Differential distribution of PINK1 and Parkin in the primate brain implies distinct roles

The vast majority of in vitro studies have demonstrated that PINK1 phosphorylates Parkin to work together in mitophagy to protect against neuronal degeneration.However,it remains largely unclear how PINK1 and Parkin are expressed in mammalian brains.This has been difficult to address because of the intrinsically low levels of PINK1 and undetectable levels of phosphorylated Parkin in small animals.Understanding this issue is critical for elucidating the in vivo roles of PINK1 and Parkin.Recently,we showed that the PINK1 kinase is selectively expressed as a truncated form(PINK1–55)in the primate brain.In the present study,we used multiple antibodies,including our recently developed monoclonal anti-PINK1,to validate the selective expression of PINK1 in the primate brain.We found that PINK1 was stably expressed in the monkey brain at postnatal and adulthood stages,which is consistent with the findings that depleting PINK1 can cause neuronal loss in developing and adult monkey brains.PINK1 was enriched in the membrane-bound fractionations,whereas Parkin was soluble with a distinguishable distribution.Immunofluorescent double staining experiments showed that PINK1 and Parkin did not colocalize under physiological conditions in cultured monkey astrocytes,though they did colocalize on mitochondria when the cells were exposed to mitochondrial stress.These findings suggest that PINK1 and Parkin may have distinct roles beyond their well-known function in mitophagy during mitochondrial damage.

Global analysis of lysine succinylation in patchouli plant leaves

Lysine succinylation is a novel,naturally occurring posttranslational modification(PTM)in living organisms.Global lysine succinylation identification has been performed at the proteomic level in various species;however,the study of lysine succinylation in plant species is relatively limited.Patchouli plant(P.cablin(Blanco)Benth.,Lamiaceae)is a globally important industrial plant and medicinal herb.In the present study,lysine succinylome analysis was carried out in patchouli plants to determine the potential regulatory role of lysine succinylation in patchouli growth,development,and physiology.The global succinylation sites and proteins in patchouli plants were screened with an immunoprecipitation affinity enrichment technique and advanced mass spectrometry-based proteomics.Several bioinformatic analyses,such as function classification and enrichment,subcellular location predication,metabolic pathway enrichment and protein−protein interaction networking,were conducted to characterize the functions of the identified sites and proteins.In total,1097 succinylation sites in 493 proteins were detected in patchouli plants,among which 466 succinylation sites in 241 proteins were repeatedly identified within three independent experiments.The functional characterization of these proteins indicated that the tricarboxylic acid(TCA)cycle,oxidative phosphorylation,photosynthesis processes,and amino acid biosynthesis may be regulated by lysine succinylation.In addition,these succinylated proteins showed a wide subcellular location distribution,although the chloroplast and cytoplasm were the top two preferred cellular components.Our study suggested the important role of lysine succinylation in patchouli plant physiology and biology and could serve as a useful reference for succinylation studies in other medicinal plants.

A Cross-Seasonal Linkage between Arctic Sea Ice and Eurasian Summertime Temperature Fluctuations

This study explores the linkage between summertime temperature fluctuations over midlatitude Eurasia and the preceding Arctic sea ice concentration (SIC) by utilizing the squared norm of the temperature anomaly, the essential part of local eddy available potential energy, as a metric to quantify the temperature fluctuations with weather patterns on various timescales. By comparing groups of singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis, we suggest a significant linkage between strong (weak) August 10-to-30-day temperature fluctuations over mid-west Asia and enhanced (decreased) Barents-Kara Sea ice in the previous February. We find that when the February SIC increases in the Barents-Kara Sea, a zonal dipolar pattern of SST anomalies appears in the Atlantic subpolar region and lasts from February into the summer months. Evidence suggests that in such a background state, the atmospheric circulation changes evidently from July to August, so that the August is characterized by an amplified meridional circulation over Eurasia, weakened westerlies, and high- pressure anomalies along the Arctic coast. Moreover, the 10-to-30-day wave becomes more active in the North Atlantic-Barents-Kara Sea-Central Asia regions and manifests a more evident southward propagation from the Barents- Kara Sea into the Ural region, which is responsible for the enhanced 10-to-30-day wave activity and temperature fluctuations in the region.

Growth Performance of Cypress (Cupressus funebris) Trees in Progeny Test Plantations

Based on the 6-year-old young forests of 40 cypress(Cupressus funebris) families from four provenances(Fengdu County, Youyang County and Zhong County of Chongqing City, and Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang Province), differences in growth traits between families and provenances were studied to select excellent families, so as to provide necessary data support for the upgrading of cypress seed gardens and inferior thinning of seed gardens. The results showed that there were significant differences in tree height, diameter at one meter height, crown width and growth potential between families and provenances. The coefficients of variation among families were 10.25%, 7.19%, 5.91% and 0.98%, respectively, and the coefficients of variation in tree height and diameter at one meter height among provenances were 7.25% and 12.58%, respectively, indicating that the tree height and diameter at one meter height of the superior cypress tree families were rich in variation among families and provenances, and there was potential for high-generation breeding. According to the selection rate of 15%, six excellent families for afforestation(Feng 8, Shi 4, Feng 1, Ye 14, Shi 3, and Ye 6) were screened. The average diameter at one meter height, tree height and crown width of the six excellent families were, respectively, 2.97 cm, 3.39 and 0.78 m, which were 18.82%, 12.70% and 15.42% higher than the family average, respectively, and 15.09%, 9.79% and 15.53% higher than the control group, respectively.

Using CO_(2)and oxidants for in situ regeneration of permeable reactive barriers for leachate-contaminated groundwater

Groundwater contamination near landfills is commonly caused by leachate leakage,and permeable reactive barriers(PRBs)are widely used for groundwater remediation.However,the deactivation and blockage of the reactive medium in PRBs limit their long-term effectiveness.In the current study,a new methodology was proposed for the in situ regeneration of PRB to remediate leachate-contaminated groundwater.CO_(2)coupled with oxidants was applied for the dispersion and regeneration of the fillers;by injecting CO_(2)to disperse the fillers,the permeability of the PRB was increased and the oxidants could flow evenly into the PRB.The results indicate that the optimumfiller proportion was zero-valent iron(ZVI)/zeolites/activated carbon(AC)=3:8:10 and the optimum oxidant proportion was COD/Na_(2)S_(2)O_(8)/H_(2)O_(2)/Fe^(2+)=1:5:6:5;the oxidation system of Fe^(2+)/H_(2)O_(2)/S_(2)O_(8)^(2−)has a high oxidation efficiency and persistence.The average regeneration rate of zeolites was 72.71%,and the average regeneration rate of AC was 68.40%;the permeability of PRB also increased.This technology is effective for the remediation of landfills in China that have large contaminated areas,an uneven pollutant concentration distribution,and a long pollution duration.The purification mode of long-term adsorption and short-time in situ oxidation can be applied to the remediation of long-term high-concentration organically polluted groundwater,where pollution sources are difficult to cut off.

Modulating selective interaction of NiOOH with Mg ions for high-performance aqueous batteries

Aqueous Mg-ion batteries(AMIBs)featuring advantages of good safety,low cost,and high specific energy have been recognized as a promising energy-storage technology.However,the performance of AMIBs is consistently limited by sluggish diffusion kinetics and structural degradation of cathode materials arising from the strong electrostatic interactions between high-charge-density Mg2+and host materials.Here,layered-structured NiOOH,as traditional cathodes for alkaline batteries,is initially demonstrated to realize proton-assisted Mg-(de)intercalation chemistry with a high discharge platform(0.57V)in neutral aqueous electrolytes.Benefiting from the unique core/shell structure,the resulting NiOOH/CNT cathodes achieve a high capacity of 122.5 mAh g−1 and long cycle stability.Further theoretical calculations reveal that the binding energy of hydrated Mg2+is higher than that of Mg2+with NiOOH,resulting in that Mg2+is easily intercalated/de-intercalated into/from NiOOH.Benefiting from the freestanding design,the assembled fiber-shaped“rocking-chair”NaTi2(PO4)3//NiOOH AMIB shows a high energy density and satisfactory mechanical flexibility,which could be woven into a commercial fabric and power for fiber-shaped photoelectric sensors.

PINK1 kinase dysfunction triggers neurodegeneration in the primate brain without impacting mitochondrial homeostasis

In vitro studies have established the prevalent theory that the mitochondrial kinase PINK1 protects neurodegeneration by removing damaged mitochondria in Parkinson's disease(PD).However,difficulty in detecting endogenous PINK1 protein in rodent brains and cell lines has prevented the rigorous investigation of the in vivo role of PINK1.Here we report that PINK1 kinase form is selectively expressed in the human and monkey brains.CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deficiency of PINK1 causes similar neurodegeneration in the brains of fetal and adult monkeys as well as cultured monkey neurons without affecting mitochondrial protein expression and morphology.Importantly,PINK1 mutations in the primate brain and human cells reduce protein phosphorylation that is important for neuronal function and survival.Our findings suggest that PINK1 kinase activity rather than its mitochondrial function is essential for the neuronal survival in the primate brains and that its kinase dysfunction could be involved in the pathogenesis of PD.

New molecular method to detect denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation bacteria from different environmental niches

The denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation is an ecologically important process for reducing the potential methane emission into the atmosphere.The responsible bacterium for this process was Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera belonging to the bacterial phylum of NC10.In this study,a new pair of primers targeting all the five groups of NC10 bacteria was designed to amplify NC10 bacteria from different environmental niches.The results showed that the group A was the dominant NC10 phylum bacteria from the sludges and food waste digestate while in paddy soil samples,group A and group B had nearly the same proportion.Our results also indicated that NC10 bacteria could exist in a high p H environment（pH 9.24）from the food waste treatment facility.The Pearson relationship analysis showed that the p H had a significant positive relationship with the NC10 bacterial diversity（p0.05）.The redundancy analysis further revealed that the p H,volatile solid and nitrite nitrogen were the most important factors in shaping the NC10 bacterial structure（p=0.01）based on the variation inflation factors selection and Monte Carlo test（999 times）.Results of this study extended the existing molecular tools for studying the NC10 bacterial community structures and provided new information on the ecological distributions of NC10 bacteria.

Distribution of aromatic amines,phenols,chlorobenzenes,and naphthalenes in the surface sediment of the Dianchi Lake,China

Organic pollutants are widespread environmental pollutants with high toxicity,persistence,and bioaccumulation.Our aim was to investigate the distribution of aromatic amines,phenols,chlorobenzenes,and naphthalenes in the surface sediment of the Dianchi Lake,China.Nineteen surface sediment samples were collected from the Dianchi Lake,and 40 types of organic pollutants were analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.The total organic pollutant concentrations in the surface sediment of the Dianchi Lake varied from 27.4 to 1.62×10^3 ng/g.The concentrations of phenols were much higher than those in other water bodies but still within a controllable range,whereas the concentrations of the other organic pollutant classes were similar or even lower.The detection ratio of 3-or 4-methylphenol was the highest(100.00%)among the pollutants.The average total organic pollutant concentrations decreased in the following order:Caohai(540 ng/g)>the middle of Waihai(488 ng/g)>the edge of Waihai(351 ng/g)>Haigeng Dam(90.4 ng/g).Pearson analysis showed a strong correlation among 1-methylnaphthalene,2-methylnaphthalene,1,3-dinitronaphthalene,and 1,4-dinitronaphthalene(P<0.01).Caohai,the north lakeshore of Waihai and the south of Waihai showed higher risk because of high concentration;meanwhile,1,4-dichlorobenzene,3-or 4-methylphenol and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene were mor e likely to cause risks.

A systematic survey of LU domain-containing proteins reveals a novel human gene,LY6A,which encodes the candidate ortholog of mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1 and is aberrantly expressed in pituitary tumors

The Ly-6 and uPAR(LU)domain-containing proteins represent a large family of cell-surface markers.In particular,mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1 is a widely used marker for various stem cells;however,its human ortholog is missing.In this study,based on a systematic survey and comparative genomic study of mouse and human LU domain-containing proteins,we identified a previously unannotated human gene encoding the candidate ortholog of mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1.This gene,hereby named LY6A,reversely overlaps with a lncRNA gene in the majority of exonic sequences.We found that LY6A is aberrantly expressed in pituitary tumors,but not in normal pituitary tissues,and may contribute to tumorigenesis.Similar to mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1,human LY6A is also upregulated by interferon,suggesting a conserved transcriptional regulatory mechanism between humans and mice.We cloned the full-length LY6A cDNA,whose encoded protein sequence,domain architecture,and exon‒intron structures are all well conserved with mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1.Ectopic expression of the LY6A protein in cells demonstrates that it acts the same as mouse Ly-6A/Sca-1 in their processing and glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchoring to the cell membrane.Collectively,these studies unveil a novel human gene encoding a candidate biomarker and provide an interesting model gene for studying gene regulatory and evolutionary mechanisms.

Recent progress of fiber-based transistors: materials, structures and applications

Wearable electronics on fibers or fabrics assembled with electronic functions provide a platform for sensors,displays,circuitry,and computation.These new conceptual devices are human-friendly and programmable,which makes them indis-pensable for modern electronics.Their unique properties such as being adaptable in daily life,as well as being lightweight and flexible,have enabled many promising applications in robotics,healthcare,and the Internet of Things(IoT).Transistors,one of the fundamental blocks in electronic systems,allow for signal processing and computing.Therefore,study leading to integration of transistors with fabrics has become intensive.Here,several aspects of fiber-based transistors are addressed,including materials,system structures,and their functional devices such as sensory,logical circuitry,memory devices as well as neuromorphic computation.Recently reported advances in development and challenges to realizing fully integrated electronic textile(e-textile)systems are also discussed.

Inactivating SARS-CoV-2 by electrochemical oxidation

Fully inactivating SARS-Co V-2, the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019, is of key importance for interrupting virus transmission but is currently performed by using biologically or environmentally hazardous disinfectants. Herein, we report an eco-friendly and efficient electrochemical strategy for inactivating the SARS-Co V-2 using in-situ formed nickel oxide hydroxide as anode catalyst and sodium carbonate as electrolyte. At a voltage of 5 V, the SARS-Co V-2 viruses can be rapidly inactivated with disinfection efficiency reaching 95% in only 30 s and 99.99% in 5 min. Mass spectrometry analysis and theoretical calculations indicate that the reactive oxygen species generated on the anode can oxidize the peptide chains and induce cleavage of the peptide backbone of the receptor binding domain of the SARS-Co V-2 spike glycoprotein, and thereby disables the virus. This strategy provides a sustainable and highly efficient approach for the disinfection of the SARS-CoV-2 viruliferous aerosols and wastewater.