Antioxidative and anticancer effects of Tacca chantrieri extract enhancing cisplatin sensitivity in cholangiocarcinoma cells.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) poses a significant healthcare challenge due to the limited effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. Natural products have gained widespread attention in cancer research according to their promising anti-cancer effects with minimal adverse side effects. This study explored the potential of Tacca chantrieri (TC), a plant rich in bioactive compounds, as a therapeutic agent for CCA.

Synthetic photorespiratory bypass improves rice productivity by enhancing photosynthesis and nitrogen uptake.

Photorespiration, often considered as a wasteful process, is a key target for bioengineering to improve crop yields. Several photorespiratory bypasses have been designed to efficiently metabolize 2-phosphoglycolate and increase the CO2 concentration in chloroplasts, thereby reducing photorespiration. However, the suppression of primary nitrate assimilation remains an issue when photorespiration is inhibited.

Discovering the allure of forests: Exploring adolescent queries in nature-rich environments.

This study explores adolescents' inherent curiosity about nature through the production of self-generated questions during a field visit to a nature-rich environment, followed by descriptive-interpretative analysis using focus groups. Utilizing cultural probes and content-free question tokens, we collected 164 valid questions produced by 36 adolescents during the field session. Biotic elements, like species, turned out to be more intriguing than abiotic elements, originating 89.

Metastatic melanoma: An integrated analysis to identify critical regulators associated with prognosis, pathogenesis and targeted therapies.

Metastatic melanoma causes a high rate of mortality. We conducted an integrated analysis to identify critical regulators associated with the prognosis, pathogenesis, and targeted therapies of metastatic-melanoma. A microarray dataset, GSE15605, including 12 metastatic-melanoma and sixteen normal skin (NS) samples, were obtained from the GEO database.

Effector proteins of Funneliformis mosseae BR221: unravelling plant-fungal interactions through reference-based transcriptome analysis, in vitro validation, and protein‒protein docking studies.

Background: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form a highly adaptable and versatile group of fungi found in natural and man-managed ecosystems. Effector secreted by AM fungi influence symbiotic relationship by modifying host cells, suppressing host defense and promoting infection to derive nutrients from the host. Here, we conducted a reference-based transcriptome sequencing of Funneliformis mosseae BR221 to enhance understanding on the molecular machinery involved in the establishment of interaction between host and AM fungi.

Systems Biology of Streptophyte Cell Evolution.

More than 500 million years ago, a streptophyte algal population established a foothold on land and started terraforming Earth through an unprecedented radiation. This event is called plant terrestrialization and yielded the Embryophyta. Recent advancements in the field of plant evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) have propelled our knowledge of the closest algal relatives of land plants, the zygnematophytes, highlighting that several aspects of plant cell biology are shared between embryophytes and their sister lineage.

The BES1/BZR1 transcriptional factor SlBES2 regulates photosynthetic apparatus in tomato fruit.

Background: Fruit photosynthetic apparatus development comprises a series of biological processes which is essential in determining fruit development and quality formation. However, the understanding of the regulation of fruit photosynthetic apparatus development remains poor.

Results: In this study, we identified a transcriptional factor SlBES2, the closest homolog of BES1 and BZR1 in tomato BES1 family, is highly expressed in fruit at mature green (MG) stage and exhibited transcriptional inhibition activity.

Fungal evasion of immunity involves blocking the cathepsin-mediated cleavage maturation of the danger-sensing protease.

Entomopathogenic fungi play a critical role in regulating insect populations, and representative species from the and genera have been developed as eco-friendly biocontrol agents for managing agricultural insect pests. Relative to the advances in understanding antifungal immune responses in , knowledge of how fungi evade insect immune defenses remains limited. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a virulence-required effector Fkp1 in .

Sex-specific cognitive benefits and anti-inflammatory effects of coumestrol pretreatment in transient global cerebral ischemia.

Cerebral Global Ischemia (CGI) is a devastating neurological condition affecting millions globally each year, leading to significant inflammatory responses and long-term consequences, including delayed neuronal death and neurocognitive impairment. Following brain injury, resident microglial cells are activated, triggering pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and altering neuroimmune processes in a sex-dependent manner, particularly within the hippocampus. Coumestrol, a plant estrogen, is promoted as an alternative to post-menopausal hormone therapy due to its various mechanisms that enhance brain health, including its anti-inflammatory effects.

Beauveria felina Accelerates Growth When Competing With Other Potential Endophytes.

The fungus Beauveria felina is often classified as one of the so-called good biocontrol agents. However, no information is available about the growth of this entomopathogenic fungus in the presence of other endophytic fungi, which are usually found in plant tissues. Effects of fungal interactions vary from inhibiting the activity of a biocontrol agent to stimulating its effect on the targeted pathogen.

Trichoderma virens XZ11-1 producing siderophores inhibits the infection of Fusarium oxysporum and promotes plant growth in banana plants.

Background: Banana Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense is a soil-borne fungal disease.

Effects of retaining different number of mother bamboo on the growth and NSCs allocation of new-born seedlings in Phyllostachys edulis at different age.

Background: Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) are key substances for metabolic processes in plants, providing energy for growth, development, and responses to environmental stress. Pruning mother bamboo in a clump can significantly affect the NSCs allocation of new shoots, thereby affecting their growth. Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) is an important economic bamboo species with a highest planting area in China.

Physiological and transcriptomic analysis of the effect of overexpression of the NTPIP2;4 gene on drought tolerance in tobacco.

Aquaporins are widely present in the plant kingdom and play important roles in plant response to abiotic adversity stresses such as water and temperature extremes. In this study, we investigated the regulatory role of NTPIP2;4 on drought tolerance in tobacco at physiological and transcriptional levels. In this experiment, we constructed an NtPIP2;4 overexpression vector and genetically transformed tobacco variety 'K326' to investigate the mechanism of NtPIP2;4 gene in regulating drought tolerance in tobacco at physiological and transcriptomic levels.

Identification of EXPA4 as a key gene in cotton salt stress adaptation through transcriptomic and coexpression network analysis of root tip protoplasts.

Background: Salinity stress impairs cotton growth and fiber quality. Protoplasts enable elucidation of early salt-responsive signaling. Elucidating crop tolerance mechanisms that ameliorate these diverse salinity-induced stresses is key for improving agricultural productivity under saline conditions.

TaSnRK3.23B, a CBL-interacting protein kinase of wheat, confers drought stress tolerance by promoting ROS scavenging in Arabidopsis.

Background: Sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinases (SnRKs) have been implicated in plant growth and stress responses. Although SnRK3.23 is known to be involved in drought stress, the underlying mechanism of resistance differs between Arabidopsis and rice, and little is known about its function in wheat.

Elucidating circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous regulatory RNA network during leaf rust pathogenesis in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Advancements in bioinformatic tools and breakthroughs in high throughput RNA sequencing have unveiled the potential role of non-coding RNAs in influencing the overall expression of disease-responsive genes. Owing to the increasing need to develop resilient crop varieties against environmental constraints, our study explores the functional relationship of various non-coding RNAs in wheat during leaf rust pathogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) were retrieved from SAGE and RNA-Seq libraries, respectively, in the susceptible (HD2329) and resistant (HD2329 + Lr28) wheat Near-Isogenic Lines (NILs).

Warming-induced changes in seasonal priority effects drive shifts in community composition.

Shifting community assembly dynamics are an underappreciated mechanism by which warming will alter plant community composition. Germination timing (which can determine the order in which seedlings emerge within a community) will likely shift unevenly across species in response to warming. In seasonal environments where communities reassemble at the beginning of each growing season, changes in germination timing could lead to changes in seasonal priority effects, and ultimately community composition.

Statistical power and the detection of global change responses: The case of leaf production in old-growth forests.

Forests sequester a substantial portion of anthropogenic carbon emissions. Many open questions concern how. We address two of these questions.

Recent advances in the synthesis and application of biomolecular condensates.

Biomolecular condensates (BMCs) represent a group of organized and programmed systems that participate in gene transcription, chromosome organization, cell division, tumorigenesis, and aging. However, the understanding of BMCs in terms of internal organizations and external regulations remains at an early stage. Recently, novel approaches such as synthetic biology have been used for de novo synthesis of BMCs.

Identification and management of Bipolaris sorokiniana in wheat and barley in Southeast Kazakhstan.

Wheat and barley serve as significant nutrient-rich staples that are extensively grown on a global scale, spanning over 219 million hectares. The annual combined global yield is 760.9 million tons, with Kazakhstan contributing 14.

Short-term impact of low air pressure on plants' functional traits.

Lower atmospheric pressure affects biologically relevant physical parameters such as gas partial pressure and concentration, leading to increased water vapor diffusivity and greater soil water content loss through evapotranspiration. This might impact plant photosynthetic activity, resource allocation, water relations, and growth. However, the direct impact of low air pressure on plant physiology is largely unknown.

Soil microbiome bacteria protect plants against filamentous fungal infections via intercellular contacts.

Bacterial-fungal interaction (BFI) has significant implications for the health of host plants. While the diffusible antibiotic metabolite-mediated competition in BFI has been extensively characterized, the impact of intercellular contact remains largely elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the intercellular contact is a prevalent mode of interaction between beneficial soil bacteria and pathogenic filamentous fungi.

Exploring the efficacy of drought tolerant, IAA-producing plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria for sustainable agriculture.

The growing human population and abiotic stresses pose significant threats to food security, with PGPR favorable as biofertilizers for plant growth and stress relief. In one study, soil samples from both cultivated and uncultivated plants in various cities were used to isolate rhizobacterial populations. Using 50 soil samples from both cultivated and uncultivated plants, isolated rhizobacterial populations were screened for various biochemical changes, PGP activities and morphological characteristics.

Discovery of novel 'sugarcane totivirus 1' from Saccharum officinarum by high-throughput sequencing.

Background: Sugarcane is cultivated globally and affected by more than 125 pathogens, which lead to various plant diseases. In recent years, high-throughput sequencing (HTS)-based genome analyses have been broadly adopted for the discovery of both characterized and un-characterized viruses from plant samples. In this study, the HTS data of sugarcane pooled sample retrieved from sequence read archive (SRA) were de novo re-assembled using CLC Genomic Workbench.