Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Induces Reactive Oxygen Species-Dependent Proliferation of Intestinal Epithelial Cells.

: Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) is a proinflammatory particle associated with various diseases and affects cell proliferation and viability in multiple cell types. However, its impact on intestinal epithelial cells remains underexplored. This study investigates the effect of ox-LDL on colonic epithelial cell proliferation and viability, as well as the underlying mechanisms involved.

A combination of joint linkage and genome-wide association study reveals putative candidate genes associated with resistance to northern corn leaf blight in tropical maize.

Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB), caused by , is a major fungal disease affecting maize production in sub-Saharan Africa. Utilizing host plant resistance to mitigate yield losses associated with NCLB can serve as a cost-effective strategy. In this study, we conducted a high-resolution genome-wide association study (GWAS) in an association mapping panel and linkage mapping with three doubled haploid (DH) and three F populations of tropical maize.

Genomic prediction of the performance of tropical doubled haploid maize lines under artificial Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. infestation.

Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth., a parasitic weed, causes substantial yield losses in maize production in sub-Saharan Africa.

Genetic variation among elite inbred lines suggests potential to breed for BNI-capacity in maize.

Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) is a plant function where root systems release antibiotic compounds (BNIs) specifically aimed at suppressing nitrifiers to limit soil-nitrate formation in the root zone. Little is known about BNI-activity in maize (Zea mays L.), the most important food, feed, and energy crop.

Intestinal Epithelial Inactivity of Dual Oxidase 2 Results in Microbiome-Mediated Metabolic Syndrome.

Background & Aims: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by obesity, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis. Alterations in the gut microbiome play important roles in the development of MetS. However, the mechanisms by which this occurs are poorly understood.

Bayesian modelling of phosphorus content in wheat grain using hyperspectral reflectance data.

Background: As a result of the technological progress, the use of sensors for crop survey has substantially increased, generating valuable information for modelling agricultural data. Plant spectroscopy jointly with statistical modeling can potentially help to assess certain chemical components of interest present in plants, which may be laborious and expensive to obtain by direct measurements. In this research, the phosphorus content in wheat grain is modeled using reflectance information measured by a hyperspectral sensor at different wavelengths.

Effect of Storage Technologies on Postharvest Insect Pest Control and Seed Germination in Mexican Maize Landraces.

Smallholder farmers who grow maize landraces face important challenges to preserve their seed biodiversity from one season to another. This study was carried out in the central highlands of Mexico to compare the effectiveness of two seed storage practices-specifically, polypropylene woven bags (farmers' conventional practice) vs. hermetic containers-for minimizing seed losses and maintaining germination.

Worldwide Selection Footprints for Drought and Heat in Bread Wheat ( L.).

Genome-environment Associations (GEA) or Environmental Genome-Wide Association scans (EnvGWAS) have been poorly applied for studying the genomics of adaptive traits in bread wheat landraces ( L.). We analyzed 990 landraces and seven climatic variables (mean temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, precipitation seasonality, heat index of mean temperature, heat index of maximum temperature, and drought index) in GEA using the FarmCPU approach with GAPIT.

Lamina Propria Phagocyte Profiling Reveals Targetable Signaling Pathways in Refractory Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background And Aims: Lamina propria phagocytes are key mediators of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to understand the transcriptomic and functional differences in these cells based on location, disease type, inflammation state, and medication use in patients with IBD.

Methods: Phagocytic immune cells in the lamina propria, as defined by the marker CD11b, were isolated from 54 unique patients (n = 111 gut mucosal biopsies).

Transcriptional Behavior of Regulatory T Cells Predicts IBD Patient Responses to Vedolizumab Therapy.

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involves chronic T cell-mediated inflammatory responses. Vedolizumab (VDZ), a monoclonal antibody against α4β7 integrin, inhibits lymphocyte extravasation into intestinal mucosae and is effective in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD).

Aim: We sought to identify immune cell phenotypic and gene expression signatures that related to response to VDZ.

Preliminary Dissection of Grain Yield and Related Traits at Differential Nitrogen Levels in Diverse Pre-Breeding Wheat Germplasm Through Association Mapping.

Development of nutrient efficient cultivars depends on effective identification and utilization of genetic variation. We characterized a set of 276 pre-breeding lines (PBLs) for several traits at different levels of nitrogen application. These PBLs originate from synthetic wheats and landraces.

Introgression of Maize Diversity for Drought Tolerance: Subtropical Maize Landraces as Source of New Positive Variants.

Current climate change models predict an increased frequency and intensity of drought for much of the developing world within the next 30 years. These events will negatively affect maize yields, potentially leading to economic and social instability in many smallholder farming communities. Knowledge about the genetic resources available for traits related to drought tolerance has great importance in developing breeding program strategies.

Effect of Flowering Time-Related Genes on Biomass, Harvest Index, and Grain Yield in CIMMYT Elite Spring Bread Wheat.

Grain yield (YLD) is a function of the total biomass (BM) and of partitioning the biomass by grains, i.e., the harvest index (HI).

Genome-enabled prediction for sparse testing in multi-environmental wheat trials.

Sparse testing in genome-enabled prediction in plant breeding can be emulated throughout different line allocations where some lines are observed in all environments (overlap) and others are observed in only one environment (nonoverlap). We studied three general cases of the composition of the sparse testing allocation design for genome-enabled prediction of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding: (a) completely nonoverlapping wheat lines in environments, (b) completely overlapping wheat lines in all environments, and (c) a proportion of nonoverlapping/overlapping wheat lines allocated in the environments.

Application of Genomic Selection at the Early Stage of Breeding Pipeline in Tropical Maize.

In maize, doubled haploid (DH) line production capacity of large-sized maize breeding programs often exceeds the capacity to phenotypically evaluate the complete set of testcross candidates in multi-location trials. The ability to partially select DH lines based on genotypic data while maintaining or improving genetic gains for key traits using phenotypic selection can result in significant resource savings. The present study aimed to evaluate genomic selection (GS) prediction scenarios for grain yield and agronomic traits of one of the tropical maize breeding pipelines of CIMMYT in eastern Africa, based on multi-year empirical data for designing a GS-based strategy at the early stages of the pipeline.

Scalable Sparse Testing Genomic Selection Strategy for Early Yield Testing Stage.

To enable a scalable sparse testing genomic selection (GS) strategy at preliminary yield trials in the CIMMYT maize breeding program, optimal approaches to incorporate genotype by environment interaction (GEI) in genomic prediction models are explored. Two cross-validation schemes were evaluated: CV1, predicting the genetic merit of new bi-parental populations that have been evaluated in some environments and not others, and CV2, predicting the genetic merit of half of a bi-parental population that has been phenotyped in some environments and not others using the coefficient of determination (CDmean) to determine optimized subsets of a full-sib family to be evaluated in each environment. We report similar prediction accuracies in CV1 and CV2, however, CV2 has an intuitive appeal in that all bi-parental populations have representation across environments, allowing efficient use of information across environments.

Epithelial TLR4 Signaling Activates DUOX2 to Induce Microbiota-Driven Tumorigenesis.

Background & Aims: Chronic colonic inflammation leads to dysplasia and cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. We have described the critical role of innate immune signaling via Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the pathogenesis of dysplasia and cancer. In the current study, we interrogate the intersection of TLR4 signaling, epithelial redox activity, and the microbiota in colitis-associated neoplasia.

Maximizing efficiency of genomic selection in CIMMYT's tropical maize breeding program.

Historical data from breeding programs can be efficiently used to improve genomic selection accuracy, especially when the training set is optimized to subset individuals most informative of the target testing set. The current strategy for large-scale implementation of genomic selection (GS) at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) global maize breeding program has been to train models using information from full-sibs in a "test-half-predict-half approach." Although effective, this approach has limitations, as it requires large full-sib populations and limits the ability to shorten variety testing and breeding cycle times.

Diversity analysis of 80,000 wheat accessions reveals consequences and opportunities of selection footprints.

Undomesticated wild species, crop wild relatives, and landraces represent sources of variation for wheat improvement to address challenges from climate change and the growing human population. Here, we study 56,342 domesticated hexaploid, 18,946 domesticated tetraploid and 3,903 crop wild relatives in a massive-scale genotyping and diversity analysis. Using DArTseq technology, we identify more than 300,000 high-quality SNPs and SilicoDArT markers and align them to three reference maps: the IWGSC RefSeq v1.

Genomic Prediction Enhanced Sparse Testing for Multi-environment Trials.

"Sparse testing" refers to reduced multi-environment breeding trials in which not all genotypes of interest are grown in each environment. Using genomic-enabled prediction and a model embracing genotype × environment interaction (GE), the non-observed genotype-in-environment combinations can be predicted. Consequently, the overall costs can be reduced and the testing capacities can be increased.

Expression of SARS-CoV-2 Entry Molecules ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Gut of Patients With IBD.

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have intestinal inflammation and are treated with immune-modulating medications. In the face of the coronavirus disease-19 pandemic, we do not know whether patients with IBD will be more susceptible to infection or disease. We hypothesized that the viral entry molecules angiotensin I converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) are expressed in the intestine.