential transcription of orthologs.

Genomic and epigenomic bases of transgressive segregation - New breeding paradigm for novel plant phenotypes.

For a holistic approach in developing the stress-resilient crops of the 21 century, modern genomic biology will need to re-envision the underappreciated phenomena in classical genetics, and incorporate them into the new plant breeding paradigm. Advances in evolutionary genomics support a theory that genetic recombination under genome shock during hybridization of widely divergent parents is an important driver of adaptive speciation, by virtue of the novelties of rare hybrids and recombinants. The enormous potential of genetic network rewiring to generate developmental or physiological novelties with adaptive advantage to special ecological niches has been appreciated.

Simultaneous Colorimetric Detection of a Variety of spp. in Food and Environmental Samples by Optical Biosensing Using Oligonucleotide-Gold Nanoparticles.

Optical biosensors for rapid detection of significant foodborne pathogens are steadily gaining popularity due to its simplicity and sensitivity. While nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are commonly used as signal amplifiers for optical biosensors, AuNPs can also be utilized as a robust biosensing platform. Many reported optical biosensors were designed for individual pathogen detection in a single assay and have high detection limit (DL).

Potential of Oryza officinalis to augment the cold tolerance genetic mechanisms of Oryza sativa by network complementation.

Oryza officinalis is an accessible alien donor for genetic improvement of rice. Comparison across a representative panel of Oryza species showed that the wild O. officinalis and cultivated O.

Transcriptional regulatory mechanism of alcohol dehydrogenase 1-deficient mutant of rice for cell survival under complete submergence.

Background: Rice is the only crop that germinates and elongates the coleoptile under complete submergence. It has been shown that alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (ADH1)-deficient mutant of rice with reduced alcohol dehydrogenase activity (rad) and reduced ATP level, is viable with much reduced coleoptile elongation under such condition. To understand the altered transcriptional regulatory mechanism of this mutant, we aimed to establish possible relationships between gene expression and cis-regulatory information content.

Identification of candidate network hubs involved in metabolic adjustments of rice under drought stress by integrating transcriptome data and genome-scale metabolic network.

In this study, we have integrated a rice genome-scale metabolic network and the transcriptome of a drought-tolerant rice line, DK151, to identify the major transcriptional regulators involved in metabolic adjustments necessary for adaptation to drought. This was achieved by examining the differential expressions of transcription factors and metabolic genes in leaf, root and young panicle of rice plants subjected to drought stress during tillering, booting and panicle elongation stages. Critical transcription factors such as AP2/ERF, bZIP, MYB and NAC that control the important nodes in the gene regulatory pathway were identified through correlative analysis of the patterns of spatio-temporal expression and cis-element enrichment.

Implications of miR166 and miR159 induction to the basal response mechanisms of an andigena potato (Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena) to salinity stress, predicted from network models in Arabidopsis.

MicroRNA (miRNA) mediated changes in gene expression by post-transcriptional modulation of major regulatory transcription factors is a potent mechanism for integrating growth and stress-related responses. Exotic plants including many traditional varieties of Andean potatoes (Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena) are known for better adaptation to marginal environments.

Upstream regulatory architecture of rice genes: summarizing the baseline towards genus-wide comparative analysis of regulatory networks and allele mining.

Dissecting the upstream regulatory architecture of rice genes and their cognate regulator proteins is at the core of network biology and its applications to comparative functional genomics. With the rapidly advancing comparative genomics resources in the genus Oryza, a reference genome annotation that defines the various cis-elements and trans-acting factors that interface each gene locus with various intrinsic and extrinsic signals for growth, development, reproduction and adaptation must be established to facilitate the understanding of phenotypic variation in the context of regulatory networks. Such information is also important to establish the foundation for mining non-coding sequence variation that defines novel alleles and epialleles across the enormous phenotypic diversity represented in rice germplasm.

Simultaneous direct detection of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains by optical biosensing with oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles.

A simultaneous direct detection of Shiga-toxin producing strains of E. coli (STEC; "Big Six" - O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) as well as O157 strains by optical biosensing with oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was developed. Initially, conserved regions of stx genes were amplified by asymmetric polymerase chain reaction (asPCR).

Phenotypic, physiological, and molecular evaluation of rice chilling stress response at the vegetative stage.

Rice is a chilling-sensitive plant that is particularly prone to injury during the early stages of seedling development and during flowering. Significant variation exists between subspecies with japonica cultivars generally being less sensitive than most indica cultivars. In most temperate and subtropical countries where rice is grown, crop damage often occurs during the early stages of seedling development due to occasional cold snaps coinciding with the first few weeks after direct seeding in late spring to early summer.

Patterns of cis-element enrichment reveal potential regulatory modules involved in the transcriptional regulation of anoxia response of japonica rice.

Unlike other cereal species, rice is able to germinate and elongate under anoxia. The regulatory mechanism that configures the transcriptome of rice during anaerobic germination is yet to be established. In this study, the major regulatory modules among anoxia-responsive genes in rice identified from published microarray data were predicted by ab initio analysis of cis-regulatory information content.

Cis-regulatory signatures of orthologous stress-associated bZIP transcription factors from rice, sorghum and Arabidopsis based on phylogenetic footprints.

Background: The potential contribution of upstream sequence variation to the unique features of orthologous genes is just beginning to be unraveled. A core subset of stress-associated bZIP transcription factors from rice (Oryza sativa) formed ten clusters of orthologous groups (COG) with genes from the monocot sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and dicot Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The total cis-regulatory information content of each stress-associated COG was examined by phylogenetic footprinting to reveal ortholog-specific, lineage-specific and species-specific conservation patterns.

Transcriptome profiling characterizes phosphate deficiency effects on carbohydrate metabolism in rice leaves.

Phosphorus (P) is a structural component of nucleic acids and phospholipids and plays important roles in plant growth and development. P accumulation was significantly reduced (about 35%) in rice leaves from plants grown under low (32 μM) P compared to 320 μM P grown plants. Genome response to low P was examined using the rice 60K oligonucleotide DNA microarrays.

Supra-optimal expression of the cold-regulated OsMyb4 transcription factor in transgenic rice changes the complexity of transcriptional network with major effects on stress tolerance and panicle development.

The R2R3-type OsMyb4 transcription factor of rice has been shown to play a role in the regulation of osmotic adjustment in heterologous overexpression studies. However, the exact composition and organization of its underlying transcriptional network has not been established to be a robust tool for stress tolerance enhancement by regulon engineering. OsMyb4 network was dissected based on commonalities between the global chilling stress transcriptome and the transcriptome configured by OsMyb4 overexpression.