Taxonomic identification, genomic analysis, and optimized chromium(VI) bioreduction by Microbacterium triticisoli sp. nov. M28T
Strain M28T was isolated from subsoil obtained from decaying wheat straw. Cells were Gram-positive, non-motile, short rod-shaped and formed yellowish colonies on lysogeny broth (LB) agar. The strain was able to grow at 0–8% (w/v) NaCl , 15–40 °C and pH 5.5–10.0. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, core genes and whole-genome indicated that strain M28T belonged to the genus Microbacterium but was distinct from all known strains in this genus. Based on phenotypic, genotypic, chemical taxono mic and phylogenetic analyses, strain M28T is a representative of a new species of Microbacterium, which is proposed to be named Microbacterium triticisoli sp. nov., the type strain is M28T (=CCTCC AA 2022021T =JCM 35796T). Genomic analysis revealed multiple metal resistance systems, antibiotic resistance determinants and oxidative stress defense genes, explaining its exceptional environmental adaptability. Notably, the strain reduced 99% of 50 mg/L Cr(VI) within 24 h under optimized conditions (37 °C, pH 7.0, 2.5 g/L sucrose) and tolerated Cr(VI) concentrations up to 125 mg/L. This study identifies M. triticisoli as a promising agent for chromium bioremediation, providing a foundation for engineering microbial solutions to heavy metal pollution.
Qing et al. (2025) Taxonomic identification, genomic analysis, and optimized chromium(VI) bioreduction by Microbacterium triticisoli sp. nov. M28T. PeerJ 13:e20192 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20192
Genetic diversity analysis of the natural regeneration loci of Liriodendron chinense in artificial mixed forests in the rocky desertification area of Western Hunan
Liriodendron chinense plays a crucial role in improving the ecological environment and combating soil erosion in the rocky desertification area of Western Hunan, China. However, there is still a lack of systematic research on the genetic diversity of natural populations of the L. chinense in rocky desertification areas. This study employed 11 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers to analyze genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure in a population of 318 L. chinense individuals. We conducted parentage analysis on individuals from a limited area of natural regeneration to quantify pollen and seed-mediated gene flow separately. Based on diameter classification, L. chinense individuals in the large diameter class can be considered as potential parents. The results show that there is moderate genetic diversity in the natural populations of the L. chinense. The spatial genetic patterns of the adult individuals indicate that significant gene flow occurs primarily at short to medium distances, with about 70% occurring within a range of less than 80 m. Among the 318 L. chinense individuals analyzed, 201 were predominantly assigned to the parental generation, with 41 showing closest genetic similarity to the maternal parent. These results indicate that the majority of pollen (63.2%) originated from within the sampling area, which suggests a substantial proportion of natural regeneration occurred within the 2.5 hm2 stand. These findings further elucidate the natural regeneration process of L. chinense and provide a theoretical foundation for ecological restoration efforts in rocky desertification areas.
Jia et al. (2025) Genetic diversity analysis of the natural regeneration loci of Liriodendron chinense in artificial mixed forests in the rocky desertification area of Western Hunan. PeerJ 13:e20138 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20138
Full-length transcriptome profiling of Gentiana straminea Maxim. provides new insights into iridoid biosynthesis pathway
Gentiana straminea Maxim. is a traditional Chinese medicinal plant celebrated for its diverse array of bioactive compounds, particularly iridoid glycosides. These compounds are recognized as the main components that exert therapeutic effects against rheumatism, osteoarthritis, hepatitis, gastritis, and cholecystitis. Consequently, research on G. straminea has attracted significant interest, yet the genetic factors underlying the production and diversification of its secondary metabolites remain poorly understood, especially the pathway of iridoid biosynthesis. In the present study, a full-length transcriptome analysis based on PacBio Sequel II platform and Illumina sequencing was performed to identify genes that were differentially expressed in five G. straminea tissues, and proteins catalyzing iridoid biosynthesis were characterized. After sequence clustering and redundancy removal, a total of 32,776 isoforms were identified in PacBio sequencing, with an average length of 2,589.14 bp, an N50 value of 2,767 bp, and a guanine-cytosine (GC) content of 41.43%. Results of Illumina sequencing unveiled that a total of 31,330 genes were found in common in all the five tissues. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in terms related to biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, metabolic pathways, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, etc. A total of 117 isoforms encoding 19 key enzymes related to the iridoid synthesis pathway were identified, including one geranyl diphosphate synthase (GPPS) and two geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthases (GGPPS). A phylogenetic analysis further classified plant G(G)PPSs into three distinct branches. Profiling tissue-specific expression of key genes involved in iridoid synthesis revealed that the Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) results demonstrated the consistent trend with the FPKM (Fragments Per Kilobase of transcript per Million mapped reads) values in the root, stem, leaf, flower, ovary, non-embryonic callus (NEC), and embryonic callus (EC). Among them, AACT, IDI, ISPH, and GCPE had the highest expression levels in leaves, whereas DXS and GPPS had the highest expression levels in stems. This work provides the first transcriptomic analysis of G. straminea, serving as a foundational resource for elucidating mechanisms of bioactive compound biosynthesis, facilitating molecular studies, and supporting genomic exploration of this medicinal species.
Yang et al. (2025) Full-length transcriptome profiling of Gentiana straminea Maxim. provides new insights into iridoid biosynthesis pathway. PeerJ 13:e20136 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20136
Effects of resisted sprint training on agility and change-of-direction performance in soccer players: a systematic review with meta-analysis
Background Agility and change-of-direction (COD) are essential for success in soccer, influencing performance and injury risk. Resisted sprint training (RST) has shown promise in enhancing these skills by improving muscle strength and neuromuscular coordination. However, the effects of vertical and horizontal RST on agility and COD performance remain inadequately explored. Methodology A systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar without date restrictions, following PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included if they involved healthy soccer players, RST interventions, and assessed agility or COD speed. Data extraction and quality assessment were executed independently by two reviewers; statistical analyses employed RevMan and Stata software packages. Results This meta-analysis included 13 studies, which collectively generated 35 groups based on experiment and control protocols. The demonstrated a statistically significant improvement of RST on agility and COD performance (SMD = −0.31, 95% CI [−0.44 to −0.17], p < 0.001). Subgroup analyses revealed a trend towards greater improvements with vertically resisted sprinting (SMD = −0.36, p = 0.009), compared to horizontally resisted sprinting (SMD = −0.13, p = 0.25) although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.07). Elite athletes demonstrated significant enhancements in agility and COD (SMD = −0.45, p < 0.001). In contrast, amateur athletes displayed no significant improvements (SMD = −0.05, p = 0.77). RST outperformed unresisted sprinting (SMD = −0.29, p < 0.05) and alternative training (SMD = −0.36, p < 0.001), indicating its effectiveness across various comparators. Conclusions RST significantly enhances agility and change-of-direction performance in soccer players, particularly among elite athletes. Vertical resisted sprinting is more effective than horizontal resistance, supporting its integration into training programs for improved athletic performance. PROSPERO registration number (CRD42024608859).
He et al. (2025) Effects of resisted sprint training on agility and change-of-direction performance in soccer players: a systematic review with meta-analysis. PeerJ 13:e20084 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20084
Influence of temperature on developmental and biochemical traits of the red squat lobster Grimothea monodon (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) during early ontogeny
Temperature is one of the most important environmental factors that influence on the successful development and survival of decapod larvae. Our model species, the red squat lobster Grimothea monodon, has a wide biogeographic distribution in the Humboldt Current Ecosystem (HCE) and support important fishing activities. Recently, it has been described that juvenile and adult individuals of G. monodon (i.e., benthic phase of their ontogeny), present intraspecific variations in size, lifestyle, and nutritional condition, which could be modulated by the environmental conditions like temperature associated with depth. However, it is still unknown whether these intraspecific variations also occur during early ontogeny (i.e., planktonic larval phase). To investigate, we evaluated the effect of contrasting temperatures (i.e., cold: 12 °C vs. warm: 20 °C) on the developmental and biochemical parameters of larvae of the red squat lobster G. monodon under laboratory conditions. Our results show that differences were observed only in the development time and larval size of the larvae developed at the two experimental culture temperatures. No significant variations were recorded in mortality during the larval phase (i.e., from zoea I to megalopa), nor were significant variations detected in the biomass (dry weight) or the biochemical-elemental constituents (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen) of an advanced larval stage (zoea V) at the two evaluated temperatures. Our findings suggest that during early ontogeny G. monodon presents intraspecific variability in its developmental traits along with a high physiological-energetic plasticity that allows it to survive and successfully cope with the temporal and spatial variations in seawater temperature that frequently occur in the HCE.
Quispe-Machaca et al. (2025) Influence of temperature on developmental and biochemical traits of the red squat lobster Grimothea monodon (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) during early ontogeny. PeerJ 13:e20278 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20278
The influence of basketball players’ tracking speed ability on sports decision performance
Background The running speed of basketball players plays a critical role in shaping the complexity and dynamics of game situations. This study aims to examine the relationship between players’ tracking speed capabilities and the quality of their decision-making during gameplay. Methods Employing an expert-novice paradigm, Experiment 1 assessed tracking accuracy in a multiple object tracking (MOT) task at three angular velocities: 5°/s, 10°/s, and 15°/s. Experiment 2 evaluated decision-making accuracy under three distinct running speed conditions: low speed (0.67–3.98 m/s), medium speed (3.99–7.97 m/s), and high speed (7.98–12.62 m/s). Results In Experiment 1, expert players demonstrated significantly higher tracking accuracy (60.42 ± 13.98%) than novice players (41.25 ± 13.93%) at 10°/s (P < 0.001). No significant group differences were found at 5°/s or 15°/s (Ps > 0.05). In Experiment 2, the expert group exhibited significantly higher decision accuracy than the novice group across all three speed conditions (Ps < 0.001). Moreover, at high speeds (7.98–12.62 m/s), shooting decisions were significantly less accurate than passing and breakthrough decisions (Ps < 0.001), while no significant differences were observed between passing and breakthrough decisions (Ps > 0.05). Conclusion This study shows that expert basketball players display superior visual attention and decision-making in moderate-to-high complexity settings, extending dynamic sport cognition theory. The absence of differences at 5°/s and 15°/s suggests task boundary effects. Future work should examine player position and gender to refine perceptual-cognitive training and theoretical models.
Gou et al. (2025) The influence of basketball players’ tracking speed ability on sports decision performance. PeerJ 13:e20266 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20266
Interaction between crizotinib and tropifexor through in vitro and in vivo studies
In the context of cancer treatment, the employment of multiple drug therapies frequently results in a high prevalence of drug-drug interaction (DDI) in clinical practice. Crizotinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) used to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tropifexor is a Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) agonist used to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other metabolic disorders. This study developed an ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the quantitative determination of crizotinib and 2-Keto crizotinib concentrations and investigated the effect of tropifexor on crizotinib metabolism. Results showed good linearity for crizotinib and 2-Keto crizotinib in plasma, with the method meeting all quantitative analysis requirements, including selectivity, accuracy, precision, stability, matrix effects, and recovery. In rat liver microsomes (RLM), tropifexor inhibited the metabolism of crizotinib via non-competitive and uncompetitive mechanisms, whereas in human liver microsomes (HLM), the inhibition occured through competitive and non-competitive mechanisms. In vivo studies in rats demonstrated that tropifexor significantly increased the AUC0−t, AUC0−∞, and Cmax of crizotinib by 35.7%, 36.9%, and 37.5%, respectively, and decreased the CLz/F of crizotinib by 25.2%. For the metabolite 2-Keto crizotinib, tropifexor reduced its CLz/F by 27.9%. Our study developed this UPLC-MS/MS method for the accurate and sensitive quantitative determination of crizotinib and 2-Keto crizotinib concentrations, and elucidated the inhibitory effect of tropifexor on crizotinib metabolism and its inhibitory mechanism. The results of this study will support the necessity of monitoring crizotinib plasma concentrations when used in combination therapy.
Shen et al. (2025) Interaction between crizotinib and tropifexor through in vitro and in vivo studies. PeerJ 13:e20256 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20256
Nectar robbing by the invasive bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Apidae) changes the behavior of native flower visitors of Fuchsia magellanica Lam. (Onagraceae) but not seed set
Mutualisms between plants and pollinators may be threatened by nectar robbers, as these animals typically consume nectar without providing the essential pollination service. In the temperate forests of Chile, the shrub Fuchsia magellanica is primarily pollinated by the hummingbird Sephanoides sephaniodes and the native bumblebee Bombus dahlbomii. However, some populations are also affected by nectar robbing from the invasive bumblebee Bombus terrestris. In a study evaluating 24 populations of F. magellanica, we assessed the effects of nectar robbing on nectar production, the foraging behavior of key pollinators, and the reproductive success of the plant. We measured the nectar production rate and standing crop in flowers that were either protected from visitors or exposed to them. We also observed flower visitation, the foraging behavior of pollinators, and seed sets in experimentally manipulated flowers. Results indicated that nectar robbing reduced nectar production rates by a factor of 4, and the standing crop of nectar by 2.9 times. With an increased percentage of flowers pierced by B. terrestris, the hummingbird S. sephaniodes appeared to reduce its pollinating visits, while B. terrestris increased its robbing visits. Despite these changes in pollinator behavior, there was no significant effect on the seed set. Ultimately, our findings suggest that for F. magellanica, B. terrestris does not pose a significant threat to reproduction, despite its disruptive impact on pollinator behavior.
Valdivia et al. (2025) Nectar robbing by the invasive bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Apidae) changes the behavior of native flower visitors of Fuchsia magellanica Lam. (Onagraceae) but not seed set. PeerJ 13:e20253 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20253
Functions of wheat ncRNAs in pathogen defense and stress adaptation
In organisms, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are key regulatory elements that modulate, the expression of genes involved in diverse biological traits. Among them, micro RNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have become major research focuses. Wheat, the world’s most widely grown crop, occupies 17% of global cultivated land and supplies ∼55% of the world’s carbohydrates. Understanding the roles, identification, and mechanisms of wheat ncRNAs is essential for both basic research and crop improvement. Through systematic searches of PubMed, Web of Science, and EndNote databases, this study identified 182 publications related to wheat ncRNAs. Based on predefined criteria—research relevance and publication timeframe (2015–2025)—70 high-quality studies were selected for in-depth analysis. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advances in ncRNA research (focusing on lncRNAs and small RNAs) in relation to wheat diseases, pests, and responses to biotic and abiotic stress. By integrating traditional classification with functional characterization, we developed a comprehensive analytical framework encompassing “molecular characteristics-biotic stress–abiotic stress”. Furthermore, this review consolidates multi-omics high-throughput data and online ncRNA databases. The integration of multi-omics technologies aims to provide both a theoretical foundation and novel strategies for wheat genetic improvement.
Yang et al. (2025) Functions of wheat ncRNAs in pathogen defense and stress adaptation. PeerJ 13:e20142 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20142
Effects of four different times of day on various aspects of maximal short-term physical performance in young soccer players
The time of day (TOD) has a significant influence on physical performance through circadian rhythms, which regulate body temperature, muscle function, and hormone levels. While extensively studied in adults, the impact of TOD on adolescent athletes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of TOD on maximal short-term physical performance in adolescent soccer players, to guide evidence-based decisions regarding the structuring of training and competition schedules. Nineteen male adolescent soccer players (mean age: 14.58 ± 0.7 years) participated in a randomized trial, performing at four TOD sessions (08:00 h, 11:00 h, 15:00 h, and 18:00 h) with recovery periods of at least 48 hours between sessions. Performance metrics included oral temperature (OT), medicine ball throw (MBT), 5-meter sprint (5m-T), 20-meter sprint (20m-T), Illinois Agility Test (IAT), and Illinois Agility Test with Ball (IAT-B). Results revealed significant TOD effects. OT increased notably from 08:00 to 18:00 (p < 0.001). Physical performance metrics (MBT, 5m-T, 20m-T, IAT, and IAT-B) improved significantly at 11:00, 15:00, and 18:00 (all p < 0.05) relative to 08:00. The 18:00 session consistently produced the highest performance levels. At the same time, no significant differences were observed between 11:00 and 15:00 (all p > 0.05). Our results suggest that time of day significantly influences short-term maximal physical performance in adolescent male soccer players, with peak performance levels consistently observed in the late afternoon (18:00 h). This appears to reflect diurnal variations in core temperature, hormonal activity, and neuromuscular readiness, which likely enhance sprint speed, agility, and explosive power at this time. These findings indicate that coaches and youth sport practitioners should consider scheduling high-intensity training sessions and performance assessments in the late afternoon to optimize physiological conditions for training and evaluation. Aligning training and competition timing with circadian rhythms may therefore support improved athletic output and more accurate performance monitoring in youth soccer settings.
Bougrine et al. (2025) Effects of four different times of day on various aspects of maximal short-term physical performance in young soccer players. PeerJ 13:e20065 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20065