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Global relationships between crop diversity and nutritional stability
Nutritional stability – a food system’s capacity to provide sufficient nutrients despite disturbance – is an important, yet challenging to measure outcome of diversified agriculture. Using 55 years of data across 184 countries, we assemble 22,000 bipartite crop-nutrient networks to quantify nutritional stability by simulating crop and nutrient loss in a country, and assess its relationship to crop diversity across regions, over time and between imports versus in country production. We find a positive, saturating relationship between crop diversity and nutritional stability across countries, but also show that over time nutritional stability remained stagnant or decreased in all regions except Asia. These results are attributable to diminishing returns on crop diversity, with recent gains in crop diversity among crops with fewer nutrients, or with nutrients already in a country’s food system. Finally, imports are positively associated with crop diversity and nutritional stability, indicating that many countries’ nutritional stability is market exposed.
The role of mycorrhizal associations in plant potassium nutrition
Potassium (K+) is one of the most abundant elements of soil composition but it’s very low availability limits plant growth and productivity of ecosystems. Because this cation participates in many biological processes, its constitutive uptake from soil solution is crucial for the plant cell machinery. Thus, the understanding of strategies responsible of K+ nutrition is a major issue in plant science. Mycorrhizal associations occurring between roots and hyphae of underground fungi improve hydro-mineral nutrition of the majority of terrestrial plants. The contribution of this mutualistic symbiosis to the enhancement of plant K+ nutrition is not well understood and poorly studied so far. This mini-review examines the current knowledge about the impact of both arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal symbioses on the transfer of K+ from the soil to the plants. A model summarizing plant and fungal transport systems identified and hypothetically involved in K+ transport is proposed. In addition, some data related to benefits for plants provided by the improvement of K+ nutrition thanks to mycorrhizal symbioses are presented.
Identification and analysis of microRNAs-mRNAs pairs associated with nutritional status in seasonal sheep
Given the important role of nutritional status for reproductive performance, we aimed to explore the potential microRNA (miRNA)-mRNA pairs and their regulatory roles associated with nutritional status in seasonal reproducing sheep. Individual ewes were treated with and without 0.3 kg/day concentrates, and the body condition score, estrus rate, and related miRNAs and target genes were compared. A total of 261 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, including 148 hypothalamus-expressed miRNAs and 113 ovary-expressed miRNAs, and 349 target genes were predicted to be associated with nutritional status and seasonal reproduction in sheep. Ultimately, the miR-200b-GNAQ pair was screened and validated as differentially expressed, and a dual luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-200b could bind to the 3′-untranslated region of GNAQ to mediate the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Thus, miR-200b and its target gene GNAQ likely represent an important negative feedback loop, providing a link between nutritional status and seasonal reproduction in sheep toward enhancing reproductive performance and productivity.
Nutritional markers and proteome in patients undergoing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis differ by geographic region
Contemporary phase 2 TB disease treatment clinical trials have found that microbiologic treatment responses differ between African versus non-African regions, the reasons for which remain unclear. Understanding host and disease phenotypes that may vary by region is important for optimizing curative treatments. We characterized clinical features and the serum proteome of phase 2 TB clinical trial participants undergoing treatment for smear positive, culture-confirmed TB, comparing host serum protein expression in clinical trial participants enrolled in African and Non-African regions. Serum samples were collected from 289 participants enrolled in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention TBTC Study 29 (NCT00694629) at time of enrollment and at the end of the intensive phase (after 40 doses of TB treatment). After a peptide level proteome analysis utilizing a unique liquid chromatography IM-MS platform (LC-IM-MS) and subsequent statistical analysis, a total of 183 core proteins demonstrated significant differences at both baseline and at week 8 timepoints between participants enrolled from African and non-African regions. The majority of the differentially expressed proteins were upregulated in participants from the African region, and included acute phase proteins, mediators of inflammation, as well as coagulation and complement pathways. Downregulated proteins in the African population were primarily linked to nutritional status and lipid metabolism pathways. We have identified differentially expressed nutrition and lipid pathway proteins by geographic region in TB patients undergoing treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis, which appear to be associated with differential treatment responses. Future TB clinical trials should collect expanded measures of nutritional status and further evaluate the relationship between nutrition and microbiologic treatment response.
N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ameliorate hepatic steatosis via the PPAR-α/CPT-1α pathway in a mouse model of parenteral nutrition
Parenteral nutrition (PN) is one of the basic therapies for patients with intestinal failure; however, hepatic steatosis associated with PN limits the long-term use of PN. N-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been used to improve clinical outcomes of patients receiving PN; however, the mechanisms by which n-3 PUFAs ameliorate hepatic steatosis remain unclear. In the present study, C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to three treatment groups, namely, enteral nutrition (EN), n-3 PUFAs, and n-6 PUFAs. Additionally, MK 886 was used to inhibit PPAR-α. After 7 days of intervention, mice were sacrificed, and liver tissue and serum samples were collected. Results from liver weight and liver triglyceride measurements and Oil Red O staining showed that n-3 PUFAs significantly reduced the liver triglyceride levels. In addition, treatment with n-3 PUFAs resulted in a greater decrease in serum triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels compared to n-6 PUFAs. The key enzymes involved in FA oxidation, namely, PPAR-α and CPT-1α, were significantly restored at both the mRNA and protein levels in the n-3 PUFAs group. However, the benefits of n-3 PUFAs in improving serum and liver TG levels were abolished when the PPAR-α/CPT-1α pathway was blocked by MK 886. The results of this study indicated that n-3 PUFAs ameliorated the PN-associated hepatic steatosis by activating the PPAR-α/CPT-1α pathway. The present study provided a reliable scientific basis supporting the potential benecial effects of n-3 PUFAs for improving hepatic steatosis in patients receiving long-term parenteral nutrition.
A periplasmic zinc capture protein enhances the resistance of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to nutritional immunity
During microbial infection, mammalian hosts reduce the availability of free metals such as zinc in a process known as nutritional immunity. Pathogens counteract nutritional immunity by expressing gene products that enhance growth in metal-limited conditions. One of the most transcriptionally induced genes in zinc-limited Neisseria gonorrhoeae , ngo1049, encodes a DUF4198 family protein we have named Zcp. This family of proteins is widely distributed in Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we provide the first structural, biochemical, and functional characterization of a DUF4198 protein. Zcp is a periplasmic, homodimeric substrate-binding protein (SBP), which binds one zinc ion per subunit with submicromolar affinity. We identified a zinc binding pocket in each subunit, composed of three histidine residues. Zcp enables maximal growth of N. gonorrhoeae in zinc-limited conditions but is dispensable for zinc uptake, in contrast to the cluster A-I SBP ZnuA, which is required for zinc import. The growth defect of zcp mutant N. gonorrhoeae is rescued by zinc supplementation. Zcp associates with proteins with roles in maintaining cell envelope integrity, and N. gonorrhoeae lacking zcp is more sensitive to envelope-targeting antimicrobials. Zcp enables infectivity of human epithelial cells and neutrophils by zinc-limited N. gonorrhoeae . We conclude that N. gonorrhoeae produces Zcp to buffer periplasmic zinc, which enables ZnuA to balance import of different metals and ensures the bioavailability of zinc for extracytoplasmic zinc-requiring proteins, as part of the coordinated response to host-imposed nutritional immunity.
Impact of Preoperative Skeletal Muscle Mass and Nutritional Status on Short-and Long-Term Outcomes After Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer: A Retrospective Observational Study
Background: Preoperative muscle volume and body mass index (BMI) are associated with postoperative outcomes. Because esophagectomy for esophageal cancer (EC) is associated with high morbidity and because EC has a poor prognosis, this study investigated the association of preoperative skeletal muscle mass and nutritional status with postoperative outcomes. Methods: The study analyzed 483 patients who underwent esophagectomy from 2009 to 2012. The cross-sectional area of the psoas muscle index (PMI) was measured at the third lumbar vertebral level using computed tomography. Clavien–Dindo classifications were used to analyze postoperative complications. Because skeletal muscle mass varies according to sex, all analyses were performed accordingly (390 males, 93 females). Results: For male patients, BMI was a significant multivariate factor, and PMI, a univariate factor, predicted postoperative complications and overall survival (OS). Using a preoperative nutritional and muscular (PNM) score derived from BMI and PMI results (patients were allocated 1 point if their BMI was < 18.5 kg/m{sup 2} and 1 point if their PMI was < 600 mm{sup 2}/m{sup 2}, for a possible maximum total of 2 points), male patients were categorized as high risk (score 2), moderate risk (score 1), or low risk (score 0). In the low-risk group, anastomotic leakage was significantly less (p = 0.01), and the 3-year OS was significantly better (p < 0.01). On the other hand, in female patients, neither BMI nor PMI was a significant factor for postoperative outcomes. Conclusions: For male patients, the PNM score is a promising tool for predicting postoperative outcomes and identifying patients requiring preoperative nutritional intervention and rehabilitation.
Estimation of iodine nutrition and thyroid function status in late-gestation pregnant women in the United States: Development and application of a population-based pregnancy model
Previously, a deterministic biologically-based dose-response (BBDR) pregnancy model was developed to evaluate moderate thyroid axis disturbances with and without thyroid-active chemical exposure in a near-term pregnant woman and fetus. In the current study, the existing BBDR model was adapted to include a wider functional range of iodine nutrition, including more severe iodine deficiency conditions, and to incorporate empirically the effects of homeostatic mechanisms. The extended model was further developed into a population-based model and was constructed using a Monte Carlo-based probabilistic framework. In order to characterize total (T4) and free (fT4) thyroxine levels for a given iodine status at the population-level, the distribution of iodine intake for late-gestation pregnant women in the U.S was reconstructed using various reverse dosimetry methods and available biomonitoring data. The range of median (mean) iodine intake values resulting from three different methods of reverse dosimetry tested was 196.5–219.9 μg of iodine/day (228.2–392.9 μg of iodine/day). There was minimal variation in model-predicted maternal serum T4 and ft4 thyroxine levels from use of the three reconstructed distributions of iodine intake; the range of geometric mean for T4 and fT4, was 138–151.7 nmol/L and 7.9–8.7 pmol/L, respectively. The average value of the ratio of the 97.5th percentile to the 2.5th percentile equaled 3.1 and agreed well with similar estimates from recent observations in third-trimester pregnant women in the U.S. In addition, the reconstructed distributions of iodine intake allowed us to estimate nutrient inadequacy for late-gestation pregnant women in the U.S. via the probability approach. The prevalence of iodine inadequacy for third-trimester pregnant women in the U.S. was estimated to be between 21% and 44%. Taken together, the current work provides an improved tool for evaluating iodine nutritional status and the corresponding thyroid function status in pregnant women in the U.S. This model enables future assessments of the relevant risk of thyroid hormone level perturbations due to exposure to thyroid-active chemicals at the population-level. - Highlights: • A population-based thyroid function model for pregnant women was developed. • The model was used specifically study the late-gestation pregnant women in the U.S. • The prevalence of iodine inadequacy was estimated in the sub-population studied. • Developed model well predicts trimester-specific thyroid hormone reference ranges. • The model can be further used to study thyroid perturbations at a population level.
A data mining approach to investigate food groups related to incidence of bladder cancer in the BLadder cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants International Study
Abstract At present, analysis of diet and bladder cancer (BC) is mostly based on the intake of individual foods. The examination of food combinations provides a scope to deal with the complexity and unpredictability of the diet and aims to overcome the limitations of the study of nutrients and foods in isolation. This article aims to demonstrate the usability of supervised data mining methods to extract the food groups related to BC. In order to derive key food groups associated with BC risk, we applied the data mining technique C5.0 with 10-fold cross-validation in the BLadder cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants study, including data from eighteen case–control and one nested case–cohort study, compromising 8320 BC cases out of 31 551 participants. Dietary data, on the eleven main food groups of the Eurocode 2 Core classification codebook, and relevant non-diet data (i.e. sex, age and smoking status) were available. Primarily, five key food groups were extracted; in order of importance, beverages (non-milk); grains and grain products; vegetables and vegetable products; fats, oils and their products; meats and meat products were associated with BC risk. Since these food groups are corresponded with previously proposed BC-related dietary factors, data mining seems to be a promising technique in the field of nutritional epidemiology and deserves further examination.
The nutrition transition in Colombia over a decade: a novel household classification system of anthropometric measures
Background: Overweight and underweight increase the risk of metabolic impairments and chronic disease. Interventions at the household level require the diagnosis of nutritional status among family members. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence and patterns of various anthropometric typologies over a decade in Colombia using a novel approach that considers all children in the household as well as the mother. This approach also allows identifying a dual burden of malnutrition within a household, where one child may be overweight and another one undernourished. Methods: This study used data from the Demographic and Health Survey and the Colombian National Nutrition Survey [2000 n = 2,876, 2005 n = 8,598, and 2010 n = 11,349]. Four mutually exclusive household (HH) anthropometric typologies - normal, undernourished, overweight/obese, and dual burden - were created. Anthropometric information of height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ) and body-mass-index-forage Z-scores (BMIz) in children under the age of 5 y, and on body mass index (BMI) in mothers, 18–49 y was used. Results: Prevalence of overweight/obese HHs increased between 2000 (38.2%) and 2010 (43.1%) (p < 0.05), while undernourished and dual burden HHs significantly decreased between 2005 (13.7% and 10.6%, respectively) and 2010 (3.5% and 5.1%, respectively) (p < 0.05). A greater increase of overweight/obesity was observed for the lowest quintile of wealth index (WI), with an increase of almost 10% between 2000 and 2010, compared to 2% and 4% for the fourth and highest WI, respectively. Although in 2010 there is still a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity HHs in urban areas (43.7%), the prevalence of overweight/obesity HHs in rural areas increased sharply between 2000 (34.3%) and 2010 (41.6%) (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The observed prevalence of dual burden households was not different from the expected prevalence. Results from this study indicate that although overweight/obesity continues to be more prevalent among high-income Colombian households, it is growing at a faster pace among the most economically disadvantaged.
Plant Nutrition Influences Resistant Maize Defense Responses to the Fall Armyworm ( Spodoptera frugiperda )
Plants are often confronted by different groups of herbivores, which threaten their growth and reproduction. However, they are capable of mounting defenses against would-be attackers which may be heightened upon attack. Resistance to insects often varies among plant species, with different genotypes exhibiting unique patterns of chemical and physical defenses. Within this framework, plant access to nutrients may be critical for maximal functioning of resistance mechanisms and are likely to differ among plant genotypes. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis that access to nutrition would alter the expression of plant resistance to insects and alter insect performance in a manner consistent with fertilization regime. We used two maize (Zea mays) genotypes possessing different levels of resistance and the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) as model systems. Plants were subjected to three fertilization regimes prior to assessing insect-mediated responses. Upon reaching V4 stage, maize plants were separated into two groups, one of which was infested with fall armyworm larvae to induce plant defenses. Plant tissue was collected and used in insect bioassays and to measure the expression of defense-related genes and proteins. Insect performance differed between the two plant genotypes substantially. For each genotype, fertilization altered larval performance, where lower fertilization rates hindered larval growth. Induction of plant defenses by prior herbivory substantially reduced naïve fall armyworm growth in both genotypes. The effects between fertilization and induced defenses were complex, with low fertilization reducing induced defenses in the resistant maize. Gene and protein expression patterns differed between the genotypes, with herbivory often increasing expression, but differing between fertilization levels. The soluble protein concentrations did not change across fertilization levels but was higher in the susceptible maize genotype. These results demonstrate the malleability of plant defenses and the cascading effects of plant nutrition on insect herbivory.
Impact of nutritional history, prey quality, and quantity on grazing and photophysiological responses in the mixoplanktonic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis
The mixotrophic toxic dinoflagellate Karenia brevis forms red tides almost annually along Florida's Gulf coast. We hypothesize that the nutritional status and abundance of its prey, the picocyanobacterium Synechococcus , will affect its feeding rates and growth responses, with implications for bloom dynamics. This study investigated how prey nutritional quality and quantity (absolute and relative) impact grazing rates by K. brevis initially exponentially growing and in nitrogen (N)-limited conditions, and how grazing, in turn, affects the photophysiological responses of predator and prey. Prey quality was manipulated by providing Synechococcus grown under different ratios of N : phosphorus (P). Synechococcus quality did not significantly affect ingestion rates (measured as prey death rate) but grazing rates increased with increasing prey : grazer ratios (R 2 = 0.7). Compared to control, the growth of exponentially growing grazers doubled when Synechococcus was provided, whereas there was no growth enhancement when Synechococcus of varying qualities was provided to N-limited, chemostat-seeded grazers. Despite this doubled growth, 15 N labeling of the prey and nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) detected low Synechococcus -N transfer into grazer biomass after 3 d (< 1% on a cell basis). This suggests the potential of grazers benefiting from alternative N sources (e.g., microbiome-N) or other constituents (e.g., vitamins or metals) not measured in this study. Prey photosynthetic efficiency declined under grazing conditions, demonstrating that grazers can directly affect prey abundance through grazing and indirectly affect prey photophysiology, potentially via allelopathy, supporting previous findings of an inverse relationship between grazers and prey along the Florida Gulf Coast.
Impact of biochar application on nitrogen nutrition of rice, greenhouse-gas emissions and soil organic carbon dynamics in two paddy soils of China
Two field microcosm experiments and 15N labeling techniques were used to investigate the first-year effects of biochar addition on rice N nutrition and GHG emissions in an Inceptisol and an Ultisol. Biochar N bioavailability and effect of biochar on fertilizer nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) were studied by 15N-enriched wheat biochar (7.8803 atom% 15N) and fertilizer urea (5 atom% 15N) (Experiment I). Corn biochar and corn stalks were applied at 12 Mg ha-1 to study their effects on GHG emissions (Experiment II). Biochar had no significant impact on rice production and less than 2% of the biochar N was available to plants in the first season. Biochar addition increased soil C and N contents and decreased urea NUE.. Seasonal cumulative CH4 emissions with biochar were similar to the controls, but significantly lower than the local practice of straw amendment. Soil emissions of N2O with biochar amendment were similar to the control in the acidic Ultisol, but significantly higher in the slightly alkaline Inceptisol. Carbon-balance calculations found no major losses of biochar-C. Low bio-availability of biochar N did not make a significant impact on rice production or N nutrition during the first year.. Replacement of straw amendments with biochar could decrease CH4 emissions and increase SOC stocks.
period -1 encodes an ATP-dependent RNA helicase that influences nutritional compensation of the Neurospora circadian clock
Mutants in the period -1 ( prd -1) gene, characterized by a recessive allele, display a reduced growth rate and period lengthening of the developmental cycle controlled by the circadian clock. We refined the genetic location of prd -1 and used whole genome sequencing to find the mutation defining it, confirming the identity of prd -1 by rescuing the mutant circadian phenotype via transformation. PRD-1 is an RNA helicase whose orthologs, DDX5 and DDX17 in humans and Dbp2p in yeast, are implicated in various processes including transcriptional regulation, elongation, and termination, 23 ribosome biogenesis, and RNA decay. Although prd -1smutantssiois an ATP-dependent RNA helicase, member of a sub-family display a long period (~25 hrs) circadian developmental cycle, they interestingly display a wild type period when the core circadian oscillator is tracked using a frq -luciferase transcriptional fusion under conditions of limiting nutritional carbon; the core oscillator runs with a long period under glucose-sufficient conditions. Furthermore PRD-1 clearly impacts the circadian oscillator and is not only part of a metabolic oscillator ancillary to the core clock. PRD-1 is an essential protein and its expression is neither light-regulated nor clock-regulated. However, it is transiently induced by glucose; in the presence of sufficient glucose PRD-1 is in the nucleus until glucose runs out which elicits its disappearance from the nucleus. Because circadian period length is carbon concentration-dependent, prd -1 may be formally viewed as clock mutant with defective nutritional compensation of circadian period length.
Media matters! Alterations in the loading and release of Histoplasma capsulatum extracellular vesicles in response to different nutritional milieus
Histoplasma capsulatum is a dimorphic fungus that most frequently causes pneumonia, but can also disseminate and proliferate in diverse tissues. H. capsulatum has a complex secretion system that mediates the release of macromolecule-degrading enzymes and virulence factors. The formation and release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) are an important mechanism for non-conventional secretion in both ascomycetes and basidiomycetes. H. capsulatum EVs contain diverse proteins associated with virulence and are immunologically active. Despite the growing knowledge of EVs from H. capsulatum and other pathogenic fungi, the extent that changes in the environment impact the sorting of organic molecules in EVs has not been investigated. In our research, we cultivated H. capsulatum with distinct culture media to investigate the potential plasticity in EV loading in response to differences in nutrition. Our findings reveal that nutrition plays an important role in EV loading and formation, which may translate into differences in biological activities of these fungi in various fluids and tissues.
PCAST: Report to the President on a Vision for Advancing Nutrition Science in the United States
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) is the sole body of advisors from outside the federal government charged with making science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the President and the White House. Established by Executive Order, it is an independent Federal Advisory Committee comprised of distinguished individuals from industry, academia, and non-profit organizations with a range of perspectives and expertise. On September 20, 2024, PCAST sent a report to the President with recommendations to advance nutrition science and to enable equitable access to the benefits of nutrition research.
Extreme Low-Temperature Stress Affects Nutritional Quality of Amino Acids in Rice
Global climate change has increased the frequency of extreme climate events, and their effects on the nutritional quality, especially on amino acids in rice, have not been quantified. The data from a 3-year low temperature stress (LTS) experiment including two rice varieties (Huaidao 5 and Nanjing 46), seven minimum/maximum temperature levels (one optimal 21/27°C and six LTS levels from 17/23 to 6/12°C), and three LTS durations (3, 6, and 9 days) after flowering, revealed significant interactive effects of LTS at different stages, durations, and temperature levels on the content and accumulation of amino acids. LTS increased rice total amino acid content, while decreasing its accumulation, with higher sensitivities to LTS at the flowering stage than at the grain filling stage. In most treatments, the lysine (the first limiting amino acid) and phenylalanine content were increased under LTS at early and peak flowering stages but decreased at the grain filling stage in both varieties, and only leucine content was increased at all three stages after flowering, while the content of other essential amino acids differed among the two varieties. With an increase of 1°C·d per day in the accumulated cold degree days, the relative content of the essential amino acids was increased by 0.01–0.41%, depending on the rice variety and growth stage. Our results suggest that LTS can improve nutritional quality of amino acids of rice grains in terms of amino acids content, especially at flowering stage. These results provide critical insights for assessing the potential impact of extreme climates on the nutrient quality of rice under future climate change.