Galls are novel plant structures that develop in response to select biotic stressors. These structures, extended phenotypes of the inducer, usually serve to protect and feed the inducer or its progeny. This life history strategy has evolved dozens of times, and tens of thousands of species - including many bacteria, fungi, nematodes, mites and insects - are capable of manipulating plants in this way. The variation in gall phenotypes is extraordinary across species but usually predictable for each species of inducer. We introduce here a new ontology, GallOnt, that facilitates consistent descriptions and the semantic representation of and reasoning over plant gall phenotype data. GallOnt was largely developed from ontologies in the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology (OBO) Foundry and stands to connect plant gall phenotypes to knowledge derived from model plant systems, including genotype-phenotype and agricultural research. We also introduce the idea of a new gall data standard - Minimum Information for the Description of Galls (MIDG version 0.1) - as a starting point for discussions regarding cecidology best practices.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11369494 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e128585 | DOI Listing |
Biol Direct
January 2025
Institute of Antler Science and Product Technology, Changchun Sci-Tech University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Background: Regeneration is the preferred approach to restore the structure and function after tissue damage. Rapid proliferation of cells over the site of damage is integral to the process of regeneration. However, even subtle mutations in proliferating cells may cause detrimental effects by eliciting abnormal differentiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Mater
January 2025
Sichuan Provincial Key Laboratory for Human Disease Gene Study and the Center for Medical Genetics, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, P. R. China.
Tumor vaccines that activate the autologous immune system to eliminate tumor cells represent a promising approach in cancer immunotherapy. However, challenges such as tumor heterogeneity, limited antigen selection, insufficient antigen presentation, and the slow onset of de novo immune responses have resulted in poor universality and suboptimal response rates. In contrast, pathogen-specific pre-existing immunity acquired through infection or vaccination, can rapidly generate a more potent and enduring immune response upon re-encounter with the same antigen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address:
Proto-oncogene RET is overexpressed in many cancers, and its expression level is positively related to the size and malignancy of the tumors. Effective inhibition of its overexpression can be used to potentially treat cancers. A guanine-rich GC-boxes (I-V) sequence in its promoter region folds into noncanonical G-quadruplex (G4) DNA structures, negatively regulating its expression by interactions with small molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
January 2025
School of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
Despite substantial advances in the antitumor effects of annonaceous acetogenins (ACGs), the absence of a defined biological action mechanism remains a major barrier to their clinical application. Here, it is found that squamocin effectively depletes both EZH2 and MYC in multiple cancer cell lines, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and gastric and colorectal cancer, demonstrating potent efficacy in suppressing these in vivo tumor models. Through the combination of surface plasmon resonance (SPR), differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF), and cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α) is identified as the direct binding target of squamocin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosci Biotechnol Biochem
January 2025
Advanced Analysis Center, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-2 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Japan.
The aromatic aldehyde synthase (AAS), PonAAS2, from the gall-inducing sawfly has been identified as a biosynthetic enzyme for indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a key molecule of the plant hormone auxin, which is thought to play a role in gall induction. Unlike other insect AASs that convert Dopa, PonAAS2 uniquely converts L-tryptophan (Trp) into indole-3-acetaldehyde, a precursor of IAA. In this study, an examination of AAS enzymes from various insect species revealed that the ability to convert Trp has been acquired in only a very limited taxonomic group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!