Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021 Apr;23(15):9500-9511

Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.

Engineered heme enzymes such as myoglobin and cytochrome P450s metalloproteins are gaining widespread importance due to their efficiency in catalyzing non-natural reactions. In a recent strategy, the naturally occurring Fe metal in the heme unit was replaced with non-native metals such as Ir, Rh, Co, Cu, etc., and axial ligands to generate artificial metalloenzymes. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Apr 22. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Grupo de Estudos em Leishmanioses, Instituto René Rachou - Fiocruz Minas, Av. Augusto de Lima, Barro Preto, Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais, Brasil.

The transmission of pathogens that cause leishmaniases occurs by the bite of female sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in their vertebrate hosts, which makes the identification of their bloodmeal sources an important step for the control and epidemiology of these diseases. In Brazil, the state of Roraima has a great diversity of sand flies, vertebrate hosts, and protozoan Leishmania, but little is known about the host blood-feeding preferences of sand flies. Thus, we evaluated the bloodmeal sources of sand flies collected from their sylvatic habitats in Parque Nacional do Viruá, Roraima. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Apr;118(17)

Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115;

Many small proteins move across cellular compartments through narrow pores. In order to thread a protein through a constriction, free energy must be overcome to either deform or completely unfold the protein. In principle, the diameter of the pore, along with the effective driving force for unfolding the protein, as well as its barrier to translocation, should be critical factors that govern whether the process proceeds via squeezing, unfolding/threading, or both. Read More

G3 (Bethesda) 2019 Jul;9(7):2225-2234

Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, FI-331014, University of Tampere, Finland.

Drosophila melanogaster, like most animal species, displays considerable genetic variation in both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Here we tested whether any of four natural mtDNA variants was able to modify the effect of the phenotypically mild, nuclear tko25t mutation, affecting mitochondrial protein synthesis. When combined with tko25t, the mtDNA from wild strain KSA2 produced pupal lethality, accompanied by the presence of melanotic nodules in L3 larvae. Read More

GM Crops Food 2021 Apr 20:1-13. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

College of Economics and Management, Kunming University, Kunming China.

The cytochrome P450 (CYP) is a large and complex eukaryotic gene superfamily with enzymatic activities involved in several physiological and regulatory processes. As an objective, an genome-wide DNA methylation (5mC) analysis was performed in rice ( cv. Zhonghua11), and the epigenetic role of CYPs in two abiotic stresses was observed. Read More

Parasit Vectors 2021 Apr 19;14(1):204. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Basic Medicine, School of Medicine, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, Xinjiang, Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Background: Previously, twelve Rickettsia species were identified in ticks, fleas, sheep keds (Melophagus ovinus), bats (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) and a tick-bitten patient in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwestern China. Here we aimed to molecularly detect rickettsial agents in red fox (Vulpes vulpes), marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna) and their ticks.

Methods: During 2018-2019, 12 red foxes, one marbled polecat and their ticks were sampled in two counties and a city of the XUAR. Read More

Parasitol Int 2021 Apr 16:102351. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemical Disease and Infectious Zoonoses, Ministry of Agriculture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. Electronic address:

Babesia microti is one of the most important pathogens causing humans and rodents babesiosis-an emerging tick-borne disease that occurs worldwide. At present, the gold standard for the detection of Babesia is the microscopic examination of blood smears, but this diagnostic test has several limitations. The recombinase polymerase amplification with lateral flow (LF-RPA) assay targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (cox I) gene of B. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 31;12:676617. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020. Read More

Methods Enzymol 2021 19;650:119-157. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States. Electronic address:

Recent work has revealed that certain lanthanides-in particular, the more earth-abundant, lighter lanthanides-play essential roles in pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) dependent alcohol dehydrogenases from methylotrophic and non-methylotrophic bacteria. More recently, efforts of several laboratories have begun to identify the molecular players (the lanthanome) involved in selective uptake, recognition, and utilization of lanthanides within the cell. In this chapter, we present protocols for the heterologous expression in Escherichia coli, purification, and characterization of many of the currently known proteins that comprise the lanthanome of the model facultative methylotroph, Methylorubrum extorquens AM1. Read More

Environ Pollut 2021 Apr 12;283:117128. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Pesticide Science, College of Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China; State & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Green Pesticide Invention and Application, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China. Electronic address:

Fomesafen (FSA) is widely used in soybean fields for weed control. However, the persisting characteristics of FSA in the agricultural soil or water may become a hidden danger causing environmental pollution and phytotoxicity to succession crops. In this study, the growth and physiological responses of rice to FSA were investigated. Read More

Nutr Cancer 2021 Apr 16:1-12. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Lung Cancer Center, Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.

Trilobatin is a common type of flavonoids compounds derived from Rehd leaves. Previous report suggests that trilobatin was potentially involved in pro-and anticancer, antioxidative and anti-hyperglycemic activities. Here, we investigated the anticancer efficiency of trilobatin on gefitinib resistant lung cancer cells. Read More

Acta Parasitol 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Laboratory of Genome Organization, Institute of Gene Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.

Introduction: The cercariae of avian blood flukes Trichobilharzia szidati (Digenea, Schistosomatidae) are known to cause cercarial allergic dermatitis ("swimmer's itch") in humans. Global epidemics can have significant impacts on local tourism-related economies in recreational areas. Little is known about the genetic polymorphism of the parasite population, or about the variability of the non-coding regions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the possibility of using this as a genetic marker. Read More

Anal Bioanal Chem 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Departament d'Enginyeria Química, Biològica i Ambiental, Escola d'Enginyeria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.

The massive use of pesticides represents one of the main causes of environmental deterioration, as they have adverse effects on non-target organisms. Thus, the development of technologies capable of reducing their release into the environment is urgently needed. This study reports for the first time the white-rot fungus Trametes versicolor as an alternative towards the degradation of medium to highly polar pesticides such as the organophosphate malathion, and the neonicotinoids acetamiprid and imidacloprid. Read More

J Nematol 2021 17;53. Epub 2021 Feb 17.

Department of Biology, Angelo State University, 2601 W. Ave N, San Angelo, Texas, 76909.

Carnivores in the families Mustelidae and Mephitidae are essential hosts for the cranial roundworm genus . A high prevalence of has been observed in the striped skunk, . Genetic barcoding studies of other nematodes have successfully used the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gene to analyze genetic variation and divergence. Read More

J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl) 2021 Apr 14. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.

Dairy cattle are predisposed to disease around the time of calving due to dysfunctional inflammatory responses. Oxylipids are lipid-derived mediators that regulate all aspects of the inflammatory response, and shifts in oxylipid profiles are correlated with disease risk. For example, 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HETE) is an oxylipid derived from cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP450) found at significantly greater concentrations around calving and during clinical disease. Read More

Zookeys 2021 26;1026:179-192. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), Southwest University School of Life Sciences, Chongqing 400715, China Southwest University Chongqing China.

We describe a new species of cave-dwelling loach, , based on specimens collected in a subterranean pool in a cave in Wulong County, Chongqing, Southwest China. The pool is connected to the Wujiang River drainage. differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: eyes present, caudal fin with 18 branched rays; posterior chamber of the air bladder degenerate; stomach U-shaped; intestine without bends or loops immediately posterior to stomach; body smooth and scaleless, and lateral line complete. Read More

Eur J Med Chem 2021 Apr 3;219:113427. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Chemical Biology Program, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, TX, 77555, United States; Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, TX, 77555, United States. Electronic address:

To further pursue potent Bax activators with better safety profiles for the treatment of breast cancer, structural optimization was conducted based on lead compound CYD-4-61 through several strategies, including scaffold hopping on the 2-nitro-fluorene ring, replacement of the nitro group with bioisosteres to avoid potential toxicity, and further optimization on the upper pyridine by exploring diverse alkylamine linkers as a tail or replacing the pyridine with bioisosteric heterocycles. F-containing compound 22d (GL0388) exhibited a good balance between the activity and toxicity, displaying submicromolar activities against a variety of cancer cell lines with 5.8-10. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

3Center for Nanoscience and Molecular Medicine, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Amrita University, Cochin, Kerala 682041, India.

We tried to determine the epidemiology and species of human dirofilariasis observed at two tertiary care hospitals in Kerala. We searched the hospital database to identify cases of dirofilariosis from January 2005 to March 2020. Along with human isolates, one dog Dirofilaria isolate was also subjected to PCR and sequencing of pan filarial primers cytochrome oxidase subunits 1 and 12S rDNA. Read More

Food Sci Nutr 2021 Apr 2;9(4):1860-1869. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

Zanyu Technology Qingshan Lake Science and Technology City Hangzhou China.

Limonin is an important bioactive substance in citrus fruits, especially in seeds, which has great potential in cancer prevention and treatment. In order to explore the anticancer activity based on interaction between limonin and NQO1, Human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) were studied in vitro. We found that limonin could inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis of HL-60 cells, and the effect was positively correlated with its dosage. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 25;12:634018. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI), School of Agriculture and Environment, University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth, WA, Australia.

Dinitroanilines are microtubule inhibitors, targeting tubulin proteins in plants and protists. Dinitroaniline herbicides, such as trifluralin, pendimethalin and oryzalin, have been used as pre-emergence herbicides for weed control for decades. With widespread resistance to post-emergence herbicides in weeds, the use of pre-emergence herbicides such as dinitroanilines has increased, in part, due to relatively slow evolution of resistance in weeds to these herbicides. Read More

Chemosphere 2021 Apr 1;278:130460. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China. Electronic address:

The autotrophic iron-depended denitrification (AIDD), triggered by microelectrolysis, was established in the microelectrolysis-assistant up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (MEA-UASB) with the purpose of low-strength coal gasification wastewater (LSCGW) treatment while control UASB operated in parallel. The results revealed that chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency and total nitrogen (TN) removal load at optimum current (2.5 A/m) in MEA-UASB (83. Read More

Mol Immunol 2021 Apr 7;135:1-11. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada; New Brunswick Center for Precision Medicine, Moncton, NB, Canada. Electronic address:

Neutrophils play a key role in the innate immunity with their ability to generate and release inflammatory mediators that promote the inflammatory response and consequently restore the hemostasis. As active participants in several steps of the normal inflammatory response, neutrophils are also involved in chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma, atherosclerosis, and arthritis. Given their dual role in the modulation of inflammation, regulating the inflammatory response of neutrophils has been suggested as an important therapeutic approach by numerous researchers. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Mar;118(11)

MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824;

Cyanobacteria must prevent imbalances between absorbed light energy (source) and the metabolic capacity (sink) to utilize it to protect their photosynthetic apparatus against damage. A number of photoprotective mechanisms assist in dissipating excess absorbed energy, including respiratory terminal oxidases and flavodiiron proteins, but inherently reduce photosynthetic efficiency. Recently, it has been hypothesized that some engineered metabolic pathways may improve photosynthetic performance by correcting source/sink imbalances. Read More

J Exp Bot 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Maize Research Institute, State Cultivation Base of Crop Stress Biology for Southern Mountainous Land, Southwest University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China, Chongqing, China.

Leaf angle (LA) and leaf orientation value (LOV) are critical agronomic traits for maize plant architecture. Many genes related to plant architecture have been identified in maize, but the functions of NF-Y members in regulating plant architecture have not been reported before. Here, we identified a regulator of maize plant architecture, ZmNF-YC13. Read More

J Nematol 2020 12;52. Epub 2020 Aug 12.

Professor and Research Scientist, respectively School of Plant and Environmental Science, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061.

Females, males, and second-stage juveniles of were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. The morphology of . was typical for species of the genus in general, but differed in several characters, appearing to be in a more primitive state. Read More

Front Microbiol 2021 22;12:611739. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.

It has been suggested that a few methanogens are capable of extracellular electron transfers. For instance, can directly capture electrons from the coexisting microbial cells of other species. and retrieve electrons from direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). Read More

J Hazard Mater 2021 Mar 26;416:125764. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Pesticide Science, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, State & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Green Pesticide Invention and Application, Nanjing 210095, China. Electronic address:

Cyproconazole (CPZ), representing the chiral triazole fungicides, is widely used in the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields. To clarify its potential adverse effects on the generalized CYP-mediated processes within mammalian, a comparative experimental and computational approach was employed to investigate the CYP-mediated metabolism processes of CPZ stereoisomers in rat liver microsomes (RLMs). The depletion rate of CPZ stereoisomers in vitro incubation system with RLMs followed the order RR-> SS-> SR-> RS-CPZ. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Apr 2. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.

Cimex lectularius L. populations have been documented worldwide to be resistant to pyrethroids and neonicotinoids, insecticides that have been widely used to control bed bugs. There is an urgent need to discover new active ingredients with different modes of action to control bed bug populations. Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2021 Aug 24;595:118-128. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials and State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; School of Material Science and Engineering, Tiangong University, Tianjin 300387, China. Electronic address:

Protein-imprinted polymers are artificial receptors capable of recognizing protein. They are highly promising for applications in important bio-related areas, however, their development was severely retarded by two problems: difficult template removal and low imprinting efficiency. The two problems could be overcome by constructing shape-memorable imprinted cavities using peptide crosslinker. Read More

Anal Chem 2021 Apr 5;93(15):6003-6007. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Department of Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 China.

Electrospray ionization (ESI) has become a powerful tool for the analysis of biomolecules by mass spectrometry (MS). The process of ESI is difficult to control, and side reactions such as electrochemical reactions can occur during the ESI process because of the high voltages applied. Herein, a novel on-demand MS analysis method was developed based on discontinuous ion injection-induced ESI on a miniature MS system. Read More