Astrocytes release ATP/ADP and glutamate in flashes via vesicular exocytosis.

Astrocytes regulate brain functions through gliotransmitters like ATP/ADP and glutamate, but their release patterns and mechanisms remain controversial. Here, we visualized ATP/ADP and glutamate response following astrocyte activation and investigated their mechanisms in vivo. Employing cOpn5-mediated optogenetic stimulation, genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, and two-photon imaging, we observed ATP/ADP released as temporally prolonged and spatially extended flashes that later converted to adenosine.

Chemical glycoproteomic profiling in rice seedlings reveals N-glycosylation in the ERAD-L machinery.

As a ubiquitous and essential posttranslational modification occurring in both plants and animals, protein N-linked glycosylation regulates various important biological processes. Unlike the well-studied animal N-glycoproteomes, the landscape of rice N-glycoproteome remains largely unexplored. Here, by developing a chemical glycoproteomic strategy based on metabolic glycan labeling (MGL), we report a comprehensive profiling of the N-glycoproteome in rice seedlings.

Spatiotemporal recruitment of the ubiquitin-specific protease USP8 directs endosome maturation.

The spatiotemporal transition of small GTPase Rab5 to Rab7 is crucial for early-to-late endosome maturation, yet the precise mechanism governing Rab5-to-Rab7 switching remains elusive. USP8, a ubiquitin-specific protease, plays a prominent role in the endosomal sorting of a wide range of transmembrane receptors and is a promising target in cancer therapy. Here, we identified that USP8 is recruited to Rab5-positive carriers by Rabex5, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rab5.

Znf706 regulates germ plasm assembly and primordial germ cell development in zebrafish.

The cell fate of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in zebrafish is pre-determined by maternally deposited germ plasm, which is packaged into ribonucleoprotein complex in oocytes and inherited into PGCs-fated cells in embryos. However, the maternal factors regulating the assembly of germ plasm and PGC development remain poorly understood. In this study, we report that the maternal transcription factor Znf706 regulates the assembly of germ plasm factors into a granule-like structure localized perinuclearly in PGCs during migration.

p.C124W variant contributes to schizophrenia by attenuating LLPS-mediated synapse formation.

KCTD10, a member of the potassium channel tetramerization domain (KCTD) family, is implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders and functions as a substrate recognition component within the RING-type ubiquitin ligase complex. A rare de novo variant of KCTD10, p.C124W, was identified in schizophrenia cases, yet its underlying pathogenesis remains unexplored.

History and genetic diversity of African sheep: Contrasting phenotypic and genomic diversity.

Domesticated sheep have adapted to contrasting and extreme environments and continue to play important roles in local community-based economies throughout Africa. Here we review the Neolithic migrations of thin-tailed sheep and the later introductions of fat-tailed sheep into eastern Africa. According to contemporary pictorial evidence, the latter occurred in Egypt not before the Ptolemaic period (305-25 BCE).

The spatial scale and threshold effects of the relationship between landscape metrics and water quality in the Hutuo River Basin.

The impact of landscape patterns on river water quality has been widely studied; however, it remains unclear which spatial scale has the greatest impact on water quality. Here, we analyzed the spatial scale and threshold impacts of the link between landscape metrics and water quality in a large-scale basin using the random forest (RF) model and nonparametric change point analysis (nCPA) method. The concentrations of nitrate nitrogen (NO-N) and total nitrogen (TN) were comparatively high in winter and relatively low during spring and summer, whereas the total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were comparatively low during winter and summer and relatively high during spring.

The soil Mycobacterium sp. promotes health and longevity through different bacteria-derived molecules in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Commensal bacteria and their derivatives hold significant promise as therapeutic interventions to delay aging. However, with the diverse nature of the soil microbiome and the long lifespan of mammalian models, the exploration of the influence of soil bacteria and bacteria-derived molecules on host aging remains limited. We conducted a lifespan screening in Caenorhabditis elegans using plant root bacterial collection.

Creation of high-resistant starch rice through systematic editing of amylopectin biosynthetic genes in rs4.

Resistant starch (RS) is a special kind of starch with beneficial effects on obesity, type 2 diabetes and other chronic complications. Breeding high-RS rice varieties is considered a valuable way to improve public health. However, most rice cultivars only contain an RS level lower than 2% in cooked rice, and cloning of RS genes is critical to improve RS levels in rice.

Pathway elucidation and heterologous reconstitution of the long-chain alkane pentadecane biosynthesis from Pogostemon cablin.

Very-long-chain (VLC) alkanes are major components of hydrophobic cuticular waxes that cover the aerial epidermis of land plants, serving as a waterproofing barrier to protect the plant against environmental stresses. The mechanism of VLC-alkane biosynthesis has been extensively elucidated in plants. However, little is known about the biosynthesis of long-chain alkanes (LC, C ~ C) such as pentadecane in plants.

LcASR enhances tolerance to abiotic stress in Leymus chinensis and Arabidopsis thaliana by improving photosynthetic performance.

As a crucial forage grass, Leymus chinensis plays significant roles in soil and water conservation owing to its robust stress resistance. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of its stress tolerance remain unclear. In this study, a novel gene, designated as LcASR (Abiotic Stress Resistance in Leymus chinensis), imparting resilience to both high light and drought, was identified.

Contribution of irrigation to the production of maize, wheat, and rice in the major global producing countries.

This study offers new insights into the heterogeneity behind the widely accepted notion that irrigated crops contribute 40% to global food production. It also highlights the potential of irrigation to mitigate the negative effects of climate change on crop yields.

SPL13 controls a root apical meristem phase change by triggering oriented cell divisions.

Oriented cell divisions are crucial for determining the overall morphology and size of plants, but what controls the onset and duration of this process remains largely unknown. Here, we identified a small molecule that activates root apical meristem (RAM) expression of SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE13 (SPL13) a known player in the shoot's juvenile-to-adult transition. This expression leads to oriented cell divisions in the RAM through SHORT ROOT (SHR) and cell cycle regulators.

Mutation of rice EARLY LEAF LESION AND SENESCENCE 1 (ELS1), which encodes an anthranilate synthase α-subunit, induces ROS accumulation and cell death through activating the tryptophan synthesis pathway in rice.

Lesion-mimic mutants (LMMs) serve as valuable resources for uncovering the molecular mechanisms that govern programmed cell death (PCD) in plants. Despite extensive research, the regulatory mechanisms of PCD and lesion formation in various LMMs remain to be fully elucidated. In this study, we identified a rice LMM named early leaf lesion and senescence 1 (els1), cloned the causal gene through map-based cloning, and confirmed its function through complementation.

The E3 ligase OsHel2 impedes readthrough of stalled mRNAs to regulate male fertility in thermosensitive genic male sterile rice.

Heterosis is extensively used in the 2-line hybrid breeding system. Photosensitive/thermosensitive genic male sterile (P/TGMS) lines are key components of 2-line hybrid rice, and TGMS lines containing tms5 have significantly advanced 2-line hybrid rice breeding. We cloned the TMS5 gene and found that TMS5 is a tRNA cyclic phosphatase that can remove 2',3'-cyclic phosphate (cP) from cP-ΔCCA-tRNAs for efficient repair to ensure maintenance of mature tRNA levels.

Cas9-PE: a robust multiplex gene editing tool for simultaneous precise editing and site-specific random mutation in rice.

In molecular design breeding, the simultaneous introduction of desired functional genes through specific nucleotide modifications and the elimination of genes regulating undesired phenotypic traits or agronomic components require advanced gene editing tools. Due to limited editing efficiency, even with the use of highly precise editing tools, such as prime editing (PE), simultaneous editing of multiple mutation types poses a challenge. Here, we replaced Cas9 nickase (nCas9) with Cas9 to construct a Cas9-mediated PE (Cas9-PE) system in rice.

Microbe-aided thermophilic composting accelerates manure fermentation.

Aerobic composting is a key strategy to the sustainable use of livestock manure, which is however constrained by the slow kinetics. Microbe-aided thermophilic composting provides an attractive solution to this problem. In this study, we identified key thermophilic bacteria capable of accelerating manure composting based on the deciphering of manure bacterial community evolution in a thermophilic system.

Bacterial-host adhesion dominated by collagen subtypes remodelled by osmotic pressure.

Environmental osmolarity plays a crucial role in regulating the functions and behaviors of both host cells and pathogens. However, it remains unclear whether and how environmental osmotic stimuli modulate bacterial‒host interfacial adhesion. Using single-cell force spectroscopy, we revealed that the interfacial adhesion force depended nonlinearly on the osmotic prestimulation of host cells but not bacteria.

Intestinal DHA-PA-PG axis promotes digestive organ expansion by mediating usage of maternally deposited yolk lipids.

Although the metabolism of yolk lipids such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is pivotal for embryonic development, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here we find that the zebrafish hydroxysteroid (17-β) dehydrogenase 12a (hsd17b12a), which encodes an intestinal epithelial-specific enzyme, is essential for the biosynthesis of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in primitive intestine of larval fish. The deficiency of hsd17b12a leads to severe developmental defects in the primitive intestine and exocrine pancreas.

KDM2A and KDM2B protect a subset of CpG islands from DNA methylation.

In the mammalian genome, most CpGs are methylated. However, CpGs within the CpG islands (CGIs) are largely unmethylated, which are important for gene expression regulation. The mechanism underlying the low methylation levels at CGIs remains largely elusive.

ZmCCD8 regulates sugar and amino acid accumulation in maize kernels via strigolactone signalling.

How carbon (sucrose) and nitrogen (amino acid) accumulation is coordinatively controlled in cereal grains remains largely enigmatic. We found that overexpression of the strigolactone (SL) biosynthesis gene CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE 8 (CCD8) resulted in greater ear diameter and enhanced sucrose and amino acid accumulation in maize kernels. Loss of ZmCCD8 function reduced kernel growth with lower sugar and amino acid concentrations.

Dietary Patterns of Healthy Underweight Individuals Compared to Normal-BMI Individuals Using Photographic Food Diaries.

Background: Previously, we found that healthy underweight (HU) subjects, with BMI < 18.5, eat about 12% less food (by calories) each day. It is presently unclear whether this lower intake is associated with them making food choices that provide high satiation and satiety.

Exploring protein natural diversity in environmental microbiomes with DeepMetagenome.

Protein natural diversity offers a vast sequence space for protein engineering, and deep learning enables its detection from metagenomes/proteomes without prior assumptions. DeepMetagenome, a Python-based method, explores protein diversity through modules for training and analyzing sequence datasets. The deep learning model includes Embedding, Conv1D, LSTM, and Dense layers, with sequence feature analysis for data cleaning.