A cell type-specific multiomics uncovers a guard cell-specific RAF15-SnRK2.6/OST1 kinase cascade Multicellular organisms such as plants contain different cell types with specialized functions. Analyzing the characteristics of each cell type reveals specific cell functions and enhances understanding of organization and function at the organismal level. Here we report a highly-sensitive and efficient cell type-specific multiomics pipeline, combining simplified flow cytometry-based cell sorting for fluorescent protoplasts and optimized nanoscale proteomics and metabolomics methods, which allow in-depth analysis of the proteomes and metabolomes of a particular cell type. Using this method, we quantitatively compared the proteomes and metabolomes of guard cells and mesophyll cells and revealed that the enrichment of signal transduction-related proteins enables guard cells to respond rapidly to various environmental stimuli. We uncovered a guard cell-specific kinase cascade whereby RAF15 and OST1 mediate ABA-induced stomatal closure. This pipeline can be applied to various cell types in plant or non-plant systems to learn how cells function in highly organized multicellular organisms.
An NLR Integrated Domain toolkit to identify plant pathogen effector targets Plant resistance genes (or NLR "Nod-like Receptors") are known to contain atypical domains procuring them with a decoy capacity. Some of these integrated domains (or ID) allow the plant to lure the virulence determinants ("effectors") of pathogens and triggering a specific NLR immune reaction.

In this work, our goal was to generate a library of known IDs that could be screened with plant pathogen effectors in order to identify putative new effector virulence targets and NLR-effector pairs.

We curated the IDs contained in NLRs from seven model and crop plant species. We cloned 52 IDs representing 31 distinct Pfam domains. This library was screened for interaction by yeast-two-hybrid with a set of 31 conserved Ralstonia solanacearum type III effectors. This screening and the further in planta interaction assay allowed us to identify three interactions, involving different IDs (kinase, DUF3542, WRKY) and two type III effectors (RipAE and PopP2).

PopP2 was found to physically interact with ID#85, an atypical WRKY domain integrated in the GmNLR-ID85 NLR protein from Soybean. Using a imaging method in living plant cells, we showed that PopP2 associates with ID#85 in the nucleus. But unlike the known WRKY-containing Arabidopsis RRS1-R NLR receptor, this newly identified soybean WRKY domain could not be acetylated by PopP2 and its atypical sequence (WRKYGKR) also probably renders it inefficient in plant immunity triggering.

This ID toolkit is available for screening with other plant pathogen effectors and should prove useful to discover new effectors targets and potentially engineer new plant resistance genes.
First detection of herpesvirus and frequency of mycoplasma infection in free-ranging Hermann s tortoises (Testudo hermanni), and in potential pet vectors AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWTwo types of pathogens cause highly contagious upper respiratory tract diseases (URTD) in Chelonians: testudinid herpesviruses (TeHV) and a mycoplasma (Mycoplasma agassizii). In captivity, these infections are frequent and can provoke outbreaks. Pet trade generates international flow of tortoises, often without sanitary checking; individuals intentionally or accidentally released in the wild may spread pathogens. A better understanding of the transmission of infectious agents from captivity to wild tortoises is needed. Many exotic individuals have been introduced in populations of the endangered western Hermanns tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni), notably spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca). We assessed the presence of TeHV and mycoplasma in native western Hermanns tortoises and in potential pet vectors in south-eastern France. Using a large sample (N=572 tortoises), this study revealed, by PCR, the worrying presence of herpesvirus in 7 free-ranging individuals (3 sub-populations). Additionally, Mycoplasma agassizii was detected, by PCR, in 15 of the 18 populations sampled with a frequency ranging from 3.4% (1 of 29 tortoises) to 25% (3 of 12 tortoises). Exotic spur-thighed tortoises showed high frequency of mycoplasma infection in captivity (18.2%) and in individuals (50%) found in native Hermanns tortoise sub-populations, suggesting that this species could be a significant vector. The paucity of information of TeHV on European tortoise URTD in natural settings, especially in combination with mycoplasma, prompts for further studies. Indeed, sick tortoises remain concealed and may not be easily detected in the field. Our results indicate a good health for most infected tortoise but it should be screened in the field as well as in captivity. Human genetic analyses of organelles highlight the nucleus, but not the mitochondrion, in age-related trait heritability Most age-related human diseases are accompanied by a decline in cellular organelle integrity, including impaired lysosomal proteostasis and defective mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. An open question, however, is the degree to which inherited variation in or near genes encoding each organelle contributes to age-related disease pathogenesis. Here, we evaluate if genetic loci encoding organelle proteomes confer greater-than-expected age-related disease risk. As mitochondrial dysfunction is a "hallmark" of aging, we begin by assessing nuclear and mitochondrial DNA loci near genes encoding the mitochondrial proteome and surprisingly observe a lack of enrichment across 24 age-related traits. Within nine other organelles, we find no enrichment with one exception: the nucleus, where enrichment emanates from nuclear transcription factors. In agreement, we find that genes encoding several organelles tend to be "haplosufficient," while we observe strong purifying selection against heterozygous protein-truncating variants impacting the nucleus. Our work identifies common variation near transcription factors as having outsize influence on age-related trait risk, motivating future efforts to determine if and how this inherited variation then contributes to observed age-related organelle deterioration. Coordination of genome replication and anaphase entry by rDNA copy number in S. cerevisiae Eukaryotes maintain hundreds of copies of ribosomal DNA (rDNA), many more than required for ribosome biogenesis, suggesting a yet undefined role for large rDNA arrays outside of ribosomal RNA synthesis. We demonstrate that reducing the Saccharomyces cerevisiae rDNA array to 35 copies, which is sufficient for ribosome function, shifts rDNA from being the latest replicating region in the genome to one of the earliest. This change in replication timing results in delayed genome-wide replication and classic replication defects. We present evidence that the requirement for rDNA to replicate late, which is conserved among eukaryotes, also coordinates the completion of genome replication with anaphase entry through the proper sequestration of the mitotic exit regulator Cdc14p in the rDNA-containing nucleolus. Our findings suggest that, instead of being a passive repetitive element, the large late-replicating rDNA array plays an active role in genome replication and cell cycle control. The obstacles and potential clues of prime editing applications in tomato, a dicot plant Precision genome editing is highly desired for crop improvement. The recently emerged CRISPR/Cas technology offers great potential applications in precision plant genome engineering. A prime editing (PE) approach combining a reverse transcriptase (RT) with a Cas9 nickase and a "priming" extended guide RNA has shown a high frequency for precise genome modification in mammalian cells and several plant species. Nevertheless, the applications of the PE approach in dicot plants are still limited and inefficient. We designed and tested prime editors for precision editing of a synthetic sequence in a transient assay and for desirable alleles of 10 loci in tomato by stable transformation. Our data obtained by targeted deep sequencing also revealed only low PE efficiencies in both the tobacco and tomato systems. Further assessment of the activities of the PE components uncovered potential reasons for the inefficiency of the PE complexes. Modifying the pegRNA sequences by shortening or introducing mismatches to the primer binding sequences (PBS) in order to reduce their melting temperatures (Tm) did not enhance the PE efficiency at the SlBMP21, SlALC and SlALS1 loci. Our data show challenges of PE approach in tomato, indicating a further improvement of the PE system for the successful applications such as use of improved expression systems. Our work provides an important clue for the successful application of the PE approach in crop improvement. Estimating the fundamental niche: accounting for the uneven availability of existing climates Studies that question important conceptual and methodological aspects of the field of ecological niche modeling (and species distribution modeling) have cast doubts on whether it is possible to estimate the fundamental niche of a species using presence-only data. The main limitation in niche estimation is that presence data come from the realized niche, which is only a subset of the fundamental niche. Most of the existing methods lack the ability to overcome this limitation and therefore fit niches that resemble the realized niche. To obtain a more accurate estimate of the fundamental niche, we propose using the geographic region that is accessible to a species (based on its dispersal ability) to determine a sampling distribution, in environmental space, from which we can quantify the likelihood of observing a particular environmental combination in a sample of presence points. We incorporate this sampling distribution into a multivariate normal model (i.e., a Mahalanobis distance model) by creating a weight function that modifies the probabilities of observing different environmental combinations in a sample of presences. This modification accounts for the uneven availability of environmental conditions. We show that the parameters of this weighted-normal model can be approximated with a maximum likelihood estimation approach; and then used to draw ellipsoids (confidence regions) that represent the fundamental niche of the species. We illustrate the application of our model with two worked examples. First, we use presence data for an invasive species and an accessible area that includes only its native range to evaluate whether the fitted model predicts confirmed establishments of the species outside its native range. Second, we use presence data for closely related species with known accessible areas to demonstrate how the different dispersal abilities of the species constrain a classic Mahalanobis distance model. Overall, we show that accounting for the distribution of environmental conditions that are accessible to a species indeed affects the estimation of the ellipsoids used to model its fundamental niche. VIP plasma levels associate with survival in severe COVID-19 patients, correlating with protective effects in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Infection by SARS-CoV-2 may elicit uncontrolled and damaging inflammatory responses. Thus, it is critical to identify compounds able to inhibit virus replication and thwart the inflammatory reaction. Here, we show that the plasma levels of the immunoregulatory neuropeptide VIP are elevated in patients with severe COVID-19, correlating with reduced inflammatory mediators and with survival on those patients. In vitro, VIP and PACAP, highly similar neuropeptides, decreased the SARS-CoV-2 genome replication in human monocytes and viral production in lung epithelial cells, also reducing cell death. Both neuropeptides inhibited the production of proinflammatory mediators in lung epithelial cells and in monocytes. VIP and PACAP prevented in monocytes the SARS-CoV-2-induced activation of NF-kB and SREBP1 and SREBP2, transcriptions factors involved in proinflammatory reactions and lipid metabolism, respectively. They also promoted CREB activation, a transcription factor with antiapoptotic activity and negative regulator of NF-kB. Specific inhibition of NF-kB and SREBP1/2 reproduced the anti-inflammatory, antiviral and cell death protection effects of VIP and PACAP. Our results support further clinical investigations of these neuropeptides against COVID-19. The relative speed of the glucorticoid stress response varies independently of scope and is predicted by environmental variability and longevity across birds. The acute glucocorticoid response is a key mediator of the coordinated vertebrate response to unpredictable challenges. Rapid glucocorticoid increases initiate changes that allow animals to cope with stressors. The scope of the glucocorticoid response -- defined here as the absolute increase in glucocorticoids -- is associated with individual differences in performance and varies across species with environment and life history. In addition to varying in scope, responses can differ enormously in speed; however, relatively little is known about whether speed and absolute glucocorticoid levels covary, how selection shapes speed, or what aspects of speed are important. We used corticosterone samples collected at 5 time points from 1,750 individuals of 60 species of birds to ask i) how the speed and scope of the glucocorticoid response covary and ii) whether variation in absolute or relative speed is predicted by environmental context or life history. As predicted by a recent model, faster absolute glucocorticoid responses were strongly associated with a larger scope. Despite this covariation, the relative speed of the glucocorticoid response (standardized within species) varied independently of absolute scope, suggesting that selection could operate on both features independently. Species with faster relative glucocorticoid responses lived in locations with more variable temperature and had shorter lifespans. Our results suggest that rapid changes associated with the speed of the glucocorticoid response, such as those occurring through non-genomic receptors, might be an important determinant of coping ability and we emphasize the need for studies designed to measure speed independently of absolute glucocorticoid levels. The OCT2 Transporter Regulates Dopamine D1 Receptor Signaling at the GolgiApparatus Dopamine is the main catecholamine in the brain and the kidney, where it controls a number of physiological functions such as locomotion, cognition, emotion, endocrine regulation and renal function. As a membrane impermeant hormone and neurotransmitter, dopamine is thought to signal by binding and activating dopamine receptors, members of the G protein couple receptor (GPCR) family, only on the plasma membrane. Here, using novel nanobody-based biosensors, we demonstrate for the first time that the dopamine D1 receptor (D1DR), the primary mediator of dopaminergic signaling in the brain and kidney, not only functions on the plasma membrane but becomes activated at the Golgi apparatus in the presence of its ligand. We present evidence that activation of the Golgi pool of D1DR is dependent on Organic Cation Transporter 2 (OCT2), a dopamine transporter, providing an explanation for how the membrane impermeant dopamine accesses subcellular pools of D1DR. We further demonstrate that dopamine activates Golgi-D1DR in the striatal medium spiny neurons (MSN) and this activity depends on OCT2 function. We also introduce a new approach to selectively interrogate compartmentalized D1DR signaling by inhibiting Gs coupling, using a nanobody-based chemical recruitment system. Using this strategy, we show that Golgi-localized D1DRs regulate cAMP production and mediate local protein kinase A activation. Together, our data suggest that spatially compartmentalized signaling hubs are previously unappreciated regulatory aspects of D1DR signaling. Our data also provide further evidence for the role of transporters in regulating subcellular GPCR activity. A vesicle microrheometer for high-throughput viscosity measurements of lipid and polymer membranes Viscosity is a key property of cell membranes that controls mobility of embedded proteins and membrane remodeling. Measuring it is challenging because existing approaches involve complex experimental designs and/or models, and the applicability of some is limited to specific systems and membrane compositions. As a result there is scarcity of data and the reported values for membrane viscosity vary by orders of magnitude for the same system. Here, we show how viscosity of bilayer membranes can be obtained from the transient deformation of giant unilamellar vesicles. The approach enables a non-invasive, probe-independent and high-throughput measurement of the viscosity of bilayers made of lipids or polymers with a wide range of compositions and phase state. Pure lipid and single-phase mixed bilayers are found to behave as Newtonian fluids with strain-rate independent viscosity, while phase-separated and diblock-copolymers systems exhibit shear-thinning in the explored range of strain rates 1-2000 s-1. The results also reveal that electrically polarized bilayers can be significantly more viscous than charge-neutral bilayers. These findings suggest that biomembrane viscosity is a dynamic property that can be actively modulated not only by composition but also by membrane polarization, e.g., as in action potentials. Antithrombin glycoforms are selectively physiosorbed on plasma extracellular vesicles Antithrombin (AT) is a glycoprotein produced by the liver and a principal antagonist of active clotting proteases. A deficit in AT function leads to AT qualitative deficiency, challenging to diagnose. Here we report that active AT may travel physiosorbed on the surface of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs), contributing to form the "EV-protein corona". The corona is enriched in specific AT glycoforms, thus suggesting glycosylation to play a key role in AT partitioning between EVs and plasma. Differences in AT glycoform composition of the corona of EVs separated from plasma of healthy and AT qualitative deficiency-affected subjects were also noticed. This suggests deconstructing the plasma into its nanostructured components, as extracellular vesicles, could help to unravel pathophysiological mechanisms otherwise undiscovered. Hematopoietic differentiation is characterized by a transient peak of entropy at a single cell level. Hematopoietic differentiation has been metaphorically represented as linear trajectories with discrete steps from hematopoietic stem cells to mature cells. While the transcriptional state of cells at the beginning or at the end of these trajectories are well described from bulk analysis, what happens in the intermediate states has remained elusive until the use of single cell approaches. Applying Shannon entropy to measure cell-to-cell variability among cells at the same stage of differentiation, we observed a transient peak of gene expression variability in all the hematopoietic differentiation pathways. Strikingly, genes with the highest entropy variation in a given differentiation pathway matched genes known as pathway-specific, whereas genes with the highest expression variation were common to all pathways. Finally, we showed that the level of cell-to-cell variation is increased in the most immature compartment of hematopoiesis in myelodysplastic syndromes. These data suggest that differentiation could be better conceptualized as a dynamical stochastic process with a transient stage of cellular indetermination. SARS-CoV-2 Can Infect Human Embryos The spread of SARS-CoV-2 has led to a devastating pandemic, with infections resulting in a range of symptoms collectively known as COVID-19. The full repertoire of human tissues and organs susceptible to infection is an area of active investigation, and some studies have implicated the reproductive system. The effects of COVID-19 on human reproduction remain poorly understood, and particularly the impact on early embryogenesis and establishment of a pregnancy are not known. In this work, we explore the susceptibility of early human embryos to SARS-CoV-2 infection. We note that ACE2 and TMPRSS2, two canonical cell entry factors for SARS-CoV-2, are co-expressed in cells of the trophectoderm in blastocyst-stage preimplantation embryos. Using fluorescent reporter virions pseudotyped with Spike (S) glycoprotein from SARS-CoV-2, we observe robust infection of trophectoderm cells, and this permissiveness could be attenuated with blocking antibodies targeting S or ACE2. When exposing human blastocysts to the live, fully infectious SARS-CoV-2, we detected cases of infection that compromised embryo health. Therefore, we identify a new human target tissue for SARS-CoV-2 with potential medical implications for reproductive health during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Evolution of class-structured populations in fluctuating environments What is the influence of periodic environmental fluctuations on life-history evolution? We present a general theoretical framework to understand and predict the long-term evolution of lifehistory traits under a broad range of ecological scenarios. Specifically, we investigate how periodic fluctuations affect selection when the population is also structured in distinct classes. This analysis yields time-varying selection gradients that clarify the influence of the fluctuations of the environment on the competitive ability of a specific life-history mutation. We use this framework to analyse the evolution of key life-history traits of pathogens. We examine three different epidemiological scenarios and we show how periodic fluctuations of the environment can affect the evolution of virulence and transmission as well as the preference for different hosts. These examples yield new and testable predictions on pathogen evolution, and illustrate how our approach can provide a better understanding of the evolutionary consequences of time-varying environmental fluctuations in a broad range of scenarios. Effect of tag attachment on the flight performance of five raptor species Bio-logging devices play a fundamental and indispensable role in movement ecology studies, particularly in the wild. However, researchers are becoming increasingly aware of the influence that attaching devices can have on animals, particularly on their behaviour, energy expenditure and survival. The way a device is attached to an animals body has also potential consequences for the collected data, and quantifying the type and magnitude of such potential effects is fundamental to enable researchers to combine and compare data from different studies, as much as it is to improve animal welfare.

For over two decades, large terrestrial birds have been in the focus of long-term movement ecology research, employing bio-logging devices attached with different types of harnesses. However, comparative studies investigating the effects of different harness types used on these species are scarce.

In this study, we tested for potential differences in data collected by two commonly used harness types, backpack and leg-loop, on the flight performance of 10 individuals from five raptor species, equipped with high resolution bio-logging devices, in the same area and time. We explored the effect of harness type on vertical speed, horizontal speed, glide ratio, height above sea level, distance travelled, proportion of soaring and flapping behaviour, and VeDBA (a proxy for energy expenditure) between and within individuals, all used as fine-scale measures of flight performance. Birds equipped with leg-loops climbed up to 0.65 ms-1 faster, reached 19% greater heights while soaring, and spent less time in active flight compared to birds equipped with backpacks, suggesting that backpack harnesses, compared to leg-loops, might cause additional drag affecting the birds flight performance. A lower rate of sinking while gliding, a slightly higher glide ratio, higher horizontal speed while soaring, and lower VeDBA, were also indicative of less drag using leg-loops. Our results add to the existing literature highlighting the design-related advantages of leg-loops, and support the use of leg-loops as a better alternative to backpack harnesses for large soaring birds, when possible. Our study also highlights how apparently small changes in device attachment can lead to notable improvements in tagging practice, with implications for animal welfare, data interpretation and comparability. The therapeutic and diagnostic potential of amyloid β oligomers (AβOs) selective antibodies to treat Alzheimer's disease Improvements have been made in the diagnosis of Alzheimers disease (AD), manifesting mostly in the development of in vivo imaging methods that allow for the detection of pathological changes in AD by MRI and PET scans. Many of these imaging methods, however, use agents that probe amyloid fibrils and plaques - species that do not correlate well with disease progression and are not present at the earliest stages of the disease. Amyloid {beta} oligomers (A{beta}Os), rather, are now widely accepted as the A{beta} species most germane to AD onset and progression. Here we report evidence further supporting the role of A{beta}Os as pathological instigators of AD and introduce promising anti-A{beta}O diagnostic probes capable of distinguishing the 5xFAD mouse model from wild type mice by PET and MRI. In a developmental study, A{beta} oligomers in 5xFAD mice were found to appear at 3 months of age, just prior to the onset of memory dysfunction, and spread as memory worsened. The increase of A{beta}Os is prominent in the subiculum and correlates with concomitant development of reactive astrocytosis. The impact of these A{beta}Os on memory is in harmony with findings that intraventricular injection of synthetic A{beta}Os into wild type mice induced hippocampal dependent memory dysfunction within 24 hours. Compelling support for the conclusion that endogenous A{beta}Os cause memory loss was found in experiments showing that intranasal inoculation of A{beta}O-selective antibodies into 5xFAD mice completely restored memory function, measured 30-40 days post-inoculation. These antibodies, which were modified to give MRI and PET imaging probes, were able to distinguish 5xFAD mice from wild type littermates. These results provide strong support for the role of A{beta}Os in instigating memory loss and salient AD neuropathology, and they demonstrate that A{beta}O selective antibodies have potential both for therapeutics and for diagnostics. Mobile elements harbouring heavy metal and bacitracin resistance cassettes are common among Listeria monocytogenes persisting on dairy farms Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen and a resilient environmental saprophyte. Dairy farms are a reservoir of L. monocytogenes and strains can persist on farms for years. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 250 L. monocytogenes isolates to investigate the persistence and mobile genetic elements of Listeria inhabiting dairy farms. We performed a SNP-based phylogenomic analysis to identify 14 monophyletic clades of L. monocytogenes that persistent on the farms for [&ge;] 6 months. We found that prophages and other mobile genetic elements were on average more numerous among isolates in persistent than nonpersistent clades, and demonstrated that resistance genes against bacitracin, arsenic and cadmium were significantly more prevalent among isolates in persistent than nonpersistent clades. We identified a diversity of mobile elements among the 250 farm isolates, including three novel plasmids, three novel transposons and a novel prophage harbouring cadmium resistance genes. Several of the mobile elements we identified in Listeria were identical to the mobile elements of Enterococci, indicative of recent transfer between these genera. Finally, we demonstrated that the CRISPR-cas IIa system and a type II restriction-modification system were negatively associated with persistence on farms. Our findings suggest that mobile elements support the persistence of L. monocytogenes on dairy farms and that L. monocytogenes inhabiting the agroecosystem is a potential reservoir of mobile elements that may spread to the food industry.

ImportanceAnimal derived raw materials are an important source of L. monocytogenes for the food industry. Knowledge of the factors contributing to the pathogens transmission and persistence on farms are essential for designing effective strategies against the spread of the pathogen from farm to fork. An increasing body of evidence suggests that mobile genetic elements support the adaptation and persistence of L. monocytogenes in the food industry, as these elements contribute to the dissemination of genes encoding favourable phenotypes, such as resilience against biocides and thermal stress. Understanding the role of farms as a potential reservoir of these elements is needed for managing the transmission of mobile elements across the food chain. Because L. monocytogenes coinhabits the farm ecosystem with a diversity of other bacterial species, it is important to assess the degree to which genetic elements are exchanged between Listeria and other species, as such exchanges may contribute to rise the novel resistance phenotypes. Affordable Caenorhabditis elegans tracking system for classroom use For decades the nematode C. elegans has served as an outstanding research organism owing to its unsurpassed experimental amenability. This advantage has also made this tiny worm an attractive vehicle for science instruction across higher learning institutions. However, the prohibitive cost associated with the automated behavioral assessment of these animals remains an obstacle preventing their full adoption in undergraduate and high school settings. To improve this situation, we developed an inexpensive worm tracking system for use by high school interns and undergraduate students. Over the past two years this tracker has been successfully used by undergraduate students in our introductory Cell and Molecular lab (BSC220) at Illinois State University. Here we describe and demonstrate the use of our inexpensive worm tracking system. CandyCollect: At-home saliva sampling for capture of respiratory pathogens Streptococcus pyogenes is a major human-specific bacterial pathogen and a common cause of a wide range of symptoms from mild infection such as pharyngitis (commonly called strep throat) to lifethreatening invasive infection. Traditional methods for diagnosis include collecting a sample using a pharyngeal swab, which can cause discomfort and even discourage adults and children from seeking proper testing and treatment in the clinic. Saliva samples are an alternative to pharyngeal swabs. To improve the testing experience for strep throat, we developed a novel lollipop-inspired sampling platform (called CandyCollect) to capture bacteria in saliva. The device can be used in clinics or in the home and shipped back to a lab for analysis, integrating with telemedicine. CandyCollect is designed to capture bacteria on an oxygen plasma treated polystyrene surface embedded with flavoring substances to enhance the experience for children and inform the required time to complete the sampling process. In addition, the open channel structure prevents the tongue from scraping and removing the captured bacteria. Flavoring substances did not affect bacterial capture and the device has a shelf life of at least 2 months (with experiments ongoing to extend the shelf life). We performed a usability study with 17 participants who provided feedback on the device design and the dissolving time of the candy. This technology and advanced processing techniques, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR), will enable user-friendly and effective diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis. The compound of baicalein, wogonin, and oroxylin-A inhibiting EMT in A549 cell line via PI3K/AKT-TWIST1-glycolysis pathway Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a worldwide disease with high morbidity and mortality, which is most derived from its metastasis. Some researches show that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process promotes lung cancer cells migration and invasion, leading to NSCLC metastasis. Total Flavonoid Aglycones Extract (TFAE) isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis was reported to inhibit tumor growth and induce apoptosis. In this study, we found that baicalein, wogonin, and oroxylin-A were the active compounds of TFAE. After reconstructing with these three compounds (baicalein (65.8%), wogonin (21.2%), and oroxylin-A (13.0%)), the reconstructed TFAE (reTFAE) present inhibitory effect on the EMT process of A549 cells. Then, bioinformatic technology was employed to elucidate the potential pharmacodynamic mechanism network of reTFAE. We identified the relationship between reTFAE and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways, with TWIST1 as the key protein. LY294002, the inhibitor of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and knock-down TWIST1 could significantly enhance the efficacy of reTFAE, with increasing expression of epithelial markers and decreasing expression of mesenchymal markers in A549 cells at the same time. Furthermore, stable isotope dimethyl-labeled proteomics technology was conducted to complement the follow-up mechanism that the EMT-inhibition process may be realized through glycolysis pathway. In conclusion, we claim that TWIST1-targeted flavonoids could provide a new strategy to inhibit EMT progress for the treatment of NSCLC. Metagenomic evidence for co-occurrence of antibiotic, biocide and metal resistance genes in pigs Antibiotic-resistant pathogens constitute an escalating public health concern. Hence a better understanding of the underlying processes responsible for this expansion is urgently needed. Co-selection of heavy metals/biocides and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has been suggested as one potential mechanism promoting the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This paper aims to elucidate this interplay and exploit differences in antibiotic usage to infer patterns of co-selection by the non-antibiotic factors metals and biocides in the context of pig farming. We examined 278 gut metagenomes from pigs with continuous antibiotic exposure, only at weaning and at no exposure. Metals as growth promoters and biocides as disinfectants are currently used with little restrictions in stock farming. The pigs under continuous antibiotic exposure displayed the highest co-occurrence of ARGs and other genetic elements while the pigs under limited use of antibiotics still showed abundant co-occurrences. Pathogens belonging to Enterobacteriaceae displayed increased co-occurrence phenomena, suggesting that this maintenance is not a random selection process from a mobilized pool but pertains to specific phylogenetic clades. These results suggest that metals and biocides displayed strong selective pressures on ARGs exerted by intensive farming, regardless of the current use of antibiotics.

HighlightsO_LIA comprehensive gut microbiome metagenomics analysis of 278 pigs
C_LIO_LICo-selection phenomena were investigated via co-occurrence patterns as a proxy
C_LIO_LITwenty-seven types of co-occurrences involving 131 resistance genes were detected
C_LIO_LIRegardless of use of antibiotics, AMR can be maintained by co-occurrence with MRGs/BRGs
C_LIO_LIMaintenance of AMR is not a random selection process but pertains to specific phylogenetic clades
C_LI Diverse stem-chondrichthyan oral structures and evidence for an independently acquired acanthodid dentition The teeth of sharks famously form a series of transversely-organised files with conveyor-belt replacement that are borne directly on the jaw cartilages, in contrast to the dermal plate-borne dentition of bony fishes that undergoes site-specific replacement. A major obstacle in understanding how this system evolved is the poorly understood relationships of the earliest chondrichthyans and the profusion of morphologically and terminologically diverse bones, cartilages, splints and whorls that they possess. Here we use tomographic methods to investigate mandibular structures in several early branching  acanthodian-grade stem-chondrichthyans. We show that the dentigerous jaw bones of disparate genera of ischnacanthids are united by a common construction, being growing bones with non-shedding dentition. Mandibular splints, which support the ventro-lateral edge of the Meckels cartilage in some taxa, are formed from dermal bone and may be an acanthodid synapomorphy. We demonstrate that the teeth of Acanthodopsis are borne directly on the mandibular cartilage and that this taxon is deeply nested within an edentulous radiation, representing an unexpected independent origin of teeth. Many or even all of the range of unusual oral structures may be apomorphic, but they should nonetheless be considered when building hypotheses of tooth and jaw evolution, both in chondrichthyans and more broadly. Somatic uniparental disomy mitigates the most damaging EFL1 allele combination in Shwachman-Diamond syndrome Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (SDS; OMIM: #260400) is caused by variants in SBDS (Shwachman-Bodian-Diamond syndrome gene), which encodes a protein that plays an important role in ribosome assembly. Recent reports suggest that recessive variants in EFL1 are also responsible for SDS. However, the precise genetic mechanism that leads to EFL1-induced SDS remains incompletely understood. Here we present three unrelated Korean SDS patients that carry biallelic pathogenic variants in EFL1 with biased allele frequencies, resulting from a bone marrow-specific somatic uniparental disomy (UPD) in chromosome 15. The recombination events generated cells that were homozygous for the relatively milder variant, allowing for the evasion of catastrophic physiological consequences. Still, the milder EFL1 variant was solely able to impair 80S ribosome assembly and induce SDS features in cell line, zebrafish, and mouse models. The loss of EFL1 resulted in a pronounced inhibition of terminal oligo-pyrimidine element-containing ribosomal protein transcript 80S assembly. Therefore, we propose a more accurate pathogenesis mechanism of EFL1 dysfunction that eventually leads to aberrant translational control and ribosomopathy. ALLOPURINOL BLOCKS THE AORTIC ANEURYSM IN A MOUSE MODEL OF MARFAN SYNDROME VIA REDUCING AORTIC OXIDATIVE STRESS BackgroundThe pathogenesis and progression of aortic aneurysm in Marfan syndrome (MFS) involves dysregulated TGF-{beta} and nitric oxide signaling, altered hemodynamics, and biomechanical forces. Increasing evidence indicates that redox stress participates in MFS aortopathy, though its contribution is not well established. We reported elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and NADPH oxidase NOX4 upregulation in MFS patients and mice aortic samples. Here we address the contribution of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR), which is transcribed as dehydrogenase (XDH) and then post-translationally modified to oxidase (XO), catabolizing mainly purines into uric acid and ROS.

Methods and ResultsWe report that in MFS patients, XOR protein levels increased in aortic samples. In MFS mice (Fbn1C1041G/+), XOR mRNA transcripts augmented in the aorta of young but not older MFS mice. Moreover, the enzymatic activity of XO form increased with respect to XDH. The administration of the XOR inhibitor allopurinol (ALO) blocked the progression of aortic root aneurysm in MFS mice. ALO was also protective when administrated before the appearance of aneurysm. MFS-induced elastic fiber fragmentation, fibrotic remodeling, nuclear translocation of pNRF2, and increased 3-nitrotyrosine levels in the aortic tunica media as well as endothelial dysfunction were all prevented by allopurinol. The large overproduction of H2O2 in MFS aorta did not occur in allopurinol-treated mice whose uric acid plasma levels remained unaltered.

ConclusionsThis study strengthens the concept that redox stress is an important determinant of aortic aneurysm formation and progression in MFS and supports a clinical trial for ALO in the pharmacological treatment of MFS aortopathy.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

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org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@eab02aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d3b39eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b54d0forg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d61ad0_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP  M_FIG C_FIG Identification of two cancer stem cell-like populations in triple-negative breast cancer xenografts Gene expression analysis at the single-cell level by next generation sequencing has revealed the existence of clonal dissemination and microheterogeneity in cancer metastasis. The current spatial analysis technologies can elucidate the heterogeneity of cell-cell interactions in situ. To reveal the regional and expressional heterogeneity in primary tumors and metastases, we performed transcriptomic analysis of microtissues dissected from a triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell line MDA-MB-231 xenograft model with our automated tissue microdissection punching technology. This multiple-microtissue transcriptome analysis revealed three cancer cell-type clusters in the primary tumor and axillary lymph node metastasis, two of which were cancer stem cell (CSC)-like clusters (CD44/MYC-high, HMGA1-high). Reanalysis of public single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) datasets confirmed that the two CSC-like populations existed both in TNBC xenograft models and TNBC patients. In addition, the gene signature of the HMGA1-high CSC-like cluster has the potential to serve as a novel biomarker for diagnosis. The diversity of these multiple CSC-like populations may cause differential anticancer drug resistance, increasing the difficulty of curing this cancer.