Non-specific phospholipase C4 hydrolyzes phosphosphingolipids and phosphoglycerolipids and promotes rapeseed growth and yield

Phosphorus is a major nutrient vital for plant growth and development, with a substantial amount of cellular phosphorus being used for the biosynthesis of membrane phospholipids. Here, we report that NON-SPECIFIC PHOSPHOLIPASE C4 (NPC4) in rapeseed (Brassica napus) releases phosphate from phospholipids to promote growth and seed yield, as plants with altered NPC4 levels showed significant changes in seed production under different phosphate conditions. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9 (Cas9)-mediated knockout of BnaNPC4 led to elevated accumulation of phospholipids and decreased growth, whereas overexpression (OE) of BnaNPC4 resulted in lower phospholipid contents and increased plant growth and seed production. We demonstrate that BnaNPC4 hydrolyzes phosphosphingolipids and phosphoglycerolipids in vitro, and plants with altered BnaNPC4 function displayed changes in their sphingolipid and glycerolipid contents in roots, with a greater change in glycerolipids than sphingolipids in leaves, particularly under phosphate deficiency conditions. In addition, BnaNPC4-OE plants led to the upregulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism, phosphate release, and phosphate transport and an increase in free inorganic phosphate in leaves. These results indicate that BnaNPC4 hydrolyzes phosphosphingolipids and phosphoglycerolipids in rapeseed to enhance phosphate release from membrane phospholipids and promote growth and seed production.     

Enhancing electrical outputs of the fuel cells with Geobacter sulferreducens by overexpressing nanowire proteins

Protein nanowires are critical electroactive components for electron transfer of Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilm. To determine the applicability of the nanowire proteins in improving bioelectricity production, their genes including pilA, omcZ, omcS and omcT were overexpressed in G. sulfurreducens. The voltage outputs of the constructed strains were higher than that of the control strain with the empty vector (0.470–0.578 vs. 0.355 V) in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). As a result, the power density of the constructed strains (i.e. 1.39–1.58 W m⁻²) also increased by 2.62- to 2.97-fold as compared to that of the control strain. Overexpression of nanowire proteins also improved biofilm formation on electrodes with increased protein amount and thickness of biofilms. The normalized power outputs of the constructed strains were 0.18–0.20 W g⁻¹ that increased by 74% to 93% from that of the control strain. Bioelectrochemical analyses further revealed that the biofilms and MFCs with the constructed strains had stronger electroactivity and smaller internal resistance, respectively. Collectively, these results demonstrate for the first time that overexpression of nanowire proteins increases the biomass and electroactivity of anode-attached microbial biofilms. Moreover, this study provides a new way for enhancing the electrical outputs of MFCs.     

Collections-based systematics in the new age of discovery: Celebrating the legacy and life of Professor Wen-Tsai Wang

Professor Wen-Tsai Wang (王文采, June 5, 1926–November 16, 2022) was an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a legendary plant taxonomist at the Institute of Botany of CAS (Fig.1). Herein, we organize a virtual special issue in Journal of Systematics and Evolution (JSE) to celebrate the legacy and life of Professor Wang, who was a leading plant taxonomist in China and made important contributions toward advancing the understanding of the flora of China, the biogeography of eastern Asia, and biodiversity research in the vast Hengduan Mountains. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica (now JSE) for 6 years from 1982 to 1988, and trained several generations of plant taxonomists in China (Li,2001).     

New dual electrochemical detector for microbore liquid chromatography determination of dopamine and serotonin in rat striatum dialysates

A new type of liquid chromatographic (LC) dual thin-layer amperometric detector for the simultaneous measurement of trace levels of dopamine and serotonin in microdialysates is described. The concentrations of these analytes in rat dialysates are usually in the sub-nanomolar concentration range (typically, 0.10–5.00 pg in 5-μl dialysates). With this dual electrode, a glass-lined microbore column provides excellent sensitivity, selectivity, and separation. In addition, a three- to five-fold improvement in anodic current or cathodic responses over conventional dual electrodes in microbore LC can be achieved. Due to the irreversible electrochemical properties of some interference peaks, this dual electrode provides reliable measurement of dopamine based on the cathodic signal. The detection limit (signal-to-noise RATIO=3) of this assay is 0.02 pg per injection for dopamine or serotonin. This new dual electrode allows the simultaneous measurements of basal dopamine and serotonin in rat striatum dialysates without the use of re-uptake inhibitors in perfusion medium.     

鼠肝抽提液中磷酸酶活性终止方法的改进

改进了一种分析磷酸酶活性的终止酶反应方法.该方法通过在酶反应进行到一定程度时,在反应混合物中加入酶反应终止液(1mol/L NaOH-0.2mol/L EDTA),从而使测定更简捷、精确.     

分子识别诱导的蛋白质和核酸多层膜的有序组装

通过生物大分子之间的特异性结合,采用表面等离激元共振技术监测,报导了支撑于固体表面脂单层膜上进行的亲和素、生物素标记的质粒ＤＮＡ、以及从系统性红斑狼疮患者血清中获得的抗ＤＮＡ抗体多层膜的有序组装。这种生物大分子的组装技术可以用于生物传感器以检测特定的抗原抗体。     

耐高温α－淀粉酶在生产超高麦芽糖浆中应用的研究

本文着重研究了耐高温α－淀粉酶与ＢＦ—７６５８α－淀粉酶（即普通中温淀粉酶）在超高麦芽糖浆生产中的区别。使用耐高温α－淀粉酶可使淀粉液化更完全,并且可降低酶的用量,同时生产的超高麦芽糖浆中麦芽糖含量大大提高,具有一定的推广、使用价值。