Background: Lithium is widely used in the electronic consumer market and electric vehicles and has a great contribution to the world economy, resulting in large quantities of lithium waste in the environment. The Yangtze River Basin is one of the most developed areas in China. However, the environmental influence of lithium in the Yangtze River Basin and its roles in cardiomyocytes have not yet been clarified. Results: Here, we found that the concentration of lithium in the water environment is very high in Shanghai, as well as in tap water, which might be caused by the pollution of lithium batteries. Lithium inhibits cell viability and proliferation of human cardiomyocytes. Moreover, lithium promotes cell apoptosis significantly. And we found that lithium controls cardiomyocytes' functions through regulating glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta signaling. Conclusions: This study reveals that the water environment of Shanghai might be polluted by the lithium batteries; and the enrichment of lithium might cause damage to human cardiomyocytes. It is imperative to detect lithium concentration in the water environments (such as tap water and irrigation water) and effectively recycle lithium batteries in the future.

Biological control is a promising approach to suppress diseases caused by Pythium spp. such as Pythium soft rot of ginger caused by P. myriotylum. Unusually for a single genus, it also includes species that can antagonize Pythium plant pathogens, such as Pythium oligandrum. We investigated if a new isolate of P. oligandrum could antagonize P. myriotylum, what changes occurred in gene expression when P. oligandrum (antagonist) and P. myriotylum (host) interacted, and whether P. oligandrum could control soft-rot of ginger caused by P. myriotylum. An isolate of P. oligandrum, GAQ1, recovered from soil could antagonize P. myriotylum in a plate-based confrontation assay whereby P. myriotylum became non-viable. The loss of viability of P. myriotylum coupled with how P. oligandrum hyphae could coil around and penetrate the hyphae of P. myriotylum, indicated a predatory interaction. We investigated the transcriptional responses of P. myriotylum and P. oligandrum using dual-RNAseq at a stage in the confrontation where similar levels of total transcripts were measured from each species. As part of the transcriptional response of P. myriotylum to the presence of P. oligandrum, genes including a subset of putative Kazal-type protease inhibitors were strongly upregulated along with cellulases, elicitin-like proteins and genes involved in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. In P. oligandrum, proteases, cellulases, and peroxidases featured prominently in the upregulated genes. The upregulation along with constitutive expression of P. oligandrum proteases appeared to be responded to by the upregulation of putative protease inhibitors from P. myriotylum, suggesting a P. myriotylum defensive strategy. Notwithstanding this P. myriotylum defensive strategy, P. oligandrum had a strong disease control effect on soft-rot of ginger caused by P. myriotylum. The newly isolated strain of P. oligandrum is a promising biocontrol agent for suppressing the soft-rot of ginger. The dual-RNAseq approach highlights responses of P. myriotylum that suggests features of a defensive strategy, and are perhaps another factor that may contribute to the variable success and durability of biological attempts to control diseases caused by Pythium spp.