An efficient method for rapid screening of triterpenoid saponins in three Glycyrrhiza species using rapid resolution liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with mass defect filtering.

Triterpenoid saponins, a major bioactive component of liquorice, possess high hydrophilicity and often co-occur with other impurities of similar polarity. Additionally, subtle structural differences of some triterpenoid saponins bring challenges to comprehensive characterisation. In this study, triterpenoid saponins of three Glycyrrhiza species were systematically analysed using rapid resolution liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (RRLC-Q-TOF-MS) coupled with mass defect filtering (MDF).

MrCreC, a carbon catabolite repression gene, is required for the growth, conidiation, stress tolerance and virulence of Metarhizium robertsii.

As a key component of carbon source metabolism in fungi, CreC WD40 repeat protein is regulated by carbon catabolite repression (CCR). However, the understanding of the functions of CreC in entomopathogenic fungi is currently limited. Here, CreC in Metarhizium robertsii (MrCreC) was identified, and its roles in fungal development, conidiation, environmental stress response, and insecticidal virulence were explored.

Optimisation of enzyme-assisted extraction of Erythronium sibiricum bulb polysaccharide and its effects on immunomodulation.

In this study, polysaccharides of Erythronium sibiricum bulb were extracted using enzyme-assisted extraction technology and then optimised by response surface methodology. The characteristics and immunomodulatory activities of the polysaccharide (E1P) were investigated. Setting the yield of polysaccharides as the index, the effects of amylase content, zymolytic time, extraction pH and zymolytic temperature were investigated.

Optimization of the composite enzyme extraction of polysaccharide from bulb and its immunoregulatory activities.

An efficient compound enzyme extraction process was developed and optimized to extract the polysaccharide from bulb via response surface methodology. The polysaccharide E2P was obtained. Then, the preliminary characteristics of E2P were determined via colorimetry and chromatography.

Functional Analysis of Keto-Acid Reductoisomerase ILVC in the Entomopathogenic Fungus .

Ketol-acid reductoisomerase (ILVC) is the second enzyme in the branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) biosynthesis, which regulates many physiological activities in a variety of organisms from bacteria to fungi and plants. In this work, function mechanisms of ILVC in Metchnikoff (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) were explored with site-directed mutagenesis, reductase activity assays and transcriptomics analysis. The reductase activity assays showed that ILVC from phytopathogenic fungi exhibited significantly higher activities than those from entomopathogenic fungi but lower than those from yeast.

Isolation, purification, and characterization of antioxidant peptides from fresh mare's milk.

In this study, the whey protein of fresh mare's milk was used as raw material. The antioxidant peptide liquid XMNDT was extracted from fresh mare's milk solution and purified. The peptide had a molecular weight of 1594.

Immunomodulatory effects of four polysaccharides purified from Erythronium sibiricum bulb on macrophages.

Four neutral polysaccharides (ESBP1-1, ESBP1-2, ESBP2-1 and ESBP3-1) were successfully purified from the water extracted crude polysaccharides of Erythronium sibiricum bulbs through the combination of DEAE Sepharose CL-6B and Sephadex G-100 chromatography; their average molecular weights were 1.3 × 10, 1.7 × 10, 9.

Integration of dsRNA against host immune response genes augments the virulence of transgenic Metarhizium robertsii strains in insect pest species.

The slow lethality of fungal biopesticides to insects restrains their widespread application as a strategy of pest control. In this study, unary, binary and ternary transgenic Metarhizium robertsii were created by integrating genes that encode the scorpion neurotoxin BjαIT, the cuticle-degrading protease Pr1A, and a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) that targets host gnbp3, individually or collectively under a constitutive promoter to enhance virulence. Compared with the parental wild type, all unary transgenic strains had increased virulence against four insect species, Tenebrio molitor, Locusta migratoria, Plutella xylostella and Galleria mellonella, whereas the binary transgenic strain expressing both pr1A and BjαIT had increased virulence to T.

The Intermediates in Branched-Chain Amino Acid Biosynthesis Are Indispensable for Conidial Germination of the Insect-Pathogenic Fungus Metarhizium .

spp. are well-known biocontrol agents used worldwide to control different insect pests. Keto-acid reductoisomerase (ILVC) is a key enzyme for branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) biosynthesis, and it regulates many physiological activities.

DNM1, a Dynamin-Related Protein That Contributes to Endocytosis and Peroxisome Fission, Is Required for the Vegetative Growth, Sporulation, and Virulence of Metarhizium .

Although dynamins and dynamin-related proteins (DRPs), a large GTPase superfamily, are involved in the budding of transport vesicles and division of organelles in eukaryotic cells, the function of these proteins in entomopathogenic fungi has not been reported to date. Here, DNM1, a DRP in , was characterized using gene disruption and complementation strategies. Mutant phenotype assays showed that the Δ strain displayed increased defects in radial growth (∼24%) and conidial production (∼42%) compared to those of the wild type (WT), and reduced conidiation levels were accompanied by the repression of several key conidiation-related genes, including , , and Additionally, mutant bioassays revealed that disruption of impaired the virulence (both topical inoculation and injection) of in the insect Further analysis demonstrated that deleting in fungi suppressed the transcriptional levels of several virulence genes in the insect hemocoel.

Genome-wide study of saprotrophy-related genes in the basal fungus Conidiobolus heterosporus.

Conidiobolus spp. are important saprophytic basal fungi. However, to date, no genomic-level data for decaying plant materials in the genus Conidiobolus has been reported.

Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Prediction of Long Non-coding RNAs Involved in the Heat Stress Response in .

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a significant role in stress responses. To date, only a few studies have reported the role of lncRNAs in insect-pathogenic fungi. Here, we report a genome-wide transcriptional analysis of lncRNAs produced in response to heat stress in , a model insect-pathogenic fungus, using strand-specific RNA sequencing.

Degradation of Fungal MicroRNAs Triggered by Short Tandem Target Mimics Is via the Small-RNA-Degrading Nuclease.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been recognized as sequence-specific regulators of the genome, transcriptome, and proteome in eukaryotes. However, the functions and working mechanisms of hundreds of fungal miRNA-like (miR-like) RNAs are obscure. Here, we report that a short tandem target mimic (STTM) triggered the degradation of several fungal miR-like RNAs in two different fungal species, and , and that small-RNA-degrading nucleases (SDNs) were indispensable for such degradation.

Water-soluble polysaccharide from Erythronium sibiricum bulb: Structural characterisation and immunomodulating activity.

A water-soluble polysaccharide named ESBP2-1 was isolated from Erythronium sibiricum bulb through anion-exchange and size-exclusion chromatography. ESBP2-1 is a neutral polysaccharide fraction with an average molecular weight of 9.4×10Da and is composed of glucose, galactose and arabinose in a ratio of 24.

A New Type of Liquid Silymarin Proliposome Containing Bile Salts: Its Preparation and Improved Hepatoprotective Effects.

Silymarin, a known extract, is used in the treatment of liver diseases with various origins, but its current administration form cannot target the liver because of its poor oral bioavailability. A new type of oral silymarin proliposome aimed at improving silymarin's poor bioavailability and hepatoprotective effects, is introduced in this work. Silymarin-loaded liquid proliposome were prepared using a simple dissolving process.

Optimised extraction of Erythronium sibiricum bulb polysaccharides and evaluation of their bioactivities.

In this study, the extraction of Erythronium sibiricum bulb polysaccharides (ESBP) through hot water decoction was optimised using response surface methodology (RSM) and a three-level, four-factor Box-Behnken design. The optimum extraction conditions were as follows: extraction time of 4.28h, extraction temperature of 90°C, ratio of liquid to raw material of 37 mL/g and extraction cycle number of three.

Synthesis and properties of a novel photochromic compound with modulated fluorescence in the solid state.

A new photochromic compound, 1,3-diphenyl-4-(3-bromobenzal)-5-hydroxypyrazole 4-phenylsemicarbazone (DP3BrBP-PSC), has been prepared. Its photochromic and thermobleaching behavior, crystal structure, and fluorescent property have been investigated in detail. The results show that the compound exhibits reversible enol-keto photoisomerization due to the intermolecular double-proton transfer, excellent photostability, high fatigue resistance, and remarkable fluorescence.