Unveiling the mysteries of HvANS: a study on anthocyanin biosynthesis in qingke (hordeum vulgare L. var. Nudum hook. f.) seeds.

BACKGROUND: Based on our previous research, a full-length cDNA sequence of HvANS gene was isolated from purple and white Qingke. The open reading frame (ORF) in the purple variety Nierumuzha was 1320 base pairs (bp), encoding 439 amino acids, while the ORF in the white variety Kunlun 10 was 1197 bp, encoding 398 amino acids. A nonsynonymous mutation was found at the position of 1195 bp (T/C) in the coding sequence (CDS) of the HvANS gene. We carried out a series of studies to further clarify the relationship between the HvANS gene and anthocyanin synthesis in Qingke. RESULTS: The conservative structural domain prediction results showed that the encoded protein belonged to the PLN03178 superfamily. Multiple comparisons showed that this protein had the highest homology with Hordeum vulgare, at 88.61%. The approximately 2000 bp promoter sequence of the HvANS gene was identical in both varieties. The real-time fluorescence PCR (qRT-PCR) results revealed that HvANS expression was either absent or very low in the roots, stems, leaves, and awns of Nierumuzha. In contrast, the HvANS expression was high in the seed coats and seeds of Nierumuzha. Likewise, in Kunlun 10, HvANS expression was either absent or very low, indicating a tissue-specific and variety-specific pattern for HvANS expression. The subcellular localization results indicated that HvANS was in the cell membrane. Metabolomic results indicated that the HvANS gene is closely related to the synthesis of three anthocyanin substances (Idaein chloride, Kinetin 9-riboside, and Cyanidin O-syringic acid). Yeast single hybridization experiments showed that the HvANS promoter interacted with HvANT1, which is the key anthocyanin regulatory protein. In a yeast two-hybrid experiment, we obtained two significantly different proteins (ZWY2020 and POMGNT2-like) and verified the results by qRT-PCR. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a basis for further studies on the regulatory mechanism of HvANS in the synthesis of anthocyanins in Qingke purple grains.

Bisphenol A decreases the developmental toxicity and histopathological alterations caused by polystyrene nanoplastics in developing marine medaka Oryzias melastigma.

Nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging pollutants posing risks to marine biota and human health due to their small size and high bioavailability. However, there are still knowledge gaps regarding effects of co-existing pollutants on NPs toxicity to marine organisms at their respective environmentally relevant concentrations. Herein we investigated developmental toxicity and histopathological alterations caused by co-exposure of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and bisphenol A (BPA) to marine medaka, Oryzias melastigma. Embryos at 6 h post-fertilization were exposed to 50-nm PS-NPs (55 µg/L) or BPA (100 µg/L) or co-exposed to a combination of both. Results showed that PS-NPs exhibited decreased embryonic heart rate, larval body length, and embryonic survival as well as larval deformities such as hemorrhaging and craniofacial abnormality. When co-exposed, BPA mitigated all the adverse developmental effects caused by PS-NPs. PS-NPs also led to an increase in histopathological condition index of liver with early inflammatory responses, while co-exposure of BPA with PS-NPs did not. Our data suggest that the toxicity reduction of PS-NPs in the presence of BPA might result from the decreased bioaccumulation of PS-NPs caused by the interaction between BPA and PS-NPs. This study unveiled the impact of BPA on the toxicity of nanoplastics in marine fish during early developmental stages and highlight the need of more research on the long-term effects of complex mixtures in the marine environment by applying omics approaches to better understand the toxicity mechanism.

Laser-Induced Carbon Electrodes in a Three-Dimensionally Printed Flow Reactor for Detecting Lead Ions.

Nowadays, heavy metal pollution has attracted wide attention. Many electrochemical methods have been developed to detect heavy metal ions. The electrode surface usually needs to be modified, and the process is complicated. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of electrodes by direct laser sintering on commercial polymer films. The prepared porous carbon electrodes can be used directly without any modification. The electrodes were fixed in a 3D-printed flow reactor, which led to very little analyte required during the detection process. The velocities of the analyte under stirring and flowing conditions were simulated numerically. The results prove that flow detection is more conducive to improving detection sensitivity. The limit of detection is about 0.0330 mg/L for Pb2+. Moreover, the electrode has been proved to have good repeatability and stability.

Fabrication of multi-functional porous microspheres in a modular fashion for the detection, adsorption, and removal of pollutants in wastewater.

Water pollution control has become significant challenges in recent years because of their extensive species diversity. It is critical to developing general-purpose materials for environmental rehabilitation. In this paper, a novel module-assembly method is developed to prepare multi-functional materials for treating pollutants in water. Building blocks are porous nanoparticles with a different function. Microspheres (MS) with a diameter of 90 µm are prepared and have a coefficient of variation of 6.8%. The modular fashion of self-assembly process in a microfluidic chip is the crucial factor in fabricating the multifunction material. The assembled microspheres with different building modules still have a specific surface area larger than 400 m2 g-1, and exhibit excellent performance in adsorbing various pollutants in water, such as heavy metal ions and organic dyes. The adsorption capacities of them to Hg2+ and orange II reach 150 mg g-1 and 333 mg g-1, respectively. The integrated fluorescence probes in microspheres can detect low concentration (9.8 ppb) of Hg2+. Microspheres integrated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles have a magnetic susceptibility of 6.01 emu g-1 and can be easily removed from wastewater by applying an external magnetic. Due to the stability of inorganic building blocks, each function in the assembled system is well performed, and multi-functional "All-in-One" materials can be easily fabricated.

Evans-Showell-type polyoxometalate constructing novel 3D inorganic architectures with alkaline earth metal linkers: syntheses, structures and catalytic properties.

Four new architectures containing [Co2Mo10H4O38]6- polyoxoanions, (C2N2H10)2[Sr(H2O)5][Co2Mo10H4O38]·2H2O 1, (C2N2H10)2[Ba(H2O)3][Co2Mo10H4O38]·3H2O 2, (C3N2H12)2[Sr(H2O)5][Co2Mo10H4O38]·3H2O 3 and (C3N2H12)[Ba(H2O)4][Ba(H2O)4][Co2Mo10H4O38]·2H2O 4 (C2N2H10 = ethylenediamine; C3N2H12 = 1,3-propanediamine) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, solid diffuse reflective spectroscopy, TG analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1 and 2 obtained in the presence of ethylenediamine, are made of Evans-Showell-type anions [Co2Mo10H4O38]6-, linked by Sr2+ or Ba2+ cations to form 3D frameworks. To our knowledge, compound 1(2) represents the first example of 3D architecture in which the Evans-Showell anions [Co2Mo10H4O38]6- were linked by pure alkaline earth cations. When propanediamine was used instead of ethylenediamine, compounds 3 and 4 with 2D networks were obtained. This phenomenon indicates that the organic cations, which adjust the reaction pH values, can induce different dimensional inorganic frameworks. As heterogeneous catalysts, compounds 1-4 show excellent catalytic performance in the cyanosilylation of carbonyl compounds. Furthermore, these catalytic reactions were performed under solvent-free conditions using only a low amount of the catalysts, and these catalysts can be recovered and reused without displaying any significant loss of activity. As far as we know, compounds 1-4 represent the first examples of cyanosilylation catalyzed by POM-based species containing alkaline earth metal cations.

[Effect of humic acids on determining polyhydroxy phenol by flow-injection chemiluminescence].

Flow-injection chemiluminescence was applied to determine the trace polyhydroxy phenol in environment (soil and water). Based on the comparison of several different chemiluminescence systems and optimization, an alkaline luminol-NaIO4 system for determinating polyhydroxy phenol was chosen. During the process of polyhydroxy phenol determination, the effect of dissolved humic acid (HA) on the determination of phenol by this chemiluminescence system was also considered, which generally coexists in soil and water widely. Thus the present work provided the reference for the determination of the real samples coming from soil or water. An obvious restraining effect of humic acid on the chemiluminescence signal obtained by the luminol-NaIO4-polyhydroxy phenol system was found, which shows a linear relationship with the concentration of HA in a certain range, the linear equation is y = 70.36x + 540.1, the correlation coefficient is 0. 9954, the linear range is between 3-15 mg x L(-1), the limitation of detection is 0.749 mg x L(-1), and the relative standard deviation (RSD) is 1.08% when the concentration of HA is 6 mg x L(-1). The possible working mechanism of humic acid here is discussed and deduced.