Herbicides are one of the most widely used chemicals in agriculture. While they are known to be harmful to non-target organisms, the effects of herbicides on the composition and functioning of soil microbial communities remain unclear. Here we show that application of three widely used herbicides—glyphosate, glufosinate and dicamba—increase the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in soil microbiomes without clear changes in the abundance, diversity and composition of bacterial communities. Mechanistically, these results could be explained by a positive selection for more tolerant genotypes that acquired several mutations in previously well-characterized herbicide and antibiotic resistance genes. Moreover, herbicide exposure increased cell membrane permeability and conjugation frequency of multidrug resistance plasmids, promoting ARG movement between bacteria. A similar pattern was found in agricultural soils across eleven provinces in China, where herbicide application, and the levels of glyphosate residues in soils, were associated with increased ARG and MGE abundances relative to herbicide-free control sites. Together, our results show that herbicide application can enrich ARGs and MGEs by changing the genetic composition of soil microbiomes, potentially contributing to the global antimicrobial resistance problem in agricultural environments.

Graphical AbstractHighlights d ASH2L is essential for neuronal layer formation in the neocortex d ASH2L maintains neocortical progenitor cells in a stagedependent manner d ASH2L contributes to H3K4 trimethylation in the developing neocortex d ASH2L activates Wnt signaling to regulate neural progenitor cell proliferation

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are circularized, single-stranded RNAs that are covalently linked. With their abundance in tissues and developmental stage-specific expression, circRNAs participate in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. In this review, we discuss the development of circRNAs used as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), focusing on recent discoveries and applications of exosomal circRNAs that highlight opportunities and challenges. Some studies have identified a spectrum of circRNAs that are differentially expressed in CVDs, while other studies further manipulated specific circRNA expression and showed an ameliorated pathogenic state such as ischemic injury, hypertrophy, and cardiac fibrosis. Studies and applications of circRNAs are being rapidly developed. We expect to see clinical use of circRNAs as biomarkers and targets for disease treatment in the near future.

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Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of endogenous non-coding RNA that were discovered to regulate gene expression through multiple pathways. Metastasis remains one of the biggest obstacles in cancer treatment. In this review, we focus on circRNAs involved in cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis. We present recently identified tumor-related circRNAs and discuss their functioning in tumor progression and metastasis. These circRNAs are categorized into different functional mechanisms, including microRNA (miRNA) sponging, protein binding, regulation of host genes, translation of circRNAs, and exosomal circRNAs. Additionally, the indirect functions of circRNAs that regulate epithelial-mesenchymal transition and autophagy are also discussed.The first step of investigating circRNAs in cancer is to identify which circRNAs are expressed differently than in the normal tissues. Galasso et al. 62 examined a large group of circRNAs (n = 1,938) in breast cancer and described the genomic localization of circRNAs for the first time. They predicted that non-linear RNA would be resistant to RNase R treatment and confirmed the existence of circRNAs. With