Project description:Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder for which a definitive cure is still missing. This is characterized by an overwhelming inflammatory milieu in the colonic tract where a composite set of immune and non-immune cells orchestrate its pathogenesis. Over the last years, a growing body of evidence has been pinpointing gut virome dysbiosis as underlying its progression. Nonetheless, its role during the early phases of chronic inflammation is far from being fully defined. Here we show the gut virome-associated Hepatitis B virus protein X, most likely acquired after an event of zoonotic spillover, to be associated with the early stages of ulcerative colitis and to induce colonic inflammation in mice. It acts as a transcriptional regulator in epithelial cells, provoking barrier leakage and altering mucosal immunity at the level of both innate and adaptive immunity. This study paves the way to the comprehension of the aetiopathogenesis of intestinal inflammation and encourages further investigations of the virome as a trigger also in other scenarios. Moreover, it provides a brand-new standpoint that looks at the virome as a target for tailored treatments, blocking the early phases of chronic inflammation and possibly leading to better disease management.
Project description:To dissect the gene regulatory networks operating during Scarlet Runner Bean seed development, we identified the binding sites genome-wide for transcription factor in Scarlet Runner Bean seeds during seed development using ChIP-seq
Project description:Snap bean is a widely planted legume vegetable crop in the world, with tender pods as its edible organ. In the actual production process, excessive fiber content in bean pods can lead to a deterioration in their taste after cooking, seriously affecting their edible quality. In order to better study the mechanism of fiber formation in bean pod walls, we selected a bean pod fiber mutant (bfm) from the bean mutant library.
Project description:Many genes involve in pathogenicity and virulence are induced only in plant or in the presence of host components. Bean leaf extract was obtained from healthy bean leaves. In this work we investigated the effect of bean leaf extract on the transcriptomic profile of the bacterium, when grown at low temperature in minimal medium with or without extract from healthy bean leaves.
Project description:Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe intestinal disorder connected to a gut microbiota dysbiosis. Approximately 7-8% of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants are diagnosed with NEC with mortality rates reaching 20-50%. Fecal virome transfer (FVT) is an approach where the bacteria-free fecal fraction from a healthy donor is administered to a patient with a GM dysbiosis. FVT contains e.g. bacteriophages, eukaryotic viruses, and metabolites. Oral administered FVT from healthy milk-fed term pigs shows promising potential in preventing NEC in the preterm piglet model. However, efficacy and safety are inconsistent between experiments. In the current study, we aim to explore methods of creating reproducible FVT-like treatments and test if these act preventive against NEC and possess minimal side effects in the preterm piglet model. Using cesarean-delivered, formula-fed preterm pigs, we compare the NEC preventive effect of native donor fecal virome (nFV) with: 1) a defined bacteriophage cocktail targeting NEC-associated bacteria; and 2) a chemostat fecal virome propagation with lactose as the major carbohydrate source (cFV), and 3) chemostat fecal virome propagation with lactose and milk oligosaccharides (cFV-OS). All methods will be compared to control treatment with SM buffer (SM).
Project description:250 adult T. urticae females from the London strain (grown on acyanogenic P. vulgaris cv. Prelude bean plants) were transferred to cyanogenic P. lunatus cv. 8078 bean plants. Thirty-five generations after the host transfer, total RNA was extracted from mites growing on both bean species (London and London-CYANO strain) and used in in a genome-wide gene expression microarray (Sureprint G3 microarray, Agilent) experiment to assess significantly differentially expressed genes (FC ≥ 2 and FDR-corrected p-value < 0.05) between mites grown on P. vulgaris (cv. Prelude) bean plants (London strain) and mites grown for 35 generations on P. lunatus (cv. 8078) bean plants (London-CYANO strain).