title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=466 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: Comprehensive transcriptional analysis of pig facial skin development link: https://peerj.com/articles/15955 last-modified: 2023-08-28 description: BackgroundSkin development is a complex process that is influenced by many factors. Pig skin is used as an ideal material for xenografts because it is more anatomically and physiologically similar to human skin. It has been shown that the skin development of different pig breeds is different, and some Chinese pig breeds have the characteristics of skin thickness and facial skin folds, but the specific regulatory mechanism of this skin development is not yet clear.MethodsIn this study, the facial skin of Chenghua sows in the four developmental stages of postnatal Day 3 (D3) , Day 90 (D90) , Day 180 (D180), and Year 3 (Y3) were used as experimental materials, and RNA sequencing (RNA–seq) analysis was used to explore the changes in RNA expression in skin development at the four developmental stages, determine the differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs), and perform functional analysis of related genes by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses.ResultsA pairwise comparison of the four developmental stages identified several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and found that the number of differentially expressed RNAs (DE RNAs) increased with increasing developmental time intervals. Elastin (ELN) is an important component of the skin. Its content affects the relaxation of the epidermis and dermal connection, and its expression is continuously downregulated during the four developmental stages. The functions of DEGs at different developmental stages were examined by performing GO and KEGG analyses, and the GO terms and enrichment pathways of mRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, and circRNAs highly overlapped, among which the PPAR signaling pathway, a classical pathway for skin development, was enriched by DEGs of D3 vs. D180, D90 vs. D180 and D180 vs. Y3. In addition, we constructed lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA interaction networks and found genes that may be associated with skin development, but their interactions need further study.ConclusionsWe identified a number of genes associated with skin development, performed functional analyses on some important DEGs and constructed interaction networks that facilitate further studies of skin development. creator: Yujing Li creator: Rui Shi creator: Rong Yuan creator: Yanzhi Jiang uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15955 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2023 Li et al. title: Lanspora dorisauae, a new marine fungus from rocky shores in Taiwan link: https://peerj.com/articles/15958 last-modified: 2023-08-28 description: This article reports a new marine fungus, Lanspora dorisauae (Phomatosporales, Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota), on trapped wood collected in coastal sites of Taiwan. This new fungus was subjected to a morphological examination and a phylogenetic study based on a combined analysis of the 18S, 28S, ITS rDNA, TEF1-α and RPB2 genes. Lanspora dorisauae is characterized by dark-coloured ascomata with a short neck, periphysate ostioles, subclavate, deliquescing asci without an apical ring, presence of wide paraphyses, striated wall ascospores with crown-like appendages on one pole of the ascospores. Phylogenetically, L. dorisauae grouped with Lanspora coronata (type species) with strong support. Lanspora coronata lacks paraphyses and appendages occur on both ends of the ascospores, while paraphyses are present and ascospore appendage is unipolar in L. dorisauae. Lanspora cylindrospora formed a sister clade with L. coronata and L. dorisauae, but it significantly differs in morphology with the latter two species in having cylindrical asci with an apical J- ring, smooth ascospore wall and no ascospore appendages, and may be better referred to a new genus. Lanspora, together with Phomatospora and Tenuimurus, belong to the Phomatosporaceae, Phomatosporales. Phomatospora berkeleyi should be sequenced to test the validity of the order Phomatosporales and the family Phomatosporaceae. creator: Ka-Lai Pang creator: Sheng-Yu Guo creator: Ami Shaumi creator: Satinee Suetrong creator: Anupong Klaysuban creator: Michael W. L. Chiang creator: E. B. Gareth Jones uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15958 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2023 Pang et al. title: Seed bio-priming with beneficial Trichoderma harzianum alleviates cold stress in maize link: https://peerj.com/articles/15644 last-modified: 2023-08-25 description: Maize is one of the major crops in the world and the most productive member of the Gramineae family. Since cold stress affects the germination, growth, and productivity of corn seeds, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of seed biopriming with Trichoderma harzianum on the tolerance of two genotypes of maize seedlings to cold stress. This study was conducted in triplicates in factorial experiment with a complete randomized block design (CRBD). The study was conducted in the greenhouse and laboratory of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. Experimental factors include two cultivars (AR68 cold-resistant and KSC703 cold-sensitive maize cultivars), four pretreatment levels (control, biopriming with T. harzianum, exogenous T. harzianum, and hydropriming), and two levels of cold stress (control and cold at 5 °C) in a hydroponic culture medium. The present study showed that maize leaves’ establishment rate and maximum fluorescence (Fm) are affected by triple effects (C*, P*, S). The highest establishment (99.66%) and Fm (994 units) rates were observed in the KP3 control treatment. Moreover, among the pretreatments, the highest (0.476 days) and the lowest (0.182 days) establishment rates were related to P0 and P3 treatments, respectively. Cultivar A showed higher chlorophyll a and b, carotenoid content, and establishment rate compared to cultivar K in both optimal and cold conditions. The highest root dry weight (11.84 units) was obtained in cultivar A with P3 pretreatment. The pretreatments with T. harzianum increased physiological parameters and seedling emergence of maize under cold and optimal stress conditions. Pretreatment and cultivar improved catalase activity in roots and leaves. Higher leaf and root catalase activity was observed in the roots and leaves of cultivar K compared to cultivar A. The cold treatment significantly differed in peroxidase activity from the control treatment. Cultivar K showed higher catalase activity than cultivar A. The main effects of pretreatment and cold on polyphenol oxidase activity and proline content showed the highest polyphenol oxidase activity and proline content in hydropriming (H) treatment. Cold treatment also showed higher polyphenol oxidase activity and proline content than cold-free conditions. creator: Mehdi Afrouz creator: R Z. Sayyed creator: Bahman Fazeli-Nasab creator: Ramin Piri creator: WaleedHassan Almalki creator: Betty Natalie Fitriatin uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15644 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2023 Afrouz et al. title: Characterization of endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans link: https://peerj.com/articles/15897 last-modified: 2023-08-25 description: BackgroundCandida albicans is the most prevalent human fungal pathogen. In immunocompromised individuals, C. albicans can cause serious systemic disease, and patients infected with drug-resistant isolates have few treatment options. The ubiquitin-proteasome system has not been thoroughly characterized in C. albicans. Research from other organisms has shown ubiquitination is important for protein quality control and regulated protein degradation at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) via ER-associated protein degradation (ERAD).MethodsHere we perform the first characterization, to our knowledge, of ERAD in a human fungal pathogen. We generated functional knockouts of C. albicans genes encoding three proteins predicted to play roles in ERAD, the ubiquitin ligases Hrd1 and Doa10 and the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc7. We assessed the fitness of each mutant in the presence of proteotoxic stress, and we used quantitative tandem mass tag mass spectrometry to characterize proteomic alterations in yeast lacking each gene.ResultsConsistent with a role in protein quality control, yeast lacking proteins thought to contribute to ERAD displayed hypersensitivity to proteotoxic stress. Furthermore, each mutant displayed distinct proteomic profiles, revealing potential physiological ERAD substrates, co-factors, and compensatory stress response factors. Among candidate ERAD substrates are enzymes contributing to ergosterol synthesis, a known therapeutic vulnerability of C. albicans. Together, our results provide the first description of ERAD function in C. albicans, and, to our knowledge, any pathogenic fungus. creator: Ellen M. Doss creator: Joshua M. Moore creator: Bryce H. Harman creator: Emma H. Doud creator: Eric M. Rubenstein creator: Douglas A. Bernstein uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15897 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2023 Doss et al. title: NEAL: an open-source tool for audio annotation link: https://peerj.com/articles/15913 last-modified: 2023-08-25 description: Passive acoustic monitoring is used widely in ecology, biodiversity, and conservation studies. Data sets collected via acoustic monitoring are often extremely large and built to be processed automatically using artificial intelligence and machine learning models, which aim to replicate the work of domain experts. These models, being supervised learning algorithms, need to be trained on high quality annotations produced by experts. Since the experts are often resource-limited, a cost-effective process for annotating audio is needed to get maximal use out of the data. We present an open-source interactive audio data annotation tool, NEAL (Nature+Energy Audio Labeller). Built using R and the associated Shiny framework, the tool provides a reactive environment where users can quickly annotate audio files and adjust settings that automatically change the corresponding elements of the user interface. The app has been designed with the goal of having both expert birders and citizen scientists contribute to acoustic annotation projects. The popularity and flexibility of R programming in bioacoustics means that the Shiny app can be modified for other bird labelling data sets, or even to generic audio labelling tasks. We demonstrate the app by labelling data collected from wind farm sites across Ireland. creator: Anthony Gibbons creator: Ian Donohue creator: Courtney Gorman creator: Emma King creator: Andrew Parnell uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15913 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2023 Gibbons et al. title: Retrospective study on the correlation between serum MIF level and the condition and prognosis of patients with traumatic head injury link: https://peerj.com/articles/15933 last-modified: 2023-08-25 description: ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the correlation between serum levels of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and the condition and prognosis of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodsA retrospective study design was used, and the clinical data of 131 TBI patients from February 2019 to January 2022 were analyzed. Patients were divided into mild (13–15 points), moderate (9–12 points), or severe (3–8 points) groups according to their Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score after admission. The serum levels of BDNF, MIF, and MBP in the three groups were compared, and their correlation with the severity of TBI was analyzed. Patients were then separated into a good prognosis group (4–5 points) and a poor prognosis group (≤3 points) based on their Glasgow Prognostic Score (GOS) after 6 months of follow-up. The predictive power of serum indexes and combined detection on prognosis was analyzed.ResultsPatients were classified into a mild group (n = 63), moderate group (n = 47), and severe group (n = 21) based on their GCS, with a significant difference noted in serum levels of MIF, MBP, and BDNF among patients with different degrees of severity (all P < 0.001). The MIF, MBP, and BDNF levels were lower in the mild group compared to the moderate (all P < 0.001) and severe group (all P < 0.001). Additionally, the MIF and BDNF levels in the moderate group were lower compared to the severe group (P = 0.011, P = 0.002). Patients with mild severity had lower serum MIF, MBP, and BDNF levels than those with other degrees, and these indexes were positively correlated with the severity of TBI (all P < 0.001, r = 0.62, r = 0.48, r = 0.58). Based on the GOS, patients were divided into a good prognosis group (n = 107) and a poor prognosis group (n = 24), with the levels of MIF, MBP, and BDNF in the good prognosis group being significantly lower than those in the poor prognosis group (P < 0.001, P = 0.007, P = 0.003). The area under the curve (AUC) of MIF was higher than that of MBP and BDNF in predicting the prognosis of TBI patients; however, the statistical differences were not significant (MIF vs. MBP, P = 0.239; MIF vs. BDNF, P = 0.211; BDNF vs. MBP, P = 0.899). The center line has a large displacement, CT annular cisterna compression, increased white blood cell count, MBP and BDNF were risk factors for prognosis in TBI patients (P = 0.005, P = 0.001, P = 0.005, P = 0.033, P = 0.044).ConclusionThe serum levels of MIF, MBP, and BDNF in TBI patients were positively correlated with the severity of the disease, and MBP, BDNF levels had predictive value in determining patient prognosis. creator: Zhentong Liu creator: Chengwu Liu creator: Kegao Ma uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15933 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2023 Liu et al. title: Identification of novel key markers that are induced during traumatic brain injury in mice link: https://peerj.com/articles/15981 last-modified: 2023-08-25 description: BackgroundTraumatic brain injury (TBI) has emerged as an increasing public health problem but has not been well studied, particularly the mechanisms of brain cellular behaviors during TBI.MethodsIn this study, we established an ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) brain injury mice model using transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) strategy. After then, RNA-sequencing of frontal lobes was performed to screen key inducers during TBI. To further verify the selected genes, we collected peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from TBI patients within 24 h who attended intensive care unit (ICU) in the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University and analyzed the genes expression using RT-qPCR. Finally, the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves and co-expression with cellular senescence markers were applied to evaluate the predictive value of the genes.ResultsA total of six genes were screened out from the RNA-sequencing based on their novelty in TBI and implications in apoptosis and cellular senescence signaling. RT-qPCR analysis of PBMCs from patients showed the six genes were all up-regulated during TBI after comparing with healthy volunteers who attended the hospital for physical examination. The area under ROC (AUC) curves were all >0.7, and the co-expression scores of the six genes with senescence markers were all significantly positive. We thus identified TGM1, TGM2, ATF3, RCN3, ORAI1 and ITPR3 as novel key markers that are induced during TBI, and these markers may also serve as potential predictors for the progression of TBI. creator: Yucheng Li creator: Ningbo Li creator: Changjiao Luan creator: Yunlong Pei creator: Qingbin Zheng creator: Bingchun Yan creator: Xingjie Ma creator: Weili Liu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15981 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2023 Li et al. title: Development and validation of the Exteroceptive Body Awareness (EBA-q) questionnaire link: https://peerj.com/articles/15382 last-modified: 2023-08-24 description: The conscious processing of body signals influences higher-order psychological and cognitive functions, including self-awareness. Dysfunctions in the processing of these signals has been connected to neurological and psychiatric disorders characterized by altered states of self-consciousness. Studies indicate that perceiving the body through interoceptive signals (e.g., from internal organs such as heartbeat and breathing) is distinct from perceiving the body through exteroceptive signals (e.g., by relying on visual, tactile and olfactory cues). While questionnaires are available for assessing interoception, there are no validated self-report instruments for measuring bodily exterception. To fill this gap, we performed three studies to develop and validate a novel scale designed to assess bodily self-consciousness based on the processing of exteroceptive bodily signals. Exploratory factor analysis (Study 1, N = 302) led to an 18-item questionnaire comprised of four factors. We called this instrument Exteroceptive Body Awareness questionnaire (EBA-q). Confirmatory factor analysis (Study 2, N = 184) run on a second sample showed an acceptable fit for a bifactor model, suggesting researchers may use the questionnaire as a unidimensional scale reflecting exteroceptive bodily self-consciousness, or use each of its four sub-scales, reflecting “visuo-tactile body awareness”, “spatial coordination”, “awareness of body changes” and “awareness of clothing fit”. Overall EBA-q showed good internal consistency. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed via cross-validation with existing body awareness questionnaires (Study 3, N = 366) and behavioral measures (Study 3, N = 64) of exteroceptive and interoceptive bodily self-consciousness. Research applications are discussed within a multi-faceted model of exteroception and interoception as distinct, but at the same time interconnected, dimensions of bodily self-consciousness. creator: Alisha Vabba creator: Giuseppina Porciello creator: Maria Serena Panasiti creator: Salvatore Maria Aglioti uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15382 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 rights: ©2023 Vabba et al. title: Signatures of prescribed fire in the microbial communities of Cornus florida are largely undetectable five months post-fire link: https://peerj.com/articles/15822 last-modified: 2023-08-24 description: Prescribed burn is a management tool that influences the physical structure and composition of forest plant communities and their associated microorganisms. Plant-associated microorganisms aid in host plant disease tolerance and increase nutrient availability. The effects of prescribed burn on microorganisms associated with native ecologically and economically important tree species, such as Cornus florida L. (flowering dogwood), are not well understood, particularly in aboveground plant tissues (e.g., leaf, stem, and bark tissues). The objective of this study was to use 16S rRNA gene and ITS2 region sequencing to evaluate changes in bacterial and fungal communities of five different flowering dogwood-associated niches (soil, roots, bark, stem, and leaves) five months following a prescribed burn treatment. The alpha- and beta-diversity of root bacterial/archaeal communities differed significantly between prescribed burn and unburned control-treated trees. In these bacterial/archaeal root communities, we also detected a significantly higher relative abundance of sequences identified as Acidothermaceae, a family of thermophilic bacteria. No significant differences were detected between prescribed burn-treated and unburned control trees in bulk soils or bark, stem, or leaf tissues. The findings of our study suggest that prescribed burn does not significantly alter the aboveground plant-associated microbial communities of flowering dogwood trees five months following the prescribed burn application. Further studies are required to better understand the short- and long-term effects of prescribed burns on the microbial communities of forest trees. creator: Beant Kapoor creator: Aaron Onufrak creator: William Klingeman III creator: Jennifer M. DeBruyn creator: Melissa A. Cregger creator: Emma Willcox creator: Robert Trigiano creator: Denita Hadziabdic uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15822 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2023 Kapoor et al. title: Exogenous hydrogen sulfide improves salt stress tolerance of Reaumuria soongorica seedlings by regulating active oxygen metabolism link: https://peerj.com/articles/15881 last-modified: 2023-08-24 description: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), as an endogenous gas signaling molecule, plays an important role in plant growth regulation and resistance to abiotic stress. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of exogenous H2S on the growth and development of Reaumuria soongorica seedlings under salt stress and to determine the optimal concentration for foliar application. To investigate the regulatory effects of exogenous H2S (donor sodium hydrosulfide, NaHS) at concentrations ranging from 0 to 1 mM on reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidant system, and osmoregulation in R. soongorica seedlings under 300 mM NaCl stress. The growth of R. soongorica seedlings was inhibited by salt stress, which resulted in a decrease in the leaf relative water content (LRWC), specific leaf area (SLA), and soluble sugar content in leaves, elevated activity levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT); and accumulated superoxide anion (O2–), proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), and soluble protein content in leaves; and increased L-cysteine desulfhydrase (LCD) activity and endogenous H2S content. This indicated that a high level of ROS was produced in the leaves of R. soongorica seedlings and seriously affected the growth and development of R. soongorica seedlings. The exogenous application of different concentrations of NaHS reduced the content of O 2–, proline and MDA, increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the content of osmoregulators (soluble sugars and soluble proteins), while the LCD enzyme activity and the content of endogenous H2S were further increased with the continuous application of exogenous H2S. The inhibitory effects of salt stress on the growth rate of plant height and ground diameter, the LRWC, biomass, and SLA were effectively alleviated. A comprehensive analysis showed that the LRWC, POD, and proline could be used as the main indicators to evaluate the alleviating effect of exogenous H2S on R. soongorica seedlings under salt stress. The optimal concentration of exogenous H2S for R. soongorica seedlings under salt stress was 0.025 mM. This study provides an important theoretical foundation for understanding the salt tolerance mechanism of R. soongorica and for cultivating high-quality germplasm resources. creator: Hanghang Liu creator: Peifang Chong creator: Zehua Liu creator: Xinguang Bao creator: Bingbing Tan uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15881 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: ©2023 Liu et al.