RABC1-ABI1 module coordinates lipid droplet mobilization and post-germination growth arrest in Arabidopsis.

Abscisic acid (ABA) promotes post-germination growth arrest (PGGA), thereby enhancing plant survival under adverse conditions such as high salinity. Lipid droplets (LDs) are universally conserved dynamic organelles that can store and mobilize neutral lipids for their multiple cellular roles. The molecular mechanism whereby a plant coordinates LD mobilization and PGGA in response to environmental stresses remains poorly understood.

The Dopamine Transporter Is a New Target for Ischemic Stroke.

Aims: Dopamine transporter (DAT) can regulate DA homeostasis and has been implicated in many nervous system diseases. Whether DAT is involved in the protection against ischemic stroke is unclear.

Methods: In vivo microdialysis measurements of DA were recorded in the ischemic penumbral area of mice with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO).

Metabolic basis for superior antioxidant capacity of red-fleshed peaches.

Peach fruit is an important natural source of phenolic compounds that are well-known to have health benefits, but their metabolic basis remain elusive. Here, we report on phenolic compounds accumulation and antioxidant activity of ripe fruits in peach. A considerable variation in phenolic compounds content was observed among peach germplasm, with significantly higher levels detected in red-fleshed peaches compared to non-red-fleshed peaches.

Two adjacent NAC transcription factors regulate fruit maturity date and flavor in peach.

Although maturity date (MD) is an essential factor affecting fresh fruit marketing and has a pleiotropic effect on fruit taste qualities, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. In this study, we functionally characterized two adjacent NAM-ATAF1/2-CUC2 (NAC) transcription factors (TFs), PpNAC1 and PpNAC5, both of which were associated with fruit MD in peach. PpNAC1 and PpNAC5 were found capable of activating transcription of genes associated with cell elongation, cell wall degradation and ethylene biosynthesis, suggesting their regulatory roles in fruit enlargement and ripening.

PpARF6 acts as an integrator of auxin and ethylene signaling to promote fruit ripening in peach.

Although auxin is known to induce ethylene biosynthesis in some Rosaceae fruit crops, the mechanisms underlying the auxin-ethylene interaction during fruit ripening remain largely unknown. Here, the regulatory role of an auxin response factor, PpARF6, in fruit ripening was investigated in peach. Peach fruits showed accelerated ripening after treatment with auxin and PpARF6 was found to be significantly induced.

A contractile injection system is required for developmentally regulated cell death in Streptomyces coelicolor.

Diverse bacterial species produce extracellular contractile injection systems (eCISs). Although closely related to contractile phage tails, eCISs can inject toxic proteins into eukaryotic cells. Thus, these systems are commonly viewed as cytotoxic defense mechanisms that are not central to other aspects of bacterial biology.

The Arabidopsis Rab protein RABC1 affects stomatal development by regulating lipid droplet dynamics.

Lipid droplets (LDs) are evolutionarily conserved organelles that serve as hubs of cellular lipid and energy metabolism in virtually all organisms. Mobilization of LDs is important in light-induced stomatal opening. However, whether and how LDs are involved in stomatal development remains unknown.

BIG Modulates Stem Cell Niche and Meristem Development via SCR/SHR Pathway in Arabidopsis Roots.

BIG, a regulator of polar auxin transport, is necessary to regulate the growth and development of Arabidopsis. Although mutations in the gene cause severe root developmental defects, the exact mechanism remains unclear. Here, we report that disruption of the gene resulted in decreased quiescent center (QC) activity and columella cell numbers, which was accompanied by the downregulation of () gene expression.

Surges of hospital-based rhinovirus infection during the 2020 coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic in Beijing, China.

Background: A series of public health preventive measures has been widely implemented in Beijing to control the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic since January 2020. An evaluation of the effects of these preventive measures on the spread of other respiratory viruses is necessary.

Methods: Respiratory specimens collected from children with acute respiratory infections were tested by NxTAG™ respiratory pathogen panel assays during January 2017 and December 2020.

Steering Metal-Organic Network Structures through Conformations and Configurations on Surfaces.

Molecular adsorption conformations and arrangement configurations on surfaces are important structural aspects of surface stereochemistry, but their roles in steering the structures of metal-organic networks (MONs) remain vague and unexplored. In this study, we constructed MONs by the coordination self-assembly of isocyanides on Cu(111) and Ag(111) surfaces and demonstrated that the MON structures can be steered by surface stereochemistry, including the adsorption conformations of the isocyanide molecules and the arrangement configurations of the coordination nodes and subunits. The coordination self-assembly of 1,4-phenylene diisocyanobenzene afforded a honeycomb MON consisting of 3-fold (isocyano)-Cu motifs on a Cu(111) surface.

STING1 in sepsis: Mechanisms, functions, and implications.

Sepsis is a life-threatening clinical syndrome and one of the most challenging health problems in the world. Pathologically, sepsis and septic shock are caused by a dysregulated host immune response to infection, which can eventually lead to multiple organ failure and even death. As an adaptor transporter between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, stimulator of interferon response cGAMP interactor 1 (STING1, also known as STING or TMEM173) has been found to play a vital role at the intersection of innate immunity, inflammation, autophagy, and cell death in response to invading microbial pathogens or endogenous host damage.

Atomic-Scale Visualization of Stepwise Growth Mechanism of Metal-Alkynyl Networks on Surfaces.

One of the most appealing topics in the study of metal-organic networks is the growth mechanism. However, its study is still considered a significant challenge. Herein, using scanning tunneling microscopy, the growth mechanisms of metal-alkynyl networks on Ag(111) and Au(111) surfaces were investigated at the atomic scale.

Uncovering the mechanism of Jueyin granules in the treatment of psoriasis using network pharmacology.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Our clinical practice demonstrated that Jueyin granules (JYG) benefit patients with mild to moderate psoriasis vulgaris without apparent adverse effects. JYG have been shown to inhibit epidermal proliferation in an imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like mouse model, as well as keratinocyte proliferation. Moreover, JYG causes no acute or chronic toxicity in animal models.

ROS of Distinct Sources and Salicylic Acid Separate Elevated CO-Mediated Stomatal Movements in Arabidopsis.

Elevated CO (eCO) often reduces leaf stomatal aperture and density thus impacts plant physiology and productivity. We have previously demonstrated that the Arabidopsis BIG protein distinguishes between the processes of eCO-induced stomatal closure and eCO-inhibited stomatal opening. However, the mechanistic basis of this action is not fully understood.

Advanced primary amelanotic malignant melanoma of the esophagus: A case report.

Background: Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus accounts for 0.1%-0.2% of all esophageal malignancies, including melanotic and amelanotic melanomas.

BIG regulates sugar response and C/N balance in Arabidopsis.

Mutations in gene not only produce pleiotropic phenotypes of plant development but also impair plant adaptive responses under various stresses. However, the role of gene in sugar signaling is not known. In this study, we first found that deficiency significantly sensitized the sugar-induced anthocyanin accumulation and the sugar-inhibited primary root growth, suggesting BIG is an important component of the sugar signaling pathway.

Correction: EphB2 in the medial prefrontal cortex regulates vulnerability to stress.

Following publication of the above article, the authors noticed that an incorrect version of Figs. 2f, 3f, 5h and 7d was presented.

BIG regulates stomatal immunity and jasmonate production in Arabidopsis.

Plants have evolved an array of responses that provide them with protection from attack by microorganisms and other predators. Many of these mechanisms depend upon interactions between the plant hormones jasmonate (JA) and ethylene (ET). However, the molecular basis of these interactions is insufficiently understood.

The BIG protein distinguishes the process of CO -induced stomatal closure from the inhibition of stomatal opening by CO.

We conducted an infrared thermal imaging-based genetic screen to identify Arabidopsis mutants displaying aberrant stomatal behavior in response to elevated concentrations of CO . This approach resulted in the isolation of a novel allele of the Arabidopsis BIG locus (At3g02260) that we have called CO insensitive 1 (cis1). BIG mutants are compromised in elevated CO -induced stomatal closure and bicarbonate activation of S-type anion channel currents.

Sphingosine kinase AtSPHK1 functions in fumonisin B1-triggered cell death in Arabidopsis.

The fungal toxin Fumonisin B1 (FB1) is a strong inducer to trigger plant hypersensitive responses (HR) along with increased long chain bases (LCB) and long chain base phosphates (LCBP) contents, though the regulatory mechanism of FB1 action and how the LCB/LCBP signalling cassette functions during the process is still not fully understood. Here, we report sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) as a key factor in FB1-induced HR by modulating the salicylic acid (SA) pathway and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Overexpression of SPHK1 increases the FB1-induced accumulations of ROS and SA.