Biosynthesis

Crocins are water-soluble apocarotenoids isolated from the flowers of crocus and gardenia. They exhibit various pharmacological effects, including neuroprotection, anti-inflammatory properties, hepatorenal protection, and anticancer activity. They are often used as coloring and seasoning agents. Due to the limited content of crocins in plants and the high cost of chemical synthesis, the supply of crocins is insufficient to meet current demand. The biosynthetic pathways for crocins have been elucidated to date, which allows the heterologous production of these valuable compounds in microorganisms by fermentation...

Secondary metabolites produced by actinomycete strains undoubtedly have great potential for use in applied research areas such as drug discovery. However, it is becoming difficult to obtain novel compounds because of repeated isolation around the world. Therefore, a new strategy for discovering novel secondary metabolites is needed. Many researchers believe that actinomycetes have as yet unanalyzed secondary metabolic activities, and the associated undiscovered secondary metabolite biosynthesis genes are called "silent" genes...

A bacterium, Acinetobacter soli ANG344B, isolated from river water, exhibited an exceptional capacity to produce 2-phenylethanol (2-PE) using L-phenylalanine (L-Phe) as a precursor-a capability typically observed in yeasts rather than bacteria. Bioreactor experiments were conducted to evaluate the production performance, using glucose as the carbon source for cellular growth and L-Phe as the precursor for 2-PE production. Remarkably, A. soli ANG344B achieved a 2-PE concentration of 2.35 ± 0.26 g/L in just 24...

Bacterial blight (BB), caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae ( Xoo ), is a widespread and destructive disease in rice production. Previously, we cloned an executor R gene, Xa7 , which confers durable and broad-spectrum resistance to BB. Here, we further confirmed that the transcription activator-like effector (TALE) AvrXa7 in Xoo strains could directly bind to the effector-binding element (EBE) in the promoter of the Xa7 gene. Other executor R genes ( Xa7 , Xa10 , Xa23 , and Xa27 ) driven by the promoter of the Xa7 gene could be activated by AvrXa7 and trigger the hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco leaves...

NaHCO3 accelerates the aging of tobacco leaves; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of NaHCO3 in the promotion of tobacco leaf maturation using transcriptome analysis. Leaves on plants or detached leaves of the tobacco variety, Honghua Dajinyuan, were sprayed with or without 1% NaHCO3 . The leaf yellowing was observed, the pigment content and enzyme activities were determined and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed. Spraying NaHCO3 onto detached leaves was found to promote leaf yellowing...

Infected wounds pose a significant challenge in healthcare, requiring innovative therapeutic strategies. Therefore, there is a critical need for innovative pharmaceutical materials to improve wound healing and combat bacterial growth. This study examined the efficacy of azithromycin-loaded silver nanoparticles (AZM-AgNPs) in treating infected wounds. AgNPs synthesized using a green method with Quinoa seed extract were loaded with AZM. Characterization techniques, including X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Uv-Vis analysis were utilized...

UNLABELLED: Acanthopanax gracilistylus is a deciduous plant in the family Araliaceae, which is commonly used in Chinese herbal medicine, as the root bark has functions of nourishing the liver and kidneys, removing dampness and expelling wind, and strengthening the bones and tendons. Kaurenoic acid (KA) is the main effective substance in the root bark of A. gracilistylus with strong anti-inflammatory effects. To elucidate the KA biosynthesis pathway, second-generation (DNA nanoball) and third-generation (Pacific Biosciences) sequencing were performed to analyze the transcriptomes of the A...

UNLABELLED: The Cellulose Synthase gene ( CS ) superfamily and COBRA-like ( COBL ) gene family are essential for synthesizing cellulose and hemicellulose, which play a crucial role in cell wall biosynthesis and the hardening of plant tissues. Our study identified 126 ZbCS and 31 ZbCOBL genes from the Zanthoxylum bungeanum ( Zb ) genome. Phylogenetic analysis and conservative domain analysis unfolded that ZbCS and ZbCOBL genes were divided into seven and two subfamilies, respectively. Gene duplication data suggested that more than 75% of these genes had tandem and fragment duplications...

INTRODUCTION: In light of the public health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, boosting the safety and immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines is of great concern. Numerous Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparations have shown to beneficially modulate immunity. Based on pilot experiments in mice that showed that supplementation with Huoxiang Suling Shuanghua Decoction (HSSD) significantly enhances serum anti-RBD IgG titers after inoculation with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD protein, we conducted this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial aimed to evaluate the potential immunogenicity boosting effect of oral HSSD after a third homologous immunization with Sinovac's CoronaVac SARS-CoV-2 (CVS) inactivated vaccine...

ATP is a universal energy currency that is essential for life. l-Arginine degradation via deamination is an elegant way to generate ATP in synthetic cells, which is currently limited by a slow l-arginine/l-ornithine exchange. We are now implementing a new antiporter with better kinetics to obtain faster ATP recycling. We use l-arginine-dependent ATP formation for the continuous synthesis and export of glycerol 3-phosphate by including glycerol kinase and the glycerol 3-phosphate/Pi antiporter. Exported glycerol 3-phosphate serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of phospholipids in a second set of vesicles, which forms the basis for the expansion of the cell membrane...

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, is an invasive tenebrionid beetle and a vector of pathogens. Due to the emergence of insecticide resistance and consequent outbreaks that generate significant phytosanitary and energy costs for poultry farmers, it has become a major insect pest worldwide. To better understand the molecular mechanisms behind this resistance, we studied a strain of A. diaperinus from a poultry house in Brittany that was found to be highly resistant to the β-cyfluthrin. The strain survived β-cyfluthrin exposures corresponding to more than 100 times the recommended dose...

BACKGROUND: Floral scents play a crucial role in attracting insect pollinators. Among the compounds attractive to pollinators is 1,4-dimethoxybenzene (1,4-DMB). It is a significant contributor to the scent profile of plants from various genera, including economically important Cucurbita species. Despite its importance, the biosynthetic pathway for the formation of 1,4-DMB was not elucidated so far. RESULTS: In this study we showed the catalysis of 1,4-DMB in the presence of 4-methoxyphenol (4-MP) by protein extract from Styrian oil pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) flowers...

The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus necessitates alternative therapeutic approaches. Neutrophils play a crucial role in the fight against S. aureus but suffer from deficiencies in function leading to increased infection. Here we report a nanoparticle-mediated immunotherapy aimed at potentiating neutrophils to eliminate S. aureus. The nanoparticles consist of naftifine, haemoglobin (Hb) and a red blood cell membrane coating. Naftifine disrupts staphyloxanthin biosynthesis, Hb reduces bacterial hydrogen sulfide levels and the red blood cell membrane modifies bacterial lipid composition...

Cellulose is an important abundant renewable resource on Earth, and the microbial cellulose utilization mechanism has attracted extensive attention. Recently, some signalling molecules have been found to regulate cellulose utilization and the discovery of underlying signals has recently attracted extensive attention. In this paper, we found that the hydrogen sulfide (H2 S) concentration under cellulose culture condition increased to approximately 2.3-fold compared with that under glucose culture condition in Ganoderma lucidum...

Papaya (Carica papaya) is a trioecious species with female, male, and hermaphrodite plants. Given the sex segregation, selecting hermaphroditic plants is vital for orchard establishment due to their greater commercial value. However, selecting hermaphrodite plants through sexing is laborious and costly. Moreover, environmental stressors can exacerbate the issue by potentially inducing abnormal flower development, thus affecting fruit quality. Despite these challenges, the molecular mechanisms governing sex development in papaya remain poorly understood...

Natural Antisense Transcripts (NATs) are a kind of complex regulatory RNAs that play crucial roles in gene expression and regulation. However, the NATs in Cannabis Sativa L., a widely economic and medicinal plant rich in cannabinoids remain unknown. In this study, we comprehensively predicted C. sativa NATs genome-wide using strand-specific RNA sequencing (ssRNA-Seq) data, and validated the expression profiles by strand-specific quantitative reverse transcription PCR (ssRT-qPCR). Consequently, a total of 307 NATs were predicted in C...

This study identified an R2R3-MYB from Zinnia elegans, ZeMYB32, which negatively regulates anthocyanin biosynthesis.

Modification of silent latent endosperm-enabled promoters (SLEEPERs) allows the ectopic activation of non-expressed metabolic genes in rice callus Metabolic engineering in plants typically involves transgene expression or the mutation of endogenous genes. An alternative is promoter modification, where small changes in the promoter sequence allow genes to be switched on or off in particular tissues. To activate silent genes in rice endosperm, we screened native promoters for near-miss cis-acting elements that can be converted to endosperm-active regulatory motifs...

The porphyrias are rare disorders of haem biosynthesis. Diagnosis requires demonstrating increased porphyrins or porphyrin precursors in blood, urine and faeces. Patients may only be investigated once, and therefore, understanding the preanalytical factors affecting the reliability of results is crucial. Guidance for sample handling exists, but published evidence regarding the stability of porphyrins and their precursors is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of light exposure and different storage temperatures on analyte stability for measurement of urinary aminolaevulinic acid and porphobilinogen, total urine porphyrin and plasma porphyrin...

Acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) are mainly involved in acyl-CoA ester binding and trafficking in eukaryotic cells, and they function in lipid metabolism, membrane biosynthesis, cellular signaling, stress response, disease resistance, and other biological activities in plants. However, the roles of ACBP family members in Medicago remain unclear. In this study, a total of eight ACBP genes were identified in the genome of Medicago truncatula and Medicago sativa, and they were clustered into four sub-families (Class I-IV)...