Effects of high-fiber food on gut microbiology and energy metabolism in at different altitudes.

Intestinal microorganisms assist the host in digesting complex and difficultly decomposed foods; expand the host's dietary ecological niche. In order to investigate the effect of high-fiber food on intestinal microorganisms of at different altitudes, exploring the regional differences of intestinal microorganisms and their roles in body mass regulation, we collected from Dali (DL) and Xianggelila (XGLL), which were divided into control group, high-fiber group fed with high-fiber diet for 7 days, and refeeding group fed with standard diet for 14 days after high-fiber diet. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology combined with physiological methods, we analyzed the gut microbial diversity, abundance, community structure and related physiological indicators of each group, and explored the effects of high-fiber foods and regions on the diversity, structure of gut microorganisms and physiological indicators.

Integrated Full-Length Transcriptome and Metabolome Profiling Reveals Flavonoid Regulation in Response to Freezing Stress in Potato.

Cold stress impairs plant growth and development, resulting in crop failure. Cultivated potato ( L.) is sensitive to freezing, while its wild relative, , has a strong freezing tolerance.

Improving the Thermostability of Serine Protease PB92 from via Site-Directed Mutagenesis Based on Semi-Rational Design.

Proteases have been widely employed in many industrial processes. In this work, we aimed to improve the thermostability of the serine protease PB92 from to meet the high-temperature requirements of biotechnological treatments. Eight mutation sites (N18, S97-S101, E110, and R143) were identified, and 21 mutants were constructed from B-factor comparison and multiple sequence alignment and expressed via .

[Gene cloning and enzymatic activity analysis of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase from (Royle) Ying].

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is the key entry enzyme of plant phenylpropanoid pathway. It plays an important role in the biosynthesis of podophyllotoxin, an anti-tumor lignan that is currently produced from its main natural source (Royle) Ying. In this study, we cloned the gene encoding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase by RT-PCR from the root of .

The Essential Role of HS-ABA Crosstalk in Maize Thermotolerance through the ROS-Scavenging System.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) and abscisic acid (ABA), as a signaling molecule and stress hormone, their crosstalk-induced thermotolerance in maize seedlings and its underlying mechanism were elusive. In this paper, HS and ABA crosstalk as well as the underlying mechanism of crosstalk-induced thermotolerance in maize seedlings were investigated. The data show that endogenous levels of HS and ABA in maize seedlings could be mutually induced by regulating their metabolic enzyme activity and gene expression under non-heat stress (non-HS) and HS conditions.

Salt and osmotic stress can improve the editing efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing system in potato.

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing technology has been widely used for the study of gene function in crops, but the differences between species have led to widely varying genome editing efficiencies. The present study utilized a potato hairy root genetic transformation system and incorporated a rapid assay with GFP as a screening marker. The results clearly demonstrated that salt and osmotic stress induced by NaCl (10 to 50 mM) and mannitol (50 to 200 mM) treatments significantly increased the positive rates of genetic transformation mediated by and the editing efficiency of the CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing system in potato.

Molecular genetics and quantitative traits divergence among populations of from Hengduan Mountain region.

An important objective of evolutionary biology has always been to grasp the evolutionary and genetic processes that contribute to speciation. The present work provides the first detailed account of the genetic and physiological adaptation to changing environmental temperatures as well as the reasons causing intraspecific divergence in the from the Hengduan Mountain (HM) region, one of the biodiversity hotspots. One hundred sixty-one individuals from five populations in the HM region had their reduced-representation genome sequenced, and one additional individual from each community had their genomes resequenced.

Searching for protein variants with desired properties using deep generative models.

Background: Protein engineering aims to improve the functional properties of existing proteins to meet people's needs. Current deep learning-based models have captured evolutionary, functional, and biochemical features contained in amino acid sequences. However, the existing generative models need to be improved when capturing the relationship between amino acid sites on longer sequences.

Cold-Adapted Proteases: An Efficient and Energy-Saving Biocatalyst.

The modern biotechnology industry has a demand for macromolecules that can function in extreme environments. One example is cold-adapted proteases, possessing advantages such as maintaining high catalytic efficiency at low temperature and low energy input during production and inactivation. Meanwhile, cold-adapted proteases are characterised by sustainability, environmental protection, and energy conservation; therefore, they hold significant economic and ecological value regarding resource utilisation and the global biogeochemical cycle.

Biochemical characterization of an acetylesterase from and its application for 7-aminocephalosporanic acid deacetylation.

Deacetyl-7-aminocephalosporanic acid (D-7-ACA), which could be converted from 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA), is a crucial starting material that is used for synthesizing industrial semisynthetic β-lactam antibiotics. Enzymes involved in the conversion from 7-ACA to D-7-ACA present critical resources in the pharmaceutical industry. In the present study, a putative acetylesterase, EstSJ, identified from KATMIRA1933, was first heterologously expressed in BL21(DE3) cells and biochemically characterized.

Structures, Biochemical Characteristics, and Functions of β-Xylosidases.

The complete degradation of abundant xylan derived from plants requires the participation of β-xylosidases to produce the xylose which can be converted to xylitol, ethanol, and other valuable chemicals. Some phytochemicals can also be hydrolyzed by β-xylosidases into bioactive substances, such as ginsenosides, 10-deacetyltaxol, cycloastragenol, and anthocyanidins. On the contrary, some hydroxyl-containing substances such as alcohols, sugars, and phenols can be xylosylated by β-xylosidases into new chemicals such as alkyl xylosides, oligosaccharides, and xylosylated phenols.

Gut Microbiome Variation Along A Lifestyle Gradient Reveals Threats Faced by Asian Elephants.

The gut microbiome is closely related to host nutrition and health. However, the relationships between gut microorganisms and host lifestyle are not well characterized. In the absence of confounding geographic variation, we defined clear patterns of variation in the gut microbiomes of Asian elephants (AEs) in the Wild Elephant Valley, Xishuangbanna, China, along a lifestyle gradient (completely captive, semicaptive, semiwild, and completely wild).

Effects of folate on telomere length and chromosome stability of human fibroblasts and melanoma cells in vitro: a comparison of folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate.

Telomere length (TL), which is maintained by human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT; component of telomerase) and/or TRF1/TRF2 (core components of shelterin) via different mechanisms, is essential for chromosomal stability and cell survival. Folates comprise a group of essential B9 vitamin that involve in DNA synthesis and methylation. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of folic acid (FA) and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MeTHF) on TL, chromosome stability, and cell survival of telomerase-negative BJ and telomerase-positive A375 cells in vitro.

Effects of folate on telomere length and chromosome stability of human fibroblasts and melanoma cells in vitro: a comparison of folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate.

Telomere length (TL), which is maintained by human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT; component of telomerase) and/or TRF1/TRF2 (core components of shelterin) via different mechanisms, is essential for chromosomal stability and cell survival. Folates comprise a group of essential B9 vitamin that involve in DNA synthesis and methylation. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of folic acid (FA) and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MeTHF) on TL, chromosome stability, and cell survival of telomerase-negative BJ and telomerase-positive A375 cells in vitro.

A novel gene therapy for methamphetamine- induced cognitive disorder with a hyper-acidified fusion variant of DnaJB1.

Methamphetamine (MA) is spread worldwide and is a highly addictive psychostimulant that can induce neurodegeneration and cognitive disorder, which lacks effective treatments. We and other researchers have found that the crucial member of Hsp70 chaperone machinery, DnaJ, is liable to be co-aggregated with aberrant proteins, which has been confirmed a risk factor to promote neurodegeneration. In the current study, we demonstrated that tailing with a hyper-acidic fusion partner, tua2, human DnaJB1 could resist the formation of toxic mutant Tau aggregates both in prokaryote and eukaryote models.

The Gut Microbiota of Young Asian Elephants with Different Milk-Containing Diets.

Evaluating the association between milk-containing diets and the microbiomes of young Asian elephants could assist establishing optimal breast milk supplementation to improve offspring survival rates. The microbiomes of young Asian elephants on different milk-containing diets (elephant milk only, elephant milk-plant mixed feed, and goat milk-plant mixed feed) were investigated using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and phylogenetic analysis. Microbial diversity was lower in the elephant milk-only diet group, with a high abundance of compared to the mixed-feed diet groups.

A novel thermostable and salt-tolerant carboxylesterase involved in the initial aerobic degradation pathway for pyrethroids in Glycomyces salinus.

The long-term and excessive use of pyrethroid pesticides poses substantial health risks and ecosystem concerns. Several bacteria and fungi have been reported that could degrade pyrethroids. The ester-bond hydrolysis using hydrolases is the initial regulatory metabolic reaction of pyrethroids.

Ectopic expression of Jatropha curcas JcTAW1 improves the vegetative growth, yield, and drought resistance of tobacco.

Background: Jatropha curcas is a promising alternative bio-energy resource. However, underrun limited its broad application in the industry. Luckily, TAW1 is a high-productivity promoting gene that increases the lateral branches by prolonging the identification of inflorescence meristems to generate more spikes and flowers.

Vacuolar MATE/DTX protein-mediated cucurbitacin C transport is co-regulated with bitterness biosynthesis in cucumber.

Membrane-localized transporters constitute important components for specialized metabolism in plants. However, due to the vast array of specialized metabolites produced by plants, and the large families of transporter genes, knowledge about the intracellular and intercellular transport of plant metabolites is still in its infancy. Cucurbitacins are bitter and defensive triterpenoids produced mainly in the cucurbits.

Gasotransmitter ammonia accelerates seed germination, seedling growth, and thermotolerance acquirement in maize.

Ammonia (NH), as an intermediate product of nitrogen metabolism, is recognized as a novel gasotransmitter (namely gaseous signaling molecule), its signaling role being revealed in plants. NH exists in two different chemical forms, namely the weak base (free molecule: NH) and the weak acid (ammonium: NH), which are generally in equilibrium with each other in plants. However, the effect of NH on seed germination, seedling growth, and thermotolerance acquirement in maize remains unclear.

Progress in the Conversion of Ginsenoside Rb1 into Minor Ginsenosides Using β-Glucosidases.

In recent years, minor ginsenosides have received increasing attention due to their outstanding biological activities, yet they are of extremely low content in wild ginseng. Ginsenoside Rb1, which accounts for 20% of the total ginsenosides, is commonly used as a precursor to produce minor ginsenosides via β-glucosidases. To date, many research groups have used different approaches to obtain β-glucosidases that can hydrolyze ginsenoside Rb1.

Effects of exogenous melatonin on body mass and thermogenesis in red-backed vole (Eothenomys miletus) between Kunming and Dali regions.

Melatonin (MEL) is an indole hormone synthesized and secreted by the pineal gland at night, which is involved in the regulation of body mass and thermogenesis in small mammals. To test the effects of exogenous MEL on body mass and thermogenic ability in two different red-backed vole (Eothenomys miletus) populations from two different regions (Kunming [KM] and Dali [DL]) with different annual variation in climatic variables, such as temperature, sunshine and rainfall. we traced the changes of energy balance in E.

Roles of leptin on energy balance and thermoregulation in .

Leptin is a hormone mainly synthesized and secreted by white adipose tissue (WAT), which regulates various physiological processes. To investigate the role of leptin in energy balance and thermoregulation in , voles were randomly divided into leptin-injected and PBS-injected groups and placed at 25°C ± 1°C with a photoperiod of 12 L:12 D. They were housed under laboratory conditions for 28 days and compared in terms of body mass, food intake, water intake, core body temperature, interscapular skin temperature, resting metabolic rate (RMR), nonshivering thermogenesis (NST), liver and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenic activity, and serum hormone levels.

Effects of dietary restriction on genome stability are sex and feeding regimen dependent.

Preserving genome stability is essential to prevent aging and cancer. Dietary restriction (DR) is the most reproducible non-pharmacological way to improve health and extend lifespan in various species. Whether DR helps to preserve genome stability and whether this effect is altered by experimental variables remain unclear.