Engineered probiotics introduced to improve intestinal microecology for the treatment of chronic diseases: present state and perspectives.

Purpose: Correcting intestinal microecological imbalance has become one of the core strategies to treat chronic diseases. Some traditional microecology-based therapies targeting intestine, such as prebiotic therapy, probiotic therapy and fecal microbiota transplantation therapy, have been used in the prevention and treatment of clinical chronic diseases, which still facing low safety and poor controllability problems. The development of synthetic biology technology has promoted the development of intestinal microecology-based therapeutics for chronic diseases, which exhibiting higher robustness and controllability, and become an important part of the next generation of microecological therapy. The purpose of this review is to summarize the application of synthetic biology in intestinal microecology-based therapeutics for chronic diseases. Methods: The available literatures were searched to find out experimental studies and relevant review articles on the application of synthetic biology in intestinal microecology-based therapeutics for chronic diseases from year 1990 to 2023. Results: Evidence proposed that synthetic biology has been applied in the intestinal microecology-based therapeutics for chronic diseases, covering metabolic diseases (e.g. diabetes, obesity, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and phenylketonuria), digestive diseases (e.g. inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer), and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease). Conclusion: This review summarizes the application of synthetic biology in intestinal microecology-based therapeutics for major chronic diseases and discusses the opportunities and challenges in the above process, providing clinical possibilities of synthetic biology technology applied in microecological therapies.

Whole-genome resequencing of Xishuangbanna fighting chicken to identify signatures of selection.

BACKGROUND: Selective breeding for genetic improvement is expected to leave distinctive selection signatures within genomes. The identification of selection signatures can help to elucidate the mechanisms of selection and accelerate genetic improvement. Fighting chickens have undergone extensive artificial selection, resulting in modifications to their morphology, physiology and behavior compared to wild species. Comparing the genomes of fighting chickens and wild species offers a unique opportunity for identifying signatures of artificial selection. RESULTS: We identified selection signals in 100-kb windows sliding in 10-kb steps by using two approaches: the pooled heterozygosity [Formula: see text] and the fixation index [Formula: see text] between Xishuangbanna fighting chicken (YNLC) and Red Jungle Fowl. A total of 413 candidate genes were found to be putatively under selection in YNLC. These genes were related to traits such as growth, disease resistance, aggressive behavior and energy metabolism, as well as the morphogenesis and homeostasis of many tissues and organs. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals mechanisms and targets of artificial selection, which will contribute to improve our knowledge about the evolution of fighting chickens and facilitate future quantitative trait loci mapping.

Effects of Caponization on Expression of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-I and Gonadotropin Subunits Genes in Roosters.

We evaluated the effects of caponization on mRNA levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone-I (GnRH-I), gonadotropin subunit and other hypothalamic and hypophyseal peptide genes in male chicken. Thirty roosters (25 d) with similar weight were equally divided into the experimental (capons) and control (sham-operated males) groups randomly. Caponization was performed at 28 days of age and birds were slaughtered at 140 days of age. Caponization resulted in increasing levels of luteinizing hormone ß (LHß) and follicle-stimulating hormone ß (FSHß) mRNA in the pituitary gland and levels of LH and FSH in serum (P<0.05 or P<0.01). There were no significant differences in levels of GnRH-I, Gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor (GnRHR), neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA between the two groups. Capons exhibited lower levels of follistatin (FS), estrogen receptor α (ERα) and higher levels of androgen receptor (AR) mRNA in the pituitary gland compared with sham-operated males (P<0.05). These results suggest that increased LH and FSH concentrations in serum and LHß and FSHß mRNA levels in pituitary after castration are not depended on GnRH synthesis. And changed expression of ERα, AR and FS genes in the pituitary gland may be important components of regulating gonadotropin in capons.