Rice is a crucial crop for many people worldwide, especially in regions like Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. Thailand is one of the largest exporters of rice. Nowadays, farmers use chemicals to control rice disease, which can have negative effects on humans and the environment. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the plant-promoting capabilities of the endophytic fungal strains DMKU-R3G3 in greenhouse settings. The endophytic fungi strain DMKU-R3G3, which was isolated from organic rice root, was identified as Aspergillus cejpii based on morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis. The production of IAA was detected using Salkowski’s reagent. After 7 days of incubation, the finding revealed that the strain cultivated in PDB supplemented with tryptophan yielded a greater concentration of IAA (25.45 μg/mL). The inoculation with A. cejpii DMKU-R3G3 significantly enhanced rice growth, as evidenced by notable increases in shoot height, root length, and fresh weight. Moreover, the chlorophyll content of the rice plants also increased by 1.78 times more than the control group. In addition, proteomic analysis revealed that rice responded toward the colonization of endophytic fungi by producing auxin-responsive proteins to regulate the IAA content in plant tissue and inducing total chlorophyll production due to the up-regulation of proteins in the chlorophyll biosynthesis pathway. The results obtained from this study lead to the conclusion that the A. cejpii strain DMKU-R3G3 possesses the capability to enhance plant growth through the production of phytohormones in greenhouse conditions. Therefore, endophytic A. cejpii DMKU-R3G3 has the potential to be a promising eco-friendly plant growth promoter for sustainable rice cultivation.

Rabies is a deadly viral disease caused by the rabies virus (RABV), transmitted through a bite of an infected host, resulting in irreversible neurological symptoms and a 100% fatality rate in humans. Despite many aspects describing rabies neuropathogenesis, numerous hypotheses remain unanswered and concealed. Observations obtained from infected primary neurons or mouse brain samples are more relevant to human clinical rabies than permissive cell lines; however, limitations regarding the ethical issue and sample accessibility become a hurdle for discovering new insights into virus–host interplays. To better understand RABV pathogenesis in humans, we generated human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons to offer the opportunity for an inimitable study of RABV infection at a molecular level in a pathologically relevant cell type. This study describes the characteristics and detailed proteomic changes of hiPSC-derived neurons in response to RABV infection using LC-MS/MS quantitative analysis. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) reveals temporal changes of proteins related to metabolic process, immune response, neurotransmitter transport/synaptic vesicle cycle, cytoskeleton organization, and cell stress response, demonstrating fundamental underlying mechanisms of neuropathogenesis in a time-course dependence. Lastly, we highlighted plausible functions of heat shock cognate protein 70 (HSC70 or HSPA8) that might play a pivotal role in regulating RABV replication and pathogenesis. Our findings acquired from this hiPSC-derived neuron platform help to define novel cellular mechanisms during RABV infection, which could be applicable to further studies to widen views of RABV-host interaction.

Ascorbic acid (AsA) or Vitamin C is an antioxidant molecule and plays an important role in many biological processes in plants. GDP-D-mannose pyrophosphorylase (GMP or VTC1) catalyzes the synthesis of GDP-D-mannose, which is a precursor for AsA production and is used for cell wall polysaccharide and glycoprotein synthesis. In rice, the OsVTC1 gene consists of three homologs, including OsVTC1-1, OsVTC1-3 and OsVTC1-8. In this study, we characterized wild type (WT) and OsVTC1-1 RNAi lines (RI1-2 and RI1-3) and showed that the transcript levels of most genes in the AsA synthesis pathway, AsA content and leaf anatomical parameters in RNAi lines were reduced, revealing that OsVTC1-1 is involved in AsA synthesis. To further study the role of OsVTC1-1 gene, cell wall monosaccharide composition, transcriptome and proteome were compared, with specific attention paid to their wild type and OsVTC1-1 RNAi lines. Mannose and galactose composition (mole%) were decreased in OsVTC1-1 RNAi lines. Additionally, reduction of cell wall-associated proteins, such as kinesin, expansin, beta-galactosidase and cellulose synthase were observed in OsVTC1-1 RNAi lines. Our results suggest that OsVTC1-1 gene plays an important role in AsA synthesis and in cell wall-related processes.

Photosynthetic organisms, such as higher plants and algae, require light to survive. However, an excessive amount of light can be harmful due to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which cause cell damage and, if it is not effectively regulated, cell death. The study of plants’ responses to light can aid in the development of methods to improve plants’ growth and productivity. Due to the multicellular nature of plants, there may be variations in the results based on plant age and tissue type. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular green alga, has also been used as a model organism to study photosynthesis and photoprotection. Nonetheless, the majority of the research has been conducted with strains that have been consistently utilized in laboratories and originated from the same source. Despite the availability of many field isolates of this species, very few studies have compared the light responses of field isolates. This study examined the responses of two field isolates of Chlamydomonas to high light stress. The light-tolerant strain, CC-4414, managed reactive oxygen species (ROS) slightly better than the sensitive strain, CC-2344, did. The proteomic data of cells subjected to high light revealed cellular modifications of the light-tolerant strain toward membrane proteins. The morphology of cells under light stress revealed that this strain utilized the formation of palmelloid structures and cell aggregation to shield cells from excessive light. As indicated by proteome data, morphological modifications occur simultaneously with the increase in protein degradation and autophagy. By protecting cells from stress, cells are able to continue to upregulate ROS management mechanisms and prevent cell death. This is the first report of palmelloid formation in Chlamydomonas under high light stress.

Background: Various types of oral tumors, either benign or malignant, are commonly found in dogs. Since saliva directly contacts the tumors and saliva collection is non-invasive, easily accessible and cost effective, salivary biomarkers are practical to be used for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of these diseases. However, there is limited knowledge of protein expression in saliva for canine oral tumors. The present study aimed to investigate novel biomarkers from the salivary proteome of dogs with early- and late-stage oral melanoma (EOM and LOM, respectively), oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), benign oral tumors (BN), and periodontitis and healthy controls (CP), using an in-gel digestion coupled with mass spectrometry (GeLC-MS/MS). The relationships between protein candidates and chemotherapy drugs were explored and the expression of potential biomarkers in saliva and tissues was verified by western blot analysis. Results: For saliva samples, increased expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 5 (PTPN5) was shown in all tumor groups compared with the CP group. Marked expression of PTPN5 was also observed in LOM and OSCC compared with that in BN and EOM. In addition, tumor protein p53 (p53), which appeared in the PTPN5–drug interactions, was exhibited to be expressed in all tumor groups compared with that in the CP group. For tissue samples, increased expression of p53 was shown in LOM compared with the control group. Conclusion: PTPN5 and p53 were proposed to be potential salivary biomarkers of canine oral tumors.

Sugarcane white leaf disease (SCWLD) is caused by phytoplasma, a serious sugarcane phytoplasma pathogen, which causes significant decreases in crop yield and sugar quality. The identification of proteins involved in the defense mechanism against SCWLD phytoplasma may help towards the development of varieties resistant to SCWLD. We investigated the proteomes of four sugarcane varieties with different levels of susceptibility to SCWLD phytoplasma infection, namely K88-92 and K95-84 (high), KK3 (moderate), and UT1 (low) by quantitative label-free nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nano LC-MS/MS). A total of 248 proteins were identified and compared among the four sugarcane varieties. Two potential candidate protein biomarkers for reduced susceptibility to SCWLD phytoplasma were identified as proteins detected only in UT1. The functions of these proteins are associated with protein folding, metal ion binding, and oxidoreductase. The candidate biomarkers could be useful for further study of the sugarcane defense mechanism against SCWLD phytoplasma, and in molecular and conventional breeding strategies for variety improvement.