Gut microbiota diversity in a dung beetle (Catharsius molossus) across geographical variations and brood ball-mediated microbial transmission.

The dung beetle primarily feeds on the feces of herbivorous animals and play a crucial role in ecological processes like material cycles and soil improvement. This study aims to explore the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota of Catharsius molossus (a renowned dung beetle originating from China and introduced to multiple countries for its ecological value) and exploring whether these gut microbes are transmitted vertically across generations. Using 16S rRNA and ITS rRNA gene sequencing techniques, we described the diversity and composition of gut microbes in C. molossus from different localities and different developmental stages (Egg, young larvae and old larvae). We discovered that the diversity of gut microbiota of dung beetles varied obviously among different geographical localities and different developmental stages, and we also discussed the potential influencing factors. Interestingly, the microbial community structure within the brood balls is more similar to male dung beetle than to that of females, which is consistent with the observation that the brood ball is constructed by the male dung beetle, with the female laying egg in it at the final step. This unique breeding method facilitates offspring in inheriting microbial communities from both the mother and the father. Initially, the larvae's gut microbiota closely mirrors that of the parental gift in these brood balls. As larvae grow, significant changes occur in their gut microbiota, including an increase in symbiotic bacteria like Lactococcus and Enterococcus. Analysis of the gut bacteria of adult dung beetles across various localities and different developmental stages identified nine core genera in adults, contributing to 67.80% of the total microbial abundance, and 11 core genera in beetles at different developmental stages, accounting for 49.13% of the total. Notably, seven genera were common between these two core groups. Our results suggest that Parental gifts can play a role in the vertical transmission of microbes, and the abundance of probiotics increases with larval development, supporting the hypothesis that "larval feeding behavior occurs in two stages: larvae first feed on parental gifts to acquire necessary microbes, then enrich symbiotic microbiota through consuming their own feces."

Effect of moisture content on larval gut microbiome and the conversion of pig manure by black soldier fly.

The study investigated the influence of varied moisture levels in pig manure on the gut microbiome of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and their waste conversion efficiency. This encompassed alterations in nutrient components of both BSFL and pig manure, diversity and characterization of the BSFL gut microbiota, and the reciprocal effects between the BSFL gut microbiota and their growth performance and nutrient composition. Additionally, the investigation delved into the changes in the bacterial community and the presence of potential pathogenic bacteria in pig manure. An initial mixture of fresh pig manure and wheat bran was prepared with a 60 % moisture content (Group A). Distilled water was subsequently added to adjust the moisture levels, resulting in mixtures with 65 % (Group B), 70 % (Group C), and 75 % (Group D) moisture content. Each group underwent BSFL digestion over ten days. Groups C (3.87 ± 0.05 mg/worm) and D (3.97 ± 0.08 mg/worm) showed significantly higher bioconversion efficiencies and enhanced BSFL growth compared to Groups A (2.66 ± 0.21 mg/worm) and B (3.09 ± 0.09 mg/worm) (P < 0.05). A 75 % moisture level was identified as ideal, positively influencing fecal conversion efficiency (FCE) (9.57 ± 0.14 %), crude fat intake (8.92 ± 0.56 %), protein (46.60 ± 0.54 %), and total phosphorus (1.37 ± 0.08 %) from pig manure, and subsequent nutrient accumulation in BSFLs. A decline in larval crude ash content indicated higher organic matter and an increased pig manure conversion rate with elevated moisture. High-throughput sequencing and diversity analyses confirmed different moisture contents influenced the BSFL gut microbiota. Bacteroidetes (32.7-62.0 %), Proteobacteria (6.8-29.3 %), Firmicutes (5.8-23.4 %), and Actinobacteria (1.9-29.0 %) were predominant phyla. A 75 % moisture content significantly impacted the BSFL biomass conversion and growth performance. Additionally, Larval feces met non-hazardous fertilizer standards, according to NY-525 (2012).

Up-regulation of NMRK2 mediated by TFE3 fusions is the key for energy metabolism adaption of Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma.

Due to the inadequate awareness of Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma (Xp11.2 tRCC), its metabolic features have not been described. Here, by using nontargeted LC-MS-based metabolomics, we found that the chimeric TFE3 protein, the major oncogenic driver in Xp11.2 tRCC, regulated the metabolic pathways in Xp11.2 tRCC, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, purine metabolism, amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism and energy metabolism. Combined with our present metabolomic data and previous studies, it was found that Xp11.2 tRCC preferred mitochondrial respiration, which was obviously different from renal clear cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Furthermore, by using bioinformatics and data mining, NMRK2, an important target for energy metabolism adaptation of Xp11.2 tRCC, was identified. Additionally, we confirmed that chimeric TFE3 could transcriptionally activate the expression of NMRK2, but the NONO-TFE3 fusion, which lacks the activation domain encoded by exons 4-5 of the TFE3 gene, functioned as a transcription factor by recruiting TFEB. When NMRK2 was knocked down, the mitochondrial respiration of Xp11.2 tRCC, rather than glycolysis, was significantly weakened. Therefore, the present study revealed the mechanism of the energy metabolism adaptation by which the TFE3 fusion promotes mitochondrial respiration by upregulating NMRK2 in Xp11.2 tRCC.

Q61 mutant-mediated dynamics changes of the GTP-KRAS complex probed by Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics and free energy landscapes.

Understanding the molecular mechanism of the GTP-KRAS binding is significant for improving the target roles of KRAS in cancer treatment. In this work, multiple replica Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics (MR-GaMD) simulations were applied to decode the effect of Q61A, Q61H and Q61L on the activity of KRAS. Dynamics analyses based on MR-GaMD trajectory reveal that motion modes and dynamics behavior of the switch domain in KRAS are heavily affected by the three Q61 mutants. Information of free energy landscapes (FELs) shows that Q61A, Q61H and Q61L induce structural disorder of the switch domain and disturb the activity of KRAS. Analysis of the interaction network uncovers that the decrease in the stability of hydrogen bonding interactions (HBIs) of GTP with residues V29 and D30 induced by Q61A, Q61H and Q61L is responsible for the structural disorder of the switch-I and that in the occupancy of the hydrogen bond between GTP and residue G60 leads to the structural disorder of the switch-II. Thus, the high disorder of the switch domain caused by three current Q61 mutants produces a significant effect on binding of KRAS to its effectors. This work is expected to provide useful information for further understanding function and target roles of KRAS in anti-cancer drug development.

Fast control parameterization optimal control with improved Polak-Ribière-Polyak conjugate gradient implementation for industrial dynamic processes.

This paper proposes a fast control parameterization optimal control algorithm for industrial dynamic process with constraints. Derived from the frame of control variable parameterization (CVP) technique, the proposed method combines an efficient gradient computation strategy with an improved nonlinear optimization computation approach to overcome the challenge of computation efficiency caused by gradients and bounds in optimal control problems. Firstly, a fast gradient computation method based on the costate system of Hamiltonian function is developed to decrease the computational expense of gradients by employing approximate treatments and numerical integration strategy. Then, a trigonometric function transformation scheme is presented to tackle the boundary constraints so that the original optimal control problem is further converted into an unconstrained one. On this basis, an improved restricted Polak-Ribière-Polyak (PRP) conjugate gradient approach is introduced to solve the nonlinear optimization problem by using conjugate gradient iterations and strong Wolfe line search. Meanwhile, to enhance the convergence, a restricting condition is imposed in strong Wolfe line search to create iteration step-length. Finally, the proposed algorithm is implemented on three dynamic processes. The detailed comparison among the classical CVP method, literature results and the proposed method are carried out. Simulation studies show that the proposed fast approach averagely saves more than 90% computation time in contrast to the classical CVP method, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed fast optimal control approach.

Overexpression of OsPIL1 enhanced biomass yield and saccharification efficiency in switchgrass.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a herbaceous cellulosic biofuel plant with broad adaptability. However, the intrinsic recalcitrance of biomass and limited land for switchgrass planting hinder its utilization as feedstock for biofuel ethanol production. The OsPIL1 (PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 3-LIKE 1) gene encodes a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor. Its expression is induced by light, which facilitated the expression of cell wall-related genes, promoted cell elongation and resulted in longer internode in rice. Here, we introduced the OsPIL1 gene into switchgrass by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with the aim of improving biomass yield of transgenic switchgrass plants. The transgenic plants were verified by PCR, Southern-blotting, RT-PCR and qRT-PCR tests, respectively. The transgenic plants overexpression of OsPIL1 showed increased plant height and biomass yield. Microscopy analysis showed that the length of epidermal cells of transgenic plants was longer than that of wild type. OsPIL1 overexpressed transgenic switchgrass plants also released more soluble sugar after enzymatic hydrolysis, indicating improved saccharification efficiency. The results suggest OsPIL1 can be used as a useful molecular tool in improving plant biomass and saccharification efficiency with the purpose of plant fiber biofuel ethanol production.