In eukaryotes, heterochromatin regions are typically subjected to transcriptional silencing. DNA methylation has an important role in such silencing and has been studied extensively. However, little is known about how methylated heterochromatin regions are subjected to silencing. We conducted a genetic screen and identified an () mutant that releases heterochromatin silencing in We demonstrated that EPCR1 functions redundantly with its paralog EPCR2 and interacts with PWWP domain-containing proteins (PWWPs), AT-rich interaction domain-containing proteins (ARIDs), and telomere repeat binding proteins (TRBs), thus forming multiple functionally redundant protein complexes named PEAT (WWPs-PCRs-RIDs-RBs). The PEAT complexes mediate histone deacetylation and heterochromatin condensation and thereby facilitate heterochromatin silencing. In heterochromatin regions, the production of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and DNA methylation is repressed by the PEAT complexes. The study reveals how histone deacetylation, heterochromatin condensation, siRNA production, and DNA methylation interplay with each other and thereby maintain heterochromatin silencing.

In order to look for novel insecticides targeting the ryanodine receptor, four new series of anthranilic diamides containing modified N-pyridylpyrazoles were designed and synthesized. All of the compounds were characterized and confirmed by (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and HRMS. The single crystal structure of 10c was determined by X-ray diffraction. Their insecticidal activities against oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata) and diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) indicated that most of the compounds showed moderate to high activities at the tested concentration, while compound 19 showed comparable higher activity at the concentration of 0.125 mg/L. The preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) was discussed.

Anthranilic diamides are one of the most important classes of modern agricultural insecticides. To discover new structure-modified compounds with high activity, series of novel carbonyl thioureas, carbonyl ureas, oxadiazoles, carbonyl thiophosphorylureas, oxadiazole-containing amides, and thiazoline-containing amides were designed through the modification of the amide bridge based on the structure of chlorantraniliprole and were synthesized, and bioassays were carried out. The compounds were characterized and confirmed by melting point, IR, (1)H NMR, and elemental analyses or HRMS. Preliminary bioassays indicated that some compounds exhibited significant insecticidal activities against oriental armyworm, diamondback moth, beet armyworm, corn borer, and mosquito. Among them, trifluoroethoxyl-containing carbonyl thiourea 20a showed best larvicidal activity against oriental armyworm, with LC50 and LC95 values of 0.1812 and 0.7767 mg/L, respectively. Meanwhile, 20c and 20e showed 86 and 57% death rates against diamondback moth at 0.005 mg/L, and the LC50 values of the two compounds were 0.0017 and 0.0023 mg/L, respectively, which were lower than that of the control chlorantraniliprole. The relationship between structure and insecticidal activity was discussed, and the HF calculation results indicated that the carbonyl thiourea moiety plays an important role in the insecticidal activity. The present work demonstrated that the trifluoroethoxyl-containing carbonyl thioureas can be used as lead compounds for further development of novel insecticides.

Two series of anthranilic diamides containing acylthiourea and acylurea linkers were designed and synthesized, with changed length and flexibility of the linkers to compare to known anthranilic diamide insecticides. In total, 26 novel compounds were synthesized, and all compounds were characterized by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Their insecticidal activities against oriental armyworm (Mythimna separata), mosquito larvae (Culex pipiens pallens), and diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) were evaluated. The larvicidal activities against oriental armyworm indicated that the introduction of acylthiourea into some structures could retain their insecticidal activity; 8 of the 15 compounds (13a-13e, 14a-14e, and 15a-15e) exhibited 100% larvicidal activity at 10 mg/L. However, the introduction of acylurea decreased the insecticidal activity; only 3 of the 11 compounds (17a-17k) exhibited 100% larvicidal activity at 200 mg/L. The whole-cell patch-clamp technique indicated that compound 13b and chlorantraniliprole exhibited similar effects on the voltage-gated calcium channel. The calcium-imaging technique was also applied to investigate the effects of compounds 13b and 15a on the intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)), which indicated that they released stored calcium ions from endoplasmic reticulum. Experimental results denoted that several new compounds are potential activators of the insect ryanodine receptor (RyR).

According to our previous research on the antiviral activity of β-carboline and tetrahydro-β-carboline derivatives, using (1S,3S)-1-methyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole-3-carbohydrazide (1) as a lead compound, series of novel tetrahydro-β-carboline derivatives containing acylhydrazone moiety were designed, synthesized, and first evaluated for their biological activities. Most of these compounds exhibited excellent antiviral activity both in vitro and in vivo. The in vivo inactivation, curative, and protection activities of compounds 8, 9, 12, 16, 28, 29, and 30 were much higher than that of ribavirin (37.6%, 39.4%, and 37.9% at 500 μg/mL) and the lead compound (40.0%, 42.3%, and 39.6% at 500 μg/mL). Especially, the in vitro and in vivo activities of compound 16 (36.9%, 33.6%, 30.2%, and 35.8%) at 100 μg/mL, which were very close to that of ribavirin (40.0% for in vitro activity) at 500 μg/mL. Compounds 9 and 29 were chosen for the field trials of antiviral efficacy against TMV (tobacco mosaic virus); the results exhibited that both compounds, especially compound 29, showed better activities than control plant virus inhibitors. At the same time, the fungicidal results showed that compounds 6, 9, and 11 exhibited good fungicidal activities against 14 kinds of phytopathogens. Additionally, compounds 3 and 23 exhibited moderate insecticidal activity against the four tested species of insects.