Biology-Basel最新文献

{"title":"Isolation, Pathogenicity, and Genomic Analysis of a Virulent <i>Aeromonas salmonicida</i> ST2 Strain from <i>Thymallus arcticus grubei</i>.","authors":"Ran Zhao, Di Wang, Jing Wang, Jianqiang Zhu, Yongquan Zhang, Kai Ma, Shaowu Li","doi":"10.3390/biology15191791","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191791","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Aeromonas salmonicida</i>, the causative agent of furunculosis, poses a serious threat to salmonid aquaculture, but its pathogenicity in rare cold-water fish species remains insufficiently characterized. This study reports the first isolation and characterization of a pathogenic <i>A. salmonicida</i> strain (Ag001) from diseased <i>Thymallus arcticus grubei</i> in China. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), together with 16S rRNA, <i>gyrB</i>, and <i>vapA</i> gene analyses and phylogenetic characterization, identified the isolate as <i>A. salmonicida</i> subsp. <i>salmonicida</i> ST2. In intraperitoneal challenge assays using six bacterial dose groups and PBS controls, Ag001 showed high virulence toward <i>T. arcticus grubei</i> [LD50: 3.08 × 10³ CFU/mL (95% CI: 9.42 × 10²-1.01 × 10⁴ CFU/mL), equivalent to 7.16 × 10¹ CFU/g (95% CI: 2.19 × 10¹-2.34 × 10² CFU/g)] and <i>Oncorhynchus mykiss</i> [LD50: 3.16 × 10⁴ CFU/mL (95% CI: 1.19 × 10⁴-8.38 × 10⁴ CFU/mL), equivalent to 3.46 × 10¹ CFU/g (95% CI: 1.31 × 10¹-9.17 × 10¹ CFU/g)]. Comparative histopathological examination of spleen, liver, and kidney tissues from diseased and healthy fish revealed splenic necrosis, hepatic degeneration, and renal tubular damage in diseased fish. Genomic analysis identified complete T2SS and T3SS secretion systems, along with eight virulence-associated genes including <i>aerA</i>, <i>hlyA</i>, and <i>vapA</i>, suggesting that secretion systems and virulence factors may contribute to pathogenicity. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed susceptibility to enrofloxacin, neomycin, and doxycycline, but resistance to several other tested agents. These findings provide information on the host range, pathogenicity, genomic virulence features, and potential treatment options for <i>A. salmonicida</i> ST2 in cold-water aquaculture systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664078/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149197085","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 Gamma Irradiation on Biological Yield, Iron and Zinc Accumulation, and Indirect Mineral Bioavailability in Spring Wheat Mutant Lines.","authors":"Gulina Doktyrbay, Saule Kenzhebayeva, Saule Atabayeva, Saltanat Asrandina, Nurgul Amangeldi, Rauza Abdukerim, Moldir Turaliyeva, Maira Kazankapova, Xiaodong Liang","doi":"10.3390/biology15191785","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191785","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gamma irradiation is an effective mutagenesis approach for developing wheat lines with improved agronomic performance and enhanced nutritional quality. This study evaluated the effects of gamma irradiation on biological yield, protein content, iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), phytic acid concentration, and mineral bioavailability in mutant lines derived from three spring wheat cultivars (Zhenis, Almaken, and Eritrospermum-35). Mutant lines developed following 100 Gy and 200 Gy gamma irradiation were compared with their respective parental cultivars. Biological yield, protein, Fe and Zn concentrations, phytic acid content, and phytate-to-iron (Phy:Fe) and phytate-to-zinc (Phy:Zn) molar ratios were determined. Gamma irradiation affected biological yield and enhanced iron and zinc accumulation while reducing phytic acid concentration and phytate molar ratios, resulting in improved potential mineral bioavailability. In general, mutant lines developed at 100 Gy exhibited the most favorable combination of high biological yield, increased Fe and Zn concentrations, reduced phytic acid content, and improved mineral bioavailability. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly separated mutant lines from their parental cultivars and identified superior genotypes associated with high biological yield, enhanced mineral accumulation, and lower phytate-related indices. Overall, these findings demonstrate that gamma irradiation, particularly at 100 Gy, is an effective strategy for improving biological yield, iron and zinc accumulation, and potential mineral bioavailability in spring wheat mutant lines, providing valuable genetic resources for future wheat biofortification programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664170/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196925","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":"Rewiring Biological Barriers in Pancreatic Diseases with Metal-Organic Frameworks.","authors":"Hao Li, Jiewen Hou, Congzhen He, Changxing Liu, Bowen Ran, Xinzhe Song, Lanxiao Lin, Lan Bao, Yi Zhao, Jing Mu, Liwei Chen, Hui-Zi Huang","doi":"10.3390/biology15191783","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191783","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pancreatic diseases, particularly pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), remain among the most challenging disorders to diagnose and treat owing to a series of interconnected biological barriers, including dense stromal desmoplasia, profound immunosuppression, hypoxia, therapeutic resistance, and the lack of effective early-detection strategies. Overcoming these barriers requires multifunctional platforms capable of integrating diagnosis, microenvironment regulation, and precision therapy within a single system. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of highly tunable porous crystalline materials, have emerged as uniquely suited candidates for this purpose because of their programmable composition, structural versatility, catalytic activity, and capacity for multifunctional integration. Notably, MOFs have evolved from passive drug carriers into active regulators of disease-associated biological processes, enabling enhanced drug delivery, extracellular matrix remodeling, ferroptosis- and cuproptosis-based precision therapy, energy-triggered reactive oxygen species generation, immune microenvironment reprogramming, and imaging-guided theranostics. Beyond pancreatic cancer, emerging evidence further supports their potential applications in pancreatitis management and interventional therapeutic enhancement. In this review, we systematically summarize recent advances in the rational engineering of MOFs for pancreatic diseases, focusing on how material design strategies are leveraged to overcome key pathological barriers and improve therapeutic outcomes. We further discuss current challenges associated with biosafety, biodegradation, large-scale manufacturing, and clinical translation, while highlighting future opportunities for the development of next-generation MOF-based precision nanomedicines. By integrating advances across materials science, nanomedicine, and pancreatic disease biology, this review provides a comprehensive framework for the design and translational development of MOF-enabled diagnostic and therapeutic platforms.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664055/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149197322","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":"Revealing the Patterns and Key Genes of Heat-Stress Response in <i>Quinoa</i> Through Physiological and Transcriptomic Analyses.","authors":"Wenli Liu, Fangjun Chen, Wei Wang, Jiancheng Song, Shihua Chen, Yibo An, Kun Chen, Haibo Yin, Shanli Guo","doi":"10.3390/biology15191781","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191781","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Quinoa is a high-nutrition crop originating from the Andes Mountains that is tolerant to cold, drought and salt. However, the mechanism of the high-temperature response in quinoa is still unclear. In this study, quinoa line YL-6 was used to analyze the changes in photosynthetic parameters, physiological parameters and the transcriptome after 0, 3, 12 and 24 h of heat stress. Our results showed that photosynthetic parameters, including the maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), steady-state effective quantum yield (ΦPSII_Lss), non-photochemical quenching (NPQ_Lss), and photochemical quenching coefficients (qL_Lss, qP_Lss), decreased significantly under heat stress, whereas the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), increased significantly at the early stage. The contents of osmotic adjustment substances such as proline, soluble protein and soluble sugar showed a non-single change trend. WGCNA was conducted to group the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) into 12 co-expression modules. Key modules associated with heat perception and signal transduction were identified, and a core regulatory network was subsequently constructed. Hub genes encoding molecular chaperones and transcription factors were screened, among which heat shock proteins (HSPs) were the most prominent. These results could provide a theoretical basis for analyzing the regulatory network of heat stress, exploring heat-resistant genes and introducing and domesticating quinoa.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664526/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149197337","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":"Temporal Evolution and Dissociation of Neuroendocrine Stress Inflammatory Responses Neurological Dysfunction and Multiorgan Injury Following Experimental Polytrauma in Mice.","authors":"Bing Liu, Fang Xie, Ke Dong, Yumeng Wang, Ling Zhang, Yun Zhao, Xue Wang, Zhaowei Sun, Shenghui Zhang, Jiani Jing, Ling-Jia Qian, Jianning Zhang","doi":"10.3390/biology15191788","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191788","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Polytrauma induces neuroendocrine, inflammatory, neurological, and multiorgan responses that may follow distinct temporal trajectories. We characterized these changes during the first 7 days after experimental head-thorax-abdomen polytrauma in male C57BL/6 mice. Animals underwent polytrauma or Sham procedures and were evaluated at 0 h, 3 h, 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 3 d and 7 d. Neurological and behavioral outcomes, brain water content, serum and injured-brain neuroendocrine and inflammatory mediators, and brain, lung, and liver histopathology were assessed. Polytrauma caused persistent neurological and locomotor impairment and increased brain water content. Corticosterone rose rapidly during the early phase and largely normalized by 12 h, whereas norepinephrine in injured brain tissue increased at 3-7 d. Pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators showed distinct systemic and cerebral temporal profiles. Histology demonstrated time-dependent brain, lung, and liver injury with evolving extracellular matrix remodeling. Thus, experimental polytrauma produces temporally dissociated responses characterized by early glucocorticoid activation, persistent neurological and inflammatory abnormalities, delayed cerebral noradrenergic changes, and progressive multiorgan remodeling, supporting phase-specific pathophysiology after injury.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664201/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196782","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":"Changes in Physicochemical Properties, Volatile Flavor Compounds and Microbiota in <i>Phascolosoma esculenta</i> Muscle During Frozen Storage at -20 °C.","authors":"Binxin Cai, Fengfang Zhou, Qi Wei, Ding Li, Weiqing Huang","doi":"10.3390/biology15191789","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191789","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Phascolosoma esculenta</i> is a valuable marine seafood, which suffers quality and flavor deterioration with the extension of frozen storage time. To reveal the degradation mechanism, physicochemical properties, microbiota, metabolites, and volatiles were investigated in <i>P. esculenta</i> muscle during frozen storage (-20 °C). Water-holding capacity (WHC) decreased to 77.87%, while the content of total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARSs) increased to 18.85 mg/100 g and 1.18 mg MDA/kg, respectively. Long-term frozen storage reduced microbial diversity. <i>Macrococcus</i> and <i>Nitrospira</i> became the predominant genera after 360 days of frozen storage, and their predominance was associated with muscle flavor deterioration. Untargeted metabolomics identified 4299 metabolites. Differential metabolites were mainly involved in purine, nucleotide, arachidonic acid, and amino acid metabolism. Volatile profiles were markedly altered during frozen storage. Freshness-related aldehydes decreased markedly, whereas off-flavor alcohols (e.g., 1-octen-3-ol) and sulfur-containing volatiles (e.g., dimethyl trisulfide) continuously accumulated. Pearson correlation analysis showed that physicochemical spoilage indicators, cold-adapted microorganisms, and differential lipid metabolites were closely associated with the generation of undesirable off-odors. This study reveals the interactive effects of protein degradation, lipid oxidation, and microbial succession during frozen storage.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664345/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149197368","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 \"Selfish Cell\": The Central Role of Metabolism in Relaying Environmental Stimuli and Controlling Cellular Function.","authors":"Sabina Di Matteo, Davide Gnocchi","doi":"10.3390/biology15191790","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191790","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Science is dynamic, and novel models to better understand experimental observations are very important for its advancement. In the context of cell biology, knowledge about how cells behave in response to extracellular stimuli, and how these processes are dysregulated in pathologic conditions, is one of the challenges of biological research nowadays. From a theoretical point of view, the discovery of the double-helix model of DNA structure led to the idea that most aspects of a cell's behavior could be understood by knowing the sequence and the rules regulating the expression of genes. A paradigm of this way of thinking is the theory of the \"selfish gene\" by Richard Dawkins. Indeed, this approach is being found to have several limitations, especially in the interpretations of complex pathologies, such as cancer, metabolic or neurodegenerative diseases. For this reason, a paradigm shift should be considered to provide a better modeling of the biological processes that control cellular behavior and physiology. In particular, a central role should be given to metabolism as a relay between the environment and microenvironment and cell function, by driving epigenetic modifications. For these reasons, a new \"selfish cell\" model should be introduced, which could prove useful to better explain complex diseases and find more effective translational approaches.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664166/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196981","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":"Transferability of Transcriptome-Based Gene-Dependency Models from Two-Dimensional Cancer Models to Patient-Derived Organoids: Blinded External Validation.","authors":"Yelda Fırat, Yılmaz Kılıçaslan","doi":"10.3390/biology15191782","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191782","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transferability of transcriptome-based gene-dependency models from two-dimensional cancer models to organoids remains uncertain. Expression-only Elastic Net models for 20 preselected genes were selected using patient-grouped nested cross-validation in 681 models and evaluated in a locked 171-model holdout. Historical target selection used all 852 models, making holdout performance conditional internal confirmation rather than an unbiased generalization estimate. After refitting on all 852 models, frozen models underwent exploratory evaluation in 94 Broad organoids and blinded validation in 148 Sanger organoids from 144 donors. Predictions were sealed before Sanger outcome access. Primary target-wise Spearman correlations, ranking organoids per gene, averaged 0.4094, 0.1518, and 0.1015 in holdout, Broad, and Sanger, respectively. Sanger association exceeded the within-lineage permutation null (<i>p</i> = 0.00040), but improvement over lineage-only prediction remained uncertain (difference, 0.0462; 95% confidence interval, -0.0065-0.0986). <i>CDK6</i>, <i>MDM4</i>, and <i>CCNE1</i> passed false discovery rate correction in Sanger. Retrospective within-organoid gene ranking modestly improved over lineage-only prediction in both cohorts; top-three overlap improved only in Sanger. Pancreatic results remained unvalidated projections. Findings support weak cross-domain rank transfer and limited within-organoid ranking within the selected panel, without establishing genome-wide transferability, causal explanations for attenuation, or prospective experimental or therapeutic utility.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664187/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149197229","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":"Genome-Wide Characterization of the PEBP Gene Family in Chinese Plum (<i>Prunus salicina</i> Lindl.) and Expression Profiling During Floral Bud Development and Flowering.","authors":"Chen Lu, Qianju Wang, Fei Han, Shouyi Chen, Zhijun Peng","doi":"10.3390/biology15191786","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191786","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family plays a crucial role in regulating flowering and other developmental processes, yet it remains insufficiently characterized in Chinese plum (<i>Prunus salicina</i> Lindl.). A comprehensive genome-wide analysis identified seven candidate <i>PsPEBP</i> genes, which are categorized into the TFL1-like, FT-like, MFT-like, and AT5G01300-related groups. These genes are distributed across five chromosomes and encode proteins ranging from 100 to 174 amino acids in length. Analyses of sequence, motif, gene structure, and synteny revealed conserved characteristics, although the abbreviated PsPEBP4 model requires further validation. The nonsynonymous-to-synonymous substitution rate ratios, ranging from approximately 0.03 to 0.35, suggest the influence of purifying selection. The upstream regions of these genes contain putative regulatory elements associated with light, hormones, development, and stress responses. Transcriptome analysis during fruit development demonstrated distinct temporal expression patterns among the <i>PsPEBP</i> genes. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis demonstrated distinct expression patterns throughout the stages of floral bud development and flower opening (F1-F5). <i>PsPEBP1</i>, <i>PsPEBP2</i>, and <i>PsPEBP7</i> exhibited their highest relative expression levels at stage F1, followed by a subsequent decline. In contrast, <i>PsPEBP3</i> and <i>PsPEBP6</i> reached their expression peak at stage F2, while <i>PsPEBP5</i> peaked at stage F3. Notably, <i>PsPEBP4</i> expression decreased at stage F2 and then progressively increased from stages F2 to F5. Subcellular localization studies revealed that PsPEBP2 is present in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> leaf cells. These findings lay the groundwork for further investigation into the roles of <i>PsPEBP</i> genes in reproductive development.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664274/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149197300","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 Combined Peat Powder and Fermented Manure on Oat Yield, Soil Enzyme Activities and Microbial Community Composition in Horqin Sandy Land.","authors":"Ruozhuang Zhao, Haishuang Liu, Jiale Na, Tao Li, Ziwei Li, Tiexia Zhu, Zhaoxu Nie, Kai Gao","doi":"10.3390/biology15191780","DOIUrl":"10.3390/biology15191780","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Low soil fertility caused by organic matter deficit severely restricts crop productivity in sandy lands. To investigate the effects of organic matter addition on plant yield and soil productivity in sandy areas, a two-factor randomized block field experiment was conducted using oat (<i>Avena sativa</i>) with five ratios (7:3, 3:2, 1:1, 2:3, 3:7; w:w) and five application rates (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20, t·ha^-1) of peat powder and fermented manure in the Horqin Sandy Land, which is a typical agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China. Application of combined peat powder and fermented manure significantly increased oat yield, and the fertilization rate exerted a stronger effect on oat yield than the mixing ratio of the two organic materials. Furthermore, organic fertilization significantly increased the relative abundances of microorganisms, improved soil C, N and P contents, and enhanced the activities of urease, invertase, and catalase. The combination of an application rate of 20 t·ha^-1 and a 3:2 peat-powder-to-fermented-manure ratio represents a promising fertilization regime among treatments tested for oat cultivation in this region, given its highest aboveground dry-matter yield. Collectively, these findings show that rational combined application of fermented manure and peat powder in sandy land can significantly increase soil enzyme activities and optimize soil nutrient stoichiometry, and is positively correlated with rhizosphere microbial community composition and oat yield.</p>","PeriodicalId":48624,"journal":{"name":"Biology-Basel","volume":"15 19","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13664378/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149196950","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}