Fungicides chlorothanolin, azoxystrobin and folpet induce transcriptional alterations in genes encoding enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation and metabolism in honey bees (Apis mellifera) at sublethal concentrations.

Fungicides are highly used for plant protection but their molecular and chronic effects are poorly known. Here, we analyse transcriptional effects in the brain of honey bees of three frequently applied fungicides, azoxystrobin, chlorothanolin and folpet, after oral exposure for 24, 48 and 72 h. Among transcripts assessed were genes encoding proteins for immune and hormone system regulation, oxidative phosphorylation, metabolism, and acetylcholine receptor alpha 1.

Why microbes secrete molecules to modify their environment: the case of iron-chelating siderophores.

Many microorganisms secrete molecules that interact with resources outside of the cell. This includes, for example, enzymes that degrade polymers like chitin, and chelators that bind trace metals like iron. In contrast to direct uptake via the cell surface, such release strategies entail the risk of losing the secreted molecules to environmental sinks, including 'cheating' genotypes.

Characterization of polydactyly chondrocytes and their use in cartilage engineering.

Treating cartilage injuries and degenerations represents an open surgical challenge. The recent advances in cell therapies have raised the need for a potent off-the-shelf cell source. Intra-articular injections of TGF-β transduced polydactyly chondrocytes have been proposed as a chronic osteoarthritis treatment but despite promising results, the use of gene therapy still raises safety concerns.

A Vitellogenin Antibody in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera): Characterization and Application as Potential Biomarker for Insecticide Exposure.

The insect yolk precursor vitellogenin is a lipoglycoprotein synthesized and stored in the fat body and secreted into the hemolymph. In honey bees, vitellogenin displays crucial functions in hormone signaling, behavioral transition of nurse bees to foragers, stress resistance, and longevity in workers. Plant protection products such as neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, and organophosphates alter the transcriptional expression of vitellogenin.

Main ecological drivers of woody plant species richness recovery in secondary forests in China.

Identifying drivers behind biodiversity recovery is critical to promote efficient ecological restoration. Yet to date, for secondary forests in China there is a considerable uncertainty concerning the ecological drivers that affect plant diversity recovery. Following up on a previous published meta-analysis on the patterns of species recovery across the country, here we further incorporate data on the logging history, climate, forest landscape and forest attribute to conduct a nationwide analysis of the main drivers influencing the recovery of woody plant species richness in secondary forests.

Cartilage-targeting dexamethasone prodrugs increase the efficacy of dexamethasone.

Intra-articular administration of glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone is a common treatment for osteoarthritic inflammation and pain. Despite its potent anti-inflammatory properties, multiple barriers hinder the drug's effectiveness in the articular space. In particular, the high turnover rate of the synovial fluid and the dense cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) lead to poor drug penetration into cartilage.

Transcriptional and physiological effects of the pyrethroid deltamethrin and the organophosphate dimethoate in the brain of honey bees (Apis mellifera).

The pyrethroid deltamethrin and the organophosphate insecticide dimethoate are widely used in agriculture and in urban areas. Both plant protection products (PPPs) unintendedly result in adverse effects in pollinators. Currently, the sublethal effects of both compounds are poorly known, particularly on the molecular and biochemical level.

Endocrine disruption and chronic effects of plant protection products in bees: Can we better protect our pollinators?

Exposure to plant protection products (PPPs) is one of the causes for the population decline of pollinators. In addition to direct exposure, pollinators are exposed to PPPs by pollen, nectar and honey that often contain residues of multiple PPPs. While in legislation PPPs are regarded mainly for their acute toxicity in bees, other effects such as neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, behavioural changes, stress responses and chronic effects that may harm different physiologically and ecologically relevant traits are much less or not regarded.

Testing the exacerbation and attenuation hypotheses of the role of anxiety in the relation between ADHD and reactive/proactive aggression: A 10-year longitudinal study.

Both anxiety and aggression commonly co-occur with ADHD symptoms. Two competing hypotheses describing the role of anxiety in aggression associated with ADHD symptoms have previously been advanced. The exacerbation hypothesis proposes that the presence of anxiety increases the risk of aggression in the context of ADHD symptoms.

Cell-Instructive Alginate Hydrogels Targeting RhoA.

Cellular processes involve dynamic rearrangement of the cytoskeleton. The GTPase RhoA plays a fundamental role in controlling cytoskeletal architecture. The phenotypic stability of chondrocytes is enhanced through inhibition of RhoA, whereas RhoA activation leads to dedifferentiation.

Global Transcriptomic Effects of Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of the Neonicotinoids Clothianidin, Imidacloprid, and Thiamethoxam in the Brain of Honey Bees ( Apis mellifera).

Neonicotinoids are implicated in the decline of honey bees, but the molecular basis underlying adverse effects is poorly known. Here we describe global transcriptomic profiles in the brain of honey bee workers exposed for 48 h at one environmentally realistic and one sublethal concentration of 0.3 and 3.

A Suppressor Screen for AGO1 Degradation by the Viral F-Box P0 Protein Uncovers a Role for AGO DUF1785 in sRNA Duplex Unwinding.

In , ARGONAUTE1 (AGO1) plays a central role in microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated silencing and is a key component in antiviral responses. The polerovirus F-box P0 protein triggers AGO1 degradation as a viral counterdefense. Here, we identified a motif in AGO1 that is required for its interaction with the S phase kinase-associated protein1-cullin 1-F-box protein (SCF) P0 (SCF) complex and subsequent degradation.

Analysis of Drug-Drug Interactions in Swiss Claims Data Using Tizanidine and Ciprofloxacin as a Prototypical Contraindicated Combination.

Background: Potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) are described in various case reports, but few studies have evaluated the impact of specific combinations on a population level.

Objective: To analyze the type and frequency of multiple contraindicated (X-pDDIs) and major interactions (D-pDDIs) and to subsequently assess the impact of the particular combination of tizanidine and ciprofloxacin on outpatient physician visits and hospitalizations.

Methods: Anonymized Swiss claims data from 524 797 patients in 2014-2015 were analyzed.

Combinatorial programming of human neuronal progenitors using magnetically-guided stoichiometric mRNA delivery.

Identification of optimal transcription factor expression patterns to direct cellular differentiation along a desired pathway presents significant challenges. We demonstrate massively combinatorial screening of temporally-varying mRNA transcription factors to direct differentiation of neural progenitor cells using a dynamically-reconfigurable magnetically-guided spotting technology for localizing mRNA, enabling experiments on millimetre size spots. In addition, we present a time-interleaved delivery method that dramatically reduces fluctuations in the delivered transcription factor copy numbers per cell.

Ethylene signaling induces gelatinous layers with typical features of tension wood in hybrid aspen.

The phytohormone ethylene impacts secondary stem growth in plants by stimulating cambial activity, xylem development and fiber over vessel formation. We report the effect of ethylene on secondary cell wall formation and the molecular connection between ethylene signaling and wood formation. We applied exogenous ethylene or its precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) to wild-type and ethylene-insensitive hybrid aspen trees (Populus tremula × tremuloides) and studied secondary cell wall anatomy, chemistry and ultrastructure.

Silica nanoparticles induce endoplasmic reticulum stress response and activate mitogen activated kinase (MAPK) signalling.

Humans may be exposed to engineered silica nanoparticles (SiO-NPs) but potential adverse effects are poorly understood, in particular in relation to cellular effects and modes of action. Here we studied effects of SiO-NPs on cellular function in human hepatoma cells (Huh7). Exposure for 24 h to 10 and 50 μg/ml SiO-NPs led to induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress as demonstrated by transcriptional induction of , , , as well as CHOP target genes , , and .

Determination of two progestin metabolites (17α-hydroxypregnanolone and pregnanediol) and different classes of steroids (androgens, estrogens, corticosteroids, progestins) in rivers and wastewaters by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS).

A highly sensitive and robust method was developed for routine analysis of two progestin metabolites, 17α-hydroxypregnanolone (17OH-Δ5P) and pregnanediol (PD), and 31 other natural and synthetic steroids and related metabolites (estrogens, androgens, corticosteroids, progestins) in river water, as well as influents and effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) using HPLC-MS/MS combined with solid-phase extraction. For the various matrixes considered, the optimized method showed satisfactory performance with recoveries of 70-120% for most of target steroids. The method detection limits (MDLs) ranged from 0.

Accumulation of Deleterious Mutations During Bacterial Range Expansions.

Recent theory predicts that the fitness of pioneer populations can decline when species expand their range, due to high rates of genetic drift on wave fronts making selection less efficient at purging deleterious variants. To test these predictions, we studied the fate of mutator bacteria expanding their range for 1650 generations on agar plates. In agreement with theory, we find that growth abilities of strains with a high mutation rate (HMR lines) decreased significantly over time, unlike strains with a lower mutation rate (LMR lines) that present three to four times fewer mutations.

Exosomes from embryonic mesenchymal stem cells alleviate osteoarthritis through balancing synthesis and degradation of cartilage extracellular matrix.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cell therapy for osteoarthritis (OA) has been widely investigated, but the mechanisms are still unclear. Exosomes that serve as carriers of genetic information have been implicated in many diseases and are known to participate in many physiological processes. Here, we investigate the therapeutic potential of exosomes from human embryonic stem cell-induced mesenchymal stem cells (ESC-MSCs) in alleviating osteoarthritis (OA).

Occurrence and Ecotoxicological Effects of Free, Conjugated, and Halogenated Steroids Including 17α-Hydroxypregnanolone and Pregnanediol in Swiss Wastewater and Surface Water.

Apart from estrogens, the occurrence and ecotoxicity of steroids in aquatic environments is poorly known. Here, we analyzed 33 steroids, including estrogens, androgens, progestins, and glucocorticoids, in hospital wastewaters, river water, and municipal wastewater treatment plant (WTP) influents and effluents at different sites in Switzerland. In addition, wastewater from different treatment steps of two WTPs with advanced treatment, such as ozonation or pulverized activated carbon, were analyzed to study the steroid's behavior during treatment.

Exposure of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to different classes of insecticides exhibit distinct molecular effect patterns at concentrations that mimic environmental contamination.

Pesticides are implicated in the decline of honey bee populations. Many insecticides are neurotoxic and act by different modes of actions. Although a link between insecticide exposure and changed behaviour has been made, molecular effects underlying these effects are poorly understood.

Developmental neurotoxicity of different pesticides in PC-12 cells in vitro.

The detection of developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) of chemicals has high relevance for protection of human health. However, DNT of many pesticides is only little known. Furthermore, validated in vitro systems for assessment of DNT are not well established.

A single miR390 targeting event is sufficient for triggering TAS3-tasiRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis.

In plants, tasiRNAs form a class of endogenous secondary siRNAs produced through the action of RNA-DEPENDENT-RNA-POLYMERASE-6 (RDR6) upon microRNA-mediated cleavage of non-coding TAS RNAs. In Arabidopsis thaliana, TAS1, TAS2 and TAS4 tasiRNA production proceeds via a single cleavage event mediated by 22nt-long or/and asymmetric miRNAs in an ARGONAUTE-1 (AGO1)-dependent manner. By contrast, tasiRNA production from TAS3 seems to follow the so-called 'two-hit' process, where dual targeting of TAS3, specifically mediated by the 21nt-long, symmetric miR390, initiates AGO7-dependent tasiRNA production.

Obstacles and opportunities in the functional analysis of extracellular vesicle RNA - an ISEV position paper.

The release of RNA-containing extracellular vesicles (EV) into the extracellular milieu has been demonstrated in a multitude of different cell systems and in a variety of body fluids. RNA-containing EV are in the limelight for their capacity to communicate genetically encoded messages to other cells, their suitability as candidate biomarkers for diseases, and their use as therapeutic agents. Although EV-RNA has attracted enormous interest from basic researchers, clinicians, and industry, we currently have limited knowledge on which mechanisms drive and regulate RNA incorporation into EV and on how RNA-encoded messages affect signalling processes in EV-targeted cells.

Small RNA-mediated repair of UV-induced DNA lesions by the DNA DAMAGE-BINDING PROTEIN 2 and ARGONAUTE 1.

As photosynthetic organisms, plants need to prevent irreversible UV-induced DNA lesions. Through an unbiased, genome-wide approach, we have uncovered a previously unrecognized interplay between Global Genome Repair and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in the recognition of DNA photoproducts, prevalently in intergenic regions. Genetic and biochemical approaches indicate that, upon UV irradiation, the DNA DAMAGE-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (DDB2) and ARGONAUTE 1 (AGO1) of form a chromatin-bound complex together with 21-nt siRNAs, which likely facilitates recognition of DNA damages in an RNA/DNA complementary strand-specific manner.