NPR1 promotes blue light-induced plant photomorphogenesis by ubiquitinating and degrading PIF4.

Light is a major determinant of plant growth and survival. NONEXPRESSER OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES 1 (NPR1) acts as a receptor for salicylic acid (SA) and serves as the key regulator of SA-mediated immune responses. However, the mechanisms by which plants integrate light and SA signals in response to environmental changes, as well as the role of NPR1 in regulating plant photomorphogenesis, remain poorly understood.

A DNA phosphorothioation-based Dnd defense system provides resistance against various phages and is compatible with the Ssp defense system.

DndABCDE-catalyzed DNA phosphorothioation (PT), in which the nonbridging oxygen is swapped with a sulfur atom, was first identified in the bacterial genome. Usually, this modification gene cluster is paired with a restriction module consisting of DndF, DndG, and DndH. Although the mechanisms for the antiphage activity conferred by this Dnd-related restriction and modification (R-M) system have been well characterized, several features remain unclear, including the antiphage spectrum and potential interference with DNA methylation.

Cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides regulate the cell cycle, apoptosis, and steroidogenesis of mouse ovarian granulosa cells by targeting inhibin alpha (1 ~ 32) fragments.

Cytosine-phosphate-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODNs), which exist in vertebrate, bacterial, and viral genomes, are regarded as strong immune adjuvants. To date, the biological activities of CpG-ODNs in reproduction remain unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of CpG-ODNs on the cell cycle, apoptosis, and steroidogenesis in mouse granulosa cells (mGCs), in combination with inhibin alpha (1 ~ 32) fragments.

Can public-private partnerships (PPPs) improve the environmental performance of urban sewage treatment?

Insufficient sewage treatment facility is one important reason for wastewater entering and affecting aquatic ecosystems. The PPP mode, serving as one of the fastest-growing mechanisms for public service provision in recent decades, is considered to be an effective way to alleviate the pressure of funding shortages and to improve the efficiency of sewage treatment. However, the performance of PPPs has been questioned, especially the service quality given the inherent nature of the private sectors' pursuit of maximizing economic profit and the shortcoming of incomplete contracts.

A central circadian oscillator confers defense heterosis in hybrids without growth vigor costs.

Plant immunity frequently incurs growth penalties, which known as the trade-off between immunity and growth. Heterosis, the phenotypic superiority of a hybrid over its parents, has been demonstrated for many traits but rarely for disease resistance. Here, we report that the central circadian oscillator, CCA1, confers heterosis for bacterial defense in hybrids without growth vigor costs, and it even significantly enhances the growth heterosis of hybrids under pathogen infection.

Prototype of an Interface for Hyphenating Distillation with Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry.

Chemical analysis of complex matrices-containing hundreds of compounds-is challenging. Two-dimensional separation techniques provide an efficient way to reduce complexity of mixtures analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). For example, gasoline is a mixture of numerous compounds, which can be fractionated by distillation techniques.

Probiotic properties of Enterococcus strains isolated from traditional naturally fermented cream in China.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the probiotic properties of Enterococcus strains isolated from traditional naturally fermented cream in China. Four Enterococcus isolates showed high cholesterol removal ability in media were identified as Enterococcus durans (KLDS 6.0930 and 6.

[Detection of CRSPR-Cas system in Streptococcus thermophiles].

Objective: We aimed to detect the CRSPR-Cas system of six Streptococcus thermophilus.

Methods: Bioinformatics method was used to predict CRSPR-Cas system of nine S. thermophilus that published in National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Capillary hydrodynamic chromatography reveals temporal profiles of cell aggregates.

Microbial cells are known to form aggregates. Such aggregates can be found in various matrices; for example, functional drinks. Capillary hydrodynamic chromatography (HDC) enables separation of particles by size using nanoliter-scale volumes of samples.

Complete genome sequence of Lactobacillus helveticus KLDS1.8701, a probiotic strain producing bacteriocin.

This study investigated the functional diversity of Lactobacillus helveticus KLDS1.8701 by carrying out a whole-genome sequence analyses of L. helveticus KLDS1.

Infant formula supplemented with low protein and high carbohydrate alters the intestinal microbiota in neonatal SD rats.

Background: Infant microbiota is influenced by numerous factors, such as delivery mode, environment, prematurity and diet (breast milk or formula) and last but not least, the diet composition. In the diet composition, protein and carbohydrate are very important for the growth of microbiota, many infant fomulas (different ratio protein/carbohydrate) can regulate the development of gut microbiota by different metabolism. The effect of low-protein, high-carbohydrate infant formula on the establishment of microbiota remains unclear, and the effect of human breast milk on the gut microbiota of the rats has also not been reported.