Trophic transfer efficiency of microbial food webs differs in water and sediment in alpine wetlands across the Tibetan Plateau.

The Tibetan Plateau contains the world's largest area of alpine wetlands, where coexisting water and sediment environments provide habitats for multitrophic microbial communities. However, the microbial food web (MFW) of coexisting water and sediment in wetland ecosystems and their responses to environmental changes remain unclear. In this study, we investigated MFWs (including archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes) across 21 paired samples from alpine wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau along a salinity gradient.

Use of a universal targeting CAR T cell to simultaneously kill cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts.

CAR T cells therapies have demonstrated success in treating hematologic malignancies, but have proven less effective in eradicating solid tumors. While suppressive immune cells may contribute to reduced CAR T cell efficacies in malignant masses, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are also believed to facilitate tumor survival by secreting growth factors, immunosuppressive cytokines, and extracellular matrix components that inhibit drug and immune cell filtration and facilitate metastasis. In an effort to eliminate both CAFs and cancer cells simultaneously, we have employed a universal CAR T cell that can attack both cell types when supplemented with appropriate bispecific adapters.

Aspergillus Mycotoxins: The Major Food Contaminants.

Mycotoxins, a category of fungal secondary metabolites, frequently contaminate food products and pose a severe threat to human health. Aspergillus, a genus of fungi, is capable of producing mycotoxins, with aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxins being its principal types. Aspergillus mycotoxins can contaminate a wide range of crops and their derivatives, such as maize, wheat, rice, minor cereals, and peanuts, thereby threatening food and feed safety.

OSGIN1 regulates PM-induced fibrosis via mediating autophagy in an in vitro model of COPD.

Fine particulate matter (PM) has been identified as a significant contributing factor to the exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It has been observed that PM may induce lung fibrosis in COPD, although the precise molecular mechanism behind this remains unclear. In a previous study, we demonstrated that PM upregulates oxidative stress induced growth inhibitor 1 (OSGIN1), which in turn leads to injury in airway epithelial cells, thereby, suggesting a potential link between PM exposure and COPD.

Bacterial community composition of wheat aboveground compartments correlates with yield during the reproductive phase.

Unlabelled: Plant-associated microbial communities play important roles in agricultural productivity, and their composition has been shown to vary across plant compartments and developmental stages. However, the response of microbial communities within different plant compartments and at different developmental stages to diverse long-term fertilization treatments, as well as their linkages with crop yields, remains underexplored. This study analyzed wheat-associated bacterial communities within various soil and plant compartments under three fertilization treatments throughout the vegetative and reproductive phases.

Accumulated temperature dictates the regional structural variation of prokaryotic periphyton at soil-water interface in paddy fields.

As a pervasive microbial aggregate found at the water-soil interface in paddy fields, periphyton plays crucial roles in modulating nutrient biogeochemical cycling. Consequently, it effectively mitigates non-point source pollution due to its diverse composition. Despite its significance, the mechanisms governing periphyton diversity across different rice planting regions remain poorly understood.

Non-selective microbiota reduction after the elicitation of a seaweed's immune response.

Pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) is an integral part of the innate immune system of many eukaryotic hosts, assisting in the defence against pathogen invasions. In plants and animals, PTI exerts a selective pressure on the microbiota that can alter community composition. However, the effect of PTI on the microbiota for non-model hosts, including seaweeds, remains unknown.

AKR1C2 genetic variants mediate tobacco carcinogens metabolism involving bladder cancer susceptibility.

Tobacco carcinogens metabolism-related genes (TCMGs) could generate reactive metabolites of tobacco carcinogens, which subsequently contributed to multiple diseases. However, the association between genetic variants in TCMGs and bladder cancer susceptibility remains unclear. In this study, we derived TCMGs from metabolic pathways of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and tobacco-specific nitrosamines, and then explored genetic associations between TCMGs and bladder cancer risk in two populations: a Chinese population of 580 cases and 1101 controls, and a European population of 5930 cases and 5468 controls, along with interaction and joint analyses.

Ecological relevance of flagellar motility in soil bacterial communities.

Flagellar motility is a key bacterial trait as it allows bacteria to navigate their immediate surroundings. Not all bacteria are capable of flagellar motility, and the distribution of this trait, its ecological associations, and the life history strategies of flagellated taxa remain poorly characterized. We developed and validated a genome-based approach to infer the potential for flagellar motility across 12 bacterial phyla (26 192 unique genomes).

Regional microbial biogeography linked to soil respiration.

The relationships between α-diversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) have been extensively examined. However, it remains unknown how spatial heterogeneity of microbial community, i.e.

Diversity and distribution of biosynthetic gene clusters in agricultural soil microbiomes.

Bacterial secondary metabolites serve as an important source of molecules for drug discovery. They also play an important function in mediating the interactions of microbial producers with their living environment and surrounding organisms. However, little is known about the genetic novelty, distribution, and community-level impacts of soil bacterial biosynthetic potential on a large geographic scale.

Biogeographic patterns and drivers of soil viromes.

Viruses are crucial in shaping soil microbial functions and ecosystems. However, studies on soil viromes have been limited in both spatial scale and biome coverage. Here we present a comprehensive synthesis of soil virome biogeographic patterns using the Global Soil Virome dataset (GSV) wherein we analysed 1,824 soil metagenomes worldwide, uncovering 80,750 partial genomes of DNA viruses, 96.

Nitrogen fertilization reduces plant diversity by changing the diversity and stability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community in a temperate steppe.

Nitrogen (N) deposition resulting from anthropogenic activities poses threats to ecosystem stability by reducing plant and microbial diversity. However, the role of soil microbes, particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), as mediators of N-induced shifts in plant diversity remains unclear. In this study, we conducted 6 and 11 years of N addition field experiments in a temperate steppe to investigate AMF richness and network stability and their associations with plant species richness in response to N deposition.

Positive associations fuel soil biodiversity and ecological networks worldwide.

Microbial interactions are key to maintaining soil biodiversity. However, whether negative or positive associations govern the soil microbial system at a global scale remains virtually unknown, limiting our understanding of how microbes interact to support soil biodiversity and functions. Here, we explored ecological networks among multitrophic soil organisms involving bacteria, protists, fungi, and invertebrates in a global soil survey across 20 regions of the planet and found that positive associations among both pairs and triads of soil taxa governed global soil microbial networks.

Genetic variants in hypoxia-inducible factor pathway are associated with colorectal cancer risk and immune infiltration.

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway genes influence tumorigenesis and immune status. However, the associations between genetic variants in hypoxia-related genes and colorectal cancer risk and the immune status of hypoxia-associated genes in colorectal cancer have not been systematically characterized. The associations between genetic variants and colorectal cancer risk were evaluated in Chinese, Japanese and European populations using logistic regression analysis.

Alternative polyadenylation-related genetic variants contribute to bladder cancer risk.

Aberrant alternative polyadenylation (APA) events play an important role in cancers, but little is known about whether APA-related genetic variants contribute to the susceptibility to bladder cancer. Previous genome-wide association study performed APA quantitative trait loci (apaQTL) analyses in bladder cancer, and identified 17 955 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We found that gene symbols of APA affected by apaQTL-associated SNPs were closely correlated with cancer signaling pathways, high mutational burden, and immune infiltration.

Hepatic sialic acid synthesis modulates glucose homeostasis in both liver and skeletal muscle.

Objective: Sialic acid is a terminal monosaccharide of glycans in glycoproteins and glycolipids, and its derivation from glucose is regulated by the rate-limiting enzyme UDP-GlcNAc 2-epimerase/ManNAc kinase (GNE). Although the glycans on key endogenous hepatic proteins governing glucose metabolism are sialylated, how sialic acid synthesis and sialylation in the liver influence glucose homeostasis is unknown. Studies were designed to fill this knowledge gap.