Grapes, a widely consumed fruit, are rich in bioactive phenolic compounds with demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties. Exosomes carry a diverse array of bioactive molecules derived from their parent cells. In recent years, Plant-derived exosome-like nanoparticles (PLENs) have garnered significant research interest due to their unique biological properties and therapeutic potential. We have successfully isolated and characterized grape exosome-like nanoparticles (GELNs) with ideal size (~160 nm) and bilayer membrane structure from Kyoho grapes. Through proteomics combined with in situ TEM analyses, we provide direct evidence that GELNs are formed and secreted via the multivesicular body (MVB) pathway. The metabolomics analysis revealed that GELNs contained higher levels of phenolic compounds and lower carbohydrate content compared to grape juice. Applying GELNs to inflammation reduces the level of inflammatory factors in the tissue and relieves the inflammatory response. Notably, GELNs exhibit low toxicity and remarkable storage stability. Our study presents a novel non-toxic nanotherapeutic strategy for oral inflammation that can effectively reduce the inflammatory response.
Abstract A young bird meets its first microbes before its immune system is finished being built. By early-life microbiome dynamics we mean the changes in which microbes arrive, persist, and are lost over the first days and weeks of life. When we understand those dynamics, we can tell how much of a wild bird’s microbiome its parents hand to it and how much its own maturing mucosa selects. We can then ask how that first community trains the immune system that will later regulate it. Developing birds offer a model for this work because rapid shifts along avian host developmental trajectories continually reshape the physiological and biochemical landscape of the oral mucosa. In turn, these dynamic transitions modulate local selective pressures, dictating which microbial lineages persist, interact, and establish long-term residence. The avian oral cavity thus serves as a tractable experimental interface for studying host-symbiont dynamics within a coupled holobiont framework. Tracking primary microbial colonizers, such as bacteria and archaea, alongside key host developmental milestones, such as the onset of endothermy in altricial nestlings, which alters physiological profiles like temperature and pH, enables us to directly observe ontogenetic microbial succession and gain insight into the ecological mechanisms governing early-life community assembly. Evaluating the holobiont as a unified unit of selection provides a mechanistic framework for understanding ontogenetic succession—one that can be tested against alternative assembly models such as host-genetic control, diet-driven replacement, and stochastic colonization. Although current evidence confirms that the oral microbiome serves as a distinct ecological record of environmental exposure and anatomical site, its ability to actively shape host immune phenotypes, stress responses, or overall fitness demands rigorous experimental testing. The nestling oral cavity provides a highly accessible surface for longitudinal research, where the “host clock” of mucosal immune maturation and the “microbial clock” of community assembly run in tandem. Validating or refuting this framework will require within-individual longitudinal sampling alongside targeted manipulations of mucosal immunity (e.g., IgA), advancing the field toward a mechanistic grasp of how early environmental exposures establish lasting biological organization.
Synopsis Biological invasions are rarely examined through a locomotor lens, yet they provide a powerful opportunity to understand how organisms adjust movement in response to novel environmental conditions. When locomotion is considered in invasion biology, it is typically evaluated in terms of performance (e.g., speed, endurance, dispersal capacity), with far less attention given to how organisms restructure the behaviors that comprise locomotion itself. Urban environments introduce novel substrate geometries and mechanical challenges, potentially altering not only how animals move, but which behaviors they use. Using previously collected positional behavior data from an introduced population of monk parakeets (Myiopsitta monachus), this study evaluates how locomotor repertoire structure varies across substrate types, with particular emphasis on artificial substrates. Locomotor behavior was quantified as substrate-specific probability distributions and analyzed using complementary metrics of diversity, evenness, behavioral enrichment, and repertoire dissimilarity. Artificial substrates exhibited the highest locomotor diversity and high evenness, indicating a broad and relatively balanced use of locomotor behaviors. In contrast, natural substrates were characterized by lower diversity and greater dominance of specific behaviors. Behavioral enrichment analyses revealed increased use of walking and multiple climbing strategies on artificial substrates, coupled with reductions in aerial transitions (i.e, Flight_short_interbranch) and sidling. Dissimilarity metrics further demonstrated that locomotor repertoires on artificial substrates were qualitatively distinct from those observed in natural contexts. These findings indicate that urban environments drive restructuring of locomotor repertoires rather than simple performance tuning within a fixed behavioral framework. By demonstrating that locomotor behavior itself can shift in response to environmental novelty, this study highlights the importance of integrating behavioral, performance, and morphological perspectives when evaluating adaptation to urban environments and biological invasion.
Synopsis Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMAs) are an important component of community-based marine conservation in the Western Indian Ocean (WIO), yet persistent gender inequalities in governance, livelihoods and access to resources constrain their inclusiveness and long-term effectiveness. Women remain underrepresented in decision-making despite their substantial contributions to coastal and marine livelihoods. This perspective paper examines how gendered power relations shape participation and influence in LMMA governance across Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Comoros, and proposes a strategic framework for advancing gender-transformative governance. Drawing on regional literature, country case evidence, and Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) findings from the ReSea project, the paper identifies a gendered architecture of exclusion comprising five interconnected barriers: unequal access to resources, exclusion from decision-making, unpaid care work and time poverty, gender-based violence, and restrictive socio-cultural norms. Cross-country analysis highlights four persistent patterns: gaps between gender-equality policy commitments and implementation; the interaction between economic and governance exclusion; a participation-to-power gap in which women’s presence does not consistently translate into influence; and the role of care burdens, violence and social norms as structural constraints on participation. In response, the paper proposes five interconnected strategic objectives: strengthening inclusive governance and leadership; promoting gender-transformative livelihoods and equitable blue economy opportunities; addressing unpaid care work and restrictive social norms; preventing and responding to gender-based violence and harassment; and strengthening institutional capacity and strategic partnerships. An indicative implementation framework distinguishes short-, medium- and long-term actions and outcomes. By linking gender analysis to practical governance reforms, the framework positions LMMAs as potential gender-responsive nature-based solutions and provides a policy-relevant pathway for advancing more inclusive, equitable and resilient marine governance in the WIO.
Synopsis This collection is from a symposium on the study of puncture and injection mechanics in biology spanning a massive range of scales and taxonomic kingdoms. The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology hosted this symposium at its 2026 meeting in Portland, Oregon. Puncture and injection are widespread strategies used by a diversity of organisms that have independently evolved vastly different morphological and behavioral traits to overcome the physical principles governing successful puncture. Through this symposium, we aimed to bring together scientists across disciplines, both engineers and biologists, to discuss current strategies for studying biological puncture and to introduce those interested in the field to the breadth of research at the forefront today. In this subsequent collection of papers, our contributors provided their current methods for exploring questions on some of the vast physical parameters that influence the function and evolution of biological puncture systems.
