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The idea of a human community with a shared future was proposed by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core for the future development of human beings to face up to the most important question in today’s world: “What is happening to the world and what should we do?” It profoundly answers the question of the world, history, and the times. The theory of a human community with a shared future is an innovative theory with a multidimensional formation logic that guides humanity toward continually seeking common interests and values. This paper dives into the profound motivations behind building a human community with a shared future from historical, cultural, and practical dimensions and analyzes its epochal value from both domestic and international perspectives. This not only helps exert China’s role in the international community, contributing Chinese strength to the construction of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous human society, but also enhances the influence of the idea of a human community with a shared future in the international community, accelerating the building of a human community with a shared future that considers the legitimate concerns of all countries, and aiding in solving the crises facing the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a major sucrose and bioenergy crop in the world. The fungal pathogen Sporisorium scitamineum causes sugarcane smut, a devastating disease that destroys stalks and reduces sugar content in sugarcane. This disease can be controlled most effectively by applying smut-resistant sugarcane varieties. Previous studies have shown that Dirigent (DIR) genes are involved in the synthesis of the lignin precursor pinoresinol, which plays a crucial role in plant resistance to biotic stresses. However, the immune response of the DIR homologs in sugarcane (ScDIR) has not been reported yet. In this study, we found that the lignin content of smut-resistant sugarcane varieties (ZZ1, ZZ6, and ZZ9) was significantly higher than that of smut-susceptible varieties (GT42, ROC22, and FN41), and the lignin content of sugarcane increased after smut infection. The smut-resistant and smut-susceptible clones derived from the same genetic population (ROC25 × YZ89-7) showed similar patterns. Quantitative real-time PCR assays revealed that among the 64 DIR genes in sugarcane, ScDIR5, ScDIR7, ScDIR11, and ScDIR40 showed elevated expression after S. scitamineum infection. In vitro coupling reactions showed that the four corresponding ScDIR proteins could mediate the coupling of coniferyl alcohol and its conversion into the lignin precursor pinoresinol. Overexpression of the four ScDIR genes in Nicotiana benthamiana enhanced disease resistance to the fungal pathogens Sclerotium rolfsii, Rhizoctonia solani, and Botrytis cinerea. Moreover, transgenic sugarcane overexpressing these ScDIR genes showed enhanced resistance to smut disease. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that sugarcane ScDIR genes can improve the resistance of plants to fungal pathogens and highlight their potentials in sugarcane breeding for disease resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colletotrichum siamense is a hemibiotrophic ascomycetous fungus responsible for mango anthracnose. The key genes involved in C. siamense infection remained largely unknown. In this study, we conducted weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) of RNA-seq data to mine key genes involved in Colletotrichum siamense-mango interactions. Gene modules of Turquoise and Salmon, containing 1039 and 139 respectively, were associated with C. siamense infection, which were conducted for further analysis. GO enrichment analysis revealed that protein synthesis, organonitrogen compound biosynthetic and metabolic process, and endoplasmic reticulum-related genes were associated with C. siamense infection. A total of 568 proteins had homologs in the PHI database, 370 of which were related to virulence. The hub genes in each module were identified, which were annotated as O-methyltransferase (Salmon) and Clock-controlled protein 6 (Turquoise). A total of 24 proteins exhibited characteristics of SCRPs. By using transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, the SCRPs of XM_036637681.1 could inhibit programmed cell death (PCD) that induced by BAX (BCL-2-associated X protein), suggesting that it may play important roles in C. siamense infection. A mango-C. siamense co-expression network was constructed, and the mango gene of XM_044632979.1 (auxin-induced protein 15A-like) was positively associated with 5 SCRPs. These findings help to deepen the current understanding of necrotrophic stage in C. siamense infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sporisorium scitamineum is a biotrophic fungus responsible for sugarcane smut disease. To investigate the key genes involved in S. scitamineum infection, we conducted RNA sequencing of sugarcane sprouts inoculated with S. scitamineum teliospores. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that two co-expressed gene modules, MEdarkturquoise and MEpurple—containing 66 and 208 genes, respectively—were associated with S. scitamineum infection. The genes in these two modules were further studied using Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, pathogen-host interaction (PHI) database BLASTp, and small secreted cysteine-rich proteins (SCRPs) prediction. The top ten hub genes in each module were identified using the Cytohubba plugin. The GO enrichment analysis found that endoplasmic reticulum-related and catabolism-related genes were expressed during S. scitamineum infection. A total of 83 genes had homologs in the PHI database, 62 of which correlated with pathogen virulence. A total of 21 proteins had the characteristics of small secreted cysteine-rich proteins (SCRPs), a common source of fungal effectors. The top ten hub genes in each module were identified, and seven were annotated as Mig1-Mig1 protein, glycosyl hydrolase, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, secreted chorismate mutase, collagen, mRNA export factor, and pleckstrin homology domain protein, while the remaining three were unknown. Two SCRPs—SPSC_06609 and SPSC_04676—and three proteins—SPSC_01958, SPSC_02155, and SPSC_00940—identified in the PHI database were also among the top ten hub genes in the MEdarkturquoise and MEpurple modules, suggesting that they may play important roles in S. scitamineum infection. A S. scitamineum infection model was postulated based on current findings. These findings help to deepen the current understanding of early events in S. scitamineum infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dirigent proteins (DIRs) are known to function in lignin biogenesis and to be involved in stress resistance in plants. However, the sugarcane DIRs have not been functionally characterized. In this study, we investigated the DIR−protein−encoding genes in Saccharum spp. (ScDIR) by screening collections of sugarcane databases, monitoring the responses of these genes to drought stress by real−time quantitative PCR, and identifying their heterologous expression in tobacco. Of the 64 ScDIRs identified, four belonging to the DIR−b/d (ScDIR5 and ScDIR11) and DIR−c (ScDIR7 and ScDIR40) subfamilies showed a significant transcriptional response when subjected to drought stress. ScDIR5, ScDIR7, and ScDIR11 are localized in the cell membrane, whereas ScDIR40 is found in the cell wall. The overexpression of these ScDIR genes in tobacco generally increased the drought tolerance of the transgenic lines, with ScDIR7 conferring the highest degree of drought tolerance. The characterization of the physiological and biochemical indicators (superoxide dismutase, catalase, malondialdehyde, and H2O2) confirmed that the ScDIR−overexpressing lines outperformed the wild type. These results demonstrated that specific ScDIRs in sugarcane respond and contribute to tolerance of drought stress, shedding light on potential means of improving drought tolerance in this crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 216 killer yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae, isolated from wine, were evaluated in controlling Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, a pre-harvest anthracnose agent of grape. Three of these yeast isolates were tested positive for antagonizing C. gloeosporioides and were further evaluated for their mechanisms as biological control agents (BCAs): production of antifungal compounds, production of hydrolytic enzymes, inhibition of C. gloeosporioides conidia germination, colonization on grape berry, and efficiency in controlling anthracnose of grape. The results showed that all three S. cerevisiae isolates produced antifungal compounds, inhibited C. gloeosporioides conidia germination and produced β-1,3-glucanase and chitinase. All isolates colonized grape berry in large quantities and controlled C. gloeosporioides when artificially inoculated on grape berry. Among the three isolates, application of isolate GA8 resulted in 69.7% of disease reductions for C. gloeosporioides on grape berry. The antagonistic isolates of S. cerevisiae could represent important BCAs of anthracnose of grape caused by C. gloeosporioides that are responsible for economic losses in viticulture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugarcane smut caused by the basidiomycetes fungus Sporisorium scitamineum is a devastating disease for the sugarcane industry worldwide. As the initial step, the smut teliospores germinate on sugarcane buds, and subsequently, the mycelium infects the bud tissues. However, chemical signals that induce spore germination are still unknown. By comparison of the behavior of the teliospores on the buds of both resistant and susceptible varieties, we found that spore germination rates were significantly lower on the buds of resistant cultivars ZZ1, ZZ6, and ZZ9 than on the susceptible varieties GT42 and ROC22. It was found that the levels of hexacosanol and octacosanol were higher on the buds of smut-susceptible varieties than on the smut-resistant varieties. These observations were extended to the smut-resistant and smut-susceptible sub-genetic populations derived from the cross of ROC25 and YZ89-7. In artificial surface assays, we found that hexacosanol and octacosanol promoted smut teliospore germination. Transcriptome analysis of smut teliospores under the induction by octacosanol revealed that genes in the MAPK signaling pathway and fatty acid metabolism were significantly differentially expressed. Overall, our results provide evidence that alkanol plays important roles in smut teliospore germination and thus could be used as a potential marker for smut resistance in sugarcane breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]