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Theanine (N-ethyl-γ-glutamine), as a unique non-protein amino acid, plays vital roles in abiotic stress resistance, while its roles in biotic stress resistance are still unclear. Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a major disease in strawberries. Effects of theanine on the development of gray mold, cell-wall and phenylpropanoid metabolisms in strawberries were investigated in this study. Results showed that 5 mmol L−1 theanine treatment reduced disease incidence and severity of gray mold in strawberries with antifungal activity in vitro. Meanwhile, theanine treatment enhanced the accumulation of phenolic compounds and lignin, especially ellagic acid, cyanidin, and quercetin, which was associated with increased phenylpropanoid pathway related enzyme activities. Moreover, theanine induced callose deposition and suppressed cell- wall disassembling enzymes, accompanied by higher levels of water insoluble pectin, hemicellulose and cellulose. Therefore, theanine treatment could alleviate decay of B. cinerea-inoculated strawberries by regulating phenylpropanoid and cell-wall metabolisms, maintaining higher levels of phenolic compounds and cell-wall components, thereby contributing to disease resistance and cell-wall structure integrity.

With growing concerns about environmental protection and sustainable development, the development of new biodegradable food packaging materials has become a significant focus for the future of food packaging. Polysaccharides, such as cellulose, chitosan, and starch, are considered ideal biodegradable packaging materials due to their wide availability, good biocompatibility, and biodegradability. These materials have garnered extensive attention from researchers in food packaging, leading to considerable advancements in the application of polysaccharide-based food packaging films, coatings, aerogels, and other forms. Therefore, this review focuses on the application of polysaccharide-based packaging films in food storage and preservation and discusses their preparation methods, application progress, challenges, and future development directions. Through an in-depth analysis of the existing literature, this review aims to provide sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for the food packaging industry.

Zucchini fruit are notably susceptible to chilling injury when stored at low temperatures. The purpose of this experimental investigation was to assess the influence of strigolactone (ST) (5 μmol L-1) on mitigating chilling injury and the metabolic changes in amino acids, ascorbic acid, and abscisic acid in zucchini fruit stored at 4°C. Research findings demonstrated that ST-treated zucchini fruit displayed a significantly higher tolerance to chilling stress compared to the control group. Postharvest ST treatment led to a decrease in weight loss, accompanied by reduced levels of malondialdehyde and relative ion leakage compared to the untreated group. ST immersion significantly boosted the metabolic pathways associated with proline and arginine, affecting both the enzymatic reactions and gene expressions, thus cumulatively increasing the internal concentrations of these amino acids in zucchini fruit. Zucchini treated with ST exhibited an increased concentration of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a result of augmented activities and elevated transcriptional levels of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), GABA transaminase (GAT), and succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSD). In the ST-treated sample, the elevated enzymatic activities and enhanced gene expressions within the ascorbic acid (AsA) biosynthesis pathway worked together to sustain AsA accumulation. The application of ST resulted in a rise in abscisic acid (ABA) concentration, which correspondingly correlated with the induction of both activities and gene expression levels of crucial enzymes involved in ABA metabolism. Our findings revealed that submerging zucchini fruit in ST could be a highly effective strategy for boosting their chilling tolerance. The alleviation in chilling injury induced by ST may be attributed to the modulation of proline, arginine, GABA, AsA and ABA metabolism.

Abstract Telocytes (TCs) are a new type of interstitial cell identified in multiple tissues of mammals, including the human lung, and mediate homocellular or heterocellular cell‐cell communication. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by acute hypoxemia respiratory failure and combined with direct and indirect lung injury, which is induced by pneumonia, sepsis, burns, etc. Pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive lung disease that occurs due to increased fibrosis of lung tissue in response to chronic injury of the epithelium and gets more and more attention as a well‐recognized sequela of ARDS or mechanical ventilation. However, the existing intervention measures could not prevent the progression of pulmonary fibrosis. Although the protective effect of TCs in acute lung injury had been demonstrated in both cellular and animal models in previous studies by our or other researchers, the roles of TCs mediated cell‐cell communication in fibroproliferative ARDS is unclear. This review is aimed at integrating our understanding of TC‐mediated cell–cell communication in lung diseases with pulmonary fibrosis after ARDS.

As low-level aquatic vertebrates, fish are highly dependent on the water environment, and general activities such as growth, foraging, and reproduction are easily affected by changes in the external environment. Changes in environmental factors can lead to different degrees of stress response in fish, and trigger a series of physiological changes, which then affect the stability of the organism's internal environment. Predation is one of the main environmental factors affecting the survival of individuals. In nature, almost all species face the risk of predation. Brief encounters with predators can reduce feeding and other health-related activities in prey fish and/or trigger primary and secondary stress responses, including the release of stress substances into the bloodstream. In predation stress, after initially sensing stress, fish initiate a stress response to overcome the stress and restore homeostasis. The degree of physiological stress depends primarily on the intensity and duration of the stress. If the appearance of predators is intermittent, then the physiological state of the prey fish returns to normal quickly, which allows the stress response to promote physiological changes in the prey fish to better adapt to the environment. However, repeated or persistent and unavoidable stress situations cause the normal physiological response mechanisms of prey fish to become compromised. Physiological stress may have long-term negative effects on the immune system, growth, or reproduction, and may reduce the adaptability and survivability of prey fish in the environment. Many studies have confirmed that predation stress can cause physiological stress in fish. Different species of fish and even different groups of the same species vary greatly in the degree of stress and stress mode. More species-specific studies are required to determine the effects of different levels of predation stress on physiological stress in fish.Black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) are known as the four major Chinese carps. As common fish species in Chinese inland watersheds, the four major Chinese carps are ecologically and economically valuable. Over the years, many reasons such as hydraulic construction, environmental pollution, and overfishing have led to sharp declines in wild populations. In addition, the prevalence of predators in natural waters also threaten population growth. It remains unclear how the juveniles of the four major Chinese carps adjust their physiological processes to cope with predation stress. We investigate the physiological and energy metabolism adaptations by black carp, grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp to predatory stress. We selected the common local enemies of natural waters, the snakehead carp (Channa argus) and the southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis) as predators. The levels of serum cortisol and biochemical parameters in the juveniles of the four major Chinese carps under the stress of no-predation (control), low-predation (indirect stress) and high-predation (direct stress) over 0 d, 7 d, and 14 d were investigated. Changes in the biochemical parameters were analyzed. The effects of different predation stress levels on serum cortisol and biochemical parameters were also analyzed. The results showed: (1) under different levels of predation stress, the biochemical parameters and serum cortisol levels of juveniles of the four major Chinese carps varied to different degrees but the trends were consistent; (2) the serum cortisol levels of juveniles of the four major Chinese carps increased significantly with the degree of predation stress and the stress duration, and showed the following patterns: non-predation group < low predation group < high predation group, 0 d < 7 d < 14 d. (3) Among the biochemical parameters, serum total protein concentration and cholesterol concentration were relatively stable and did not vary significantly. Glucose concentration and alkaline phosphatase increased with predation stress, while triglyceride had a decreasing trend. The results showed that juveniles of the four major Chinese carps adjust their physiological responses to enhance their own survivability according to the predation risk. After the predation stress treatment, the juveniles of the four major Chinese carps all underwent a stress response. Compared with indirect predation, direct predation had a more significant effect on the physiological response of fish, and the degree of stress increased with the stress duration. Among the detection parameters, serum total protein and cholesterol may not be sensitive parameters for stress in fish under predation stress. The most significant changes were in cortisol and glucose and may compensate for the increased energy demand by the organism during stress. The adaptation of physiological stress and energy metabolism to predation stress in juveniles of the four major Chinese carps under predation stress conditions provides a theoretical basis for the stress responses of an organism to environmental changes, and can also provide a scientific reference for exploring the ecological interactions between predator and prey.

Fresh-cut potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are susceptible to browning and microbial contamination during storage. In this study, the effects of trans-2-hexenal (E2H), ascorbic acid (VC), dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC), and the combined treatment of E2H, VC, and DMDC on quality deterioration in fresh-cut potatoes were investigated. The response surface methodology (RSM) demonstrated that E2H, VC, and DMDC concentrations of 0.010%, 0.65%, and 240 mg/L, respectively, were the optimum conditions for fresh-cut potato preservation. Further analysis showed that the combined treatment of E2H, VC, and DMDC was the most effective method of reducing quality deterioration in potatoes compared to the control and individual treatments. Furthermore, the combined treatment of E2H, VC, and DMDC could decrease the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via improving antioxidant enzyme activities. Meanwhile, energy-metabolism-related enzyme activities and glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) activity were enhanced, while γ-aminobutyric acid transaminase (GABA-T) activity was reduced via the combined treatment of E2H, VC, and DMDC, which contributed to maintaining high energy levels and GABA content in potatoes. These findings suggested that the combined treatment of E2H, VC, and DMDC could protect membrane integrity through enhancing antioxidant capacity, energy levels, and GABA content to maintain quality in fresh-cut potatoes.

Current researchis focused on the influence of β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) on the metabolism of nitric oxide (NO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), ascorbic acid, and abscisic acid (ABA) in strawberry fruit. The increases in ion leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in strawberry fruit and the degradation of chlorophyll in the sepals of the fruit were markedly inhibited by BABA at 20 mM. BABA-immersed fruit exhibited lower activities and expressions of polygalacturonase (PG), pectinmethylesterase (PME), and ethylene biosynthetic enzymes compared to the control. Furthermore, BABA immersion evidently upgraded the metabolic levels of NO and H2S, including the enzymatic activities and intermediary contents of metabolites, which collectively enhanced the levels of endogenous NO and H2S contents in strawberry fruit. The high enzymatic activities and gene expressions of the AsA biosynthesis pathway jointly maintained AsA accumulation in the BABA-treated sample. The application of BABA led to a decrease in ABA concentration, which was associated with reduced activities and gene expression levels of key enzymes participating in ABA metabolism. Our experimental observations showed that immersion with BABA may be a highly promising means to delay senescence and reduce natural decay in strawberry fruit, and the alleviation in senescence using BABA may be attributed to the modulation of NO, H2S, AsA, and ABA metabolism.

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the function of the protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) and fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3)/Akt signaling axis in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human lung cancer. Methods: The mRNA and protein expression levels of PRMT5, FGFR3, p-Akt, and EMT markers are determined by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively; the expression and localization of PRMT5, p-Akt, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen are detected by immunofluorescence; the human lung cancer cell proliferation is measured by MTS assay. Results: PRMT5 and FGFR3 are highly expressed in human lung cancer tissues and are closely related to lymphatic metastasis. Moreover, down-regulation of PRMT5 by lentivirus-mediated shRNAs or inhibition of PRMT5 by specific inhibitors attenuates FGFR3 expression, Akt phosphorylation, and lung cancer cell proliferation. Further studies show that silencing PRMT5 impairs EMT-related markers, including vimentin, collagen I, and β-catenin. Conversely, ectopic expression of PRMT5 increases FGFR3 expression, Akt phosphorylation, and EMT-related markers, suggesting that PRMT5 regulates metastasis probably through the FGFR3/Akt signaling axis. Conclusion: PRMT5/FGFR3/Akt signaling axis controls human lung cancer progression and metastasis and also implies that PRMT5 may serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic candidate for treating lung cancer.

Cold storage of fruits is the best strategy to extend shelf life. However, storage temperature below 8°C mostly causes chilling injury (CI). Thus, exogenous melatonin treatment is an alternative safe preservative to alleviate CI and induce cold tolerance in postharvest of fruits and vegetables. This paper reviewed the recent progresses of melatonin-mediated physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms on chilling tolerance of fruits and vegetables. Among cold tolerance mechanisms, melatonin substantially enhances enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants removing reactive oxygen species (ROS). Melatonin triggered phenol accumulation which associated with 2,2-diphenyl-1picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging capacity and reduction of oxidative damage. In addition, melatonin extensively maintained intracellular energy and enhanced energy regulation associated enzymes, thereby maintaining cellular stability. Melatonin induces unsaturated/saturated fatty acid (unSFA/SFA) ratio, improving cellular fluidity. Besides, melatonin regulates arginine metabolisms via increased polyamines, proline and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) contents. Furthermore, melatonin possibly encodes calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPK) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) cascades. Moreover, it substantially induces Ca2+ signaling transduction pathways. As part of the signaling pathway, melatonin activates C-repeat binding factors (CBFs) as transcriptional factors for cold acclimation. Therefore, this review concluded that exogenous melatonin improves chilling stress tolerance by coordinating biochemical and molecular mechanisms at post-harvest life of fruits and vegetables and extending shelf life.

Defense elicitors can induce fruit disease resistance to control postharvest decay but may incur quality impairment. Our present work aimed to investigate the resistance against Botrytis cinerea induced by the elicitor β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) and to elucidate the specific transcriptional mechanism implicated in defense-related metabolic regulations. The functional dissection results demonstrated that, after inoculation with the fungal necrotroph B. cinerea, a suite of critical genes encoding enzymes related to the sucrose metabolism and phenylpropanoid pathway in priming defense in grapes were transcriptionally induced by treatment with 10 mM BABA. In contrast, more UDP-glucose, a shared precursor of phenylpropanoid and sucrose metabolism, may be redirected to the phenylpropanoid pathway for the synthesis of phytoalexins, including trans-resveratrol and ɛ-viniferin, in 100 mM BABA–treated grapes, resulting in direct resistance but compromised soluble sugar contents. An R2R3-type MYB protein from Vitis vinifera, VvMYB44, was isolated and characterized. VvMYB44 expression was significantly induced upon the grapes expressed defensive reaction. Subcellular localization, yeast two-hybrid, and coimmunoprecipitation assays revealed that the nuclear-localized VvMYB44 physically interacted with the salicylic acid–responsive transcription coactivator NPR1 in vivo for defense expression. In addition, VvMYB44 directly bound to the promoter regions of sucrose and phenylpropanoid metabolism-related genes and transactivated their expression, thus tipping the balance of antifungal compound accumulation and soluble sugar maintenance. Hence, these results suggest that 2R-type VvMYB44 might be a potential positive participant in BABA-induced priming defense in grape berries that contributes to avoiding the excessive consumption of soluble sugars during the postharvest storage.[Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Abstract Telocytes (TCs) are a type of interstitial cells with essential roles in regenerative medicine. TCs spatially exist in the stem cell niche and are considered a ‘stem cell helper cell’. Mesenchymal stromal cells therapy has been widely used in treating lung diseases, while there is increasing evidence from preclinical studies to show the beneficial effects of TCs to support smooth muscle cells and treat lung diseases, by releasing paracrine factors, exosomes, and microvesicles. There are still limitations and challenges to be overcome for TCs‐based translational medicine and clinical applications, by developing new methods and improving therapeutic strategies. The present review overviews the historical development, morphology and spatialization, biomarker specificity and values, biological functions, therapeutic effects on preclinical lung diseases, as well as potential mechanisms and future perspectives in lung diseases. TCs exert beneficial effects on preclinical asthma and acute lung injury and essential roles in repairing injured lung tissues and angiogenesis, by releasing paracrine factors and exosomes.

Although low-temperature storage could maintain the quality of fruits and vegetables, it may also result in chilling injury (CI) in cold-sensitive produce, such as cucumbers. This can seriously affect their quality.” The antioxidant capacity, energy metabolism and proline metabolism of cucumbers treated with hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were studied in this assay. The outcomes displayed that H2S treatment effectively reduced CI and delayed the increase in electrolyte leakage (EL) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. In addition, the H2S-treated cucumber fruit exhibited higher L* and hue angle values, as well as nutrients such as ascorbic acid (AsA). The H2S-treated fruit showed lower levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and higher antioxidant enzyme activities. Meanwhile, H2S treatment also increased the activities of the essential enzymes involved in energy metabolism, including cytochrome C oxidase (CCO), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), H+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase, which improved the energy supply. H2S induced higher ornithine δ-aminotransferase (OAT) and Δ-1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) activities, and reduced proline dehydrogenase (PDH) activity, promoting the accumulation of proline. These results indicated that H2S could alleviate CI in the cucumber fruit by modulating antioxidant capacity, energy metabolism and proline metabolism, thereby extending the shelf life of postharvest cucumbers.

The type II protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) has been engaged in various human cancer development and progression types. Nevertheless, few studies uncover the biological functions of PRMT5 in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human lung cancer cells, and the associated molecular mechanisms and signaling cascades are entirely unknown. Here, we show that PRMT5 is the ectopic expression in human lung cancer tissues and cell lines. Further study reveals that silencing PRMT5 by lentivirus-mediated shRNA or blocking of PRMT5 by specific inhibitor GSK591 attenuates the expression levels of EMT-related markers in vivo , using the xenograft mouse model. Moreover, our results show that down-regulation of PRMT5 impairs EGFR/Akt signaling cascades in human lung cancer cells, whereas re-expression of PRMT5 recovers those changes, suggesting that PRMT5 regulates EMT probably through EGFR/Akt signaling axis. Altogether, our results demonstrate that PRMT5 serves as a critical oncogenic regulator and promotes EMT in human lung cancer cells. More importantly, our findings also suggest that PRMT5 may be a potential therapeutic candidate for the treatment of human lung cancer.

Although heat shock proteins (HSPs), a family of ubiquitous molecular chaperones, are well characterized in heat stress-related responses, their function in plant defense remains largely unclear. Here, we report the role of VvHSP24, a class B HSP from Vitis vinifera, in β-aminobutyric acid (BABA)-induced priming defense against the necrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea in grapes. Grapes treated with 10 mmol L–1 BABA exhibited transiently increased transcript levels of VvNPR1 and several SA-inducible genes, including PR1, PR2, and PR5. Additionally, phytoalexins accumulated upon inoculation with the gray mold fungus B. cinerea, which coincided with the action of a priming mode implicated in pathogen-driven resistance. Intriguingly, electrophoretic mobility shift (EMSA), yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) and His pull-down assays demonstrated that the nuclear chaperone VvHSP24 cannot modulate the transcript of PR genes but does directly interact with VvNPR1 in vivo or in vitro. Furthermore, we found that VvHSP24 overexpression enhanced the transcript levels of NPR1 and SA-responsive genes (PR1, PR2, and PR5) and increased the resistance of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana to B. cinerea compared with wildtype Col-0. An opposite trend between CRISPR mutants of AtHSFB1 (the orthologous gene of VvHSP24 in Arabidopsis) and wildtype plants was observed. Hence, our results suggest that VvHSP24 has a potential role in NPR1-dependent plant resistance to fungal pathogen. BABA-induced priming defense in grapes may require posttranslational modification of the chaperone VvHSP24 to activate VvNPR1 transcript, leading to PR gene expressions and resistance phenotypes.

Abstract Acute lung injury is a serious form and major cause of patient death and still needs efficient therapies. The present study evidenced that co‐transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and telocytes (TCs) improved the severity of experimental lung tissue inflammation, edema, and injury, where TCs increased MSCs migration into the lung and the capacity of MSCs proliferation and movement. Of molecular mechanisms, Osteopontin‐dominant networks were active in MSCs and TCs, and might play supportive and nutrimental roles in the interaction between MSCs and TCs, especially activated TCs by lipopolysaccharide. The interaction between epidermal growth factor and its receptor from MSCs and TCs could play critical roles in communications between MSCs and TCs, responsible for MSCs proliferation and movement, especially after inflammatory activation. Our studies provide the evidence that TCs possess nutrimental and supportive roles in implanted MSCs, and co‐transplantation of MSCs and TCs can be a new alternative in the therapy of acute lung injury.

Digital twin is a significant way to achieve smart manufacturing, and provides a new paradigm for fault diagnosis. Traditional data-based fault diagnosis methods mostly assume that the training data and test data are following the same distribution and can acquire sufficient data to train a reliable diagnosis model, which is unrealistic in the dynamic changing production process. In this paper, we present a two-phase digital-twin-assisted fault diagnosis method using deep transfer learning (DFDD), which realizes fault diagnosis both in the development and maintenance phases. At first, the potential problems that are not considered at design time can be discovered through front running the ultra-high-fidelity model in the virtual space, while a deep neural network (DNN)-based diagnosis model will be fully trained. In the second phase, the previously trained diagnosis model can be migrated from the virtual space to physical space using deep transfer learning for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance. This ensures the accuracy of the diagnosis as well as avoids wasting time and knowledge. A case study about fault diagnosis using DFDD in a car body-side production line is presented. The results show the superiority and feasibility of our proposed method.

Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) is implicated in various types of human cancer and tumor development, especially in lung cancer. Nevertheless, it is still unclear whether suppression of PRMT5 could promote lung cancer cell apoptosis and chemosensitivity induced by resveratrol, and the underlying molecular mechanism remains completely unknown. Here, we showed that PRMT5 was overexpressed in human lung cancer tissues and different types of lung cancer cell lines. Moreover, we constructed PRMT5 stable knockdown cell lines (A549 and ASCT-a-1) and investigated the roles of PRMT5 and the related signaling pathway in lung cancer cell apoptosis induced by resveratrol. Our results indicated that inhibition or down-regulation of PRMT5 by GSK591, a PRMT5-specific inhibitor, or shRNAs markedly enhanced cell apoptosis and chemosensitivity stimulated by resveratrol. Further investigation showed that inhibition or down-regulation of PRMT5 further reduced Akt/GSK3β phosphorylation and the downstream targets cyclin D1 and E1 expression upon resveratrol treatment. Our findings suggest that PRMT5 is a pivotal mediator for human lung cancer cell death induced by resveratrol, which also reveals that PRMT5 may serve as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of human lung cancer.

The effects of calcium chloride (CaCl2) treatment on chilling injury (CI), reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolism, and ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle in loquat fruit at 1 °C storage for 35 d were investigated. The results indicated that CaCl2 treatment remarkably suppressed the increase in browning index and firmness as well as the decrease in extractable juice rate. CaCl2 treatment also decreased the production of superoxide radical (O2•−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, but increased the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl radical (OH•) scavenging ability, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and their gene expressions. Moreover, compared to the control loquat fruit, CaCl2-treated fruit maintained higher contents of AsA, GSH, higher levels of activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) and expressions of EjAPX, EjGR, EjMDHAR, and EjDHAR, but exhibited lower glutathione disulfide (GSSG) content. These results suggested that CaCl2 treatment alleviated CI in loquat fruit through enhancing antioxidant enzymes activities and AsA-GSH cycle system to quench ROS.

Central composite design (CCD), utilized with three independent variables, verified that the optimal treatment conditions in bitter melon fruit were melatonin (MT) concentration of 120 µmol L−1, ethanol concentration of 6%, and immersing time of 10 min. Under optimal conditions, the experimental values of firmness, chilling injury (CI) index, and weight loss were shown as 27.81 N, 65.625%, and 0.815%, respectively. Moreover, the combined effect of MT and ethanol on CI and physiological quality in postharvest bitter melon fruit stored at 4 °C was investigated. It was found that the combined treatment contributed to the reduced CI symptoms and inhibited ion leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation. Moreover, higher levels of chlorophyll, total soluble solids (TSSs), soluble sugar, soluble protein, and ascorbic acid (AsA) were observed in comparison with the control group. Furthermore, the synthesis of total phenols and flavonoids in bitter melon was greatly promoted. Therefore, the combination of MT and ethanol could have the potential for alleviating CI and maintaining postharvest quality for the duration of cold storage.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the morphology, immune phenotype, and cytokine profiles between myocardial telocytes (TCs) and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and explore the difference between those two types of interstitial cells. Methods: TCs and MSCs were cultured in vitro and cell morphology was observed with a light microscope. The expression levels of CD34, c-kit, and vimentin were detected by immunofluorescence, RT-qPCR, and Western blotting in both TCs and MSCs. The related supernatant was collected and total of 49 cytokine profiles were detected by RayBio Mice Cytokine Antibody Array. Significantly different cytokines were further confirmed by ELISA. Results: TCs have small cellular body and very long prolongations and they were CD34 + /c-kit + /vimentin + , whereas MSCs have no telopodes and they were CD34 – /c-kit – /vimentin + . Cytokine profile analysis and ELISA showed that 19 of 49 cytokines were increased dramatically in the supernatant of TCs compared with those of MSCs. Moreover, 9 of 19 cytokines were increased 2-fold at least in the supernatant of TCs compared with those of MSCs. Of 49 cytokines, 30 exhibited no significant changes in the supernatant of TCs compared with those of MSCs. Conclusions: Using various technologies, we identified that myocardial TCs and MSCs are significantly different in terms of cell structure and cytokine profiles.

The effect of β-aminobutyric acid (BABA) on Rhizopus rot produced by Rhizopus stolonifer in harvested peaches and the possible action modes were investigated. Treatment with 50 mmol L−1 of BABA resulted in significantly lower lesion diameter and disease incidence compared with the control. The activities of defense-related enzymes chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase were notably enhanced by this treatment. Meanwhile, BABA treatment also increased lignin accumulation and maintained higher energy status in peaches by enhancing activities of enzymes in the phenylpropanoid and energy metabolism pathways. Semiquantitative reverse transcription PCR results indicated that the transcription of four defense-related genes was substantially and rapidly enhanced only in that BABA-treated fruit upon inoculation with the pathogen. Thus, our results demonstrated that BABA was effective on controlling Rhizopus rot by inducing disease resistance, which includes the increase in gene transcription and activity of defense-related enzymes, the enhancement of cell wall strength, and the maintenance of high energy status in Prunus persica fruit. Moreover, the disease resistance induced by BABA was demonstrated through priming model rather than direct induction.

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are distributed widely in Chinese bayberry fruit and have been associated with human health benefits, but molecular and biochemical characterization of PA biosynthesis remains unclear. Here, two genes encoding key PA biosynthetic enzymes, anthocyanidin reductase (ANR) and leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) were isolated in bayberry fruit. MrANR was highly expressed at the early stage of fruit development when soluble PAs accumulated at high levels. Meanwhile, the transcript abundance of both MrANR and MrLAR observed at the late stage was paralleled with the high amounts of insoluble PAs. LC-MS/MS showed that PAs in developing Chinese bayberry fruits were comprised predominantly of epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate terminal subunits, while the extension subunits were a mixture of epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate, epigallocatechin and catechin. Recombinant MrANR protein converted cyanidin to a mixture of epicatechin and catechin, and delphinidin to a mixture of epigallocatechin and gallocatechin in vitro. Recombinant MrLAR was active with leucocyanidin as substrate to produce catechin. Ectopic expression of MrANR in tobacco reduced anthocyanin levels but increased PA accumulation. The catechin and epicatechin contents in transgenic flowers overexpressed MrANR were significantly higher than those of wild-type. However, overexpression of MrLAR in tobacco led to an increase in catechin levels but had no impact on PA contents. Quantitative real time PCR revealed that the loss of anthocyanin in transgenic flowers overexpressed MrANR or MrLAR is probably attributed to decreased expression of tobacco chalcone isomerase (CHI) gene. Our results not only reveal in vivo and in vitro functions for ANR and LAR but also provide a resource for understanding the mechanism of PA biosynthesis in Chinese bayberry fruit.

The effects of ultrasonic treatment (UT, 400 watts for 6 min) combined with peracetic acid (PA, 0.4% (W/W)) treatment on fruit decay, browning, and quality and physiological changes in loquat fruit stored at 20°C were investigated. The results showed that treatment with UT or PA alone significantly reduced both decay and browning index in loquat fruit compared with the control. The combined treatment was more effective in decreasing decay and browning index and maintaining higher quality parameters than UT or PA treatment alone. Loquat fruits treated with the combined treatment maintained higher activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) than those treated with other treatments. In addition, UT combined with PA treatment significantly reduced the increase of firmness and increased fruit extractable juice, total soluble solid (TSS), and ascorbic acid content in loquat fruit. Moreover, the contents of total phenolics and total flavonoids were enhanced by the combination of UT and PA treatment. The combination of UT and PA treatment could be a useful method to reduce decay and browning in loquat fruit stored at room temperature, which has potential for application in the loquat industry.

Postharvest pericarp browning is one of the main problems resulting in reduced shelf life of longan fruit. Experiments were conducted to examine the changes in concentrations of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP), energy charge levels and activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) in relation to pericarp browning of longan fruit. Fruit kept for 6 days in pure oxygen atmosphere at 28 C showed lower browning indices and higher ATP concentrations but lower AMP concentrations and higher respiratory rates, compared to those kept in air. While energy charge decreased during storage, the decrease was delayed markedly by exposure to pure oxygen. There was a lower energy charge in the browned fruit, which was associated with rapid increase in malondialdehyde concentration. Enhanced respiration of longan fruit exposed to pure oxygen can result in the production of ATP. However, fruit exposed to pure oxygen exhibited higher activities of PPO and POD, which was not associated with reduced skin browning inhibition. These results supported the hypothesis that skin browning of postharvest longan fruit may be a consequence of membrane injury caused by the lack of maintenance energy.

The effectiveness of a biocontrol agent Bacillus cereus AR156 for control of anthracnose rot caused by Colletotrichum acutatum in harvested loquat fruit and the possible mechanisms of its action have been investigated. Treatment of fruit with B. cereus AR156 resulted in lower disease incidence and smaller lesion diameters compared with that of untreated fruit. The treatment enhanced activities of defense-related enzymes including chitinase, β-1, 3-glucanase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase, and promoted accumulation of H2O2. Total phenolic content and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity were also increased by treatment. Transcripts of three defense-related genes were enhanced only in fruit undergoing both B. cereus AR156 treatment and C. acutatum inoculation compared with those receiving either intervention alone. These results suggest that the disease resistance against C. acutatum in loquat fruit is enhanced by B. cereus AR156 and that the induced resistance is associated with induction and priming of defense responses in the fruit.

In this paper, the micro-features of sagittal otoliths of Schizothorax grahami and Spinibarbus sinensis were analyzed in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The results of age identification showed that Sc. grahami and Sp. sinensis did not reach the age of sexual maturity. The linear discriminant analysis of otolith shape-index analysis can effectively distinguish the otolith shape of the two kinds of fish. The highest content of five chemical elements in otolith is Ca, and the other four elements are Mg, Sr, Ba, and Mn in turn. The results of one-way ANOVA show that, the molar ratio of each element to calcium (Mg/Ca, Ba/Ca, Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca) showed that there was significant difference between Se. grahami and Sp. sinensis, which could be used to distinguish two species of fish belonging to different genera of the same family. This research could also provide data reference for the study of the migration route between Sc. grahami and Sp. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice-fish integrated farming model has become one of the main directions for sustainable agricultural development due to its good ecological and environmental effects and ability to produce green rice (Oryza sativa L.) that meets the market's food safety needs. Its study characterizes soil bacterial community structure in this model for the improvement of planting and breeding technology and realization of ecological regulation. The community structure of soil microorganisms was compared between two models of rice-frog (black-spotted pond frog; Pelophylax nigromaculatus Hallowell, 1861) co-cropping (DW) and rice monoculture (DD) at tillering stage, full heading stage and maturity stage, to accumulate data for research on ecology of rice-frog integrated farming and provide a theoretical basis for optimization of this production technology. Main bacterial phyla occurring in rhizosphere soil of rice fields in both models under three stages were Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteriota, Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota, Nitrospirota and Desulfobacterota. Compared to DD, DW group had more Actinobacteriota in the dominant phyla at maturity and less Desulfobacterota throughout the growth period. The main dominant genera were norank_f_Anaerolineaceae, norank_f_norank_o_norank_c_Thermodesulfovibrionia, norank_f_norank_o_SBR1031, norank_f_norank_o_Vicinamibacterales, unclassified_k_norank_d_Bacteria and Thiobacillus. There were five categories with significant difference, norank_f_Anaerolineaceae, norank_f_norank_o_SBR1031, norank_f__norank_o_Vicinamibacterales, Thiobacillus and unclassified_k_norank_d_Bacteria; all were higher in relative abundance in DW than in DD group. It indicates that rice-frog crop model promotes the growth of these five types of bacteria, which have a boosting effect on rice growth. The bacterial Chao index and Shannon index of rhizosphere soil of rice field increased after introduction of frog in DW group. The two models showed less variation in soil bacterial community structure in root system from full heading to maturity stage, and co-cropping model showed less variation compared to rice monoculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]