Ethyl (2E,4Z)-5-diethyl­amino-2-(phenyl­sulfon­yl)penta-2,4-dienoate

In the title compound, C17H23NO4S, the penta­diene group adopts a planar conformation, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.0410 (14) Å. The phenyl ring makes a dihedral angle of 85.73 (11)° with the penta­diene group, while the penta­diene group makes dihedral angles of 11.38 (11) and 14.08 (10)°, respectively, with the amino and ester groups. In the crystal, molecules are linked via pairs of C—H⋯O inter­actions, forming inversion dimers

Genetic diversity analysis of DRB3.2 in domestic yak (Bos grunniens) in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

DRB3 gene has been extensively evaluated as a candidate marker for association with many bovine disease and immunological traits. A hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction-sequencing method was used to investigate the polymorphisms of DRB3.2 gene from 209 individuals in three different domestic yak (Bos grunniens) populations (62 Tianzhu white yaks, 78 Gannan yaks and 69 Datong yaks) from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Sixty-three polymorphic sites and 143 haplotypes were detected. The percentage of polymorphic sites in Gannan Yak (GNY), Tianzhu white Yak (TWY) and Datong Yak (DTY) were 21.80, 29.95 and 12.95%, while the haplotype diversity were 0.9987, 0.9984 and 0.9855, respectively. At the amino acid level, Glu had the highest content; the percentage was 12.326%, followed by Arg (10.315%), Phe (10.804%), Val (8.346%), Gly (8.315%), Leu (6.606%) and Ala (5.851%), whereas Met and Ile were below than 1%. Only 19 amino acids were found in DTY, Met was lost. Among the synonymous codons, whose third base was G and/or C had a higher usage frequency. Most variability were found in amino acid residues 11, 13, 26, 28, 30, 32, 37, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 67, 70, 71, 72, 73 and 74. In GNY, the residues at positions 71, 11 and 72 were highly polymorphic with 8, 7 and 7, at 50, 58, 70, 74 and 78, the residues were selectively polymorphic than other yak populations; the other polymorphic sites were common in the populations. The results of this study indicated that the Chinese domestic yak populations in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau have abundant polymorphism in DRB3.2, and the GNY was the highest, followed by TWY and DTY.Key words: Domestic Yak, Hemi-nested PCR, BoLA-DRB3.2, polymorphism

Evaluation of 17 microsatellite markers for parentage testing and individual identification of domestic yak (Bos grunniens)

Background Yak (Bos grunniens) is the most important domestic animal for people living at high altitudes. Yak ordinarily feed by grazing, and this behavior impacts the accuracy of the pedigree record because it is difficult to control mating in grazing yak. This study aimed to evaluate the pedigree system and individual identification in polled yak. Methods A total of 71 microsatellite loci were selected from the literature, mostly from the studies on cattle. A total of 35 microsatellite loci generated excellent PCR results and were evaluated for the parentage testing and individual identification of 236 unrelated polled yaks. A total of 17 of these 35 microsatellite loci had polymorphic information content (PIC) values greater than 0.5, and these loci were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium without linkage disequilibrium. Results Using multiplex PCR, capillary electrophoresis, and genotyping, very high exclusion probabilities were obtained for the combined core set of 17 loci. The exclusion probability (PE) for one candidate parent when the genotype of the other parent is not known was 0.99718116. PE for one candidate parent when the genotype of the other parent is known was 0.99997381. PE for a known candidate parent pair was 0.99999998. The combined PEI (PE for identity of two unrelated individuals) and PESI (PE for identity of two siblings) were >0.99999999 and 0.99999899, respectively. These findings indicated that the combination of 17 microsatellite markers could be useful for efficient and reliable parentage testing and individual identification in polled yak. Discussion Many microsatellite loci have been investigated for cattle paternity testing. Nevertheless, these loci cannot be directly applied to yak identification because the two bovid species have different genomic sequences and organization. A total of 17 loci were selected from 71 microsatellite loci based on efficient amplification, unambiguous genotyping, and high PIC values for polled yaks, and were suitable for parentage analysis in polled yak populations

Superconductivity in trilayer nickelate La4Ni3O10 under pressure

Nickelates gained a great deal of attention due to their similar crystal and electronic structures of cuprates over the past few decades. Recently, superconductivity with transition temperature exceeding liquid-nitrogen temperature is discovered in La3Ni2O7, which belong to the Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases Lan+1NinO3n+1 with n = 2. In this work, we go further and find pressure-induced superconductivity in another RP phase La4Ni3O10 (n = 3) single crystals. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiment suggest that the electronic structure of La4Ni3O10 is very similar to that of La3Ni2O7. We find that the density-wave like anomaly in resistivity is progressively suppressed with increasing pressure. A typical phase diagram is obtained with the maximum Tc of 21 Kelvin. Our study sheds light on the exploration of unconventional superconductivity in nickelates.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Plastic biodegradation by in vitro environmental microorganisms and in vivo gut microorganisms of insects

Traditional plastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane (PUR), and other plastic polymers, are difficult to degrade and are gradually accumulated in the environment to cause a serious environmental problem, which is urgently needed to develop novel treatments or control technology. The biodegradation of plastics has gained great attention due to the advantages of green and safe characteristics. Microorganisms play a vital role in the biodegradation of plastics, including environmental microbes (in vitro) and gut microbes of insects (in vivo). Microbial degradation in environmental conditions in vitro is extremely slow for major plastics at degradation rates on the basis of a month or even a year time, but recent discoveries show that the fast biodegradation of specific plastics, such as PS, PE, and PUR, in some invertebrates, especially insects, could be enhanced at rates on basis of hours; the biodegradation in insects is likely to be gut microbial-dependent or synergetic bioreactions in animal digestive systems. This review comprehensively summarizes the latest 7-year (2016–2022) publications on plastic biodegradation by insects and microorganisms, elucidates the mechanism of plastic degradation in insects and environmental microbes, and highlights the cutting-edge perspectives for the potential applications of plastic biodegradation

Identification and characterization of a novel fumarase gene by metagenome expression cloning from marine microorganisms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fumarase catalyzes the reversible hydration of fumarate to <smcaps>L</smcaps>-malate and is a key enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and in amino acid metabolism. Fumarase is also used for the industrial production of <smcaps>L</smcaps>-malate from the substrate fumarate. Thermostable and high-activity fumarases from organisms that inhabit extreme environments may have great potential in industry, biotechnology, and basic research. The marine environment is highly complex and considered one of the main reservoirs of microbial diversity on the planet. However, most of the microorganisms are inaccessible in nature and are not easily cultivated in the laboratory. Metagenomic approaches provide a powerful tool to isolate and identify enzymes with novel biocatalytic activities for various biotechnological applications.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A plasmid metagenomic library was constructed from uncultivated marine microorganisms within marine water samples. Through sequence-based screening of the DNA library, a gene encoding a novel fumarase (named FumF) was isolated. Amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the FumF protein shared the greatest homology with Class II fumarate hydratases from <it>Bacteroides </it>sp. 2_1_33B and <it>Parabacteroides distasonis </it>ATCC 8503 (26% identical and 43% similar). The putative fumarase gene was subcloned into pETBlue-2 vector and expressed in <it>E. coli </it>BL21(DE3)pLysS. The recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity. Functional characterization by high performance liquid chromatography confirmed that the recombinant FumF protein catalyzed the hydration of fumarate to form <smcaps>L</smcaps>-malate. The maximum activity for FumF protein occurred at pH 8.5 and 55°C in 5 mM Mg²⁺. The enzyme showed higher affinity and catalytic efficiency under optimal reaction conditions: <it>K</it>_m= 0.48 mM, <it>V</it>_max= 827 μM/min/mg, and <it>k</it>_cat/<it>K</it>_m= 1900 mM/s.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We isolated a novel fumarase gene, <it>fumF</it>, from a sequence-based screen of a plasmid metagenomic library from uncultivated marine microorganisms. The properties of FumF protein may be ideal for the industrial production of <smcaps>L</smcaps>-malate under higher temperature conditions. The identification of FumF underscores the potential of marine metagenome screening for novel biomolecules.</p