scholarly journals A computational approach to identify possible symbiotic mechanisms between Klebsiella and the Mediterranean fly (Ceratitis capitata)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Augusto Franco ◽  
César Alberto Bravo Pariente

AbstractNowadays, scientists develop multiple methods to control pests, like chemical control as the insecticides and biological control as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to release infertile males produced by irradiation. This technique is complemented with research in the medfly’s (Ceratitis capitata) microbiota, this approach is based on the identification of molecular mechanisms from three Klebsiella strains using the reconstruction of metabolic pathways technique. We focus on the reconstruction of metabolic pathways involved in nitrogen metabolization because the bacteria are in charge of metabolizing the nitrogen compounds and make available for the medfly. We propose a pipeline to process the genome sequences the bacteria, reconstruct metabolic pathways and identify possible symbiont molecular mechanisms. The result of processing the biological data were ten pathways, six pathways produce L-Glutamate as final product, three pathways with ammonia product and one pathway was discarded because it was an internal pathway and don’t generate a metabolic product. Those pathways corresponding to L-Glutamate and ammonia metabolic products are part of nitrogen metabolism on Klebsiella, which shows that this metabolic process is one of the molecular mechanisms involved in symbiosis process between Klebsiella and the medfly. Finally, by the results of the sequences analysis, in the medfly’s metamorphose the L-Glutamate are used in the synthesis of new proteins and the production of energy. The final consideration suggest that the pipeline propose can be used as first step to identify molecular mechanisms that can improve the production of industrial the medfly.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Biting Wang ◽  
Zengrui Wu ◽  
Weihua Li ◽  
Guixia Liu ◽  
Yun Tang

Abstract Background The traditional Chinese medicine Huangqi decoction (HQD) consists of Radix Astragali and Radix Glycyrrhizae in a ratio of 6: 1, which has been used for the treatment of liver fibrosis. In this study, we tried to elucidate its action of mechanism (MoA) via a combination of metabolomics data, network pharmacology and molecular docking methods. Methods Firstly, we collected prototype components and metabolic products after administration of HQD from a publication. With known and predicted targets, compound-target interactions were obtained. Then, the global compound-liver fibrosis target bipartite network and the HQD-liver fibrosis protein–protein interaction network were constructed, separately. KEGG pathway analysis was applied to further understand the mechanisms related to the target proteins of HQD. Additionally, molecular docking simulation was performed to determine the binding efficiency of compounds with targets. Finally, considering the concentrations of prototype compounds and metabolites of HQD, the critical compound-liver fibrosis target bipartite network was constructed. Results 68 compounds including 17 prototype components and 51 metabolic products were collected. 540 compound-target interactions were obtained between the 68 compounds and 95 targets. Combining network analysis, molecular docking and concentration of compounds, our final results demonstrated that eight compounds (three prototype compounds and five metabolites) and eight targets (CDK1, MMP9, PPARD, PPARG, PTGS2, SERPINE1, TP53, and HIF1A) might contribute to the effects of HQD on liver fibrosis. These interactions would maintain the balance of ECM, reduce liver damage, inhibit hepatocyte apoptosis, and alleviate liver inflammation through five signaling pathways including p53, PPAR, HIF-1, IL-17, and TNF signaling pathway. Conclusions This study provides a new way to understand the MoA of HQD on liver fibrosis by considering the concentrations of components and metabolites, which might be a model for investigation of MoA of other Chinese herbs.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1155
Author(s):  
Eva Garcia-Lopez ◽  
Paula Alcazar ◽  
Cristina Cid

Cold-loving microorganisms of all three domains of life have unique and special abilities that allow them to live in harsh environments. They have acquired structural and molecular mechanisms of adaptation to the cold that include the production of anti-freeze proteins, carbohydrate-based extracellular polymeric substances and lipids which serve as cryo- and osmoprotectants by maintaining the fluidity of their membranes. They also produce a wide diversity of pigmented molecules to obtain energy, carry out photosynthesis, increase their resistance to stress and provide them with ultraviolet light protection. Recently developed analytical techniques have been applied as high-throughoutput technologies for function discovery and for reconstructing functional networks in psychrophiles. Among them, omics deserve special mention, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, glycomics, lipidomics and metabolomics. These techniques have allowed the identification of microorganisms and the study of their biogeochemical activities. They have also made it possible to infer their metabolic capacities and identify the biomolecules that are parts of their structures or that they secrete into the environment, which can be useful in various fields of biotechnology. This Review summarizes current knowledge on psychrophiles as sources of biomolecules and the metabolic pathways for their production. New strategies and next-generation approaches are needed to increase the chances of discovering new biomolecules.


Database ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire M Simpson ◽  
Florian Gnad

Abstract Graph representations provide an elegant solution to capture and analyze complex molecular mechanisms in the cell. Co-expression networks are undirected graph representations of transcriptional co-behavior indicating (co-)regulations, functional modules or even physical interactions between the corresponding gene products. The growing avalanche of available RNA sequencing (RNAseq) data fuels the construction of such networks, which are usually stored in relational databases like most other biological data. Inferring linkage by recursive multiple-join statements, however, is computationally expensive and complex to design in relational databases. In contrast, graph databases store and represent complex interconnected data as nodes, edges and properties, making it fast and intuitive to query and analyze relationships. While graph-based database technologies are on their way from a fringe domain to going mainstream, there are only a few studies reporting their application to biological data. We used the graph database management system Neo4j to store and analyze co-expression networks derived from RNAseq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Comparing co-expression in tumors versus healthy tissues in six cancer types revealed significant perturbation tracing back to erroneous or rewired gene regulation. Applying centrality, community detection and pathfinding graph algorithms uncovered the destruction or creation of central nodes, modules and relationships in co-expression networks of tumors. Given the speed, accuracy and straightforwardness of managing these densely connected networks, we conclude that graph databases are ready for entering the arena of biological data.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiro Koizumi ◽  
Naoki Takatani ◽  
Noritoki Kobayashi ◽  
Koji Mikami ◽  
Kazuo Miyashita ◽  
...  

Carotenoids are natural pigments that contribute to light harvesting and photo-protection in photosynthetic organisms. In this study, we analyzed the carotenoid profiles, including mono-hydroxy and epoxy-carotenoids, in the economically valuable red seaweed Pyropia yezoensis, to clarify the detailed biosynthetic and metabolic pathways in the order Bangiales. P. yezoensis contained lutein, zeaxanthin, α-carotene, and β-carotene, as major carotenoids in both the thallus and conchocelis stages. Monohydroxy intermediate carotenoids for the synthesis of lutein with an ε-ring from α-carotene, α-cryptoxanthin (β,ε-caroten-3’-ol), and zeinoxanthin (β,ε-caroten-3-ol) were identified. In addition, β-cryptoxanthin, an intermediate in zeaxanthin synthesis from β-carotene, was also detected. We also identified lutein-5,6-epoxide and antheraxanthin, which are metabolic products of epoxy conversion from lutein and zeaxanthin, respectively, by LC-MS and 1H-NMR. This is the first report of monohydroxy-carotenoids with an ε-ring and 5,6-epoxy-carotenoids in Bangiales. These results provide new insights into the biosynthetic and metabolic pathways of carotenoids in red seaweeds.


Author(s):  
Zhenhua Dang ◽  
Yuanyuan Jia ◽  
Yunyun Tian ◽  
Jiabin Li ◽  
Yanan Zhang ◽  
...  

Organisms have evolved effective and distinct adaptive strategies to survive. Stipa grandis is one of the widespread dominant species on the typical steppe of the Inner Mongolian Plateau, and is regarded as a suitable species for studying the effects of grazing in this region. Although phenotypic (morphological and physiological) variations in S. grandis in response to long-term grazing have been identified, the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptations and plastic responses remain largely unknown. Accordingly, we performed a transcriptomic analysis to investigate changes in gene expression of S. grandis under four different grazing intensities. A total of 2,357 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among the tested grazing intensities, suggesting long-term grazing resulted in gene expression plasticity that affected diverse biological processes and metabolic pathways in S. grandis. DEGs were identified that indicated modulation of Calvin–Benson cycle and photorespiration metabolic pathways. The key gene´expression profiles encoding various proteins (e.g., Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, glycolate oxidase etc.) involved in these pathways suggest that they may synergistically respond to grazing to increase the resilience and stress tolerance of S. grandis. Our findings provide scientific clues for improving grassland use and protection, and identify important questions to address in future transcriptome studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Chen ◽  
Bo-lun Shi ◽  
Run-zhi Qi ◽  
Xing Chang ◽  
Hong-gang Zheng

Endogenous metabolites are a class of molecules playing diverse and significant roles in many metabolic pathways for disease. Honokiol (HNK), an active poly-phenolic compound, has shown potent anticancer activities. However, the detailed crucial mechanism regulated by HNK in colorectal cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the therapeutic effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms of HNK on colorectal cancer in a mouse model (ApcMin/+) by analyzing the urine metabolic profile based on metabolomics, which is a powerful tool for characterizing metabolic disturbances. We found that potential urine biomarkers were involved in the metabolism of compounds such as purines, tyrosines, tryptophans, etc. Moreover, we showed that a total of 27 metabolites were the most contribution biomarkers for intestinal tumors, and we found that the citrate cycle (TCA cycle) was regulated by HNK. In addition, it was suggested that the efficacy of HNK was achieved by affecting the multi-pathway system via influencing relevant metabolic pathways and regulating metabolic function. Our work also showed that high-throughput metabolomics can characterize the regulation of metabolic disorders as a therapeutic strategy to prevent colorectal cancer.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Greco ◽  
Jon Sanchez Valle ◽  
Vera Pancaldi ◽  
Anaïs Baudot ◽  
Emmanuel Barillot ◽  
...  

AbstractMatrix Factorization (MF) is an established paradigm for large-scale biological data analysis with tremendous potential in computational biology.We here challenge MF in depicting the molecular bases of epidemiologically described Disease-Disease (DD) relationships. As use case, we focus on the inverse comorbidity association between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and lung cancer (LC), described as a lower than expected probability of developing LC in AD patients. To the day, the molecular mechanisms underlying DD relationships remain poorly explained and their better characterization might offer unprecedented clinical opportunities.To this goal, we extend our previously designed MF-based framework for the molecular characterization of DD relationships. Considering AD-LC inverse comorbidity as a case study, we highlight multiple molecular mechanisms, among which the previously identified immune system and mitochondrial metabolism. We then discriminate mechanisms specific to LC from those shared with other cancers through a pancancer analysis. Additionally, new candidate molecular players, such as Estrogen Receptor (ER), CDH1 and HDAC, are pinpointed as factors that might underlie the inverse relationship, opening the way to new investigations. Finally, some lung cancer subtype-specific factors are also detected, suggesting the existence of heterogeneity across patients also in the context of inverse comorbidity.


Metabolites ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Zhang ◽  
Xiaogang Li

Ferroptosis is a newly identified form of regulated cell death driven by iron-dependent phospholipid peroxidation and oxidative stress. Ferroptosis has distinct biological and morphology characteristics, such as shrunken mitochondria when compared to other known regulated cell deaths. The regulation of ferroptosis includes different molecular mechanisms and multiple cellular metabolic pathways, including glutathione/glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4) signaling pathways, which are involved in the amino acid metabolism and the activation of GPX4; iron metabolic signaling pathways, which are involved in the regulation of iron import/export and the storage/release of intracellular iron through iron-regulatory proteins (IRPs), and lipid metabolic signaling pathways, which are involved in the metabolism of unsaturated fatty acids in cell membranes. Ferroptosis plays an essential role in the pathology of various kidneys diseases, including acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Targeting ferroptosis with its inducers/initiators and inhibitors can modulate the progression of kidney diseases in animal models. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of ferroptosis and the ferroptosis-based mechanisms, highlighting the potential role of the main ferroptosis-associated metabolic pathways in the treatment and prevention of various kidney diseases.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Küken ◽  
Frederik Sommer ◽  
Liliya Yaneva-Roder ◽  
Luke CM Mackinder ◽  
Melanie Höhne ◽  
...  

Cells and organelles are not homogeneous but include microcompartments that alter the spatiotemporal characteristics of cellular processes. The effects of microcompartmentation on metabolic pathways are however difficult to study experimentally. The pyrenoid is a microcompartment that is essential for a carbon concentrating mechanism (CCM) that improves the photosynthetic performance of eukaryotic algae. Using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we obtained experimental data on photosynthesis, metabolites, and proteins in CCM-induced and CCM-suppressed cells. We then employed a computational strategy to estimate how fluxes through the Calvin-Benson cycle are compartmented between the pyrenoid and the stroma. Our model predicts that ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP), the substrate of Rubisco, and 3-phosphoglycerate (3PGA), its product, diffuse in and out of the pyrenoid, respectively, with higher fluxes in CCM-induced cells. It also indicates that there is no major diffusional barrier to metabolic flux between the pyrenoid and stroma. Our computational approach represents a stepping stone to understanding microcompartmentalized CCM in other organisms.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Yang ◽  
Jinge Sun ◽  
Qiuting Ren ◽  
Xu Ma ◽  
Yaya Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background With the development of aquaculture, fish and shrimp diseases have been paid more and more attention in the world. How to improve the immunity of aquatic animals was an urgent problem to be solved. Duckweed (Lemnacecae), as a eukaryote, could be an ideal feedstock for the production of antimicrobial peptides. Result Penaeidins 3a (Pen 3a) from Litopenaeus vannamei was expressed under the control of CaMV-35S promoter in duckweed, Lemna turionifera 5511. Bacteriostatic test by Pen3a duckweed extract showed the antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Transcriptome analysis of WT and Pen3a duckweed showed different results, and the protein metabolic process was the most up-regulated DEGs. In Pen 3a transgenic duckweed, the expression of sphingolipid metabolism and phagocytosis process-related genes have been significantly up-regulated. Quantitative proteomics suggested a remarkable difference in protein enrichment in metabolic pathways. Conclusion Our study provide a novel solution on aquaculture and water purification. The Pen 3a transgenic duckweed extraction inhibit the growth of gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, which could be applied to control the bacteria in lake. The results could lay the foundation for the subsequent production of antibiotics.


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