BackgroundSacred lotus is a basal eudicot with agricultural, medicinal, cultural and religious importance. It was domesticated in Asia about 7,000 years ago, and cultivated for its rhizomes and seeds as a food crop. It is particularly noted for its 1,300-year seed longevity and exceptional water repellency, known as the lotus effect. The latter property is due to the nanoscopic closely packed protuberances of its self-cleaning leaf surface, which have been adapted for the manufacture of a self-cleaning industrial paint, Lotusan.ResultsThe genome of the China Antique variety of the sacred lotus was sequenced with Illumina and 454 technologies, at respective depths of 101× and 5.2×. The final assembly has a contig N50 of 38.8 kbp and a scaffold N50 of 3.4 Mbp, and covers 86.5% of the estimated 929 Mbp total genome size. The genome notably lacks the paleo-triplication observed in other eudicots, but reveals a lineage-specific duplication. The genome has evidence of slow evolution, with a 30% slower nucleotide mutation rate than observed in grape. Comparisons of the available sequenced genomes suggest a minimum gene set for vascular plants of 4,223 genes. Strikingly, the sacred lotus has 16 COG2132 multi-copper oxidase family proteins with root-specific expression; these are involved in root meristem phosphate starvation, reflecting adaptation to limited nutrient availability in an aquatic environment.ConclusionsThe slow nucleotide substitution rate makes the sacred lotus a better resource than the current standard, grape, for reconstructing the pan-eudicot genome, and should therefore accelerate comparative analysis between eudicots and monocots.

A new method for the preparation of Ni2+-Fe3+ LDH material with high crystallinity and well-defined hexagonal shapes was successfully developed by using urea as hydrolysis agent and trisodium citrate as chelating reagent under a hydrothermal condition at 150 °C for 2 days.

An electrochemical sensing platform for biomarker detection in complex serum samples with unique long-term antifouling performance was constructed, based on newly designed multifunctional peptides containing anchoring, doping, linking, and antifouling sequences. The designed peptides were first attached onto an electrode surface with the assistance of the anchoring sequences, and the negatively charged doping sequences as dopants for conducting polymer poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were then precisely doped into the electropolymerized PEDOT to form a conducting and stable substrate, leaving the linking and antifouling sequences exposed on the PEDOT substrate surface. The linking sequence of the peptide between the doping and antifouling parts was designed to be beneficial for enhancing the antifouling performance. After the biorecognizing probe immobilization, the obtained biosensor was able to detect targets with a low limit of detection of 2.3 fM and high specificity in complex biological fluids. More importantly, the electrochemical biosensor exhibited incomparable long-term antifouling performances over previous reports and retained their antifouling capabilities for 20 days, indicating a promising feasibility of this design strategy for the construction of biosensors and bioelectronics to be used or implanted in real biological systems.

A series of 3-D lanthanide porous coordination polymers, [Ln(6)(BDC)(9)(DMF)(6)(H(2)O)(3)·3DMF](n) [Ln = La, 1; Ce, 2; Nd, 3], [Ln(2)(BDC)(3)(DMF)(2)(H(2)O)(2)](n) [Ln = Y, 4; Dy, 5; Eu, 6], [Ln(2)(ADB)(3)(DMSO)(4)·6DMSO·8H(2)O](n) [Ln = Ce, 7; Sm, 8; Eu, 9; Gd, 10], {[Ce(3)(ADB)(3)(HADB)(3)]·30DMSO·29H(2)O}(n) (11), and [Ce(2)(ADB)(3)(H(2)O)(3)](n) (12) (H(2)BDC = benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid and H(2)ADB = 4,4'-azodibenzoic acid), have been synthesized and characterized. In 1-3, the adjacent Ln(III) ions are intraconnected to form 1-D metal-carboxylate oxygen chain-shaped building units, [Ln(4)(CO(2))(12)](n), that constructed a 3-D framework with 4 × 7 Å rhombic channels. In 4-6, the dimeric Ln(III) ions are interlinked to yield scaffolds with 3-D interconnecting tunnels. Compounds 7-10 are all 3-D interpenetrating structures with the CaB6-type topology structure. Compound 11 is constructed by ADB spacers and trinulcear Ce nodes with a NaCl-type topology structure and a 1.9-nm open channel system. In 12, the adjacent Ce(III) ions are intraconnected to form 1-D metal-carboxylate oxygen chain-shaped building units, [Ln(4)(CO(2))(12)](n), and give rise to a 3-D framework. Moreover, 6 exhibits characteristic red luminescence properties of Eu(III) complexes. The magnetic susceptibilities, over a temperature range of 1.8-300 K, of 3, 6, and 7 have also been investigated; the results show paramagnetic properties.

BackgroundThe genus Nelumbo Adans. comprises two living species, N. nucifera Gaertan. (Asian lotus) and N. lutea Pers. (American lotus). A genetic linkage map is an essential resource for plant genetic studies and crop improvement but has not been generated for Nelumbo. We aimed to develop genomic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from the genome sequence and construct two genetic maps for Nelumbo to assist genome assembly and integration of a genetic map with the genome sequence.ResultsA total of 86,089 SSR motifs were identified from the genome sequences. Di- and tri-nucleotide repeat motifs were the most abundant, and accounted for 60.73% and 31.66% of all SSRs, respectively. AG/GA repeats constituted 51.17% of dinucleotide repeat motifs, followed by AT/TA (44.29%). Of 500 SSR primers tested, 386 (77.20%) produced scorable alleles with an average of 2.59 per primer, and 185 (37.00%) showed polymorphism among two parental genotypes, N. nucifera ‘Chinese Antique’ and N. lutea ‘AL1’, and six progenies of their F1 population. The normally segregating markers, which comprised 268 newly developed SSRs, 37 previously published SSRs and 53 sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers, were used for genetic map construction. The map for Asian lotus was 365.67 cM with 47 markers distributed in seven linkage groups. The map for American lotus was 524.51 cM, and contained 177 markers distributed in 11 genetic linkage groups. The number of markers per linkage group ranged from three to 34 with an average genetic distance of 3.97 cM between adjacent markers. Moreover, 171 SSR markers contained in linkage groups were anchored to 97 genomic DNA sequence contigs of ‘Chinese Antique’. The 97 contigs were merged into 60 scaffolds.ConclusionGenetic mapping of SSR markers derived from sequenced contigs in Nelumbo enabled the associated contigs to be anchored in the linkage map and facilitated assembly of the genome sequences of ‘Chinese Antique’. The present study reports the first construction of genetic linkage maps for Nelumbo, which can serve as reference linkage maps to accelerate characterization germplasm, genetic mapping for traits of economic interest, and molecular breeding with marker-assisted selection.

A series of diorganotin(IV) compounds of the type [R(2)Sn(pca)Cl](3)(R = CH(3); (n)Bu; C(6)H(5); C(6)H(5)CH(2); Hpca = 2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid), R(2)Sn(pca)(2)(mH(2)O)xnH(2)O (m= 1: R = CH(3), n= 2, R =(n)Bu, n= 0; m= 0, n= 0: R =(n)Bu, C(6)H(5), C(6)H(5)CH(2)) and (Et(3)NH)(+)[R(2)Sn(pca)(2)Cl](-)xmH(2)O (m= 0: R = CH(3), (n)Bu, C(6)H(5)CH(2); m= 1: R = C(6)H(5)) have been obtained by reactions of 2-pyrazinecarboxylic acid with diorganotin(iv) dichloride in the presence of sodium ethoxide or triethylamine. All compounds were characterized by elemental, IR and NMR spectra analyses. Except for compounds, and, the others were also characterized by X-ray crystallography diffraction analyses, which revealed that compounds and were trinuclear macrocyclic structures with six-coordinate tin(IV) atoms, compounds and were monomeric structures with seven-coordinate tin(IV) atoms, compounds and were polymeric chain structures with seven-coordinate tin(IV) atoms and compounds and were stannate with seven-coordinate tin(IV) atoms.

Construction of porous organic polymers (POPs) as metal-free heterogeneous organic photocatalysts for highly efficient catalytic organic transformations using visible light remains a key challenge. Herein, we report the "bottom-up" strategy to facilely synthesize two Eosin Y dye-based POP frameworks (EY-POPs) for highly efficient heterogeneous organic-photocatalysis. Owing to the high BET surface area and the built-in character of the covalently linked catalytic sites of EY-POPs, these photoactive polymers show excellent catalytic activity in photocatalyzing the aza-Henry reaction. The superior utility of the EY-POP-1 polymer in catalysis was demonstrated by the broad scope of the reactants and the high yield of the reaction products. Moreover, the EY-POP-1 polymer shows robust recycling capability with good retention of photoactivity over at least twelve cycles without any significant loss of the catalytic activity (94-98% yield).Scheme 1 Design and synthesis of Eosin Y dye-embedded porous organic polymers (EY-POPs) via the bottom-up strategy.This journal is

Background Skin is a dynamic organ that maintains homeostasis and provides protection against environmental stimuli and pathogens. However, constant solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation can induce photoaging and photocarcinogenesis, thus reducing skin barrier function by altering skin at the cellular and structural levels. Adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) ameliorate signs of skin photoaging, but their antiphotoaging mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we explored the mechanism by which ADSCs improve skin photoaging. Methods Female C57BL/6J mice were used as experimental subjects and were randomly divided into three groups. We used Western blot analysis, Real time‐polymerase chain reaction, and immunofluorescence to analyze the expression of photoaging‐ and photocarcinogenesis‐related inflammasomes, extracellular matrix components, and related factors. Results The results showed that ADSCs reduced the UVB irradiation‐mediated increase in MMP2, MMP13, phospho‐NF‐κB p65, Nlrp3, and VCAM‐1 mRNA expression. The TGF‐β2 expression trend was opposite that of the above genes. ADSCs ameliorated the downregulation of α6 integrin, CD34, and collagen I by UVB irradiation. Simultaneously, ADSCs reduced the overexpression of COX2 and TNF‐α induced by UVB irradiation. Conclusion These results demonstrated that ADSCs could restore skin barrier function at the cellular and structural levels, enhance hair follicle stem cell (HFSCs) activity by regulating TGF‐β2 and inhibit photoaging‐ and photocarcinogenesis‐related inflammatory responses and extracellular matrix degradation.