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Topic Review
Beneficial Soil Microbiomes in Plant Growth
The soil microbiome plays an important role in maintaining soil health, plant productivity, and soil ecosystem services. Molecular-based studies have shed light on the fact that the soil microbiome has been quantitatively underestimated. In addition to metagenomic studies, metaproteomics and metatranscriptomic studies that target the functional part of the microbiome are becoming more common. These are important for a better understanding of the functional role of the microbiome and for deciphering plant-microbe interactions. Free-living beneficial bacteria that promote plant growth by colonizing plant roots are called plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs). They exert their beneficial effects in different ways, either by facilitating the uptake of nutrients and synthesizing particular compounds for plants or by preventing and protecting plants from diseases.
  • 232
  • 29 Jan 2024
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 S Conserved Regions for Vaccine Development
Several distinct pathogenic coronaviruses have emerged, including the pandemic SARS-CoV-2, which is difficult to curtail despite the availability of licensed vaccines. The difficulty in managing SARS-CoV-2 is linked to changes in the variants’ proteins, especially in the spike protein (SP) used for viral entry. These mutations, especially in the SP, enable the virus to evade immune responses induced by natural infection or vaccination. However, some parts of the SP in the S1 subunit and the S2 subunit are considered conserved among coronaviruses. 
  • 177
  • 29 Jan 2024
Topic Review
The Reason Breeding Companies Established Genebanks
Among the most important users of plant genetic resources, conserved predominantly in public genebanks around the world, are public and private plant breeders. Through their breeding efforts, they contribute significantly to global, regional, and local food and nutrition security. Plant breeders need genetic diversity to be able to develop competitive new varieties that are adapted to the changing environmental conditions and suit the needs of consumers. To ensure continued and timely access to the genetic resources that contain the required characteristics and traits, plant breeders established working collections with breeding materials and germplasm for the crops they were breeding. However, with the changing and increasingly more restrictive access conditions, triggered by new global legal instruments like the Convention on Biological Diversity/Nagoya Protocol and the International Treaty, plant breeders started to establish their own genebanks, to ensure continued and non-bureaucratic access.
  • 163
  • 28 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Organoids in Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer (PCa) has been known as the most prevalent cancer disease and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in men almost all over the globe. There is an urgent need for establishment of PCa models that can recapitulate the progress of genomic landscapes and molecular alterations during development and progression of this disease. Notably, several organoid models have been developed for assessing the complex interaction between PCa and its surrounding microenvironment. PCa organoids have been emerged as powerful in vitro 3D model systems that recapitulate the molecular features (such as genomic/epigenomic changes and tumor microenvironment) of PCa metastatic tumors. In addition, application of organoid technology in mechanistic studies (i.e., for understanding cellular/subcellular and molecular alterations) and translational medicine has been recognized as a promising approach for facilitating the development of potential biomarkers and novel therapeutic strategies.
  • 171
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
CRISPR/Cas9 as a Mutagenic Factor
The discovery of the CRISPR/Cas9 microbial adaptive immune system has revolutionized the field of genetics, by greatly enhancing the capacity for genome editing. CRISPR/Cas9-based editing starts with DNA breaks (or other lesions) predominantly at target sites and, unfortunately, at off-target genome sites. DNA repair systems differing in accuracy participate in establishing desired genetic changes but also introduce unwanted mutations, that may lead to hereditary, oncological, and other diseases. New approaches to alleviate the risks associated with genome editing include attenuating the off-target activity of editing complex through the use of modified forms of Cas9 nuclease and single guide RNA (sgRNA), improving delivery methods for sgRNA/Cas9 complex, and directing DNA lesions caused by the sgRNA/Cas9 to non-mutagenic repair pathways.
  • 197
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Saprophytic Filamentous Fungi against Helminths Affecting Captive Wild Animals
In recent decades, important modifications have been introduced in zoos in order to guarantee the welfare of captive wild animals. Thus, many of these species are housed in enclosures with access to vegetation, where they can enjoy habitats close to those in their natural surroundings, interact with the environment, etc. These habitats present beneficial conditions for some species of parasites to survive and spread. This is a very similar problem to that affecting livestock, and the same solution, based on deworming, is currently being applied. However, the free-living stages of certain parasites that develop in the soil are responsible for high rates of ground contamination throughout the year, so that animals become infected soon after successful deworming, resulting in chemical parasiticides being frequently administered. Preventive measures are seldom considered, which worsens the situation. This entry summarizes the usefulness of the dissemination of certain saprophytic filamentous fungi with proven antagonism against some of the parasites.
  • 440
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Edible Coatings for Postharvest Application of Peach Fruit
Peaches are among the most well-known fruits in the world due to their appealing taste and high nutritional value. Peach fruit, on the other hand, has a variety of postharvest quality issues like chilling injury symptoms, internal breakdown, weight loss, decay, shriveling, and over-ripeness, which makes a challenging environment for industries and researchers to develop sophisticated strategies for fruit quality preservation and extending shelf life. All over the world, consumers prefer excellent-quality, high-nutritional-value, and long-lasting fresh fruits that are free of chemicals. An eco-friendly solution to this issue is the coating and filming of fresh produce with natural edible materials. The edible coating utilization eliminates the adulteration risk, presents fruit hygienically, and improves aesthetics. Coatings are used in a way that combines food chemistry and preservation technology.
  • 140
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Transient Transfection of Schistosomes
The neglected tropical disease schistosomiasis is a worm infection that is caused by parasitic blood flukes. The disease is found in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the New World. Worldwide, 240 million people are infected, and 700 million people are at risk. Schistosomiasis is a debilitating, chronic disease, and the mortality is estimated at 200,000 deaths per year. Schistosomiasis control relies on the drug praziquantel, but it does not prevent reinfection after treatment. The development of new vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic methods and the investigation of the biological basis of infectivity are, therefore, of critical importance. The development of transgenesis systems, as have been used for other pathogens, has been hampered by the complexity of the parasite and its life cycle.
  • 268
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Rare-Actinomycetes to the Rescue
The failure of sustainable and agricultural intensifications in saving the ecosystem/public health has caused a paradigm shift to microbiome resource engineering through sustainable approaches. As agricultural intensification systems prioritize synthetic input applications over environmental health, sustainable intensification fails to define the end point of intensification, giving room for the application of “intensification” over “sustainability” to suit farmers’ needs. The complexity of a cooperative microbiome and the uncontrollable nature of its numerous influencing parameters as well as the non-specificity associated with bioinoculant application, results in the direct utilization of agroactive compounds to obtain greater preventive efficiency.
  • 111
  • 26 Jan 2024
Topic Review
C9orf72-Associated Toxic Dipeptide Repeats
Protein homeostasis is essential for neuron longevity, requiring a balanced regulation between protein synthesis and degradation. The clearance of misfolded and aggregated proteins, mediated by autophagy and the ubiquitin–proteasome systems, maintains protein homeostasis in neurons, which are post-mitotic and thus cannot use cell division to diminish the burden of misfolded proteins. When protein clearance pathways are overwhelmed or otherwise disrupted, the accumulation of misfolded or aggregated proteins can lead to the activation of ER stress and the formation of stress granules, which predominantly attempt to restore the homeostasis by suppressing global protein translation. Alterations in these processes have been widely reported among studies investigating the toxic function of dipeptide repeats (DPRs) produced by G4C2 expansion in the C9orf72 gene of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
  • 248
  • 26 Jan 2024
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