This study explores the role of endosomal PI(4,5)P2 catabolism in innate immunity, using C. elegans as a model organism. The research highlights how RAB-10 and its effector UNC-16 regulate DAG levels and the PMK-1/p38 MAPK pathway to enhance resistance to pathogen infection. Mechanistic insights reveal UNC-16's dimerization is necessary for recruiting the phospholipase EGL-8, thus linking PI(4,5)P2 breakdown to immune responses. The nuclear receptor NHR-25 is also shown to mediate RAB-10 activation during infection, offering a framework for understanding pathogen detection in intestinal epithelia.

In a paper published in Mycology, a research team led by Wenxia Fang at the Guangxi Academy of Sciences isolated a strain of Paramyrothecium sp. (P-6) from moss samples collected in the Karst region of Guangxi. The compound Ver-A produced by this strain effectively inhibits the growth of various pathogenic fungi in vitro and prevents the sexual mating of haploid spores of the sugarcane smut pathogen. Pot experiments demonstrated that treatment with crude extracts containing Ver-A significantly reduced the incidence of sugarcane smut disease. Further analysis using real-time quantitative PCR revealed its underlying mechanisms, providing a theoretical basis for the sustainable control of sugarcane smut and the development of novel pesticides.

Scientists are revolutionizing microproteomics by combining droplet-based microfluidics with mass spectrometry. This approach enhances proteomic profiling in small cell populations, especially single cells, by minimizing sample loss and reagent use, accelerating reactions, and increasing throughput, enabling highly sensitive single-cell proteomic analysis with promising future applications.

The team proposed a new index structure called HATree.