Baobab Index

Aflatoxin contamination remains a critical challenge for food and feed safety, necessitating effective mitigation strategies. This study addresses the challenge of aflatoxin contamination by identifying four novel bacterial candidates capable of degrading four major aflatoxin congeners (B1, B2, G1, and G2). Quantitative HPLC and qualitative LC-HRMS with MS/MS profiling revealed that the isolated bacterial strains achieved high degradation efficiencies of 86-94%, proceeding through distinct demethylation and decarboxylation pathways. Oxford Nanopore whole-genome sequencing identified these potent degraders as

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have become a central tool in plant genomics, providing high-resolution access to the genetic architecture of complex traits in cereal crops. This review observes the application of GWASs to biotic and abiotic stress responses and nutritional quality in rice (

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive and clinically heterogeneous breast cancer subtype characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 overexpression, limited targeted treatment options, early relapse, and frequent development of therapy resistance. Although TNBC often shows initial sensitivity to chemotherapy, durable responses are commonly undermined by the emergence of adaptive resistant cell states rather than solely by fixed genetic mutations. This review synthesizes the role of epigenetic plasticity as a central mechanism that enables TNBC cells to dynamically reprogram transcriptional identity, survive therapeutic stress, and transition between epithelial, mesenchymal, stem-like, immune-evasive, and drug-tolerant persister phenotypes. Key epigenetic mechanisms include aberrant DNA methylation, histone acetylation and methylation, BET/BRD4-dependent transcriptional regulation, EZH2-mediated repression, SWI/SNF-dependent chromatin remodeling, non-coding RNA networks, and three-dimensional genome reorganization. These processes regulate tumor suppressor silencing, DNA-damage repair, epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, cancer stem-cell maintenance, metabolic adaptation, immune-checkpoint regulation, and minimal residual disease. The review also highlights the translational relevance of epigenetic biomarkers, including DNA methylation signatures, circulating epigenetic markers, chromatin-accessibility profiles, and single-cell epigenomic approaches for diagnosis, prognosis, therapy prediction, and monitoring resistance evolution. Finally, therapeutic strategies targeting epigenetic plasticity are discussed, including DNMT, HDAC, BET, EZH2, KDM, and LSD1 inhibitors, with emphasis on rational combination approaches involving chemotherapy, PARP inhibitors, immunotherapy, and metabolic targeting. Overall, epigenetic plasticity represents both a major driver of TNBC resistance and a therapeutically exploitable vulnerability, provided those future strategies account for tumor heterogeneity, adaptive cell-state transitions, biomarker-guided patient selection, and combination-based treatment design.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV), a major cause of B-cell lymphoma in cattle worldwide, has been linked to human breast cancer. Here, we performed comparative whole-transcriptome analysis of single clones of human epithelial 293T, breast cancer MCF7, and cervical cancer HeLa cells, stably infected with BLV, versus uninfected controls using RNA-sequencing technology. Differential expression analysis revealed 2050, 1314, and 2772 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between BLV-infected 293T, MCF7, and HeLa cells and controls, respectively. Most DEGs were upregulated in BLV-infected 293T (76.5%) and MCF7 (69.1%) cells but downregulated in HeLa cells (62.0%). Functional enrichment analyses revealed enrichment of "Gene expression" and "Membrane Trafficking" pathways across all cell lines, and that of "Apoptosis" and "Axon guidance" pathways uniquely in 293T and MCF7 cells. Twenty genes linked to apoptosis of 293T and MCF7 cells were identified, and expression of 11 of these was confirmed using quantitative real-time PCR. The expression of

Climate change is accelerating the frequency of extreme thermal environments, threatening animal welfare, global herd productivity, and agricultural economics. Heat stress-occurring when the ambient temperature-humidity index (THI) surpasses species-specific thermoneutral thresholds-initiates physiological heat-loss cascades (panting, sweating, and peripheral vasodilation), neuroendocrine disruptions (depressed thyroid hormones, elevated glucocorticoids, and insulin dysregulation), mitochondrial oxidative stress, and gut-barrier breakdown. These systemic disruptions drive substantial performance declines: voluntary dry matter intake drops by 15-25%, average daily gain by 15-30%, milk yield by 10-25%, conception rates by 30-50%, and poultry egg output and shell integrity by 15-25%. Species-specific vulnerability is governed by intrinsic anatomical and metabolic differences, including the substantial fermentation heat increment in ruminants, the lack of functional sweat glands and heavy feather insulation in poultry, and the low cutaneous evaporative capacity of swine. Furthermore, thermal stress induces oxidative damage via free radical accumulation and alters blood composition, triggering severe immunosuppression that heightens susceptibility to mastitis, respiratory complexes, and metabolic endotoxemia. Mitigation requires an integrated solutions matrix combining environmental cooling (tunnel ventilation, pad cooling, and shade), targeted nutrition (antioxidants, organic trace minerals, osmolytes, and rumen-protected fats), genomic selection (SLICK locus and thermotolerant crossbreeding), and real-time Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) monitoring. Addressing these challenges is paramount to ensuring sustainable livestock production, animal welfare, and global food security under impending climate scenarios.

In the original publication [...].

Cadmium (Cd) contamination poses a serious threat to wheat production and food safety. This study investigated Cd tolerance mechanisms at morpho-physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic levels in three genetically related wheat genotypes exposed to 10 μM Cd stress. Cd exposure inhibited plant growth in all genotypes, but the hybrid cultivar L4 (Luomai 49) exhibited lower growth inhibition and greater Cd tolerance than its parental lines L6 (Luomai 6010) and ZM (Zhengmai 9023). L4 maintained improved root system architecture, lower oxidative damage, and more stable redox homeostasis, while restricting Cd translocation from roots to shoots. Transcriptomic analysis revealed extensive genotype-dependent transcriptional reprogramming in L4, with Cd-responsive genes enriched in antioxidant regulation, cell wall modification, transmembrane transport, and phytohormone signaling processes. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) genes were identified as important Cd-responsive candidates and exhibited enhanced transcriptional responses in L4. Functional validation using TaGST mutant plants demonstrated that disruption of TaGST function reduced Cd tolerance, impaired plant growth, altered elemental homeostasis, and disrupted stress-responsive transcriptional networks associated with antioxidant defense and secondary metabolism. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that L4 achieves enhanced Cd tolerance through coordinated physiological and transcriptional regulation and reveal a positive role of GST in wheat Cd stress adaptation, providing potential genetic resources for breeding Cd-tolerant wheat cultivars.

Biofilm-associated infections remain a major clinical challenge due to their intrinsic tolerance to antimicrobial therapy. Sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs) of antibiotics are frequently encountered in vivo, particularly at sites of infection and on indwelling medical devices. However, their influence on biofilm formation is controversial, with evidence of both stimulatory and inhibitory effects. Clarifying these responses may reveal novel therapeutic opportunities for managing nosocomial biofilm-related infections. This study aims to investigate the effects of three sub-MIC concentrations (25%, 50%, and 75% of MIC) of five antibiotic classes on biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae using two distinct biofilm quantification methods. In this study, the effects of 5 different antimicrobial agents, namely, azithromycin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, and imipenem, at different sub-MIC concentrations (12.5%, 25%, and 50% of MIC) were tested on 5 different clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa, E. coli, and K. pneumoniae. Clinical isolates were exposed to sub-MIC levels of antibiotics in a standardized biofilm assay, with statistical comparisons conducted to determine significant biofilm modulation using crystal violet (CV) staining to measure total biomass accumulation and quantitative PCR (qPCR) to assess qPCR-derived genome-equivalent DNA abundance within biofilms. qPCR detects DNA originating from viable, dead, damaged, or lysed cells, as well as extracellular DNA (eDNA). Across the 75 tested conditions (5 antibiotics × 3 sub-MIC concentrations × 5 clinical isolates per species), sub-inhibitory antibiotic exposure produced pronounced, species- and target-dependent biofilm responsiveness varied by species: P. aeruginosa demonstrated the highest biomass modulation (62% CV significance), E. coli exhibited the greatest molecular responsiveness (55% qPCR significance), and K. pneumoniae showed lower overall modulation (47% CV, 32% qPCR significance). Imipenem exerted the highest biomass suppression in P. aeruginosa (80% CV vs. 13% qPCR inhibition), whereas doxycycline predominantly reduced genome equivalents in P. aeruginosa (73% qPCR vs. 7% CV inhibition). In E. coli, azithromycin produced peak biomass inhibition (73% CV vs. 7% qPCR inhibition), while gentamicin led to molecular suppression (60% qPCR vs. 27% CV inhibition). In K. pneumoniae, azithromycin and ciprofloxacin directed to biomass inhibition (both 40% CV), while azithromycin produced the highest qPCR reduction (33% qPCR). Bidirectional modulation was widespread across drug classes. Azithromycin acted as a primary inducer in P. aeruginosa (80% CV, 67% qPCR induction), while imipenem shifted from a biomass inhibitor in P. aeruginosa (80% CV inhibition) to a primary inducer in K. pneumoniae (47% CV, 60% qPCR induction). Unidirectional responses were drug- and method-specific, such as imipenem in P. aeruginosa CV (80% inhibition) and doxycycline in P. aeruginosa qPCR (73% inhibition). This study demonstrates that sub-MIC exposure produces heterogeneous, antibiotic-, species-, isolate-, concentration-, and method-dependent biofilm responses that diverge between structural matrix accumulation and genomic abundance. Therefore, our findings highlight that sub-MIC exposures demand a multi-assay diagnostic framework to accurately evaluate biofilm-associated drug responses.

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Growing concerns about antibiotics in semen extenders have driven interest in natural antimicrobial alternatives. The primary objective was to evaluate whether