On the Biological Regulators of Bloodsucking Blackflies(Diptear:Simuliidae)of Mixed Forests of Belorussian and Ukrainian Woodlands

This article considers the natural regulators of blood-sucking Simuliidae subzone of mixed forests on the territory of Belarus and Ukraine.In the mixed forests,the major regulators of preimaginal phases of bloodsucking blackflies are microsporidia(Polidyspirenia simulii,Polidyspirenia sp.,Thelohania fibrata,Amblyospora bracteata,A.varians),fungi and mermithides(Gastromermis boophthorae).Caddisfly larvae(Hydropsyche angustipennis,Neureclipsis bimaculata,Polycentropus flavomaculatus,Cyrnus flavidus,Oligostomis reticulata,Brachycentrus subnubilus and Rhyacophila nubila)and fishes(Scardinius erythrophthalmus,Rutilus rutilus,Carassius carassius,Gobio gobio)significantly reduce the number of blackflies larvae and pupae.Adult blackflies are eaten by spiders(Araneus diadematus)dragonflies,robberflies,wasps,frogs(Rana temporaria and Rana terrestris),and insectivorous birds(Delichon urbicum,Hirundo rustica,Apus apus).Bactolarvicid and BLP-2477 are among the most effective biological products.

Mechanical properties modulation and biological applications of DNA hydrogels

DNA hydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks constructed using DNA as the structural building block.Due to the tight binding between hydrophilic groups on DNA chains and water molecules,they exhibit outstanding plasticity and fluid thermodynamic properties,making them one of the best choices for mimicking natural biological tissues.By controlling the backbone building blocks,gelation conditions,and cross-linking methods of DNA hydrogels,hydrogels with different mechanical strengths can be obtained,thus expanding their applications in the field of biology.This review first introduces the relationship between the mechanical properties of DNA hydrogels and their structure,elucidates the approaches and strategies for mechanical property modulation,and focuses on the scheme of controllable design to modulate the mechanical properties of DNA hydrogels for applications in biosensing,cellular function regulation,and bone tissue engineering.Furthermore,this review outlines the future development directions and challenges faced in the mechanical property modulation of DNA hydrogels,providing useful information for the precise design of DNA hydrogels for biological research.

Advances in Biological Water-saving Research:Challenge and Perspectives

Increasing the efficiency of water use by crops continues to escalate as a topic of concem because drought is a restrictive environmental factor for crop productivity woridwide .Greater yield per unit rainfall is one of the most important challenges in water-saving agriculture Besides water-saving by irrigation engineering and conservation tillage, a good understanding of factors limiting and/or regulating yleld now provides us with an opportunity to identify and then precisely seiect for physiciogical and breeding traits that increase the efficiency of water use and drought tolerance under water-limited conditions, biological water-saving is one means of achieving this goal, A definition of bilogical water-saving measures is proposed which embraces improvements in water use efficiency （WUE） and drought tolerance, by genetic improvement and physiological regulation. The preponderance of bilogical water-saving measures is discussed and strategies identified for working within natural resource constraints. The technology and future perspectives of bilogical water saving could provide not only new water-saving techniques but also a scientific base for application of water-saving irrigation and conservation tillage.

Protein prenylation and human diseases: a balance of protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation

The protein prenylation is one of the essential post-translational protein modifications, which extensively exists in the eukaryocyte. It includes protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, using farnesyl pyrophosphate(FPP) or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate(GGPP) as the substrate, respectively. The prenylation occurs by covalent addition of these two types of isoprenoids to cysteine residues at or near the carboxyl terminus of the proteins that possess Caa X motif, such as Ras small GTPase family. The attachment of hydrophobic prenyl groups can anchor the proteins to intracellular membranes and trigger downstream cell signaling pathway. Geranylgeranyl biphosphate synthase(GGPPS) catalyzes the synthesis of 20-carbon GGPP from 15-carbon FPP. The abnormal expression of this enzyme will affect the relative content of FPP and GGPP, and thus disrupts the balance between protein farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, which participates into various aspects of cellular physiology and pathology. In this paper, we mainly review the property of this important protein post-translational modification and research progress in its regulation of cigarette smoke induced pulmonary disease, adipocyte insulin sensitivity, the inflammation response of Sertoli cells, the hepatic lipogenesis and the cardiac hypertrophy.