Photosynthetic directed endosymbiosis to investigate the role of bioenergetics in chloroplast function and evolution.

Cyanobacterial photosynthesis (to produce ATP and NADPH) might have played a pivotal role in the endosymbiotic evolution to chloroplast. However, rather than meeting the ATP requirements of the host cell, the modern-day land plant chloroplasts are suggested to utilize photosynthesized ATP predominantly for carbon assimilation. This is further highlighted by the fact that the plastidic ADP/ATP carrier translocases from land plants preferentially import ATP.

Parallel single B cell transcriptomics to elucidate pig B cell repertoire.

Pork is the most widely consumed meat on the planet, placing swine health as a critical factor for both the world economy and the food industry. Infectious diseases in pigs not only threaten these sectors but also raise zoonotic concerns, as pigs can act as "mixing vessels" for several animals and human viruses and can lead to the emergence of new viruses that are capable of infecting humans. Several efforts are ongoing to develop pig vaccines, albeit with limited success.

Azithromycin therapy in infants hospitalized for respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis: Airway matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels and subsequent recurrent wheeze.

Background: Early life respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis is a significant risk factor for childhood asthma. In vitro and in vivo studies suggested that decreasing levels of airway matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 during RSV bronchiolitis may be associated with clinical benefits.

Objective: To investigate whether azithromycin therapy during severe RSV bronchiolitis reduces upper airway MMP-9 levels, whether upper airway MMP-9 levels correlate with upper airway interleukin IL-8 levels, and whether MMP-9 level reduction is associated with reduced post-RSV recurrent wheeze (RW).

Evolution and synthetic biology.

Evolutionary observations have often served as an inspiration for biological design. Decoding of the central dogma of life at a molecular level and understanding of the cellular biochemistry have been elegantly used to engineer various synthetic biology applications, including building genetic circuits in vitro and in cells, building synthetic translational systems, and metabolic engineering in cells to biosynthesize and even bioproduce complex high-value molecules. Here, we review three broad areas of synthetic biology that are inspired by evolutionary observations: (i) combinatorial approaches toward cell-based biomolecular evolution, (ii) engineering interdependencies to establish microbial consortia, and (iii) synthetic immunology.