Search

IntroductionUsing black soldier fly larvae (BSFLs) to treat food waste is one of the most promising environmental protection technologies.MethodsWe used high-throughput sequencing to study the effects of different nutritional compositions on the intestinal microbiota and digestive enzymes of BSF.ResultsCompared with standard feed (CK), high-protein feed (CAS), high-fat feed (OIL) and high-starch feed (STA) had different effects on the BSF intestinal microbiota. CAS significantly reduced the bacterial and fungal diversity in the BSF intestinal tract. At the genus level, CAS, OIL and STA decreased the Enterococcus abundance compared with CK, CAS increased the Lysinibacillus abundance, and OIL increased the Klebsiella, Acinetobacter and Bacillus abundances. Diutina, Issatchenkia and Candida were the dominant fungal genera in the BSFL gut. The relative abundance of Diutina in the CAS group was the highest, and that of Issatchenkia and Candida in the OIL group increased, while STA decreased the abundance of Diutina and increased that of Issatchenkia. The digestive enzyme activities differed among the four groups. The α-amylase, pepsin and lipase activities in the CK group were the highest, and those in the CAS group were the lowest or the second lowest. Correlation analysis of environmental factors showed a significant correlation between the intestinal microbiota composition and digestive enzyme activity, especially α-amylase activity, which was highly correlated with bacteria and fungi with high relative abundances. Moreover, the mortality rate of the CAS group was the highest, and that of the OIL group was the lowest.DiscussionIn summary, different nutritional compositions significantly affected the community structure of bacteria and fungi in the BSFL intestinal tract, affected digestive enzyme activity, and ultimately affected larval mortality. The high oil diet gave the best results in terms of growth, survival and intestinal microbiota diversity, although the digestive enzymes activities were not the highest.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a chronic and prevalent metabolic disease that gravely endangers human health and seriously affects the quality of life of hyperglycemic patients. More seriously, it can lead to amputation and neuropathic pain, imposing a severe financial burden on patients and the healthcare system. Even with strict glycemic control or pancreas transplantation, peripheral nerve damage is difficult to reverse. Most current treatment options for DPN can only treat the symptoms but not the underlying mechanism. Patients with long-term diabetes mellitus (DM) develop axonal transport dysfunction, which could be an important factor in causing or exacerbating DPN. This review explores the underlying mechanisms that may be related to axonal transport impairment and cytoskeletal changes caused by DM, and the relevance of the latter with the occurrence and progression of DPN, including nerve fiber loss, diminished nerve conduction velocity, and impaired nerve regeneration, and also predicts possible therapeutic strategies. Understanding the mechanisms of diabetic neuronal injury is essential to prevent the deterioration of DPN and to develop new therapeutic strategies. Timely and effective improvement of axonal transport impairment is particularly critical for the treatment of peripheral neuropathies.

The prevalence of soluble aluminum (Al) ions is one of the major limitations to crop production worldwide on acid soils. Therefore, understanding the Al tolerance mechanism of rice and applying Al tolerance functional genes in sensitive plants can significantly improve Al stress resistance. In this study, transcriptomics and metabolomics analyses were performed to reveal the mechanism of Al tolerance differences between two rice landraces (Al-tolerant genotype Shibanzhan (KR) and Al-sensitive genotype Hekedanuo (MR) with different Al tolerance. The results showed that DEG related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis was highly enriched in KR and MR after Al stress, indicating that phenylpropanoid biosynthesis may be closely related to Al tolerance. E1.11.1.7 (peroxidase) was the most significant enzyme of phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in KR and MR under Al stress and is regulated by multiple genes. We further identified that two candidate genes Os02g0770800 and Os06g0521900 may be involved in the regulation of Al tolerance in rice. Our results not only reveal the resistance mechanism of rice to Al stress to some extent, but also provide a useful reference for the molecular mechanism of different effects of Al poisoning on plants.

To provide high-quality Astragalus mongholicus Bunge to domestic and foreign markets and maintain sustainable development of the A. mongholicus industry, Firstly, we evaluated the impact of environmental factors and planting areas on the A. mongholicus industry. The maximum entropy method (MaxEnt) was utilized to simulate the suitability distribution of A. mongholicus and establish the relationship between the active component contents of A. mongholicus and ecological factors through linear regression analysis. The random forest algorithm was subsequently used to perform feature selection and classification extraction on Sentinel-2 imagery covering the study area. Furthermore, the planting, processing, and sales of A. mongholicus in Guyang County were investigated, and the roles of stakeholders in the value chains were analyzed. The results demonstrated that precipitation of the warmest quarter, minimum temperature of the coldest month, standard deviation of seasonal temperature changes, range of mean annual temperature, and mean diurnal range [mean of monthly (max temp - min temp)] were the five environmental variables that contributed the most to the growth of A. mongholicus. The most influential factor on the distribution of high-quality A. mongholicus was the mean temperature of the coldest quarter. The classification results of image features showed that the planting areas of A. mongholicus was consistent with the suitable planting areas predicted by MaxEnt, which can provide data support to the relevant departments for the macro development of the A. mongholicus industry. In the production of A. mongholicus, 10 value chains were constructed, and the study demonstrated that the behavior of stakeholders, target markets, and the selected planting area had a significant impact on the quality of A. mongholicus.

Cancer is the leading lethal disease worldwide. Natural products have contributed significantly to the development of approved therapeutic agents. Therefore, research into new bioactive naturally sourced metabolites with lead potential is urgently needed. It is well-known that marine microorganisms are by far one of the most notable and prolific sources of bioactive natural products. Among them, deep-sea-derived fungi are extraordinarily adapted and metabolically active under extreme environmental conditions, which enable them to produce a large number of novel secondary metabolites. Chemical examination of deep-sea-derived fungi has yielded enormous amounts of cytotoxic natural products and potential drug leads. This review summarizes a total of 229 cytotoxic compounds isolated from deep-sea-derived fungi from 2010 to 2021. The emphasis is on the unique chemical diversity of these metabolic products, together with their relevant cytotoxic properties. Among the isolated metabolites, 82 compounds have been found to possess moderate to potent cytotoxic activities. Meanwhile, we also highlight some compounds with potent cytotoxicities (namely “star molecules”) considering their high drug lead potential. This review reveals deep-sea-derived fungi as considerable resources for the development of new drugs and the potential of the newly discovered secondary metabolites as valuable antitumor lead compounds.

High concentrations of PM2.5 in enclosed broiler houses cause respiratory disorders in humans and animals. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is an opportunistic pathogen that can induce severe respiratory disease in animals under stress or with abnormal immune functions. Alveolar macrophages are lung-resident immune cells that play important roles in lung host defence and immune balance. In this study, the mechanism by which PM2.5 synergizes with P. aeruginosa to damage alveolar macrophage function and induce inflammation was investigated. The results will provide a theoretical basis for improving the poultry breeding environment and preventing the recurrence of infection with P. aeruginosa. Alveolar macrophages were stimulated by PM2.5 collected in an enclosed broiler house and P. aeruginosa. Phagocytosis was determined by the neutral red test. The apoptosis rate and cytoskeleton changes were observed by flow cytometry assays and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Protein levels related to autophagy and the mTOR pathway were detected by Western blotting. The results indicated that PM2.5 in combination with P. aeruginosa could decrease phagocytosis, inhibit autophagy, increase apoptosis, and destroy the cytoskeleton in alveolar macrophages. In addition, alveolar macrophages had significantly increased expression of mTOR pathway-related proteins in response to the synergistic stimulation of PM2.5 and P. aeruginosa. The above results confirmed that PM2.5 in poultry houses synergized with P. aeruginosa to impede alveolar macrophage function and caused more severe respiratory system injuries through a process closely related to the activation of the mTOR signalling pathway.

The beneficial effects of the probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (formerly Lactobacillus plantarum) are based on its adherence and colonization ability in the gut. However, little is known about the migration and long-term gut colonization of the strain. This study evaluated the gut colonization modes of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum RS-09 to identify the strain with long-term gut colonization potential. We established CFDA/SE-labeled RS-09 to study the temporal and spatial distribution of RS-09 in the intestine as well as to analyze its persistence in different parts of the intestine by flow cytometry. This study has shown that the RS-09 strain maintains strong adhesion abilities under acid (pH 2.5) and base (pH 8.5) conditions. In addition, CFDA/SE can be used as an indicator for the labeling of L. plantarum RS-09 in the intestinal tract in vivo. We established a growth kinetics model of RS-09 to elucidate its persistence in the intestine. In vivo persistence experiments showed that the persistence rate of RS-09 was the highest in the cecum (69.5%) and the lowest in the duodenum (12.8%) at 96 h. After 20 days, RS-09 was predominantly localized in the cecum and colon steadily. These studies provide new insights into the long-term persistence of L. plantarum in the gastrointestinal tract. The CFDA/SE label system may be used to study the in vivo colonization dynamics of other probiotic strains.

Lactobacillus plantarumcan interact with macrophages against bacterial enteropathy due to its potential ability to modulate macrophage polarization. However, this mechanism is not completely understood. TLR2 can recognize microbial components and trigger macrophage cytokine responses to different gram-positive strains. The aim of this study was to investigate whether probioticLactobacillus plantarumRS-09 can induce macrophage polarization againstSalmonellaTyphimurium infection via TLR2 signalling. BALB/c mice were preadministered RS-09 continuously for 7 days and then infected withSalmonellaTyphimurium ATCC14028. Mouse RAW264.7 mononuclear macrophages were stimulated with RS-09 and coincubated with ATCC14028 or PBS controls. The results of thein vivostudy indicated that RS-09 could relieveS. Typhimurium-induced splenomegaly, body weight loss and death rate. RS-09 also limited the colonization and translocation ofS. Typhimurium in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby protected against infection. We also observed that RS-09 upregulated the production of M1 macrophage characteristics (e.g., CD11c and IL-6) againstS. Typhimurium. Furthermore, RS-09 induced the expression of TLR2 in macrophages. In anin vitrostudy, treatment of RAW264.7 cells with RS-09 either concurrently with or beforeS. Typhimurium challenge enhanced the secretion of Reactive oxygen species and Nitric oxide. This effect was related to TLR2 and NF-κB activation. Based on these findings,Lactobacillus plantarumRS-09 was shown to modulate M1 macrophage polarization and induce TLR2-linked NF-κB signalling activity in the innate immune response toS. Typhimurium infection.

Glehniae Radix (GR) is one of the major medicinal materials in China. The global demand for GR, especially in Asian countries, is constantly increasing, and the supply of wild medicinal materials falls short of the demand. Previous studies have shown that the production and processing modes of different value chains (VCs) impact the quality of medicinal materials. After 4 years of field and market research, this study includes interviews with stakeholders in the VCs, integrates different types of VCs, and further analyzes the VCs. GR characteristics were also assessed; the length and upper-middle diameter of the collected samples were measured, and the effective components of the samples were determined to rank the GR samples according to their quality. The effective components were further analyzed by the K-means clustering method. Concomitantly, the local price (the sales price of the place where the medicinal materials are produced) and market price (the sale price of medicinal materials in the market) of GR in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, and Anguo, Hebei, were documented, and the ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) method was used to predict the GR price. Ten VCs are summarized in this article. The results showed that the income of the staff at the beginning of the VC is inadequate. Regarding GR origin, Inner Mongolia GR showed higher quality than that of other areas. As a result, the price of medicinal materials is relatively high, which corresponds to the market price of the survey. The forecast results showed that the market price of GR would increase slightly in the future, which could provide reference for the selection of medicinal materials cultivation in the future. Through the study, it was found that the vertical integration in the VCs of GR could guarantee not only the benefit of the growers but also the traceability of the medicinal materials, which further guarantees the quality of the medicinal materials. However, the complex relationship between the cultivation area and the quality of the medicinal materials is not clear, which should be addressed in future research.

Background: Neuroimaging studies have shown that the high synchrony of spontaneous neural activity in the homotopic regions between hemispheres is an important functional structural feature of normal human brains, and this feature is abnormal in the patients with various mental disorders. However, little is known about this feature in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). This study aimed to further analyze the underlying neural mechanisms of OCD and to explore whether clinical characteristics are correlated with the alerted homotopic connectivity in patients with OCD. Methods: Using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) during resting state, we compared 46 OCD patients and 46 healthy controls (HCs) matched for age, gender, and education level. A partial correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between altered VMHC and clinical characteristics in patients with OCD. Results: Patients with OCD showed lower VMHC than HCs in fusiform gyrus/inferior occipital gyrus, lingual gyrus, postcentral gyrus/precentral gyrus, putamen, and orbital frontal gyrus. A significant positive correlation was observed between altered VMHC in the angular gyrus/middle occipital gyrus and illness duration in patients. Conclusions: Interhemispheric functional imbalance may be an essential aspect of the pathophysiological mechanism of OCD, which is reflected not only in the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) loop but also elsewhere in the brain.