Heterologous N- and C-terminal domains of 3D-cry proteins form a functional operon enabling natural crystallization and nematicidal activity.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is an insect pathogen that primarily relies on pore-forming toxins known as Cry proteins to kill its insect larval hosts. The effectiveness of Cry proteins has driven a worldwide search for Bt strains to identify and characterize novel insecticidal proteins with different specificities. In this study, Bt genome analysis revealed two consecutive open reading frames that are highly similar to the N-terminal of Cry14Aa1 and the C-terminal of Cry21Ca2, both of which target nematodes.

Large-scale protein interactome reveals lineage-specific genes driving plant-parasitic nematode adaptive innovations.

Mounting evidence suggests that lineage-specific genes drive phenotype diversity. Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs), among the most destructive plant pathogens, have evolved innovated traits required for plant parasitism, yet the genetic basis remains unclear. Here, we identify PPN lineage-specific genes (PPNLSGs) and analyze the large-scale protein interactome of their encoded proteins (PPNLSPs).

Characterization and genetic analysis of two sugarlandviruses: Klebsiella variicola lytic phages vB_PZK-KV7 and vB_PZK-KV23.

Klebsiella variicola, an emerging pathogen, significantly impacts banana production by causing bacterial sheath rot. Research has shown that phages are effective in treating bacterial infections. In this study, two lytic K.

Two novel trimethoprim resistance genes, and , identified in phage-plasmids.

Phage-plasmids carry a significant burden of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Intriguingly, the majority of these ARGs are found within plasmids with phage features, with a single exception residing in a phage genome with plasmid features. Therefore, we speculate that phage genomes with plasmid features, whose sequences are highly homologous to bacterial plasmids, may carry novel ARGs.

Base-modified nucleotides mediate immune signaling in bacteria.

Signaling from pathogen sensing to effector activation is a fundamental principle of cellular immunity. Whereas cyclic (oligo)nucleotides have emerged as key signaling molecules, the existence of other messengers remains largely unexplored. In this study, we reveal a bacterial antiphage system that mediates immune signaling through nucleobase modification.

Integrative multi-omics analysis reveals the translational landscape of the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita.

Root-knot nematodes (RKNs) of the genus Meloidogyne pose the most significant threats to global food security due to their destructive nature as plant-parasitic nematodes. Although significant attention has been devoted to investigating the gene transcription profiling of RKNs, our understanding of the translational landscape of RKNs remains limited. In this study, we elucidated the translational landscape of Meloidogyne incognita through the integration of translatome, transcriptome and quantitative proteome analyses.

Nematodes exposed to furfural acetone exhibit a species-specific vacuolar H-ATPase response.

Furfural acetone (FAc) is widely used as an additive by the food industry, as well as an intermediate in several fine chemical industries. Its nematicidal activity against the free-living model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and the parasitic nematode Meloidogyne incognita are well known, but its molecular mechanism of action remains unclear. To deep this subject, we performed 48-h lethal tests on eight nematode species, encompassing free-living, plant-parasitic, and animal-parasitic nematodes.

A taxonomic note on the order : description of 12 novel families and emended description of 21 families.

The order , belonging to class , is globally distributed in various ecosystems. Currently, this order comprised 12 families that show vast phenotypic, ecological and genotypic variation. The classification of at the family level is currently mainly based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis and the presence of shared phenotypic characteristics, resulting in noticeable anomalies.

Root-knot nematodes exploit the catalase-like effector to manipulate plant reactive oxygen species levels by directly degrading HO.

Plants produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon infection, which typically trigger defence mechanisms and impede pathogen proliferation. Root-knot nematodes (RKNs, Meloidogyne spp.) represent highly detrimental pathogens capable of parasitizing a broad spectrum of crops, resulting in substantial annual agricultural losses.

Silencing Ditylenchus destructor cathepsin L-like cysteine protease has negative pleiotropic effect on nematode ontogenesis.

Ditylenchus destructor is a migratory plant-parasitic nematode that severely harms many agriculturally important crops. The control of this pest is difficult, thus efficient strategies for its management in agricultural production are urgently required. Cathepsin L-like cysteine protease (CPL) is one important protease that has been shown to participate in various physiological and pathological processes.

Using kin discrimination to construct synthetic microbial communities of Bacillus subtilis strains impacts the growth of black soldier fly larvae.

Using synthetic microbial communities to promote host growth is an effective approach. However, the construction of such communities lacks theoretical guidance. Kin discrimination is an effective means by which strains can recognize themselves from non-self, and construct competitive microbial communities to produce more secondary metabolites.

Unzipped chromosome-level genomes reveal allopolyploid nematode origin pattern as unreduced gamete hybridization.

The formation and consequences of polyploidization in animals with clonal reproduction remain largely unknown. Clade I root-knot nematodes (RKNs), characterized by parthenogenesis and allopolyploidy, show a widespread geographical distribution and extensive agricultural destruction. Here, we generated 4 unzipped polyploid RKN genomes and identified a putative novel alternative telomeric element.

Aminopeptidase MNP-1 triggers intestine protease production by activating daf-16 nuclear location to degrade pore-forming toxins in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) are effective tools for pathogens infection. By disrupting epithelial barriers and killing immune cells, PFTs promotes the colonization and reproduction of pathogenic microorganisms in their host. In turn, the host triggers defense responses, such as endocytosis, exocytosis, or autophagy.

Isolated and identified pathogenic bacteria from black soldier fly larvae with "soft rot" reared in mass production facilities and its incidence characteristics.

The black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can transform organic waste into high-end proteins, lipids, chitin, biodiesel, and melanin at an industrial scale. But scaling up of its production capacity has also posed health risks to the insect itself. In this investigation, larval "soft rot" which is occurring in mass production facilities that cause larval developmental inhibition and a certain degree of death was reported.

Multiple Receptors Contribute to the Attractive Response of Caenorhabditis elegans to Pathogenic Bacteria.

Nematodes feed mainly on bacteria and sense volatile signals through their chemosensory system to distinguish food from pathogens. Although nematodes recognizing bacteria by volatile metabolites are ubiquitous, little is known of the associated molecular mechanism. Here, we show that the antinematode bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa KM2501-1 exhibits an attractive effect on Caenorhabditis elegans via volatile metabolites, of which furfural acetone (FAc) acts as a broad-spectrum nematode attractant.

Three novel leaderless bacteriocins have antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria to serve as promising food biopreservative.

Background: Due to the detrimental effects of chemical preservatives, there has been an increasing demand for safer, healthier and natural bio-preservatives. Bacteriocins have attracted increasing interest because of their potential as natural bio-preservatives.

Results: We screened a large number of Bacillus thuringiensis strains and isolated one strain (B.

Isolation and Characterization of Novel Lytic Bacteriophage vB_RsoP_BMB50 infecting Ralstonia solanacearum.

Ralstonia solanacearum is a soil-borne phytopathogen, and it can cause bacterial wilt disease in a variety of key crops around the world, thus resulting in enormous financial losses. However, there is a lack of effective, green, and safe prevention and control measures against increasingly devastating bacterial wilt disease. Bacteriophages (phages) are considered as potential biocontrol agents against bacterial wilt disease.

C. elegans monitor energy status via the AMPK pathway to trigger innate immune responses against bacterial pathogens.

Pathogen recognition and the triggering of host innate immune system are critical to understanding pathogen-host interaction. Cellular surveillance systems have been identified as an important strategy for the identification of microbial infection. In the present study, using Bacillus thuringiensis-Caenorhabditis elegans as a model, we found an approach for surveillance systems to sense pathogens.

BtToxin_Digger: a comprehensive and high-throughput pipeline for mining toxin protein genes from Bacillus thuringiensis.

Summary: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used as the most successful microbial pesticide for decades. Its toxin genes are used for the development of genetically modified crops against pests. We previously developed a web-based insecticidal gene mining tool BtToxin_scanner.

Isolation, Characterization, and Genome Sequence Analysis of a Novel Lytic Phage, Xoo-sp15 Infecting Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (X. oryzae) is a bacterial pathovar of rice diseases all over the world.

Genomic analysis of bacteriophage Xoo-sp13 infecting Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae is a bacterial pathogen that gives rise to diseases in rice all over the world. A bacteriophage infecting this bacterium was isolated from rice fields in China.

Sequence Analysis of a Jumbo Bacteriophage, That Infects Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae.

A jumbo bacteriophage, , infecting pv. oryzae was isolated from rice fields in China. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of this phage, revealing that it had a linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecule 232,104 bp long, with a G+C content of 58%.

Multi-copy alpha-amylase genes are crucial for Ditylenchus destructor to parasitize the plant host.

Ditylenchus destructor is a migratory plant-parasitic nematode that causes huge damage to global root and tuber production annually. The main plant hosts of D. destructor contain plenty of starch, which makes the parasitic environment of D.