The rhizosphere hosts a complex web of prokaryotes interacting with one another that may modulate crucial functions related to plant growth and health. Identifying the key factors structuring the prokaryotic community of the plant rhizosphere is a necessary step toward the enhancement of plant production and crop yield with beneficial associative microorganisms. We used a long-term field experiment conducted at three locations in the Canadian prairies to verify that: (1) the level of cropping system diversity influences the α- and β-diversity of the prokaryotic community of canola (Brassica napus) rhizosphere; (2) the canola rhizosphere community has a stable prokaryotic core; and (3) some highly connected taxa of this community fit the description of hub-taxa. We sampled the rhizosphere of canola grown in monoculture, in a 2-phase rotation (canola-wheat), in a 3-phase rotation (pea-barley-canola), and in a highly diversified 6-phase rotation, five and eight years after cropping system establishment. We detected only one core bacterial Amplicon Sequence Variant (ASV) in the prokaryotic component of the microbiota of canola rhizosphere, a hub taxon identified as cf. Pseudarthrobacter sp. This ASV was also the only hub taxon found in the networks of interactions present in both years and at all three sites. We highlight a cohort of bacteria and archaea that were always connected with the core taxon in the network analyses.

Wheat is among the important crops harnessed by humans whose breeding efforts resulted in a diversity of genotypes with contrasting traits. The goal of this study was to determine whether different old and new cultivars of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) recruit specific arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities from indigenous AM fungal populations of soil under field conditions. A historical set of five landraces and 26 durum wheat cultivars were field cultivated in a humid climate in Eastern Canada, under phosphorus-limiting conditions. To characterize the community of AMF inhabiting bulk soil, rhizosphere, and roots, MiSeq amplicon sequencing targeting the 18S rRNA gene (SSU) was performed on total DNAs using a nested PCR approach. Mycorrhizal colonization was estimated using root staining and microscope observations. A total of 317 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were identified as belonging to Glomeromycota. The core AM fungal community (i.e., ASVs present in > 50% of the samples) in the soil, rhizosphere, and root included 29, 30, and 29 ASVs, respectively. ASVs from the genera Funneliformis, Claroideoglomus, and Rhizophagus represented 37%, 18.6%, and 14.7% of the sequences recovered in the rarefied dataset, respectively. The two most abundant ASVs had sequence homology with the 18S sequences from well-identified herbarium cultures of Funneliformis mosseae BEG12 and Rhizophagus irregularis DAOM 197198, while the third most abundant ASV was assigned to the genus Paraglomus. Cultivars showed no significant difference of the percentage of root colonization ranging from 57.8% in Arnautka to 84.0% in AC Navigator. Cultivars were generally associated with similar soil, rhizosphere, and root communities, but the abundance of F. mosseae, R. irregularis, and Claroideoglomus sp. sequences varied in Eurostar, Golden Ball, and Wakooma. Although these results were obtained in one field trial using a non-restricted pool of durum wheat and at the time of sampling, that may have filtered the community in biotopes. The low genetic variation between durum wheat cultivars for the diversity of AM symbiosis at the species level suggests breeding resources need not be committed to leveraging plant selective influence through the use of traditional methods for genotype development.

Cell proliferation and migration are the determinants of malignant tumor progression, and a better understanding of related genes will lead to the identification of new targets aimed at preventing the spread of cancer. Some studies have shown that KIAA1199 (CEMIP) is a transmembrane protein expressed in many types of noncancerous cells and cancer cells. However, the potential role of KIAA1199 in the progression of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains unclear.

To identify why tree growth differs by afforestation type is a matter of prime concern in forestry. A study was conducted to determine why oriental arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis) grows better in the presence of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) than in monoculture. Different types of stands (i.e., monocultures and mixture of black locust and oriental arborvitae, and native grassland as a control) were selected in the Loess Plateau, China. The height and diameter at breast height of each tree species were measured, and soil, shoot, and root samples were sampled. The arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) attributes, shoot and root nutrient status, height and diameter of black locust were not influenced by the presence of oriental arborvitae. For oriental arborvitae, however, growing in mixture increased height and diameter and reduced shoot Mn, Ca, and Mg contents, AM fungal spore density, and colonization rate. Major changes in soil properties also occurred, primarily in soil water, NO 3-N, and available K levels and in soil enzyme activity. The increase in soil water, N, and K availability in the presence of black locust stimulated oriental arborvitae growth, and black locust in the mixed stand seems to suppress the development of AM symbiosis in oriental arborvitae roots, especially the production of AM fungal spores and vesicles, through improving soil water and N levels, thus freeing up carbon to fuel plant growth. Overall, the presence of black locust favored oriental arborvitae growth directly by improving soil water and fertility and indirectly by repressing AM symbiosis in oriental arborvitae roots.

Soil salinization and the associated land degradation are major and growing ecological problems. Excess salt in soil impedes plant photosynthetic processes and root uptake of water and nutrients such as K+. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can mitigate salt stress in host plants. Although, numerous studies demonstrate that photosynthesis and water status are improved by mycorrhizae, the molecular mechanisms involved have received little research attention. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of AM symbiosis and salt stress on photosynthesis, water status, concentrations of Na+ and K+, and the expression of several genes associated with photosynthesis (RppsbA, RppsbD, RprbcL, and RprbcS) and genes coding for aquaporins or membrane transport proteins involved in K+ and/or Na+ uptake, translocation, or compartmentalization homeostasis (RpSOS1, RpHKT1, RpNHX1, and RpSKOR) in black locust. The results showed that salinity reduced the net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and relative water content in both non-mycorrhizal (NM) and AM plants; the reductions of these three parameters were less in AM plants compared with NM plants. Under saline conditions, AM fungi significantly improved the net photosynthetic rate, quantum efficiency of photosystem II photochemistry, and K+ content in plants, but evidently reduced the Na+ content. AM plants also displayed a significant increase in the relative water content and an evident decrease in the shoot/root ratio of Na+ in the presence of 200 mM NaCl compared with NM plants. Additionally, mycorrhizal colonization upregulated the expression of three chloroplast genes (RppsbA, RppsbD, and RprbcL) in leaves, and three genes (RpSOS1, RpHKT1, and RpSKOR) encoding membrane transport proteins involved in K+/Na+ homeostasis in roots. Expression of several aquaporin genes was regulated by AM symbiosis in both leaves and roots depending on soil salinity. This study suggests that the beneficial effects of AM symbiosis on the photosynthetic capacity, water status, and K+/Na+ homeostasis lead to the improved growth performance and salt tolerance of black locust exposed to salt stress.

Agriculturally-driven land transformation is increasing globally. Improving phosphorus (P) use efficiency to sustain optimum productivity in diverse ecosystems, based on knowledge of soil P dynamics, is also globally important in light of potential shortages of rock phosphate to manufacture P fertilizer. We investigated P chemical speciation and P cycling with solution 31P nuclear magnetic resonance, P K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy, phosphatase activity assays, and shotgun metagenomics in soil samples from long-term agricultural fields containing four different land-use types (native and tame grasslands, annual croplands, and roadside ditches). Across these land use types, native and tame grasslands showed high accumulation of organic P, principally orthophosphate monoesters, and high acid phosphomonoesterase activity but the lowest abundance of P cycling genes. The proportion of inositol hexaphosphates (IHP), especially the neo-IHP stereoisomer that likely originates from microbes rather than plants, was significantly increased in native grasslands than croplands. Annual croplands had the largest variances of soil P composition, and the highest potential capacity for P cycling processes based on the abundance of genes coding for P cycling processes. In contrast, roadside soils had the highest soil Olsen-P concentrations, lowest organic P, and highest tricalcium phosphate concentrations, which were likely facilitated by the neutral pH and high exchangeable Ca of these soils. Redundancy analysis demonstrated that IHP by NMR, potential phosphatase activity, Olsen-P, and pH were important P chemistry predictors of the P cycling bacterial community and functional gene composition. Combining chemical and metagenomics results provides important insights into soil P processes and dynamics in different land-use ecosystems.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a subclass of endogenous, non-protein-coding RNA, which lacks an open reading frame and is more than 200 nucleotides in length. However, the functions for lncRNAs in COVID-19 have not been unravelled. The present study aimed at identifying the related lncRNAs based on RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as health individuals. Overall, 17 severe, 12 non-severe patients and 10 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. Firstly, we reported some altered lncRNAs between severe, non-severe COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. Next, we developed a 7-lncRNA panel with a good differential ability between severe and non-severe COVID-19 patients using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression. Finally, we observed that COVID-19 is a heterogeneous disease among which severe COVID-19 patients have two subtypes with similar risk score and immune score based on lncRNA panel using iCluster algorithm. As the roles of lncRNAs in COVID-19 have not yet been fully identified and understood, our analysis should provide valuable resource and information for the future studies.

Insomnia is a common diseases of the elderly, tuina is a widely used treatment. At present, there is a lack of supportive evidence on efficacy and safety of tuina for senile insomnia. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness and safety of tuina therapy in the treatment of senile insomnia.

Canola is one of the most economically important crops in Canada, and the root and rhizosphere microbiomes of a canola plant likely impact its growth and nutrient uptake. The aim of this study was to determine whether canola has a core root microbiome (i.e., set of microbes that are consistently selected in the root environment), and whether this is distinct from the core microbiomes of other crops that are commonly grown in the Canadian Prairies, pea, and wheat. We also assessed whether selected agronomic treatments can modify the canola microbiome, and whether this was associated to enhanced yield. We used a field experiment with a randomized complete block design, which was repeated at three locations across the canola-growing zone of Canada. Roots and rhizosphere soil were harvested at the flowering stage of canola. We separately isolated total extractable DNA from plant roots and from adjacent rhizosphere soil, and constructed MiSeq amplicon libraries for each of 60 samples, targeting bacterial, and archaeal 16S rRNA genes and the fungal ITS region. We determined that the microbiome of the roots and rhizosphere of canola was consistently different from those of wheat and pea. These microbiomes comprise several putative plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria, including Amycolatopsis sp., Serratia proteamaculans, Pedobacter sp., Arthrobacter sp., Stenotrophomonas sp., Fusarium merismoides, and Fusicolla sp., which correlated positively with canola yield. Crop species had a significant influence on bacterial and fungal assemblages, especially within the roots, while higher nutrient input or seeding density did not significantly alter the global composition of bacterial, fungal, or archaeal assemblages associated with canola roots. However, the relative abundance of Olpidium brassicae, a known pathogen of members of the Brassicaceae, was significantly reduced in the roots of canola planted at higher seeding density. Our results suggest that seeding density and plant nutrition management modified the abundance of other bacterial and fungal taxa forming the core microbiomes of canola that are expected to impact crop growth. This work helps us to understand the microbial assemblages associated with canola grown under common agronomic practices and indicates microorganisms that can potentially benefit or reduce the yield of canola.

Arterial remodeling is a major pathological consequence of hypertension, which is recognized as the most common chronic non-communicable disease. However, the detailed mechanism of how arterial remodeling is induced by hypertension has not yet been fully elucidated. Evaluating the transcriptional changes in arterial tissue in response to elevated blood pressure at an early stage may provide new insights and identify novel therapeutic candidates in preventing arterial remodeling. Here, we used the ascending aorta of the transverse aortic constriction (TAC) model to induce arterial remodeling in C57BL/6 male mice. Age-matched mice were subjected to sham surgery as controls. The TAC model was only considered successful if the mice conformed to the criteria (RC/LC blood flow velocity with 5-10-fold change) 1 week after the surgery. Two weeks after surgery, the ascending aorta developed severe remodeling in TAC mice as compared to the sham group. High throughput sequencing was then applied to identify differentially expressed (DE) transcripts. In silicon analysis were then performed to systematically network transcriptional changes. A total of 1,019 mRNAs were significantly changed between TAC and the sham group at the transcriptional level. GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) analysis revealed that stress/stimulus/immune-related biological processes played a crucial role during arterial remodeling. Our data provide a comprehensive understanding of global gene expression changes in the TAC model, which suggests that targeting inflammation and vascular smooth cell transformation are potential therapeutic strategies to interfere with the aortic remodeling at an early stage in the development of hypertension.

Gasdermin D (GSDMD) serves as a vital mediator of inflammasome-driven pyroptosis. In our study, we have identified NU6300 as a specific GSDMD inhibitor that covalently interacts with cysteine-191 of GSDMD, effectively blocking its cleavage while not affecting earlier steps such as ASC oligomerization and caspase-1 processing in AIM2- and NLRC4-mediated inflammation. On the contrary, NU6300 robustly inhibits these earlier steps in NLRP3 inflammasome, confirming a unique feedback inhibition effect in the NLRP3-GSDMD pathway upon GSDMD targeting. Our study reveals a previously undefined mechanism of GSDMD inhibitors: NU6300 impairs the palmitoylation of both full-length and N-terminal GSDMD, impeding the membrane localization and oligomerization of N-terminal GSDMD. In vivo studies further demonstrate the efficacy of NU6300 in ameliorating dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis and improving survival in lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of NU6300 as a promising lead compound for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Thrombotic events cannot be completely prevented by antithrombotics, implicating a therapeutic gap due to inflammation, a not yet sufficiently addressed mechanism. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are an essential interface between inflammation and thrombosis, but exactly how the NETotic process is initiated and maintained during arterial thrombosis remains incompletely understood.

The association of plants and microbial communities is crucial for crop production, and host plants influence the composition of rhizosphere microbiomes. Pulse crops play an important role in the development of sustainable cropping systems, and producers in the Canadian prairies often increase the frequency of pulses in their cropping systems. In this study, we determined the shifts in the fungal community of pea (Pisum sativum L.) rhizosphere, as influenced by the frequency of pulses in rotation, using high throughput sequencing. Six cropping systems containing pea (P), lentil (Lens culinaris Medik., L), hybrid canola (Brassica napus L., C), wheat (Triticum aestivum L., W), and oat (Avena sativa L., O) in different intensities were tested. The fungal communities were assessed at the flowering stage in the fourth and fifth year of the 4-year rotations. Cropping system had a significant impact on the composition of the rhizosphere fungal community, and the effect of crop rotation sequence was greater and explained more of the variation than the effect of previous crops. The rotation with consecutive pulses (WPLP) decreased fungal evenness and increased the proportion of pathotrophs. Fusarium was a dominant and ubiquitous pathotrophic genus. Olpidium virulentus, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium solani, F. graminearum, and Alternaria eichhorniae were generally more abundant in pulse intensive rotations (WPLP, WLOP, and WPOP), the exception being F. solani which was not promoted by lentil. Reads of O. virulentus and B. cinerea were most abundant in pea preceded by lentil followed by the reads of Mortierella elongata in pea preceded by wheat. Pea consistently had higher grain yield when grown in diversified rotations including wheat, canola/lentil, and oat than rotations with two repeated crops (canola or pea). Cropping system affected the soil physicochemical properties, and soil pH was the main driver of fungal community shift. No evidence of beneficial microorganisms involvement in plant productivity was observed, but the high abundance of pathotrophs in pulse intensified rotations suggests the possibility of pathogen buildup in the soil with increasing pulse frequency. Diversifying rotation sequences minimized disease risk and increased pea production, in this study. Careful selection of plant species appears as a strategy for the management of rhizosphere fungal communities and the maintenance of crop production system's health.

Drag-reducing polymers (DRPs), when added in minute concentrations, have been shown to decrease peripheral vascular resistance. In this study, the effect of DRPs on the hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy and aortic remodeling was evaluated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Male SHR and age-matched Wistar rats were divided into four groups and received intravenous injection of normal saline (NS) or DRPs. Body weight (BW), heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured. Echocardiography was used to evaluate the changes in left ventricle (LV) function and global wall motion. The LV and aorta were stained by hematoxylin and eosin. Cell size of cardiomyocytes and aortic medial thickness were evaluated for each section. The expression of endothelin-1 (ET-1) of LV and aorta was examined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. There was no significant difference in the increase of SBP among SHR + NS, SHR + 10DRP and SHR + 20DRP groups. SHR + NS group had markedly smaller left ventricular end-systolic diameter and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter but bigger anterior and posterior systolic wall thicknesses, while there was no significant difference in fractional shortening and ejection fraction. The cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of cardiomyocytes and the medial thickness of the aorta in SHR + 10 (ppm) DRP and SHR + 20 (ppm) DRP groups were significantly reduced compared with SHR + NS group. The expression of ET-1 in SHR + 10DRP and SHR + 20DRP groups was significantly attenuated. These results suggest that chronic treatment with DRPs can protect against left ventricular hypertrophy and aortic remodeling. DRPs may offer a new approach to the treatment of left ventricular hypertrophy and aortic remodeling caused by hypertension.