Plant basic/helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factors participate in a number of biological processes, such as growth, development and abiotic stress responses. The bHLH family has been identified in many plants, and several bHLH transcription factors have been functionally characterized in Arabidopsis. However, no systematic identification of bHLH family members has been reported in potato (Solanum tuberosum). Here, 124 StbHLH genes were identified and named according to their chromosomal locations. The intron numbers varied from zero to seven. Most StbHLH proteins had the highly conserved intron phase 0, which accounted for 86.2% of the introns. According to the Neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree, 259 bHLH proteins acquired from Arabidopsis and potato were divided into 15 groups. All of the StbHLH genes were randomly distributed on 12 chromosomes, and 20 tandem duplicated genes and four pairs of duplicated gene segments were detected in the StbHLH family. The gene ontology (GO) analysis revealed that StbHLH mainly function in protein and DNA binding. Through the RNA-seq and quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) analyses, StbHLH were found to be expressed in various tissues and to respond to abiotic stresses, including salt, drought and heat. StbHLH1, 41 and 60 were highly expressed in flower tissues, and were predicted to be involved in flower development by GO annotation. StbHLH45 was highly expressed in salt, drought and heat stress, which suggested its important role in abiotic stress response. The results provide comprehensive information for further analyses of the molecular functions of the StbHLH gene family.
Salmonella infection is an important foodborne consumer health concern that can be mitigated during food processing. Bacteriophage therapy imparts many advantages over conventional chemical preservatives including pathogen specificity, natural derivation, potency, and providing a high degree of safety. The objective of this study aimed to isolate and characterize a phage that effectively control Salmonella food contamination. Out of 35 isolated phages, LPSE1 demonstrated a broad Salmonella host range, robust lytic ability, extensive pH tolerance, and prolonged thermal stability. The capacity for phage LPSE1 to control Salmonella Enteritidis-ATCC13076 in milk, sausage, and lettuce was established. Incubation of LPSE1 at 28°C in milk reduced recoverable Salmonella by approximately 1.44 log10 CFU/mL and 2.37 log10 CFU/mL at MOI of 1 and 100, respectively, as relative to the phage-excluded control. Upon administration of LPSE1 at an MOI of 1 in sausage, Salmonella count decreased 0.52 log10 at 28°C. At MOI of 100, the count decreased 0.49 log10 at 4°C. Incubation of LPSE1 on lettuce reduced recoverable Salmonella by 2.02 log10, 1.71 log10, and 1.45 log10 CFU/mL at an MOI of 1, 10, and 100, respectively, as relative to the negative control. Taken together, these findings establish LPSE1 as an effective weapon against human pathogenic Salmonella in various ready to eat foods.
Background. Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-specific hypertension syndrome and is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be abnormally expressed in many diseases, including preeclampsia. The present study is aimed at identifying the key genes and lncRNA-associated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks in early-onset preeclampsia (EOPE). Methods. We investigated expression profiles of differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and genes (DEGs) in placental tissues of EOPE and healthy controls with Human LncRNA Array v4. The potential functions of DEGs and DElncRNAs were predicted using the clusterProfiler package. The lncRNA-mRNA coexpression network was constructed via Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DEGs was constructed, and the hub genes were obtained using the STRING database and Cytoscape. The ceRNA networks were constructed based on miRWalk and LncBase v2. qRT-PCR was performed to confirm the expression of lncRNA MIR193BHG, PROX1-AS1, and GATA3-AS1. ROC curves were performed to assess the clinical value of lncRNA MIR193BHG, PROX1-AS1, and GATA3-AS1 in the diagnosis of EOPE. Results. We found 6 hub genes (SPP1, CCR2, KIT, ENG, ACKR1, and FLT1) altered in placental tissues of EOPE and constructed a ceRNA network, including 21 lncRNAs, 3 mRNAs, and 69 miRNAs. The expression of lncRNA MIR193BHG and GATA3-AS1 were elevated and showed good clinical values for diagnosing EOPE. Conclusion. This study provides novel insights into the lncRNA-related ceRNA network in EOPE and identified two lncRNAs as potential prognostic biomarkers in EOPE.
Salmonella is responsible for a wide range of infections and is a constant threat to public health, particularly in light of emerging antibiotic resistance. The use of bacteriophages and phage endolysins as specific antibacterial agents is a promising strategy to control this bacterial infection. Endolysins are important proteins during the process of bacteria lysis by bacteriophages. In this study, we identify a novel endolysin, named LysSE24. LysSE24 was predicted to possess N-acetylmuramidases activity, with a molecular mass of ca. 17.4 kDa and pI 9.44. His-tagged LysSE24 was heterologously expressed and purified by Ni-NTA chromatography. LysSE24 exhibited optimal bactericidal activity against Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 13076 at a concentration of 0.1 μM. Salmonella population (measured by OD600 nm) decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after 10 min of incubation in combination with the outer membrane permeabilizer in vitro. It also showed antibacterial activity against a panel of 23 tested multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains. Bactericidal activity of LysSE24 was evaluated in terms of pH, temperature, and ionic strength. It was very stable with different pH (4.0 to 10.0) at different temperatures (20 to 60 °C). Both K+ and Na+ at concentrations between 0.1 to 100 mM showed no effects on its bactericidal activity, while a high concentration of Ca2+ and Mg2+ showed efficacy. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that exposure to 0.1 μM LysSE24 for up to 5 min caused a remarkable modification of the cell shape of Salmonella Enteritidis ATCC 13076. These results indicate that recombinant LysSE24 represents a promising antimicrobial activity against Salmonella, especially several multidrug-resistant Salmonella strains. Further studies can be developed to improve its bactericidal activity without the need for pretreatment with outer membrane-destabilizing agents by synthetic biology methods.
Preeclampsia (Pe) is a pregnancy-specific syndrome that has severe implications on perinatal mortality and morbidity. excessive apoptosis of trophoblasts induced by hypoxia may be associated with the development of Pe, but the exact pathogenesis is unknown. Forkhead box o transcription factor 3a (FoXo3a) is activated under hypoxic conditions. Furthermore, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HiF-1α) is sensitive to variations in partial oxygen pressure. Thus, the aims of the present study were to investigate the expression levels of HiF-1α and FoXo3a in placental samples of early onset severe Pe, and their effect on trophoblastic apoptosis under hypoxic conditions. cobalt chloride was used to establish the hypoxic model. The present study examined the expression levels of HiF-1α and FoXo3a in the placental tissues and HTr8/SVneo cells under hypoxic conditions. it was found that HiF-1α and FoXo3a were highly expressed in placental tissues of patients with Pe and in HTr8/SVneo cells under hypoxic conditions. Furthermore, knockdown of FOXO3a using a specific small interfering rna (sirna) decreased apoptosis in HTr8/SVneo cells. Moreover, it was found that after knockdown of HiF-1α using sirna, FoXo3a expression and the apoptotic rate were reduced in HTr8/SVneo cells. Therefore, the present results indicated that the elevated expression of HiF-1α increased trophoblastic apoptosis by regulating FoXo3a, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of Pe.
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