Construction and validation of a fatty acid metabolism-related gene signature for predicting prognosis and therapeutic response in patients with prostate cancer.

Background: Reprogramming of fatty acid metabolism is a newly-identified hallmark of malignancy. However, no studies have systematically investigated the fatty acid metabolism related-gene set in prostate cancer (PCa). Methods: A cohort of 381 patients with gene expression and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas was used as the training set, while another cohort of 90 patients with PCa from GEO (GSE70769) was used as the validation set. Differentially expressed fatty acid metabolism-related genes were subjected to least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox regression to establish a fatty acid metabolism-related risk score. Associations between the risk score and clinical characteristics, immune cell infiltration, tumor mutation burden (TMB), tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score, and response to chemotherapy were analyzed. Finally, the expression level of genes included in the model was validated using real-time PCR. Results: A prognostic risk model based on five fatty acid metabolism related genes (ALDH1A1, CPT1B, CA2, CROT, and NUDT19) were constructed. Tumors with higher risk score were associated with larger tumor size, lymph node involvement, higher Gleason score, and poorer biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival. Furthermore, the high- and low-risk tumors exhibited distinct immune cell infiltration features and immune-related pathway activation. High-risk tumors were associated with favorable response to immunotherapy as indicated by high TMB and low TIDE score, but poor response to bicalutamide and docetaxel chemotherapy. Conclusion: This study established a fatty acid metabolism-related gene signature which was predictive of BCR and response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, providing a novel therapeutic biomarker for PCa.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Illeis bistigmosa (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Illeis bistigmosa (Mulsant, 1850) is a potential biological control agent of powdery mildews. We have determined the first mitochondrial genome of I. bistigmosa. The circular mitogenome of I. bistigmosa consists of 17,840 bp including 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2 rRNAs, and a control region (D-loop). The base composition was AT-biased (78.44%). Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees strongly supported the monophyly of Coccinellinae. Illeis bistigmosa is the sister group of Halyzia sedecimguttata and Halyziini species (unclassified Halyziini), within fungivorous coccinellids. Illeis bistigmosa mitochondrial genome will be a fundamental resource for understanding the molecular phylogenetic relationships of the species-rich family Coccinellidae of Coleoptera.

Molecular characterization of a novel potyvirus infecting noni.

The complete genomic sequence of a novel potyvirus from a noni plant in China (Morinda citrifolia) with foliar mosaic and chlorotic symptoms was determined. The genomic RNA consists of 9645 nucleotides (nt) excluding the poly(A) tail, containing the typical open reading frame (ORF) of potyviruses and encoding a large putative polyprotein of 3077 amino acids (aa). Pairwise comparisons showed that the virus shares 48.8%-58.5% sequence identity at the genome sequence level, and 38.5%-53.4% identity at the polyprotein sequence level with other members of the genus Potyvirus. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the virus is most closely related to jasmine virus T and plum pox virus in the genus Potyvirus. These results suggest that this virus should be considered a distinct member of the genus Potyvirus, and it was tentatively named "noni mosaic virus" (NoMV).

Unraveling the venom components of an encyrtid endoparasitoid wasp Diversinervus elegans.

The encyrtid parasitoid, Diversinervus elegans (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), is a natural enemy of the notorious scale pests belonging to the family of Coccidae. Venom containing a rich source of bioactive molecules is a key virulent factor used to regulate host physiology by parasitoids. Although knowledge regarding venom constituents accumulated from limited parasitoids has provided insights into their roles in host-parasitoid interaction, toxins involving in manipulating scale physiology remain sparsely documented. Here, a total number of 48 putative venom proteins were identified from D. elegans using an integrative transcriptomic and proteomic approach. The majority of them such as serine protease, esterase, and major royal jelly protein have been found in venom of other several parasitoid species. Several venom proteins including three novel proteins having unknown function were firstly revealed. Quantitative real time PCR analysis demonstrated that 16 venom genes displayed female-biased expression, which might be important for parasitism success. These data enrich our understanding of parasitoid venom evolution and diversity, and will undoubtedly help deciphering functional venom proteins as potential candidates for pest control.