Ryll, J. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2026

Immunoengineered Chitosanase-Produced Chitosan Oligomers for Elevating Plant Resistance to Viral Infection

Chitooligomers can act as plant biostimulants or biopesticides, but todays chitosan-based agro-biologics often lack sufficient efficacy. This is due to a lack of scalable production processes for structurally well-controlled chitosans combined with a limited understanding of structure-function relationships. Chitosans differ in their degree of polymerization (DP), fraction and pattern of acetylation (FA and PA). While the influence of DP and FA on antimicrobial and phytostimulatory properties is at least partially known, this is not yet the case for PA. PA can be partially controlled by using enzymatic rather than acid hydrolysis for oligomer production. We have used recombinant chitinases and chitosanases to hydrolyse a well-characterised chitosan polymer, and purified oligomers with different DP. We have structurally characterised the products and tested their abilities to protect tobacco from viral disease. Chitinase products were dominated by GlcNAc units at their reducing and non-reducing ends, with GlcN units dominating their centers, and v.v. for chitosanase products. While the chitinase-derived hydrolysates were inactive, the chitosanase-derived oligomers possessed elicitor and priming activities and protected plants from disease, and their activity increased with increasing DP. Clearly, the Bacillus chitosanase used is well-suited to set up a scalable production process for chitosan oligomers with promising agro-biologic properties. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=95 SRC="FIGDIR/small/731087v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (56K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b50b59org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fc35c3org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@12db91aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d3732f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Gene co-expression network reveals highly conserved, well-regulated anti-ageing mechanisms in old ant queens.

Evolutionary theories of ageing predict a reduction in selection efficiency with age, a so-called selection shadow, due to extrinsic mortality decreasing effective population size with age. Classic symptoms of ageing include a deterioration in transcriptional regulation and protein homeostasis. Understanding how ant queens defy the trade-off between fecundity and lifespan remains a major challenge for the evolutionary theory of ageing. It has often been discussed that the low extrinsic mortality of ant queens, that are generally well protected within the nest by workers and soldiers, should reduce the selection shadow acting on old queens. We tested this by comparing strength of selection acting on genes upregulated in young and old queens of the ant, Cardiocondyla obscurior. In support of a reduced selection shadow, we find old-biased genes to be under strong purifying selection. We also analysed a gene co-expression network (GCN) with the aim to detect signs of ageing in the form of deteriorating regulation and proteostasis. We find no evidence for ageing. In fact, we detect higher connectivity in old queens indicating increased transcriptional regulation with age. Within the GCN, we discover five highly correlated modules that are upregulated with age. These old-biased modules regulate several anti-ageing mechanisms such as maintenance of proteostasis, transcriptional regulation and stress response. We observe stronger purifying selection on central hub genes of these old-biased modules compared to young-biased modules. These results indicate a lack of transcriptional ageing in old C. obscurior queens possibly facilitated by strong selection at old age and well-regulated anti-ageing mechanisms. Significance StatementUnderstanding the exceptional longevity of ant queens and how they defy the trade-off between fecundity and lifespan remains a major challenge for the evolutionary theory and molecular biology of ageing. In this study we offer several clues as to how this occurs on a molecular level in C. obscurior queens. Specifically, we believe a reduction in the selection shadow due to low extrinsic mortality, has allowed the evolution of well-regulated anti-ageing mechanisms. Consequently, we suggest several promising starting points for future research into the poorly understood phenomenon of extreme longevity in ant queens. Making progress in this field will not only allow us to better understand longevity and fertility in social insects but may also offer interesting research strategies for human ageing.

evolutionary biology↗