Molecular Mechanisms of Exercise on Cancer: A Bibliometrics Study and Visualization Analysis via CiteSpace

Objective: To analyze the research hot spots and frontiers of molecular mechanisms of exercise on cancer via CiteSpace.Method: Related publications in the Web of Science Core Collection Science Citation Index Expanded were retrieved from inception to November 27th, 2021. Then we used CiteSpace to generate network maps and identify top authors, institutions, countries, keywords, co-cited authors, journals, references and research trends.Results: A total of 1,130 related publications were retrieved. The most productive author and journal were Lee W Jones and PLOS ONE. Hanahan D and Warburg O were the most cited authors. Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University were the leading institutions, while China was the leading country. Top-cited authors and references generally focused on the epidemiology and hallmarks of cancer. Top five keywords with both high frequency and high betweenness centrality were breast cancer, aerobic glycolysis, oxidative stress, gene expression, skeletal muscle. Keyword “warburg effect” ranked first with the highest citation burst, while “inflammation”, “hepatocellular carcinoma”, “epithelial mesenchymal transition”, and “adipose tissue” were emerging research foci.Conclusion: This study analyzed the research hot spots and frontiers of molecular mechanisms of exercise on cancer via CiteSpace. Based on the results, altered metabolism (aerobic glycolysis, insulin resistance, myokines), oxidative stress, gene expression and apoptosis were hot-research mechanisms of exercise on cancer. Emerging research foci of mechanisms were generally around inflammation, epithelial mesenchymal transition and adipokines. In addition, future studies could carry in-depth research of interactions between different mechanisms and try to elucidate the recommended doses and intensities of exercise for cancer, especially in breast, colorectal, prostate cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma.

CRISPR/Cas9 knockout of EPFL10 reduces stomatal density while maintaining photosynthesis and enhancing water conservation in rice

Rice production is of paramount importance for global nutrition and potential yields will be detrimentally affected by climate change. Rice stomatal developmental genetics were explored as a mechanism to improve water use efficiency while maintaining yield under climate stress. Gene-editing of STOMAGEN and its paralog, EPFL10, using CRISPR/Cas9 in rice cv. Nipponbare yielded lines with altered stomatal densities that were functionally characterized. CRISPR/Cas9 mediated knockouts of EPFL10 and STOMAGEN yielded lines with c. 80% and 25% of wild-type stomata, respectively. epfl10 lines with small reductions in stomatal densities are able to conserve water to similar extents as stomagen lines with large stomatal density reductions but do not suffer from any concomitant reductions in stomatal conductance, carbon assimilation, or thermoregulation. The duplicate of STOMAGEN, EPFL10, is a weak positive regulator of stomatal development in rice. epfl10 lines maintained wild-type physiological characteristics while conserving more water. Modest reductions in stomatal densities may be a climate-adaptive approach in rice that can safeguard yield.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of Raffinose synthetase family in cotton

Background The Raffinose synthetase (RAFS) genes superfamily is critical for the synthesis of raffinose, which accumulates in plant leaves under abiotic stress. However, it remains unclear whether RAFS contributes to resistance to abiotic stress in plants, specifically in the Gossypium species. Results In this study, we identified 74 RAFS genes from G. hirsutum, G. barbadense, G. arboreum and G. raimondii by using a series of bioinformatic methods. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the RAFS gene family in the four Gossypium species could be divided into four major clades; the relatively uniform distribution of the gene number in each species ranged from 12 to 25 based on species ploidy, most likely resulting from an ancient whole-genome polyploidization. Gene motif analysis showed that the RAFS gene structure was relatively conservative. Promoter analysis for cis-regulatory elements showed that some RAFS genes might be regulated by gibberellins and abscisic acid, which might influence their expression levels. Moreover, we further examined the functions of RAFS under cold, heat, salt and drought stress conditions, based on the expression profile and co-expression network of RAFS genes in Gossypium species. Transcriptome analysis suggested that RAFS genes in clade III are highly expressed in organs such as seed, root, cotyledon, ovule and fiber, and under abiotic stress in particular, indicating the involvement of genes belonging to clade III in resistance to abiotic stress. Gene co-expressed network analysis showed that GhRFS2A-GhRFS6A, GhRFS6D, GhRFS7D and GhRFS8A-GhRFS11A were key genes, with high expression levels under salt, drought, cold and heat stress. Conclusion The findings may provide insights into the evolutionary relationships and expression patterns of RAFS genes in Gossypium species and a theoretical basis for the identification of stress resistance materials in cotton.

A heat shock–responsive lncRNA Heat acts as a HSF1-directed transcriptional brake via m6A modification

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are key regulators of gene expression in diverse cellular contexts and biological processes. Given the surprising range of shapes and sizes, how distinct lncRNAs achieve functional specificity remains incompletely understood. Here, we identified a heat shock–inducible lncRNA, Heat, in mouse cells that acts as a transcriptional brake to restrain stress gene expression. Functional characterization reveals that Heat directly binds to heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), thereby targeting stress genes in a trans-acting manner. Intriguingly, Heat is heavily methylated in the form of m6A. Although dispensable for HSF1 binding, Heat methylation is required for silencing stress genes to attenuate heat shock response. Consistently, m6A depletion results in prolonged activation of stress genes. Furthermore, Heat mediates these effects via the nuclear m6A reader YTHDC1, forming a transcriptional silencing complex for stress genes. Our study reveals a crucial role of nuclear epitranscriptome in the transcriptional regulation of heat shock response.

Effects of Magnesium Oxide and Magnesium Hydroxide Microparticle Foliar Treatment on Tomato PR Gene Expression and Leaf Microbiome

Recently, metal oxides and magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles (NPs) with high surface-to-volume ratios were shown to possess antibacterial properties with applications in biomedicine and agriculture. To assess recent observations from field trials on tomatoes showing resistance to pathogen attacks, porous micron-scale particles composed of nano-grains of MgO were hydrated and sprayed on the leaves of healthy tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants in a 20-day program. The results showed that the spray induced (a) a modest and selective stress gene response that was consistent with the absence of phytotoxicity and the production of salicylic acid as a signalling response to pathogens; (b) a shift of the phylloplane microbiota from near 100% dominance by Gram (−) bacteria, leaving extremophiles and cyanobacteria to cover the void; and (c) a response of the fungal leaf phylloplane that showed that the leaf epiphytome was unchanged but the fungal load was reduced by about 70%. The direct microbiome changes together with the low level priming of the plant’s immune system may explain the previously observed resistance to pathogen assaults in field tomato plants sprayed with the same hydrated porous micron-scale particles.