Table_1_Application of third-generation sequencing to herbal genomics.docx

There is a long history of traditional medicine use. However, little genetic information is available for the plants used in traditional medicine, which limits the exploitation of these natural resources. Third-generation sequencing (TGS) techniques have made it possible to gather invaluable genetic information and develop herbal genomics. In this review, we introduce two main TGS techniques, PacBio SMRT technology and Oxford Nanopore technology, and compare the two techniques against Illumina, the predominant next-generation sequencing technique. In addition, we summarize the nuclear and organelle genome assemblies of commonly used medicinal plants, choose several examples from genomics, transcriptomics, and molecular identification studies to dissect the specific processes and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of the two TGS techniques when applied to medicinal organisms. Finally, we describe how we expect that TGS techniques will be widely utilized to assemble telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genomes and in epigenomics research involving medicinal plants.</p

G‑Quadruplex DNA with an Apurinic Site as a Soft Molecularly Imprinted Sensing Platform

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) provide versatile sensor platforms to recognize targets by shape complementarity. However, the rigid structure of the classic MIPs compromises the signal transduction with necessary polymer and target modifications. Herein, we tried to use a flexible DNA that has a perfectly structured folding as the soft molecularly imprinted polymer (SMIP) for a straightforward sensor. As a proof of concept, the guanosine SMIP recognition was achieved by removal of a guanosine from a G-quadruplex-forming sequence (G4). The G4 folding structure with such an apurinic site (AP site) provides a well-defined MIP binding accommodation for guanosine according to the shape complementarity. The guanosine binding at the AP site subsequently leads to a conformation change suitable for remote readout using a G4-specific fluorescent ligand. The G4 sequence and AP site position were optimized for this SMIP behavior. Due to the G4 compact structure and the remaining hydrogen bonding pattern, nucleosides other than guanosine and negatively charged nucleotides exhibit no binding with the AP site, suggesting a high selectivity in the SMIP recognition. The proposed rationale was then convinced by the alkaline phosphatase-catalyzed GMP hydrolysis. Our work will inspire more interest in exploring nucleic acids as the SMIP frameworks due to their variant conformations and well-established molecular engineering