Search Results (10,627)

Populus hopeiensis is an important native poplar species in northern China, but herbivorous insect damage seriously affects its growth and ecological function. WRKY transcription factors play important roles in plant stress responses; however, the function of WRKY23 homologs in woody plant resistance to chewing herbivores remains unclear. In this study, a herbivore-responsive WRKY transcription factor gene, PhWRKY23, was identified from P. hopeiensis. PhWRKY23 expression was significantly induced by Spodoptera litura feeding, with a maximum increase of approximately 69.71-fold the control level at the highest damage level, and the encoded protein was predominantly localized in the nucleus. To investigate its function, PhWRKY23-overexpressing and RNA interference transgenic lines were generated. In the choice feeding assay, the consumed leaf area of PhWRKY23-overexpressing plants was approximately 85.5% lower than that of WT plants after 8 h. In the no-choice feeding assay, the total larval mass after 6 d was approximately 38.8% lower in larvae fed on overexpression plants and 51.0% higher in larvae fed on RNAi plants than in those fed on WT plants. Physiological analysis showed that RNAi plants accumulated significantly more MDA than WT and overexpression plants, whereas overexpression plants had higher chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid contents than the other genotypes. Phytohormone analysis further showed that PhWRKY23-overexpressing plants accumulated higher levels of jasmonic acid, jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, and salicylic acid, whereas abscisic acid showed no significant difference among genotypes. Yeast two-hybrid screening identified several candidate PhWRKY23-interacting proteins, and pairwise validation confirmed that PhWRKY23 interacted with PhDOX1 in yeast. These results indicate that PhWRKY23 positively contributes to herbivore resistance in P. hopeiensis and that this resistance phenotype is associated with changes in JA, JA-Ile, and SA accumulation and defense-related physiological traits. Full article

As a key N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A)-binding protein, YT521-B Homology (YTH) Domain-Containing Protein 2 (YTHDC2) plays a central role in the epitranscriptomic regulatory network. This protein specifically recognizes and binds to m⁶A modification sites on RNA molecules through its highly conserved YTH domain. This recognition exhibits high selectivity and affinity, thereby enabling precise control over the fate of target RNAs. At the molecular level, YTHDC2 is widely involved in various stages of the RNA life cycle, including core biological processes such as RNA splicing and processing, nuclear–cytoplasmic transport, translational efficiency regulation, and RNA decay. In recent years, accumulating evidence indicates that YTHDC2 participates in a variety of pathophysiological processes in an m⁶A-dependent manner. However, the robustness of evidence regarding YTHDC2 is heterogeneous across disease contexts. While certain pathologies are supported by rigorous mechanistic validation, others rely primarily on expression correlations or bioinformatic analyses. This review systematically synthesizes current knowledge regarding the multifaceted roles of YTHDC2 in disease progression, prognosis, and therapy, offering a comprehensive framework to guide future investigations. Full article

The characteristic red walnut germplasm ‘RW-1′ (Juglans regia L.) exhibits a stable red seed coat phenotype due to the abundant accumulation of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (PAs). The regulatory mechanisms underlying PA biosynthesis in red walnut remain poorly studied, which hinders the improvement of walnut color quality. Leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) is a key enzyme in the PA metabolic pathway, while its function in red walnut remains unclear. Here, the leucoanthocyanidin reductase gene JrLAR1, whose expression pattern is consistent with the accumulation trend of PAs, was cloned from the seed coats of red walnut ‘RW-1′, and its function in PA biosynthesis was verified via heterologous overexpression in Arabidopsis thaliana, a well-recognized cross-species LAR functional validation system free of endogenous LAR interference due to absent native homologs. The results showed that the full-length coding sequence (CDS) of JrLAR1 gene is 1104 bp, encoding a 367-amino-acid protein belonging to the NADB_Rossmann superfamily, and the protein shares an extremely high sequence similarity with grape VvLAR2. Heterologous overexpression of JrLAR1 significantly increased total PA content in the leaves and seeds of A. thaliana. Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses further revealed that JrLAR1 overexpression markedly upregulated the core genes involved in PA metabolism and the transcription factor GL3 in A. thaliana, specifically induced (+)-catechin synthesis, and ultimately promoted the significant accumulation of procyanidin B3. In addition, a set of antioxidant enzyme-encoding genes were substantially upregulated in JrLAR1-overexpressing A. thaliana lines. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that JrEGL1b, a homolog of A. thaliana GL3, can bind to the promoter region of JrLAR1 gene and significantly enhance its transcriptional activity. Transient overexpression of JrLAR1 or JrEGL1b in red walnut leaves significantly promoted PA accumulation, and JrEGL1b overexpression notably upregulated JrLAR1 expression. In conclusion, JrLAR1 plays a crucial role in PA biosynthesis in red walnut and is positively regulated by the transcription factor JrEGL1b. These findings improve the molecular regulatory network of pigment metabolism in red walnut and provide valuable molecular targets for the quality improvement and directional breeding of walnuts. Full article

Pine wilt disease is a devastating forest disease caused by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus infection. The associated bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens and its flagellin protein have been implicated in this process, but the role of the flagellin-encoding gene fliC in pathogenesis remains unclear. Current gene knockout strategies in P. fluorescens are limited by low transformation efficiency and cumbersome procedures, which constrain functional studies of this gene. To address this methodological gap, we established a fliC knockout method based on the pT18sacB-sacB counterselection system. Short homologous arms were constructed by splice overlap extension PCR, and the knockout mutant ΔfliC was obtained through S17-1 λpir-mediated conjugation and sucrose counterselection. The mutant was verified by junction PCR, internal PCR, and sequencing. Using Pinus massoniana callus as the experimental material, we preliminarily compared the wild-type strain and the ΔfliC mutant in individual pathogenicity and in promoting complex infection by B. xylophilus. The ΔfliC mutant showed delayed symptom onset and lower disease severity than the wild type, and its ability to promote complex infection also appeared reduced. These results provide preliminary evidence that fliC contributes to symptom development in this callus assay. The established fliC knockout technique provides a methodological basis for further investigating the role of associated bacteria in pine wilt disease. Full article

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains one of the most lethal malignancies due to limited responsiveness to chemotherapy and the high prevalence of oncogenic Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) mutations. Co-delivery of cytotoxic agents and small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a potential combination strategy, but the two cargos have distinct physicochemical and intracellular-delivery requirements. Here, we developed a chitosan–polyethylene glycol (CP)-based polymeric nanoparticle platform for the cotreatment of paclitaxel (PTX) and small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting KRAS G12D mutation. PTX was first modified to PTX-COOH through an ester-containing succinate linker and then covalently conjugated to the polymer backbone through amide bond formation, enabling stable nanoparticle formation and subsequent electrostatic complexation with siRNA. The CP-PTX-siRNA nanoparticles demonstrated efficient cellular uptake, while luciferase knockdown by CP-siRNA supported functional siRNA delivery by the CP carrier. In KRAS G12D–mutant pancreatic cancer cells, PTX- and KRAS-targeting siRNA-coloaded nanoparticles resulted in enhanced cytotoxicity compared to single-agent treatments and free drug combinations, with combination index values below 1 indicating calculated synergy under the tested in vitro conditions. Because KRAS knockdown and a non-targeting siRNA control were not assessed in PANC-1 cells, the enhanced cytotoxicity cannot be attributed specifically to KRAS silencing. Across multiple drug-to-siRNA ratios, nanoparticle formulations consistently improved treatment potency. Together, these results support CP-PTX-siRNA nanoparticles as a modular and biocompatible platform for combined PTX/siRNA delivery. This approach provides a versatile strategy for combining chemotherapeutic agents with RNA-based therapeutics in PDAC, supporting further development of these polymeric nanocarriers for combination cancer therapy. Full article

This study used Camellia pyxidiacea var. rubituberculata as the rootstock and the improved cultivar Camellia oleifera ‘Qianyou 2’ as the scion for heterografting (CO group), with homografting (using C. pyxidiacea var. rubituberculata as both rootstock and scion) as the control. The physiological and metabolic changes during graft healing were investigated by measuring enzyme activities, targeted analysis of endogenous hormones, and non-targeted metabolomics via LC-MS/MS. The results indicate that, compared to homologous grafting, an integrated response pattern characterized by “defense prioritization and growth suppression” was observed in heterologous grafting combinations. At the hormonal level, heterografting significantly inhibited growth-promoting hormones (e.g., zeatin riboside), while defense-related hormones (salicylic acid SA, jasmonic acid JA) and their metabolite, capsidiol, were continuously accumulated and upregulated. At the metabolic pathway level, phenylpropanoid metabolism was redirected: the activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) was suppressed, shifting synthesis toward soluble defense compounds like coumarins. Enzymatically, the activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) were significantly enhanced in the mid-to-late stages of healing, promoting the oxidative crosslinking of phenolic compounds and the formation of lignin-related physical barriers. Thus, these three mutually corroborating levels—hormonal signaling, dynamic enzyme activities, and global metabolic networks—collectively point to a healing mode characterized by defense prioritization and growth suppression. This study provides theoretical guidance for the grafting utilization of C. pyxidiacea var. rubituberculata. Full article

The classification systems currently in use for Streptococcus suis are primarily based on capsular polysaccharide (CPS) serotyping or multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). A genetic typing system based on the conserved Mac-1 domain of the Ide_Ssuis gene, which encodes an IgM-cleaving protease, could complement these approaches. Specifically, in this study, a genotyping system based on Mac-1 sequence homology was established, qualitative SYBR Green real-time PCR (qPCR) assays for standardized genotype classification were developed, and the global and European distribution of genotypes were analyzed. The Mac-1 classification system identified “two genotypes”, one of which has “two subgenotypes”, based on 427 unique sequences obtained from 4161 global sequences. GT1.1 was the most prevalent, having an amino acid similarity of 97.1%, followed by GT1.2 98.1%, and GT2 91.4%. The qPCR approach enabled reproducible, cross-laboratory-accessible typing. Among 5479 Streptococcus suis European isolates, 64% were GT1.1, 4.5% were GT1.2, and 29.6% were GT2, with a trend toward increasing GT1.1 detection rates between 2018 and 2023. Genotyping classification could complement current Streptococcus suis classification approaches to better support vaccine design and disease control strategies. Full article

Aspergillus flavus, a ubiquitous phytopathogen, produces mycotoxins, especially aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), and infects crops worldwide. Glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) is a key enzyme in the glycerol synthesis and metabolic pathway catalyzing the reversible conversion reaction between glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) and dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP). However, the biological function of G3PDH in A. flavus remains uncharacterized. In this study, the glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase GfdA and GfdB recombinant proteins of A. flavus were expressed, and the enzymatic activity of the GfdA protein was successfully determined. Subsequently, single-gene knockout strains (ΔgfdA, ΔgfdB), double-gene knockout strains (ΔgfdAΔgfdB) and their corresponding complemented strains (gfdA^C, gfdB^C) were constructed by a homologous recombination method to explore the biological functions of these two genes in A. flavus. The phenotypic analyses revealed that although both gfdA and gfdB encoded glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenases, gfdA plays major roles in colony growth, conidiation, sclerotium formation, crop infection and osmotic stress tolerance in A. flavus. Notably, the performance of the ΔgfdAΔgfdB strains is almost similar to that of the ΔgfdA strain. Biochemical assays demonstrated that the intracellular glycerol content increased significantly in all mutants compared to the wild type (WT) under both normal and osmotic stress conditions. Furthermore, we found that exogenous glycerol supplementation rescued the growth defect of the ΔgfdA and ΔgfdAΔgfdB strains. Taken together, GfdA is important for glycerol synthesis, while GfdB is functionally redundant with respect to GfdA. This study preliminarily explores the main biological functions of GfdA and GfdB, providing a theoretical basis for the study of glycerol anabolic pathways of A. flavus and also offering novel insights into the development of strategies to control aflatoxin contamination. Full article

The progressive failure of pancreatic beta-cells under chronic glucolipotoxicity drives the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This metabolic stress overwhelms the folding capacity of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), hyperactivates the unfolded protein response (UPR), engages terminal pro-apoptotic signaling through C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP), and promotes beta-cell dedifferentiation. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, registered with PROSPERO (CRD420261370436), we evaluated the preclinical efficacy of the low-molecular-weight chemical chaperones tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) and 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) in preserving beta-cell exocytotic identity and mitigating ER stress. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (January 2016–May 2026) identified four eligible experimental studies. Preclinical models (INS-1 and βTC-6 cell lines, Wistar rats, and C57BL/6 mice) exposed to a high-fat diet (HFD), a high-fat/high-fructose diet (HFHFD), cholesterol loading, or protein restriction followed by high-fat feeding showed impaired or dysregulated glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and upregulated ER-stress markers. Co-administration of TUDCA or 4-PBA moved secretory output toward the healthy-control phenotype in every model and reduced pro-apoptotic markers in the three models in which they were measured. A hierarchical Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis of the between-arm GSIS restoration ratio at stimulatory glucose yielded a pooled ratio of 1.85 (95% credible interval [CrI] 1.38 to 2.43), with the entire credible mass above the null (posterior probability of benefit 0.996). This estimate was stable across nine prior specifications for the between-study standard deviation and in every leave-one-out analysis, including exclusion of the single hypersecretion model (1.98, 95% CrI 1.09 to 3.18). Between-study variance was small but weakly identified from only four studies and is reported as exploratory. Pooling instead on the registered within-arm stimulation-index scale, a change in metric declared as a protocol deviation, gave 1.46 (95% CrI 0.73 to 2.58) with substantial heterogeneity (I² = 89.3%), so the evidence supports restoration of absolute glucose-stimulated insulin output rather than of fold glucose responsiveness. Because no source report documents blinding of outcome assessment, the pooled estimate should be read as an upper bound. In conclusion, TUDCA and 4-PBA act as chemical chaperones that alleviate ER stress and may prevent terminal UPR activation and preserve the beta-cell exocytotic machinery, positioning them as candidate disease-modifying agents that merit confirmatory clinical evaluation. Full article

Piscidins, fish-specific antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), play important roles in the innate immunity of fish against invading bacteria. In this study, a novel piscidin was identified in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) (MSPiscidin-4), which contained an active peptide of 25 aa with an amphipathic helix possessing distinct hydrophobic and positively charged regions. MSPiscidin-4 belongs to the Group I piscidins as determined by sequence identity, homology modeling and phylogenetic tree analysis. MSPiscidin-4 was constitutively expressed in all seven selected tissues, with the highest transcript level in the gill and the lowest in the brain and spleen. Furthermore, MSPiscidin-4 was significantly up-regulated in spleen from 6 h to 24 h post-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. A synthetic MSPiscidin-4 peptide was produced by the Fmoc solid-phase synthesis method and exhibited antibacterial activity against several aquatic bacterial strains, with the strongest against Aeromonas hydrophila, followed by Vibrio splendidus, Staphylococcus aureus, Edwardsiella tarda, and the weakest against E. coli and A. veronii. MSPiscidin-4 is the fourth piscidin reported in largemouth bass, showing distinct sequence identity (35.0–68.0% with previously reported MSPiscidins), physicochemical properties (net charge +5, pI 12.48), tissue distribution (highest expression in gill), and antibacterial potency (particularly strong against A. hydrophila). Our results enrich the piscidin components and deepen the understanding of piscidins against invading bacteria in largemouth bass. Full article

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains challenging to treat because of the limited therapeutic efficacy and insufficient selectivity of conventional therapies. To overcome these limitations, multifunctional nanoplatforms integrating biomimetic strategies and combination therapy have attracted increasing attention. Single-modality therapies are often limited by insufficient therapeutic efficacy and restricted mechanisms of action, highlighting the need for biomimetic nanoplatforms that integrate combination therapeutic strategies for enhanced antitumor performance. Methods: Herein, a biomimetic strategy-based nanoplatform (DI-ZM) was constructed via a combination of ZIF-8 biomineralization, physical adsorption of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and indocyanine green (ICG), followed by HepG2 cell membrane coating to achieve homologous interaction. This design enables integrated chemotherapy, photothermal therapy (PTT), and photodynamic therapy (PDT) within a single system. Results: The resulting DI-ZM nanoparticles exhibited a hydrodynamic diameter of approximately ~200 nm with good colloidal stability and high drug-loading capacity. Under 808 nm laser irradiation, DI-ZM achieved a temperature elevation to ~66 °C within 5 min, together with efficient ROS generation. Compared with uncoated nanoparticles, the biomimetic membrane coating significantly enhanced cellular uptake and homologous targeting ability, as confirmed by CLSM and flow cytometry analysis. Benefiting from the biomimetic membrane coating, DI-ZM further exhibited improved homologous targeting and cellular uptake, which contributed to enhanced intracellular ROS generation. This was accompanied by significant mitochondrial membrane depolarization and apoptosis rates exceeding 80% in HepG2 cells under laser irradiation, ultimately resulting in markedly enhanced cytotoxicity. In addition, the biomimetic membrane coating also enabled efficient penetration of DI-ZM into multicellular tumor spheroids, indicating its improved tumor-penetration capability. In vivo antitumor studies further revealed effective tumor suppression with a tumor inhibition rate of approximately 97%, along with acceptable systemic tolerance in HepG2 tumor-bearing mice. Conclusion: The biomimetic membrane-coated ZIF-8 nanoplatform integrating chemotherapy with ICG-mediated phototherapy (photothermal and photodynamic therapy) provides an effective strategy for the combination therapy against HCC. Full article

Background: Although Short Read Next-Generation Sequencing (SR-NGS) is widely employed in diagnoses, its application in CYP21A2 genotyping remains limited due to its high sequence homology with its pseudogene, CYP21A1P. Herein, we present (a) a complete pipeline for the diagnostic use of SR-NGS in CYP21A2 genotyping following its assessment; (b) two distinct in-house bioinformatics pipelines for variant calling; and (c) the results by implementing this pipeline in diagnoses. Methods: A total of 221 subjects were studied, comprising a pilot group (n = 21), recruited for assessment of the assay, and a study group (n = 200) categorized in three subgroups, referred for CYP21A2 genotyping. Both groups underwent SR-NGS. Two different bioinformatics algorithms for variant calling were applied and variant filtration was performed using VarAFT (v2.17). In the study group, MLPA was additionally employed. Results: The SR-NGS assay, employing GATK HaplotypeCaller, demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity when compared to Sanger Sequencing; however, complex CYP21A2 rearrangements cannot be detected. In the study group, pathogenic variants were identified in 52.7%, 100% and 25% of cases in subgroups (a), (b) and (c) respectively, whereas gene duplications accounted for 12.3% (7/57) of subjects tested. Conclusions: This study provides a comprehensive protocol for the use of SR-NGS in a CYP21A2 diagnostic genotyping, integrating complementary bioinformatics pipelines and MLPA for copy number analysis. Full article

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus H5N1of clade 2.3.4.4b has emerged as the predominant lineage circulating in poultry flocks worldwide, raising concerns regarding the protective efficacy of currently available commercial vaccines, particularly in domestic ducks, which play an important role in virus maintenance and transmission. Thus, this study evaluated the immunogenicity along with the protective efficacy of four inactivated H5 vaccines against a recently isolated local HPAI-H5N1 (Newvalley-3-H5N1-2024, clade 2.3.4.4b) strain in Pekin ducks in Egypt. A total of 150 seronegative ducks were divided into vaccinated and control groups (10 groups) and vaccinated at 10 days of age. At 31 days of age, the vaccinated and positive control groups were challenged using 10^6.5 EID₅₀/0.5 mL/duck with the local isolate (Newvalley-3-H5N1-2024) via the oculo-nasal route. The vaccine efficacy was assessed through clinical signs, survival rate, hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titer, tracheal and cloacal viral shedding quantified by real-time RT-PCR, and histopathological examination of trachea, lung, pancreas, and brain tissues. Generally, all ducks vaccinated with the ValleyVac Avian Flu H5 plus and MEFLUVAC^TM H5 PLUS 8 showed a significantly higher survival rate (100%) at 10 days post-vaccination (DPV) than those in the positive control (66.7% mortality rate). In contrast, ducks exhibited mortality rates ranging from 6.7% in the SERVAC Flu H5N1 group to 13.4% in the Sinder Fluvac group. The ValleyVac Avian Flu H5 plus and MEFLUVAC™ H5 PLUS 8 vaccines induced the highest HI antibody titers at 7, 14, 21, and 28 DPV in both homologous and heterologous AIV antigens, resulting in a significant reduction in viral load among all vaccinated duck groups (p-value < 0.05) comparable to the positive control group. Conversely, the SERVAC Flu H5N1 and Sinder Fluvac vaccines provided partial protection, suboptimal immunogenicity at different time points, and elevated viral shedding. Histopathological findings in ValleyVac Avian Flu H5 plus and MEFLUVAC™ H5 PLUS 8 vaccines exhibited mild tissue alterations following AIV challenge. Marked pathological lesions were observed in the SERVAC Flu H5N1 and Sinder Fluvac vaccinated groups. Among tested vaccines, both ValleyVac Avian Flu H5 plus and MEFLUVAC^TM H5 PLUS 8 showed the highest level of protective efficacy against the circulating AIV strain compared with other commercial vaccines. This study highlights the need for continuous molecular surveillance, antigenic matching, and regular updating of vaccine seed strains to ensure efficient HPAI control in Egypt. Full article

Esophageal cancer is a common malignancy of the upper gastrointestinal tract that is associated with high incidence and mortality rates. Radiotherapy constitutes a cornerstone therapeutic modality for esophageal cancer. In radiotherapy, ionizing radiation is used to eliminate tumor cells through direct DNA damage and indirect reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated effects. However, clinical outcomes are frequently limited by interpatient heterogeneity and intrinsic tumor radioresistance. This review systematically describes the determinants of radiosensitivity in esophageal cancer within the established radiobiological framework of the “6Rs”: DNA damage repair (Repair), which is mediated by γ-H2AX phosphorylation, PARP family enzymes, and nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) pathways; cell cycle redistribution (Redistribution), which is regulated by G1/S and G2/M checkpoint dynamics; tumor repopulation (Repopulation), which is driven by cancer stem cell activity during fractionated treatment; reoxygenation (Reoxygenation), which is modulated through HIF-1α signaling and ROS homeostasis; intrinsic radiosensitivity (Radiosensitivity), which reflects interindividual and histopathological variability; and reactivation of antitumor immune responses (Reactivation), which enhances efficacy by remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment. Furthermore, regulated cell death mechanisms, including ferroptosis, autophagy, and apoptosis, significantly modulate radiotherapeutic responses. Elucidating these interconnected mechanisms provides a robust theoretical foundation for developing targeted interventions, identifying predictive biomarkers, and advancing precision radiotherapy strategies to optimize clinical outcomes for patients with esophageal cancer. Full article

Bioactive food ingredients that regulate the gut microbiota are promising dietary strategies for supporting systemic health, but their roles in skin photoaging remain insufficiently defined. Qiongyu Gao (QYG), a classical food–medicine homologous formula composed of Rehmanniae Radix, Panax ginseng, and Poria cocos, was evaluated as an oral functional food candidate for UV-induced skin photoaging. QYG was chemically characterized by HPLC and UPLC–QTOF–MS/MS. Young and aged mice were subjected to D-galactose plus UVA/UVB exposure and orally administered QYG, followed by skin transcriptomics, gut microbiota sequencing, serum metabolomics, and validation in UVB-injured primary dermal fibroblasts. QYG alleviated wrinkle formation, epidermal thickening, oxidative stress, inflammation, extracellular matrix degradation, collagen disorganization, and hyaluronic acid loss. Multi-omics analysis showed that QYG selectively remodeled gut microbiota, enriching Lactobacillus-, Bifidobacterium-, and Akkermansia-associated taxa, regulated serum metabolites related to energy and lipid metabolism, and enriched mitochondrial energy metabolism-related pathways in photoaged skin. In fibroblasts, QYG-containing serum restored mitochondrial membrane potential, reduced ROS accumulation and cellular senescence, and regulated AMPK/PGC-1α-associated markers. These findings support QYG as a promising food–medicine homologous functional food candidate for skin health maintenance through gut microbiota-associated systemic metabolic regulation. Full article