Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising candidates as heterogeneous photocatalysts because of their porosity and tunable light absorption. The photostability and charge separation of COFs are highly important to improve the efficiency of photocatalytic transformation. In this work, a fully conjugated donor–acceptor COF is constructed with a benzothiadiazole unit, which exhibits high stability and enhanced charge separation. The prepared COF can efficaciously produce superoxide radical anions under air and visible light, which mediate the photocatalytic oxidative amine coupling and cyclization of thioamide to 1,2,4-thiadiazole in moderate to high yield and high recyclability (18 examples). This study demonstrates the great capacity of fully conjugated COFs with a D–A structure for light-driven organic synthesis.

2D conjugated MOFs have attracted significant interests in recent years owing to their special structural features and promising physical and chemical properties. These intriguing attributes, to a large extent, stem from the nature of incorporated ligands. The available ligands for the construction of 2D conjugated MOFs are still limited, especially those that have heteroatoms included and exposed to the pores. In this work, we designed and synthesized a highly symmetric hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATNA)-based ligand with two different coordination sites. Through selective coordination, a highly crystalline and porous 2D conjugated copper metal-organic framework was constructed. Due to the synergic effects of HATNA and copper catecholate node, this HATNAbased 2D conjugated MOF can mediate the electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to methane with high selectivity of 78 % at high current density of 8.2 milliamperes per square centimetre (mA cm À2 ) for long durability over 12 hours.

BackgroundRNA editing and alternative splicing play an important role in expanding protein diversity and this is well illustrated in studies of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs).ResultsHere, we compare the RNA editing and alternative splicing of the nAChR alpha6 subunit genes from different insects spanning ~300 million years of evolution– Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Bombyx mori, Tribolium castaneum and Apis mellifera. The conserved and species-specific A-to-I RNA editing occurred across all species except A. gambiae, which displayed extraordinarily short flanking intronic sequences. Interestingly, some A-to-I editing sites were a genomically encoded G in other species. A combination of the experimental data and computational analysis of orthologous alpha6 genes from different species indicated that RNA editing and alternative splicing predated at least the radiation of insect orders spanning ~300 million years of evolution; however, they might have been lost in some species during subsequent evolution. The occurrence of alternative splicing was found to be regulated in distinct modes and, in some cases, even correlated with RNA editing.ConclusionOn the basis of comparative analysis of orthologous nAChR alpha6 genes from different insects spanning ~300 million years of evolution, we have documented the existence, evolutionary conservation and divergence, and also regulation of RNA editing and alternative splicing. Phylogenetic analysis of RNA editing and alternative splicing, which can create a multitude of functionally distinct protein isoforms, might have a crucial role in the evolution of complex organisms beyond nucleotide and protein sequences.

The molecular mechanism and physiological function of recoding by A-to-I RNA editing is well known, but its evolutionary significance remains a mystery. We analyzed the RNA editing of the Kv2 K + channel from different insects spanning more than 300 million years of evolution: Drosophila melanogaster, Culex pipiens (Diptera), Pulex irritans (Siphonaptera), Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera), Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera), Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera), Pediculus humanus (Phthiraptera), and Myzus persicae (Homoptera). RNA editing was detected across all Kv2 orthologs, representing the most highly conserved RNA editing event yet reported in invertebrates. Surprisingly, five of these editing sites were conserved in squid (Mollusca) and were possibly of independent origin, suggesting phylogenetic conservation of editing between mollusks and insects. Based on this result, we predicted and experimentally verified two novel A-to-I editing sites in squid synaptotagmin I transcript. In addition, comparative analysis indicated that RNA editing usually occurred within highly conserved coding regions, but mostly altered less-conserved coding positions of these regions. Moreover, more than half of these edited amino acids are genomically encoded in the orthologs of other species; an example of a conversion model of the nonconservative edited site is addressed. Therefore, these data imply that RNA editing might play dual roles in evolution by extending protein diversity and maintaining phylogenetic conservation.

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