Search

Hulless barley (HB) grass is a potential resource of functional food. In this study, the proliferation inhibitory effect against cancer cells of an alkaline extracted polysaccharide (APP) from HB grass (HBG) is analyzed. The yield of crude alkaline extracted polysaccharide (APC) reaches 15.1%. After purification, the purity and polydispersity index (PDI) of the APP are 98.3% and 1.38, respectively. The molecular weight of APP is 5.1 × 105 Da, whereas the number‐average molecular weight of APP is 3.7 × 105 Da. APP is composed of arabinose (37.8%), xylose (41.3%), glucose (4.6%), and galactose (16.3%). According to the infrared spectral analysis, APP is found to contain β‐glycosidic bonds. Moreover, APP possesses significant cell proliferation inhibitory effects against various cancer cell lines, such as 4T1, HT29, Caco‐2, and CT26.WT in a dose‐dependent manner. Notably, the IC50 value of 4T1 reaches 7.56 mg mL−1, which indicates that APP from HBG has a potential anti‐cancer effect in vitro. It may be further investigated as an ingredient or nutraceutical for development and utilization in functional foods to prevent or treat cancer and related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) is a major invasive species that seriously threatens the biodiversity of invaded areas. W. auropunctata was first reported in Chinese mainland in 2022 and its impact on native species is still unknown. To evaluate the impact of W. auropunctata invasion on the ant communities in southern China, a series of interspecific competition experiments were conducted in this study. The individual aggression index and group aggression experiments showed the advantage of W. auropunctata in competition with 5 resident ants under equal worker numbers. When encountering Anoplolepis gracilipes, Camponotus nicobarensis, Tetramorium bicarinatum, Polyrhachis dives, and Solenopsis invicta, W. auropunctata gradually gained a competitive advantage with an increase in its number of workers. In the group aggression experiments with equal worker numbers, there was a negative correlation between the body length and mortality rate of resident ants. The results of the foraging behavior experiments showed that W. auropunctata was able to dominate food resources under competition with Carebara diversa, which also displayed weak competition in the group aggression bioassay. In addition, the abilities to recruit workers and retrieve food were inhibited under competition with S. invicta and T. bicarinatum. The results of the nesting behavior experiments showed that in the 24‐h bout of space resource competition, W. auropunctata was dominant over C. diversa, S. invicta, and T. bicarinatum. The results of this study show that W. auropunctata has certain advantages in competition for food and space resources over resident ants in southern China, and some resident ant species may be replaced in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fungus‐growing termites cultivate the fungal mutualist Termitomyces as their main food source; however, how fungus‐growing termites protect Termitomyces from threats is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the actinobacterial communities in Odontotermes formosanus individuals and their fungal combs.Moreover, the antifungal activities of the isolated actinobacteria were tested. 16 S rRNA gene sequencing results indicated that the actinobacteria in O. formosanus and its fungal combs belong to 5 classes, 17 orders, 40 families, and 84 genera.The relative abundance of Coriobacteriia in the nymphs, young workers, old workers, and soldiers was higher than that in the queens and fungal combs, and the relative abundance of class Actinobacteria in the queens and the fungal combs was higher than that in the nymphs, young workers, old workers, and soldiers.Based on antifungal bioassays, 3 strains of Amycolatopsis and 2 strains of Streptomyces isolated from old workers had strong inhibitory activity against Xylaria angulosa but weak inhibitory activity against Termitomyces sp.These results indicated that the actinobacteria of O. formosanus may contribute to protecting termite fungal food via their asymmetric antifungal activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]