Tetracycline repressor(TetR)family regulators(TFRs)are the largest group of DNA-binding transcription factors and are widely distributed in bacteria and archaea.TFRs play vital roles in controlling the expression of v...Tetracycline repressor(TetR)family regulators(TFRs)are the largest group of DNA-binding transcription factors and are widely distributed in bacteria and archaea.TFRs play vital roles in controlling the expression of various genes and regulating diverse physiological processes.Recently,a TFR protein Pseudomonas virulence regulator A(PvrA),was identified from Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the transcriptional activator of genes involved in fatty acid utilization and bacterial virulence.Here,we show that PvrA can simultaneously bind to multiple pseudo-palindromic sites and upregulate the expression levels of target genes.Cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM)analysis indicates the simultaneous DNA recognition mechanism of PvrA and suggests that the bound DNA fragments consist of a distorted B-DNA double helix.The crystal structure and functional analysis of PvrA reveal a hinge region that secures the correct domain motion for recognition of the promiscuous promoter.Additionally,our results showed that mutations disrupting the regulatory hinge region have differential effects on biofilm formation and pyocyanin biosynthesis,resulting in attenuated bacterial virulence.Collectively,these findings will improve the understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of the TetR family and provide new insights into the mechanism of regulation of P.aeruginosa virulence.展开更多
A compact single-shot complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) spectral sensor for the visible range(wavelength 400–700 nm) is presented. The sensor consists of two-dimensional silicon nitride-based photonic cry...A compact single-shot complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) spectral sensor for the visible range(wavelength 400–700 nm) is presented. The sensor consists of two-dimensional silicon nitride-based photonic crystal(PC) slabs atop CMOS photodetectors. The PC slabs are fabricated using one-step lithography and amenable to monolithic integration into CMOS image sensors. Featuring a small footprint of 300 μm× 350 μm,the sensor can successfully measure the spectra over the 400–700 wavelength range with a best resolution of1 nm. The footprint of the sensor may be further reduced to enable hyperspectral imaging with high spatial resolution.展开更多
Optical devices are highly attractive for biosensing as they can not only enable quantitative measurements of analytes but also provide information on molecular structures.Unfortunately,typical refractive index-based ...Optical devices are highly attractive for biosensing as they can not only enable quantitative measurements of analytes but also provide information on molecular structures.Unfortunately,typical refractive index-based optical sensors do not have sufficient sensitivity to probe the binding of low-molecular-weight analytes.Non-optical devices such as field-effect transistors can be more sensitive but do not offer some of the significant features of optical devices,particularly molecular fingerprinting.We present optical conductivity-based mid-infrared(mid-IR)biosensors that allow for sensitive and quantitative measurements of low-molecular-weight analytes as well as the enhancement of spectral fingerprints.The sensors employ a hybrid metasurface consisting of monolayer graphene and metallic nano-antennas and combine individual advantages of plasmonic,electronic and spectroscopic approaches.First,the hybrid metasurface sensors can optically detect target molecule-induced carrier doping to graphene,allowing highly sensitive detection of low-molecular-weight analytes despite their small sizes.Second,the resonance shifts caused by changes in graphene optical conductivity is a well-defined function of graphene carrier density,thereby allowing for quantification of the binding of molecules.Third,the sensor performance is highly stable and consistent thanks to its insensitivity to graphene carrier mobility degradation.Finally,the sensors can also act as substrates for surfaceenhanced infrared spectroscopy.We demonstrated the measurement of monolayers of sub-nanometer-sized molecules or particles and affinity binding-based quantitative detection of glucose down to 200 pM(36 pg/mL).We also demonstrated enhanced fingerprinting of minute quantities of glucose and polymer molecules.展开更多
Immediately after the demonstration of the high-quality electronic properties in various two dimensional(2D)van der Waals(vdW)crystals fabricated with mechanical exfoliation,many methods have been reported to explore ...Immediately after the demonstration of the high-quality electronic properties in various two dimensional(2D)van der Waals(vdW)crystals fabricated with mechanical exfoliation,many methods have been reported to explore and control large scale fabrications.Comparing with recent advancements in fabricating 2D atomic layered crystals,large scale production of one dimensional(1D)nanowires with thickness approaching molecular or atomic level still remains stagnant.Here,we demonstrate the high yield production of a 1D vdW material,semiconducting Ta2Pd3Se8 nanowires,by means of liquid-phase exfoliation.The thinnest nanowire we have readily achieved is around 1 nm,corresponding to a bundle of one or two molecular ribbons.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and transport measurements reveal the as-fabricated Ta2Pd3Se8 nanowires exhibit unexpected high crystallinity and chemical stability.Our low-frequency Raman spectroscopy reveals clear evidence of the existing of weak inter-ribbon bindings.The fabricated nanowire transistors exhibit high switching performance and promising applications for photodetectors.展开更多
基金supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2022YFC2303700,2021YFA1301900)The National Natural Science Foundation of China(81871615,32222040,32070049)+1 种基金Tianjin Synthetic Biotechnology Innovation Capacity Improvement Action(TSBICIP-KJGG-008)supported in part by a Tibet Science Foundation grant(XZ202001ZY0036 N)to Yonghong Zhou。
文摘Tetracycline repressor(TetR)family regulators(TFRs)are the largest group of DNA-binding transcription factors and are widely distributed in bacteria and archaea.TFRs play vital roles in controlling the expression of various genes and regulating diverse physiological processes.Recently,a TFR protein Pseudomonas virulence regulator A(PvrA),was identified from Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the transcriptional activator of genes involved in fatty acid utilization and bacterial virulence.Here,we show that PvrA can simultaneously bind to multiple pseudo-palindromic sites and upregulate the expression levels of target genes.Cryo-electron microscopy(cryo-EM)analysis indicates the simultaneous DNA recognition mechanism of PvrA and suggests that the bound DNA fragments consist of a distorted B-DNA double helix.The crystal structure and functional analysis of PvrA reveal a hinge region that secures the correct domain motion for recognition of the promiscuous promoter.Additionally,our results showed that mutations disrupting the regulatory hinge region have differential effects on biofilm formation and pyocyanin biosynthesis,resulting in attenuated bacterial virulence.Collectively,these findings will improve the understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of the TetR family and provide new insights into the mechanism of regulation of P.aeruginosa virulence.
文摘A compact single-shot complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) spectral sensor for the visible range(wavelength 400–700 nm) is presented. The sensor consists of two-dimensional silicon nitride-based photonic crystal(PC) slabs atop CMOS photodetectors. The PC slabs are fabricated using one-step lithography and amenable to monolithic integration into CMOS image sensors. Featuring a small footprint of 300 μm× 350 μm,the sensor can successfully measure the spectra over the 400–700 wavelength range with a best resolution of1 nm. The footprint of the sensor may be further reduced to enable hyperspectral imaging with high spatial resolution.
基金supported by the National Science Foundation(grants no.ECCS-1509760 and ECCS-1307948)a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award(grant no.D15AP00111)+1 种基金the Air Force Office of Scientific Research(grants no.FA9550–14–1–0389 and FA9550–16–1–0322)Research was carried out in part at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials,Brookhaven National Laboratory,which is supported by the US Department of Energy,Office of Basic Energy Sciences(contract no.DE-SC0012704).
文摘Optical devices are highly attractive for biosensing as they can not only enable quantitative measurements of analytes but also provide information on molecular structures.Unfortunately,typical refractive index-based optical sensors do not have sufficient sensitivity to probe the binding of low-molecular-weight analytes.Non-optical devices such as field-effect transistors can be more sensitive but do not offer some of the significant features of optical devices,particularly molecular fingerprinting.We present optical conductivity-based mid-infrared(mid-IR)biosensors that allow for sensitive and quantitative measurements of low-molecular-weight analytes as well as the enhancement of spectral fingerprints.The sensors employ a hybrid metasurface consisting of monolayer graphene and metallic nano-antennas and combine individual advantages of plasmonic,electronic and spectroscopic approaches.First,the hybrid metasurface sensors can optically detect target molecule-induced carrier doping to graphene,allowing highly sensitive detection of low-molecular-weight analytes despite their small sizes.Second,the resonance shifts caused by changes in graphene optical conductivity is a well-defined function of graphene carrier density,thereby allowing for quantification of the binding of molecules.Third,the sensor performance is highly stable and consistent thanks to its insensitivity to graphene carrier mobility degradation.Finally,the sensors can also act as substrates for surfaceenhanced infrared spectroscopy.We demonstrated the measurement of monolayers of sub-nanometer-sized molecules or particles and affinity binding-based quantitative detection of glucose down to 200 pM(36 pg/mL).We also demonstrated enhanced fingerprinting of minute quantities of glucose and polymer molecules.
基金This work is supported by the United States Department of Energy under Grant DE-SC0014208by The National Science Foundation under Grant 1752997.We acknowledge the Coordinated Instrument Facility(CIF)of Tulane University for the support of various instruments.P.B.S.and L.Y.A.(theoretical calculations)were supported by the Russian Science Foundation(No.17-72-20223)+1 种基金We are grateful to the supercomputer cluster provided by the Materials Modelling and Development Laboratory at NUST“MISIS”(supported via the Grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No.14.Y26.31.0005)to the Joint Supercomputer Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
文摘Immediately after the demonstration of the high-quality electronic properties in various two dimensional(2D)van der Waals(vdW)crystals fabricated with mechanical exfoliation,many methods have been reported to explore and control large scale fabrications.Comparing with recent advancements in fabricating 2D atomic layered crystals,large scale production of one dimensional(1D)nanowires with thickness approaching molecular or atomic level still remains stagnant.Here,we demonstrate the high yield production of a 1D vdW material,semiconducting Ta2Pd3Se8 nanowires,by means of liquid-phase exfoliation.The thinnest nanowire we have readily achieved is around 1 nm,corresponding to a bundle of one or two molecular ribbons.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)and transport measurements reveal the as-fabricated Ta2Pd3Se8 nanowires exhibit unexpected high crystallinity and chemical stability.Our low-frequency Raman spectroscopy reveals clear evidence of the existing of weak inter-ribbon bindings.The fabricated nanowire transistors exhibit high switching performance and promising applications for photodetectors.
