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Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) is a prominent causative agent of cassava mosaic disease in Asia and relies on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci cryptic complex for its transmission. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in SLCMV transmission by B. tabaci have yet to be understood. In this study, we identified an aminopeptidase N‐like protein (BtAPN) in B. tabaci Asia II 1, an efficient vector of SLCMV, which is involved in the SLCMV transmission process. Through the use of glutathione S‐transferase pull‐down assay and LC‐MS/MS analysis, we demonstrated the interaction between BtAPN and the coat protein (CP) of SLCMV. This interaction was further confirmed in vitro, and we observed an induction of BtAPN gene expression following SLCMV infection. By interfering with the function of BtAPN, the quantities of SLCMV were significantly reduced in various parts of B. tabaci Asia II 1, including the whole body, midgut, hemolymph, and primary salivary gland. Furthermore, we discovered that BtAPN is conserved in B. tabaci Middle East‐Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and interacts with the CP of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), a begomovirus known to cause severe damage to tomato production. Blocking BtAPN with antibody led to a significant reduction in the quantities of TYLCV in whitefly whole body and organs/tissues. These results demonstrate that BtAPN plays a generic role in interacting with the CP of begomoviruses and positively regulates their acquisition by the whitefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The bacterium Rickettsia is found widely in phytophagous insects and often exerts profound effects on the phenotype and fitness of its hosts. Here, we decrypt a new, independent, phylogenetically ancient Torix Rickettsia endosymbiont found constantly in a laboratory line of an economically important insect Asia II 7, a putative species of the Bemisia tabaci whitefly complex (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and occasionally in field whitefly populations. This new Rickettsia distributes throughout the body of its whitefly host. Genetically, compared to Rickettsia_bellii_MEAM1 found earlier in whiteflies, the new Rickettsia species has more gene families and pathways, which may be important factors in shaping specific symbiotic relationships. We propose the name 'Candidatus Rickettsia_Torix_Bemisia_tabaci (RiTBt)' for this new endosymbiont associated with whiteflies. Comparative genomic analyses indicate that RiTBi may be a relatively recent intruder in whiteflies given its low abundance in the field and relatively larger genome compared to Rickettsia_bellii_MEAM1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ostrinia furnacalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is one of the most destructive agricultural pests in Asia. Traditional pest‐management methods include sex pheromone capture, transgenic crops that produce Bacillus thuringiensis toxin, and pesticides. Although these strategies control pest populations effectively, they also cause negative side effects, including dramatically increased pesticide resistance, severe pollution, and hazards for human health. Recently developed genome editing tools provide new prospects for pest management and have been successfully used in several species. However, few examples have been reported in the agricultural pest O. furnacalis due to a lack in genomic information. In this report, we identified only one transcript of O. furnacalis Argonaute 1 (OfAgo1) gene from the genome and cloned the open reading frame. OfAgo1 presented the maximum expression at the embryo stage or in the fat body during the larval stages. To understand its function, an OfAgo1 mutant was constructed using the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/RNA‐guided Cas9 nuclease (CRISPR/Cas9). Mutagenesis of OfAgo1 disrupted cuticle pigmentation by down‐regulating micro RNAs and pigmentation‐related genes. This is the first report for the cloning and functional analysis of OfAgo1, revealing a role of OfAgo1 in cuticle pigmentation. The current report also established a CRISPR/Cas9 system in O. furnacalis, providing a new insight for pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton leaf curl Multan virus (CLCuMuV) is one of the major casual agents of cotton leaf curl disease. Previous studies show that two indigenous whitefly species of the Bemisia tabaci complex, Asia II 1 and Asia II 7, are able to transmit CLCuMuV, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the transmission are poorly known. In this study, we attempted to identify the whitefly proteins involved in CLCuMuV transmission. First, using a yeast two-hybrid system, we identified 54 candidate proteins of Asia II 1 that putatively can interact with the coat protein of CLCuMuV. Second, we examined interactions between the CLCuMuV coat protein and several whitefly proteins, including vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein (Vps) twenty associated 1 (Vta1). Third, using RNA interference, we found that Vta1 positively regulated CLCuMuV acquisition and transmission by the Asia II 1 whitefly. In addition, we showed that the interaction between the CLCuMuV coat protein and Vta1 from the whitefly Middle East-Asia Minor (MEAM1), a poor vector of CLCuMuV, was much weaker than that between Asia II 1 Vta1 and the CLCuMuV coat protein. Silencing of Vta1 in MEAM1 did not affect the quantity of CLCuMuV acquired by the whitefly. Taken together, our results suggest that Vta1 may play an important role in the transmission of CLCuMuV by the whitefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV), a begomovirus (genus Begmovirus , family Geminiviridae) causing cassava mosaic disease in Asia, poses serious threats to cassava cultivation in Asia. However, the transmission of SLCMV in the areas into which it has recently been introduced remain largely unexplored. Here we have compared the transmission efficiencies of SLCMV by three widely distributed whitefly species in Asia, and found that only Asia II 1 whiteflies were able to transmit this virus efficiently. The transmission efficiencies of SLCMV by different whitefly species were found to correlate positively with quantity of virus in whitefly whole body. Further, the viral transmission efficiency was found to be associated with varied ability of virus movement within different species of whiteflies. These findings provide detailed information regarding whitefly transmission of SLCMV, which will help to understand the spread of SLCMV in the field, and facilitate the prediction of virus epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Hedyotis diffusa Willd is an important traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is used in clinical treatment of cancers, in vivo studies clearly showed that Hedyotis diffusa Willd has anti- tumor activity and extended its life cycle. • Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) evaluation, systematic drug targeting tool and weighted ensemble similarity algorithm are employed to predict potential drug target and analysis. • The multiple pathways mainly target by regulation of MAP kinase activity signaling pathway, regulation of angiogenesis pathway, and proliferation and apoptosis pathway. • The selected active compound kaempferol inhibits proliferation, inflammation and angiogenesis by reducing the expression of protein levels of CDK2, COX-2, iNOS, p38 and eNOS. Abstract Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become one of the most general malignancies in the world and has been shown to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is considered to be a useful medicine for survival, and has been used in Asia for thousands of years. Hedyotis diffusa Willd (HDW) is an important folk herb that is used in clinical treatment of various cancers in various Chinese medicine prescriptions. However, its underlying mechanism of action remains unclear. Presently, we used an innovative system-pharmacology platform to systematically uncover the pharmacological mechanisms of HDW in the treatment of NSCLC from molecules, targets, and pathway levels. The results show that HDW treatment of NSCLC may activate immunity, achieve anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-migration therapeutic effects by regulating multiple pathways. This research provides a new idea for understanding the mechanism of TCM and promotes to develop potential drugs from HDW in modern medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginseng (Panax ginseng), a tonic and functional food in Asia and among the ten top-selling herbal remedies worldwide, is often sulfur-fumigated (SF) during post-harvest handling. In this study, a practical protocol was developed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS) and multivariate statistical analysis to identify characteristic SF markers, dissect chemical transformation mechanism, and control the quality of SF ginseng. The result showed that sulfur fumigation significantly altered the holistic chemical profile of ginseng by triggering chemical transformation of certain original components, 14 ginsenosides and its metabolites together with 2 potential sulfur-contained ginsenoside sulfates were screened out to be the most characteristic markers for distinguishing non-fumigated (NF) and SF ginseng. Moreover, the transformation mechanism of the sulfates of ginsenoside Rg1, Rh1 and 24(R)-pseudoginsenoside Rt5 was inferred, and which showed that in addition to hydrolysis, esterification and dehydration reaction occurred in the process of sulfur fumigation. This study shows that the comprehensive evaluation protocol-based chemical profiles and discriminated markers can be applied to quality evaluation of NF and SF ginseng and other edible or medical materials. • LC analysis proved that the chemical composition of ginseng gradually changed during sulfur fumigation. • UPLC-QTOF-MS/MS combined with PCA and OPLS-DA were used to explore 16 potential markers in SF ginseng samples. • Possible transformation mechanism of sulfur-contained ginsenosides were inferred. • The established approach could inspect the commercial SF ginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used for diagnosis and outcome prediction in clinical practice. Furthermore, AI in digestive endoscopy has attracted much attention and shown promising and stimulating results. This study aimed to determine the development trends and research hotspots of AI in digestive endoscopy by visualizing articles. Publications on AI in digestive endoscopy research were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection on April 25, 2022. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to assess and plot the research outputs. This analytical research was based on original articles and reviews. A total of 524 records of AI research in digestive endoscopy, published between 2005 and 2022, were retrieved. The number of articles has increased 27-fold from 2017 to 2021. Fifty-one countries and 994 institutions contributed to all publications. Asian countries had the highest number of publications. China, the USA, and Japan were consistently the leading driving forces and mainly contributed (26%, 21%, and 14.31%, respectively). With a solid academic reputation in this area, Japan has the highest number of citations per article. Tada Tomohiro published the most articles and received the most citations.. Gastrointestinal endoscopy published the largest number of publications, and 4 of the top 10 cited papers were published in this journal. "The Classification," "ulcerative colitis," "capsule endoscopy," "polyp detection," and "early gastric cancer" were the leading research hotspots. Our study provides systematic elaboration for researchers to better understand the development of AI in gastrointestinal endoscopy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Aim: To investigate the relationship between Helicobacter pylori infection and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in an Asian population., Methods: The PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched for observational studies published up until June 2014, without language restrictions. Additional references were obtained from reviewed articles., Results: Ten studies involving 1299 IBD patients and 1817 controls were included in the meta-analysis (24.9% of IBD patients had H. pylori infection vs 48.3% of the controls). The pooled risk ratio for H. pylori infection in IBD patients compared with controls was 0.48 (95%CI: 0.43-0.54; P < 0.001). There was no significant heterogeneity in the included studies (I (2) = 21%). Egger's linear regression indicated that there was no significant publication bias (P = 0.203)., Conclusion: The H. pylori infection rate in Asian IBD patients is significantly lower than in non-IBD patients, indicating that infection protects against the development of IBD.