DEAD-box protein SMA1 activates immunity likely through the formation of nuclear condensates with EDS1 in Arabidopsis.

Plants have developed an elaborate immune system to effectively combat diverse pathogens, mainly through intricate signaling pathways. However, more studies will be required to have a better understanding of the activation mechanism of plant immune responses. Here, we report the biological function of SMA1, a nuclear-localized DEAD-box RNA helicase, in plant disease immunity.

Deciphering the Thiolactonization Mechanism in Thiolactomycin Biosynthesis.

Thiolactomycin (), which features a unique γ-thiolactone ring, is a promising antibiotic candidate that specifically targets bacterial type II fatty acid synthase. Despite extensive studies on its pharmacological activities, modes of action, and chemical synthesis, the enzymatic processes responsible for forming the activity-determining γ-thiolactone ring have remained largely unknown. Here, we resolve this problem by revealing that the condensation and heterocyclization (Cy) domain of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) TlnC (TlnC), along with the cytochrome P450 enzyme TlnA, cooperatively enable the γ-thiolactone assembly.

Dual-engine-driven synthesis of unsaturated esters over channel-expanding Cu-Cs catalysts.

This study presents a one-step catalytic synthesis of unsaturated esters (methyl acrylate, MA; methyl methacrylate, MMA) from methanol (MeOH, C1 source) and methyl acetate (MAc) a Cu-Cs dual-engine-driven (DED) system that integrates four sequential steps-dehydrogenation, aldol condensation, hydrogenation, and secondary aldol condensation. The Cu-engine facilitates proton transfer by capturing protons during MeOH dehydrogenation and donating them in methyl acrylate (MA) hydrogenation, while the Cs-engine activates saturated esters for formaldehyde-mediated aldol condensation. Through systematic optimization of Cu loading methods, deposition sequences, and Cu/Cs ratios, we developed a silicon carrier channel-expanding strategy, enlarging mesopores from 14 nm to 20 nm (30% specific surface area extension) copper phyllosilicate-induced corrosion.

Addressing challenges in microbial manufacturing: Systematic microbial biotechnology.

Microbial manufacturing offers an alternative approach to producing chemicals and materials in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. Despite its significance and widespread attention, various challenges persist in its industrial application. We propose a systematic approach to microbial biotechnology-a comprehensive framework for developing customized technologies tailored to the unique characteristics of the entire process for specific products.

Novel ternary deep eutectic solvent for simultaneous extraction of active compounds and cellulose nanofibers from rose petals.

Designing deep eutectic solvent (DES) at the molecular level to enhance extraction efficiency was considered to be a promising method. In this study, novel ternary DES containing sorbitol (Sor) was designed, which was used to extract active compounds and prepare cellulose nanofibers from roses. Molecular dynamics (MD) were employed to screen the optimal extraction solvent.

Tailoring Alkyl Side Chains of Benzotriazole‒Based Covalent Organic Frameworks for Enhancement of Photocatalytic CO Reduction.

Various molecular design strategies of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are employed to enable highly efficient and selective photocatalytic reduction of CO for carbon neutralization and the production of value‒added chemical products. Instead of frequently‒studied variation in main frameworks of COFs, side‒chain engineering is adopted in this study to tailor their photocatalytic CO reduction performance. Alkyl side chains with different lengths are attached to benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole‒based β‒ketoenamine COFs.

Crystal structure of a putative phosphate binding protein from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 reveals an evolutionary hotspot.

Phosphorus is an essential element for all living organisms and is often a limiting nutrient in natural environments. Phosphate-binding proteins (PBPs) are defined by their ability to bind phosphorus-containing substrates with high affinity, facilitating the uptake and transport of this critical element across cellular membranes; thus, they play a vital role in phosphorus acquisition from external environments. In this study, we report the crystal structure of a PBP encoded by the gene sll0540 from Synechocystis sp.

Magnetic Moment Descriptor-Guided Multifunctional Co Single-Atom Catalysts Enable Wide-Temperature Uninterrupted Seawater Splitting.

Developing chloride ion-resistant trifunctional catalysts is imperative and of great significance for application in renewable energy-driven seawater splitting systems (S-WSS). However, there is currently a lack of unified descriptors for the rational design of catalysts that possess both high corrosion resistance and excellent catalytic activity. Herein, the magnetic moment is proposed as the descriptor through second-coordination-shell anion engineering of CoN₄ moieties (named as CoN-X, X = B/O/F/P/S/Cl).

Disruption of YY1-mediated super-enhancer-promoter looping drives transcriptomic changes during mammalian stem-cell aging.

Stem-cell aging leads to a progressive decline in self-renewal and differentiation. How changes in chromatin architecture shape the gene-expression program underlying this loss of function remains incompletely understood. Here, we integrate transcriptomic, epigenomic, and Hi-C data from young and in-vitro-aged human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to map super-enhancer-promoter (SE-promoter) loops and trace how they rewire during aging.

AI-chemometric assisted real-time monitoring of tryptophan fermentation process using a sensor fusion strategy.

Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, crucially impacts neuronal function, metabolism, immunity, and gut homeostasis. Microbial fermentation is the mainstream method for tryptophan production. The precise production process is essential for ensuring both high quality and optimal yield.

SbC1, an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, specifically regulates anthocyanin accumulation in sorghum coleoptiles.

This study first identifies the SbC1, an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, specifically function as the key positive regulator for anthocyanin biosynthesis in sorghum coleoptiles. Anthocyanins are pivotal in plant growth, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying anthocyanin biosynthesis in sorghum, one of the major cereal crops worldwide, remain largely unexplored.

Direct Synthesis of -Xylene from CO Hydrogenation with a Record-High Space-Time Yield.

The direct synthesis of -xylene (-X) from CO hydrogenation with high space-time yield (STY) remains a significant challenge due to two primary limitations: the Anderson-Schulz-Flory distribution, which restricts the C selectivity to ∼6.8 C%, and the thermodynamic equilibrium, which confines the -X content among xylene isomers to 15-25%. Herein, we report a composite catalyst, K-FeMn/Hollow ZSM-5, that enables the efficient hydrogenation of CO to -X by integrating two synergistic catalytic functions.

Data-Augmented Deep Learning Algorithm for Accurate Control of Bioethanol Fermentation Using an Online Raman Analyzer.

Fed-batch fermentation has become the preferred strategy in many industrial biomanufacturing processes. However, a key challenge remains in optimizing the feeding strategy to achieve stable maximum yields. In this study, we present an online Raman spectroscopy-based monitoring and control system, using bioethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a case study.

Two novel polyvalent phages: a promising approach for cross-order pathogen control in aquaculture.

Bacteriophages represent a promising alternative to antibiotics for controlling bacterial pathogens. However, phage application is often hindered by its narrow host range in preventing diseases caused by multiple unknown pathogens. While broad-host-range phages capable of cross-genus or cross-order infections, offer significant advantages in addressing this challenge, they are rarely isolated.

A Green Cellulose Dissolution System for Producing Tunable Regenerated Nanocellulose Formate.

Different from the most used ionic liquids or cosolvents of the cellulose dissolution system, we reported a cellulose dissolution method by coupling LiBr·3HO preimpregnation at room temperature (RT) with dissolution of cellulose in formic acid (FA) for controllable production of nanocellulose. This method yields a high solubility (up to 10 wt %) of cellulose, which consequently facilitates the preparation of tunable regenerated nanocellulose formate (RNCF) with versatile applications. The LiBr·3HO preimpregnation at RT significantly improved the dissolution efficiency of cotton pulp by increasing cellulose accessibility via largely breaking hydrogen bonds and deconstructing the cellulose crystalline structure.

Elucidating metabolic mechanisms underlying the influence of specific growth rate on alkaline protease synthesis in Bacillus licheniformis through combined omics and computational modeling analysis.

Specific growth rate is a crucial physiological parameter in fermentation. This study integrates transcriptomics, metabolomics and genome-scale metabolic modeling to uncover the physiological changes in Bacillus licheniformis induced by specific growth rate during fed-batch fermentation. The results showed that increasing growth rates significantly enhanced both cell growth and alkaline protease activity.

Rapid profiling of between-species metabolic interactions in cocultures by DO‑probed single-cell Raman microspectroscopy.

Metabolic interaction is a fundamental feature of co-existing microbial populations, yet current detection methods are usually slow and tedious, due to the inability to rapidly reconstruct population structure and profile species-resolved metabolic states in cocultures. Here we propose a DO-probed single-cell Raman spectra (SCRS) based approach, and use it to probe the interactions between two co-inhabiting, closely related oral Streptococcus species of S. mutans (Sm; a cariogenic pathogen) and S.

Economical and efficient production of l-norvaline using whole cells of Escherichia coli with an enzymatic cascade.

l-Norvaline is a non-natural amino acid with wide applications. Currently, the l-norvaline bio-manufacturing primarily uses costly dl-norvaline or α-oxovalerate as substrates. In this study, an enzymatic cascade was designed for l-norvaline production from propionaldehyde and glycine.

Breaking the Vicious Spiral to Suppress Oxygen Loss in Li-Rich Oxide Cathode Materials.

The irreversible oxygen loss (O-loss) hinders the application of oxygen redox (O-redox) cathode material in high-energy-density Li/Na-ion batteries. Although O-loss is commonly associated with O release, the underlying mechanism remains unclear, which is not a simple surface problem. Herein, the O-loss/redox behaviors of the layered LiMnO and spinel LiMnO are comparatively investigated through experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Breaking the Activity-Selectivity Trade-off in Direct Levulinate Hydrodeoxygenation to Pentanoic Biofuels over La-Modulated Ru-Zeolite Catalysts.

Disentangling the activity-selectivity trade-off in hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of biomass-derived oxygenates has been a great challenge in biomass valorization and related tandem catalysis, by virtue of involving a series of reactions in parallel and in cascade. Herein, we demonstrate the importance of La modulation for Ru-zeolite combinations in the case of direct HDO of neat ethyl levulinate (EL) into ethyl pentanoate (EP). An unprecedented EP yield of 80% and an EP turnover rate (TOR) of 224 mol·mol ·h, together with excellent stability, were obtained for the optimal Ru/2.

Unraveling the local coordination effect of Cu-N-C single-atom catalysts towards CO adsorption a gas-phase cluster model approach.

The current understanding regarding how the coordination environment of single-atom catalysts supported on nitrogen-doped carbon (M-N-C SACs) regulates their reactivity remains controversial, due to the complicated surface chemistry and lack of atomic-level insights. Here we introduce an experimental modeling approach to unambiguously identify the individual contribution of the local environment to the adsorption activity of CO on Cu-N-C systems. The fundamental intrinsic activities of Cu-N-C systems with different N coordination numbers, N coordination geometries (, pyrrolic N and pyridinic N), defect sites (, armchair and zig-zag), as well as S and P dopants, towards CO adsorption can be explicitly obtained and compared at the strictly atomic level, which would be challenging to access conventional techniques in SACs research.

Detecting and classifying metabolic activity of by DO-probed single-cell Raman spectroscopy and machine learning.

The metabolic activity of pathogens poses a substantial risk across diverse domains, including food safety, vaccine development, clinical treatment, and national biosecurity. Conventional subculturing methods typically require several days and fail to detect metabolic activity promptly, limiting their application in many areas. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a method capable of rapidly and accurately detecting this activity.

Single-tooth resolved, whole-mouth prediction of early childhood caries via spatiotemporal variations of plaque microbiota.

Early childhood caries (ECC) exhibits tooth specificity, highlighting the need for single-tooth-level prevention. We profiled 2,504 dental plaque microbiota samples from 89 preschoolers across two cohorts, tracking compositional changes with imputed functional trends at a single-tooth resolution over 11 months. In healthy children, dental microbiota exhibited an anterior-to-posterior ecological gradient on maxillary teeth and strong bilateral symmetry.

Label-free high-throughput live-cell sorting of genome-wide random mutagenesis libraries for metabolic traits by Raman flow cytometry.

A full spontaneous single-cell Raman spectrum captures the metabolic phenome in a label-free and noninvasive manner. However, Raman-activated cell sorting (RACS) of rare target cells from highly heterogeneous systems has remained largely conceptual. Here, we present a positive dielectrophoresis-induced deterministic lateral displacement (pDEP-DLD)-based RACS (pDEP-DLD-RACS), in which a modulated pDEP-DLD force is applied to focus, trap, and functionally sort fast-moving single cells in a wide channel.

RuN clusters anchored on hierarchically porous N-doped carbon spheres for efficient alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction.

Carbon-supported Ru clusters have been recognized as promising electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but their catalytic activity is still limited by the weak metal-carbon interaction or the blockage of active sites. Herein, we report a facile method by which RuN clusters are anchored on hierarchically porous N-doped carbon spheres (Ru/NCS) pyrolysis of the polymer precursor of NCS containing Ru ions. Experimental results indicate that the interaction between Ru species and N-doped carbon leads to the formation of ultrafine RuN clusters with uniform distribution on NCS and also optimizes the Ru-H/Ru-OH bond strength, thereby promoting the rate-determining Volmer step in alkaline HER.