As one of the most severe pollutants, cadmium has been reported to be harmful to plant cells, but the effects of cadmium on gymnosperm pollen germination and tube growth and the mechanism of this involvement are still unclear. Here, we report that cadmium not only strongly inhibited P. wilsonii pollen germination and tube growth, but also significantly altered tube morphology in a dose-dependent manner. Time-lapse images obtained with a laser scanning confocal microscope revealed that endocytosis was dramatically inhibited by cadmium stress. Further investigation with ER-Tracker dye indicated that cadmium stress reduced the number of the Golgi apparatus, and induced dilation of ER. Additionally, Lyso-Tracker staining showed that cadmium distinctly promoted the formation of acidic organelles in pollen tubes, likely derived from the dilated ER. Taken together, our studies indicated that P. wilsonii pollens were highly susceptible to cadmium stress, and that cadmium stress strongly inhibited pollen germination and tube growth by disrupting the endomembrane organelles, inhibiting endo/exocytosis, and forming acidic vacuoles, resulting in swollen tube tips and irregularly broadened tube diameters. These findings provide a new insight into the effects of cadmium toxicity on the tip growth of pollen tubes.

B cell activating factor (BAFF) is a cytokine of tumor necrosis factor family mainly produced by monocytes and dendritic cells. BAFF can regulate the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of B lymphocytes by binding with BAFF-R on B cell membrane. Accumulating evidences showed that BAFF played crucial roles and was overexpressed in various autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This suggests that BAFF may be a therapeutic target for these diseases. In the present study, we developed a BAFF therapeutic vaccine by coupling a T helper cell epitope AKFVAAWTLKAA (PADRE) to the N terminus of BAFF extracellular domains (PADRE-BAFF) and expressed this fusion protein in Escherichia coli. The purified vaccine can induce high titer of neutralizing BAFF antibodies and ameliorate the syndrome of complete Freunds adjuvant (CFA) induced rheumatoid arthritis in rats. Our data indicated that the BAFF autovaccine may be a useful candidate for the treatment of some autoimmune diseases associated with high level of BAFF.

Two endophytic fungi Trichoderma afroharzianum (HP-3) and Alternaria alstroemeriae (HP-7) were isolated and purified from the fresh root of Dryopteris crassirhizoma. Chemical investigation of the two fungi resulted in the isolation of two new phenols 2,4-dihydroxy-3-farnesyl-5-methoxy benzoic acid (1) and 2-hydroxyphenethyl 2-phenylacetate (2), together with 22 known compounds. Their structures were elucidated by NMR, UV, IR, HRESIMS, and comparison to the literature data. Compounds 15 and 16 showed significant antibacterial activity against Micrococcus lysodeikticus with MIC value of 6.25 μg/mL, while 8 and 14 displayed moderate inhibitory activities against several plant pathogenic fungi and clinically important bacterial strains. This is the first study to report the isolation, identification, and antimicrobial properties of metabolites from endophytic fungi of D. crassirhizoma. Our findings may provide lead compounds for the development of new antibacterial agents.

Acylphloroglucinol meroterpenoids from Dryopteris crassirhizoma : isolation, biomimetic synthesis, anti-triple negative breast cancer activity, ECD calculations, and NMR-based method for relative configuration assignment.