ADNP modulates SINE B2-derived CTCF-binding sites during blastocyst formation in mice.

CTCF is crucial for chromatin structure and transcription regulation in early embryonic development. However, the kinetics of CTCF chromatin occupation in preimplantation embryos have remained unclear. In this study, we used CUT&RUN technology to investigate CTCF occupancy in mouse preimplantation development. Our findings revealed that CTCF begins binding to the genome prior to zygotic genome activation (ZGA), with a preference for CTCF-anchored chromatin loops. Although the majority of CTCF occupancy is consistently maintained, we identified a specific set of binding sites enriched in the mouse-specific short interspersed element (SINE) family B2 that are restricted to the cleavage stages. Notably, we discovered that the neuroprotective protein ADNP counteracts the stable association of CTCF at SINE B2-derived CTCF-binding sites. Knockout of Adnp in the zygote led to impaired CTCF binding signal recovery, failed deposition of H3K9me3, and transcriptional derepression of SINE B2 during the morula-to-blastocyst transition, which further led to unfaithful cell differentiation in embryos around implantation. Our analysis highlights an ADNP-dependent restriction of CTCF binding during cell differentiation in preimplantation embryos. Furthermore, our findings shed light on the functional importance of transposable elements (TEs) in promoting genetic innovation and actively shaping the early embryo developmental process specific to mammals.

The genome of Nautilus pompilius illuminates eye evolution and biomineralization.

Nautilus is the sole surviving externally shelled cephalopod from the Palaeozoic. It is unique within cephalopod genealogy and critical to understanding the evolutionary novelties of cephalopods. Here, we present a complete Nautilus pompilius genome as a fundamental genomic reference on cephalopod innovations, such as the pinhole eye and biomineralization. Nautilus shows a compact, minimalist genome with few encoding genes and slow evolutionary rates in both non-coding and coding regions among known cephalopods. Importantly, multiple genomic innovations including gene losses, independent contraction and expansion of specific gene families and their associated regulatory networks likely moulded the evolution of the nautilus pinhole eye. The conserved molluscan biomineralization toolkit and lineage-specific repetitive low-complexity domains are essential to the construction of the nautilus shell. The nautilus genome constitutes a valuable resource for reconstructing the evolutionary scenarios and genomic innovations that shape the extant cephalopods.

A multifunctional 3D chiral porous ferroelectric metal-organic framework for sensing small organic molecules and dye uptake.

A flexible aromatic multicarboxylate ligand and Cd(II) ions assemble into a chiral multihelical porous metal-organic framework with second-order nonlinear optical and ferroelectric properties. The obtained guest-free form highly selectively senses small organic molecules and adsorbs large dye molecules.

A super water-stable europium-organic framework: guests inducing low-humidity proton conduction and sensing of metal ions.

The ordered dimethylammonium cations [H2N(CH3)2](+) and helical water spirals as guest species make a super water stable europium-organic framework possess a proton conductivity of over 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 68% relative humidity. A fluorescent probe for Fe(3+) and Cu(2+) ions via a different mechanism has also been realized.

Syntheses, structures, tunable emission and white light emitting Eu3+ and Tb3+ doped lanthanide metal-organic framework materials.

A series of novel lanthanide metal-organic frameworks, namely, {[Ln2(L)2]·(H2O)3·(Me2NH2)2}n (Ln = La (1), Ce (2), Pr (3), Nd (4), Sm (5), Eu (6), Gd (7), Tb (8), Ho (9), Er (10)), have been synthesized with hydro(solvo)thermal conditions based on a flexible multicarboxylic acid (H4L = 5-(3,5-dicarboxybenzyloxy)isophthalic acid). Single crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that all of them are isomorphous and possess a (6,6) topological net with a Schläfli symbol of {4(8)·6(7)}. Considering the blue-emission of compound 1 and the intense emission of the Eu and Tb compounds, we successfully construct isostructural Eu(3+) doped Tb compounds whose color can be tuned easily by adjusting the different concentration of the doped ions, and we also obtained white light emitting materials through the doping of Eu and Tb ions in the La compounds.

catena-Poly[[[aqua-(4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine-κ(2)N,N')zinc]-µ-3-chloro-benzene-1,2-dicaboxylato-κ(2)O(2):O(3)] [[(4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine-κ(2)N,N')zinc]-µ-3-chloro-benzene-1,2-dicaboxylato-κ(2)O(2):O(3)]].

In the title compound, {[Zn(C(8)H(3)ClO(4))(C(12)H(12)N(2))(H(2)O)]·[Zn(C(8)H(3)ClO(4))(C(12)H(12)N(2))]}(n), one Zn(2+) ion is five-coordin-ated by two O atoms from two different 3-chloro-benzene-1,2-dicarboxyl-ate ligands, one O atom from a water mol-ecule and two N atoms from a 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine ligand, while the second Zn(2+) ion is four-coordinated by two O atoms from two different 3-chloro-benzene-1,2-dicarboxyl-ate ligands, and two N atoms from a 4,4'-bimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine ligand. The crystal structure exhibits a three-dimensional supra-molecular structure composed of alternate Zn(C(8)H(3)O(4)Cl)(C(12)H(12)N(2)) and Zn(C(8)H(3)O(4)Cl)(C(12)H(12)N(2))(H(2)O) chains, which are linked together by face-to-face π-π inter-actions [shortest centroid-centroid distances of 3.661 (4) and 3.6901 (3) Å], O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.