Streptococcus suis is a significant zoonotic pathogen that is a great threat not only to the swine industry but also to human health, causing arthritis, meningitis, and even streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome. Owing to its many serotypes and high geographic variability, an efficacious cross-protective S. suis vaccine is not readily available. Therefore, this study aimed to design a universal multi-epitope vaccine (MVHP6) that involved three highly immunogenic proteins of S. suis, namely, the surface antigen containing a glycosaminoglycan binding domain (HP0197), endopeptidase (PepO), and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD). Forecasted T-cell and B-cell epitopes with high antigenic properties and a suitable adjuvant were linked to construct a multi-epitope vaccine. In silico analysis showed that the selected epitopes were conserved in highly susceptible serotypes for humans. Thereafter, we evaluated the different parameters of MVHP6 and showed that MVHP6 was highly antigenic, non-toxic, and non-allergenic. To verify whether the vaccine could display appropriate epitopes and maintain high stability, the MVHP6 tertiary structure was modeled, refined, and validated. Molecular docking studies revealed a strong binding interaction between the vaccine and the toll-like receptor (TLR4), whereas molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated the vaccine’s compatibility, binding stability, and structural compactness. Moreover, the in silico analysis showed that MVHP6 could evoke strong immune responses and enable worldwide population coverage. Moreover, MVHP6 was cloned into the pET28a (+) vector in silico to ensure the credibility, validation, and proper expression of the vaccine construct. The findings suggested that the proposed multi-epitope vaccine can provide cross-protection against S. suis infections.

Gibberellin (GA) plays a key role in fruit growth and development, and in this study, we examined the effects of the application of exogenous GA treatment to fruit stalks of Pyrus pyrifolia on fruit growth and gene expression. Application of GA during the full-flowering stage enhanced fruit growth and development and increased fruit weight. Transcriptome profiling of fruit cores taken at 12 and 28 days after treatment identified 769 and 1,469 differentially expressed genes after GA treatment, respectively. In addition, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of WOX family members in P. pyrifolia and clarified their potential roles in fruit growth and development; eight WOX genes showed a significant response to exogenous GA treatment. The overexpression of PyWOX3 in Arabidopsis revealed its positive regulatory role in fruit growth and development. In addition, SRR1, villin-1, DDX11, Hb2, LOB6, and KIN-5D were identified as proteins that potentially interact with PyWOX3. Thus, our results indicated the potential of PyWOX3 as a genetic target for improving pear fruit size and identified other target genes that regulate fruit size, potentially laying the foundation for utilizing genetic engineering and hormone therapy to manage fruit growth.