Wenxin Liu | PubMed Health

PubMed2026

The OsUVR8-OsNAC3-OsERF117 signaling module mediates metabolic acclimation and climate adaptation in rice.

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B; 280 to 315 nanometers) radiation increasingly threatens crop productivity, yet the genetic basis of plant adaptation remains poorly understood. We delineate a UV-B signaling module in rice that links photoreceptor activation to transcriptional reprogramming and metabolic acclimation. The AP2/ERF transcription factor OsERF117 acts as a central regulator, directly activating flavonoid and melatonin biosynthetic genes to drive photoprotective metabolite accumulation and enhance UV-B stress tolerance. Promoter variation in OsERF117 defines 10 haplotypes across 4093 rice accessions, with high-expression haplotypes enriched in high-UV-B regions and correlated with adaptive divergence. OsERF117 is transcriptionally activated by OsNAC3, with a cis-regulatory SNP at an OsNAC3-binding site modulating responsiveness and contributing to subspecies diversification. Genetic and biochemical evidence supports a model in which UV-B-activated OsUVR8 promotes OsNAC3 activity and antagonizes OsCOP1-mediated ubiquitination and degradation in rice. This OsUVR8-OsCOP1-OsNAC3-OsERF117 module reveals how UV-B perception drives regulatory and metabolic diversification, offering targets for breeding UV-B-resilient crops.

Oryza↗

PubMed2025

Plasma Proteomic Profiles Predict Individual Future Osteoarthritis Risk.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widespread degenerative joint disease that causes a considerable socioeconomic burden. Despite progress in genetic and environmental insights, early diagnosis is still limited by the lack of evident symptoms during the initial phases and accurate biomarkers. This study aims to identify plasma proteins associated with future risk of OA and develop a predictive model. METHODS: We conducted a large-scale proteomic analysis of 45,307 participants from the UK Biobank, excluding those with baseline OA. Plasma samples were assayed using the Olink Explore Proximity Extension Assay targeting 1,463 unique proteins. Clinical variables and OA outcomes were extracted and linked to electronic health records. A predictive model was constructed using the LightGBM machine learning method, and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were applied to evaluate the importance of variables. RESULTS: We identified a panel of proteins significantly associated with the risk of developing OA. Notably, after adjusting for multiple confounders, collagen type IX alpha 1 chain (COL9A1) and cartilage acidic protein 1 (CRTAC1) were the most significant predictors of incident OA, with hazard ratios of 1.54 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.48-1.61) and 1.65 (95% CI 1.54-1.78), respectively. SHAP analysis allowed a profound interpretation of the contribution of each protein and clinical variable to the model, revealing the multifactorial nature of OA risk prediction. The temporal trajectories of plasma proteins indicated that the levels of COL9A1 and CRTAC1 began to deviate from normal for more than a decade before OA onset, suggesting their potential use in early detection strategies. The predictive model, developed using the LightGBM algorithm, integrated proteins with clinical covariates and demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.729 for 5-year OA prediction, 0.721 for 10-year prediction, and 0.723 for all incident OA. The predictive accuracy of the model was further enhanced for hip and knee OA, achieving AUCs of 0.820 and 0.803 for 5-year predictions. CONCLUSION: Our study identified the role of plasma proteomics in predicting future OA risk, which could contribute to preemptive measures. The innovative model, which integrates proteomic biomarkers with clinical data, offers a potential tool for risk assessment, potentially optimizing OA management strategies and enhancing prevention efforts.

Humans↗