Immunogenicity and safety of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant protein vaccine (CHO cell) LYB001 as a heterologous booster following two- or three-dose inactivated COVID-19 vaccine in adults aged ≥18 years: interim results of a randomized, active-controlled, double-blinded, phase 3 trial.

Background: LYB001 is a recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine displaying a receptor-binding domain (RBD) in a highly immunogenic array on virus-like particles (VLPs). This study assessed the immunogenicity and safety of LYB001 as a booster.

Research Design And Methods: In this randomized, active-controlled, double-blinded, phase 3 trial, participants aged ≥ 18 years received a booster with LYB001 or ZF2001 (Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine).

Metagenomic analysis manifesting intrinsic relatedness between antibiotic resistance genes and sulfate- and iron-reducing microbes in sediment cores of the Pearl River Estuary.

Antibiotic resistance is an increasingly concerned hotspot of human health. Microbial determinants that may affect the profiles of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environments need be explored. Here, sediment cores in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) were analyzed using metagenomic approaches.

A novel interpretable deep learning-based computational framework designed synthetic enhancers with broad cross-species activity.

Enhancers play a critical role in dynamically regulating spatial-temporal gene expression and establishing cell identity, underscoring the significance of designing them with specific properties for applications in biosynthetic engineering and gene therapy. Despite numerous high-throughput methods facilitating genome-wide enhancer identification, deciphering the sequence determinants of their activity remains challenging. Here, we present the DREAM (DNA cis-Regulatory Elements with controllable Activity design platforM) framework, a novel deep learning-based approach for synthetic enhancer design.

Functional genes and microorganisms controlling in situ methylmercury production and degradation in marine sediments: A case study in the Eastern China Coastal Seas.

Dominant microorganisms and functional genes, including hgcA, hgcB, merA, and merB, have been identified to be responsible for mercury (Hg) methylation or methylmercury (MeHg) demethylation. However, their in situ correlation with MeHg levels and the processes of Hg methylation and MeHg demethylation in coastal areas remains poorly understood. In this study, four functional genes related to Hg methylation and MeHg demethylation (hgcA, hgcB, merA, and merB) were all detected in the sediments of the Eastern China Coastal Seas (ECCSs) (representative coastal seas highly affected by human activities) using metagenomic approaches.

Changes in Alpine Soil Bacterial Communities With Altitude and Slopes at Mount Shergyla, Tibetan Plateau: Diversity, Structure, and Influencing Factors.

The alpine ecosystem as one of the most representative terrestrial ecosystems has been highly concerned due to its susceptibility to anthropogenic impacts and climatic changes. However, the distribution pattern of alpine soil bacterial communities and related deterministic factors still remain to be explored. In this study, soils were collected from different altitudes and slope aspects of the Mount (Mt.

The Levels of Oxidized Phospholipids in High-Density Lipoprotein During the Course of Sepsis and Their Prognostic Value.

Purpose: To examine the levels of 1-palmitoyl-2-(5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero phosphatidylcholine (POVPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-glutaroyl-sn-glycero-phosphatidylcholine (PGPC) (the oxidized phosphatidylcholines) in HDL during the course of sepsis and to evaluate their prognostic value.

Materials And Methods: This prospective cohort pilot study enrolled 25 septic patients and 10 healthy subjects from 2020 to 2021. The HDLs were extracted from patient plasmas at day 1, 3 and 7 after sepsis onset and from healthy plasmas (total 81 plasma samples).

Selection and introgression facilitated the adaptation of Chinese native endangered cattle in extreme environments.

Although persistent efforts have identified and characterized a few candidate genes and related biological processes with potential functions in the adaptation of many species to extreme environments, few works have been conducted to determine the genomic basis of adaptation in endangered livestock breeds that have been living in extreme conditions for more than thousands of years. To fill this gap, we sequenced the whole genomes of nine individuals from three Chinese native endangered cattle breeds that are living in high-altitude or arid environments. Phylogenetic and evolutionary history analyses of these three and other six breeds showed that the genetic structure of the cattle populations is primarily related to geographic location.

Reticulocalbin 3 deficiency in alveolar epithelium attenuated LPS-induced ALI via NF-κB signaling.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by acute lung injury (ALI) secondary to an excessive alveolar inflammatory response. Reticulocalbin 3 (Rcn3) is an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lumen protein in the secretory pathway. We previously reported the indispensable role of Rcn3 in type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECIIs) during lung development and the lung injury repair process.

Hypoosmotic stress induced tissue-specific immune responses of yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus) revealed by transcriptomic analysis.

Salinity is a limiting factor for many marine organisms, including fishes. The shift in the ambient salinity can cause osmotic stress and arouse immune responses in fish. In this study, yellowfin seabream (Acanthopagrus latus), a euryhaline marine teleost, was used to investigate immune responses of different tissues (gill, liver, and muscle) under hypoosmotic stress.

Correlated Evolution of Large DNA Fragments in the 3D Genome of Arabidopsis thaliana.

In eukaryotes, the three-dimensional (3D) conformation of the genome is far from random, and this nonrandom chromatin organization is strongly correlated with gene expression and protein function, which are two critical determinants of the selective constraints and evolutionary rates of genes. However, whether genes and other elements that are located close to each other in the 3D genome evolve in a coordinated way has not been investigated in any organism. To address this question, we constructed chromatin interaction networks (CINs) in Arabidopsis thaliana based on high-throughput chromosome conformation capture data and demonstrated that adjacent large DNA fragments in the CIN indeed exhibit more similar levels of polymorphism and evolutionary rates than random fragment pairs.

Chromatin Signature and Transcription Factor Binding Provide a Predictive Basis for Understanding Plant Gene Expression.

Chromatin accessibility and post-transcriptional histone modifications play important roles in gene expression regulation. However, little is known about the joint effect of multiple chromatin modifications on the gene expression level in plants, despite that the regulatory roles of individual histone marks such as H3K4me3 in gene expression have been well-documented. By using machine-learning methods, we systematically performed gene expression level prediction based on multiple chromatin modifications data in Arabidopsis and rice.

Identification and characterization of a new dwarf locus DS-4 encoding an Aux/IAA7 protein in Brassica napus.

A dominant dwarfing gene, ds - 4 , encodes an Aux/IAA protein that negatively regulates plant stature through an auxin signaling pathway. Dwarfism is an important agronomic trait affecting yield in many crop species. The molecular mechanisms underlying dwarfism in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) are poorly understood, restricting the progress of breeding dwarf varieties in this species.

Sequence variation and functional analysis of a FRIGIDA orthologue (BnaA3.FRI) in Brassica napus.

Background: Allelic variation at the FRIGIDA (FRI) locus is a major contributor to natural variation of flowering time and vernalization requirement in Arabidopsis thaliana. Dominant FRI inhibits flowering by activating the expression of the MADS box transcriptional repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), which represses flowering prior to vernalization. Four FRI orthologues had been identified in the domesticated amphidiploid Brassica napus.

High-density ddRAD linkage and yield-related QTL mapping delimits a chromosomal region responsible for oil content in rapeseed ( L.).

Rapeseed ( L.) is one of the most important oil crops almost all over the world. Seed-related traits, including oil content (OC), silique length (SL), seeds per silique (SS), and seed weight (SW), are primary targets for oil yield improvement.

Ribavirin reduces mortality in enterovirus 71-infected mice by decreasing viral replication.

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) causes fatal encephalitis in young children. However, there is no effective antiviral drug available for infected patients. Ribavirin is currently used for the treatment of several RNA virus infections clinically, so its anti-EV71 efficacy was evaluated.