Pseudomonads coordinate innate defense against viruses and bacteria with a single regulatory system.

Bacterial cells live under constant existential threats imposed by other bacteria and viruses. Mechanisms for contending with these threats are well documented; however, the regulation of these diverse defense elements remains poorly understood. Here, we describe a genome-wide, coordinated, and highly effective immune response, termed Gac/Rsm-regulated unified antagonism response and defense (GUARD), that protects against bacterial and viral threats using a single regulatory pathway.

Improvement of Rice Seed Storability by Regulating Lipid Metabolism Using a CRISPR/Cas9 System.

Long-term storage of rice grain is critical for global food security, yet rice is inherently susceptible to deterioration during storage. Herein, rice seed storability was improved by targeting three key enzyme genes in the lipid metabolism pathway via CRISPR/Cas9 technology, and the mechanism underlying this was analyzed by an untargeted lipidomic approach. Our findings demonstrate that the significantly inferior seed storability in the Yu-Zhen-Xiang (YZX) cultivar compared with the Xi-Li-Gong-Mi (XLGM) cultivar arises from accelerated lipid catabolism and reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction.

Unveiling the multifaceted domain polymorphism of the Menshen antiphage system.

Recent advances have significantly enriched our understanding of complex bacteria-phage interactions. To date, over one hundred bacterial antiphage systems have been identified, yet the mechanisms of many, including the recently discovered Menshen system, remain elusive. We employed comparative genomics and protein bioinformatics for a systematic investigation of the Menshen system, focusing on its organization, structure, function, and evolution.

Suppressing an auxin efflux transporter enhances rice adaptation to temperate habitats.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), a chilling-sensitive staple crop originating from tropical and subtropical Asia, can be cultivated in temperate regions through the introduction of chilling tolerance traits. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this adaptation remain largely unknown.

Hormonal dynamics reveal a stimulatory role for secretoneurin in zebrafish ovulation.

Surge release of luteinizing hormone (Lh) from the pituitary is essential for fertility as it triggers ovulation. While secretoneurin (SN) is a phylogenetically conserved secretogranin-2-derived peptide that stimulates Lh, its role in ovulation has not been established. To directly compare periovulatory changes in the classical hormones to the emerging reproductive neuropeptides SNa and SNb, simultaneous mass spectrometry measurement of 9 peptides and 5 steroids was conducted in female zebrafish.

Fibrotic scar formation after cerebral ischemic stroke: Targeting the Sonic hedgehog signaling pathway for scar reduction.

JOURNAL/nrgr/04.03/01300535-202602000-00044/figure1/v/2025-05-05T160104Z/r/image-tiff Recent studies have shown that fibrotic scar formation following cerebral ischemic injury has varying effects depending on the microenvironment. However, little is known about how fibrosis is induced and regulated after cerebral ischemic injury.

Pseudomonads coordinate innate defense against viruses and bacteria with a single regulatory system.

Bacterial cells live under the constant existential threats imposed by other bacteria and viruses. Their mechanisms for contending with these threats are well documented; however, the regulation of these diverse defense elements remains poorly understood. Here we show that bacteria can mount a genome-wide, coordinated, and highly effective immune response against bacterial and viral threats using a single regulatory pathway.

Channels and Transporters in Ischemic Brain Edema.

Brain edema is one of the most devastating consequences of acute ischemic stroke, but an effective and preventive therapy targeting the formation of ischemic brain edema has not yet to be validated. Ischemic brain edema is primarily caused by damage to the blood-brain-barrier, leading to the leakage of ions and water into the brain tissue. Ion channels and transporters play a crucial role in ischemic brain edema.

In situ images of Cd in rice reveal Cd protective mechanism using DNAzyme fluorescent probe.

As a common pollutant, cadmium (Cd) poses a serious threat to the growth and development of plants. Currently, there is no effective method to elucidate the protective mechanism of Cd in plant cells. For the first time, we designed a Cd fluorescent probe to observe the adsorption and sequestration of Cd in rice cell walls and vacuoles.

The antitumor peptide M1-20 induced the degradation of CDK1 through CUL4-DDB1-DCAF1-involved ubiquitination.

CDK1 is an oncogenic serine/threonine kinase known to play an important role in the regulation of the cell cycle. FOXM1, as one of the CDK1 substrates, requires binding of CDK1/CCNB1 complex for phosphorylation-dependent recruitment of p300/CBP coactivators to mediate transcriptional activity. Previous studies from our laboratory found that a novel peptide (M1-20) derived from the C-terminus of FOXM1 exhibited potent inhibitory effects for cancer cells.

Repressor elements provide insights into tissue development and phenotypes in pigs.

Repressor elements significantly influence economically relevant phenotypes in pigs; however, their precise roles and characteristics are inadequately understood. In the present study, we employed H3K27me3 profiling, assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with highthroughput sequencing (ATAC-seq), and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data across six tissues derived from three embryonic layers to identify and map 2 034 super repressor elements (SREs) and 22 223 typical repressor elements (TREs) in the pig genome. Notably, many repressor elements were conserved across mesodermal and ectodermal tissues.

The metal tolerance protein OsMTP11 facilitates cadmium sequestration in the vacuoles of leaf vascular cells for restricting its translocation into rice grains.

Rice (Oryza sativa) provides >20% of the consumed calories in the human diet. However, rice is also a leading source of dietary cadmium (Cd) that seriously threatens human health. Deciphering the genetic network that underlies the grain-Cd accumulation will benefit the development of low-Cd rice and mitigate the effects of Cd accumulation in the rice grain.

Vitamin D Deficiency in the Acute Phase of Stroke May Predict Post-stroke Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To conduct the association between vitamin D levels in the acute phase of stroke and post-stroke depression (PSD) in stroke patients.

Methods: Five international databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE(R), Cochrane Library) and one Chinese database (Wanfang Data) were searched for observational studies in any language reporting on PSD and vitamin D levels tested in the acute phase of stroke in stroke patients from inception to May 2024. Data extraction and study quality assessment were conducted by two authors independently.

Development of a Predictive Nomogram for Intra-Hospital Mortality in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients Using LASSO Regression.

Background And Purpose: Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability globally, necessitating accurate prediction of intra-hospital mortality (IHM) for improved patient care. This study aimed to develop a practical nomogram for personalized IHM risk prediction in ischemic stroke patients.

Methods: A retrospective study of 422 ischemic stroke patients (April 2020 - December 2021) from Chongqing Medical University's First Affiliated Hospital was conducted, with patients divided into training (n=295) and validation (n=127) groups.

Genomic Underpinnings of Cytoplasmic Incompatibility: CIF Gene-Neighborhood Diversification Through Extensive Lateral Transfers and Recombination in Wolbachia.

Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), a non-Mendelian genetic phenomenon, involves the manipulation of host reproduction by Wolbachia, a maternally transmitted alphaproteobacterium. The underlying mechanism is centered around the CI Factor (CIF) system governed by two genes, cifA and cifB, where cifB induces embryonic lethality, and cifA counteracts it. Recent investigations have unveiled intriguing facets of this system, including diverse cifB variants, prophage association in specific strains, copy number variation, and rapid component divergence, hinting at a complex evolutionary history.

Developing and Validating a Nomogram Model for Predicting Ischemic Stroke Risk.

: Clinically, the ability to identify individuals at risk of ischemic stroke remains limited. This study aimed to develop a nomogram model for predicting the risk of acute ischemic stroke. : In this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis on patients who visited the Department of Neurology, collecting important information including clinical records, demographic characteristics, and complete hematological tests.

Serum levels of vitamin B12 combined with folate and plasma total homocysteine predict ischemic stroke disease: a retrospective case-control study.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify and quantify the association and investigate whether serum vitamin B12 alone or vitamin B12 combined with folate and plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels could be used to predict the risk of acute ischemic stroke.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective case-control study was conducted in the Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. It included 259 inpatients experiencing their first-ever acute ischemic stroke and 259 age-matched, sex-matched healthy controls.

Machine learning-based classification reveals distinct clusters of non-coding genomic allelic variations associated with Erm-mediated antibiotic resistance.

Unlabelled: The erythromycin resistance RNA methyltransferase () confers cross-resistance to all therapeutically important macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramins (MLS phenotype). The expression of is often induced by the macrolide-mediated ribosome stalling in the upstream co-transcribed leader sequence, thereby triggering a conformational switch of the intergenic RNA hairpins to allow the translational initiation of . We investigated the evolutionary emergence of the upstream regulatory elements and the impact of allelic variation on erm expression and the MLS phenotype.

Characterizing Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Neurology Outpatients: A Retrospective Observational Study.

Objectives: Clinical manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency are varied and may result in missed or delayed diagnosis. This investigation explores the diverse clinical manifestations and demographic characteristics of vitamin B12 deficiency in neurology outpatients, aiming to enhance timely diagnosis and outcomes.

Methods: The severity of vitamin B12 deficiency was classified as absolute (≤150 pg/mL) or borderline deficiency (150-300 pg/mL).

Streptomyces umbrella toxin particles block hyphal growth of competing species.

Streptomyces are a genus of ubiquitous soil bacteria from which the majority of clinically utilized antibiotics derive. The production of these antibacterial molecules reflects the relentless competition Streptomyces engage in with other bacteria, including other Streptomyces species. Here we show that in addition to small-molecule antibiotics, Streptomyces produce and secrete antibacterial protein complexes that feature a large, degenerate repeat-containing polymorphic toxin protein.

Epitranscriptional m6A modification of rRNA negatively impacts translation and host colonization in Staphylococcus aureus.

Macrolides, lincosamides, and streptogramin B (MLS) are structurally distinct molecules that are among the safest antibiotics for prophylactic use and for the treatment of bacterial infections. The family of erythromycin resistance methyltransferases (Erm) invariantly install either one or two methyl groups onto the N6,6-adenosine of 2058 nucleotide (m6A2058) of the bacterial 23S rRNA, leading to bacterial cross-resistance to all MLS antibiotics. Despite extensive structural studies on the mechanism of Erm-mediated MLS resistance, how the m6A epitranscriptomic mark affects ribosome function and bacterial physiology is not well understood.

Transcription factor FOXM1 specifies chromatin DNA to extracellular vesicles.

Extracellular vesicle DNAs (evDNAs) hold significant diagnostic value for various diseases and facilitate transcellular transfer of genetic material. Our study identifies transcription factor FOXM1 as a mediator for directing chromatin genes or DNA fragments (termed FOXM1-chDNAs) to extracellular vesicles (EVs). FOXM1 binds to MAP1LC3/LC3 in the nucleus, and FOXM1-chDNAs, such as the gene and telomere DNA, are designated by FOXM1 binding and translocated to the cytoplasm before being released to EVs through the secretory autophagy during lysosome inhibition (SALI) process involving LC3.

Correlation between Vitamin B12 and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

To conduct the association between vitamin B12 and mental health in children and adolescents. Five databases were searched for observational studies in any language reporting on mental health and vitamin B12 levels or intake in children and adolescents from inception to March 18, 2022. Two authors independently extracted data and assessed study quality.