U2AF1 mutations (U2AF1MT) occur commonly in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) without ring sideroblasts. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical and biological implications of different U2AF1 mutation types in MDS. We performed targeted gene sequencing in a cohort of 511 MDS patients. Eighty-six patients (17%) were found to have U2AF1MT, which occurred more common in younger patients (P = .001) and represented ancestral lesions in a substantial proportion (71%) of cases. ASXL1MT and isolated +8 were significantly enriched in U2AF1MT-positive cases, whereas TP53MT, SF3B1MT, and complex karyotypes were inversely associated with U2AF1MT. U2AF subjects were enriched for isolated +8 and were inversely associated with complex karyotypes. U2AF1MT was significantly associated with anemia, thrombocytopenia, and poor survival in both lower-risk and higher-risk MDS. U2AF1 subjects had more frequently platelet levels of <50 × 10 /L (P = .043) and U2AF1 /U2AF1 subjects had more frequently hemoglobin concentrations at <80 g/L (P = .008) and more often overt fibrosis (P = .049). In conclusion, our study indicates that U2AF1MT is one of the earliest genetic events in MDS patients and that different types of U2AF1MT have distinct clinical and biological characteristics.

The effective fermentation of xylose remains an intractable challenge in bioethanol industry. The relevant xylanase enzyme is also in a high demand from industry for several biotechnological applications that inevitably in recent times led to many efforts for screening some novel microorganisms for better xylanase production and fermentation performance. Recently, it seems that wood-feeding termites can truly be considered as highly efficient natural bioreactors. The highly specialized gut systems of such insects are not yet fully realized, particularly, in xylose fermentation and xylanase production to advance industrial bioethanol technology as well as industrial applications of xylanases. A total of 92 strains from 18 yeast species were successfully isolated and identified from the gut of wood-feeding termite, Reticulitermes chinensis. Of these yeasts and strains, seven were identified for new species: Candida gotoi, Candida pseudorhagii, Hamamotoa lignophila, Meyerozyma guilliermondii, Sugiyamaella sp.1, Sugiyamaella sp. 2, and Sugiyamaella sp.3. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic characterization, the type strain of C. pseudorhagii sp. nov., which was originally designated strain SSA-1542T, was the most frequently occurred yeast from termite gut samples, showed the highly xylanolytic activity as well as D-xylose fermentation. The highest xylanase activity was recorded as 1.73 and 0.98 U/mL with xylan or D-xylose substrate, respectively, from SSA-1542T. Among xylanase-producing yeasts, four novel species were identified as D-xylose-fermenting yeasts, where the yeast, C. pseudorhagii SSA-1542T, showed the highest ethanol yield (0.31 g/g), ethanol productivity (0.31 g/L·h), and its fermentation efficiency (60.7%) in 48 h. Clearly, the symbiotic yeasts isolated from termite guts have demonstrated a competitive capability to produce xylanase and ferment xylose, suggesting that the wood-feeding termite gut is a promising reservoir for novel xylanases-producing and xylose-fermenting yeasts that are potentially valued for biorefinery industry.

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Laccase is essential for the biodepolymerization of lignin, but the challenge is that the reaction mechanism has not been fully elucidated. The laccase (Lacc) inactivated mutant of Bacillus ligniniphilus L1 had a sharp decline in its ability to degrade lignin, which proved its indispensable role in lignin depolymerization. The purified Lacc from recombinant Escherichia coli BL21 and its mediator system (LMS) displayed significant lignin degradation capacities as well as remarkable thermotolerance and solvent resistance. The chemical oxygen demand removal rates of LMS for alkaline and milled wood lignin have reached 67.0% and 80.9%, respectively. Comprehensive analyses, including Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, 2D-HSQC-NMR, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, unveiled that Lacc- and LMS-oxidized lignin include at least 10 or more catalytic reactions. Lacc can effectively degrade G-lignin even without a mediator, and the removal rate of G-lignin is higher than that of S-lignin. In addition, the supplementation of the mediator increased the removal rate of H-lignin by Lacc and the cleavage of interunit linkages such as β-O-4, β-5, β-β, 4-O-5, and 5-5. Moreover, we found that Lacc cannot polymerize some aromatic monomers into dimers or polymers, which is different from fungal and plant laccases. It is by far the most detailed study describing the reaction mechanism of lignin oxidation by bacterial laccase. These results provide new insights into the catalytic mechanism of bacterial laccase and lay the foundation for the application of laccase in lignin valorization.

BackgroundWood-feeding termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, represents a highly efficient system for biomass deconstruction and utilization. However, the detailed mechanisms of lignin modification and carbohydrate degradation in this system are still largely elusive.ResultsIn order to reveal the inherent mechanisms for efficient biomass degradation, four different organs (salivary glands, foregut, midgut, and hindgut) within a complete digestive system of a lower termite, C. formosanus, were dissected and collected. Comparative transcriptomics was carried out to analyze these organs using high-throughput RNA sequencing. A total of 71,117 unigenes were successfully assembled, and the comparative transcriptome analyses revealed significant differential distributions of GH (glycosyl hydrolase) genes and auxiliary redox enzyme genes in different digestive organs. Among the GH genes in the salivary glands, the most abundant were GH9, GH22, and GH1 genes. The corresponding enzymes may have secreted into the foregut and midgut to initiate the hydrolysis of biomass and to achieve a lignin-carbohydrate co-deconstruction system. As the most diverse GH families, GH7 and GH5 were primarily identified from the symbiotic protists in the hindgut. These enzymes could play a synergistic role with the endogenous enzymes from the host termite for biomass degradation. Moreover, twelve out of fourteen genes coding auxiliary redox enzymes from the host termite origin were induced by the feeding of lignin-rich diets. This indicated that these genes may be involved in lignin component deconstruction with its redox network during biomass pretreatment.ConclusionThese findings demonstrate that the termite digestive system synergized the hydrolysis and redox reactions in a programmatic process, through different parts of its gut system, to achieve a maximized utilization of carbohydrates. The detailed unique mechanisms identified from the termite digestive system may provide new insights for advanced design of future biorefinery.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-018-1015-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The synthesis of enantiopure N-benzylidene nitrones of N-hydroxy-alpha-amino acids and their incorporation using standard Fmoc-based peptide chemistry into solid-supported peptide chains is described. Deprotection and resin cleavage affords N-terminal peptide hydroxylamines, which are the key substrates for chemoselective ligations with C-terminal peptide alpha-ketoacids. This general route is applicable to a variety of different N-terminal residues and provides a general approach to the solid phase synthesis of peptide hydroxylamines.

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