Search Results (382)

Industrial microorganisms have a wide range of applications in biomanufacturing, energy production, environmental protectionpharmaceutical development, etc. Synthetic biology has revolutionised the field of industrial microorganisms by designing, constructing and optimising biological systems. The aim of this study is to discuss the key technologies of synthetic biology in industrial microorganisms and their application prospects. Gene editing technology, one of the core tools of synthetic biology, enables researchers to precisely modify microbial genomes to optimise their metabolic pathways or introduce new functions. Metabolic engineering, as an important direction for the application of synthetic biology in industrial microorganisms, enables the efficient synthesis of target products by optimising and reconstructing the metabolic pathways of microorganisms. The development of high-throughput screening and automated platforms has enabled large-scale gene editing and metabolic engineering experiments. The application of synthetic genomics promises to develop microbes with highly customised functions. However, there are still many challenges in this field, and future research still requires interdisciplinary collaboration to drive the application of synthetic biology in industrial microorganisms to new heights. Full article

Background: Recent advances in antibody discovery technologies, especially progress in de novo synthesis through machine learning, have imposed a significant production challenge for the generation of a large diversity of antibodies against nearly any target of interest. There is a demand for the rapid production of dozens of purified antibodies in 10-milligram quantities sufficient for functional screening and molecular assessment studies. Objectives: To meet this requirement, a semi-automated production methodology and workflow was developed to bridge the miniaturized high-throughput screenings (HTSs) and the conventional custom-scale workflow by taking advantage of four new technology applications. Methods: First, it exploited a novel, simple, high-titer transient expression system, “CHO4Tx^®”, which could achieve high yields in the range of 200 mg/L and above, across a variety of antibody constructs, including challenging targets. The consistently high yields from this transient CHO platform enabled the delivery of ~20 mg of crude material per 100 mL scale flask production with a throughput capacity of nineteen constructs in a single run. Secondly, we established a magnetic ProA bead in-culture antibody-capturing process, which significantly shortened the production timeline by eliminating the steps of cell centrifugation, filtration, and medium column loading. Third, we utilized the GenScript AmMag™ SA Plus semi-automation, which could handle magnetic ProA bead elution for 12 constructs within less than 1 h. Lastly, we transformed the AKTA Pure^TM system into an automated buffer exchange purification system with a capacity of processing 19 samples in a single run. Results and Conclusions: This new production platform was proven to be robust and could be applied for the routine production of antibodies of sufficient quality and quantity in support of cell-based assays and biophysical characterization. Full article

Aptamers have many advantages, including facile synthesis and a high affinity and good selectivity toward their targets. Therefore, aptamer-based biosensors have become increasingly popular for the detection of different bioanalytical substances. Microchip-based analytical detection platforms offer significant advantages for the detection of different analytes, including their ease of operation, high throughput, cost-effectiveness, and high sensitivity. Aptamer-based signal amplification techniques have been combined with microchips to sensitively detect bioanalytical substances due to their stable reactions, easy operation, and specificity in biomedical science and environmental fields. This review summarizes representative articles about aptamer signal amplification strategies on microchips for the detection of bioanalytical substances, as well as their advantages and challenges for specific applications. We highlight the accomplishments and shortcomings of aptamer signal amplification strategies on microchips and discuss the direction of development and prospects of aptamer signal amplification strategies on microchips. Full article

(1) Background: Hepatitis E (HE) is a novel zoonotic disease caused by hepatitis E virus (HEV). In particular, swine hepatitis E virus (SHEV) genotype IV is one of the main genotypes that infect humans. Open reading frame 3 (ORF3) is an important virulence protein of SHEV, which is involved in virus assembly, release, and regulation of host cell signaling pathways. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), as a type of competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), have a closed-loop structure and are special non-coding RNA molecules. They participates in the regulation of multiple biological processes by adsorbing microRNAs (miRNAs). Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a component of the coenzyme of flavoenzymes in the body. When there is a deficiency of riboflavin, it will affect the biological oxidation process of the host, leading to metabolic disorders. In addition, riboflavin can also affect the synthesis, transportation and decomposition of lipids in the body. It mainly maintains the normal transportation process of fat in the liver. Therefore, the deficiency of riboflavin will lead to the disorder of lipid metabolism in the body. Thus, viral hepatitis is closely related to riboflavin metabolism. However, there are very few reports on SHEV ORF3 affecting the riboflavin metabolism of target cells and thereby influencing viral infection. Therefore, this study investigates this highly significant scientific issue. (2) Methods: In the previous research of our group, adenovirus was used to mediate the overexpression of SHEV ORF3 genotype IV in HepG2 cells. Total RNA was extracted for high-throughput sequencing of circRNAs and transcriptome. KEGG functional enrichment analysis was performed on the data to identify the differentially expressed circRNAs and miRNAs after SHEV infection, and the relevant circRNA-miRNA network in the riboflavin metabolism pathway in HepG2 cells was found. (3) Results: We identified 4 circRNAs in the riboflavin metabolism pathway of HepG2 cells expressing the ORF3 protein of SHEV genotype IV and successfully found 26 relevant circRNA-miRNA networks. (4) Conclusion: We successfully screened and identified circRNAs related to riboflavin metabolism, further identifying the circRNA-miRNA network and its functional targets. For the first time, we investigated the key mechanism by which ORF3 protein influences riboflavin metabolic pathways in target cells through circRNAs, preliminarily revealing that ariboflavinosis can lead to lipid metabolic disorder in the organism. This indicates a close association between viral HE and riboflavin metabolism. Full article

This study introduces the Double-Diamond Reactor (DDR), a novel planar passive microreactor designed to overcome the following conventional limitations: inefficient mass transfer, high flow resistance, and clogging. The DDR integrates splitting–turning–impinging (STI) hydrodynamic principles via CFD-guided optimization, generating chaotic advection to enhance mixing. Experimental evaluations using Villermaux–Dushman tests showed a segregation index ($X_s$) as low as 0.027 at 100 mL·min⁻¹, indicating near-perfect mixing. In BaSO₄ nanoparticle synthesis, the DDR achieved a 46% smaller average particle size (95 nm) and narrower distribution (${\sigma }_g=1.27$) compared to reference designs (AFR-1), while maintaining low pressure drops (<20 kPa at 60 mL·min⁻¹). The DDR’s superior performance stems from its hierarchical flow division and concave-induced vortices, which eliminate stagnant zones. This work demonstrates the DDR’s potential for high-throughput nanomaterial synthesis with precise control over particle characteristics, offering a scalable and energy-efficient solution for advanced chemical processes. Full article

The Luohe River boasts a profound historical heritage. Due to long-term impacts of human activities along its banks, significant variations in soil environmental conditions may exist across different land use types within the region. This study focused on four land use types (farmland, bamboo forest, grassland, and abandoned land) in Luoning County of the Luohe River Basin and employed high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the characteristics of soil microbial communities and differences in soil nutrients. The results showed the following: There were significant differences in soil nutrients and microbial diversity among different land use types. Specifically, the organic matter content in farmland was significantly higher than that in bamboo forests (p < 0.05), and the available phosphorus content in farmland was significantly higher than that in abandoned land (p < 0.05); the abandoned land had a significant advantage in alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium contents (p < 0.05) but the lowest soil water content (p < 0.05). Microbial diversity indices indicated that Pielou’s evenness index (Pieloue) in farmland was significantly higher than that in grassland. The bacterial community was dominated by Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. At the genus level, available potassium was the key factor affecting the top 20 dominant bacterial genera. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) showed that pH was the core environmental variable driving the variation of bacterial community structure. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that biosynthetic metabolism was the main pathway, and grassland exhibited outstanding performance in the secondary metabolite synthesis pathway. The results of this study fill the gap in soil microbial ecology research in this region and provide a theoretical basis for the sustainable utilization of land resources and agricultural ecological management in the Luohe River Basin. Full article

The exponential growth of AI applications has intensified the demand for efficient inference hardware capable of delivering low-latency, high-throughput, and energy-efficient performance. This study presents a systematic, empirical comparison of GPU- and NPU-based server platforms across key AI inference domains: text-to-text, text-to-image, multimodal understanding, and object detection. We configure representative models—LLama-family for text generation, Stable Diffusion variants for image synthesis, LLaVA-NeXT for multimodal tasks, and YOLO11 series for object detection—on a dual NVIDIA A100 GPU server and an eight-chip RBLN-CA12 NPU server. Performance metrics including latency, throughput, power consumption, and energy efficiency are measured under realistic workloads. Results demonstrate that NPUs match or exceed GPU throughput in many inference scenarios while consuming 35–70% less power. Moreover, optimization with the vLLM library on NPUs nearly doubles the tokens-per-second and yields a 92% increase in power efficiency. Our findings validate the potential of NPU-based inference architectures to reduce operational costs and energy footprints, offering a viable alternative to the prevailing GPU-dominated paradigm. Full article

Fragaria pentaphylla, a unique wild strawberry species in China, is rich in various fruit colors and a valuable resource for studying color genes. Fruits of different colors from F. pentaphylla were selected as the experimental material. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) were employed to identify key genes responsible for the development of different fruit colors. Metabolite analysis revealed that 3249 metabolites were detected, including nine differential metabolites related to anthocyanin synthesis and five biological pathways. Additionally, an analysis combining transcriptome and metabolome data showed that the structural genes FpDFR, FpCHS, FpCHI, and FpUFGT were upregulated in red fruit, with significantly higher expression levels compared to pink and white fruits, actively promoting anthocyanin production in red fruit. Conversely, genes FpANR and FpLAR were upregulated in white fruit, enhancing catechin synthesis and inhibiting anthocyanin formation. The gene FpPAL was upregulated in pink fruit. Transcription factors FpbHLH18, FpMYB1, FpMYB24, and FpMYB114 collaborate with structural genes to enhance the synthesis of anthocyanins in red fruit. The findings improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control anthocyanin production in F. pentaphylla. The identified key candidate genes may be utilized in the molecular breeding of strawberries. Full article

Nannochloropsis oceanica (Suda & Miyashita) R. E. Lee holds considerable potential for the production of high-value compounds, including pigments, lipids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Sodium acetate, a widely used carbon source in microbial cultivation, is both cost-effective and efficient. Although it has been reported to enhance biomass production in various microalgae, its effects on metabolic pathways differ substantially across species. In this study, we investigated the transcriptional responses of N. oceanica to sodium acetate supplementation using high-throughput mRNA sequencing. Sodium acetate significantly promoted growth but elicited a distinct metabolic reprogramming in contrast to patterns commonly observed in other microalgae. We identified 747 differentially expressed genes (399 upregulated and 348 downregulated), reflecting a substantial transcriptomic shift. Pathways related to lipid metabolism, carbon fixation, and photosynthesis were markedly suppressed. Notably, genes associated with photosynthesis were downregulated by 34–43 fold, suggesting a strategic reallocation of resources away from energy-intensive photosynthetic processes in the presence of an external organic carbon source. In sharp contrast to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii P. A. Dangear and Haematococcus pluvialis (Flotow) Wille, lipid metabolism in N. oceanica was not enhanced under sodium acetate supplementation. Instead, expression of lipid metabolism genes decreased by 5–14 fold, with most fatty acid- and lipase-related genes also downregulated (4–30 fold). Together, these findings reveal that N. oceanica adopts a unique adaptive strategy, channeling acetate-derived carbon primarily into rapid biomass accumulation rather than energy storage or high-value metabolite synthesis. This work provides new insights into the species-specific responses of microalgae to organic carbon sources. Full article

Thallium (Tl) is a non-essential and highly toxic heavy metal capable of replacing potassium (K⁺) in biological systems, leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inhibition of protein synthesis. In humans, the estimated oral lethal dose ranges from 10 to 15 mg/kg, with acute mortality rates of 6–15% and chronic neurological sequelae in up to 55% of survivors. Environmental releases of thallium of up to 5000 metric tons annually from industrial and mining activities, combined with its high oral bioavailability and nonspecific multisystemic symptoms, underscore the urgent need for more effective therapeutic strategies. This review summarizes current evidence on Tl toxicity, including its mechanisms of action, clinical manifestations, and available treatments. It emphasizes the strategic selection of biological models: simple organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster enable high-throughput screening and early biomarker detection; zebrafish (Danio rerio) provide vertebrate-level evaluation of multi-organ effects; and rodent models offer systemic toxicokinetic and therapeutic validation. Human-derived organoids and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) systems recreate tissue-specific microenvironments, allowing translational assessment of mitochondrial, neuronal, and cardiac toxicity. Integrating these models within a tiered and complementary framework, alongside environmental and clinical surveillance, can accelerate the development of targeted treatments and strengthen public health responses to Tl exposure. Full article

The ribosome in eukaryotic cells is a macromolecular complex composed of four ribonucleic acids and over 80 proteins. This organelle facilitates protein synthesis in cells, and its activity is strongly upregulated in human cancers. Immune cells, a variety of cellular stressors and numerous structurally and mechanistically distinct anti-cancer agents have been shown to induce ribosomal RNA degradation in tumour cells in vitro and in vivo—a phenomenon we termed “RNA disruption”. RNA disruption can be quantified in cultured cell lines and patient samples using the RNA disruption assay (RDA). Unlike well-known high-throughput anti-cancer drug sensitivity assays, RDA can distinguish between dying and arrested tumour cells, making it an attractive assay for anti-cancer drug discovery and development. Low tumour RNA disruption during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (as measured using RDA) is strongly associated with residual disease and reduced disease-free survival, making it a potentially valuable chemo-resistance assessment tool. High RNA disruption may also indicate chemo-responsiveness. RDA holds the prospect of being a useful tool to escalate or de-escalate neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cancer patients. Moreover, the assay’s ability to predict treatment outcomes during neoadjuvant chemotherapy may permit its use in adaptive clinical trials and in drug approval by regulatory agencies. This review provides insight into the cellular processes involved in chemotherapy-induced RNA disruption. It also describes the results of clinical studies on tumour RNA disruption in cancer patients and suggests possible approaches that could be considered for the utilization of RDAs in the clinical management of breast cancer patients undergoing current neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens. Full article

Bioactive peptides encrypted in bovine β-casein display diverse physiological functions, including antihypertensive, antioxidative, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory activities. These peptides are normally released during gastrointestinal digestion or microbial fermentation, especially by proteolytic systems of lactic acid bacteria (LAB). However, peptide yields vary widely among LAB strains, reflecting strain-specific protease repertoires. To overcome these limitations, the scientific goal of this study is to provide a comprehensive synthesis of how synthetic biology, molecular biotechnology, and systems-level approaches can be leveraged to enhance the targeted discovery and production of β-casein-derived bioactive peptides. Genome engineering tools such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats associated system (CRISPR/Cas) systems have been applied to modulate gene expression and metabolic flux in LAB, while inducible expression platforms allow on-demand peptide production. Additionally, cell-free systems based on LAB lysates further provide rapid prototyping for high-throughput screening. Finally, multi-omics approaches, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, further help pinpoint regulatory bottlenecks and facilitate rational strain optimization. This review provides a comprehensive overview of bioactive peptides derived from bovine β-casein and highlights recent progress in LAB-based strategies—both natural and engineered—for their efficient release. These advances pave the way for developing next-generation functional fermented foods enriched with targeted bioactivities. Full article

Terahertz metamaterial devices (TMDs) have demonstrated promising applications in biomass detection, wireless communications, and security inspection. Nevertheless, conventional design methodologies for such devices suffer from extensive iterative optimizations and significant dependence on empirical expertise, substantially prolonging the development cycle. This study proposes a reverse design framework leveraging a deep neural network (DNN) to enable rapid and efficient TMD synthesis, exemplified through a three-band terahertz metamaterial sensor. The developed DNN model achieves high-fidelity predictions (mean squared error = 0.03) and enables rapid inference for structural parameter generation. Experimental validation across four distinct target absorption spectra confirms high consistency between simulated and target responses, with near-identical triple-band resonance characteristics. Benchmarking against traditional CST-based optimization reveals a 36-fold acceleration in design throughput (200-device parameterization reduced from 36 h to 1 h). This work demonstrates a promising strategy for data-driven reverse design of multi-peak terahertz metamaterials, combining computational efficiency with rigorous electromagnetic performance. Full article

As a sessile wax scale insect, Ericerus pela heavily relies on its host plant for nutrition. While E. pela utilizes the nitrogen-poor plant sap as its primary nutrient source, the mechanisms by which this insect overcomes the nitrogen deficiency are poorly understood. In this study, we first confirm the nitrogen fixation capability of E. pela through isotopic tracer experiments and the acetylene reduction assay, which demonstrate that female adults exhibit an efficient nitrogen fixation rate. High-throughput sequencing further revealed 42 nitrogen-fixing bacterial species in the tissues of E. pela, most notably including Rhizobiales and Methylobacterium as the dominant species converting atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia. Several critical genes involved in nitrogen fixation, ammonia transporting, amino acid synthesis, and transportation were determined to be transcriptionally active across different developmental stages of E. pela. In addition, the symbiotic fungus Ophiocordyceps—located in the fat body of E. pela—was found to be capable of synthesizing all amino acids, including the essential amino acids required for the survival of E. pela. Taken together, this study demonstrates that E. pela has evolved a highly effective nitrogen acquisition system driven by symbiotic microorganisms, ensuring a sufficient nitrogen supply and enabling it to thrive on nitrogen-deficient food sources. Our findings reveal a unique evolutionary adaptation in which E. pela leveraged both bacterial nitrogen fixation and fungal amino acid synthesis to bolster its growth and development. Full article

This review synthesizes advances in livestock genomics by examining the interplay between candidate genes, molecular markers (MMs), signatures of selection (SSs), and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in shaping economically vital traits across livestock species. By integrating advances in genomics, bioinformatics, and precision breeding, the study elucidates genetic mechanisms underlying productivity, reproduction, meat quality, milk yield, fibre characteristics, disease resistance, and climate resilience traits pivotal to meeting the projected 70% surge in global animal product demand by 2050. A critical synthesis of 1455 peer-reviewed studies reveals that targeted genetic markers (e.g., SNPs, Indels) and QTL regions (e.g., IGF2 for muscle development, DGAT1 for milk composition) enable precise selection for superior phenotypes. SSs, identified through genome-wide scans and haplotype-based analyses, provide insights into domestication history, adaptive evolution, and breed-specific traits, such as heat tolerance in tropical cattle or parasite resistance in sheep. Functional candidate genes, including leptin (LEP) for feed efficiency and myostatin (MSTN) for double-muscling, are highlighted as drivers of genetic gain in breeding programs. The review underscores the transformative role of high-throughput sequencing, genome-wide association studies (GWASs), and CRISPR-based editing in accelerating trait discovery and validation. However, challenges persist, such as gene interactions, genotype–environment interactions, and ethical concerns over genetic diversity loss. By advocating for a multidisciplinary framework that merges genomic data with phenomics, metabolomics, and advanced biostatistics, this work serves as a guide for researchers, breeders, and policymakers. For example, incorporating DGAT1 markers into dairy cattle programs could elevate milk fat content by 15-20%, directly improving farm profitability. The current analysis underscores the need to harmonize high-yield breeding with ethical practices, such as conserving heat-tolerant cattle breeds, like Sahiwal. Full article