Novel weapon-aided plant protection in the underground battlefield.

and , the causative agents of bacterial wilt, ranks as the second most devastating phytopathogens, affecting over 310 plant species and causing substantial economic losses worldwide. and infect plants through the underground root system, where it interacts with both the host and the surrounding microbiota and multiply in the xylem where bacteria cell and its polysaccharide product block the water transportation from root to aboveground. Currently, effective control methods are limited, as resistance genes are unavailable and antibiotics prove ineffective.

Obesity modulates the cellular and molecular microenvironment in the peritoneal cavity: implication for ovarian cancer risk.

Introduction: Abdominal obesity increases the risk of developing ovarian cancer but the molecular mechanisms of how obesity supports ovarian cancer development remain unknown. Here we investigated the impact of obesity on the immune cell and gene expression profiles of distinct abdominal tissues, focusing on the peritoneal serous fluid (PSF) and the omental fat band (OFB) as critical determinants for the dissemination of ovarian metastases and early metastatic events within the peritoneal cavity.

Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were fed a low-fat (LFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks until the body weights in the HFD group were significantly higher and the mice displayed an impaired glucose tolerance.

Genetic and Functional Modifications Associated with Ovarian Cancer Cell Aggregation and Limited Culture Conditions.

The aggregation of cancer cells provides a survival signal for disseminating cancer cells; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms have yet to be elucidated. Using qPCR gene arrays, this study investigated the changes in cancer-specific genes as well as genes regulating mitochondrial quality control, metabolism, and oxidative stress in response to aggregation and hypoxia in our progressive ovarian cancer models representing slow- and fast-developing ovarian cancer. Aggregation increased the expression of anti-apoptotic, stemness, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenic, mitophagic, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging genes and functions, and decreased proliferation, apoptosis, metabolism, and mitochondrial content genes and functions.

9,10-KODA, an α-ketol produced by the tonoplast-localized 9-lipoxygenase ZmLOX5, plays a signaling role in maize defense against insect herbivory.

13-Lipoxygenases (LOXs) initiate the synthesis of jasmonic acid (JA), the best-understood oxylipin hormone in herbivory defense. However, the roles of 9-LOX-derived oxylipins in insect resistance remain unclear. Here, we report a novel anti-herbivory mechanism mediated by a tonoplast-localized 9-LOX, ZmLOX5, and its linolenic acid-derived product, 9-hydroxy-10-oxo-12(Z),15(Z)-octadecadienoic acid (9,10-KODA).

Maize Terpene Synthase 8 (ZmTPS8) Contributes to a Complex Blend of Fungal-Elicited Antibiotics.

In maize (), fungal-elicited immune responses include the accumulation of terpene synthase (TPS) and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP) enzymes resulting in complex antibiotic arrays of sesquiterpenoids and diterpenoids, including α/β-selinene derivatives, zealexins, kauralexins and dolabralexins. To uncover additional antibiotic families, we conducted metabolic profiling of elicited stem tissues in mapping populations, which included B73 × M162W recombinant inbred lines and the Goodman diversity panel. Five candidate sesquiterpenoids associated with a chromosome 1 locus spanning the location of and .

A dolabralexin-deficient mutant provides insight into specialized diterpenoid metabolism in maize.

Two major groups of specialized metabolites in maize (Zea mays), termed kauralexins and dolabralexins, serve as known or predicted diterpenoid defenses against pathogens, herbivores, and other environmental stressors. To consider the physiological roles of the recently discovered dolabralexin pathway, we examined dolabralexin structural diversity, tissue-specificity, and stress-elicited production in a defined biosynthetic pathway mutant. Metabolomics analyses support a larger number of dolabralexin pathway products than previously known.

Mitochondrial plasticity supports proliferative outgrowth and invasion of ovarian cancer spheroids during adhesion.

Background: Ovarian cancer cells aggregate during or after exfoliation from the primary tumor to form threedimensional spheroids. Spheroid formation provides a survival advantage during peritoneal dissemination in nutrient and oxygen-depleted conditions which is accompanied by a suppressed metabolic phenotype and fragmented mitochondria. Upon arrival to their metastatic sites, spheroids adhere to peritoneal organs and transition to a more epithelial phenotype to support outgrowth and invasion.

Maize resistance to witchweed through changes in strigolactone biosynthesis.

Maize () is a major staple crop in Africa, where its yield and the livelihood of millions are compromised by the parasitic witchweed . Germination of is induced by strigolactones exuded from maize roots into the rhizosphere. In a maize germplasm collection, we identified two strigolactones, zealactol and zealactonoic acid, which stimulate less germination than the major maize strigolactone, zealactone.

Metabolic Reprogramming of Ovarian Cancer Spheroids during Adhesion.

Ovarian cancer remains a deadly disease and its recurrence disease is due in part to the presence of disseminating ovarian cancer aggregates not removed by debulking surgery. During dissemination in a dynamic ascitic environment, the spheroid cells' metabolism is characterized by low respiration and fragmented mitochondria, a metabolic phenotype that may not support secondary outgrowth after adhesion. Here, we investigated how adhesion affects cellular respiration and substrate utilization of spheroids mimicking early stages of secondary metastasis.

Signatures of plant defense response specificity mediated by herbivore-associated molecular patterns in legumes.

Chewing herbivores activate plant defense responses through a combination of mechanical wounding and elicitation by herbivore-associated molecular patterns (HAMPs). HAMPs are wound response amplifiers; however, specific defense outputs may also exist that strictly require HAMP-mediated defense signaling. To investigate HAMP-mediated signaling and defense responses, we characterized cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) transcriptome changes following elicitation by inceptin, a peptide HAMP common in Lepidoptera larvae oral secretions.

A nonproteinogenic amino acid, β-tyrosine, accumulates in young rice leaves via long-distance phloem transport from mature leaves.

Oryza sativa L. ssp. japonica cv.

Shielding the oil reserves: the scutellum as a source of chemical defenses.

The cereal scutellum is a hub for diverse specialized defense metabolism and pathway discovery.

A sorghum genome-wide association study (GWAS) identifies a WRKY transcription factor as a candidate gene underlying sugarcane aphid (Melanaphis sacchari) resistance.

A WRKY transcription factor identified through forward genetics is associated with sorghum resistance to the sugarcane aphid and through heterologous expression reduces aphid populations in multiple plant species. Crop plant resistance to insect pests is based on genetically encoded traits which often display variability across diverse germplasm. In a comparatively recent event, a predominant sugarcane aphid (SCA: Melanaphis sacchari) biotype has become a significant agronomic pest of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor).

Quantitative biophysical metrics for rapid evaluation of ovarian cancer metastatic potential.

Ovarian cancer is routinely diagnosed long after the disease has metastasized through the fibrous submesothelium. Despite extensive research in the field linking ovarian cancer progression to increasingly poor prognosis, there are currently no validated cellular markers or hallmarks of ovarian cancer that can predict metastatic potential. To discern disease progression across a syngeneic mouse ovarian cancer progression model, here we fabricated extracellular matrix mimicking suspended fiber networks: cross-hatches of mismatch diameters for studying protrusion dynamics, aligned same diameter networks of varying interfiber spacing for studying migration, and aligned nanonets for measuring cell forces.

Plant height heterosis is quantitatively associated with expression levels of plastid ribosomal proteins.

The use of hybrids is widespread in agriculture, yet the molecular basis for hybrid vigor (heterosis) remains obscure. To identify molecular components that may contribute to trait heterosis, we analyzed paired proteomic and transcriptomic data from seedling leaf and mature leaf blade tissues of maize hybrids and their inbred parents. Nuclear- and plastid-encoded subunits of complexes required for protein synthesis in the chloroplast and for the light reactions of photosynthesis were expressed above midparent and high-parent levels, respectively.

Targeting /HP1γ Induces LEF-1 and IL-21R to Promote Tumor-Infiltrating CD8 T-Cell Persistence.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) relieves CD8 T-cell exhaustion in most mutated tumors, and TCF-1 is implicated in converting progenitor exhausted cells to functional effector cells. However, identifying mechanisms that can prevent functional senescence and potentiate CD8 T-cell persistence for ICB non-responsive and resistant tumors remains elusive. We demonstrate that targeting /HP1γ in CD8 T cells augments transcription initiation and chromatin remodeling leading to increased transcriptional activity at and .

Biosynthesis and antifungal activity of fungus-induced O-methylated flavonoids in maize.

Fungal infection of grasses, including rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and barley (Hordeum vulgare), induces the formation and accumulation of flavonoid phytoalexins. In maize (Zea mays), however, investigators have emphasized benzoxazinoid and terpenoid phytoalexins, and comparatively little is known about flavonoid induction in response to pathogens. Here, we examined fungus-elicited flavonoid metabolism in maize and identified key biosynthetic enzymes involved in the formation of O-methylflavonoids.

Comparative analyses of responses to exogenous and endogenous antiherbivore elicitors enable a forward genetics approach to identify maize gene candidates mediating sensitivity to herbivore-associated molecular patterns.

Crop damage by herbivorous insects remains a significant contributor to annual yield reductions. Following attack, maize (Zea mays) responds to herbivore-associated molecular patterns (HAMPs) and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), activating dynamic direct and indirect antiherbivore defense responses. To define underlying signaling processes, comparative analyses between plant elicitor peptide (Pep) DAMPs and fatty acid-amino acid conjugate (FAC) HAMPs were conducted.

Differential effects of nanosecond pulsed electric fields on cells representing progressive ovarian cancer.

Nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) may induce differential effects on tumor cells from different disease stages and could be suitable for treating tumors by preferentially targeting the late-stage/highly aggressive tumor cells. In this study, we investigated the nsPEF responses of mouse ovarian surface epithelial (MOSE) cells representing progressive ovarian cancer from benign to malignant stages and highly aggressive tumor-initiating-like cells. We established the cell-seeded 3D collagen scaffolds cultured with or without Nocodazole (eliminating the influence of cell proliferation on ablation outcome) to observe the ablation effects at 3 h and 24 h after treatment and compared the corresponding thresholds obtained by numerically calculated electric field distribution.

Induces Maize-Derived Ethylene to Promote Virulence by Engaging Fungal G-Protein Signaling.

Seed maceration and contamination with mycotoxin fumonisin inflicted by is a major disease concern for maize producers worldwide. Meta-analyses of quantitative trait loci for Fusarium ear rot resistance uncovered several ethylene (ET) biosynthesis and signaling genes within them, implicating ET in maize interactions with . We tested this hypothesis using maize knockout mutants of the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthases and .

Getting back to the grass roots: harnessing specialized metabolites for improved crop stress resilience.

Roots remain an understudied site of complex and important biological interactions mediating plant productivity. In grain and bioenergy crops, grass root specialized metabolites (GRSM) are central to key interactions, yet our basic knowledge of the chemical language remains fragmentary. Continued improvements in plant genome assembly and metabolomics are enabling large-scale advances in the discovery of specialized metabolic pathways as a means of regulating root-biotic interactions.

A novel ultralow conductivity electromanipulation buffer improves cell viability and enhances dielectrophoretic consistency.

Cell separation has become a critical diagnostic, research, and treatment tool for personalized medicine. Despite significant advances in cell separation, most widely used applications require the use of multiple, expensive antibodies to known markers in order to identify subpopulations of cells for separation. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) provides a biophysical separation technique that can target cell subpopulations based on phenotype without labels and return native cells for downstream analysis.

Phenylalanine Ammonia Lyase (PAL) Promotes Antiviral Defenses against and Its Satellites.

has recently emerged as a premier model plant for monocot biology, akin to We previously reported genome-wide transcriptomic and alternative splicing changes occurring in during compatible infections with (PMV) and its satellite virus (SPMV). Here, we dissected the role of phenylalanine ammonia lyase 1 (PAL1), a key enzyme for phenylpropanoid and salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis and the induction of plant defenses. Targeted metabolomics profiling of PMV-infected and PMV- plus SPMV-infected (PMV/SPMV) plants revealed enhanced levels of multiple defense-related hormones and metabolites such as cinnamic acid, SA, and fatty acids and lignin precursors during disease progression.