Pigment production is an important biological process throughout the tree of life. Some pigments function for collecting light energy, or for visual identification, while others have dramatic antimicrobial functions, or camouflage capabilities. The functions of these pigments and their biosynthesis are of great interest if only because of their diversity. The biochemistry of echinoderm pigmentation has been intensively studied for many years, and with more recent technologies, the origin and functions of these pigments are being exposed. Here we summarize the major pigment types in biology and emphasize the status of the field in echinoderms, taking full advantage of the new genomic and technologic resources for studying these important animals and their beautiful pigmentation.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92486-1_22 | DOI Listing |
Adv Drug Deliv Rev
January 2025
Neurodegenerative Diseases Department, Kadimastem Ltd, Pinchas Sapir 7, Weizmann Science Park, Ness-Ziona, Israel; Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 76100, Rehovot, Israel.
Self-renewal capacity and potential to differentiate into almost any cell type of the human body makes pluripotent stem cells a valuable starting material for manufacturing of clinical grade cell therapies. Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by gradual loss of structure or function of neurons, often leading to neuronal death. This results in gradual decline of cognitive, motor, and physiological functions due to the degeneration of the central nervous systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; China Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-Sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510080, China. Electronic address:
Tumors are diseases caused by abnormal cell division and growth, which can be life-threatening if not treated properly. Serpin inhibitors play a crucial role in regulating pathophysiological process and are promising drug targets. Kallistatin (SERPINA4) and Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor (PEDF, SERPINF1) are two serpins that lack protease inhibitory activity but are abundant in blood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Vis Exp
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis; Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Washington University in St. Louis;
For noninvasive light-based physiological monitoring, optimal wavelengths of individual tissue components can be identified using absorption spectroscopy. However, because of the lack of sensitivity of hardware at longer wavelengths, absorption spectroscopy has typically been applied for wavelengths in the visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) range from 400 to 1,000 nm. Hardware advancements in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) range have enabled investigators to explore wavelengths in the ~1,000 nm to 3,000 nm range in which fall characteristic absorption peaks for lipid, protein, and water.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGigascience
January 2025
Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Museum Koenig Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany.
Background: In this study, we present an in-depth analysis of the Eurasian minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) genome, highlighting its genetic diversity, structural variations, and evolutionary adaptations. We generated an annotated haplotype-phased, chromosome-level genome assembly (2n = 50) by integrating high-fidelity (HiFi) long reads and chromosome conformation capture data (Hi-C).
Results: We achieved a haploid size of 940 megabase pairs (Mbp) for haplome 1 and 929 Mbp for haplome 2 with high scaffold N50 values of 36.
Food Chem X
January 2025
Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education of China, Institutes of Agricultural Science and Technology Development, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
Green electrospinning for the production of freshness-indicating labels, employing entirely natural biopolymers and pigments, holds significance in the development of intelligent food packaging. This study aimed to prepare zein (Z) fibrous film (FF) incorporated with varying concentrations of anthocyanin (A; 0-0.5 %) through green electrospinning.
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