The aquatic grass Zizania latifolia grows symbiotically with the fungus Ustilago esculenta producing swollen structures called Jiaobai, widely cultivated in China. A new disease of Z. latifolia was found in Zhejiang Province, China. Initial lesions appeared on the leaf sheaths or sometimes on the leaves near the leaf sheaths. The lesions extended along the axis of the leaf shoots and formed long brown to dark brown streaks from the leaf sheath to the leaf, causing sheath rot and death of entire leaves on young plants. The pathogen was isolated and identified as the bacterium Pantoea ananatis, based on 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing, multilocus sequence analysis (atpD (β-subunit of ATP synthase F1), gyrB (DNA gyrase subunit B), infB (translation initiation factor 2), and rpoB (β‍-subunit of RNA polymerase) genes), and pathogenicity tests. Ultrastructural observations using scanning electron microscopy revealed that the bacterial cells colonized the vascular tissues in leaf sheaths, forming biofilms on the inner surface of vessel walls, and extended between vessel elements via the perforated plates. To achieve efficient detection and diagnosis of P. ananatis, species-specific primer pairs were designed and validated by testing closely related and unrelated species and diseased tissues of Z. latifolia. This is the first report of bacterial sheath rot disease of Z. latifolia caused by P. ananatis in China.
Pantoea/genetics* ; Plant Diseases/microbiology* ; Poaceae/microbiology* ; Virulence

This study aims to explore the mechanism of fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma against chronic bronchitis airway inflammation. The SD rats of SPF grade were divided into control group, model group, Guilongkechuanning group(GLKCN, 1.125 g·kg~(-1)), high-dose fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma group(LG-HD, 15 g·kg~(-1)), and low-dose fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma group(LG-LD, 7.5 g·kg~(-1)). The chronic bronchitis models of rats in other groups except the control group were induced by the modified smoking method. From the 15 th day of modeling, the rats were given corresponding agents by gavage for 20 consecutive days. After the last administration, the rats were sacrificed for sample collection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was employed to detect serum transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) and interleukin-6(IL-6) levels. The protein expression of TGF-β, IL-1β and IL-6 in lung tissue was detected by immunohistochemical method. Masson staining was performed to detect collagen fibers and muscle fibers in lung tissue, and HE staining to detect the pathological changes of lung tissue. Human bronchial epithelial(16 HBE) cells were cultured in vitro, and CCK-8(cell counting kit-8) method was used to detect the cytotoxicity of cigarette smoke extract(CSE) and fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma. After the exposure of 16 HBE cells to 3.5% CSE and appropriate concentration(800, 400 μg·mL~(-1)) of fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma for 24 h, quantitative real-time PCR was conducted to determine the mRNA levels of TGF-β and IL-1β, and Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of TGF-β and IL-6 in the cells. The rat model of chronic bronchitis induced by smoking was successfully established. Fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma reduced serum TGF-β and IL-6 levels, down-regulated the protein levels of TGF-β, IL-1β, and IL-6 in lung tissue, and alleviated pathological changes and fibrotic lesions in lung tissue. Moreover, it down-regulated the CSE-induced protein expression of TGF-β and IL-6 as well as the mRNA level of TGF-β in 16 HBE cells. These results indicated that fresh Phragmitis Rhizoma could prevent airway inflammation from chronic bronchitis and promote cell repair by inhibiting the TGF-β signaling pathway.
Animals ; Bronchitis, Chronic/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Poaceae/chemistry* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rhizome ; Signal Transduction ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/genetics*

PURPOSE: The pollen calendar is the simplest forecasting method for pollen concentrations. As pollen concentrations are liable to seasonal variations due to alterations in climate and land-use, it is necessary to update the pollen calendar using recent data. To attenuate the impact of considerable temporal and spatial variability in pollen concentrations on the pollen calendar, it is essential to employ a new methodology for its creation.METHODS: A pollen calendar was produced in Korea using data from recent observations, and a new method for creating the calendar was proposed, considering both risk levels and temporal resolution of pollen concentrations. A probability distribution was used for smoothing concentrations and determining risk levels. Airborne pollen grains were collected between 2007 and 2017 at 8 stations; 13 allergenic pollens, including those of alder, Japanese cedar, birch, hazelnut, oak, elm, pine, ginkgo, chestnut, grasses, ragweed, mugwort and Japanese hop, were identified from the collected grains.RESULTS: The concentrations of each pollen depend on locations and seasons due to large variability in species distribution and their environmental condition. In the descending order of concentration, pine, oak and Japanese hop pollens were found to be the most common in Korea. The pollen concentrations were high in spring and autumn, and those of oak and Japanese hop were probably the most common cause of allergy symptoms in spring and autumn, respectively. High Japanese cedar pollen counts were observed in Jeju, while moderate concentrations were in Jeonju, Gwangju and Busan.CONCLUSIONS: A new methodology for the creation of a pollen calendar was developed to attenuate the impact of large temporal and spatial variability in pollen concentrations. This revised calendar should be available to the public and allergic patients to prevent aggravation of pollen allergy.
Alnus ; Ambrosia ; Artemisia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Betula ; Busan ; Climate ; Corylus ; Cryptomeria ; Forecasting ; Ginkgo biloba ; Gwangju ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Jeollabuk-do ; Korea ; Methods ; Poaceae ; Pollen ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal ; Seasons

Gibberellin is an essential plant hormone that plays an important regulatory role throughout the life cycle of higher plants. A total of 23 genes involved in gibberellin action were identified from Phyllostachys edulis genome, including 8 GA20ox and 1 GA3ox genes involved in the gibberellin biosynthesis, 8 GA2ox genes involved in the metabolism of gibberellin, 2 GID1 genes involved in gibberellin perception, 2 GID2 genes and 2 DELLA genes involved in gibberellin signal transduction. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes from Arabidopsis, Oryza sativa and Phyllostachys edulis revealed that gibberellin biosynthesis, metabolism, and signaling pathways are conserved in these species. Treatment of seeds and seedlings of bamboo with exogenous gibberellin revealed that gibberellin significantly increased seed germination rate and stem elongation of seedlings, and had the best concentration of action. The expression levels of GA20ox and GA3ox genes in the bamboo seedlings were down-regulated and the expression of the active gibberellin-degrading gene GA2ox was up-regulated after GA3 treatment, and the transcriptional level of the gibberellin receptor GID1 and the positive regulatory gene GID2 was significantly increased while the expression of the negative regulatory gene DELLA was decreased. These genes have significant differences in the expression of different spatial locations of bamboo shoot stems, GA20ox, GA3ox, GA2ox, GID1 and GID2 are all expressed in the upper part of bamboo shoots, while the repressor gene DELLA accumulates at the bottom of the shoots and is hardly expressed at the top.
Arabidopsis ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Gibberellins ; biosynthesis ; Phylogeny ; Plant Growth Regulators ; Plant Proteins ; Poaceae

To develop more active LTR retrotransposons in Phyllostachys edulis, a Ph. edulis LTR retrotransposon (Ph-LTR2) was identified, and the expression pattern of the transposon under stress was systematically analyzed. Ph-LTR2 transposon is 6 030 bp in length and belongs to the Reina subfamily in the Ty3-Gypsy family. With the similarity of 96.41% of both LTR sequences, the Ph-LTR2 transposon inserted the moso bamboo genome about 61.92 thousand years ago. There are 5 copies identified in the genome. The Ph-LTR2 transposon domain includes GAG (gag protein) protein domain, PR (Proteases) protein domain, RT (Reverse transcriptase) protein domain, RH (Ribonuclease H) protein domain, INT (Integrase) protein domain and CHR (Chromatin organization modifier) protein domain. The expression patterns of INT, RT and RH were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The three domains were found to have specific expression patterns at different tissues of the bamboo. Under the conditions of low/high temperature, methylation inhibitors treatments, irradiation and high salt stress, transcription levels of the three domains of the Ph-LTR2 transposon increased with different degrees. Specifically, after treatment with low/high temperature and methylation inhibitors, the transcription level was up-regulated; after low dose radiation treatment and low concentration of salt solution treatment, the transcription level was also increased, but the expression level decreased with increasing dose of radiation and concentration of salt solution. These results indicate that the expression pattern of the Ph-LTR2 transposon responds to the changes of the external environment, but the exact mechanism is not yet known. The results of this study laid a certain theoretical foundation for the development of the genetic tool based on Ph-LTR2 transposons.
Genome ; Phylogeny ; Poaceae ; Retroelements

PURPOSE: Allergic diseases have been increasing worldwide over the past few decades. Allergic sensitization is a pivotal risk factor for the development of allergic diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in allergic sensitization patterns of aeroallergens over the last 10 years in children with respiratory allergic diseases. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 12,848 children under the age of 18 years who received skin prick tests (n=3,852) or serum specific IgE tests (n=8,996) to evaluate sensitization from 2007 to 2016 in a single center, Seoul, Korea. RESULTS: Sensitization rate to house dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) reached a plateau in preschool (28.3%–32.8%) and schoolchildren (45.8%–47.2%). Sensitization rate to animal dander (cat and dog) was increasing from 8.4% to 12.5% in preschool children and from 10.3% to 18.6% in schoolchildren (trend P<0.001 each). In preschool children, tree (birch, oak, and alder; from 3.5% to 6.4%), grass (timothy; from 0.8% to 6.5%), weed (ragweed and mugwort; from 2.8% to 6.9%) pollens and mold (Alternaria; from 2.5% to 6.0%) were also in similar increasing pattern (trend P=0.001, P<0.001, P=0.003, and P<0.001, respectively). Additionally, tree (from 9.0% to 15.2%), grass (from 2.6% to 5.2%) pollens were also in increasing pattern in schoolchildren (trend P<0.001 and P=0.024, respectively). CONCLUSION: Over the past 10 years, sensitization patterns of aeroallergen have been changing in Korean children with allergic diseases. We should pay attention to the changing patterns of allergic sensitization to educate and prevent the allergic disease.
Alnus ; Animals ; Artemisia ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dander ; Fungi ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Poaceae ; Pollen ; Pyroglyphidae ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Skin ; Trees

The seasonal abundance of hard ticks that transmit severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus was monitored with a collection trap method every April to November during 2015–2018 and with a flagging method every July and August during 2015–2018 in Ganghwa-do (island) of Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea. This monitoring was performed in a copse, a short grass field, coniferous forest and broad-leaved forest. A total of 17,457 ticks (8,277 larvae, 4,137 nymphs, 3,389 females, and 1,654 males) of the ixodid ticks comprising 3 species (Haemaphysalis longicornis, H. flava, and Ixodes nipponensis) were collected with collection traps. Of the identified ticks, H. longicornis was the most frequently collected ticks (except larval ticks) (94.26%, 8,653/9,180 ticks (nymphs and adults)), followed by H. flava (5.71%, 524/9,180) and Ix. nipponensis (less than 0.04%, 3/9,180). The ticks collected with collecting traps were pooled and assayed for the presence of SFTS virus with negative results. In addition, for monitoring the prevalence of hard ticks, a total of 7,461 ticks (5,529 larvae, 1,272 nymphs, 469 females, and 191 males) of the ixodid ticks comprising 3 species (H. longicornis, H. flava, and Ix. nipponensis) were collected with flagging method. H. longicornis was the highest collected ticks (except larval ticks) (99.53%, 1,908/1,917 ticks (nymphs and adults)), followed by H. flava (1.15%, 22/1,917).
Climate Change ; Coniferophyta ; Female ; Fever ; Forests ; Humans ; Incheon ; Ixodes ; Ixodidae ; Larva ; Methods ; Nymph ; Poaceae ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Seasons ; Thrombocytopenia ; Ticks

Leymus racemosus had a high resistant capacity to wheat scab (Fusarum head blight). The transfer of scab resistant gene from L. racemosus to Triticum aestivum is of great significance for broadening the germplasm of wheat resistance. To obtain Triticum aestivum-Leymus racemosus translocation line with scab resistance, we irradiated the pollen of T. aestivum-L. racemosus disomic addition line DA7Lr by ⁶⁰Co-γ-rays 1 200 R (100 R/min) prior to pollinating to emasculation T. aestivum cv. Chinese Spring. One plant with one translocation chromosome was detected in the M1 by GISH. The plant with one translocation chromosome was self-pollinated, and at meiotic metaphase I its progenies with two translocation chromosomes were analyzed for chromosome pairing behavior in their pollen mother cells (PMCs). One rod bivalent was observed at meiotic metaphase I, indicating that the plant with two translocation chromosomes was one translocation homozygote. Sequential GISH-FISH analysis, using Oligo-pAs1-2 and Oligo-pSc119.2-2 as probe, translocation line was confirmed as T6DL·7LrS. The translocation line had higher resistance to wheat scab and feasibility to be used as a new source in wheat breeding resistant to scab disease.
Chromosomes, Plant ; Disease Resistance ; genetics ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Plant Breeding ; Plant Diseases ; genetics ; Poaceae ; genetics ; Pollen ; Translocation, Genetic ; Triticum ; genetics

BACKGROUND: The global prevalence of allergic rhinitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis has risen significantly over the last 2 decades. Allergic sensitization to aeroallergen is a major risk factor in developing the allergic disease. The prevalence of aeroallergen sensitization varies in different regions and countries. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of common aeroallergen sensitization and the atopic status among adult patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional, retrospective study. The data were collected from medical records and database of the result of skin prick test of patients who had the allergic symptoms or chronic urticaria in adult allergy clinic, Ramathibodi hospital from January 2004 to December 2015. RESULTS: A total of 1,516 of patients (female, 1,118 [73.7%]) were enrolled. The mean ages of participants were 41.34 (standard deviation, ±16.5) years. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of patients were diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, 19.7%, 3.2%, and 9.2% with asthma, atopic dermatitis, and chronic urticaria respectively. In the chronic urticaria group, 57.4% underwent the positive skin prick test to common aeroallergens. Mites were responsible for the most common inhaled allergen sensitization in this study as 50.1% of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, 32% of Dermatophagoides farinae, and 31.5% of house dust. Cockroach was the second most common aeroallergen sensitization as 32.3% followed by grass pollen, Bermuda (21.1%) and timothy (13.6%). The animal dander, cat and dog, occupied 12.9 and 10% respectively. CONCLUSION: Mites were the most common cause of aeroallergen sensitization in all patients followed by cockroach, grass pollen, and animal dander. However, Bermuda sensitization has increased significantly in the last 6 years.
Adult ; Allergens ; Animals ; Asthma ; Bermuda ; Cats ; Cockroaches ; Dander ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Dogs ; Dust ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Medical Records ; Mites ; Poaceae ; Pollen ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Risk Factors ; Skin Tests ; Skin ; Thailand ; Urticaria

BACKGROUND: There is a large global variation in sensitization patterns to aeroallergens due to differences in climate, urbanization, and lifestyle. Knowledge of the most common inhalant allergens is important for appropriate prevention and management of allergic rhinitis (AR). OBJECTIVE: This study aims to provide data on aeroallergen sensitization patterns and associated comorbid diseases of adult Filipinos with AR. METHODS: Medical records of adult Filipinos seen in an Otolaryngology-Allergy Clinic from January 2011 to 2016 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria used was presence of clinically defined AR and positive skin test to at least one aeroallergen in the test panel. Demographics, comorbid conditions, and results of skin prick test were determined. Standard descriptive statistics were used for analysis. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-one adult patients were included in this study. Mean age was 38.8 years, and majority lived in an urban area (71.2%). Most patients exhibited polysensitization (97.4%). All exhibited sensitization to indoor and 86.9% to outdoor allergens. The most common indoor allergens were Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (97.4%), Dermatophagoides farinae, (95.8%), cockroach (80.1%), and molds (72.8%). Bermuda (67%), Johnson grass (58.7%), and Acacia (58.2%) were the most common outdoor allergens. Urticaria (18.8%), dermatitis (16.8%), and asthma (11.5%) were the most common associated comorbid disease. Twelve percent of patients had more than one associated comorbid disease. Asthma + urticaria followed by asthma + dermatitis were the most common co-morbid combinations. One patient had three comorbid diseases: asthma + urticaria + rhinosinusitis. CONCLUSION: Compared to earlier studies, aeroallergen sensitization patterns of Filipinos remain unchanged. This study also identifies for the first time, the associated comorbid diseases of AR in this population. Understanding these factors can guide treatment strategies to reduce disease burden.
Acacia ; Adult ; Allergens ; Asthma ; Bermuda ; Climate ; Cockroaches ; Demography ; Dermatitis ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Fungi ; Humans ; Life Style ; Medical Records ; Poaceae ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Skin ; Skin Tests ; Urbanization ; Urticaria