Search Results (1,417)

Bacterial diseases caused by Flavobacterium covae (Fc), Vibrio harveyi (Vh), Vibrio vulnificus (Vv) and Photobacterium damselae (Pd) seriously constrain Asian seabass aquaculture. Here we dissect the mucosal immune mechanisms engaged by a five-month sequential vaccination strategy that combines nanoemulsion immersion priming with multivalent oral hydrogel boosting. Juvenile seabass were vaccinated, then challenged with F. covae by freshwater immersion and with a Vibrio–Photobacterium (Vh/Vv/Pd) mix by immersion or intraperitoneal injection. Gills were sampled after immersion challenges and intestine after injection, and profiled by RNA sequencing and label-free quantitative proteomics, with selected genes validated by RT-qPCR. Principal component analysis showed clear separation of vaccinated and control fish in all tissues and challenges, indicating a strong and coherent transcriptional reprogramming. Vaccination markedly increased the number of upregulated genes, with Gene Ontology enrichment revealing dominant signatures of ribosome biogenesis, RNA processing, lysosomal organization and immune response. KEGG analysis highlighted cytokine receptor interaction; NOD and Toll-like receptor signaling; oxidative phosphorylation; and phagosome, lysosome and cell adhesion molecule pathways, consistent with heightened antimicrobial readiness. Volcano plots and focused heatmaps showed strong induction of interferon-stimulated genes, cytokines and chemokine receptors, complement components, macrophage mannose receptor, epithelial barrier mediators and numerous immunoglobulin transcripts, with tissue- and challenge-specific patterns. Proteomics corroborated these trends, demonstrating a higher abundance of immunoglobulin heavy chains, complement proteins, cathepsins, heat shock and redox chaperones, ribosomal proteins and cytoskeletal and adhesion regulators in vaccinated mucosae. Integrated pathway mapping linked endothelial adhesion molecules and leukocyte integrins with T cell costimulation networks and an intestinal immune network for immunoglobulin production, including enhanced pIgR-mediated transcytosis. Overall, the sequential vaccination regimen was associated with coordinated transcriptomic and proteomic signatures related to epithelial responses, innate immunity, and humoral immune functions across gill and intestinal tissues. These molecular patterns were accompanied by improved survival following bacterial challenge; however, the present data do not directly demonstrate the functional activity of the inferred immune mechanisms in Asian seabass. Full article

The Bcl-2-associated athanogene (BAG) gene family plays vital roles in plant growth, development, and biotic and abiotic stress responses. Previous work has demonstrated that tomato SlBAG9, a group II BAG member, negatively regulates plant thermotolerance. However, the regulatory mechanisms governing SlBAG9 expression remain poorly understood. In this study, we isolated and characterized the authentic 1486 bp full-length promoter (P1) of SlBAG9 from the tomato genome. Building upon our previous transcript-level observations, we provide here a detailed functional characterization of this promoter at the cellular and tissue level. In silico analysis identified several key cis-acting regulatory elements, including abscisic acid-responsive elements (ABRE), anaerobic response elements (ARE), and a heat shock element (HSE1). We used stable transgenic tomato plants carrying SlBAG9pro::GUS to verify that the full-length promoter was capable of driving the expression of β-glucuronidase reporter gene (GUS) in transgenic tomato plants, showing GUS staining was detectable in the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, with the highest activity in red-ripe fruits. Notably, GUS activity was significantly upregulated by high temperature (HT) but not by PEG, NaCl, ABA, or cold treatments. To further dissect the HT-responsive regulatory module, we generated three 5′-terminal deletion fragments (−386 bp, P2; −239 bp, P3; and −113 bp, P4) and fused them to GUS. Under HT stress, the smallest deletion P4 showed negligible GUS activity, whereas P1, P2, and P3 retained significant activity. Furthermore, site-directed deletion of the HSE1 element in the full-length context (MU-P1) abolished HT inducibility, confirming that HSE1 serves as a critical positive HT-responsive element. Collectively, these findings confirm and extend our observations that SlBAG9 is a stress-responsive gene, and the characterized HSE1-dependent promoter module represents a promising candidate for genetic engineering aimed at enhancing thermotolerance in crops. Full article

Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis is a monocot with unique floral morphology and heat-induced flowering. In Arabidopsis, the MADS-box gene AGL6 promotes flowering by positively regulating FT expression, but whether this regulatory mechanism is conserved in monocots remains unknown. Here, we cloned the AGL6 homolog NtAGL6 from N. tazetta var. chinensis, analyzed its sequence, phylogeny, expression pattern, and promoter cis-elements, and performed ectopic expression in wild-type and ap1 mutant Arabidopsis. Yeast one-hybrid and transient expression assays were used to test its interaction with the NtFT1 promoter. NtAGL6 was specifically expressed in floral organs and during flower bud differentiation, and its promoter contained heat shock and gibberellin response elements. Ectopic expression of NtAGL6 promoted flowering in Arabidopsis and upregulated FT, SOC1, LFY, and AP1, and partially rescued petal and sepal defects in the ap1 mutant. Although NtAGL6 activated NtFT1 promoter activity in transient assays, yeast one-hybrid assays detected no direct binding. Together, these results indicate that NtAGL6 promotes flowering and affects A-class floral organ identity, but likely regulates FT through an indirect pathway in this monocot. This study provides new insights into the functional divergence of AGL6 in flowering regulation in monocots. Full article

Climate risk is increasingly reshaping firms’ operating environments, yet limited evidence exists on how climate-related pressures influence corporate green innovation and through which organizational mechanisms such effects occur. Drawing on induced technological change theory and dynamic capability theory, this study investigates how climate risk, reflected in firms’ exposure to extreme high-temperature days, affects green innovation among Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms during 2010–2022. The results indicate that climate-related heat shocks significantly promote firms’ green innovation. Mechanism analyses show that this effect operates through two channels: increased R&D investment and enhanced adaptive capacity. Further analyses reveal that the innovation-promoting effect of climate-related pressures is strengthened by regional green finance development but weakened by firms’ financial slack. In addition, the positive effect is concentrated among non-state-owned enterprises and non-heavily polluting firms. This study contributes to the literature by extending induced technological change theory to the firm level and highlighting how climate-related pressures influence green innovation through both resource reallocation and organizational adaptation. The findings also provide new evidence on the roles of external financial support and internal resource conditions in shaping firms’ innovation responses to environmental change. Full article

Heat shock proteins of the HSP70 family and their BAG co-chaperones regulate responses to oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and ischemia, all central to coronary artery disease (CAD) pathogenesis. The contribution of genetic variants within HSP70-family and BAG co-chaperone genes to CAD susceptibility remains unclear. Thus, we sought to evaluate associations of HSP70- and BAG-related SNPs with CAD risk and to characterize their potential regulatory effects using comprehensive bioinformatic analyses. A case–control cohort of 834 CAD patients and 1328 controls of Russian ethnicity was genotyped for 13 SNPs. Associations with CAD susceptibility and traits were tested using log-additive regression with adaptive permutation. Loci underwent functional annotation. The C allele of BAG1 rs706121 was associated with increased CAD risk overall (OR = 1.24, p_perm = 0.019), in males (OR = 1.39, p_perm = 0.002), and in smokers (OR = 1.39, p_perm = 0.020). BAG3 rs196329 was associated with lower risk in males (A allele: OR = 0.82, p_perm = 0.040), whereas HSPA6 rs753856 was associated with reduced risk in physically active individuals (G allele: OR = 0.61, p_perm = 0.008). Additional associations involved clinical or biochemical traits. Functional annotation identified potential regulatory effects, including eQTL associations, overlap with histone marks, and allele-dependent changes in transcription factor binding. HSP70 and BAG variants may contribute to CAD susceptibility and support sex- and lifestyle-informed risk assessment. Full article

Rising temperatures pose daunting challenges for sustainable yield and nutritional quality of rice (Oryza sativa L.), thus putting food security at risk. Limited information exists regarding cis-acting regulatory elements and candidate genes controlling the heat shock transcription factor (HSF) gene family in rice. Therefore, the present study identified HSF genes in the japonica (Nipponbare) and indica (9311) rice cultivars through in silico repositories. Three candidate genes (HSFC2B, HSFB1, and HSFC2A) were selected for qRT-PCR analysis to validate their expression patterns under heat stress (HS). The present findings reported a total of 25 OsHSF genes through in silico genome-wide identification. Comparative analysis illustrated that the OsHSF genes had structural similarities but different expression and transcriptional regulation between the two cultivars. HSF genes were unevenly distributed across the 12 rice chromosomes, suggesting that tandem duplication and gene repetition may have contributed to the evolution of novel genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all OsHSF gene family members have shared common ancestry, but several genes lack introns, potentially facilitating swift stress responses as indicated by gene structure analysis. Expression analysis revealed that candidate genes were active, with HSFC2A exhibiting the highest level of expression in the japonica cultivar compared to indica under heat-stressed conditions. HSFC2B gene showed a higher statistical difference in its response between cultivars, time points, and cultivar vs. time points interactions compared to HSFC2A and HSFB1. These findings offer valuable insights into the function of OsHSF genes that will contribute to the development of climate-resilient rice cultivars. Full article

Currently, emerging pharmaceutical contaminants (EPCs) pose a significant risk to aquatic biodiversity on both a global and regional scale. Their accumulation in the environment presents several challenges to both human health and ecological integrity. Among EPCs, cyclophosphamide (COP), a widely used alkylating cytotoxic and immunosuppressive drug in human and veterinary oncology, has become one of the most frequently detected environmental contaminants. It has been reported to impair the immune system, induce oxidative stress, and exhibit genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in various fish species. However, limited research has evaluated its toxicity in the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), an endemic significant aquatic species in Thailand. This study evaluated the acute toxicity of COP in Betta splendens by assessing systemic oxidative stress responses, alterations in gene expression, and localized histopathological changes within both hepatic and renal tissues. The 96 h of median lethal concentration (LC₅₀) value for COP in Betta splendens was determined to be 793.4 mg/L. High-concentration exposure (800 mg/L) induced severe systemic oxidative stress, evidenced by a significant reduction in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and a marked elevation in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels across both liver and kidney. At the transcriptomic level, acute COP exposure significantly upregulated pro-inflammatory (interleukin-1β, IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor, TNF-α), cellular stress (heat shock protein 70, HSP70), and apoptotic (caspase-3, Casp3) genes. Semi-quantitative histopathological evaluation revealed severe concentration-dependent structural damage. Hepatic lesions peaked at 800 mg/L characterized by diffuse vacuolation, vascular congestion, and extensive necrosis. Similarly, severe renal damage occurred at 800 mg/L, featuring marked vascular congestion, melanomacrophage aggregation, and widespread tubular necrosis. Overall, these findings demonstrate that acute waterborne COP exposure induces severe hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in Betta splendens driven by oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory signaling, and apoptotic pathways. This study provides essential baseline toxicity thresholds and highlights the physiological risks COP spills pose to tropical freshwater labyrinth fish. Full article

Plant A/T-rich sequence and zinc-binding protein (PLATZ) transcription factors are pivotal regulators of plant growth, development, and abiotic stress responses. Although PLATZ genes have been extensively studied and functionally characterized in various plant species, little information is available regarding these genes in the legume model plant Medicago truncatula. In this study, a total of 16 PLATZ genes (designated MtPLATZ1 to MtPLATZ16) were identified from the M. truncatula genome and distributed across six of the eight chromosomes. Subcellular localization prediction analysis indicated that all MtPLATZ proteins are localized in the nucleus, with eight representative members experimentally validated by transient expression assays. Collinearity analysis indicated that five segmental duplication pairs were the primary driver of MtPLATZ gene expansion. Based on phylogenetic analysis, these genes were classified into four groups, comprising 6, 2, 4, and 4 genes, respectively. Gene structure analysis demonstrated that these genes possess three or four exons. Most MtPLATZ genes were found to contain at least one ABRE cis-element in their promoter regions, and a few also harbored LTR, CAT-box, ARE, and DRE cis-elements. Expression analysis revealed that MtPLATZ genes exhibit distinct expression patterns across different tissues, suggesting that they may be differentially regulated by abiotic stresses in a tissue-specific manner. Under PEG-induced osmotic stress, acute NaCl shock, acute heat shock, and acute cold shock, the expression levels of these eight genes exhibited significant changes, particularly MtPLATZ2, MtPLATZ6, and MtPLATZ9, indicating that MtPLATZ gene family members may play a broad role in abiotic stress responses. In summary, these findings provide valuable insights for future functional exploration of MtPLATZ genes and contribute to a deeper understanding of their roles in stress responses in M. truncatula. Full article

Abiotic stress limits cereal productivity, yet whether conserved stress-responsive genes retain similar transcriptional network organization and cellular deployment across cereal species remains unknown. Here, we developed a machine learning-guided comparative framework to integrate public leaf transcriptomes of rice (Oryza sativa) and wheat (Triticum aestivum) under major abiotic perturbations. Using harmonized compendia comprising 787 rice and 337 wheat samples, we found that rice samples resolved into more discrete stress-associated transcriptional states, whereas wheat samples formed a more continuous landscape with partial overlap among stress responses. Supervised learning prioritized compact sets of stress-predictive candidate genes, including heat-shock/chaperone-related, ABA-biosynthetic and membrane-associated features. Orthology-guided co-expression analysis further showed that homologous stress-predictive genes, particularly heat-associated candidates, can retain stress responsiveness while occupying divergent module neighborhoods in rice and wheat. Leaf single-cell projection resolved this divergence at cellular resolution: several rice predictors showed compartmentalized expression in parenchyma and vascular parenchyma, whereas their wheat counterparts were more broadly deployed across mesophyll, epidermal and vascular cell types. Our findings reveal context-dependent redeployment of homologous stress-associated genes in cereals and offer a scalable strategy for prioritizing candidates for functional validation and climate-resilience breeding. Full article

Reservoir stimulation is essential in enhanced geothermal systems and unconventional reservoirs where low permeability, inadequate fracture connectivity, or near-wellbore damage restricts commercial injection or production. This review evaluates hydraulic fracturing, thermal stimulation, plasma-pulse stimulation, and selected dynamic stimulation technologies. It compares their physical mechanisms, fracture-network development, reservoir applications, permeability enhancement, operational maturity, deployment challenges, and future perspectives. Hydraulic fracturing remains the most mature method for reservoir-scale fracture creation, fracture conductivity, and reservoir connectivity. In enhanced geothermal systems, however, performance depends on the heat-exchange area, distributed flow, thermal sweep, long-term energy recovery, and induced-seismicity control rather than permeability enhancement alone. Thermal stimulation is integral to geothermal reservoir development. Cold-fluid injection generates thermoelastic stress redistribution, enlarges the fracture aperture, activates natural fractures, promotes thermally assisted fracture propagation, and influences thermal breakthrough. Plasma-pulse stimulation, also termed pulsed-power plasma, electrohydraulic, or shock-wave stimulation, provides a low-water method for near-wellbore permeability enhancement, damage bypass, fracture reactivation, and restimulation. Its broader deployment remains constrained by the limited treatment radius, scale-up uncertainty, energy-transfer efficiency, tool durability, completion integrity, and insufficient field validation. Liquid CO₂ phase-transition, propellant, and explosive stimulation provide additional dynamic-loading options with distinct fracture responses, controllability, safety, and technology readiness. Stimulation technologies should therefore be selected according to the dominant reservoir limitation and evaluated using sustained injectivity or productivity, effective reservoir contact, distributed flow, delayed thermal breakthrough, treatment durability, wellbore integrity, and a controlled geomechanical response. Future progress requires hybrid stimulation, coupled thermal–hydraulic–mechanical–chemical (THMC) modeling, integrated monitoring, adaptive control, physics-informed artificial intelligence, digital twins, standardized field validation, and techno-economic and life-cycle assessments. Full article

Far-infrared radiation (FIR) may influence vascular endothelial function, but its time-dependent molecular effects in adult arterial endothelial cells remain incompletely defined. We investigated FIR-induced responses in human femoral artery endothelial cells (HFAECs) using transcriptomic, proteomic, and phosphoproteomic analyses with three biological replicates per condition. Transcriptomic profiling 3 h after 30 min of FIR irradiation identified 424 differentially expressed genes (210 upregulated and 214 downregulated) among 16,081 genes, including endothelial-protective, nitric oxide-related, oxidative-stress, and heat-shock response genes. Proteomic analysis identified 13 differentially abundant proteins immediately after irradiation and 23, 75, and 61 proteins at 6, 12, and 24 h, respectively. These temporal changes involved mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling, vascular maturation, cytoskeletal organization, cell polarity, calcium/nitric oxide regulation, and stress adaptation. Phosphoproteomic analysis identified 12, 10, and 53 phosphorylation-related changes at 6, 12, and 24 h, respectively, indicating progression from actin and adhesion remodeling to junctional reorganization, focal adhesion maturation, and mechanosensing. Network analysis identified caveolin-1, β-catenin, and lamin B1 as hubs in a Rho guanosine triphosphatase-related module. Collectively, FIR induced a coordinated endothelial adaptive molecular response in HFAECs; functional studies are required to determine whether these changes enhance vascular repair. Full article

Thermal variability associated with climate change is an increasing constraint for finfish aquaculture because water temperature directly affects feed intake, nutrient utilization, endocrine stress responses, oxidative balance, immunity, intestinal integrity and survival. The literature search was conducted without a lower publication-year restriction through 5 July 2026. Database and citation-linked searches identified 386 candidate records, of which 274 remained after duplicate removal; 71 full-text articles were assessed; and 28 peer-reviewed primary feeding studies with publicly available final versions of record were retained for qualitative evidence mapping. The eligible studies were published between 2012 and 2026, with 2012 representing the earliest eligible publication rather than a prespecified starting year. Functional aquafeeds have therefore emerged as promising nutritional tools for supporting physiological resilience under heat, cold and sub-optimal temperature conditions. This review developed a PRISMA-guided systematic evidence map of dietary functional-aquafeed strategies evaluated for thermal-stress tolerance, immune regulation, antioxidant defense and metabolic homeostasis in cultured finfish. The main synthesis emphasizes studies with direct dietary thermal-stress interventions and extractable mechanistic outcomes, including sodium butyrate, organic selenium, selenium nanoparticles with riboflavin, astaxanthin, Bacillus spp., propolis, bay laurel essential oil, Spirulina-based strategies and essential oils. Overall, the available evidence suggests that selected functional aquafeeds may support thermal-stress resilience through coordinated improvements in antioxidant capacity, reduced oxidative damage, modulation of cortisol/glucose and heat-shock responses, enhancement of innate and mucosal immunity, improved intestinal or tissue condition and stabilization of metabolic indicators. The most biologically coherent translational patterns were observed when dietary interventions improved multiple response domains simultaneously rather than a single biomarker. However, such cross-domain improvement was interpreted as mechanistic and translational support rather than as an independent indicator of evidence confidence, which depended primarily on independent replication, consistency of response direction and methodological quality. Nevertheless, the current evidence remains uneven across species, stress models, life stages and outcome domains, with limited data for marine carnivores, repeated temperature fluctuation, post-stress recovery, disease challenge and multiomics integration. Therefore, the findings should be interpreted as a structured evidence map rather than universal formulation guidance. Future studies should use standardized thermal-challenge protocols, dose–response designs, clear tank-level experimental-unit reporting and integrated biomarker panels to support practical development of climate-resilient functional aquafeeds. Full article

Inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, highlighting inflammation suppression as a critical therapeutic strategy. The inflammatory response is largely mediated through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), a transmembrane signal receptor whose expression is upregulated by Heat Shock Protein Family A Member 8 (HSPA8). Here, we investigated whether SEM1, a subunit of the 26S proteasome, interacts with HSPA8 and attenuates TLR4-mediated inflammation. Our results demonstrate that SEM1 expression is downregulated following myocardial I/R. Overexpression of SEM1 alleviated cardiac injury and dysfunction, inhibited myocardial inflammation, and downregulated HSPA8 expression in the I/R-injured heart. Co-IP assays confirmed a strong physical interaction between SEM1 and HSPA8, while the precise molecular mechanism responsible for SEM1-induced downregulation of HSPA8 remains to be fully elucidated. Mechanistically, SEM1 suppressed the activation of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway. Collectively, these findings identify SEM1 as a novel regulator that protects against myocardial I/R injury via its association with HSPA8 and inhibition of the TLR4-mediated inflammatory cascade, offering a promising therapeutic target for this condition. Full article

Heat stress severely hinders citrus yield and fruit quality. This study employed integrated physiological and transcriptomic analyses to investigate the effects of the exogenous application of abscisic acid (ABA) and brassinosteroid (BR) on heat stress responses in citrus. The results showed that the exogenous application of ABA and BR increased the contents of soluble sugar, proline, and ABA, and enhanced the activities of peroxidase and catalase under heat stress. Transcriptome trend analysis identified profiles 1, 6, and 7 as significantly enriched across exogenous ABA, BR, and control conditions. Profile 6 exhibited rapid upregulation followed by stabilization and showed a significantly higher gene count under both ABA and BR treatments than under the control. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that genes in profile 6 were primarily enriched in amino sugar, nucleotide sugar, galactose, amino acids, 2-oxocarboxylic acid, glycerophospholipid, glucosinolate metabolism, MAPK signaling pathway, plant hormone signal transduction, protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum, plant–pathogen interaction, and endocytosis. Furthermore, four genes encoding heat shock proteins (HSP), including HSP21A, HSP21B, HSP70-17, and HSP70A, were induced under heat stress and showed significant upregulation in response to exogenous ABA and BR treatments. In conclusion, these findings indicated that exogenous ABA and BR regulated ABA and osmoprotectant accumulation and antioxidant defense activation in response to heat stress. Full article

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a family of conserved molecular chaperons present in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic species, playing a crucial role in maintaining cellular proteostasis and enhancing stress resilience. HSPs have a multitude of roles in regulating cell signaling transduction, antioxidant defenses, apoptosis, and protein folding, thereby contributing to overall cellular homeostasis. Insulin resistance is characterized by elevated oxidative stress, dysregulated pro-inflammatory signaling, and impaired cellular stress response, ultimately leading to deficient glucose uptake in skeletal muscle. Many studies have illustrated the benefits of exercise in improving insulin resistance and reducing the risk of metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes. Habitual exercise and lifestyle modifications have been shown to activate heat shock response, enhancing HSP70 expression and promoting cellular adaptations that protect against metabolic dysfunction. However, the link between HSPs, particularly HSP70, and skeletal muscle insulin resistance remains complex and not fully elucidated. In this review, we discuss the mechanistic pathways by which HSP70 modulates insulin resistance, mitochondrial function, and inflammatory responses in skeletal muscle. Additionally, we discuss the protective effects of exercise-induced HSP70 expression and its potential as a therapeutic target for improving insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. Full article