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Biology

Biology is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of biological sciences published semimonthly online by MDPI.
The Spanish Society for Nitrogen Fixation (SEFIN) and Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Associations (FELASA) are affiliated with Biology and their members receive discounts on the article processing charges.
Indexed in PubMed | Quartile Ranking JCR - Q1 (Biology)

All Articles (8,940)

This study aimed to explore genetic variants associated with serum albumin (ALB) levels in Chinese winter sports athletes using genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) and to investigate potential regulatory mechanisms using bioinformatics annotation. A total of 382 Chinese winter sports athletes were recruited. ALB levels were compared between elite and non-elite athletes. GWAS was conducted using PLINK v1.9, with ALB as the phenotype and sex, age, and principal components as covariates. Associated SNPs were annotated using GTEx and SNPnexus. No significant differences were observed in ALB levels between elite and non-elite male or female athletes, and ALB levels in all groups followed a normal distribution. We identified 113 SNPs reaching a suggestive significance threshold (p < 1 × 10−5), with per-variant variance explained estimates (7.11–11.76%) reflecting model fit within this cohort. A stepwise regression model highlighted nine candidate SNPs that together explained 51.1% of ALB variance in the study sample. Functional annotation suggested that several variants show eQTL or sQTL signals in tissues relevant to ALB biology (e.g., liver and kidney), and pathway enrichment analyses implicated amino acid and hormone metabolism. Overall, these findings are hypothesis-generating; independent replication in additional and ancestry-matched cohorts (and follow-up functional studies) is required to confirm the robustness of the associations and clarify causal mechanisms.

17 February 2026

ALB concentration, distribution, and individual variability among winter sports athletes of different competitive levels. (A) ALB levels in male athletes; (B) ALB levels in female athletes; (C) Distribution of ALB levels in male athletes; (D) Distribution of ALB levels in female athletes; (E) Individual variability in ALB levels among male athletes; (F) Individual variability in ALB levels among female athletes. ns: p &gt; 0.05.

Combined Impacts of Nitrogen Forms, Rice Husk Biochar, and Water Regime on Purple Rice Yield and Grain Quality

  • Rachanat Limsomnuek,
  • Supapohn Yamuangmorn and
  • Chanakan Prom-u-thai
  • + 3 authors

Purple rice contains beneficial bioactive compounds, but the concentrations can be influenced by the growing conditions. This study investigated the interactive effects of water regime, biochar amendment, and nitrogen (N) sources on the yield and grain quality of purple rice. Purple rice grown under flooded conditions combined with biochar and urea or ammonium demonstrated significant increases in grain yield and yield components such as plant height, number of spikelets per panicle, and the percentage of filled grains compared to non-flooded conditions. Nitrate consistently resulted in the lowest yields and grain quality, especially under non-flooded conditions and with no added biochar. Grain anthocyanin concentration was highest under flooded conditions, with the maximum observed with biochar and nitrate application and with ammonium application without biochar. In contrast, the grain phenol content and antioxidant capacity were maximized by the biochar and water applications. The findings indicate that rice husk biochar can improve productivity without altering the color shade of purple rice. Combining flooding, biochar, and ammonium or urea improves the agronomic performance of purple rice, though the impact on nutritional qualities is more complex.

17 February 2026

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of rice husk and rice husk biochar produced by slow pyrolysis at 400 ± 50 °C for 4 h at 1000× magnification.

The proper regulation of signaling pathways, including WNT signaling, during early embryonic development is critical for whole-organism development. In particular, maternally enriched WNTs play critical roles in cell cleavage and axis formation through non-canonical and canonical pathways during early embryogenesis. However, early developmental processes related to maternal WNTs and their underlying mechanisms have remained unstudied in avian species. In this study, we investigated WNT signaling-mediated early development in the chicken embryo. We found that WNT4 and WNT6, different ligands from other species, exhibited expression patterns consistent with maternal enrichment in chicken. The chemical inhibition of maternal WNT signaling in intrauterine embryos led to aberrant zygotic expression of WNT8C, which is important for primitive streak formation. Combined with in vitro functional studies, we demonstrated that WNT4 increased WNT8C expression through the non-canonical JNK pathway and that WNT8C subsequently promoted the canonical β-catenin pathway. Our results indicate that maternal WNT4 activates zygotic WNT8C and potentially regulates embryonic polarity in chicken.

17 February 2026

Expression profiling of WNT signaling-related genes in chicken oocyte and intrauterine embryos. (a) The representative images of chicken oocyte and intrauterine embryos according to Eyal-Giladi and Kochav criteria. A germinal vesicle oocyte in the ovary was obtained. The intrauterine embryos were obtained 5.5 (EGK.I), 8.5 (EGK.III), 15.5 (EGK.VI), and 20.5 (EGK.VIII) hours after fertilization. The EGK.X embryo was obtained after oviposition. Scale bar, 500 μm. (b–d) Expression analysis of WNT signaling-related genes in the chicken oocyte; EGK stage I, III, VI, VIII and X embryos were determined by RT-PCR (b) and RT-qPCR (c,d). Maternal WNT-related genes (c) and zygotic WNT-related genes (d) were classified according to their expression profiling. In (c,d), oocyte was used as a control, and the expression was normalized to the expression of ACTB (beta-actin) as a control. Significant differences between groups were analyzed using ANOVA and are indicated as *** p &lt; 0.001, ** p &lt; 0.01, and * p &lt; 0.05. Data represent the mean ± SD from n = 3 independent biological replicates. EGK, Eyal-Giladi, and Kochav stage. Full-length unadjusted gel images for Figure 1b are shown in Figure S3.

Exposure to T2 toxin is known to induce hepatotoxicity and gut dysbiosis, yet effective dietary interventions remain underexplored. This study investigates the hepatoprotective and microbiota-modulating effects of lycopene against T2 toxin-induced toxicity in mice. Mice were exposed to T2 toxin with or without lycopene supplementation at low and high doses. The hepatic function, oxidative stress markers, inflammatory gene expression, detoxification pathway activity, and gut microbiota composition were assessed using histological, biochemical, and molecular analyses. T2 toxin exposure resulted in significant weight loss, oxidative liver damage, and gut dysbiosis—marked by a decline in beneficial phyla and an increase in pathogenic bacteria. Hepatic injury was accompanied by upregulated pro-inflammatory genes and downregulated PPAR pathway genes, leading to impaired lipid metabolism and disrupted liver histology. Lycopene supplementation effectively attenuated these effects: it reduced oxidative stress, enhanced antioxidant defense, lowered inflammatory markers, and restored gut microbial balance. Furthermore, lycopene upregulated PPAR pathway and phase I detoxification genes. Notably, the low-dose lycopene regimen demonstrated superior efficacy compared to the high-dose regimen. In conclusion, lycopene, particularly at a low dose, confers significant protection against T2 toxin-induced hepatotoxicity and gut dysbiosis, highlighting its potential as a dietary strategy for mitigating mycotoxin-induced health risks.

16 February 2026

The experimental design.

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Biology - ISSN 2079-7737