MicroRNA-502-3p regulates GABAergic synapse function in hippocampal neurons

Gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)ergic neurons,the most abundant inhibitory neurons in the human brain,have been found to be reduced in many neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementia.Our previous study identified the upregulation of microRNA-502-3p(miR-502-3p)and downregulation of GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 in Alzheimer's disease synapses.This study investigated a new molecular relationship between miR-502-3p and GABAergic synapse function.In vitro studies were perfo rmed using the mouse hippocampal neuronal cell line HT22 and miR-502-3p agomiRs and antagomiRs.In silico analysis identified multiple binding sites of miR-502-3p at GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 mRNA.Luciferase assay confirmed that miR-502-3p targets the GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 gene and suppresses the luciferase activity.Furthermore,quantitative reve rse transcription-polymerase chain reaction,miRNA in situ hybridization,immunoblotting,and immunostaining analysis confirmed that overexpression of miR-502-3p reduced the GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 level,while suppression of miR-502-3p increased the level of GABA type A receptor subunitα-1 protein.Notably,as a result of the overexpression of miR-502-3p,cell viability was found to be reduced,and the population of necrotic cells was found to be increased.The whole cell patch-clamp analysis of human-GABA receptor A-α1/β3/γ2L human embryonic kidney(HEK)recombinant cell line also showed that overexpression of miR-502-3p reduced the GABA current and overall GABA function,suggesting a negative correlation between miR-502-3p levels and GABAergic synapse function.Additionally,the levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer s disease were high with miR-502-3p overexpression and reduced with miR-502-3p suppression.The present study provides insight into the molecular mechanism of regulation of GABAergic synapses by miR-502-3p.We propose that micro-RNA,in particular miR-502-3p,could be a potential therapeutic to rget to modulate GABAergic synapse function in neurological disorders,including Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's diseaserelated dementia.

Interleukins in liver disease treatment

Cytokines play pleiotropic roles in human health and disease by regulating both innate and adaptive immune responses.Interleukins(ILs),a large group of cytokines,can be divided into seven families,including IL-1,IL-2,IL-6,IL-8,IL-10,IL-12,and IL-17 families.Here,we review the functions of ILs in the pathogenesis and resolution of liver diseases,such as liver inflammation(e.g.,IL-35),alcoholrelated liver disease(e.g.,IL-11),non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(e.g.,IL-22),liver fibrosis(e.g.,Il-17a),and liver cancer(e.g.,IL-8).Overall,IL-1 family members are implicated in liver inflammation induced by different etiologies,such as alcohol consumption,high-fat diet,and hepatitis viruses.IL-2 family members mainly regulate T lymphocyte and NK cell proliferation and activation,and the differentiation of T cells.IL-6 family cytokines play important roles in acute phase response in liver infection,liver regeneration,and metabolic regulation,as well as lymphocyte activation.IL-8,also known as CXCL8,is activated in chronic liver diseases,which is associated with the accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages.IL-10 family members contribute key roles to liver immune tolerance and immunosuppression in liver disease.IL-12 family cytokines influence T-cell differentiation and play an essential role in autoimmune liver disease.IL-17 subfamilies contribute to infection defense,liver inflammation,and Th17 cell differentiation.ILs interact with different type I and type II cytokine receptors to regulate intracellular signaling pathways that mediate their functions.However,most clinical studies are only performed to evaluate IL-mediated therapies on alcohol and hepatitis virus infection-induced hepatitis.More pre-clinical and clinical studies are required to evaluate IL-mediated monotherapy and synergistic therapies.

Roles of fibroblast growth factors in the treatment of diabetes

Diabetes affects about 422 million people worldwide,causing 1.5 million deaths each year.However,the incidence of diabetes is increasing,including several types of diabetes.Type 1 diabetes(5%-10%of diabetic cases)and type 2 diabetes(90%-95%of diabetic cases)are the main types of diabetes in the clinic.Accumulating evidence shows that the fibroblast growth factor(FGF)family plays important roles in many metabolic disorders,including type 1 and type 2 diabetes.FGF consists of 23 family members(FGF-1-23)in humans.Here,we review current findings of FGFs in the treatment of diabetes and management of diabetic complications.Some FGFs(e.g.,FGF-15,FGF-19,and FGF-21)have been broadly investigated in preclinical studies for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes,and their therapeutic roles in diabetes are currently under investigation in clinical trials.Overall,the roles of FGFs in diabetes and diabetic complications are involved in numerous processes.First,FGF intervention can prevent high-fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance and reduce the levels of fasting blood glucose and triglycerides by regulating lipolysis in adipose tissues and hepatic glucose production.Second,modulation of FGF expression can inhibit renal and cardiac fibrosis by regulating the expression of extracellular matrix components,promote diabetic wound healing process and bone repair,and inhibit cancer cell proliferation and migration.Finally,FGFs can regulate the activation of glucoseexcited neurons and the expression of thermogenic genes.

Anti-oxidative stress treatment and current clinical trials

Oxidative stress disturbs the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and the detoxification biological process.It plays an important role in the development and progression of many chronic diseases.Upon exposure to oxidative stress or the inducers of ROS,the cellular nucleus undergoes some biological processes via different signaling pathways,such as stress adaption through the forkhead box O signaling pathway,inflammatory response through the IκB kinase/nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway,hypoxic response via the hypoxia-inducible factor/prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins pathway,DNA repair or apoptosis through the p53 signaling pathway,and antioxidant response through the Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1/nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 signaling pathway.These processes are involved in many diseases.Therefore,oxidative stress has gained more attraction as a targeting process for disease treatment.Meanwhile,anti-oxidative stress agents have been widely explored in pre-clinical trials.However,only limited clinical trials are performed to evaluate the efficacy of anti-oxidative stress agents or antioxidants in diseases.In this letter,we further discuss the current clinical trials related to anti-oxidative stress treatment in different diseases.More pre-clinical studies and clinical trials are expected to use anti-oxidative stress strategies as disease treatment or dietary supplementation to improve disease treatment outcomes.

Role of Moringa oleifera in regulation of diabetes-induced oxidative stress

Objective:To evaluate the antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of Atoringa oleifeta M.oleifera) young leaves by in vivo as well as in vitro assays.Methods:In vitro study included estimation of total phenolic,total ilavonol,total flavonoid and total antioxidant power(FRAP assay).Tn addition, in vivo study was done with the identified most effective dose of 200 nig/kg of its lyophilized powder on normal and diabetic rats.Its effect on different oxidative free radical scavenging enzymes,viz,superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT),glutathione-S-transferase(GST),lipid peroxide(LPO) contents were measured.Results:Significant increase in activities of SOD.CAT, GST while,a decrease in LPO content was observed.Whereas,total phenolic,flavonoid and ilavonol contents in the extract were found to be 120 mg/g of CAK,40.5 mg/g of QEK and 12.12 mg/g of QE,respectively.On the other hand.FRAP assay results of M.oleifera leaves was(85.00±5.00)μM of Fe^+/g of extract powder.Conclusions:The significant antioxidant activities of M.oleifera leaves from both in vivo as well as in vitro studies suggests that the regular intake of its leaves through diet can protect normal as well as diabetic patients against oxidative damage.

Treatment of liver fibrosis:Past,current,and future

Liver fibrosis accompanies the progression of chronic liver diseases independent of etiologies,such as hepatitis viral infection,alcohol consumption,and metabolicassociated fatty liver disease.It is commonly associated with liver injury,inflammation,and cell death.Liver fibrosis is characterized by abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix components that are expressed by liver myofibroblasts such as collagens and alpha-smooth actin proteins.Activated hepatic stellate cells contribute to the major population of myofibroblasts.Many treatments for liver fibrosis have been investigated in clinical trials,including dietary supplementation(e.g.,vitamin C),biological treatment(e.g.,simtuzumab),drug(e.g.,pegbelfermin and natural herbs),genetic regulation(e.g.,non-coding RNAs),and transplantation of stem cells(e.g.,hematopoietic stem cells).However,none of these treatments has been approved by Food and Drug Administration.The treatment efficacy can be evaluated by histological staining methods,imaging methods,and serum biomarkers,as well as fibrosis scoring systems,such as fibrosis-4 index,aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio,and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis score.Furthermore,the reverse of liver fibrosis is slowly and frequently impossible for advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.To avoid the lifethreatening stage of liver fibrosis,anti-fibrotic treatments,especially for combined behavior prevention,biological treatment,drugs or herb medicines,and dietary regulation are needed.This review summarizes the past studies and current and future treatments for liver fibrosis.

Metabolite variation in hybrid corn grain from a large-scale multisite study

Metabolite composition is strongly affected by genotype,environment,and interactions between genotype and environment,although the extent of variation caused by these factors may depend upon the type of metabolite.To characterize the complexity of genotype,environment,and their interaction in hybrid seeds,50 genetically diverse non-genetically modified(GM) maize hybrids were grown in six geographically diverse locations in North America.Polar metabolites from 553 harvested corn grain samples were isolated and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and 45 metabolites detected in all samples were used to generate a data matrix for statistical analysis.There was moderate variation among biological replicates and across genotypes and test sites.The genotype effects were detected by univariate and Hierarchical clustering analyses(HCA) when environmental effects were excluded.Overall,environment exerted larger effects than genotype,and polar metabolite accumulation showed a geographic effect.We conclude that it is possible to increase seed polar metabolite content in hybrid corn by selection of appropriate inbred lines and growing regions.

Clinical diagnosis and management of pancreatic cancer: Markers, molecular mechanisms, and treatment options

Pancreatic cancer(PC)is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths.The overall 5-year survival rate of PC is 9%,and this rate for metastatic PC is below 3%.However,the PC-induced death cases will increase about 2-fold by 2060.Many factors such as genetic and environmental factors and metabolic diseases can drive PC development and progression.The most common type of PC in the clinic is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,comprising approximately 90%of PC cases.Multiple pathogenic processes including but not limited to inflammation,fibrosis,angiogenesis,epithelial-mesenchymal transition,and proliferation of cancer stem cells are involved in the initiation and progression of PC.Early diagnosis is essential for curable therapy,for which a combined panel of serum markers is very helpful.Although some mono or combined therapies have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for PC treatment,current therapies have not shown promising outcomes.Fortunately,the development of novel immunotherapies,such as oncolytic viruses-mediated treatments and chimeric antigen receptor-T cells,combined with therapies such as neoadjuvant therapy plus surgery,and advanced delivery systems of immunotherapy will improve therapeutic outcomes and combat drug resistance in PC patients.Herein,the pathogenesis,molecular signaling pathways,diagnostic markers,prognosis,and potential treatments in completed,ongoing,and recruiting clinical trials for PC were reviewed.

A 314-bp SINE insertion in the ZNF2 promoter region may act as a repressor related to regulation of fat deposition in pigs

Retrotransposons,a type of DNA fragment that can mobilize itself on genome,can generate genetic variations and develop for molecular markers based on the insertion polymorphism.Zinc finger proteins(ZNFs)are among the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic animals,and their functions are extraordinarily diverse and particularly important in gene regulation.In the current study,bioinformatic prediction was performed to screen for retrotransposon insertion polymorphisms(RIPs)in six ZNF genes(ZNF2,ZNF3,ZNF7,ZNF8,ZNF10 and ZNF12).Six RIPs in these ZNFs,including one short interspersed nuclear element(SINE)RIP in intron 1 and one long interspersed nuclear element 1(L1)RIP in intron 3 of ZNF2,one SINE RIP in 5′flanking region and one SINE RIP in intron 2 of ZNF3,one SINE RIP in 3′UTR of ZNF7 and one L1 RIP in intron 2 of ZNF12,were discovered and their presence was confirmed by PCR.The impact of the SINE RIP in the first intron of ZNF2,which is close to the core promoter of ZNF2,on the gene activity was investigated by dual-luciferase assay in three cell lines.Our results showed that the SINE insertion in the intron 1 of ZNF2 repressed the core promoter activity extremely significantly(P<0.01)in cervical cancer cells and porcine primary embryonic fibroblasts(HeLa and PEF),thus SINE may act as a repressor.This SINE RIP also significantly(P<0.05)affected the corrected back fat thickness in Yorkshire pigs.The corrected back fat thickness of individuals with SINE insertion in the first intron of ZNF2 was significantly(P<0.05)higher than that of individuals without SINE insertion.In summary,our data suggested that RIPs play important roles in the genetic variations of these ZNF genes and SINE RIP in the intron 1 of ZNF2 may provide a useful molecular marker for the screening of fat deposition in the pig breeding.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents in chronic liver diseases:Molecular mechanisms and therapy

Chronic liver disease(CLD)is a continuous process that causes a reduction of liver function lasting more than six months.CLD includes alcoholic liver disease(ALD),non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),chronic viral infection,and autoimmune hepatitis,which can lead to liver fibrosis,cirrhosis,and cancer.Liver inflammation and oxidative stress are commonly associated with the development and progression of CLD.Molecular signaling pathways such as AMPactivated protein kinase(AMPK),C-Jun N-terminal kinase,and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPARs)are implicated in the pathogenesis of CLD.Therefore,antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents from natural products are new potent therapies for ALD,NAFLD,and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).In this review,we summarize some powerful products that can be potential applied in all the stages of CLD,from ALD/NAFLD to HCC.The selected agents such asβ-sitosterol,curcumin,genistein,and silymarin can regulate the activation of several important molecules,including AMPK,Farnesoid X receptor,nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2,PPARs,phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase,and lysyl oxidase-like proteins.In addition,clinical trials are undergoing to evaluate their efficacy and safety.

Therapeutic implications of SARS-CoV-2 dysregulation of the gutbrain-lung axis

The emergence and rapid spread of novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has caused over 180 million confirmed cases resulting in over 4 million deaths worldwide with no clear end in sight for the coronavirus disease 19(COVID-19)pandemic.Most SARS-CoV-2 exposed individuals experience mild to moderate symptoms,including fever,cough,fatigue,and loss of smell and taste.However,many individuals develop pneumonia,acute respiratory distress syndrome,septic shock,and multiorgan dysfunction.In addition to these primarily respiratory symptoms,SARS-CoV-2 can also infiltrate the central nervous system,which may damage the blood-brain barrier and the neuron's synapses.Resultant inflammation and neurodegeneration in the brain stem can further prevent efferent signaling to cranial nerves,leading to the loss of anti-inflammatory signaling and normal respiratory and gastrointestinal functions.Additionally,SARS-CoV-2 can infect enterocytes resulting in gut damage followed by microbial dysbiosis and translocation of bacteria and their byproducts across the damaged epithelial barrier.As a result,this exacerbates pro-inflammatory responses both locally and systemically,resulting in impaired clinical outcomes.Recent evidence has highlighted the complex interactions that mutually modulate respiratory,neurological,and gastrointestinal function.In this review,we discuss the ways SARS-CoV-2 potentially disrupts the gut-brain-lung axis.We further highlight targeting specific responses to SARS-CoV-2 for the development of novel,urgently needed therapeutic interventions.Finally,we propose a prospective related to the individuals from Low-and Middle-Income countries.Here,the underlying propensity for heightened gut damage/microbial translocation is likely to result in worse clinical outcomes during this COVID-19 pandemic.

Modularly assembled multiplex prime editors for simultaneous editing of agronomically important genes in rice

Prime editing(PE)technology enables precise alterations in the genetic code of a genome of interest.PE offers great potential for identifying major agronomically important genes in plants and editing them into superior variants,ideally targeting multiple loci simultaneously to realize the collective effects of the edits.Here,we report the development of a modular assembly-based multiplex PE system in rice and demon-strate its efficacy in editing up to four genes in a single transformation experiment.The duplex PE(DPE)system achieved a co-editing efficiency of 46.1%in the T0 generation,converting TFIIAg5 to xa5 and xa23 to Xa23SW11.The resulting double-mutant lines exhibited robust broad-spectrum resistance against multiple Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae(Xoo)strains in the T1 generation.In addition,we success-fully edited OsEPSPS1 to an herbicide-tolerant variant and OsSWEET11a to a Xoo-resistant allele,achieving a co-editing rate of 57.14%.Furthermore,with the quadruple PE(QPE)system,we edited four genes—two for herbicide tolerance(OsEPSPS1 and OsALS1)and two for Xoo resistance(TFIIAg5 and OsSWEET11a)—using one construct,with a co-editing efficiency of 43.5%for all four genes in the T0 gen-eration.We performed multiplex PE usingfive more constructs,including two for triplex PE(TPE)and three for QPE,each targeting a different set of genes.The editing rates were dependent on the activity of pegRNA and/or ngRNA.For instance,optimization of ngRNA increased the PE rates for one of the targets(OsSPL13)from 0%to 30%but did not improve editing at another target(OsGS2).Overall,our modular assembly-based system yielded high PE rates and streamlined the cloning of PE reagents,making it feasible for more labs to utilize PE for their editing experiments.Thesefindings have significant implications for advancing gene editing techniques in plants and may pave the way for future agricultural applications.

On the Responsible Use of Chatbots in Bioinformatics

Large language model(LLM)-based chatbots like Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer(ChatGPT),equipped with broad biological knowledge[1],have demonstrated an impressive capability for bioinformatics coding[2].When given well-crafted instructions,these chatbots hold the potential to significantly augment bioinformatics education and research[3,4].However,opportunities entail both rewards and risks.This commentary explores the challenges of using chatbots in bioinformatics and proposes strategies to manage the associated risks while maximizing the benefits.

Bioinformatics and biomedical informatics with ChatGPT:Year one review

The year 2023 marked a significant surge in the exploration of applying large language model chatbots,notably Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer(ChatGPT),across various disciplines.We surveyed the application of ChatGPT in bioinformatics and biomedical informatics throughout the year,covering omics,genetics,biomedical text mining,drug discovery,biomedical image understanding,bioinformatics programming,and bioinformatics education.Our survey delineates the current strengths and limitations of this chatbot in bioinformatics and offers insights into potential avenues for future developments.

The processed C-terminus of AvrRps4 effector suppresses plant immunity via targeting multiple WRKYs

Pathogens generate and secrete effector proteins to the host plant cells during pathogenesis to promote virulence and colonization.If the plant carries resistance(R)proteins that recognize pathogen effectors,effector-triggered immunity(ETI)is activated,resulting in a robust immune response and hypersensitive response(HR).The bipartite effector AvrRps4 from Pseudomonas syringae pv.pisi has been well studied in terms of avirulence function.In planta,AvrRps4 is processed into two parts.The Cterminal fragment of AvrRps4(AvrRps4^(C))induces HR in turnip and is recognized by the paired resistance proteins AtRRS1/AtRPS4 in Arabidopsis.Here,we show that AvrRps4^(C)targets a group of Arabidopsis WRKY,including WRKY46,WRKY53,WRKY54,and WRKY70,to induce its virulence function.Indeed,AvrRps4^(C)suppresses the general binding and transcriptional activities of immune-positive regulator WRKY54 and WRKY54-mediated resistance.AvrRps4^(C)interferes with WRKY54's binding activity to target gene SARD1 in vitro,suggesting WRKY54 is sequestered from the SARD1 promoter by AvrRps4^(C).Through the interaction of Avr Rps4^(C)with four WRKYs,AvrRps4 enhances the formation of homo-/heterotypic complexes of four WRKYs and sequesters them in the cytoplasm,thus inhibiting their function in plant immunity.Together,our results provide a detailed virulence mechanism of AvrRps4 through its C-terminus.

Inferring the Effects of Protein Variants on Protein-Protein Interactions with Interpretable Transformer Representations

Identifying pathogenetic variants and inferring their impact on protein-protein interactions sheds light on their functional consequences on diseases.Limited by the availability of experimental data on the consequences of protein interaction,most existing methods focus on building models to predict changes in protein binding affinity.Here,we introduced MIPPI,an end-to-end,interpretable transformer-based deep learning model that learns features directly from sequences by leveraging the interaction data from IMEx.MIPPI was specifically trained to determine the types of variant impact(increasing,decreasing,disrupting,and no effect)on protein-protein interactions.We demonstrate the accuracy of MIPPI and provide interpretation through the analysis of learned attention weights,which exhibit correlations with the amino acids interacting with the variant.Moreover,we showed the practicality of MIPPI in prioritizing de novo mutations associated with complex neurodevelopmental disorders and the potential to determine the pathogenic and driving mutations.Finally,we experimentally validated the functional impact of several variants identified in patients with such disorders.Overall,MIPPI emerges as a versatile,robust,and interpretable model,capable of effectively predicting mutation impacts on protein-protein interactions and facilitating the discovery of clinically actionable variants.

植物来源的磷脂酰胆碱可介导抗肺纤维化小RNA(HJT-sRNA-m7)进入哺乳动物细胞

肺纤维化是慢性进行性疾病,死亡率高,临床上除肺移植之外尚无其他明显有效治疗手段.本研究发现,来源于中药大花红景天(Rhodiola crenulata)的小RNA,HJT-sRNA-m7,可以显著降低纤维化因子的表达,在细胞和动物水平上均可改善纤维化症状.此外,本研究组在红景天熬制的汤汁中提取鉴定了一百多种脂质,其中大部分脂质也同时存在于中药蒲公英(Taraxacum mongolicum)、穿心莲(Andrographis paniculata)和金银花(lonicera japonica)中.选取其中两种磷脂酰胆碱PC(18:0/18:2)和PC(16:0/18:2),使之与植物小RNA形成脂质体,发现其可促进HJT-s RNA-m7等小RNA进入人肺和胃肠道细胞,降低纤维化靶基因的表达.实验结果揭示了植物来源小RNA通过脂质复合物进入人体的可能途径,为si RNA的临床应用提供了新的口服递送途径.

Plant-derived phosphocholine facilitates cellular uptake of anti-pulmonary fibrotic HJT-sRNA-m7

Pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive chronic disease with a high mortality rate, has limited treatment options. Currently, lung transplantation remains the only effective treatment. Here we report that a small RNA, HJT-sRNA-m7, from a Chinese herbal medicine Hong Jing Tian(HJT, RHODIOHAE CRENULATAE RADIX ET RHIZOMA, Rhodiola crenulata) can effectively reduce the expressions of fibrotic hallmark genes and proteins both in alveolar in vitro and in mouse lung tissues in vivo. We also discovered over one hundred oil-soluble chemicals from HJT decoctions, most of which are found in lipid extracts from other Chinese herbals decoctions, including Pu Gong Ying(PGY, TARAXACI HERBA, Taraxacum mongolicum), Chuan Xin Lian(CXL, changed to "ANDROGRAPHIS HERBA, Andrographis paniculata"), and Jin Yin Hua(JYH, lonicera japonica or Honeysuckle). We identified the active component in these decoctions as two forms of phosphocholines, PC(18:0/18:2) and PC(16:0/18:2). These PCs potentially could form liposomes with small RNAs to enter human alveolar and gastric cells. Our experimental results suggest an unprecendent lipid complex route through which botanic small RNA can enter human bodies.Our results provide an innovative treatment strategy for oral delivery of siRNAs as therapeutic medication.

TWISTED DWARF 1 Associates with BRASSINOSTEROID-INSENSITIVE 1 to Regulate Early Events of the Brassinosteroid Signaling Pathway

A genome-wide screen for mutants showing altered brassinosteroid （BR） sensitivity or bril-like phenotypes resulted in the identification of two new mutant alleles of TWISTED DWARF 1 （TWD1）, twd1-4, and twdl-5. Pre- vious studies indicated that TWD1, also named as ULTRACURVATA 2 or FKBP42, associates with auxin efflux transporters and is essential for their biological functions. Although earlier reports showed that BR signaling is downregulated in twdl, how TWD1 is integrated in BR signaling has not been elucidated. Here, we provide ge- netic and biochemical evidence demonstrating that TWD1 interacts with the BR receptor BRI1 in vivo in a BR- independent manner. Further analyses indicated that TWD1 modulates the BR signal transduction not by altering ER quality control or protein abundance of BRI1; instead, TWD1 appears to be critical in BR- induced interaction of BRI1 and its co-receptor BAK1, as well as BR-induced phosphorylation of these two proteins. These results provide better understanding of the early events of the BR signaling pathway.

Whole-Plant Live Imaging of Reactive Oxygen Species

Reactive oxygen species(ROS)are key regulators of numerous subcellular,cellular,and systemic signals.They function in plants as an integral part of many different hormonal,physiological,and developmental pathways,as well as play a critical role in defense and acclimation responses to different biotic and abiotic conditions.Although many ROS imaging techniques have been developed and utilized in plants,a wholeplant imaging platform for the dynamic detection of ROS in mature plants is lacking.Here we report a robust and straightforward method for the whole-plant live imaging of ROS in mature plants grown in soil.This new method could be used to study local and systemic ROS signals in different genetic variants,conduct phenotyping studies to identify new pathways for ROS signaling,monitor the stress level of different plants and mutants,and unravel novel routes of ROS integration into stress,growth regulation,and development in plants.We demonstrate the utility of this new method for studying systemic ROS signals in different A rabidopsis mutants and wound responses in cereals such as wheat and corn.