Transfection of entomopathogenic Metarhizium species with a mycovirus confers hypervirulence against two lepidopteran pests.

Although most known viruses infecting fungi pathogenic to higher eukaryotes are asymptomatic or reduce the virulence of their host fungi, those that confer hypervirulence to entomopathogenic fungus still need to be explored. Here, we identified and studied a novel mycovirus in Metarhizium flavoviride, isolated from small brown planthopper (Laodelphax striatellus). Based on molecular analysis, we tentatively designated the mycovirus as Metarhizium flavoviride partitivirus 1 (MfPV1), a species in genus Gammapartitivirus, family Partitiviridae. MfPV1 has two double-stranded RNAs as its genome, 1,775 and 1,575 bp in size respectively, encapsidated in isometric particles. When we transfected commercial strains of Metarhizium anisopliae and Metarhizium pingshaense with MfPV1, conidiation was significantly enhanced (t test; P-value < 0. 01), and the significantly higher mortality rates of the larvae of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), two important lepidopteran pests were found in virus-transfected strains (ANOVA; P-value < 0.05). Transcriptomic analysis showed that transcript levels of pathogenesis-related genes in MfPV1-infected M. anisopliae were obviously altered, suggesting increased production of metarhizium adhesin-like protein, hydrolyzed protein, and destruxin synthetase. Further studies are required to elucidate the mechanism whereby MfPV1 enhances the expression of pathogenesis-related genes and virulence of Metarhizium to lepidopteran pests. This study presents experimental evidence that the transfection of other entomopathogenic fungal species with a mycovirus can confer significant hypervirulence and provides a good example that mycoviruses could be used as a synergistic agent to enhance the biocontrol activity of entomopathogenic fungi.

First language translation involvement in second language word processing.

Studies on bilingual word processing have demonstrated that the two languages in a mental lexicon can be parallelly activated. However, it is under discussion whether the activated, non-target language gets involved in the target language. The present study aimed to investigate the role of the first language (L1, the non-target one) translation in the second language (L2, the target one) word processing. The tasks of semantic relatedness judgment and lexical decision were both adopted, to explore the relation of the possible L1 involvement and the task demand. Besides, bilinguals with relatively higher and lower L2 proficiency were recruited, to clarify the potential influence of L2 proficiency. Results showed that the manipulation of L1 translation exerted an influence on bilinguals' task performances, indicating that L1 translation was involved, but did not just serve as a by-product when bilinguals were processing L2 words. And about the influence of L2 proficiency, the higher proficiency bilinguals performed better than the lower proficiency ones when the L1 translations could be taken advantage of, indicating a better access to L1 translation in L2 word processing, as bilinguals' L2 proficiency increased. As for the task demands, the L1 translation was partially involved in Experiment 1 while a full involvement was observed in Experiment 2, suggesting a differed depth of L1 translation involvement, if the task demands allowed. The present study supplemented the previous ones due to its participants (the intermediate bilinguals) and tasks (the tasks of semantic relatedness judgment and lexical decision); besides, it provided an interesting view into interpreting the "task schema" of the BIA+ model.

Molecular Characteristics and Incidence of Apple Rubbery Wood Virus 2 and Citrus Virus A Infecting Pear Trees in China.

Apple rubbery wood virus 2 (ARWV-2) and citrus virus A (CiVA) belong to a recently approved family Phenuiviridae in the order Bunyavirales and possess negative-sense single-stranded RNA genomes. In this study, the genome sequence of three ARWV-2 isolates (S17E2, LYC2, and LYXS) and a CiVA isolate (CiVA-P) infecting pear trees grown in China were characterized using high-throughput sequencing combined with conventional reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assays. The genome-wide nt sequence identities were above 93.6% among the ARWV-2 isolates and above 93% among CiVA isolates. Sequence comparisons showed that sequence diversity occurred in the 5' untranslated region of the ARWV-2 genome and the intergenic region of the CiVA genome. For the first time, this study revealed that ARWV-2 proteins Ma and Mb displayed a plasmodesma subcellular localization, and the MP of CiVA locates in cell periphery and can interact with the viral NP in bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. RT-PCR tests disclosed that ARWV-2 widely occurs, while CiVA has a low incidence in pear trees grown in China. This study presents the first complete genome sequences and incidences of ARWV-2 and CiVA from pear trees and the obtained results extend our knowledge of the viral pathogens of pear grown in China.

Molecular Characteristics of Jujube Yellow Mottle-Associated Virus Infecting Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Grown at Aksu in Xinjiang of China.

Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) is a native fruit crop in China. Leaf mottle and dapple fruit disease is prevalent in cultivated jujube plants grown at Aksu in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Jujube yellow mottle-associated virus (JYMaV), a tentative member in the genus Emaravirus, was recently identified from mottle-diseased jujube plants grown in Liaoning Province in China, but its incidence and genetic diversity in China is unknown. In this study, the genome sequences of three JYMaV isolates from two jujube cultivars and one jujube variant were determined by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) for small RNA and rRNA-depleted RNA coupled with RT-PCR assays. Comparison of these sequences together with sequences of the viral RNA segments derived by primer set 3C/5H-based RT-PCR revealed that genetic diversity was present in the virus populations and high sequence variation occurred at the non-translational regions of each of the viral genomic segments. Field investigation confirmed the close association of the virus with leaf mottle symptoms of jujube plants. Furthermore, this study revealed that P5 encoded in the viral RNA5 displayed a nuclear localization feature differing from the plasmodesma (PD) subcellular localization of the virus movement protein (P4), and the two proteins could interact with each other in the BiFC assays. Our study provides a snapshot of JYMaV genetic diversity in its natural hosts.

One-Year Effectiveness Study of Intravitreously Administered Conbercept® Monotherapy in Diabetic Macular Degeneration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The evidence on efficacy of intravitreously administered Conbercept (IVC) monotherapy for diabetic macular degeneration was still limited. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted in November 2019 to summarize the current evidence on visual acuity (VA) changes with IVC monotherapy in the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) from Pubmed, ClinicalTrials.gov, EMbase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chin VIP Information (VIP), and Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM). Retrospective or prospective clinical studies which used IVC injection for the treatment of DME were included. Outcomes included in the analysis were change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central macular thickness (CMT). A meta-regression was conducted to assess 1-year BCVA and CMT changes against numbers of injections. RESULTS: A total of 20 studies were included in current study. At 12-month follow-up, an overall increase of 0.67 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) BCVA score [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24-1.11; P = 0.003] and 1.03 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters (95% CI 0.69-1.38; P < 0.001) was shown with IVC injection compared to baseline. Decrease in CMT was 142.79 µm (95% CI 112.71-172.87; P < 0.001) compared to baseline. The meta-regression showed a significant increase in effect size between number of injections and 12-month logMAR BCVA scale change as well as CMT. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest improved VA and CMT outcomes during 1-year follow-up in patients with DME who underwent IVC monotherapy. Increased injection frequency demonstrates a significant trend with improved outcomes at 12 months.