Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus are key factors in the fermentation process and the final quality of dairy products worldwide. This study was performed to investigate the effects of the proportions of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus isolated from traditionally fermented dairy products in China and Mongolia on the profile of volatile compounds produced in samples. Six proportional combinations (1:1, 1:10, 1:50, 1:100, 1:1000, and 1:10,000) of L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus IMAU20401 to S. thermophilus ND03 were considered, and the volatiles were identified and quantified by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS) against an internal standard. In total, 89 volatile flavor compounds, consisting of aldehydes, ketones, acids, alcohols, esters, and aromatic hydrocarbons, were identified. Among these, some key flavor volatile compounds were identified, including acetaldehyde, 3-methylbutanal, acetoin, 2-heptanone, acetic acid, butanoic acid, and 3-methyl-1-butanol. The of L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus IMAU20401 to S. thermophilus ND03 influenced the type and concentration of volatiles produced. In particular, aldehydes and ketones were present at higher concentrations in the 1:1000 treatment combination than in the other combinations. Our findings emphasize the importance of selecting the appropriate proportions of L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus for the starter culture in determining the final profile of volatiles and the overall flavor of dairy products.

To achieve the goals of energy security and climate change mitigation in Denmark and the EU, an expansion of national production of bioenergy crops is needed. Temporal and spatial variation of yields of willow and Miscanthus is not known for Denmark because of a limited number of field trial data. The semi‐mechanistic crop model BioCro was used to simulate the production of both short‐rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus across Denmark. Predictions were made from high spatial resolution soil data and weather records across this area for 1990–2010. The potential average, rain‐fed mean yield was 12.1 Mg DM ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for willow and 10.2 Mg DM ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ for Miscanthus. Coefficient of variation as a measure for yield stability was poorest on the sandy soils of northern and western Jutland, and the year‐to‐year variation in yield was greatest on these soils. Willow was predicted to outyield Miscanthus on poor, sandy soils, whereas Miscanthus was higher yielding on clay‐rich soils. The major driver of yield in both crops was variation in soil moisture, with radiation and precipitation exerting less influence. This is the first time these two major feedstocks for northern Europe have been compared within a single modeling framework and providing an important new tool for decision‐making in selection of feedstocks for emerging bioenergy systems.

DNA replication initiates from multiple replication origins (ORIs) in eukaryotes. Discovery and characterization of replication origins are essential for a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of DNA replication. In this study, the features of autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been comprehensively analyzed as follows. Firstly, we carried out the analysis of the ARSs available in S. cerevisiae S288C. By evaluating the sequence similarity of experimentally established ARSs, we found that 94.32% of ARSs are unique across the whole genome of S. cerevisiae S288C and those with high sequence similarity are prone to locate in subtelomeres. Subsequently, we built a non-redundant dataset with a total of 520 ARSs, which are based on ARSs annotation of S. cerevisiae S288C from SGD and then supplemented with those from OriDB and DeOri databases. We conducted a large-scale comparison of ORIs among the diverse budding yeast strains from a population genomics perspective. We found that 82.7% of ARSs are not only conserved in genomic sequence but also relatively conserved in chromosomal position. The non-conserved ARSs tend to distribute in the subtelomeric regions. We also conducted a pan-genome analysis of ARSs among the S. cerevisiae strains, and a total of 183 core ARSs existing in all yeast strains were determined. We extracted the genes adjacent to replication origins among the 104 yeast strains to examine whether there are differences in their gene functions. The result showed that the genes involved in the initiation of DNA replication, such as orc3, mcm2, mcm4, mcm6, and cdc45, are conservatively located adjacent to the replication origins. Furthermore, we found the genes adjacent to conserved ARSs are significantly enriched in DNA binding, enzyme activity, transportation, and energy, whereas for the genes adjacent to non-conserved ARSs are significantly enriched in response to environmental stress, metabolites biosynthetic process and biosynthesis of antibiotics. In general, we characterized the replication origins from the genome-wide and population genomics perspectives, which would provide new insights into the replication mechanism of S. cerevisiae and facilitate the design of algorithms to identify genome-wide replication origins in yeast.

Ganoderma lucidum sporoderm-broken spore powder (GLSP) has been historically documented for its anti-aging and anti-tumor effects. Although several studies have reported that GLSP and related substance may improve physiological function by regulating the gut microbiota, the underlying mechanisms and their effect on intestinal function remains largely unknown. In this study, we comprehensively investigated the impact of dietary GLSP on intestinal epithelial dynamics and barrier function, assessed by single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), using murine models spanning physiological homeostasis and DSS-induced intestinal injury. Our study reveals that GLSP protects intestinal epithelia against chemical and age-related barrier injury by promoting the coordinated expansion of stem/progenitor compartments and restoring both the mucus and physical barriers. Gut microbiota involvement was confirmed via antibiotic-treated mice and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). FMT from GLSP-diet donors successfully recapitulated the protective effects in gut microbiota-depleted recipient mice. Multi-omics integration of 16S rRNA sequencing and metabolomic profiling identified the enrichment of SCFA-producing genera, and previously unrecognized microbial metabolites, such as indole-2-carboxylic acid, 3-Methyloxindole, and 4-hydroxyindole. These microbial metabolites are likely to play an essential role in reprogramming the intestinal metabolome, particularly tryptophan–indole metabolic pathways, to mediate intestinal homeostasis. These findings provide novel insights and potential directions for the development of new drugs targeting intestinal injury.

The anti-clogging performance of trickle irrigation emitters is the critical factor to implement unattended greening irrigation of high slopes. In this project, two types of emitters are new-type pressure-compensated emitters and tooth-shaped labyrinth channel emitters, respectively, the flow rate is tested via a test platform, and the particle size analysis of characteristic sediment is performed on the sediment from water sources and the sediment discharged from the outflow end of the emitter by means of a laser particle size analyzer. The results suggest that the new-type pressure-compensated emitter is provided with better hydraulic performance, the working pressure ranges from 5 m to 35 m, and the change rate of flow is only 8.14%, which is highly suitable for high slope use; the anti-clogging performance of the new-type pressure-compensated emitter is distinctly superior to that of the labyrinth channel emitter. Under the conditions of muddy water test, the new-type pressure-compensated emitter does not reach the clogging condition until the 43rd irrigation, and its service life is 268.75% of that of the labyrinth channel emitter. Under the conditions of muddy water test, the new-type pressure-compensated emitter not reaches the clogging conditions until the 43rd irrigation, and its service life is 268.75% of that of the labyrinth channel emitter; under the conditions of muddy water test, the sediment particles are more likely to cause clogging in the labyrinth channel emitter, and the changes in the particle size of V90, V50 and V10 characteristic sediment are 25.78%, 48.54% and 69.91%, respectively, but it is not easy to cause clogging in the new-type pressure-compensated emitter, and the changes in the particle size of V90, V50 and V10 characteristic sediment all remain at 90% or above, and the change in the particle size of V10 characteristic sediment is up to 98.32%. Thus, it can be seen that the pressure-compensated emitter has outstanding anti-clogging performance, which can greatly cut down the maintenance time and enhance economy in greening irrigation of high slopes. Finally, the new-type pressure-compensated emitter is applied to the greening test site of high slopes in Matai Service Area of Molin Expressway.