The G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor, Gpbar1 or TGR5, is characterized as a membrane receptor specifically activated by bile acids. A series of evidence shows that TGR5 induces protein kinase B (AKT), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), Ras homolog family member A (RhoA), exchange protein activated by cAMP (Epac), and transient receptor potential ankyrin subtype 1 protein (TRPA1) signaling pathways, thereby regulating proliferation, inflammation, adhesion, migration, insulin release, muscle relaxation, and cancer development. TGR5 is widely distributed in the brain, lung, heart, liver, spleen, pancreas, kidney, stomach, jejunum, ileum, colon, brown adipose tissue (BAT), white adipose tissue (WAT), and skeletal muscle. Several recent studies have demonstrated that TGR5 exerts inconsistent effects in different cancer cells upon activating via TGR5 agonists, such as INT-777, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), and taurolithocholic acid (TLCA). In this review, we discuss both the ‘friend’ and ‘foe’ features of TGR5 by summarizing its tumor-suppressing and oncogenic functions and mechanisms.

Introduction: Goji berry (Lycium barbarum L.) is a famous edible and medicinal herb worldwide with considerable consumption. The recent cultivation of goji berries in the Daodi region was seriously reduced due to increased production costs and the influence of policy on preventing nongrain use of arable land in China. Consequently, production of Daodi goji berry was insufficient to meet market demands for high-quality medicinal materials. Searching for regions similar to the Daodi region was necessary.Methods: The MaxEnt model was used to predicted the current and future potential regions suitable for goji berry in China based on the environmental characteristics of the Daodi region (including Zhongning County of Zhongwei prefecture-level city, and its surroundings), and the ArcGIS software was used to analyze the changes in its suitable region.Results: The results showed that when the parameters were FC = LQHP and RM = 2.1, the MaxEnt model was optimal, and the AUC and TSS values were greater than 0.90. The mean temperature and precipitation of the coldest quarter were the most critical variables shaping the distribution of Daodi goji berries. Under current climate conditions, the suitable habitats of the Daodi goji berry were 45,973.88 km², accounting for 0.48% of China’s land area, which were concentrated in the central and western Ningxia Province (22,589.42 km²), and the central region of Gansu Province (18,787.07 km²) bordering western Ningxia. Under future climate scenarios, the suitable area was higher than that under current climate conditions and reached the maximum under RCP 6.0 (91,256.42 km²) in the 2050s and RCP 8.5 (82,459.17 km²) in the 2070s. The expansion regions were mainly distributed in the northeast of the current suitable ranges, and the distributional centroids were mainly shifted to the northeast. The moderately and highly suitable overlapping habitats were mainly distributed in Baiyin (7,241.75 km²), Zhongwei (6,757.81 km²), and Wuzhong (5, 236.87 km²) prefecture-level cities.Discussion: In this stduy, MaxEnt and ArcGIS were applied to predict and analyze the suitable habitats of Daodi goji berry in China under climate change. Our results indicate that climate warming is conducive to cultivating Daodi goji berry and will not cause a shift in the Daodi region. The goji berry produced in Baiyin could be used to satisfy the demand for high-quality medicinal materials. This study addresses the insufficient supply and guides the cultivation of Daodi goji berry.

Climate warming affects the growth and development of pests, resulting in changes in their geographical distribution, which increases the difficulty in terms of prevention and control. The fruit fly, Neoceratitis asiatica (Becker), is a predominant frugivorous pest that causes serious yield loss in the goji berry, Lycium barbarum L. In recent years, with the expansion of cultivation area, the damage induced by the pest has become increasingly severe, significantly impeding the production of the goji berry. In this study, the potential suitable habitats of N. asiatica under current and future climate scenarios were simulated and predicted using the optimal MaxEnt model, based on the screening distribution records and environmental factors. The changes in the pest distribution under climate change were determined using ArcGIS. The results showed that the best combination of parameters for MaxEnt were feature combination (FC) = LQPT and regularization multiplier (RM) = 1. The dominant environmental factors influencing pest distribution were mean temperature of driest quarter, mean temperature of coldest quarter and precipitation of coldest quarter. Under different climate conditions, the suitable habitats of the pest primarily ranged between 27°–47° N and 73°–115° E. Under current climate conditions, the area of moderately and highly suitable habitats was 42.18 × 10⁴ km², and mainly distributed in Inner Mongolia (13.68 × 10⁴ km²), Gansu (9.40 × 10⁴ km²), Ningxia (5.07 × 10⁴ km²), Qinghai (4.10 × 10⁴ km²), and Xinjiang (3.97 × 10⁴ km²) Provinces. Under future climate scenarios, the suitable area was projected to be lower than the current ones, except SSP245–2050s and SSP370–2070s, and the centroids of suitable habitats were mainly shifted to the northeast, except SSP370–2050s and SSP585–2070s. Our results provide valuable guidance for the monitoring and management of N. asiatica, as well as the selection of pest-free goji berry cultivation sites.

The aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, and the leaf beetle, Lema decempunctata Gebler, are two catastrophic pests affecting the production of the organic goji berry, Lycium barbarum L. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the defense responses of goji berry induced by aphid infestations can facilitate the growth and development of beetles. However, the reciprocal effects of these two insect infestations on aphids remained unclear. In this study, the impacts of these two pest infestations on the development, survival, and reproduction of aphids were examined. Additionally, the levels of plant defense-related hormones, salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA), were measured. Subsequently, host plants were treated with two hormone analogues, 2, 1, 3-benzothiadiazole (BTH) and methyl jasmonate (Me-JA), to identify their effects on aphid development, survival, and reproduction. The results showed that the total developmental duration was accelerated by 33.60%, and the total reproduction of aphids was increased by 82.98% compared to the control after aphid infestation, without influencing survival. In contrast, the beetle infestation did not significantly influence any aspect of the aphid population. The content of SA in plants after the aphid infestation and JA after the beetle infestation increased 19.42 times and 400.50 times, respectively, compared with the control. The total developmental duration of aphids treated with BTH was reduced by 13.44%, while their reproduction increased by 60.52% compared with the control. The total developmental duration of aphids treated with Me-JA was prolonged by 23.51% compared to the control, while survival rates and reproduction were unchanged. Our research elucidates the intricate interspecific relationship between A. gossypii and L. decempunctata, providing valuable insights into the complex interspecific relationship between the two pests and informing effective strategies for their scientific prevention and control.

Lycium barbarum is a plant of considerable economic importance in China. However, root rot poses a significant threat to its yield and quality, leading to substantial economic losses. The disparities in rhizosphere soil fungal communities between healthy and root-rot-affected L. barbarum have not been thoroughly explored. Delving into the dynamics between these fungal communities and the onset of root rot may provide pivotal insights for the biological control of this disease in L. barbarum, as well as aid in identifying fungi associated with the condition. In this study, we utilized rhizosphere soil samples from Ningqi No. 1, a distinguished cultivar of L. barbarum, as our experimental material. We assessed the composition and diversity of fungal communities in both diseased (D) and healthy (H) samples using Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology. The study’s findings revealed that the mean concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and soil organic matter (SOM) were significantly higher in the healthy specimens when contrasted with the diseased ones, while the pH levels were notably increased in the latter group. Additionally, the alpha-diversity of fungal communities was observed to be greater within the healthy samples as opposed to the diseased samples. Marked distinctions in fungal diversity were discerned between the healthy (H) and diseased (D) samples. Ascomycota was identified as the predominant fungal phylum in both groups. In the healthy samples, beneficial fungi such as Plectosphaerella and Mortierella were prevalent, in contrast to the diseased samples, the relative abundances of Embellisia and Alternaria demonstrated remarkable increases of 89.59% and 87.41%, respectively. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) illustrated clear distinctions in the composition of fungal communities between the healthy and diseased samples. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) indicated total nitrogen (TN), organic matter (SOM), total phosphorus (TP), Available Potassium (AK), pH, and Total Potassium (TK). Notably, pH showed a stronger correlation with the diseased samples, while TN and SOM were more significantly associated with the healthy samples.

WUSCHEL-related homeobox plays important roles in diverse biological processes, such as plant growth and development, hormonal homeostasis, and abiotic stress adaptation. Lycium barbarum (goji berry) is a model species for studying regeneration in woody plants; however, the LbWOX gene family has yet to be characterized. This work reports a genomic and transcriptomic characterization of the LbWOX gene family in Lycium barbarum. Eighteen LbWOX genes were identified with uneven distribution across eight chromosomes. These genes were grouped into three subfamilies via phylogenetic classification. Additionally, cis-regulatory element characterization suggests that the expression of LbWOX genes is mainly influenced by plant differentiation, phytohormones, and various abiotic stresses. Expression profiles derived from RNA-Seq of root, stem, leaf, and fruit revealed that all eighteen genes were expressed. Notably, LbWOX1 and LbWOX4 were highly expressed in leaves, suggesting a role in leaf growth and a potential to enhance differentiation capacity. Furthermore, LbWOX4 showed elevated expression in roots and stems, an association with vascular development that implicates them as prime candidates for enhancing adventitious root formation during cutting propagation. This work represents the first genome-wide analysis of the LbWOX genes, integrating high-throughput RNA-Seq to characterize the function of all eighteen identified members. Our research provides further insights for future studies of LbWOX gene functions in wolfberry.