Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), an emerging virus globally prevalent, causes watery diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration of newborn piglets, posing severe economic losses in the swine industry. Moreover, with the characteristic of cross-species transmission, PDCoV can infect human and farmed animals, posing a serious threat to human health. Pyroptosis is a form of programmed cell death mediated by members of the Gasdermin family, which plays a role in defending and eliminating viruses. Coronaviruses, however, have developed precise strategies to antagonize pyroptosis and evade immune responses. This review expounds the biological characteristics of PDCoV, the process of pyroptosis, and the antagonism of Gasdermin D-mediated pyroptosis by PDCoV, aiming to enrich the knowledge about the antagonism of immune responses by PDCoV and lay a theoretical foundation for the prevention and control of this virus.

Chitin is a polysaccharide that is polymerized by N-acetylglucosamine through β-1,4 glycosidic linkages and ubiquitous in the global terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Chitin is one of the most abundant organic macromolecular polymers on earth. Chitinases are a class of enzymes that catalyze the degradation of chitin. Chitinases are not only the focus of basic research but also have shown broad application potential in a variety of fields such as agriculture, medicine, and environmental science. This paper systematically reviewed the research progress in fungal chitinases in terms of the classification, distribution characteristics in different fungal taxa, biological functions in yeasts and filamentous fungi, enzymatic characteristics, and applications in agricultural pest and disease control, disease treatment, and production of chitooligosaccharides. Furthermore, we discussed the future research directions of fungal chitinases. This paper provides new perspectives for the study of fungal chitinases.

Lignin, the most abundant aromatic biopolymer resource in the nature, is difficult to be degraded by common microorganisms due to its complexity and highly aggregated aromatic structure. Lignin-degrading microorganisms from extreme environments are considered as suitable candidates for lignin bioprocessing. This review summarizes several types of extremophiles capable of degrading lignin and the extremozymes produced by them and elucidates the properties, catalytic mechanisms, and metabolic pathways of the extremozymes. Furthermore, this article discusses the prospects for the identification of novel extremophiles and extremozymes by multi-omics and makes an outlook on the development and utilization methods of extremophiles, with a view to providing a reference for the subsequent screening and development of more efficient lignin-degrading strains.

Probiotics refer to live microorganisms that are beneficial to the health of the host when ingested in sufficient quantities, and their beneficial effects have been widely recognized. However, the probiotic function of probiotics is strain-specific. As more and more emerging technologies are introduced into the research on probiotics, the screening of probiotics with specific functions according to individual needs has become a research hotspot. Conventional probiotic screening methods have limitations and cannot meet the current demand for precision medicine. Therefore, a bottom-up precision screening strategy for probiotics based on phenotyping, genotyping, and target is of great practical significance. This article discusses the theoretical basis, methods, and technologies of accurate screening of probiotics from phenotype, genotyping, and target, and the application and safety evaluation of probiotics, aiming to provide reference for the accurate screening of probiotics.