Life sciences today and tomorrow: emerging biotechnologies

The purpose of this review is to survey current, emerging and predicted future biotechnologies which are impacting, or are likely to impact in the future on the life sciences, with a projection for the coming 20 years. This review is intended to discuss current and future technical strategies, and to explore areas of potential growth during the foreseeable future. Information technology approaches have been employed to gather and collate data. Twelve broad categories of biotechnology have been identified which are currently impacting the life sciences and will continue to do so. In some cases, technology areas are being pushed forward by the requirement to deal with contemporary questions such as the need to address the emergence of anti-microbial resistance. In other cases, the biotechnology application is made feasible by advances in allied fields in biophysics (e.g. biosensing) and biochemistry (e.g. bio-imaging). In all cases, the biotechnologies are underpinned by the rapidly advancing fields of information systems, electronic communications and the World Wide Web together with developments in computing power and the capacity to handle extensive biological data. A rationale and narrative is given for the identification of each technology as a growth area. These technologies have been categorized by major applications, and are discussed further. This review highlights:

• Biotechnology has far-reaching applications which impinge on every aspect of human existence.

• The applications of biotechnology are currently wide ranging and will become even more diverse in the future.

• Access to supercomputing facilities and the ability to manipulate large, complex biological datasets, will significantly enhance knowledge and biotechnological development.

     

基因枪介导的老芒麦遗传转化体系的建立

川草2号老芒麦(Elymus sibiricus)是青藏高原地区治理荒漠化和建设高产人工草地的主要栽培草种。用川草2号老芒麦5种外植体诱导愈伤组织,经分化测试,仅幼穗愈伤组织能分化再生。以当代培养25天和35天的结构致密坚硬的幼穗愈伤组织为受体,分别进行农杆菌侵染和基因枪转化,结果只有基因枪能转化成功。在基因枪转化过程...     

Studies on molecular properties prediction,antitubercular and antimicrobial activities of novel quinoline based pyrimidine motifs

In the present study, a series of 3-((6-(2,6-dichloroquinolin-3-yl)-4-aryl-1,6-dihydro-pyrimidin-2-yl)thio)propanenitriles 5a–o were synthesized and subjected to molecular properties prediction and drug-likeness model score by Molinspiration property calculation toolkit and MolSoft software, respectively. Compound 5m (4-OCH₃) was found to be maximum drug-likeness model score (0.42). Among the screened compounds, 5m showed the most promising antitubercular activity with MIC of 0.20 μg/mL, while compounds 5g, 5k and 5m displayed broad spectrum antibacterial activity against all the bacterial strains. Moreover, compound 5k was found to be the most potent antifungal agent. Further, the results of preliminary MTT cytotoxicity studies on HeLa cells suggested that potent antimicrobial activity of 5g, 5k and 5m was escorted by low cytotoxicity.     

Using ‘biased-privileged’ scaffolds to identify lysine methyltransferase inhibitors

Methylation of histones by lysine methyltransferases (KMTases) plays important roles in regulating chromatin function. It is also now clear that improper KMTases activity is linked to human diseases, such as cancer. We report an approach that employs drug-like ‘privileged’ scaffolds biased with motifs present in S-adenosyl methionine, the cofactor used by KMTases, to efficiently generate inhibitors for Set7, a biochemically well-characterized KMTase. Setin-1, the most potent inhibitor of Set7 we have developed also inhibits the KMTase G9a. Together these data suggest that these inhibitors should provide good starting points to generate useful probes for KMTase biology and guide the design of KMTase inhibitors with drug-like properties.     

Prelunularic acid in liverworts

Prelunularic acid, the first example of an intermediate with a ‘pre-aromatic’ structure in the phenylpropanoid-polymalonate pathway, was isolated from suspension-cultured cells of Marchantia polymorpha. Its structure, including its absolute configuration, was assigned on the basis of spectral properties, direct conversion into lunularic acid, and CD measurements on the bis(p-dimethylaminobenzoate) of the methyl ester. Prelunularic acid was also detected in several liverworts of Marchantiales and Jungermanniales, and appears to be the immediate precursor of lunularic acid instead of the previously postulated hydrangenol or hydrangeic acid.     

Chromosome-level genome assembly of a triploid poplar Populus alba ‘Berolinensis’

Many recent studies have provided significant insights into polyploid breeding, but limited research has been carried out on trees. The genomic information needed to understand growth and response to abiotic stress in polyploidy trees is largely unknown, but has become critical due to the threats to forests imposed by climate change. Populus alba ‘Berolinensis,’ also known “Yinzhong poplar,” is a triploid poplar from northeast China. This hybrid triploid poplar is widely used as a landscape ornamental and in urban forestry owing to its adaptation to adverse environments and faster growth than its parental diploid. It is an artificially synthesized male allotriploid hybrid, with three haploid genomes of P. alba ‘Berolinensis’ originating from different poplar species, so it is attractive for studying polyploidy genomic mechanisms in heterosis. In this study, we focused on the allelic genomic interactions in P. alba ‘Berolinensis,’ and generated a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly consisting of 19 allelic chromosomes. Its three haploid chromosome sets are polymorphic with an average of 25.73 nucleotide polymorphism sites per kilobase. We found that some stress-related genes such as RD22 and LEA7 exhibited sequence differences between different haploid genomes. The genome assembly has been deposited in our polyploid genome online analysis website TreeGenomes ( https://www.treegenomes.com ). These polyploid genome-related resources will provide a critical foundation for the molecular breeding of P. alba ‘Berolinensis’ and help us uncover the allopolyploidization effects of heterosis and abiotic stress resistance and traits of polyploidy species in the future.     

Volatile flavour components of cashew ‘apple’ (Anacardium occidentale)

An essence of fresh cashew ‘apple’, obtained by well-established procedures and possessing the characteristic aroma of that fruit, was analysed by GC and by GC/MS using both EI and CI techniques. The fruit produced a very small quantity of aroma volatiles (ca 3.6 μ/kg fresh fruit), much less than that obtained from most similar tropical fruits. Five aldehydes comprised ca 26% of the sample, but terpene hydrocarbons (ca 38%) provided the major group of compounds, consisting of four monoterpenes (ca 34%) and three sesquiterpenes (ca 4%). Important constituents of the essence included hexanal, car-3-ene, limonene, trans-hex-2-enal and benzaldehyde. Car-3-ene (24.3%) was the major constituent, and it was observed that during some recent analyses of tropical fruits this relatively uncommon aroma volatile had been identified in three out of four fruits studied of Venezuelan origin.     

Comparison of surface topography of three species of Diphyllobothrium (Cestoda,pseudophyllidea) by scanning electron microscopy

Plerocercoids of different sizes as well as adult worms of D. dendriticum, D. latum and D. ditremum were studied using scanning electron microscopy (S.E.M.). In the plerocercoids there were found distinct differences in appearance and length of microtriches between these three species, while the microtriches of adult worms were more similar. A regional difference in microtrix appearance was found in the larvae of D. ditremum and D. dendriticum. This was not apparent with S.E.M. in adult worms. The length of ‘body’ microtriches in D. dendriticum varied with the length of the larvae. The topography of the genital atrium of mature and gravid proglottids in adult worms of these three species is also described.     

Sesquiterpenes from Lansium anamalayanum

The essential oil from the wood of Lansium anamalayanum Bedd. is shown to consist essentially of (?)-α-gurjunene (34%), (?)-α-trans-bergamotene (26%) and (?)-β-bisabolene (35%). The previously reported ‘chigadmarene’ has been found to be impure α-gurjunene. This essential oil is the richest known source for (?)-α-trans-bergamotene.     

Synthesis of mixed diesters of ethanediol with N-acyl amino acids and fatty acids

Chemical synthesis of mixed diesters of ethanediol with N-acyl amino acids and fatty acids is described. The synthesis is performed in three steps: (1) preparation of N-acyl amino acids using fatty acid ester of N-hydroxyphthalimide as an acylating agent; (2) partial esterification of ethanediol with N-acyl amino acid, in tetrahydrofuran in presence of thionyl chloride; (3) further esterification of the monoester of ethanediol with a fatty acid, to a mixed diester, in presence of the same reagent.