2-Hy­droxy-3-oct­yloxy-N,N,N-trimethyl­propan-1-aminium bromide

In the title compound, C14H32NO2 +·Br−, organic cationsstacked parallel to the a axis andbromide anions placed between the head groups of the cations form ionic pairs via weak inter­molecular O—H⋯Br hydrogen bonds. The octyl chain in the cation adopts an all-trans conformation. The O—CH2—CH(—OH)—CH2 portion of the molecule is disordered over two sets of sites with occupancy factors of 0.57 (3) and 0.47 (3)

Impact of template backbone heterogeneity on RNA polymerase II transcription.

Variations in the sugar component (ribose or deoxyribose) and the nature of the phosphodiester linkage (3'-5' or 2'-5' orientation) have been a challenge for genetic information transfer from the very beginning of evolution. RNA polymerase II (pol II) governs the transcription of DNA into precursor mRNA in all eukaryotic cells. How pol II recognizes DNA template backbone (phosphodiester linkage and sugar) and whether it tolerates the backbone heterogeneity remain elusive. Such knowledge is not only important for elucidating the chemical basis of transcriptional fidelity but also provides new insights into molecular evolution. In this study, we systematically and quantitatively investigated pol II transcriptional behaviors through different template backbone variants. We revealed that pol II can well tolerate and bypass sugar heterogeneity sites at the template but stalls at phosphodiester linkage heterogeneity sites. The distinct impacts of these two backbone components on pol II transcription reveal the molecular basis of template recognition during pol II transcription and provide the evolutionary insight from the RNA world to the contemporary 'imperfect' DNA world. In addition, our results also reveal the transcriptional consequences from ribose-containing genomic DNA

MicroRNAs control mRNA fate by compartmentalization based on 3 ' UTR length in male germ cells

Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression can be achieved through the control of mRNA stability, cytoplasmic compartmentalization, 3' UTR length and translational efficacy. Spermiogenesis, a process through which haploid male germ cells differentiate into spermatozoa, represents an ideal model for studying post-transcriptional regulation in vivo because it involves a large number of transcripts that are physically sequestered in ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) and thus subjected to delayed translation. To explore how small RNAs regulate mRNA fate, we conducted RNA-Seq analyses to determine not only the levels of both mRNAs and small noncoding RNAs, but also their cytoplasmic compartmentalization during spermiogenesis. Result: Among all small noncoding RNAs studied, miRNAs displayed the most dynamic changes in both abundance and subcytoplasmic localization. mRNAs with shorter 3' UTRs became increasingly enriched in RNPs from pachytene spermatocytes to round spermatids, and the enrichment of shorter 3' UTR mRNAs in RNPs coincided with newly synthesized miRNAs that target these mRNAs at sites closer to the stop codon. In contrast, the translocation of longer 3' UTR mRNAs from RNPs to polysomes correlated with the production of new miRNAs that target these mRNAs at sites distal to the stop codon. Conclusions: miRNAs appear to control cytoplasmic compartmentalization of mRNAs based on 3' UTR length. Our data suggest that transcripts with longer 3' UTRs tend to contain distal miRNA binding sites and are thus targeted to polysomes for translation followed by degradation. In contrast, those with shorter 3' UTRs only possess proximal miRNA binding sites, which, therefore, are targeted into RNPs for enrichment and delayed translation

3,3′-Carbonyl­dipyridinium bis­(perchlorate)

In the title molecular salt, C11H10N2O2+·2ClO4 −, the complete cation is generated by crystallographic twofold symmetry. The dihedral angle between the pyridyl rings is 67.07 (7)°. The crystal structure features N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, forming sheets in the ab plane

Gate-tunable antiferromagnetic Chern insulator in twisted bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides

A series of recent experimental works on twisted MoTe$_2$ homobilayers have unveiled an abundance of exotic states in this system. Valley-polarized quantum anomalous Hall states have been identified at hole doping of $\nu = -1$, and the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect is observed at $\nu = -2/3$ and $\nu = -3/5$. In this work, we investigate the electronic properties of AA-stacked twisted bilayer MoTe$_2$ at $\nu=-2$ by $k$-space Hartree-Fock calculations. We find that the phase diagram is qualitatively similar to the phase diagram of a Kane-Mele-Hubbard with staggered onsite potential. A noteworthy phase within the diagram is the antiferromagnetic Chern insulator, stabilized by the external electric field. We attribute the existence of this Chern insulator to an antiferromagnetic instability at a topological phase transition between the quantum spin hall phase and a band insulator phase. We highlight that the antiferromagnetic Chern insulator phase is most evident at a twist angle of approximately $4^\circ$. Our research proposes the potential of realizing a Chern insulator beyond $\nu=-1$, and contributes fresh perspectives on the interplay between band topology and electron-electron correlations in moir\'e superlattices

Gate-tunable phonon magnetic moment in bilayer graphene

We develop a first-principles quantum scheme to calculate the phonon magnetic moment in solids. As a showcase example, we apply our method to study gated bilayer graphene, a material with strong covalent bonds. According to the classical theory based on the Born effective charge, the phonon magnetic moment in this system should vanish, yet our quantum mechanical calculations find significant phonon magnetic moments. Furthermore, the magnetic moment is highly tunable by changing the gate voltage. Our results firmly establish the necessity of the quantum mechanical treatment, and identify small-gap covalent materials as a promising platform for studying tunable phonon magnetic moment.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure