Relic DNA obscures bacterial diversity and interactions in ballast tank sediment.

The dark and anoxic environment of ballast tank sediment (BTS) harbors substantial amounts of relic DNA, yet its impact on microbial diversity estimates in BTS management remains poorly understood. This study employed propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment to eliminate relic DNA and used 16S amplicon high-throughput sequencing to characterize both total and viable bacteria. Our findings revealed that relic DNA is abundant in BTS.

Environmental RNA metabarcoding for ballast water microbial diversity: Minimizing false positives.

While maritime transport boosts global trade by shipping bulk goods, it raises concerns about the spread of harmful bacteria via ballast water. Moreover, the dark and cold environments of ballast tanks often harbor extracellular DNA from dead organisms, leading to false positives in traditional environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding analyses. Here, we alternatively employed environmental RNA (eRNA) metabarcoding to assess its potential for reducing false positive in ballast water monitoring.

Estimated daily intake and health risk assessment of total and organic selenium in crops across areas with different selenium levels.

Background: The health risk of Se has gained significant attention. Previous studies mainly focused on the health risk of total Se in high-Se area. Less attention has been paid to the health risk of organic selenium in areas with varying selenium levels.

Oral secretions from striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis) induce defenses in rice.

Background: The striped stem borer (SSB, Chilo suppressalis) is one of the most destructive insect pests on rice. As a chewing insect, SSB larval feeding causes a dramatic increase in rice defense responses. However, the effects of oral secretions (OSs) during SSB feeding on rice defense remain largely unexplored.

Transoceanic ships as a source of alien dinoflagellate invasions of inland freshwater ecosystems.

Ships' ballast water and sediments have long been linked to the global transport and expansion of invasive species and thus have become a hot research topic and administrative challenge in the past decades. The relevant concerns, however, have been mainly about the ocean-to-ocean invasion and sampling practices have been almost exclusively conducted onboard. We examined and compared the dinoflagellate cysts assemblages in 49 sediment samples collected from ballast tanks of international and domestic routes ships, washing basins associated with a ship-repair yard, Jiangyin Port (PS), and the nearby area of Yangtze River (YR) during 2017-2018.

Diverse bacterial hosts and potential risk of antibiotic resistomes in ship ballast water revealed by metagenomic binning.

Ship ballast water promoting the long-range migration of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has raised a great concern. This study attempted to reveal ARGs profile in ballast water and decipher their hosts and potential risk using metagenomic approaches. In total, 710 subtypes across 26 ARG types were identified among the ballast water samples from 13 ships of 11 countries and regions, and multidrug resistance genes were the most dominant ARGs.

A chromosome-level genome assembly of yellow stem borer (Scirpophaga incertulas).

The yellow stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas is the dominant pest of rice in tropical Asia. However, the lack of genomic resources makes it difficult to understand their invasiveness and ecological adaptation. A high-quality chromosome-level genome of S.

Metagenome sequencing and 103 microbial genomes from ballast water and sediments.

The great threat of microbes carried by ballast water calls for figuring out the species composition of the ballast-tank microbial community, where the dark, cold, and anoxic tank environment might select special taxa. In this study, we reconstructed 103 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), including 102 bacteria and one archaea, from four vessels on international voyages. Of these MAGs, 60 were 'near complete' (completeness >90%), 34 were >80% complete, and nine were >75% complete.

Responses of compositions, functions, and assembly processes of bacterial and microeukaryotic communities to long-range voyages in simulated ballast water.

Ballast water is one of the main vectors for the spread of harmful organisms among geologically isolated waters. However, the successional processes of microbial functions and assembly processes in ballast water during the long-term shipping voyage remain unclear. In this study, the compositions, ecological functions, community assembly, and potential environmental drivers of bacteria and microeukaryotes were investigated in simulated ballast water microcosms for 120 days.

The hidden diversity of microbes in ballast water and sediments revealed by metagenomic sequencing.

With the rapid globalization of trade, the worldwide spread of pathogens through ballast water is becoming a major concern. Although the international maritime organization (IMO) convention has been adopted to prevent the spread of harmful pathogens, the limited species resolution of the current microbe-monitoring methods challenged the ballast water and sediments management (BWSM). In this study, we explored metagenomic sequencing to investigate the species composition of microbial communities in four international vessels for BWSM.

The prevalence of potential pathogens in ballast water and sediments of oceangoing vessels and implications for management.

Ballast water and sediments can serve as prominent vectors for the widespread dispersal of pathogens between geographically distant areas. However, information regarding the diversity and distribution of the bacterial pathogens in ballast water and sediments is highly limited. In this study, using high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR, we investigated the composition and abundance of potential pathogens, and their associations with indicator microorganisms.

Caterpillar-Induced Rice Volatile (E)-β-Farnesene Impairs the Development and Survival of Larvae by Disrupting Insect Hormone Balance.

Significant research progress has recently been made on establishing the roles of in rice defense. (E)-β-farnesene (Eβf) is a major product of activity but its physiological functions and potential mechanisms against have not yet been clarified. In the present study, larvae were artificially fed a diet containing 0.

Terpene Synthases in Rice Pan-Genome and Their Responses to Larvae Infesting.

Terpene synthase (TPS) catalyzes the synthesis of terpenes and plays an important role in plant defense. This study identified 45 genes (32 core genes and 13 variable genes) based on the high-quality rice gene-based pan-genome. This indicates limitations in gene studies based on a single reference genome.

Resting Cysts Detected in the Ballast Tank Sediment of Ships Arriving in the Ports of China and North America and the Implications in the Species' Geographic Distribution and Possible Invasion.

Over the past several decades, much attention has been focused on the dispersal of aquatic nonindigenous species via ballast tanks of shipping vessels worldwide. The recently reclassified dinoflagellate (previously identified as sp., , or ) was not reported in China until 2006.

Deciphering the characterization, ecological function and assembly processes of bacterial communities in ship ballast water and sediments.

Various microorganisms are transported worldwide via the water and sediments inside ship ballast tanks. Nevertheless, the ecological functions and assembly processes of bacterial communities in ballast water and sediments remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the bacterial composition, community assembly processes, and putative functions through analyses of 70 ballast water and sediment samples obtained from various ships.

Bacterial diversity in ballast water and sediments revealed by 2b-RAD sequencing.

Despite that the ballast water management (BWM) convention has come into force to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms, to date, very few bacteria can be identified through microbial culture method. In this study, we explored a reduced-representation sequencing of 2b-RAD approach to investigate the bacterial diversity in ballast water and sediments (BWS). Our results indicated a large amount of bacteria species (1496) detected in BWS up to now, including 13 pathogens that are seriously concerning in marine environment and aquaculture like the most harmful Vibrio harveyi and Aurantimonas coralicida.

Transfer of antibiotic-resistant bacteria via ballast water with a special focus on multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria: A survey from an inland port in the Yangtze River.

Ship ballast water can transfer harmful organisms, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), among geographically isolated waters. In this study, the presence and composition of ARB and multiple ARB (MARB) were investigated in the ballast waters of 30 vessels sailing to the Port of Jiangyin (Jiangsu Province, China). ARB were detected in 83.

Transcript-Level Analysis of Detoxification Gene Mutation-Mediated Chlorpyrifos Resistance in Laodelphax striatellus (Hemiptera: Delphacidae).

Enhanced detoxification and target mutations that weaken insecticide binding ability are major mechanisms of insecticide resistance. Among these, over-expression or site mutations of carboxylesterase (CarE), cytochrome P450s (CYP450), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were the main form responsible for insecticide detoxification; however, transcript-level analysis of the relationship of detoxification gene mutations with chlorpyrifos (an organophosphorus insecticide) resistance is scarce thus far. In this study, multiple sites exhibiting polymorphisms within three detoxification genes were firstly examined via sequencing among different chlorpyrifos-resistant and susceptible individuals of Laodelphax striatellus.

Induced expression of small heat shock proteins is associated with thermotolerance in female Laodelphax striatellus planthoppers.

Insects are often exposed to high temperature stress in natural environments, but the mechanisms involved in thermotolerance in many insect groups like Hemiptera are not well known. To explore possible mechanisms of thermotolerance in the hemipteran pest Laodelphax striatellus, which damages rice through direct feeding and viral transmission, small heat shock proteins (sHsps) implicated in thermotolerance in other insect groups were identified. The seven sHsps identified have a conserved alpha crystallin domain, a variable N-terminal region, and shared relative low identities to each other.

Resistance monitoring and cross-resistance role of CYP6CW1 between buprofezin and pymetrozine in field populations of Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén).

Monitoring resistance and investigating insecticide resistance mechanisms are necessary for controlling the small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus. The susceptibility to four common insecticides of L. striatellus collected from Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang and Jilin provinces of China in 2015 was monitored.

Resistance to cycloxaprid in Laodelphax striatellus is associated with altered expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits.

Background: Cycloxaprid is a new oxabridged cis-configuration neonicotinoid insecticide, the resistance development potential and underlying resistance mechanism of which were investigated in the small brown planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén), an important agricultural pest of rice.

Results: A cycloxaprid-resistant strain (YN-CPD) only achieved 10-fold higher resistance, in contrast to 106-fold higher resistance to buprofezin and 332-fold higher resistance to chlorpyrifos achieved after exposure to similar selection pressure, and the cycloxaprid selected line showed no cross-resistance to the buprofezin and chlorpyrifos-selected resistance strains. Moreover, we identified 10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits from the transcriptome of L.

Variation in P450-mediated fenvalerate resistance levels is not correlated with CYP337B3 genotype in Chinese populations of Helicoverpa armigera.

Metabolic resistance to synthetic pyrethroids in Helicoverpa   armigera has recently been associated with the chimeric cytochrome P450 enyzme CYP337B3. One variant of the latter, CYP337B3v1, accounts for 40-50 fold resistance to fenvalerate in an Australian population while a second variant, CYP337B3v2, has been associated with ~7 fold resistance to cypermethrin in a Pakistani population. Here we show that ~250-1200 fold resistance to fenvalerate in populations of the species from northern and northwestern China is largely due to P450-based metabolism, and that CYP337B3v2 is also at high frequency in these populations but absent in a susceptible control strain.

Loeffler's endocarditis presenting with acute abdominal aortic obstruction.

Loeffler's endocarditis is a complication of diseases associated with the idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome, which is characterised by persistently elevated blood eosinophil counts with symptoms and signs of organ involvement especially in the heart, vascular system, nervous system and bone marrow. We report the involvements of the endocardium and aorta, without endomyocardial fibrosis and the complete resolution of the endocardial eosinophilic infiltration with steroids and anticoagulation therapy.

How many genetic options for evolving insecticide resistance in heliothine and spodopteran pests?

The widely accepted paradigm for the development of insecticide resistance in field populations of insects is of selection for one or a very few genes of major effect. Limited genetic mapping data for organophosphate and pyrethroid resistance in heliothine and spodopteran pests generally agrees with this paradigm. However, other biochemical and transcriptomic data suggest a more complex set of changes in multiple P450 and esterase gene/enzyme systems in resistant strains of these species.