Boron Designer Enzyme with a Hybrid Catalytic Dyad.

Genetically encoded noncanonical amino acids can introduce new-to-nature activation modes into enzymes. While these amino acids can act as catalysts on their own due to their inherent chemical properties, interactions with adjacent residues in an enzyme, such as those present in natural catalytic dyads or triads, unlock a higher potential for designer enzymes. We incorporated a boron-containing amino acid into the protein scaffold RamR to create an active enzyme for the kinetic resolution of α-hydroxythioesters.

Enhancing maize drought and heat tolerance: single vs combined plant growth promoting rhizobacterial inoculation.

Maize ( L.), a key staple crop in Sub-Saharan Africa, is particularly vulnerable to concurrent drought and heat stress, which threatens crop yield and food security. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have shown potential as biofertilizers to enhance plant resilience under such abiotic stresses.

Known from trees and the tropics: new insights into the species complex.

The species complex (FLSC) currently comprises 11 phylogenetic species, including accepted names such as , , and , which have mostly been reported in association with citrus and coffee. Many varieties were documented by Wollenweber & Reinking (1935), which is indicative of a wider diversity of species within this group. The lack of type material in some cases, especially for the older names, means that definition by molecular phylogeny is very difficult.

: an important genus of canker pathogens.

species have commonly been reported as important plant pathogenic fungi with wide host ranges and geographic distributions. With the increase in the number of cryptic species being described, a comprehensive global taxonomic revision of the genus is required. The present study includes 399 isolates from 32 countries.

Adaptations of K 12 to Synchrotron Sourced THz Radiation.

The biological effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) irradiation in the terahertz (THz) range remain ambiguous, despite numerous studies that have been conducted. In this paper, the metabolic response of K 12 to EMF irradiation was examined using a 1.0 W m incident synchrotron source (SS) in the range of 0.

Bioactive Effect of Plasma-Rich in Growth Factors (PRGFs) on Cell-Based In Vitro Models of Skin Inflammation in Relation to Inflammatory Skin Disorders.

Plasma rich in growth factors (PRGFs) has proven potentially beneficial as a bioregenerator in patients with chronic skin disorders due to its anti-inflammatory effect. However, its therapeutic potential may be limited by soluble autoimmune components associated with inflammatory dermatoses in blood plasma. To evaluate the impact of skin health status on cell bioactivity, PRGF was prepared from healthy (H) donors as well as from individuals with atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis (PS), or lichen sclerosus (LS).

Experimental horizontal transfer of phage-derived genes to Drosophila confers innate immunity to parasitoids.

Metazoan parasites have played a major role in shaping innate immunity in animals. Insect hosts and parasitoid wasps are excellent models for illuminating how animal innate immune systems have evolved to neutralize these enemies. One such strategy relies on symbioses between insects and intracellular bacteria that express phage-encoded toxins.

The Neuroprotective Effect of Rooibos Herbal Tea Against Alzheimer's Disease: A Review.

The world is experiencing a demographic shift toward an increasing proportion of elderly persons. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurological disorders are far more likely to develop as people age. AD is a gradual, irreversible, and degenerative brain disorder that progressively deteriorates memory and cognitive function, eventually leading to death.

"The PO-Driven Model": A Basic Science Pipeline for the Bioeconomy with Solutions Inspired by Convergent Evolution for Connecting Parallel Research Ideas.

Basic science research, also called "curiosity-driven research," is fundamental work done with no immediate economic goals but rather a focus on discovery for discovery's sake. However, basic science research is often needed to seed more applied, economically-oriented, research. Both basic and applied research efforts are important aspects of the "bioeconomy" defined here as the contributions to the overall economy from various biology-related fields spanning everything from museum-based natural history research to agricultural food and material production to healthcare.

Growth hormone receptor in VGLUT2 or Sim1 cells regulates glycemia and insulin sensitivity.

Growth hormone (GH) has several metabolic effects, including a profound impact on glucose homeostasis. For example, GH oversecretion induces insulin resistance and increases the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. Here, we show that GH receptor (GHR) ablation in vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2)-expressing cells, which comprise a subgroup of glutamatergic neurons, led to a slight decrease in lean body mass without inducing changes in body adiposity.

Optimized production of bacterioruberin from "Haloferax marinum" using one-factor-at-a-time and central composite design approaches.

Haloarchaea represents a unique group of microorganisms that have adapted to thrive in high-salt environments. These microbes produce distinctive biomolecules, some of which exhibit extraordinary properties. One such biomolecule is bacterioruberin, a prominent red-pigmented C carotenoid commonly found in halophilic archaea, renowned for its antioxidant properties and potential as a functional resource.

Structural plasticity of the coiled-coil interactions in human SFPQ.

The proteins SFPQ (splicing Factor Proline/Glutamine rich) and NONO (non-POU domain-containing octamer-binding protein) are mammalian members of the Drosophila Behaviour/Human Splicing (DBHS) protein family, which share 76% sequence identity in their conserved 320 amino acid DBHS domain. SFPQ and NONO are involved in all steps of post-transcriptional regulation and are primarily located in mammalian paraspeckles: liquid phase-separated, ribonucleoprotein sub-nuclear bodies templated by NEAT1 long non-coding RNA. A combination of structured and low-complexity regions provide polyvalent interaction interfaces that facilitate homo- and heterodimerisation, polymerisation, interactions with oligonucleotides, mRNA, long non-coding RNA, and liquid phase-separation, all of which have been implicated in cellular homeostasis and neurological diseases including neuroblastoma.

Targeting quorum sensing for manipulation of commensal microbiota.

Bacteria communicate through the accumulation of autoinducer (AI) molecules that regulate gene expression at critical densities in a process called quorum sensing (QS). Extensive work using simple systems and single strains of bacteria have revealed a role for QS in the regulation of virulence factors and biofilm formation; however, less is known about QS dynamics among communities, especially in vivo. In this review, we summarize the diversity of QS signals as well as their ability to influence "non-target" behaviors among species that have receptors but not synthases for those signals.

Engineering plant biosensors: recent advances in design and applications.

Plants have evolved sophisticated molecular switches to perceive and respond to both endogenous and exogenous signals, enabling changes in form and function in response to environmental and developmental cues. As autotrophic, multicellular organisms, plants represent promising platforms for designing and engineering sense-and-report modules. Advances in protein engineering and functional screening have facilitated the reprogramming of native switches into biosensors capable of detecting novel small molecules.

Peptidomics and molecular dynamics on bioactive peptides produced and characterized from the fermented whey of "Panchali" sheep of West India.

The study assessed the peptide production by using potent Lactiplantibacillus plantarum KGL3A (MG722814) culture to ferment the sheep milk for evaluation of α-glucosidase inhibition, ACE inhibition, α-amylase inhibition, & inhibiting lipase activities. The maximal ACE inhibitory, α-amylase, α-glucosidase, & lipase inhibiting actions were 71.69 %, 71.

Anthocyanin-rich black wheat as a functional food for managing type 2 diabetes mellitus: a study on high fat diet-streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is associated with insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia. Anthocyanins, which are natural antioxidants, have been reported to manage T2DM-related complications. However, the potential of anthocyanin-rich black wheat as a functional food for managing diabetes remains unexplored.

Efficient removal of lipophilic compounds from sewage sludge: Comparative evaluation of solvent extraction techniques.

Municipal sewage sludge, a by-product of wastewater treatment plants, presents environmental challenges due to its complex composition. Particular concern is the lipophilic and aliphatic compounds that pose risks to the environment and human health. This study focuses on the efficient removal of those compounds from sewage sludge using several organic solvents (hexane, toluene, chloroform, dichloromethane, acetone, hexane-methanol mixture, ethanol, and methanol) and ionic liquids (ILs) like tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate by solvent extraction techniques.

Expression, Purification, and Characterisation of Recombinant Alginate Lyase ( AL2) for the Bioconversion of Alginate into Alginate Oligosaccharides.

Alginate, a polysaccharide found in brown seaweeds, has regularly gained attention for its potential use as a source of bioactive compounds. However, it is structurally complex with a high molecular weight, limiting its application. Alginate oligosaccharides (AOS) are small, soluble fragments, making them more bioavailable.

Mapping proteomic response to salinity stress tolerance in oil crops: Towards enhanced plant resilience.

Exposure to saline environments significantly hampers the growth and productivity of oil crops, harmfully affecting their nutritional quality and suitability for biofuel production. This presents a critical challenge, as understanding salt tolerance mechanisms in crops is key to improving their performance in coastal and high-salinity regions. Our content might be read more properly: This review assembles current knowledge on protein-level changes related to salinity resistance in oil crops.

Growth Hormone Action as a Target in Cancer: Significance, Mechanisms and Possible Therapies.

Growth hormone (GH) is a pituitary derived endocrine hormone required for normal post-natal growth and development. Hypo or hypersecretion of endocrine GH results in two pathologic conditions, namely GH deficiency (GHD) and acromegaly. Additionally, GH is also produced in non-pituitary and tumoral tissues where it acts rather as a cellular growth factor with an autocrine/paracrine mode of action.

MirGeneDB 3.0: improved taxonomic sampling, uniform nomenclature of novel conserved microRNA families and updated covariance models.

We present a major update of MirGeneDB (3.0), the manually curated animal microRNA gene database. Beyond moving to a new server and the creation of a computational mirror, we have expanded the database with the addition of 33 invertebrate species, including representatives of 5 previously unsampled phyla, and 6 mammal species.

Adaptive immunity of type VI CRISPR-Cas systems associated with reverse transcriptase-Cas1 fusion proteins.

Cas13-containing type VI CRISPR-Cas systems specifically target RNA; however, the mechanism of spacer acquisition remains unclear. We have previously reported the association of reverse transcriptase-Cas1 (RT-Cas1) fusion proteins with certain types of VI-A systems. Here, we show that RT-Cas1 fusion proteins are also recruited by type VI-B systems in bacteria from gut microbiomes, constituting a VI-B1 variant system that includes a CorA-encoding locus in addition to the CRISPR array and the RT-Cas1/Cas2 adaptation module.

Protocol to study ex vivo T cell priming by conventional dendritic cells from the mouse spleen.

Conventional dendritic cells (cDC) are professional antigen-presenting cells able to prime naive T cells. Here, we present a protocol for ex vivo T cell priming by murine splenic cDC. We describe the steps of injecting fluorescently labeled antigens to mice, purifying antigen-bearing cDC, and priming antigen-specific T cells ex vivo.