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In recent years, metabolic syndromes (MetSs), including diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular diseases, have become a common health problem in both developed and developing countries. Accumulating data have suggested that traditional herbs might be able to provide a wide range of remedies in prevention and treatment of MetSs. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe, Zingiberaceae) has been documented to ameliorate hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and inflammation. These beneficial effects are mediated by transcription factors, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor κB. This review focuses on recent findings regarding the beneficial effects of ginger on obesity and related complications in MetS and discusses its potential mechanisms of action. This review provides guidance for further applications of ginger for personalized nutrition and medicine.

Bacterial quorum sensing is a well-characterized communication system that governs a large variety of collective behaviours. By comparison, quorum sensing regulation in eukaryotic microbes remains poorly understood, especially its functional role in eukaryote-specific behaviours, such as sexual reproduction. Cryptococcus neoformans is a prevalent fungal pathogen that has two defined sexual cycles (bisexual and unisexual) and is a model organism for studying sexual reproduction in fungi. Here, we show that the quorum sensing peptide Qsp1 serves as an important signalling molecule for both forms of sexual reproduction. Qsp1 orchestrates various differentiation and molecular processes, including meiosis, the hallmark of sexual reproduction. It activates bisexual mating, at least in part through the control of pheromone, a signal necessary for bisexual activation. Notably, Qsp1 also plays a major role in the intercellular regulation of unisexual initiation and coordination, in which pheromone is not strictly required. Through a multi-layered genetic screening approach, we identified the atypical zinc finger regulator Cqs2 as an important component of the Qsp1 signalling cascade during both bisexual and unisexual reproduction. The absence of Cqs2 eliminates the Qsp1-stimulated mating response. Together, these findings extend the range of behaviours governed by quorum sensing to sexual development and meiosis.

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Quorum sensing (QS) is one of the most studied cell-cell communication mechanisms in fungi. Research in the last 20 years has explored various fungal QS systems that are involved in a wide range of biological processes, especially eukaryote- or fungus-specific behaviors, mirroring the significant contribution of QS regulation to fungal biology and evolution. Based on recent progress, we summarize in this review fungal QS regulation, with an emphasis on its functional role in behaviors unique to fungi or eukaryotes. We suggest that using fungi as genetically amenable eukaryotic model systems to address why and how QS regulation is integrated into eukaryotic reproductive strategies and molecular or cellular processes could be an important direction for QS research. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Microbiology, Volume 75 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Choice of raw materials and optimisation of ingredients recipe should be become a critical point to control the HAAs formation in marinated meats. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

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