PeerJ最新文献

{"title":"Tradeoffs for bluegill sunfish turning at different rates.","authors":"Andrew David Clark, Eric D Tytell","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21161","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When fish turn using their caudal fins, they face a tradeoff. To turn rapidly, they must produce high torque or reduce their rotational moment of inertia or both, but these two things may pose opposite constraints. The moment arm for torque from forces from the caudal fin is highest when the body is straight, but the moment of inertia is lowest when the body is bent. Torque depends on the distance of body segments from the center of mass, but moment of inertia depends on this distance squared. Therefore, we hypothesized that fish would resolve this tradeoff differently at different turning rates, producing torque first at low speeds but reducing moment of inertia first at higher speeds. We developed a device that elicits 180° turns repeatedly at controlled speeds. The device constrained fish to perform a turn with a defined radius (a property referred to as maneuverability) while varying the speed of the turn (the agility of the turn). Using this device, we compare the swimming kinematics of bluegill sunfish (<i>Lepomis macrochirus</i>) during fast (high agility) and slow (lower agility) turns, while maintaining maneuverability. Across all speeds of turns, lower moment of inertia correlated with faster turns, and minimum moment of intertia tended to coincide with maximum angular velocity. In faster turns, fish began with higher linear momentum, which they then converted to angular momentum. Slower turning fish also took more strokes with their pectoral fins while faster turning fish took higher frequency strokes with their pectoral fins. Therefore we found partial support for our hypothesis: despite substantial variability in the data, for faster turns, fish more often minimized moment of inertia before they maximized torque.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21161"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134547/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819255","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The modular chromosomal genomic plasticity mediating high level antibiotic resistance in eight clinical carbapenem-resistant <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i> strains.","authors":"Shuai Wang, Xinrou Zheng, Xueyun Geng, Ling Li, Mingyu Wang","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21106","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong><i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>, a prevalent multidrug resistant (MDR) pathogen, poses a significant threat to critically ill patients. This work aims to analyze the genomes of eight clinical carbapenem-resistant <i>A. baumannii</i> (CRAB) strains, and to study the mechanisms and genomic context of antimicrobial resistance for this critical pathogen.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Nanopore whole-genomic sequencing was performed and compared with carbapenem-susceptible <i>A. baumannii</i> strain to identify genomic context patterns of antibiotic resistance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Although some of these strains contain transferable plasmids, 121 of 122 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) identified are located on their chromosomes. Moreover, chromosomal ARGs clustered within recombinase-rich regions forming clear modules that are different from known resistance genomic islands. These modules are tandemly linked forming different combinations, and integrated at specific hot-spots <i>via</i> diverse mechanisms (direct repeats, fragment replacement, inverted repeats), suggesting that modular chromosomal plasticity leads to multidrug resistance in <i>A. baumannii</i>. Plasmid presence of these modules in other bacterial strains suggests they could have originated from plasmids.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We find that modular chromosomal plasticity is the primary driver of carbapenem-resistance in our collection of CRAB isolates, which is a unique evolutionary strategy different from other ESKAPE pathogens. This study provides critical insights into CRAB genomic adaptability, and informs future strategies to combat their spread.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21106"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134544/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multiomics analysis reveals the biochemical and genetic bases of <i>Coffea arabica</i> L. fruit color.","authors":"Ruifang Wang, Zhengwan Xie, Gengyun Pan, Liye Yang, Liping Liu, Xiu Li, Haifei Lu","doi":"10.7717/peerj.20305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20305","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coffee is a remarkable source of bioactive compounds, including anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, and carotenoids, with health benefits. To fully understand the biochemical and molecular regulation mechanisms behind <i>Coffea arabica</i> L. pigmentation, transcriptome profiling and metabolite quantitation were conducted on three varieties with significant color differences. A total of 40 anthocyanins, six proanthocyanidins, and 34 carotenoids were accumulated in three <i>C. arabica</i> fruits. The up-regulation and accumulation of most flavonoids, including anthocyanidin compounds, and the down-regulation and accumulation of proanthocyanidins were important factors in the purple pigmentation of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits, while the down-regulation and accumulation of anthocyanins and the up-regulation and accumulation of proanthocyanidins were important factors affecting the yellow pigmentation of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits. Cyanidins were major contributors to redness in the anthocyanins of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits, especially the cyanidin-3-O-glucoside compound. The accumulation of anthocyanin metabolites was the main factor affecting the purple pigmentation of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits, followed by the high proportion of cyanidin metabolites and the unique metabolites of petunidan. The accumulation of proanthocyanidins contributed to the yellow and pink pigmentation of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits, with Procyanidin B2 and Procyanidin C1 metabolites contributing specifically to yellow pigmentation. Lutein and lutein myristate were major contributors to carotenoids of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits, and lycopene and Zeaxanthin-laurate-myristate contributed to the red pigmentation of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits. <i>CaCHSs</i>, <i>CaCHIs</i>, <i>Ca4CLs</i>, and <i>CaF3Hs</i> could help enhance the synthesis of important compounds, including chalcone, naringenin, and dihydroflavonol, in the upstream pathway of anthocyanin synthesis. <i>CaF3'Hs</i> significantly promoted metabolic influx into cyanidin- and peonidin-related biosynthesis. <i>CaANSs</i> and <i>CaDFRs</i> were responsible for anthocyanin deposition in <i>C. arabica</i> fruits. <i>CaPSYs</i>, <i>CaPDSs</i>, <i>CaZ-ISO</i>, and <i>CaZDS2</i> were important for the formation of lycopene in <i>C. arabica</i> fruits. The key structural gene expression of <i>CaPSYs</i>, <i>CaPDSs</i>, <i>CaZ-ISO</i>, <i>CaZDS2</i>, <i>CaCHYE3</i>, <i>CaCHYE5</i>, <i>CaZEP9</i>, and <i>CaCRTISOs</i> in <i>C. arabica</i> fruits contributed to carotenoid biosynthesis. This study provides a robust biochemical analysis, revealing target genes of <i>C. arabica</i> fruit pigment deposition, which have important implications for improving the nutritional quality of <i>C. arabica</i> fruits <i>via</i> molecular breeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"13 ","pages":"e20305"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134542/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pharmacological targeting of C3aR modulates mesangial matrix deposition in db/db mice.","authors":"Jing Zheng, Xiaoting Wu, Mengjie Weng, Jianxin Wan, Xiaohong Zhang","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21248","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21248","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Complement activation significantly contributes to the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Recent studies have shown that renal levels of the complement component 3 (C3) and its receptor (C3aR) increase with disease progression. Mesangial matrix deposition in the glomeruli is an early pathological hallmark of DKD, but the potential role of C3aR in this process remains unclear. In this study, we used C57BLKS/JGpt wild-type (WT) mice, C57BLKS/JGpt db/db mice (a well-established model of type 2 diabetic nephropathy), and a pharmacological C3aR antagonist (C3aRA, SB290157 trifluoroacetate) to investigate this association. Strong C3 and C3aR staining was observed in the glomerular tufts of db/db mice, with C3aR co-localizing with mesangial nuclear cell markers. After 8 weeks of C3aRA treatment, db/db mice showed significant improvements in urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), glomerular hypertrophy, and mesangial expansion. Inhibition of C3aR suppressed the expression of fibronectin (FN), osteopontin (OPN), and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), indicating reduced mesangial matrix deposition. C3aRA also decreased renal deposition of calcineurin (CaN) and nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1 (NFATc1). These findings indicate a potential association between C3aR signaling and phenotypic and functional alterations in mesangial cells, which may be linked to the CaN/NFATc1 pathway. Given the well-documented pharmacological limitations of SB290157, our results do not confirm a definitive regulatory role for C3aR, but identify C3aR as a candidate mediator of mesangial matrix deposition in DKD, providing preliminary evidence that targeting C3aR may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for diabetic kidney disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21248"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134546/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differential spatiotemporal dynamics of cell wall-degrading enzymes underlie pathogenicity variation in two <i>Alternaria</i> species causing kiwifruit soft rot.","authors":"Li-Zhen Ling, Si-Han Tai, Hui Teng, Shu-Dong Zhang","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21223","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Kiwifruit soft rot caused by fungal pathogens can result in substantial postharvest losses. While <i>Alternaria alternata</i> and <i>A. tenuissima</i> have been implicated in this disease, their pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly characterized. This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of cell wall-degrading enzyme (CWDE) activities during infection of kiwifruit by <i>A. alternata</i> (strain P1-1W) and <i>A. tenuissima</i> (strain P1-2W). Using a zonal sampling approach (healthy, marginal, and lesioned tissues) over 0-6 days post-inoculation (dpi), we analyzed the activities of six CWDEs: polygalacturonase (PG), polymethylgalacturonase (PMG), PG trans-eliminase (PGTE), PMG trans-eliminase (PMTE), cellulase (Cx), and β-glucosidase (β-Glu). Our results demonstrated that infection time, rather than spatial proximity to lesions, was the primary determinant of CWDE activity profiles for both pathogens. Despite this shared temporal regulation, the two species exhibited distinct enzymatic strategies. <i>A. alternata</i> deployed a PMG-centric, biphasic infection strategy, characterized by early and sustained PMG induction (peaking at 37.08 U/mL at 4 dpi), with significant contributions from Cx, β-Glu and PG at later stages. In contrast, <i>A. tenuissima</i> adopted a cellulase-dominant strategy, where Cx and β-Glu were the principal drivers of tissue maceration (exhibiting sustained elevation from 3-6 dpi). Two pectinases (PG and PMG) played transient, early roles. Activities of PGTE and PMTE were negligible for both species. These findings reveal that closely related <i>Alternaria</i> species employ divergent, temporally programmed CWDE arsenals to infect kiwifruit, providing new insights into their pathogenic mechanisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21223"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134541/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of priming exercise on oxygen uptake kinetics, muscle oxygenation, and metabolic load in trained anaerobic athletes: a randomized crossover trial.","authors":"Jing Qing, Yingying Hou, Hanyue Zhang, Tingting Sun, Xiao Jia, Zhenxing Kong","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21221","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21221","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This study aimed to compare the acute and residual physiological responses elicited by three different priming exercise strategies, including high-intensity priming exercise (HIPE), low-intensity priming exercise (LIPE), and low-intensity priming exercise with blood flow restriction (LIPE-BFR), on oxygen uptake kinetics, muscle oxygenation, and metabolic load during severe-intensity cycling in trained anaerobic athletes.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Sixteen trained anaerobic athletes completed a randomized crossover protocol with three priming conditions (HIPE, LIPE, and LIPE-BFR) in a randomized order. The experimental protocol began with an incremental exercise test to determine maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max), followed by five submaximal constant-load cycling trials to derive individual power-VO₂ regression equations. The three priming interventions included HIPE, LIPE, and LIPE-BFR. Key physiological parameters, including pulmonary oxygen uptake kinetics, muscle oxygen saturation (SmO₂), accumulated blood lactate (ABLa) concentration, accumulated oxygen uptake (AVO₂), and accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), were assessed to quantify oxygen utilization and metabolic demand across sessions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Compared with HIPE, both LIPE and LIPE-BFR induced significantly lower amplitude (A) and longer time delay (TD), along with reduced reduced minimum SmO₂ (SmO₂min) and steady-state SmO₂ (SmO₂ss) during exercise (<i>P</i> < 0.05). HIPE elicited greater metabolic responses, including higher AVO₂, AOD, and ABLa. Significant correlations were observed between VO₂kinetics and metabolic demand, as well as between SmO₂-derived indices and ABLa (<i>P</i> < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found among the three conditions in VO₂ kinetics or metabolic outcomes during the subsequent severe-intensity cycling bout (<i>P</i> > 0.05), except for a higher VO₂ baseline in the HIPE group (<i>P</i> < 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although the three priming strategies elicited distinct acute physiological responses, their residual effects on oxygen uptake kinetics and metabolic outcomes during subsequent severe-intensity exercise were largely comparable. Future studies should further explore alternative priming protocols and refine experimental designs to better clarify the effects of priming.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21221"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134540/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resetting of the NEI-RQL-42 scale model for spectacle and contact lens wearers.","authors":"Irene Sanchez, Oscar Garcia Espinilla, Carlos Durantez-Fernández, Itziar Fernández, Sara Ortiz-Toquero, Raul Martin","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21167","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The NEI Refractive Error Quality of Life Instrument 42 (NEI-RQL-42) was developed to assess how refractive error compensation affects quality of life. The purpose of this study was to reset the NEI-RQL-42 scale model to develop specific scales related to the use of ophthalmic lenses and contact lenses (CLs).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A prospective study was designed. Healthy volunteers between 18 and 70 years of age completed the NEI-RQL-42 questionnaire twice, once for spectacles use and once for CLs use. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the original factor and refine the subscales to improve the psychometric properties of the NEI-RQL-42 and detect differences between spectacles and CLs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Seventy-five healthy subjects (58 women and 17 men with an average age of 30.53 ± 12.51 years) were included. The original factor structure did not show an acceptable fit for spectacles or CLs. Several items were removed from the spectacles and CLs datasets, and some modifications of the subscales based on modification indices were introduced to obtain acceptable models for both samples. Spectacle users showed significantly higher scores (<i>p</i> < 0.01) on the clarity of vision, diurnal fluctuations, symptoms and satisfaction with correction subscales. On the other hand, CLs users had higher scores on the \"activity limitations\" subscale (<i>p</i> < 0.01).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>analysis of the NEI-RQL-42 score with an adequate statistical approach allows us to identify the differences between the effects of spectacles and CLs wear on patients' QoL, providing useful information regarding the impact of refractive error compensation on QoL. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that the same scale can be used for different methods of refractive error compensation, such as spectacles or CLs.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21167"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13134548/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genomic insights into SARS-CoV-2 evolution in Yantai, China after the adjustment of the dynamic zero-COVID policy in 2023.","authors":"Juan Liu, Yi Zhang, Liu Yang, Liqun He, Xia Li, Lili Zhao, Jingfei Hu, Yulou Sun, Zhenlu Sun","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21264","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21264","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases surged after China adjusted the dynamic COVID-zero strategy at the end of 2022, posing significant public health challenges in Yantai. To monitor the evolutionary process and characterize variants circulating in Yantai in 2023, 613 nasopharyngeal swab samples from confirmed COVID-19 patients were sequenced, assigned to lineages, used for phylogenetic tree construction, and analyzed for spike protein mutations. The results showed that most of the sequences belonged to 10 lineages. Among these, 20.72% (127/613) were identified as BF.7.14, 21.04% (129/613) as EG, 14.03% (86/613) as HK, 12.40% (76/613) as DY, 8.32% (51/613) as XBB.1, 8.32% (51/613) as FL, 3.43% (21/613) as BA.5.2, 1.79% (11/613) as BN.1, 1.79% (11/613) as FY.3 and 0.65% (4/613) as DZ.1. A clear dominance shift was observed from BA.5-derived lineages in early 2023 to XBB-derived lineages in the latter half of the year, reflecting the nationwide replacement trend and the ongoing viral adaptation. The prevalent variants were consistent with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants circulating in China at the same time. The spike protein of the prevalent variants shared 28 common mutations. In addition, several lineage-specific mutations were identified across different variants. Spike protein mutations gradually accumulated and augmented transmissibility and immune escape of variants. New variants with higher viral fitness appeared continuously and posed significant challenges to public health, so long-term genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is still necessary in the future. These findings provide an important scientific basis for optimizing public health policies, strengthening genomic surveillance systems, and improving preparedness for potential future epidemic waves.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21264"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13131350/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147818522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS)-based metabonomic response of <i>Salvia miltiorrhiza</i> flowers to cadmium stress.","authors":"Jun Yuan, Jianling Wang, Rongpeng Liu, Haihui Fu, Xiaoyun Wang","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21149","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cadmium (Cd) poses a threat to plants and humans. As a commonly used Chinese medicinal material, <i>Salvia miltiorrhiza</i> (SM) roots have been investigated in many studies, but few studies have investigated SM flowers. In particular, there is a lack of research on the response of SM flowers to Cd stress. Here, the metabolomic mechanisms underlying the response of SM flowers to Cd stress were analyzed. Six kinds of metabolites were detected: amino acids, organic acids, sugars, lipids, alcohols, and others. Among them, organic acids accounted for the largest proportion, followed by sugars and amino acids. Principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) clearly differentiated the control from the Cd-treated groups. A total of 31, 40, and 49 differential metabolites (DMs) were detected in 25 (HT1), 50 (HT2), and 100 (HT3) mg·kg^-1 Cd-treated groups, respectively. These DMs were mainly enriched in alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, butanoate metabolism, citrate cycle (TCA cycle), and glycine, serine and threonine metabolism. Among the metabolites, oxamic acid and citric acid contributed most to the down-regulated differential amino acids and differential organic acids, respectively; xylose and 1-kestose contributed most to the up-regulated differential sugars; tryptophan and arachidic acid contributed most to the up-regulated amino acids and organic acids, respectively. These findings suggested that SM flowers might resist Cd stress through restructuring the cell-wall framework, modulating membrane fluidity, and regulating intracellular soluble components. These findings provide new avenues for exploring how medicinal plant resources cope with heavy-metal stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21149"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13131354/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147818379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The oral maternal microbiome plays a role in the development of cleft lip and palate condition in children.","authors":"Suzana Eiko Sato Guima, Bárbara Bischain, Lívia C Morais Gama, Agatha Cristhina Faria, Talita Lourenço, Daniela Franco Bueno, Debora Heller, Maria Rita Passos-Bueno, João C Setubal","doi":"10.7717/peerj.21128","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.21128","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Non-syndromic cleft lip or palate (NS-CL/P) is an oral birth defect with complex aetiology. We compared the microbial diversity and composition of the oral microbiome of mothers of babies with NS-CL/P (CLP group) and mothers of babies without NS-CL/P (control group). Oral microbiome composition was determined by sequencing the V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene. CLP and control groups had overall similar microbial compositions, but significant differences were observed. The most significant microbial genus related to these differences was <i>Cutibacterium</i>, which was more abundant in the CLP group. Based on the literature, we hypothesize that a member of the <i>Cutibacterium</i> genus present in the oral microbiota may have a role in inflammation processes that could be related to NS-CL/P development. We found additional differences in terms of differential abundance when subsetting the dataset for mothers with a male child; in this case, depletion of <i>Limosilactobacillus</i> and an unknown taxon, in the CLP group, was a significant result. We conclude that the maternal oral microbiome likely plays a role in the development of the NS-CL/P condition.</p>","PeriodicalId":19799,"journal":{"name":"PeerJ","volume":"14 ","pages":"e21128"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13131353/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147819273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}