The EMT-induced lncRNA NR2F1-AS1 positively modulates NR2F1 expression and drives gastric cancer via miR-29a-3p/VAMP7 axis.

Deregulated lncRNAs play critical roles in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. NR2F1-AS1 is an antisense lncRNA of NR2F1. However, the biological function of NR2F1-AS1 in gastric cancer (GC) remains largely unclear. In this study, we revealed that NR2F1-AS1 and NR2F1 were both positively correlated with the degree of malignancy and predicted poor prognosis in two independent GC cohorts. Besides, NR2F1-AS1 and NR2F1 can respond to Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signaling in GC, since their expression was increased by TGF-beta treatment and decreased after stable overexpression of OVOL2 in GC cell lines. NR2F1-AS1 and NR2F1 were highly co-expressed in pan-tissues and pan-cancers. Depletion of NR2F1-AS1 compromised the expression level of NR2F1 in GC cells. Furthermore, NR2F1-AS1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and G1/S transition of GC cells. More importantly, transcriptome sequencing revealed a novel ceRNA network composed of NR2F1-AS1, miR-29a-3p, and VAMP7 in GC. The overexpression of VAMP7 predicted poor prognosis in GC. Rescue assay confirmed that NR2F1-AS1 promotes GC progression through miR-29a-3p/VAMP7 axis. Our finding highlights that the aberrant expression of NR2F1-AS1 is probably due to the abnormal EMT signaling in GC. LncRNA NR2F1-AS1 plays crucial roles in GC progression by modulating miR-29a-3p/VAMP7 axis, suggesting that NR2F1-AS1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target in GC.

Bioassay-Guided Isolation of Broad-Spectrum Fungicidal Active Compound from Artemisia ordosica.

To avoid the widespread resistance of commercial fungicides, new broad-spectrum botanical fungicides need to be developed. In previous bioactive screening assays, extracts of Artemisia ordosica Krasch. (A. ordosica) had highly antifungal activities, but the responsible phytochemicals were unidentified. In this study, active compounds of A. ordosica extracts were identified using a bioassay-guided method, and antifungal assays were performed in vitro and in vivo. The bioactive compounds were dissolved in petroleum ether, and the best antifungal fraction contained four compounds: trans-dehydromatricaria ester (TDDE), 7, 4-demetylnringenin, capillarin, and stearic acid. Among them, TDDE exhibited the highest antifungal activity against six pathogenic fungi and five bacteria. It exhibited significant fungicidal activity against Thanatephorus cucumeris and Botrytis cinerea with EC50 values of 0.464 µg/mL and 1.4 µg/mL, respectively. The living tissue bioassay results showed that the relative protection effects (RPE) of TDDE on tomato leaves, tomato fruit, and strawberry leaves infected with B. cinerea reached 76.78%, 86.2%, and 80.89%, respectively. In pot experiments, the RPE on tomato and strawberry plants infected with B. cinerea reached 84.11% and 96.37%, respectively. Morphological and physiological examination showed that TDDE had significant inhibitory effects on mycelial growth, including increased top offshoot, contorted hyphal tips, and extravasated cytochylema. Meanwhile, bactericidal activities of TDDE were significantly higher than kanamycin and streptomycin in five bacteria, and the plant tissue experiments further demonstrated that it had an 88.31% RPE on walnut leaves infected with Xanthomonas campestris pv. jugiandis, 72.18% RPE on potato infected with Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, and 82.50% RPE on kiwifruit branches infected with Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae. The active compounds isolated from A. ordosica in this study show great potential value for developing broad-spectrum fungicides, and also provide an important way to identify and isolate new bioactive products from medicinal plants.

Long non-coding RNAs of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) in multiple dehydration stresses.

BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in plant growth and stress responses. Studies of lncRNAs in non-model plants are quite limited, especially those investigating multiple dehydration stresses. In this study, we identified novel lncRNAs and analyzed their functions in dehydration stress memory in switchgrass, an excellent biofuel feedstock and soil-conserving plant in the Gramineae family. RESULTS: We analyzed genome-wide transcriptional profiles of leaves of 5-week-old switchgrass plantlets grown via tissue culture after primary and secondary dehydration stresses (D1 and D2) and identified 16,551 novel lncRNAs, including 4554 annotated lncRNAs (targeting 3574 genes), and 11,997 unknown lncRNAs. Gene ontology and pathway enrichment analysis of annotated genes showed that the differentially expressed lncRNAs were related to abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene (ETH) biosynthesis and signal transduction, and to starch and sucrose metabolism. The upregulated lncRNAs and genes were related to ABA synthesis and its signal transduction, and to trehalose synthesis. Meanwhile, lncRNAs and genes related to ETH biosynthesis and signal transduction were suppressed. LncRNAs and genes involved in ABA metabolism were verified using quantitative real-time PCR, and the endogenous ABA content was determined via high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). These results showed that ABA accumulated significantly during dehydration stress, especially in D2. Furthermore, we identified 307 dehydration stress memory lncRNAs, and the ratios of different memory types in switchgrass were similar to those in Arabidopsis and maize. CONCLUSIONS: The molecular responses of switchgrass lncRNAs to multiple dehydration stresses were researched systematically, revealing novel information about their transcriptional regulatory behavior. This study provides new insights into the response mechanism to dehydration stress in plants. The lncRNAs and pathways identified in this study provide valuable information for genetic modification of switchgrass and other crops.

Transcriptional and physiological data reveal the dehydration memory behavior in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.).

BACKGROUND: Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a model biofuel plant because of its high biomass, cellulose-richness, easy degradation to ethanol, and the availability of extensive genomic information. However, a little is currently known about the molecular responses of switchgrass plants to dehydration stress, especially multiple dehydration stresses. RESULTS: Studies on the transcriptional profiles of 35-day-old tissue culture plants revealed 741 dehydration memory genes. Gene Ontology and pathway analysis showed that these genes were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, starch and sucrose metabolism, and plant hormone signal transduction. Further analysis of specific pathways combined with physiological data suggested that switchgrass improved its dehydration resistance by changing various aspects of its responses to secondary dehydration stress (D2), including the regulation of abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signal transduction, the biosynthesis of osmolytes (l-proline, stachyose and trehalose), energy metabolism (i.e., metabolic process relating to photosynthetic systems, glycolysis, and the TCA cycle), and lignin biosynthesis. The transcriptional data and chemical substance assays showed that ABA was significantly accumulated during both primary (D1) and secondary (D2) dehydration stresses, whereas JA accumulated during D1 but became significantly less abundant during D2. This suggests the existence of a complicated signaling network of plant hormones in response to repeated dehydration stresses. A homology analysis focusing on switchgrass, maize, and Arabidopsis revealed the conservation and species-specific distribution of dehydration memory genes. CONCLUSIONS: The molecular responses of switchgrass plants to successive dehydration stresses have been systematically characterized, revealing a previously unknown transcriptional memory behavior. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms of dehydration stress responses in plants. The genes and pathways identified in this study will be useful for the genetic improvement of switchgrass and other crops.