Project description:We used wheat as rotational crop to assess the influence of continuous cropping on microbiome in Pinellia ternata rhizosphere and the remediation of rotational cropping to the impacted microbiota. Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology was utilized for this method to explore the rhizosphere microbial structure and diversity based on continuous and rotational cropping.
Project description:Global warming has become a critical challenge to food safety, causing severe yield losses of major crops worldwide. Here, we report that the endophytic bacterium Enterobacter sp. SA187 induces thermotolerance of crops in a sustainable manner. Microbiome diversity of wheat plants is positively influenced by SA187 in open field agriculture, indicating that beneficial microbes can be a powerful tool to enhance agriculture in open field agriculture.
Project description:We explore whether a low-energy diet intervention for Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) improves liver disease by means of modulating the gut microbiome. 16 individuals were given a low-energy diet (880 kcal, consisting of bars, soups, and shakes) for 12 weeks, followed by a stepped re-introduction to whole for an additional 12 weeks. Stool samples were obtained at 0, 12, and 24 weeks for microbiome analysis. Fecal microbiome were measured using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Positive control (Zymo DNA standard D6305) and negative control (PBS extraction) were included in the sequencing. We found that low-energy diet improved MASH disease without lasting alterations to the gut microbiome.
Project description:Pancreatic cancer is the 3rd most prevalent cause of cancer related deaths in United states alone, with over 55000 patients being diagnosed in 2019 alone and nearly as many succumbing to it. Late detection, lack of effective therapy and poor understanding of pancreatic cancer systemically contributes to its poor survival statistics. Obesity and high caloric intake linked co-morbidities like type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been attributed as being risk factors for a number of cancers including pancreatic cancer. Studies on gut microbiome has shown that lifestyle factors as well as diet has a huge effect on the microbial flora of the gut. Further, modulation of gut microbiome has been seen to contribute to effects of intensive insulin therapy in mice on high fat diet. In another study, abnormal gut microbiota was reported to contribute to development of diabetes in Db/Db mice. Recent studies indicate that microbiome and microbial dysbiosis plays a role in not only the onset of disease but also in its outcome. In colorectal cancer, Fusobacterium has been reported to promote therapy resistance. Certain intra-tumoral bacteria have also been shown to elicit chemo-resistance by metabolizing anti-cancerous agents. In pancreatic cancer, studies on altered gut microbiome have been relatively recent. Microbial dysbiosis has been observed to be associated with pancreatic tumor progression. Modulation of microbiome has been shown to affect response to anti-PD1 therapy in this disease as well. However, most of the studies in pancreatic cancer and microbiome have remained focused om immune modulation. In the current study, we observed that in a T2D mouse model, the microbiome changed significantly as the hyperglycemia developed in these animals. Our results further showed that, tumors implanted in the T2D mice responded poorly to Gemcitabine/Paclitaxel (Gem/Pac) standard of care compared to those in the control group. A metabolomic reconstruction of the WGS of the gut microbiota further revealed that an enrichment of bacterial population involved in drug metabolism in the T2D group.
Project description:Take-all is a devastating soil-borne disease that affects wheat production. The continuous generation of disease-resistance germplasm is an important aspect of the management of this pathogen. In this study, we characterized the wheat-Psathyrostachys huashania Keng-derived progeny H139 that exhibits significantly improved resistance to wheat take-all disease compared with its susceptible parent 7182. GISH) and mc-FISH analyses revealed that H139 is a stable wheat-P. huashania disomic substitution line lacking wheat chromosome 2D.EST-STS marker and Wheat Axiom 660K Genotyping Array analysis further revealed that H139 was a novel wheat-P. huashania 2Ns/2D substitution line, and that the P. huashania 2Ns chromosome shares high sequence similarity to wheat chromosome 2D. These results indicate that H139, with its enhanced wheat take-all disease resistance and desirable agronomic traits, provides valuable genetic resources for wheat chromosome engineering breeding.
Project description:Aging is associated with declining immunity and inflammation as well as alterations in the gut microbiome with a decrease of beneficial microbes and increase in pathogenic ones. The aim of this study was to investigate aging associated gut microbiome in relation to immunologic and metabolic profile in a non-human primate (NHP) model. 12 old (age>18 years) and 4 young (age 3-6 years) Rhesus macaques were included in this study. Immune cell subsets were characterized in PBMC by flow cytometry and plasma cytokines levels were determined by bead based multiplex cytokine analysis. Stool samples were collected by ileal loop and investigated for microbiome analysis by shotgun metagenomics. Serum, gut microbial lysate and microbe-free fecal extract were subjected to metabolomic analysis by mass-spectrometry. Our results showed that the old animals exhibited higher inflammatory biomarkers in plasma and lower CD4 T cells with altered distribution of naïve and memory T cell maturation subsets. The gut microbiome in old animals had higher abundance of Archaeal and Proteobacterial species and lower Firmicutes than the young. Significant enrichment of metabolites that contribute to inflammatory and cytotoxic pathways was observed in serum and feces of old animals compared to the young. We conclude that aging NHP undergo immunosenescence and age associated alterations in the gut microbiome that has a distinct metabolic profile.