Application of antimicrobial peptides in plant protection: making use of the overlooked merits.

Pathogen infection is one of the major causes of yield loss in the crop field. The rapid increase of antimicrobial resistance in plant pathogens has urged researchers to develop both new pesticides and management strategies for plant protection. The antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) showed potential on eliminating plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria. Here, we first summarize several overlooked advantages and merits of AMPs, which includes the steep dose-response relations, fast killing ability, broad synergism, slow resistance selection. We then discuss the possible application of AMPs for plant protection with above merits, and highlight how AMPs can be incorporated into a more efficient integrated management system that both increases the crop yield and reduce resistance evolution of pathogens.

Lactobacillus paracasei PS23 decelerated age-related muscle loss by ensuring mitochondrial function in SAMP8 mice.

Sarcopenia is a common impairment in the elderly population responsible for poor outcomes later in life; it can be caused by age-related alternations. Only a few strategies have been reported to reduce sarcopenia. Lactobacillus paracasei PS23 (LPPS23) has been reported to delay some age-related disorders. Therefore, here we investigated whether LPPS23 decelerates age-related muscle loss and its underlying mechanism. Female senescence-accelerated mouse prone-8 (SAMP8) mice were divided into three groups (n=6 each): non-aging (16-week-old), control (28-week-old), and PS23 (28-week-old) groups. The control and PS23 groups were given saline and LPPS23, respectively. We evaluated the effects of LPPS23 by analyzing body weight and composition, muscle strength, protein uptake, mitochondrial function, reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant enzymes, and inflammation-related cytokines. LPPS23 significantly attenuated age-related decreases of muscle mass and strength. Compared to the control group, the non-aging and PS23 groups exhibited higher mitochondrial function, IL10, antioxidant enzymes, and protein uptake. Moreover, inflammatory cytokines and ROS were lower in the non-aging and PS23 groups than the control group. Taken together, LPPS23 extenuated sarcopenia progression during aging; this effect might have been enacted by preserving the mitochondrial function via reducing age-related inflammation and ROS and by retaining protein uptake in the SAMP8 mice.