Geese, descendants of migratory birds, have preserved the distinct reproductive and lipid metabolism traits of their wild ancestors.  Therefore, compared to other poultry, geese have lower egg production ability and a more sensitive susceptibility to fatty liver.  Recent research underscores the impact of lipid metabolism disorders on female reproductive health.  In this context, we observed reproductive disorders (RD) and lipid metabolism anomalies in certain geese populations.  This study systematically elucidated the differences between RD and normal geese at various levels, including genomics, transcriptomics, bile acid metabolomics, and microbiomics, revealing the crucial role of microorganisms.  Our study provides a thorough examination of the ovarian anatomical, histological, and transcriptomic profiles between normal and RD geese.  Genomic analyses pinpoint mutations in genes associated with bile acid metabolism, highlighting their potential role in RD pathogenesis.  The genomic discoveries are substantiated by precise bile acid assays and ileum transcriptome analyses, which expose a significant disruption in bile acid absorption, activation of FXR, and an increase in serum chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) concentrations within RD geese.  Notably, 16S rRNA sequencing uncovers significantly greater beta diversity in the ileum microbiota of RD geese as compared to the normal group.  Both Wilcoxon rank sum test and LEfSe analyses highlighted a marked increase in Romboutsia abundance in RD geese. Experimental cultivation of microbiota with CDCA supplementation confirms the impact of CDCA on Romboutsia lituseburensis (R. lituseburensis) proliferation. Gavage experiments with R. lituseburensis elucidates its involvement in primary follicle reduction via immune-mediated pathways.  Collectively, our multi-faceted analysis unravels the intricate involvement of Romboutsia in goose RD, offering insights from genetic, physiological, and microbial dimensions. Our findings not only deepen our understanding of the etiology of RD in geese but also suggest potential avenues for therapeutic interventions targeting bile acid metabolism and the modulation of specific microbiota components. 

Chemicals that modify pest behavior are developed to reduce crop damage by altering pest behavior, using specific genes within the olfactory system as molecular targets. The identification of these molecular targets in Bactrocera dorsalis, also known as the functional study of key olfactory genes, relies on CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene knockout techniques. However, these techniques face limitations when applied to lethal genes. Transgenic technology offers a solution since it enables precise manipulation of gene expression in specific tissues or during certain developmental stages. Consequently, this study developed a piggyBac-mediated transgenic system in B. dorsalis to investigate reporter gene expression in olfactory organs, and assessed the olfactory behavior and antennal electrophysiological responses in transgenic lines. The goal was to assess the potential of this approach for future research on olfactory gene function. A universally expressed housekeeping gene from the BdorActin family was identified using the developmental transcriptome dataset. Its candidate promoter region (BdorActinA3a-1^P-2k) was then cloned into the piggyBac plasmid. We subsequently established two stable transgenic lines with specific TTAA insertion sites on chromosomes 4 and 5, consistent with the characteristics of piggyBac transposition. The transgenic strains exhibited essentially normal survival, with hatchability and adult lifespan unaffected, although there were slight reductions in the emergence rate and oviposition capacity. The fluorescent reporter has been successfully expressed in olfactory-related organs, such as the antennae, proboscis, maxillary palp, legs, external genitalia, and brain. The antennal electrophysiological responses to representative chemicals in the transgenic lines were consistent with those of the wild type. However, some olfactory-related behaviors, such as pheromone response and mating, were significantly affected in the transgenic lines. These findings suggest that our system could potentially be applied in future olfactory research, such as driving the expression of exogenous elements that are effective in olfactory organs. However, caution is advised regarding its impact when applied to some olfactory-related behavioral phenotypes.

Plants experience dynamic light environments in the field, and the mechanisms for physiological and biochemical acclimation to fluctuating light (FL) vary among species.  How soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) integrates multiple physiological changes to acclimate to FL remains unclear.  This study evaluated the impact of FL conditions on soybean morphology and photosynthetic characteristics by analyzing changes in photosynthetic gas exchange parameters and chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence parameters under alternating high and low light conditions.  Results showed that soybeans subjected to FL conditions had low dry matter mass, small and thin leaves, and a low Chl a to Chl b ratio, resembling the traits of soybeans grown in low-light environments.  However, their photosynthetic gas exchange rates and photosynthetic capacity remained constant, which was not the case under consistent low-light conditions.  The adaptation processes for fluctuating and lowlight conditions are distinct.  Correlation analyses indicated that the drop in carbon assimilation under FL primarily resulted from two aspects: the speed of recovery in stomatal conductance when transitioning to bright light and the slow relief of nonphotochemical quenching as light levels decreased.  Thus, the decrease in carbon assimilation under FL conditions cannot be ascribed to adjustments during low-light phases but is due to a lag in photosynthetic response.

Bacterial blight (BB) of rice caused by the phytopathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a disease of global importance. Xoo utilizes the type III secretion system (T3SS) and its effectors for virulence, and XopM is a conserved T3SS effector in Xanthomonas spp. However, the virulence function of XopM is largely unknown. In this study, we show that XopM contributes to Xoo virulence in rice. We demonstrate that XopM interacts with allene oxide synthase OsAOS3, a key enzyme involved in jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis. The expression levels of OsAOS3 and three homologues of OsAOS were elevated after Xoo infection. Knockout mutants of OsAOS3 exhibited decreased JA accumulation and reduced resistance to Xoo and X. oryzae pv. oryzicola. Moreover, JA-related defense genes were downregulated in osaos3 mutants during Xoo infection. Based on our results, we propose a model showing how XopM hijacks OsAOS3 to interfere with JA-mediated defenses, leading to a suppression of rice immunity. Our findings reveal a novel virulence strategy where Xanthomonas pathogens interfere with the JA pathway and modulate the host defense response.

Maize/soybean intercropping systems are commonly used in developing countries, but few studies have been performed to elucidate the differences in nutrient efficiency and rhizosphere microbiome, especially when maize is intercropped with different soybean varieties. In this study, field experiments were conducted to compare the growth and yield of two soybean (Glycine max) varieties, BD2 and YC03-3, and one maize (Zea mays) variety, Huazhen, in mono-cropped and intercropped cultures. The plant biomass and N content of both crops in BD2/maize intercropping were significantly improved compared to their monoculture, but no such effects were observed in the plants of YC03-3/maize intercropping. The yield of BD2 intercropped with maize exhibited a 37.5% increment above that of BD2 in monoculture. Moreover, 19.2-29.1% longer root length of maize and 19.0-39.4% larger root volume of BD2 were observed in BD2/maize intercropping than in monoculture, but no growth advantage was observed in YC03-3/maize intercropping. Maize showed root avoidance when intercropped with BD2, but space competition when intercropped with YC03-3. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing showed that compared with the monoculture system, rhizobacteria community composition in BD2/maize intercropping changed more significantly than that of the YC03-3/maize intercropping system. In BD2/maize intercropping, most of the rhizobacteria community biomarker bacteria of BD2 were positively correlated with plant biomass, as well as plant P and N content. Maize tended to recruit Rhizobiales and Proteobacteria, which showed positive correlation with plant biomass and N content, respectively, as well as soil available N. In conclusion, soybean varieties determined the advantages of maize/soybean intercropping through root-root interactions and modification of rhizobacteria communities. Our insight emphasizes a linkage between root traits and the rhizobacteria community, which shows the importance of optimizing intercropping systems by selection of appropriate crop varieties.

Brucella spp., an intracellular bacterium, uses its type IV secretion system (T4SS) to regulate host signaling pathways and promote intracellular survival, but the molecular mechanism of this process remains largely unknown. Here we found that increasing the abundance of acetylated protein in host cells promotes the intracellular survival of Brucella. Moreover, our results demonstrated that the Brucella effector protein BspF can impact protein acetylation modification in host cells by interacting with other intracellular proteases. We conducted LC-MS/MS to characterize the protein acetylation mediated by BspF. We identified that SNAP29 K103 was acetylated, and that acetylated SNAP29 inhibited its interaction with STX17, thereby regulating the autophagy and providing an environment for the intracellular survival of Brucella. Furthermore, our results provide the first report of a bacterial effector using acetylation to affect the SNAP29-STX17-VAMP8 complex, and inhibit the host's defense system. Our results suggest a vital role of SNAP29 acetylation in autophagy of host cells under intracellular infection, by specifically regulating the assemble of SNARE.

Increasing grain yield (GY) and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat in the Huaibei Plain (HP) is essential.  However, the effects of micro-sprinkler irrigation and topsoil compaction after wheat seeds sowing on the GY and WUE are unclear.  Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted during the 2021–2023 winter wheat growing seasons with a total six treatments: rain-fed (RF), conventional irrigation (CI) and micro-sprinkler irrigation (MI), as well as topsoil compaction after seeds sowing under three irrigation methods (RFC, CIC, and MIC).  The two years’ results indicated that MI significantly increased GY compared to CI and RF, which averagely increased by 17.9 and 42.1%, respectively.  The increase in GY of MI was due to its significant increase in the number of spikes, kernels per spike, and grain weight.  Chlorophyll concentration in flag leaves of MI after anthesis stage was maintained higher levels than CI and RF, RF was the lowest.  This was due to the dramatically enhanced catalase and peroxidase activity and lower malondialdehyde content under MI.  Compared with RF and CI, MI significantly promoted dry matter remobilization and production after anthesis as well as its contribution to GY.  In addition, MI significantly boosted root growth, and root activity during grain filling stage was remarkably enhanced than CI and RF.  In 2021–2022, there was no significant difference in WUE between MI and RF, but the WUE of RF was significantly lower than MI in 2022–2023.  However, WUE in MI was significantly improved compared to CI, that averagely increased by 15.1 and 17.6% for the two years.  Topsoil compaction significantly increased GY and WUE under rain-fed conditions due to improved spike numbers and dry matter production.  Overall, topsoil compaction is advisable for enhancing GY and WUE in rain-fed conditions, whereas micro-sprinkler irrigation can be adopted to achieve high GY and WUE simultaneously in the HP.