A small antimicrobial peptide derived from a Burkholderia bacterium exhibits a broad-spectrum and high inhibiting activities against crop diseases.

Crop diseases cause significant quality and yield losses to global crop products each year and are heavily controlled by chemicals along with very limited antibiotics composed of small molecules. However, these methods often result in environmental pollution and pest resistance, necessitating the development of new bio-controlling products to mitigate these hazards. To identify effective antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) considered as potential sources of future antibiotics, AMPs were screened from five bacterial strains showing antagonism against a representative phytopathogenic fungus (Rhizoctonia Solani) through the Bacillus subtilis expression system, which has been developed for identifying bacterial AMPs by displaying autolysis morphologies.

Bioinspired Hybrid Nanostructured PEEK Implant with Enhanced Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory Synergy.

Implant-associated infections and excessive immune responses are two major postsurgical issues for successful implantation. However, conventional strategies including antibiotic treatment and inflammatory regulation are always compromised due to the comodification of various biochemical agents and instances of functional interference. It is imperative to provide implant surfaces with satisfactory antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Bioinspired nanoflakes with antifouling and mechano-bactericidal capacity.

Pathogenic bacteria contamination ubiquitously occurs on high-contact surfaces in hospitals and has long been a threat to public health, inducing severe nosocomial infections that cause multiple organ dysfunction and increased hospital mortality. Recently, nanostructured surfaces with mechano-bactericidal properties have shown potential for modifying material surfaces to fight against the spread of pathogenic microorganisms without the risk of triggering antibacterial resistance. Nevertheless, these surfaces are readily contaminated by bacterial attachment or inanimate pollutants like solid dust or common fluids, which has greatly weakened their antibacterial capabilities.

ATP-Independent Bioluminescent Reporter Variants To Improve in Vivo Imaging.

Coelenterazine (CTZ)-utilizing marine luciferases and their derivatives have attracted significant attention because of their ATP-independency, fast enzymatic turnover, and high bioluminescence brightness. However, marine luciferases typically emit blue photons and their substrates, including CTZ and the recently developed diphenylterazine (DTZ), have poor water solubility, hindering their in vivo applications. Herein, we report a family of pyridyl CTZ and DTZ analogs that exhibit spectrally shifted emission and improved water solubility.

A Sensitive Near-Infrared Fluorescent Sensor for Mitochondrial Hydrogen Sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide (HS) is an important gasotransmitter. Although a large number of fluorescent probes for cellular HS have been reported, only a few can detect HS in mitochondria, a cellular organelle connecting HS with mitochondrial function and metabolic pathways. We hereby describe a novel near-infrared fluorescent probe, nimazide, by introducing sulfonyl azide to the core structure of a QSY-21 dark quencher.

Red-shifted luciferase-luciferin pairs for enhanced bioluminescence imaging.

Red-shifted bioluminescence reporters are desirable for biological imaging. We describe the development of red-shifted luciferins based on synthetic coelenterazine analogs and corresponding mutants of NanoLuc that enable bright bioluminescence. One pair in particular showed superior in vitro and in vivo sensitivity over commonly used bioluminescence reporters.

The N-B Interaction through a Water Bridge: Understanding the Chemoselectivity of a Fluorescent Protein Based Probe for Peroxynitrite.

Boronic acid and esters have been extensively utilized for molecular recognition and chemical sensing. We recently reported a genetically encoded peroxynitrite (ONOO(-))-specific fluorescent sensor, pnGFP, based on the incorporation of a boronic acid moiety into a circularly permuted green fluorescent protein (cpGFP) followed by directed protein evolution. Different from typical arylboronic acids and esters, the chromophore of pnGFP is unreactive to millimolar concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

A membrane-activatable near-infrared fluorescent probe with ultra-photostability for mitochondrial membrane potentials.

Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) is a frequently used indicator for mitochondrial function. Herein, we report a photostable near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent dye for monitoring MMP. This new probe, named NIMAP, is non-fluorescent in aqueous solution and can be activated by cell membranes, providing high fluorescence contrast and low background fluorescence.

Expanding the Genetic Code for a Dinitrophenyl Hapten.

Haptens, such as dinitrophenyl (DNP) are small molecules that induce strong immune responses when attached to proteins or peptides and, as such, have been exploited for diverse applications. We engineered a Methanosarcina barkeri pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase (mbPylRS) to genetically encode a DNP-containing unnatural amino acid, N(6) -(2-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)acetyl)lysine (DnpK). Although this moiety was unstable in Escherichia coli, we found that its stability was enhanced in mammalian HEK 293T cells and was able to induce selective interactions with anti-DNP antibodies.

Light activation of protein splicing with a photocaged fast intein.

Intein-mediated protein splicing has found broad biotechnological applications. Herein, we describe our recent result in engineering a photoactivatable intein compatible with living mammalian cells. A photocaged cysteine amino acid residue was genetically introduced into a highly efficient Nostoc punctiforme (Npu) DnaE intein.

A highly efficient oxidative condensation reaction for selective protein conjugation.

We hereby report a mild and efficient coupling reaction between alkyl aldehydes and aryl diamines. In the presence of a Cu(2+) or a Zn(2+) ion, oxygen (O2) in air is able to promote the oxidative condensation of the two readily preparable functional groups, forming stable benzimidazole linkages in neutral aqueous solution at room temperature (RT). We demonstrated that the reaction could be utilized to label a T4 lysozyme protein containing a chemically installed aryl diamine group with a fluorescent aldehyde dye molecule at 37 °C.

Enantioselective nanofiber-spinning of chiral calixarene receptor with guest.

Chiral para-tert-butylcalix[4]arene bearing (S)-alpha-methylbenzylamine groups at lower rim only self-assembles with one of two enantiomers of 2,3-dibenzoyltartaric acid into coiled nanofibers and the coiled nanofibers only stack with the nanofibers having the same handedness to construct bigger ribbon-like fibers bearing porosity.