Publications by authors named "Zhi-ping Xie"

CRISPR/Cas9 systems are commonly used for plant genome editing; however, the generation of homozygous mutant lines in remains challenging. Here, we present a CRISPR/Cas9-based protocol that allows the efficient generation of mutants. Gene editing was performed for the LysM receptor kinase gene and two major facilitator superfamily transporter genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Eukaryotic protein translation is essential for proper growth and development, and defects can lead to severe issues like embryonic lethality.
  • The study identifies RNase L inhibitor 2 (RLI2) as a key regulator of translation in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, where mutations can cause drastic developmental problems.
  • RLI2 interacts with various translation factors and influences the expression of genes related to auxin signaling and embryo development, highlighting its critical role in plant growth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Establishment of symbiosis between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi depends on fungal chitooligosaccharides (COs) and lipo-chitooligosaccharides (LCOs). The latter are also produced by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia to induce nodules on leguminous roots. However, host enzymes regulating structure and levels of these signals remain largely unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Neutrophils are key players in the immune response, and this study aimed to investigate how common neutropenia (low neutrophil count) is in the U.S. using data from the NHANES survey collected between 2011-2018.* -
  • The analysis included over 32,000 participants and found that black individuals had significantly lower leukocyte and neutrophil counts compared to white participants, with smokers exhibiting higher counts than non-smokers.* -
  • The overall prevalence of neutropenia was estimated at 1.24%, impacting around 35.5 million Americans, and certain groups, such as black individuals, males, and children under 5, showed a higher risk for
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: We aim to investigate the association of the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) with the prevalence of hypertension in a large multiracial population in the United States.

Methods: Participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (1999-2018) were included in this cross-sectional study. Dietary information was obtained and used to calculate DII.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nod factors secreted by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia are lipo-chitooligosaccharidic signals required for establishment of the nodule symbiosis with legumes. In , the Nod factor hydrolase 1 (MtNFH1) was found to cleave Nod factors of . Here, we report that the class V chitinase MtCHIT5b of expressed in can release lipodisaccharides from Nod factors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Type III protein secretion systems of nitrogen-fixing rhizobia deliver effector proteins into leguminous host cells to promote or inhibit the nodule symbiosis. However, mechanisms underlying effector-triggered inhibition of nodulation remain largely unknown. Nodulation outer protein T (NopT) of Sinorhizobium sp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Protocols for Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy root transformation of the model legume Lotus japonicus have been established previously. However, little efforts were made in the past to quantify and improve the transformation efficiency. Here, we asked whether effectors (nodulation outer proteins) of the nodule bacterium Sinorhizobium sp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Effectors secreted by the type III protein secretion system (T3SS) of rhizobia are host-specific determinants of the nodule symbiosis. Here, we have characterized NopD, a putative type III effector of sp. XS1150.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Plant receptors with lysin motifs (LsyM) recognize microbial signals such as fungal chitin and lipo-chitooligosaccharidic Nod factors of nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. It is generally assumed that ligand-induced dimerization of LysM receptors is an essential step in activation of intracellular kinase domains and downstream signaling. Consequently, genes required for plant defense and establishment of symbiosis are expressed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

LysM receptor-like kinases (LYKs) of Arabidopsis thaliana (namely LYK1, LYK4 and LYK5) play a major role in chitin perception and immunity against pathogenic fungi. Chitin-induced heterodimerization of LYK1 and LYK5 has been previously reported, but protein interaction partners of LYK4 have not yet been identified. In this study, by analysing mutants we confirmed a role of LYK4 in chitin perception, and found that the ectodomain of LYK4 homodimerizes and also interacts with the ectodomain of LYK5 in vitro.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The discovery and analysis of pathogens carried by non-human primates are important for understanding zoonotic infections in humans. We identified a highly divergent astrovirus (AstV) from fecal matter from a rhesus monkey in China, which has been tentatively named "monkey-feces-associated AstV" (MkAstV). The full-length genome of MkAstV was determined to be 7377 nt in length.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

ON1 is a novel genotype of human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV) subtype A, in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs). However, there is not much data on the prevalence and clinical and molecular characterization in China.Our study is based on the children who had respiratory infections positive for RSV-A admitted by Gansu Provincial Maternity and Child-care Hospital in Lanzhou (northwestern China) during the last 7 epidemic seasons from 2010 to 2017.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nodulation outer protein M (NopM) is an IpaH family type three (T3) effector secreted by the nitrogen-fixing nodule bacterium sp. strain NGR234. Previous work indicated that NopM is an E3 ubiquitin ligase required for an optimal symbiosis between NGR234 and the host legume Here, we continued to analyze the function of NopM.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Establishment of symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia depends on bacterial Nod factors (NFs) that trigger symbiosis-related NF signaling in host plants. NFs are modified oligosaccharides of chitin with a fatty acid moiety. NFs can be cleaved and inactivated by host enzymes, such as MtNFH1 (MEDICAGO TRUNCATULA NOD FACTOR HYDROLASE1).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Lower respiratory tract illness (LRTI) significantly affects children's health globally; the study focuses on the impact of human bocavirus (HBoV) and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in Changsha, China.
  • The research involved analyzing nasopharyngeal samples from children, revealing pneumonia as the most common diagnosis, with HBoV and HMPV detection rates of 24.1% and 18.2%, respectively.
  • Findings suggest that neither HBoV nor HMPV viral loads directly correlate with the severity of illness, although HBoV patients had shorter hospital stays and HMPV patients experienced higher fever rates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rhinovirus C (RV-C), a newly identified group of human rhinoviruses (RVs), is associated with exacerbation of severe asthma. The type I interferon (IFN) response induced by this virus and the mechanisms of evasion of IFN-mediated innate immunity for RV-C remain unclear. In this study, we constructed a full-length cDNA clone of RV-C (LZ651) from a clinical sample.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (HMPV) are two common viral pathogens in acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTI). However, the association of viral load with clinical characteristics is not well-defined in ALRTI. To explore the correlation between viral load and clinical characteristics of RSV and HMPV in children hospitalized for ALRTI in Lanzhou, China.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Twelve cases of acute measles encephalitis without rash were identified from October 2011 to July 2013 in Changsha city, China; 5 were found to be genotype H1 and 2 were B3. Our data suggest that screening for measles virus is necessary in children with viral encephalitis, to eliminate the disease.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The symbiotic interaction between nitrogen-fixing rhizobia and legumes depends on lipo-chitooligosaccharidic Nod-factors (NFs). The NF hydrolase MtNFH1 of Medicago truncatula is a symbiotic enzyme that hydrolytically inactivates NFs with a C16 : 2 acyl chain produced by the microsymbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021. MtNFH1 is related to class V chitinases (glycoside hydrolase family 18) but lacks chitinase activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are significant causes of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs), with HPIV-4 recently linked to severe cases in hospitalized children.
  • A study analyzing 771 samples from young patients found 19.58% tested positive for HPIVs, with HPIV-4 being present in 3.63% of cases and HPIV-3 in 13.87%, mainly affecting children under 5 years old.
  • Co-infection with other respiratory viruses was common, especially human rhinovirus (HRV), and the leading clinical diagnosis was bronchopneumonia, with similar symptoms observed in those infected with HPIV-4 and HPIV-3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Meiosis is a special type of cellular renovation that involves 2 successive cell divisions and a single round of DNA replication. Two major degradation systems, the autophagy-lysosome and the ubiquitin-proteasome, are involved in meiosis, but their roles have yet to be elucidated. Here we show that autophagy mainly affects the initiation of meiosis but not the nuclear division.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pathogenic bacteria utilize type 3 secretion systems to inject type 3 effectors (T3Es) into host cells, thereby subverting host defense reactions. Similarly, T3Es of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing rhizobia can affect nodule formation on roots of legumes. Previous work showed that NopL (nodulation outer protein L) of Sinorhizobium(Ensifer) sp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a hepatotropic picornavirus that causes acute liver disease worldwide. Here, we report on the identification of a novel hepatovirus tentatively named Marmota Himalayana hepatovirus (MHHAV) in wild woodchucks (Marmota Himalayana) in China. The genomic and molecular characterization of MHHAV indicated that it is most closely related genetically to HAV.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF