scholarly journals Molecular Mechanisms of Coral Persistence Within Highly Urbanized Locations in the Port of Miami, Florida

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewelina T. Rubin ◽  
Ian C. Enochs ◽  
Colin Foord ◽  
Anderson B. Mayfield ◽  
Graham Kolodziej ◽  
...  

Healthy coral communities can be found on artificial structures (concrete walls and riprap) within the Port of Miami (PoM), Florida. These communities feature an unusually high abundance of brain corals, which have almost entirely vanished from nearby offshore reefs. These corals appear to be thriving in very low-quality waters influenced by dense ship and boat traffic, dredging, and numerous residential and industrial developments. The PoM basin is part of Biscayne Bay, an estuarine environment that experiences frequent freshwater input, high nutrient loading, hypoxia, and acidification. To investigate if there is a molecular basis behind the ability of these corals to persist within these highly “urbanized” waters, we compared whole transcriptome expression profiles from 25 PoM Pseudodiploria strigosa colonies against six conspecifics from a nearby offshore reef. We found that the urban corals exhibited higher expression of (1) transcripts encoding pattern-recognition receptors which may allow these corals to better sense and detect food particles and pathogenic invaders; (2) digestive and degradation-associated enzymes, which may suggest an elevated capacity for heterotrophy and pathogen digestion; and (3) transcripts related to innate immunity, defense, and cellular detoxification, which may collectively protect against pathogenic organisms and water pollution impacts. Large ribosomal subunit rRNA gene mapping revealed that P. strigosa colonies from the PoM sites predominantly hosted heat-tolerant endosymbionts from the genus Durusdinium while offshore conspecifics’ communities were dominated by symbionts in the genus Breviolum. These findings reveal transcriptomic plasticity and molecular mechanisms contributing to the persistence of these corals within a highly urbanized habitat.

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 454
Author(s):  
Zhiquan Wang ◽  
Longjie Ni ◽  
Jianfeng Hua ◽  
Liangqin Liu ◽  
Yunlong Yin ◽  
...  

Hibiscus hamabo Siebold & Zuccarini (H. hamabo) is tolerant to salt and drought conditions, but the molecular mechanisms that underlie this stress tolerance remain unclear. In this study, the transcriptome of H. hamabo roots was investigated under NaCl or PEG treatment. A total of 20,513 and 27,516 significantly changed known genes at 6 h and 24 h, respectively, were detected between the salt or drought treatments and the control libraries. Among these, there were 3845 and 7430 overlapping genes under the two stresses at 6 h and 24 h, respectively. Based on the analysis of enriched KEGG pathways and clustering of expression patterns, the DEGs that were continuously up- or down-regulated under both salt and drought treatments were mainly enriched in MAPK signaling pathway, transcription factors, transporters and other pathways. The transcriptome expression profiles of H. hamabo provide a genetic resource for identifying common regulatory factors involved in responses to different abiotic stresses. In addition, the identified factors may be useful to developing genetic breeding strategies for the Malvaceae.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Hana Votavova ◽  
Zuzana Urbanova ◽  
David Kundrat ◽  
Michaela Dostalova Merkerova ◽  
Martin Vostry ◽  
...  

Deferasirox (DFX) is an oral iron chelator used to reduce iron overload (IO) caused by frequent blood cell transfusions in anemic myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. To study the molecular mechanisms by which DFX improves outcome in MDS, we analyzed the global gene expression in untreated MDS patients and those who were given DFX treatment. The gene expression profiles of bone marrow CD34+ cells were assessed by whole-genome microarrays. Initially, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were determined between patients with normal ferritin levels and those with IO to address the effect of excessive iron on cellular pathways. These DEGs were annotated to Gene Ontology terms associated with cell cycle, apoptosis, adaptive immune response and protein folding and were enriched in cancer-related pathways. The deregulation of multiple cancer pathways in iron-overloaded patients suggests that IO is a cofactor favoring the progression of MDS. The DEGs between patients with IO and those treated with DFX were involved predominantly in biological processes related to the immune response and inflammation. These data indicate DFX modulates the immune response mainly via neutrophil-related genes. Suppression of negative regulators of blood cell differentiation essential for cell maturation and upregulation of heme metabolism observed in DFX-treated patients may contribute to the hematopoietic improvement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kolja Becker ◽  
Holger Klein ◽  
Eric Simon ◽  
Coralie Viollet ◽  
Christian Haslinger ◽  
...  

AbstractDiabetic Retinopathy (DR) is among the major global causes for vision loss. With the rise in diabetes prevalence, an increase in DR incidence is expected. Current understanding of both the molecular etiology and pathways involved in the initiation and progression of DR is limited. Via RNA-Sequencing, we analyzed mRNA and miRNA expression profiles of 80 human post-mortem retinal samples from 43 patients diagnosed with various stages of DR. We found differentially expressed transcripts to be predominantly associated with late stage DR and pathways such as hippo and gap junction signaling. A multivariate regression model identified transcripts with progressive changes throughout disease stages, which in turn displayed significant overlap with sphingolipid and cGMP–PKG signaling. Combined analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression further uncovered disease-relevant miRNA/mRNA associations as potential mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation. Finally, integrating human retinal single cell RNA-Sequencing data revealed a continuous loss of retinal ganglion cells, and Müller cell mediated changes in histidine and β-alanine signaling. While previously considered primarily a vascular disease, attention in DR has shifted to additional mechanisms and cell-types. Our findings offer an unprecedented and unbiased insight into molecular pathways and cell-specific changes in the development of DR, and provide potential avenues for future therapeutic intervention.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 597
Author(s):  
Haoran Zhang ◽  
Qiuxiang Zhou ◽  
Chenyun Guo ◽  
Liubin Feng ◽  
Huilin Wang ◽  
...  

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is a serious threat to public health, calling for the development of new anti-TB drugs. Chaperon protein RimM, involved in the assembly of ribosomal protein S19 into 30S ribosomal subunit during ribosome maturation, is a potential drug target for TB treatment. The C-terminal domain (CTD) of RimM is primarily responsible for binding S19. However, both the CTD structure of RimM from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MtbRimMCTD) and the molecular mechanisms underlying MtbRimMCTD binding S19 remain elusive. Here, we report the solution structure, dynamics features of MtbRimMCTD, and its interaction with S19. MtbRimMCTD has a rigid hydrophobic core comprised of a relatively conservative six-strand β-barrel, tailed with a short α-helix and interspersed with flexible loops. Using several biophysical techniques including surface plasmon resonance (SPR) affinity assays, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) assays, and molecular docking, we established a structural model of the MtbRimMCTD–S19 complex and indicated that the β4-β5 loop and two nonconserved key residues (D105 and H129) significantly contributed to the unique pattern of MtbRimMCTD binding S19, which might be implicated in a form of orthogonality for species-dependent RimM–S19 interaction. Our study provides the structural basis for MtbRimMCTD binding S19 and is beneficial to the further exploration of MtbRimM as a potential target for the development of new anti-TB drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1128
Author(s):  
Kathleen Cusick ◽  
Gabriel Duran

Saxitoxin (STX) is a secondary metabolite and potent neurotoxin produced by several genera of harmful algal bloom (HAB) marine dinoflagellates. The basis for variability in STX production within natural bloom populations is undefined as both toxic and non-toxic strains (of the same species) have been isolated from the same geographic locations. Pyrodinium bahamense is a STX-producing bioluminescent dinoflagellate that blooms along the east coast of Florida as well as the bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico (PR), though no toxicity reports exist for PR populations. The core genes in the dinoflagellate STX biosynthetic pathway have been identified, and the sxtA4 gene is essential for toxin production. Using sxtA4 as a molecular proxy for the genetic capacity of STX production, we examined sxtA4+ and sxtA4- genotype frequency at the single cell level in P. bahamense populations from different locations in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL, and Mosquito Bay (MB), a bioluminescent bay in PR. Multiplex PCR was performed on individual cells with Pyrodinium-specific primers targeting the 18S rRNA gene and sxtA4. The results reveal that within discrete natural populations of P. bahamense, both sxtA4+ and sxtA4- genotypes occur, and the sxtA4+ genotype dominates. In the IRL, the frequency of the sxtA4+ genotype ranged from ca. 80–100%. In MB, sxtA4+ genotype frequency ranged from ca 40–66%. To assess the extent of sxtA4 variation within individual cells, sxtA4 amplicons from single cells representative of the different sampling sites were cloned and sequenced. Overall, two variants were consistently obtained, one of which is likely a pseudogene based on alignment with cDNA sequences. These are the first data demonstrating the existence of both genotypes in natural P. bahamense sub-populations, as well as sxtA4 presence in P. bahamense from PR. These results provide insights on underlying genetic factors influencing the potential for toxin variability among natural sub-populations of HAB species and highlight the need to study the genetic diversity within HAB sub-populations at a fine level in order to identify the molecular mechanisms driving HAB evolution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Li Zhou ◽  
Zhengyang Wu ◽  
Wenguang Zhang ◽  
Miao Xu ◽  
Jianzhuang Ren ◽  
...  

AbstractGrowing evidence has indicated that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a pivotal role as functional RNAs in diverse cancers. However, most circRNAs involved in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remain undefined, and the underlying molecular mechanisms mediated by circRNAs are largely unclear. Here, we screened human circRNA expression profiles in ESCC tissues and found significantly increased expression of hsa_circ_0000277 (termed circPDE3B) in ESCC tissues and cell lines compared to the normal controls. Moreover, higher circPDE3B expression in patients with ESCC was correlated with advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage and dismal prognosis. Functional experiments demonstrated that circPDE3B promoted the tumorigenesis and metastasis of ESCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, bioinformatics analysis, a dual-luciferase reporter assay, and anti-AGO2 RNA immunoprecipitation showed that circPDE3B could act as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by harboring miR-4766-5p to eliminate the inhibitory effect on the target gene laminin α1 (LAMA1). In addition, LAMA1 was significantly upregulated in ESCC tissues and was positively associated with the aggressive oncogenic phenotype. More importantly, rescue experiments revealed that the oncogenic role of circPDE3B in ESCC is partly dependent on the miR-4766-5p/LAMA1 axis. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis combined with validation experiments showed that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) activation was involved in the oncogenic functions of the circPDE3B–miR-4766-5p/LAMA1 axis in ESCC. Taken together, we demonstrate for the first time that the circPDE3B/miR-4766-5p/LAMA1 axis functions as an oncogenic factor in promoting ESCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by inducing EMT, implying its potential prognostic and therapeutic significance in ESCC.


Author(s):  
Qiao Li ◽  
Manran Liu ◽  
Yan Sun ◽  
Ting Jin ◽  
Pengpeng Zhu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer, with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. Hypoxia is a key hallmark of TNBC. Metabolic adaptation promotes progression of TNBC cells that are located within the hypoxic tumor regions. However, it is not well understood regarding the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of metabolic adaptions by hypoxia. Methods RNA sequencing was performed to analyze the gene expression profiles in MDA-MB-231 cell line (20% O2 and 1% O2). Expressions of Slc6a8, which encodes the creatine transporter protein, were detected in breast cancer cells and tissues by quantitative real-time PCR. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect SLC6A8 protein abundances in tumor tissues. Clinicopathologic correlation and overall survival were evaluated by chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier analysis, respectively. Cell viability assay and flow cytometry analysis with Annexin V/PI double staining were performed to investigate the impact of SLC6A8-mediated uptake of creatine on viability of hypoxic TNBC cells. TNBC orthotopic mouse model was used to evaluate the effects of creatine in vivo. Results SLC6A8 was aberrantly upregulated in TNBC cells in hypoxia. SLC6A8 was drastically overexpressed in TNBC tissues and its level was tightly associated with advanced TNM stage, higher histological grade and worse overall survival of TNBC patients. We found that SLC6A8 was transcriptionally upregulated by p65/NF-κB and mediated accumulation of intracellular creatine in hypoxia. SLC6A8-mediated accumulation of creatine promoted survival and suppressed apoptosis via maintaining redox homeostasis in hypoxic TNBC cells. Furthermore, creatine was required to facilitate tumor growth in xenograft mouse models. Mechanistically, intracellular creatine bolstered cell antioxidant defense by reducing mitochondrial activity and oxygen consumption rates to reduce accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species, ultimately activating AKT-ERK signaling, the activation of which protected the viability of hypoxic TNBC cells via mediating the upregulation of Ki-67 and Bcl-2, and the downregulation of Bax and cleaved Caspase-3. Conclusions Our study indicates that SLC6A8-mediated creatine accumulation plays an important role in promoting TNBC progression, and may provide a potential therapeutic strategy option for treatment of SLC6A8 high expressed TNBC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Li ◽  
Xiaoyun He ◽  
Zijun Zhang ◽  
Chunhuan Ren ◽  
Mingxing Chu

Abstract Background Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) has been identified as important regulator in hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis associated with sheep prolificacy. However, little is known of their expression pattern and potential roles in the pineal gland of sheep. Herein, RNA-Seq was used to detect transcriptome expression pattern in pineal gland between follicular phase (FP) and luteal phase (LP) in FecBBB (MM) and FecB++ (ww) STH sheep, respectively, and differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and mRNAs associated with reproduction were identified. Results Overall, 135 DE lncRNAs and 1360 DE mRNAs in pineal gland between MM and ww sheep were screened. Wherein, 39 DE lncRNAs and 764 DE mRNAs were identified (FP vs LP) in MM sheep, 96 DE lncRNAs and 596 DE mRNAs were identified (FP vs LP) in ww sheep. Moreover, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the targets of DE lncRNAs and DE mRNAs were annotated to multiple biological processes such as phototransduction, circadian rhythm, melanogenesis, GSH metabolism and steroid biosynthesis, which directly or indirectly participate in hormone activities to affect sheep reproductive performance. Additionally, co-expression of lncRNAs-mRNAs and the network construction were performed based on correlation analysis, DE lncRNAs can modulate target genes involved in related pathways to affect sheep fecundity. Specifically, XLOC_466330, XLOC_532771, XLOC_028449 targeting RRM2B and GSTK1, XLOC_391199 targeting STMN1, XLOC_503926 targeting RAG2, XLOC_187711 targeting DLG4 were included. Conclusion All of these differential lncRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles in pineal gland provide a novel resource for elucidating regulatory mechanism underlying STH sheep prolificacy.


Microbiome ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Leadbeater ◽  
Nicola C. Oates ◽  
Joseph P. Bennett ◽  
Yi Li ◽  
Adam A. Dowle ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Salt marshes are major natural repositories of sequestered organic carbon with high burial rates of organic matter, produced by highly productive native flora. Accumulated carbon predominantly exists as lignocellulose which is metabolised by communities of functionally diverse microbes. However, the organisms that orchestrate this process and the enzymatic mechanisms employed that regulate the accumulation, composition and permanence of this carbon stock are not yet known. We applied meta-exo-proteome proteomics and 16S rRNA gene profiling to study lignocellulose decomposition in situ within the surface level sediments of a natural established UK salt marsh. Results Our studies revealed a community dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Deltaproteobacteria that drive lignocellulose degradation in the salt marsh. We identify 42 families of lignocellulolytic bacteria of which the most active secretors of carbohydrate-active enzymes were observed to be Prolixibacteracea, Flavobacteriaceae, Cellvibrionaceae, Saccharospirillaceae, Alteromonadaceae, Vibrionaceae and Cytophagaceae. These families secreted lignocellulose-active glycoside hydrolase (GH) family enzymes GH3, GH5, GH6, GH9, GH10, GH11, GH13 and GH43 that were associated with degrading Spartina biomass. While fungi were present, we did not detect a lignocellulolytic contribution from fungi which are major contributors to terrestrial lignocellulose deconstruction. Oxidative enzymes such as laccases, peroxidases and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases that are important for lignocellulose degradation in the terrestrial environment were present but not abundant, while a notable abundance of putative esterases (such as carbohydrate esterase family 1) associated with decoupling lignin from polysaccharides in lignocellulose was observed. Conclusions Here, we identify a diverse cohort of previously undefined bacteria that drive lignocellulose degradation in the surface sediments of the salt marsh environment and describe the enzymatic mechanisms they employ to facilitate this process. Our results increase the understanding of the microbial and molecular mechanisms that underpin carbon sequestration from lignocellulose within salt marsh surface sediments in situ and provide insights into the potential enzymatic mechanisms regulating the enrichment of polyphenolics in salt marsh sediments.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bai Wei ◽  
Min Kang

We investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying macrolide resistance in 38 strains ofCampylobacterisolated from poultry. Twenty-seven strains were resistant to azithromycin and erythromycin, five showed intermediate azithromycin resistance and erythromycin susceptibility, and six showed azithromycin resistance and erythromycin susceptibility. FourCampylobacter jejuniand sixCampylobacter colistrains had azithromycin MICs which were 8–16 and 2–8-fold greater than those of erythromycin, respectively. The A2075G mutation in the 23S rRNA gene was detected in 11 resistant strains with MICs ranging from 64 to ≥ 512μg/mL. Mutations including V137A, V137S, and a six-amino acid insertion (114-VAKKAP-115) in ribosomal protein L22 were detected in theC. jejunistrains. Erythromycin ribosome methylase B-erm(B) was not detected in any strain. All strains except three showed increased susceptibility to erythromycin with twofold to 256-fold MIC change in the presence of phenylalanine arginine ß-naphthylamide (PAßN); the effects of PAßN on azithromycin MICs were limited in comparison to those on erythromycin MICs, and 13 strains showed no azithromycin MIC change in the presence of PAßN. Differences between azithromycin and erythromycin resistance and macrolide resistance phenotypes and genotypes were observed even in highly resistant strains. Further studies are required to better understand macrolide resistance inCampylobacter.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document