Direct fermentative conversion of poly(ethylene terephthalate) into poly(hydroxyalkanoate) by Ideonella sakaiensis.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a widely used plastic in bottles and fibers; its waste products pollute the environment owing to its remarkable durability. Recently, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 was isolated as a unique bacterium that can degrade and assimilate PET, thus paving the way for the bioremediation and bioconversion of PET waste. We found that this strain harbors a poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) synthesis gene cluster, which is highly homologous with that of Cupriavidus necator, an efficient PHA producer.

Individual history of winning and hierarchy landscape influence stress susceptibility in mice.

Social hierarchy formation is strongly evolutionarily conserved. Across species, rank within social hierarchy has large effects on health and behavior. To investigate the relationship between social rank and stress susceptibility, we exposed ranked male and female mice to social and non-social stressors and manipulated social hierarchy position.

Development of a Targeted Gene Disruption System in the Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)-Degrading Bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis and Its Applications to PETase and MHETase Genes.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a commonly used synthetic plastic; however, its nonbiodegradability results in a large amount of waste accumulation that has a negative impact on the environment. Recently, a PET-degrading bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6 strain, was isolated, and the enzymes involved in PET digestion, PET hydrolase (PETase), and mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (MHET) hydrolase (MHETase) were identified. Despite the great potentials of in bioremediation and biorecycling, approaches to studying this bacterium remain limited.

Notoginsenoside Ft1 acts as a TGR5 agonist but FXR antagonist to alleviate high fat diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance in mice.

Obesity and its associated complications are highly related to a current public health crisis around the world. A growing body of evidence has indicated that G-protein coupled bile acid (BA) receptor TGR5 (also known as Gpbar-1) is a potential drug target to treat obesity and associated metabolic disorders. We have identified notoginsenoside Ft1 (Ft1) from as an agonist of TGR5 .

Metabolism and Regulatory Functions of -Acetylserine, -Adenosylmethionine, Homocysteine, and Serine in Plant Development and Environmental Responses.

The metabolism of an organism is closely related to both its internal and external environments. Metabolites can act as signal molecules that regulate the functions of genes and proteins, reflecting the status of these environments. This review discusses the metabolism and regulatory functions of -acetylserine (OAS), -adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), homocysteine (Hcy), and serine (Ser), which are key metabolites related to sulfur (S)-containing amino acids in plant metabolic networks, in comparison to microbial and animal metabolism.

Na/Ca exchanger mediates cold Ca signaling conserved for temperature-compensated circadian rhythms.

Circadian rhythms are based on biochemical oscillations generated by clock genes/proteins, which independently evolved in animals, fungi, plants, and cyanobacteria. Temperature compensation of the oscillation speed is a common feature of the circadian clocks, but the evolutionary-conserved mechanism has been unclear. Here, we show that Na/Ca exchanger (NCX) mediates cold-responsive Ca signaling important for the temperature-compensated oscillation in mammalian cells.

Diversity of Chemical Structures and Biosynthesis of Polyphenols in Nut-Bearing Species.

Nuts, such as peanut, almond, and chestnut, are valuable food crops for humans being important sources of fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and polyphenols. Polyphenols, such as flavonoids, stilbenoids, and hydroxycinnamates, represent a group of plant-specialized (secondary) metabolites which are characterized as health-beneficial antioxidants within the human diet as well as physiological stress protectants within the plant. In food chemistry research, a multitude of polyphenols contained in culinary nuts have been studied leading to the identification of their chemical properties and bioactivities.

Cross-Species Metabolic Profiling of Floral Specialized Metabolism Facilitates Understanding of Evolutional Aspects of Metabolism Among Brassicaceae Species.

Plants produce a variety of floral specialized (secondary) metabolites with roles in several physiological functions, including light-protection, attraction of pollinators, and protection against herbivores. Pigments and volatiles synthesized in the petal have been focused on and characterized as major chemical factors influencing pollination. Recent advances in plant metabolomics have revealed that the major floral specialized metabolites found in land plant species are hydroxycinnamates, phenolamides, and flavonoids albeit these are present in various quantities and encompass diverse chemical structures in different species.

miR-26a attenuates colitis and colitis-associated cancer by targeting the multiple intestinal inflammatory pathways.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at increased risk for colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). Therefore, controlling intestinal inflammation is a key therapeutic strategy for CAC. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are a family of small noncoding RNAs that have the capacity to regulate fundamental biological processes.

Natural Variation among Arabidopsis Accessions in the Regulation of Flavonoid Metabolism and Stress Gene Expression by Combined UV Radiation and Cold.

Plants are constantly exposed to stressful environmental conditions. Plant stress reactions were mainly investigated for single stress factors. However, under natural conditions plants may be simultaneously exposed to different stresses.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy confers metabolic improvements by reducing intestinal bile acids and lipid absorption in mice.

Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG) is one of the most effective and durable therapies for morbid obesity and its related complications. Although bile acids (BAs) have been implicated as downstream mediators of VSG, the specific mechanisms through which BA changes contribute to the metabolic effects of VSG remain poorly understood. Here, we confirm that high fat diet-fed global farnesoid X receptor () knockout mice are resistant to the beneficial metabolic effects of VSG.

Evolutionary diversification of taiwanioid conifers: evidence from a new Upper Cretaceous seed cone from Hokkaido, Japan.

A single cylindrical seed cone 2 cm long, 1.1 cm wide has been found preserved in a calcium carbonate marine concretion from the Hakobuchi Formation (late Campanian-early Maastrichtian) of Hobetsu, Hokkaido, Japan. The cone, attached to a bent peduncle lacking leaves, has helically arranged bract/scale complexes that arise at right angles from the cone axis in the middle of the cone.

Co-Regulation of Clustered and Neo-Functionalized Genes in Plant-Specialized Metabolism.

Current findings of neighboring genes involved in plant specialized metabolism provide the genomic signatures of metabolic evolution. Two such genomic features, namely, (i) metabolic gene cluster and (ii) neo-functionalization of tandem gene duplications, represent key factors corresponding to the creation of metabolic diversity of plant specialized metabolism. So far, several terpenoid and alkaloid biosynthetic genes have been characterized with gene clusters in some plants.

Diversity of anthocyanin and proanthocyanin biosynthesis in land plants.

Anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins are among the most numerous and widely distributed pigments in land plants. Given that these pigments are the valuable compounds, as stress protectants and health-promoting components because of their potent antioxidant activity, several metabolic engineering approaches focusing on these compounds have been attempted. Currently, the difference in biological functions between flavonoid decorations is focused, because some aglycone decorations were found to be key factors rendering physiological functions against environmental stresses.

Exploiting Natural Variation in Tomato to Define Pathway Structure and Metabolic Regulation of Fruit Polyphenolics in the Lycopersicum Complex.

While the structures of plant primary metabolic pathways are generally well defined and highly conserved across species, those defining specialized metabolism are less well characterized and more highly variable across species. In this study, we investigated polyphenolic metabolism in the lycopersicum complex by characterizing the underlying biosynthetic and decorative reactions that constitute the metabolic network of polyphenols across eight different species of tomato. For this purpose, GC-MS- and LC-MS-based metabolomics of different tissues of Solanum lycopersicum and wild tomato species were carried out, in concert with the evaluation of cross-hybridized microarray data for MapMan-based transcriptomic analysis, and publicly available RNA-sequencing data for annotation of biosynthetic genes.

Trehalose metabolism confers developmental robustness and stability in Drosophila by regulating glucose homeostasis.

Organisms have evolved molecular mechanisms to ensure consistent and invariant phenotypes in the face of environmental fluctuations. Developmental homeostasis is determined by two factors: robustness, which buffers against environmental variations; and developmental stability, which buffers against intrinsic random variations. However, our understanding of these noise-buffering mechanisms remains incomplete.

Dataset on the effect of knockout of KLK8 in social memory.

The data presented in this article have been produced as supporting data of the original research article titled "Impaired social discrimination behavior despite normal social approach by kallikrein-related peptidase 8 knockout mouse" (Nakazawa et al., 2019). Sociability and recognition of conspecifics and discrimination among conspecifics (social memory) is fundamental for pair bonding, to create social hierarchy, and eventually establish affiliated societies in social animals, including humans.

Dual Mechanisms of Action of Self-Delivering, Anti-HIV-1 FANA Oligonucleotides as a Potential New Approach to HIV Therapy.

Currently, the most effective and durable therapeutic option for HIV-1 infection is combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Although cART is powerful and can delay viral evolution of drug resistance for decades, it is associated with limitations, including an inability to eradicate the virus and a potential for adverse effects. Therefore, it is imperative to discover new HIV therapeutic modalities.

Impaired social discrimination behavior despite normal social approach by kallikrein-related peptidase 8 knockout mouse.

For social mammals, recognition of conspecifics and discrimination of each other (social memory) is crucial to living in a stable colony. Here, we investigated whether kallikrein-related peptidase 8 (KLK8)-neuregulin 1 (NRG1)-ErbB signaling is crucial for social discrimination behavior using the social discrimination three chamber behavioral test. Klk8 knockout mice (NRG1-deactivated mice) exhibited normal social approach but impaired social discrimination.

The role of glycogen in development and adult fitness in .

The polysaccharide glycogen is an evolutionarily conserved storage form of glucose. However, the physiological significance of glycogen metabolism on homeostatic control throughout the animal life cycle remains incomplete. Here, we describe mutants that have defective glycogen metabolism.

Induced cell fate transitions at multiple cell layers configure haustorium development in parasitic plants.

The haustorium in parasitic plants is an organ specialized for invasion and nutrient uptake from host plant tissues. Despite its importance, the developmental processes of haustoria are mostly unknown. To understand the dynamics of cell fate change and cellular lineage during haustorium development, we performed live imaging-based marker expression analysis and cell-lineage tracing during haustorium formation in the model facultative root parasite Our live-imaging analysis revealed that haustorium formation was associated with induction of simultaneous cell division in multiple cellular layers, such as epidermis, cortex and endodermis.

Correction: In vitro selection of electrochemical peptide probes using bioorthogonal tRNA for influenza virus detection.

Correction for 'In vitro selection of electrochemical peptide probes using bioorthogonal tRNA for influenza virus detection' by Tara Bahadur K. C. et al.

Intracellular free flavin and its associated enzymes participate in oxygen and iron metabolism in lacking a respiratory chain.

is a recently identified bacterium which grows well under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions and may prove useful for biomass utilization. despite lacking a respiratory chain, consumes oxygen at a similar rate to (130-140 μmol oxygen·min·g dry cells at 37 °C), suggesting that it has an alternative system that uses a large amount of oxygen. NADH oxidase (Nox) was previously reported to rapidly reduce molecular oxygen content in the presence of exogenously added free flavin.