Lindegaardmcintyre5284
Downy mildew, powdery mildew, and grey mold are some of the phytopathological diseases causing economic losses in agricultural crops, including grapevine, worldwide. In the current scenario of increasing global warming, in which the massive use of agrochemicals should be limited, the management of fungal disease has become a challenge. The knowledge acquired on candidate resistant (R) genes having an active role in plant defense mechanisms has allowed numerous breeding programs to integrate these traits into selected cultivars, even though with some limits in the conservation of the proper qualitative characteristics of the original clones. Given their gene-specific mode of action, biotechnological techniques come to the aid of breeders, allowing them to generate simple and fast modifications in the host, without introducing other undesired genes. The availability of efficient gene transfer procedures in grapevine genotypes provide valid tools that support the application of new breeding techniques (NBTs). The expertise built up over the years has allowed the optimization of these techniques to overexpress genes that directly or indirectly limit fungal and oomycetes pathogens growth or silence plant susceptibility genes. Furthermore, the downregulation of pathogen genes which act as virulence effectors by exploiting the RNA interference mechanism, represents another biotechnological tool that increases plant defense. In this review, we summarize the most recent biotechnological strategies optimized and applied on Vitis species, aimed at reducing their susceptibility to the most harmful fungal and oomycetes diseases. The best strategy for combating pathogenic organisms is to exploit a holistic approach that fully integrates all these available tools.Stem mustard is a stem variety of mustard, an important Brassica vegetable. The formation and development of the tumorous stem, which is the key organ for the direct yield and quality, is a complex biological process involving morphogenesis, material accumulation and gene regulation. In this study, we demonstrated through anatomical studies that stem swelling is mainly dependent on the increase in the number of cells and the volume of parenchyma cells in the cortex and pith. To further understand transcript and metabolic changes during stem swelling, we obtained 27,901 differentially expressed genes, of which 671 were specifically detected using transcriptome sequencing technology in all four stages of stem swelling. Functional annotation identified enrichment for genes involved in photosynthesis, energy metabolism, cell growth, sulfur metabolism and glucosinolate biosynthesis. Glucosinolates are a group of nitrogen- and sulfur-containing secondary metabolites, which largely exist in the Cruciferous vegetables. HPLC analysis of the contents and components of glucosinolates in four different stem development stages revealed eight glucosinolates, namely, three aliphatic glucosinolates (sinigrin, glucoalyssin and gluconapin), four indole glucosinolates (4-hydroxyglucobrassicin, glucobrassicin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin and neoglucobrassicin) and one aromatic glucosinolate (gluconasturtiin). All these types of glucosinolates showed a significant downward trend during the stem swelling period. The content of aliphatic glucosinolates was the highest, with sinigrin being the main component. In addition, qPCR was used to validate the expression of nine genes involved in glucosinolate biosynthesis. Most of these genes were down-regulated during stem swelling in qPCR, which is consistent with transcriptome data. These data provide a basic resource for further molecular and genetic research on Brassica juncea.Type 1 diabetes mellitus is known to be linked to the impairment of blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity following neuronal cell death. Here, we investigated whether GS-KG9 and GS-E3D, bioactive ginseng extracts from Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer), inhibit BBB disruption following neuronal death in the hippocampus in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats showing type 1-like diabetes mellitus. GS-KG9 and GS-E3D (50, 150, or 300 mg/kg, twice a day for 4 weeks) administered orally showed antihyperglycemic activity in a dose-dependent manner and significantly attenuated the increase in BBB permeability and loss of tight junction proteins. click here GS-KG9 and GS-E3D also inhibited the expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and the infiltration of macrophages into the brain parenchyma, especially into the hippocampal region. In addition, microglia and astrocyte activation in the hippocampus and the expression of proinflammatory mediators such as tnf-α, Il-1β, IL-6, cox-2, and inos were markedly alleviated in GS-KG9 and GS-E3D-treated group. Furthermore, apoptotic cell death of hippocampal neurons, especially in CA1 region, was significantly reduced in GS-KG9 and GS-E3D-treated groups as compared to vehicle control. These results suggest that GS-KG9 and GS-E3D effectively prevent apoptotic cell death of hippocampal neurons by inhibiting BBB disruption and may be a potential therapy for the treatment of diabetic patients.Cisplatin, despite its anti-cancer ability, exhibits severe testicular toxicities when applied systemically. Due to its wide application in cancer treatment, reduction of its damages to normal tissue is an imminent clinical need. Here we evaluated the effects of honokiol, a natural lipophilic polyphenol compound, on cisplatin-induced testicular injury. We showed in-vitro and in-vivo that nanosome-encapsulated honokiol attenuated cisplatin-induced DNA oxidative stress by suppressing intracellular reactive oxygen species production and elevating gene expressions of mitochondrial antioxidation enzymes. Nanosome honokiol also mitigated endoplasmic reticulum stress through down regulation of Bip-ATF4-CHOP signaling pathway. Additionally, this natural polyphenol compound diminished cisplatin-induced DNA breaks and cellular apoptosis. The reduced type I collagen accumulation in the testis likely attributed from inhibition of TGFβ1, αSMA and ER protein TXNDC5 protein expression. The combinatorial beneficial effects better preserve spermatogenic layers and facilitate repopulation of sperm cells.