Search

Luminous marine bacteria are traditionally used as a bioassay due to the convenience and high rate of registering the intensity of their physiological function - luminescence. This study aimed to develop the application of Photobacterium phosphoreum in traditional and novel fields - toxicity monitoring and biotechnology. We demonstrated (1) effects of selenite ions on bioluminescence, and (2) biotransformation of selenite to selenium(0) in the form of nanoparticles. The effects of selenite (SeO 3 ) on the intensity of bacterial bioluminescence were studied, and its dependencies on exposure time and concentration of Na 2- ) on the intensity of bacterial bioluminescence were studied, and its dependencies on exposure time and concentration of Na 2 were analyzed. Bioluminescence activation and inhibition were revealed; dose-effect dependencies corresponded to the hormesis model. The toxicity of SeO 3 was characterized by an effective concentration of 10 3 M. Effects of SeO 2- on reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacterial suspensions were studied. High positive correlations were found between the bioluminescence intensity and ROS content, which indicates the decisive role of ROS and associated redox processes in the bioeffects of selenite ions. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of nano-structures in the bacteria exposed to selenite. The energy dispersion spectrum detected a high content of selenium in the nanoparticles. The particle size distribution depended on Na -3 M. Effects of SeO 3 concentration; maxima of the distribution varied within 45-55 nm.2- on reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacterial suspensions were studied. High positive correlations were found between the bioluminescence intensity and ROS content, which indicates the decisive role of ROS and associated redox processes in the bioeffects of selenite ions. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of nano-structures in the bacteria exposed to selenite. The energy dispersion spectrum detected a high content of selenium in the nanoparticles. The particle size distribution depended on Na 2 SeO 3 concentration; maxima of the distribution varied within 45-55 nm., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Nadezhda S. Kudryasheva reports financial support was provided by Russian Science Foundation and Krasnoyarsk Territory and Krasnoyarsk Regional Fund of Science. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Modern nanotechnologies provide various possibilities for efficiently delivering drugs to biological targets. This review focuses on using functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as a drug delivery platform. Owing to their exceptional size and surface characteristics, GNPs are a perfect drug delivery vehicle for targeted and selective distribution. Several in vitro and in vivo tests have shown how simple it is to tailor these particles to administer chemical medications straight to tumors. The GNP surface can also be coated with ligands to modify drug release or improve selectivity. Moreover, the pharmacological activity can be enhanced by using the photothermal characteristics of the particles., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Since infections associated with microbial communities threaten human health, research is increasingly focusing on the development of biofilms and strategies to combat them. Bacterial communities may include bacteria of one or several species. Therefore, examining all the microbes and identifying individual community bacteria responsible for the infectious process is important. Rapid and accurate detection of bacterial pathogens is paramount in healthcare, food safety, and environmental monitoring. Here, we analyze biofilm composition and describe the main groups of pathogens whose presence in a microbial community leads to infection ( Staphylococcus aureus , Enterococcus spp ., Cutibacterium spp ., bacteria of the HACEK, etc.). Particular attention is paid to bacterial communities that can lead to the development of device-associated infections, damage, and disruption of the normal functioning of medical devices, such as cardiovascular implants, biliary stents, neurological, orthopedic, urological and penile implants, etc. Special consideration is given to tissue-located bacterial biofilms in the oral cavity, lungs and lower respiratory tract, upper respiratory tract, middle ear, cardiovascular system, skeletal system, wound surface, and urogenital system. We also describe methods used to analyze the bacterial composition in biofilms, such as microbiologically testing, staining, microcolony formation, cellular and extracellular biofilm components, and other methods. Finally, we present ways to reduce the incidence of biofilm-caused infections., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Levan-type polysaccharides, produced by various organisms, are nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable polymers with a wide range of biological activities. They have high potential for use in medicine, cosmetology, and industry. A large amount of levan (41.1 g L -1 ) was recovered by ethanol precipitation from a liquid nutrient medium of Paenibacillus polymyxa 88A that contained 15 % w/v sucrose as a carbon source. The levan was fractionated by gel-permeation and anion-exchange chromatography and was analyzed by DRIFT and NMR spectroscopy. It was found that levan was represented by slightly branched chains composed of β-(2→6)-Fruf residues. The average molecular mass of the levan was about 1.9 MDa. When shear stress was applied at different temperatures, aqueous levan solutions showed pseudoplastic behavior. As found by SEM, a freeze-dried powdered levan sample had a microporous structure. The levan had excellent emulsifying activity toward sunflower oil, forming an emulsion with long-term stability. Analysis of the antioxidant activity of the levan showed a higher, dose-dependent activity toward ABTS, as compared with that toward DPPH. Finally, the bioactivity of the levan was examined by MTT assay by using human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Amyloid beta (Aβ) is a neuronal metabolic product that plays an important role in maintaining brain homeostasis. Normally, intensive brain Aβ formation is accompanied by its effective lymphatic removal. However, the excessive accumulation of brain Aβ is observed with age and during the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) leading to cognitive impairment and memory deficits. There is emerging evidence that plasmalogens (Pls), as one of the key brain lipids, may be beneficial for AD and cognitive aging. Here, we studied the effects of Pls on cognitive functions and the lymphatic clearance of Aβ from the brain of AD mice and mice of different ages. The results showed that Pls effectively reduce brain Aβ levels and facilitate learning in aged but not old mice. In AD mice, Pls improve the lymphatic clearance of Aβ that is accompanied by an increase in general motor activity and an improvement of the emotional status and learning ability. Thus, these findings suggest that Pls could be a promising candidate for the alternative or concomitant therapy of AD and age-related brain diseases to enhance the lymphatic clearance of Aβ from the brain and cognitive functions.

Microbial reduction of selenium oxyanions, highly soluble, mobile and toxic inorganic selenium compounds, to insoluble selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) is a widely spread phenomenon which is of geochemical, environmental and biotechnological importance. While selenite bioreduction is known for a wide variety of microorganisms, selenate bioreduction is not so common and has mostly been documented for anaerobes, with merely a few reported cases related to aerobic or microaerobic conditions. In some biogenic Se NPs of microbial origin, the presence of sulfur was detected together with selenium in Se NPs, particularly when increased concentrations of sulfate were present in the medium. In this work, the bacterial strain Azospirillum thiophilum BV-S, isolated earlier from a sulfur-containing aqueous environment (Lavrinenko et al. (2010), https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.018853-0), has been shown to reduce selenite to Se NPs also in the presence of 7 mM sulfate in aerobic conditions. Raman spectroscopy was used to monitor the crystallinity and composition of Se NPs formed within the bacterial biomass in the presence of selenite and in the resulting isolated Se NPs, and their spherical morphology was visualised using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). While Se NPs both within the biomass and after isolation gave a typical strong broadened band at 248 cm -1 related to the stretching Se-Se vibrations in amorphous Se 0 , Raman spectrum of the biomass grown with 1 mM selenite + 7 mM sulfate showed also a weaker band at 348 cm -1 typical of the stretching Se-S mode. The absence of the latter band in Raman spectra of the isolated Se NPs indicates that the Raman-detected Se-S bonds most probably occur in intermediate substances such as selenodiglutathione (GS-Se-SG), an intermediary product in the Painter-type reaction of selenite reduction, which is known to undergo further enzymatic transformations in bacteria resulting in the formation of Se 0 . Strain A. thiophilum BV-S has also been found, for the first time for bacteria of the genus Azospirillum, to be capable of reducing selenate (Se VI O 4 ) under static conditions (similar to microaerobic conditions common to habitats of many Azospirillum species in different environments), but not in aerobic conditions, with the formation of Se NPs. The latter, giving a reddish coloration to the bacterial biomass, were characterised by TEM as round-shaped electron-dense structures over bacterial cell images. Raman spectra of the bacterial biomass after cultivation with 5 mM selenate (with or without added sulfate) showed a similar single band at ca. 248 cm 2- in amorphous Se NPs, although 5 mM sulfate slowed down their formation. However, no signs of sulfur covalently bound to Se were observed in Raman spectra in this case. These results indicate a possible negligible role of the selenodisulfide-involving pathway in selenate reduction by A. thiophilum with a noticeable possible interference of sulfate in the process of selenate uptake (i.e., a common transport route) by A. thiophilum cells.-1 in amorphous Se NPs, although 5 mM sulfate slowed down their formation. However, no signs of sulfur covalently bound to Se were observed in Raman spectra in this case. These results indicate a possible negligible role of the selenodisulfide-involving pathway in selenate reduction by A. thiophilum with a noticeable possible interference of sulfate in the process of selenate uptake (i.e., a common transport route) by A. thiophilum cells., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Anna V. Tugarova reports financial support was provided by the Russian Science Foundation. Co-author (A.A. Kamnev) is Guest Editor of the VSI: CSI XLIII 2023 to which we submit our manuscript. The other authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Gratiola officinalis L. (hedge hyssop), a medicinal plant of the Scrophulariaceae family, has diuretic, purgative, and vermifuge properties. It is used as a herbal tea to treat chronic gastroenteritis, renal colic, jaundice, and intestinal worms. Previously, we have found that an extract from G. officinalis is nontoxic and has antitumor, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, anticachexic, and other properties. Our aims in this study were to separate the G. officinalis extract into individual fractions, to identify the most biologically active fractions, and to examine the chemical composition of these fractions and their biological activity toward A498 renal carcinoma cells., Methods: The G. officinalis extract was fractionated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and each fraction was tested for antitumor activity. The active fractions were characterized by UV-visible electron spectral analysis, circular dichroism analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy., Results: Two antitumor-active fractions of a flavonoid nature were isolated and chromatographically purified. On the basis of the nuclear magnetic resonance data, the aglycone fragment of the main component of one fraction was found to be structured as 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-7-hydroxychroman-4-one, or 3',4'-dimethoxy-7- hydroxyflavanone., Conclusion: The antitumor effect of the most active fraction containing 7-O-glucoside of apigenin, glycoside 7,3'-di-O-luteolin and trace amounts of eupatilin against renal carcinoma A498 cells was manifested in its cytotoxic, cytostatic, apoptotic and autophagosomal activities. In addition, we found 3-(1-2)-glucoside of soyaspogenol B, which is a pentacyclic triterpenoid in the structure., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Background: Many bacteria are capable of reducing selenium oxyanions, primarily selenite (SeO 3 ), in most cases forming selenium(0) nanostructures. The mechanisms of these transformations may vary for different bacterial species and have so far not yet been clarified in detail. Bacteria of the genus 2- , including ubiquitous phytostimulating rhizobacteria, are widely studied and have potential for agricultural biotechnology and bioremediation of excessively seleniferous soils, as they are able to reduce selenite ions.Azospirillum , including ubiquitous phytostimulating rhizobacteria, are widely studied and have potential for agricultural biotechnology and bioremediation of excessively seleniferous soils, as they are able to reduce selenite ions., Methods: Cultures of A.brasilense Sp7 and its derivatives (mutant strains) were grown on the modified liquid malate salt medium in the presence or absence of selenite. The following methods were used: spectrophotometric monitoring of bacterial growth; inhibition of glutathione (GSH) synthesis in bacteria by L-buthionine-sulfoximine (BSO); optical selenite and nitrite reduction assays; transmission electron microscopy of cells grown with and without BSO and/or selenite., Results: In a set of separate comparative studies of nitrite and selenite reduction by the wild-type strain A.brasilense Sp7 and its three specially selected derivatives (mutant strains) with different rates of nitrite reduction, a direct correlation was found between their nitrite and selenite reduction rates for all the strains used in the study. Moreover, for BSO it has been shown that its presence does not block selenite reduction in A.brasilense Sp7., Conclusions: Evidence has been presented for the first time for bacteria of the genus Azospirillum that the denitrification pathway known to be inherent in these bacteria, including nitrite reductase, is likely to be involved in selenite reduction. The results using BSO also imply that detoxification of selenite through the GSH redox system (which is commonly considered as the primary mechanism of selenite reduction in many bacteria) does not play a significant role in A.brasilense . The acquired knowledge on the mechanisms underlying biogenic transformations of inorganic selenium in A.brasilense is a step forward both in understanding the biogeochemical selenium cycle and to a variety of potential nano- and biotechnological applications., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Here, we present the new vascular effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA). PDT with 5-ALA induces a leakage of both the meningeal and cerebral blood vessels. The extravasation of photo-excited 5-ALA from the leaky blood vessels into the meninges causes photo-damage of the meningeal lymphatics (MLVs) leading to a dramatic reducing the MLV network and brain's drainage. The PDT-induced impairment of lymphatic regulation of brain's drainage can lead to excessive accumulation of fluids in brain tissues, which is important to consider in the PDT therapy for brain diseases as s possible side effect of PDT with 5-ALA., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 Optica Publishing Group.)

Optofluidics is a new field of modern science that stands at the interface of microfluidics and photonics and has good prospects for application in gas sensors. Microfluidics offers a promising platform for tuning and assembling monolayer structures that are used as sensitive layers for gas detection. Herein, we evaluate the concept of monolayer formation on a silicon nitride substrate enabling a surface coverage up to 59% through a microfluidic convective assembly and couple it with a photonic integrated chip to probe gas sensing performance.

Global climate change and high population growth rates lead to problems of food security and environmental pollution, which require new effective methods to increase yields and stress tolerance of important crops. Nowadays the question of using artificial chemicals is very relevant in theoretical and practical terms. It is important that such substances in low concentrations protect plants under stress conditions, but at the same time inflict minimal damage on the environment and human health. Nanotechnology, which allows the production of a wide range of nanomaterials (NM), provides novel techniques in this direction. NM include structures less than 100 nm. The review presents data on the methods of NM production, their properties, pathways for arrival in plants and their use in human life. It is shown that NM, due to their unique physical and chemical properties, can cross biological barriers and accumulate in cells of live organisms. The influence of NM on plant organism can be both positive and negative, depending on the NM chemical nature, their size and dose, the object of study, and the environmental conditions. This review provides a comparative analysis of the effect of artificial metal nanoparticles (NPm), the commonly employed NMs in plant physiology, on two important aspects of plant life: photosynthetic apparatus activity and antioxidant system function. According to studies, NM affect not only the functional activity of photosynthetic apparatus, but also structural organization of chloroplats. In addition, the literature analysis reflects the dual action of NM on oxidative processes, and antioxidant status of plants. These facts considerably complicate the ideas about possible mechanisms and further use of NPm in biology. In this regard, data on the effects of NM on plants under abiotic stressors are of great interest. Separate section is devoted to the use of NM as adaptogens that increase plant stress tolerance to unfavorable temperatures. Possible mechanisms of NM effects on plants are discussed, as well as the strategies for their further use in basic science and sustainable agriculture., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite the recent advances in quantum technology, the problem of controlling the light emission properties of quantum emitters used in numerous applications remains: a large spectral width, low intensity, blinking, photodegradation, biocompatibility, etc . In this work, we present the theoretical and experimental investigation of quantum light sources - mesoscopic systems consisting of fluorescent molecules in a thin polydopamine layer coupled with metallic or dielectric nanoparticles. Polydopamines possess many attractive adhesive and optical properties that promise their use as host media for dye molecules. However, numerous attempts to incorporate fluorescent molecules into polydopamines have failed, as polydopamine has been shown to be a very efficient fluorescence quencher through Förster resonance energy transfer and/or photoinduced electron transfer. Using the system as an example, we demonstrate new insights into the interactions between molecules and electromagnetic fields by carefully shaping its energy levels through strong matter-wave coupling of molecules to metallic nanoparticles. We show that the strong coupling effectively suppresses the quenching of fluorescent molecules in polydopamine, opening new possibilities for imaging.

During land plant evolution, the number of genes encoding for components of the thiol redox regulatory network and the generator systems of reactive oxygen species (ROS) expanded, tentatively indicating that they have a role in tailored environmental acclimatization. This hypothesis has been validated both experimentally and theoretically during the last few decades. Recent developments of dynamic redox-sensitive GFP (roGFP)-based in vivo sensors for H2O2 and the redox potential of the glutathione pool have paved the way for dissecting the kinetics changes that occur in these crucial parameters in response to environmental stressors. The versatile cellular redox sensory and response regulatory system monitors alterations in redox metabolism and controls the activity of redox target proteins, and thereby affects most, if not all, cellular processes ranging from transcription to translation and metabolism. This review uses examples to describe the role of the redox- and ROS-dependent regulatory network in realising the appropriate responses to diverse environmental stresses. The selected case studies concern different environmental challenges, namely excess excitation energy, the heavy metal cadmium and the metalloid arsenic, nitrogen or phosphate shortages as examples for nutrient deficiency, wounding, and nematode infestation. Each challenge affects the redox-regulatory and ROS network, but our present state of knowledge also points toward pressing questions that remain open in relation to the translation of redox regulation to environmental acclimatization., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Pollutant degradation and heavy-metal resistance may be important features of the rhizobia, making them promising agents for environment cleanup biotechnology. The degradation of phenanthrene, a three-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), by the rhizobial strain Rsf11 isolated from the oil-polluted rhizosphere of alfalfa and the influence of nickel ions on this process were studied. On the basis of whole-genome and polyphasic taxonomy, the bacterium Rsf11 represent a novel species of the genus Neorhizobium , so the name Neorhizobium phenanthreniclasticum sp. nov. was proposed. Analysis of phenanthrene degradation by the Rsf1 strain revealed 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid as the key intermediate and the activity of two enzymes apparently involved in PAH degradation. It was also shown that the nickel resistance of Rsf11 was connected with the extracellular adsorption of metal by EPS. The joint presence of phenanthrene and nickel in the medium reduced the degradation of PAH by the microorganism, apparently due to the inhibition of microbial growth but not due to the inhibition of the activity of the PAH degradation enzymes. Genes potentially involved in PAH catabolism and nickel resistance were discovered in the microorganism studied. N. phenanthreniclasticum strain Rsf11 can be considered as a promising candidate for use in the bioremediation of mixed PAH-heavy-metal contamination.

One of the most significant problems of the 21st century is the anthropogenic strain on the environment. The development of nanotechnology makes it possible to produce a variety of nanomaterials widely used in people's daily lives. However, nanomaterials can accumulate in ecosystems and spread through food chains. The environmental risks of nanoparticle proliferation are unclear. At the same time, certain nanoparticles act as adaptogens, improving plant tolerance to unfavorable stress factors. It is quite realistic to choose such experimental conditions, under which the effect on plant stress tolerance will be obvious and the accumulation of nanoparticles in tissues will be minimal. In this case, the main relevant factors are the type of nanoparticles, their concentration and their way of penetration into plants. We chose to study gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs), widely used in biomedical research. The concentration of Au-NPs was 20 μg/mL, which is considered safe for living organisms. The influence of Au-NPs on some physiological, biochemical and molecular characteristics of wheat plants during low temperature hardening was examined. The study of the photosynthetic apparatus and antioxidant system was the primary focus. The stimulating effect of Au-NPs on cold tolerance of wheat plants was shown. The results expand our knowledge of the processes by which nanoparticles impact plants and the potential applications of nanoparticles as adaptogens in science and agriculture., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A rhizosphere strain, Achromobacter insolitus LCu2, was isolated from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) roots. It was able to degrade of 50% glyphosate as the sole phosphorus source, and was found resistant to 10 mM copper (II) chloride, and 5 mM glyphosate-copper complexes. Inoculation of alfalfa seedlings and potato microplants with strain LCu2 promoted plant growth by 30-50%. In inoculated plants, the toxicity of the glyphosate-copper complexes to alfalfa seedlings was decreased, as compared with the noninoculated controls. The genome of A. insolitus LCu2 consisted of one circular chromosome (6,428,890 bp) and encoded 5843 protein genes and 76 RNA genes. Polyphasic taxonomic analysis showed that A. insolitus LCu2 was closely related to A. insolitus DSM23807 T on the basis of the average nucleotide identity of the genomes of 22 type strains and the multilocus sequence analysis. Genome analysis revealed genes putatively responsible for (1) plant growth promotion (osmolyte, siderophore, and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase biosynthesis and auxin metabolism); (2) degradation of organophosphonates (glyphosate oxidoreductase and multiple phn clusters responsible for the transport, regulation and C-P lyase cleavage of phosphonates); and (3) tolerance to copper and other heavy metals, effected by the CopAB-CueO system, responsible for the oxidation of copper (I) in the periplasm, and by the efflux Cus system. The putative catabolic pathways involved in the breakdown of phosphonates are predicted. A. insolitus LCu2 is promising in the production of crops and the remediation of soils contaminated with organophosphonates and heavy metals., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The need for rapid and cheap synthesis of large numbers of chemical compounds has contributed to the emergence of combinatorial chemistry (simultaneous synthesis of different compounds, in contrast to traditional synthesis, in which each substance is produced individually). Combinatorial library methods were initially applied only to peptides and oligonucleotides. By now, the scope of these libraries has expanded considerably to include proteins, synthetic oligomers, small molecules, and oligosaccharides. The enormous variety of antibodies (Abs) makes it possible to detect clones able to interact highly specifically with almost any natural or synthetic antigen (Ag). Phage Abs are an excellent alternative to mono- and polyclonal Abs, because they are highly stable, have no disulfide bonds, and are much cheaper to make. Monitoring of various substances, including proteins, in a living organism is much in demand. Despite the vast amount of literature available on Ab phage display, the use of phage display to determine diagnostically important Ags has not been sufficiently covered. Many studies have confirmed that unlike other types of Abs, phage Abs ensure highly sensitive Ag detection. Therefore, this review focuses on the use of phage display to prepare Abs specific to diagnostically important Ags (allergens, disease and cancer biomarkers, toxins) and on their application in analytical systems, including biosensors. The use of phage Abs in Ag diagnostics is compared with the use of classical Abs, and the prospects are shown for the use of phage Abs as biosensor sensing elements. This review analyzes the recent advances in the detection of diagnostically important Ags by using phage display-based biosensors. Systematic information is presented about allergens, disease and cancer biomarkers, and toxins detected by using phage Abs. Phage display Abs for sensor-based Ag detection are presented as an affordable alternative to classic tests., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Existing methods for the mass detection of viruses are limited to the registration of small amounts of a viral genome or specific protein markers. In spite of high sensitivity, the applied methods cannot distinguish between virulent viral particles and non-infectious viral particle debris. We report an approach to solve this long-standing challenge using the SARS-CoV-2 virus as an example. We show that wide-field optical microscopy with the state-of-the-art mesoscopic fluorescent labels, formed by a core-shell plasmonic nanoparticle with fluorescent dye molecules in the core-shell that are strongly coupled to the plasmonic nanoparticle, not only rapidly, i.e. in less than 20 minutes after sampling, detects SARS-CoV-2 virions directly in a patient sample without a pre-concentration step, but can also distinguish between infectious and non-infectious virus strains by counting the spikes on the lipid envelope of individual viral particles.

A comprehensive study was performed on the supramolecular ordering and optical properties of thin nanostructured glycerohydrogel sol-gel plates based on chitosan L- and D-aspartate and their individual components in the X-ray, UV, visible, and IR ranges. Our comparative analysis of chiroptical characteristics, optical collimated transmittance, the average cosine of the scattering angle, microrelief and surface asymmetry, and the level of structuring shows a significant influence of the wavelength range of electromagnetic radiation and the enantiomeric form of aspartic acid on the functional characteristics of the sol-gel materials. At the macrolevel of the supramolecular organization, a complex topography of the surface layer and a dense amorphous-crystalline ordering of polymeric substances were revealed, while at the nanolevel, there were two forms of voluminous scattering domains: nanospheres with diameters of 60-120 nm (L-) and 45-55 nm (D-), anisometric particles of lengths within ~100-160 (L-) and ~85-125 nm (D-), and widths within ~10-20 (L-) and ~20-30 nm (D-). The effect of optical clearing on glass coated with a thin layer of chitosan L-(D-)aspartate in the near-UV region was discovered (observed for the first time for chitosan-based materials). The resulting nanocomposite shape-stable glycerohydrogels seem promising for sensorics and photonics.

The meningeal lymphatic vessels (MLVs) play an important role in the removal of toxins from the brain. The development of innovative technologies for the stimulation of MLV functions is a promising direction in the progress of the treatment of various brain diseases associated with MLV abnormalities, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, brain tumors, traumatic brain injuries, and intracranial hemorrhages. Sleep is a natural state when the brain's drainage processes are most active. Therefore, stimulation of the brain's drainage and MLVs during sleep may have the most pronounced therapeutic effects. However, such commercial technologies do not currently exist. This study presents a new portable technology of transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) under electroencephalographic (EEG) control of sleep designed to photo-stimulate removal of toxins (e.g., soluble amyloid beta (Aβ)) from the brain of aged BALB/c mice with the ability to compare the therapeutic effectiveness of different optical resources. The technology can be used in the natural condition of a home cage without anesthesia, maintaining the motor activity of mice. These data open up new prospects for developing non-invasive and clinically promising photo-technologies for the correction of age-related changes in the MLV functions and brain's drainage processes and for effectively cleansing brain tissues from metabolites and toxins. This technology is intended both for preclinical studies of the functions of the sleeping brain and for developing clinically relevant treatments for sleep-related brain diseases.

Higher-fungi xylotrophic basidiomycetes are known to be the reservoirs of bioactive metabolites. Currently, a great deal of attention has been paid to the exploitation of mycelial fungi products as an innovative alternative in crop protection. No data exist on the mechanisms behind the interaction between xylotrophic mushrooms' glycopolymeric substances and plants. In this study, the effects of basidiomycete metabolites on the morphophysiological and biochemical variables of wheat plants have been explored. Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Saratovskaya 29) seedlings were treated with extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs) isolated from the submerged cultures of twenty basidiomycete strains assigned to 13 species and 8 genera. The EPS solutions at final concentrations of 15, 40, and 80 mg/L were applied to wheat seedlings followed by their growth for 10 days. In the plant samples, the biomass, length of coleoptile, shoot and root, root number, rate of lipid peroxidation by malondialdehyde concentration, content of hydrogen peroxide, and total phenols were measured. The peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity were defined. Most of the EPS preparations improved biomass yields, as well as the morphological parameters examined. EPS application enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes and decreased oxidative damage to lipids. Judging by its overall effect on the growth indices and redox system of wheat plants, an EPS concentration of 40 mg/L has been shown to be the most beneficial compared to other concentrations. This study proves that novel bioformulations based on mushroom EPSs can be developed and are effective for wheat growth and antioxidative response. Phytostimulating properties found for EPSs give grounds to consider extracellular metabolites produced in the xylotrophic basidiomycete cultures as an active component capable of inducing plant responses to stress.

We report the results of taxonomic studies on members of the family Micrococcaceae that, according to the 16S rRNA, internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1), average nucleotide identity (ANI), and average amino acid identity (AAI) tests, are related to Kocuria rosea strain RCAM04488, a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) isolated from the rhizosphere of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). In these studies, we used whole-genome phylogenetic tests and pangenomic analysis. According to the ANI > 95 % criterion, several known members of K. salina, K. polaris, and K. rosea (including K. rosea type strain ATCC 186T) that are related most closely to isolate RCAM04488 in the ITS1 test should be assigned to the same species with appropriate strain verification. However, these strains were isolated from strongly contrasting ecological and geographical habitats, which could not but affect their genotypes and phenotypes and which should be taken into account in evaluation of their systematic position. This contradiction was resolved by a pangenomic analysis, which showed that the strains differed strongly in the number of accessory and strain-specific genes determining their individuality and possibly their potential for adaptation to different ecological niches. Similar results were obtained in a full-scale AAI test against the UniProt database (about 250 million records), by using the AAI-profiler program and the proteome of K. rosea strain ATCC 186T as a query. According to the AAI > 65 % criterion, members of the genus Arthrobacter and several other genera belonging to the class Actinomycetes, with a very wide geographical and ecological range of sources of isolation, should be placed into the same genus as Kocuria. Within the paradigm with vertically inherited phylogenetic markers, this could be regarded as a signal for their following taxonomic reclassification. An important factor in this case may be the detailing of the gene composition of the strains and the taxonomic ratios resulting from analysis of the pangenomes of the corresponding clades., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © AUTHORS.)

The thiol redox state is a decisive functional characteristic of proteins in cell biology. Plasmatic cell compartments maintain a thiol-based redox regulatory network linked to the glutathione/glutathione disulfide couple (GSH/GSSG) and the NAD(P)H system. The basic network constituents are known and in vivo cell imaging with gene-encoded probes have revealed insight into the dynamics of the [GSH] 2 /[GSSG] redox potential, cellular H 2 O 2 and NAD(P)H+H + amounts in dependence on metabolic and environmental cues. Less understood is the contribution and interaction of the network components, also because of compensatory reactions in genetic approaches. Reconstituting the cytosolic network of Arabidopsis thaliana in vitro from fifteen recombinant proteins at in vivo concentrations, namely glutathione peroxidase-like (GPXL), peroxiredoxins (PRX), glutaredoxins (GRX), thioredoxins, NADPH-dependent thioredoxin reductase A and glutathione reductase and applying Grx1-roGFP2 or roGFP2-Orp1 as dynamic sensors, allowed for monitoring the response to a single H 2 O 2 pulse. The major change in thiol oxidation as quantified by mass spectrometry-based proteomics occurred in relevant peptides of GPXL, and to a lesser extent of PRX, while other Cys-containing peptides only showed small changes in their redox state and protection. Titration of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) into the system together with dehydroascorbate reductase lowered the oxidation of the fluorescent sensors in the network but was unable to suppress it. The results demonstrate the power of the network to detoxify H 2 O 2 , the partially independent branches of electron flow with significance for specific cell signaling and the importance of APX to modulate the signaling without suppressing it and shifting the burden to glutathione oxidation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

One effective antigen carrier proposed for use in immunization and vaccination is gold nanoparticles. Prior work has shown that gold nanoparticles themselves have adjuvant properties. Currently, gold nanoparticles are used to design new diagnostic tests and vaccines against viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections. We investigated the use of gold nanoparticles as immunomodulators in immunization and vaccination with an antigen isolated from Brucella abortus. Gold nanoparticles with a diameter of 15 nm were synthesized for immunization of animals and were then conjugated to the isolated antigen. The conjugates were used to immunize white BALB/c mice. As a result, high-titer (1:10240) antibodies were produced. The respiratory and proliferative activities of immune cells were increased, as were the serum interleukin concentrations. The minimum antigen amount detected with the produced antibodies was ∼ 0.5 pg. The mice immunized with gold nanoparticles complexed with the B. abortus antigen were more resistant to B. abortus strain 82 than were the mice immunized through other schemes. This fact indicates that animal immunization with this conjugate enhances the effectiveness of the immune response. The results of this study are expected to be used in further work to examine the protective effect of gold nanoparticles complexed with the B. abortus antigen on immunized animals and to develop test systems for diagnosing brucellosis in the laboratory and in the field., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Electron flow through the electron transport chain (ETC) is essential for oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria and photosynthesis in chloroplasts. Electron fluxes depend on environmental parameters, e.g., ionic and osmotic conditions and endogenous factors, and this may cause severe imbalances. Plants have evolved alternative sinks to balance the reductive load on the electron transport chains in order to avoid overreduction, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and to cope with environmental stresses. These sinks act primarily as valves for electron drainage and secondarily as regulators of tolerance-related metabolism, utilizing the excess reductive energy. High salinity is an environmental stressor that stimulates the generation of ROS and oxidative stress, which affects growth and development by disrupting the redox homeostasis of plants. While glycophytic plants are sensitive to high salinity, halophytic plants tolerate, grow, and reproduce at high salinity. Various studies have examined the ETC systems of glycophytic plants, however, information about the state and regulation of ETCs in halophytes under non-saline and saline conditions is scarce. This review focuses on alternative electron sinks in chloroplasts and mitochondria of halophytic plants. In cases where information on halophytes is lacking, we examined the available knowledge on the relationship between alternative sinks and gradual salinity resilience of glycophytes. To this end, transcriptional responses of involved components of photosynthetic and respiratory ETCs were compared between the glycophyte Arabidopsis thaliana and the halophyte Schrenkiella parvula, and the time-courses of these transcripts were examined in A. thaliana. The observed regulatory patterns are discussed in the context of reactive molecular species formation in halophytes and glycophytes., (© 2024 The Author(s). Physiologia Plantarum published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.)

Fluorescence labeling of cells is a versatile tool used to study cell behavior, which is of significant importance in biomedical sciences. Fluorescent photoconvertible markers based on polymer microcapsules have been recently considered as efficient and perspective ones for long-term tracking of individual cells. However, the dependence of photoconversion conditions on the polymeric capsule structure is still not sufficiently clear. Here, we have studied the structural and spectral properties of fluorescent photoconvertible polymeric microcapsules doped with Rhodamine B and irradiated using a pulsed laser in various regimes, and shown the dependence between the photoconversion degree and laser irradiation intensity. The effect of microcapsule composition on the photoconversion process was studied by monitoring structural changes in the initial and photoconverted microcapsules using X-ray diffraction analysis with synchrotron radiation source, and Fourier transform infrared, Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy. We demonstrated good biocompatibility of free-administered initial and photoconverted microcapsules through long-term monitoring of the RAW 264.7 monocyte/macrophage cells with unchanged viability. These data open new perspectives for using the developed markers as safe and precise cell labels with switchable fluorescent properties.

Dark-light and light-dark transitions during the day are switching points of leaf metabolism that strongly affect the regulatory state of the cells, and this change is hypothesized to affect the translatome. The cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases GAPC1 and GAPC2 function in glycolysis, and carbohydrate and energy metabolism, but GAPC1/C2 also shows moonlighting functions in gene expression and post-transcriptional regulation. In this study we examined the rapid reprogramming of the translatome that occurs within 10 min at the end of the night and the end of the day in wild-type (WT) Arabidopsis and a gapc1/c2 double-knockdown mutant. Metabolite profiling compared to the WT showed that gapc1/c2 knockdown led to increases in a set of metabolites at the start of day, particularly intermediates of the citric acid cycle and linked pathways. Differences in metabolite changes were also detected at the end of the day. Only small sets of transcripts changed in the total RNA pool; however, RNA-sequencing revealed major alterations in polysome-associated transcripts at the light-transition points. The most pronounced difference between the WT and gapc1/c2 was seen in the reorganization of the translatome at the start of the night. Our results are in line with the proposed hypothesis that GAPC1/C2 play a role in the control of the translatome during light/dark transitions., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Diazotrophic bacteria of the genus Azospirillum are known widely, because they are ubiquitous in the rhizosphere and can promote the growth and performance of nonlegume plants. Recently, more Azospirillum species have been isolated from sources other than plants or soil. We report the structures of the O polysaccharides (OPSs) from the lipopolysaccharides of the type strains A. thiophilum BV-S T (1) and A. griseum L-25-5w-1 T (2), isolated from aquatic environments. Both structures have a common tetrarhamnan in the repeating-unit, which is decorated with a side xylose in the OPS of A. thiophilum BV-S T ., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We studied grafted tumors obtained by subcutaneous implantation of kidney cancer cells into male white rats. Gold nanorods with a plasmon resonance of about 800 nm were injected intratumorally for photothermal heating. Experimental irradiation of tumors was carried out percutaneously using a near-infrared diode laser. Changes in the optical properties of the studied tissues in the spectral range 350-2200 nm under plasmonic photothermal therapy (PPT) were studied. Analysis of the observed changes in the absorption bands of water and hemoglobin made it possible to estimate the depth of thermal damage to the tumor. A significant decrease in absorption peaks was observed in the spectrum of the upper peripheral part and especially the tumor capsule. The obtained changes in the optical properties of tissues under laser irradiation can be used to optimize laboratory and clinical PPT procedures., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

This article reports the results of quantitative intra- and intergeneric taxonomic relationships among Micrococcaceae strains and a novel endophytic bacterium (SG) isolated from a suspension culture of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh in our laboratory. The known strain Rothia sp. ND6WE1A was used as a reference one for SG. Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were based on the 16S rRNA test. Quantitative analysis for the nucleotide identity (ANI) and calculation of evolutionary distances were based on the identified amino acids (AAI) test indicating the generic assignment of the reference strain within and between the identified monophyletic groups of Micrococcaceae. The amino acid data structure of Rothia sp. ND6WE1A was compared against the UniProt database (250 million records) of close lineage of Micrococcaceae, including other Rothia spp. These data presented unique and evolutionary amino acid alignments, eventually expected in the new SG isolate as well. The metagenomic entries of the respective genome and proteome, characterized at the genus and species levels, could be considered for evolutionary taxonomic reclassification of the isolated and the reference strain (SG + Rothia sp. ND6WE1A). Therefore, our results warrant further investigations on the isolated SG strain., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Plants often encounter stress in their environment. For appropriate responses to particular stressors, cells rely on sensory mechanisms that detect emerging stress. Considering sensor and signal amplification characteristics, a single sensor system hardly covers the entire stress range encountered by plants (e.g., salinity, drought, temperature stress). A dual system comprising stress-specific sensors and a general quantitative stress sensory system is proposed to enable the plant to optimize its response. The quantitative stress sensory system exploits the redox and reactive oxygen species (ROS) network by altering the oxidation and reduction rates of individual redox-active molecules under stress impact. The proposed mechanism of quantitative stress sensing also fits the requirement of dealing with multifactorial stress conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests No interests are declared., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cysteine conjugation is an important tool in protein research and relies on fast, mild and chemoselective reactions. Cysteinyl thiols can either be modified with prefunctionalized electrophiles, or converted into electrophiles themselves for functionalization with selected nucleophiles in an independent step. Here we report a bioconjugation strategy that uses a vinyl thianthrenium salt to transform cysteine into a highly reactive electrophilic episulfonium intermediate in situ, to enable conjugation with a diverse set of bioorthogonal nucleophiles in a single step. The reactivity profile can connect several nucleophiles to biomolecules through a short and stable ethylene linker, ideal for introduction of infrared labels, post-translational modifications or NMR probes. In the absence of reactive exogenous nucleophiles, nucleophilic amino acids can react with the episulfonium intermediate for native peptide stapling and protein-protein ligation. Ready synthetic access to isotopologues of vinyl thianthrenium salts enables applications in quantitative proteomics. Such diverse applications demonstrate the utility of vinyl-thianthrenium-based bioconjugation as a fast, selective and broadly applicable tool for chemical biology., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The lipopolysaccharides of Herbaspirillum lusitanum P6-12 T (HlP6-12 T ) and H. frisingense GSF30 T (HfGSF30 T ) was isolated by phenol-water extraction from bacterial cells and was characterized using chemical analysis and SDS-PAGE. It was shown that these bacteria produce LPSs that differ in their physicochemical properties and macromolecular organization. In this paper, the lipid A structure of the HlP6-12 T LPS, was characterized through chemical analyses and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. To prove the effect of the size of micelles on their bioavailability, we examined the activity of both LPSs toward the morphology of wheat seedlings. Analysis of the HlP6-12 T and HfGSF30 T genomes showed no significant differences between the operons that encode proteins involved in the biosynthesis of the lipids A and core oligosaccharides. The difference may be due to the composition of the O-antigen operon. HfGSF30 T has two copies of the rfb operon, with the main one divided into two fragments. In contrast, the HlP6-12 T genome contains only a single rfb-containing operon, and the other O-antigen operons are not comparable at all. The integrity of O-antigen-related genes may also affect LPS variability of. Specifically, we have observed a hairpin structure in the middle of the O-antigen glycosyltransferase gene, which led to the division of the gene into two fragments, resulting in incorrect protein synthesis and potential abnormalities in O-antigen production., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The development of approaches based on genetically modified cells is accompanied by a constant intensive search for new effective and safe delivery systems and the study of existing ones. Recently, we developed a new plasmonic nanoparticle layers-mediated optoporation system that can be proposed for precisely controlled, high-performance laser transfection compatible with broad types of cells and delivered objects of interest. The main goal of the present study is to demonstrate the broad possibilities and advantages of our system for optoporation of several mammalian cells, classified as "easy-to-transfect" cells, namely HeLa and CHO lines, and "hard-to-transfect" cells, namely A431 and RAW 264.7 cells. We show the efficient delivery of various sized cargo molecules: from small molecular dyes propidium iodide (PI) with molecular mass 700 Da, control plasmids (3-10 kb) to fluorophore-labeled dextranes with masses ranging from 10 kDa up to 100 kDa. The performance of optoporation was investigated for two types of laser sources, 800-nm continuous-wave laser, and 1064-nm ns pulsed laser. We provided a comparative study between our system and commercial agent Lipofectamine for transient transfection and stable transfection of HeLa cells with plasmids encoding fluorescent proteins. The quantitative data analysis using flow cytometry, Alamar blue viability assay, and direct fluorescence microscopy revealed higher optoporation efficacy for hard-to-transfect A431 cells and Raw 264.7 cells than lipofection efficacy. Finally, we demonstrated the optoporation performance at the single-cell level by successful delivering PI to the individual CHO cells with revealed high viability for at least 72 h post-irradiation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) are major components of the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria. In this work, the structure of the O-polysaccharide of Ochrobactrum quorumnocens T1Kr02 was identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and the physical-chemical properties and biological activity of LPS were also investigated. The NMR analysis showed that the O-polysaccharide has the following structure: →2)-β-d-Fuc f -(1→3)-β-d-Fuc p -(1→. The structure of the periplasmic glucan coextracted with LPS was established by NMR spectroscopy and chemical methods: →2)-β-d-Glc p -(1→. Non-stoichiometric modifications were identified in both polysaccharides: 50% of d-fucofuranose residues at position 3 were O-acetylated, and 15% of d-Glc p residues at position 6 were linked with succinate. This is the first report of a polysaccharide containing both d-fucopyranose and d-fucofuranose residues. The fatty acid analysis of the LPS showed the prevalence of 3-hydroxytetradecanoic, hexadecenoic, octadecenoic, lactobacillic, and 27-hydroxyoctacosanoic acids. The dynamic light scattering demonstrated that LPS (in an aqueous solution) formed supramolecular particles with a size of 72.2 nm and a zeta-potential of -21.5 mV. The LPS solution (10 mkg/mL) promoted the growth of potato microplants under in vitro conditions. Thus, LPS of O. quorumnocens T1Kr02 can be recommended as a promoter for plants and as a source of biotechnological production of d-fucose.

Lipopolysaccharide was obtained from the aerobic moderately halophilic bacterium Halomonas fontilapidosi KR26. The O-polysaccharide was isolated by mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharide and was examined by chemical methods and by 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy, including 1 H, 1 H COSY, TOCSY, ROESY, and 1 H, 13 C HSQC, and HMBC experiments. The following structure of the linear tetrasaccharide repeating unit was deduced. →2)-α-l-Rhap-(1→2)-α-l-Rhap-(1→3)-α-l-Rhap-(1→3)-β-d-Galp-(1→., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Improving the nutritional value of grain sorghum, a drought- and heat-tolerant grain crop, is an important task in the context of global warming. One of the reasons for the low nutritional value of sorghum grain is the resistance of its storage proteins (kafirins) to proteolytic digestion, which is due, among other things, to the structural organization of protein bodies, in which γ-kafirin, the most resistant to proteases, is located on the periphery, encapsulating more easily digested α-kafirins. The introduction of genetic constructs capable of inducing RNA silencing of the γ-kafirin (gKAF1) gene opens up prospects for solving this problem. Using Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of immature embryos of the grain sorghum cv. Avans we have obtained a mutant with improved digestibility of endosperm proteins (up to 92 %) carrying a genetic construct for RNA silencing of the gKAF1 gene. The goal of this work was to study the stability of inheritance of the introduced genetic construct in T2-T4 generations, to identify the number of its copies, as well as to trace the manifestation of agronomically valuable traits in the offspring of the mutant. The mutant lines were grown in experimental plots in three randomized blocks. The studied lines were characterized by improved digestibility of kafirins, a modified type of endosperm, completely or partially devoid of the vitreous layer, an increased percentage of lysine (by 75 %), reduced plant height, peduncle length, 1000-grains weight, and grain yield from the panicle. In T2, a line with monogenic control of GA resistance was selected. qPCR analysis showed that in different T3 and T4 plants, the genetic construct was present in 2-4 copies. In T3, a line with a high digestibility of endosperm proteins (81 %) and a minimal decrease in agronomically valuable traits (by 5-7 %) was selected., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © AUTHORS.)

There is an association between sleep quality and glioma-specific outcomes, including survival. The critical role of sleep in survival among subjects with glioma may be due to sleep-induced activation of brain drainage (BD), that is dramatically suppressed in subjects with glioma. Emerging evidence demonstrates that photobiomodulation (PBM) is an effective technology for both the stimulation of BD and as an add-on therapy for glioma. Emerging evidence suggests that PBM during sleep stimulates BD more strongly than when awake. In this study on male Wistar rats, we clearly demonstrate that the PBM course during sleep vs. when awake more effectively suppresses glioma growth and increases survival compared with the control. The study of the mechanisms of this phenomenon revealed stronger effects of the PBM course in sleeping vs. awake rats on the stimulation of BD and an immune response against glioma, including an increase in the number of CD8+ in glioma cells, activation of apoptosis, and blockage of the proliferation of glioma cells. Our new technology for sleep-phototherapy opens a new strategy to improve the quality of medical care for patients with brain cancer, using promising smart-sleep and non-invasive approaches of glioma treatment.

The resistance of biofilms to antibiotics is a key factor that makes bacterial infections unsusceptible to antimicrobial therapy. The results of classical tests of cell sensitivity to antibiotics cannot be used to predict therapeutic success in infections associated with biofilm formation. We describe a simple and rapid method for the real-time evaluation of bacterial biofilm sensitivity to antibiotics, with Pseudomonas putida and ampicillin as examples. The method uses an electric biosensor to detect the difference between changes in the biofilm electric polarizability, thereby evaluating antibiotic sensitivity. The electric signals showed that P. putida biofilms were susceptible to ampicillin and that at high antibiotic concentrations, the biofilms differed markedly in their susceptibility (dose-dependent effect). The sensor also detected differences between biofilms before and after ampicillin treatment. The electric-signal changes enabled us to describe the physical picture of the processes occurring in bacterial biofilms in the presence of ampicillin. The approach used in this study is promising for evaluating the activity of various compounds against biofilms, because it permits a conclusion about the antibiotic sensitivity of biofilm bacteria to be made in real time and in a short period (analysis time, not longer than 20 min). An added strong point is that analysis can be done directly in liquid, without preliminary sample preparation. KEY POINTS: • Sensor system to analyze biofilm antimicrobial susceptibility is described. • The signal change depended on the ampicillin concentration (dose-dependent effect). • The sensor allows real-time determination of the antibiofilm effect of ampicillin., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The possibility of the reaction of ethylene at cryogenic temperatures with dinitrogen tetroxide (N 2 O 4 ), at least at -40 °C, has been demonstrated. An infrared (IR) spectroscopic analysis of the condensed reaction products was carried out, which showed the presence of substances containing organic nitro compounds and organic nitrates. The latter particularly means the possibility of the formation of explosive substances, as in the known explosive cryogenic reaction of N 2 O 4 with butadiene. The fundamental possibility of such a reaction is of importance for the organization of cryogenic production of gases from raw materials containing ethylene and nitrogen oxide impurities. The sensitivity of the experimental setup was demonstrated by using the example of the known reaction of N 2 O 4 with butadiene. The temperature and time characteristics of the latter reaction have been found. To determine the temperature range of possible reactions of ethylene with N 2 O 4 , thermograms of the process of heating the reactive mixture at a constant rate were analyzed. To ensure the sensitivity of the qualitative analysis of thermograms of the reaction of ethylene with N 2 O 4 in the linear heating mode, a quasi-differential method was proposed that uses the temperature of the cryo-thermostat coolant, which varies linearly with time, as the reference temperature. Some recently published theoretical results concerning the mechanisms of N 2 O 4 isomerization are discussed which may be useful for further studies in establishing the mechanisms and predicting the ratios of the products and their yields for the reaction of N 2 O 4 with olefins under particular experimental conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Redox modulation is a common posttranslational modification to regulate protein activity. The targets of oxidizing agents are cysteine residues (Cys), which have to be exposed at the surface of the proteins and are characterized by an environment that favors redox modulation. This includes their protonation state and the neighboring amino acids. The Cys redox state can be assessed experimentally by redox titrations to determine the midpoint redox potential in the protein. Exposed cysteine residues and putative intramolecular disulfide bonds can be predicted by alignments with structural data using dedicated software tools and information on conserved cysteine residues. Labeling with light and heavy reagents, such as N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), followed by mass spectrometric analysis, allows for the experimental determination of redox-responsive cysteine residues. This type of thiol redox proteomics is a powerful approach to assessing the redox state of the cell, e.g., in dependence on environmental conditions and, in particular, under abiotic stress., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Plant growth and survival in their natural environment require versatile mitigation of diverse threats. The task is especially challenging due to the largely unpredictable interaction of countless abiotic and biotic factors. To resist an unfavorable environment, plants have evolved diverse sensing, signaling, and adaptive molecular mechanisms. Recent stress studies have identified molecular elements like secondary messengers (ROS, Ca 2+ , etc.), hormones (ABA, JA, etc.), and signaling proteins (SnRK, MAPK, etc.). However, major gaps remain in understanding the interaction between these pathways, and in particular under conditions of stress combinations. Here, we highlight the challenge of defining "stress" in such complex natural scenarios. Therefore, defining stress hallmarks for different combinations is crucial. We discuss three examples of robust and dynamic plant acclimation systems, outlining specific plant responses to complex stress overlaps. (a) The high plasticity of root system architecture is a decisive feature in sustainable crop development in times of global climate change. (b) Similarly, broad sensory abilities and apparent control of cellular metabolism under adverse conditions through retrograde signaling make chloroplasts an ideal hub. Functional specificity of the chloroplast-associated molecular patterns (ChAMPs) under combined stresses needs further focus. (c) The molecular integration of several hormonal signaling pathways, which bring together all cellular information to initiate the adaptive changes, needs resolving., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

A set of peroxidases detoxifies H 2 O 2 and mediates H 2 O 2 -dependent signal propagation. The peroxidases include peroxiredoxins, glutathione peroxidases, ascorbate peroxidases, and catalases. This at least partial redundancy impedes addressing individual proteins in living plant cells so that the protein functions are often studied by biochemical assays in vitro. In vivo analysis frequently relies on transgenic insertion lines resulting in the knockdown or knockout of the protein of interest. However, many proteins have multiple isoforms in close genomic arrangement so that even crossing of transgenic lines does not allow for a knockdown of all isoforms. The genes encoding for the three cytosolic peroxiredoxins PRXIIB, C, and D in Arabidopsis thaliana are located in close vicinity on chromosome 1 so that crossing over between the genes most rarely occurs and successful crossing of the plants appears impossible. Genome editing instead allows targeting of multiple isoforms and knocks out several genes at once. This chapter describes how to inactivate the three cytosolic peroxiredoxins by CRISPR/Cas9 in A. thaliana., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study on healthy male mice using confocal imaging of dye spreading in the brain and its further accumulation in the peripheral lymphatics, we demonstrate stronger effects of photobiomodulation (PBM) on the brain's drainage system in sleeping vs. awake animals. Using the Pavlovian instrumental transfer probe and the 2-objects-location test, we found that the 10-day course of PBM during sleep vs. wakefulness promotes improved learning and spatial memory in mice. For the first time, we present the technology for PBM under electroencephalographic (EEG) control that incorporates modern state of the art facilities of optoelectronics and biopotential detection and that can be built of relatively cheap and commercially available components. These findings open a new niche in the development of smart technologies for phototherapy of brain diseases during sleep., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. Author Contributions. O.S.-G. initiated and supervised this work. I.F., V.A., E.I., D.M. D.T. carried out technological work to create method for PBM under EEG control; A.S., A.T., I.B. and A.D. performed the confocal analysis; M.Z. made the statistical analysis; D.Z., V.A., A.E., M.M., A.D., V.K., V.T. performed most of the experiments. O.S-G., A.Z., J.K. reviewed all results and wrote the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript., (Published by Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.)

Background: Bacteria and fungi are the most important soil organisms owing to their abundance and the key roles they play in the functioning of ecosystems. We examined possible synergistic and antagonistic effects during the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by co-cultures of ascomycetes and a plant-growth-promoting bacterium., Methods: Bacteria and fungi were grown in a liquid nutrient medium supplemented with PAHs. The PAH degradations and the identification of metabolites were checked by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Enzymatic activities were measured spectrophotometrically using test substrates. All experimental treatments were analyzed using Excel 2019 (Microsoft Office 2019, USA)., Results: The model system included the plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) Azospirillum brasilense and one of the following ascomycetes: Fusarium oxysporum (plant pathogen), Talaromyces sayulitensis (rhizospheric fungus), Trichoderma viride (plant-growth-promoting fungus, PGPF), and Trichoderma harzianum (PGPF). The notable results are: (1) synergistic effects consisted of more active utilization of the PAH mixture compared to individual compounds, while the PAH mixture was more actively degraded by co-cultures than monocultures; (2) three effects of mutual influence by the studied organisms were also revealed: depressing ( F. oxysporum and A. brasilense ), partially depressing ( T. sayulitensis suppressed the growth of A. brasilense but increased the degradation of anthracene, pyrene, and fluoranthene), and positive effects ( A. brasilense and T. viride or T. harzianum ); (3) for the first time quinone metabolites of PAH degradation and extracellular oxidase and peroxidase were produced during PAH degradation by T. sayulitensis. Conclusions: The results of the study contribute to the understanding of bacterial-fungal interactions in polluted settings., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

Analytical devices for bacterial detection are an integral part of modern laboratory medicine, as they permit the early diagnosis of diseases and their timely treatment. Therefore, special attention is directed to the development of and improvements in monitoring and diagnostic methods, including biosensor-based ones. A promising direction in the development of bacterial detection methods is optical sensor systems based on colorimetric and fluorescence techniques, the surface plasmon resonance, and the measurement of orientational effects. This review shows the detecting capabilities of these systems and the promise of electro-optical analysis for bacterial detection. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of optical sensor systems and the prospects for their further improvement.

Electromagnetic theory predicts that the optimal value of the localized plasmon resonance (LPR) wavelength for the maximal SERS enhancement factor (EF) is half the sum of the laser and Raman wavelengths. For small Raman shifts, the theoretical EF scales as the fourth power of the local field. However, experimental data often disagree with these theoretical conclusions, leaving the question of choosing the optimal plasmon resonance for the maximal SERS signal unresolved. Here, we present experimental data for gold nanorods (AuNRs), gold nanotriangles (AuNTs), and gold nanostars (AuNSTs) simulating 1D, 2D, and 3D plasmonic nanostructures, respectively. The LPR wavelengths were tuned by chemical etching within 580-1020 nm at a constant concentration of the particles. The particles were functionalized with Cy7.5 and NBT, and the dependence of the intensity at 940 cm -1 (Cy7.5) and 1343 cm -1 (NBT) on the LPR wavelength was examined for laser wavelengths of 633 nm and 785 nm. The electromagnetic SERS EFs were calculated by averaging the product of the local field intensities at the laser and Raman wavelengths over the particle surface and their random orientations. The calculated SERS plasmonic profiles were redshifted compared to the laser wavelength. For 785 nm excitation, the calculated EFs were five to seven times higher than those for 633 nm excitation. With AuNR@Cy7.5 and AuNT@ Cy7.5, the experimental SERS was 35-fold stronger than it was with NBT-functionalized particles, but with AuNST@Cy7.5 and AuNST@NBT, the SERS responses were similar. With all nanoparticles tested, the SERS plasmonic profiles after 785 nm excitation were slightly blue-shifted, as compared with the laser wavelength, possibly owing to the inner filter effect. After 633 nm excitation, the SERS profiles were red-shifted, in agreement with EM theory. In all cases, the plasmonic EF profiles were much broadened compared to the calculated ones and did not follow the four-power law.

Anesthesia enables the painless performance of complex surgical procedures. However, the effects of anesthesia on the brain may not be limited only by its duration. Also, anesthetic agents may cause long-lasting changes in the brain. There is growing evidence that anesthesia can disrupt the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), leading to neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity. However, there are no widely used methods for real-time BBB monitoring during surgery. The development of technologies for an express diagnosis of the opening of the BBB (OBBB) is a challenge for reducing post-surgical/anesthesia consequences. In this study on male rats, we demonstrate a successful application of machine learning technology, such as artificial neural networks (ANNs), to recognize the OBBB induced by isoflurane, which is widely used in surgery. The ANNs were trained on our previously presented data obtained on the sound-induced OBBB with an 85% testing accuracy. Using an optical and nonlinear analysis of the OBBB, we found that 1% isoflurane does not induce any changes in the BBB, while 4% isoflurane caused significant BBB leakage in all tested rats. Both 1% and 4% isoflurane stimulate the brain's drainage system (BDS) in a dose-related manner. We show that ANNs can recognize the OBBB induced by 4% isoflurane in 57% of rats and BDS activation induced by 1% isoflurane in 81% of rats. These results open new perspectives for the development of clinically significant bedside technologies for EEG-monitoring of OBBB and BDS.

Bacterial biofilms colonize chronic wounds and surfaces of medical devices, thus making the development of reliable methods for imaging and detection of biofilms crucial. Although fluorescent identification of bacteria is sensitive and non-destructive, the lack of biofilm-specific fluorescent dyes limits the application of this technique to biofilm detection. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, that fluorescent glutathione-stabilized gold nanoclusters (GSH-AuNCs) without targeting ligands can specifically interact with extracellular matrix components of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial biofilms resulting in fluorescent staining of bacterial biofilms. By contrast, fluorescent bovine serum albumin-stabilized gold nanoclusters and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid - stabilized gold nanoclusters do not stain the extracellular matrix of biofilms. According to molecular docking studies, GSH-AuNCs show affinity to several targets in extracellular matrix, including amyloid-anchoring proteins, matrix proteins and polysaccharides. Some experimental evidence was obtained for the interaction of GSH-AuNCs with the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that was isolated from the matrix of Azospirillum baldaniorum biofilms. Based on GSH-AuNCs properties, we propose a new fluorescent method for the measurement of biofilm biomass with a limit of detection 1.7 × 10 5  CFU/mL. The sensitivity of the method is 10-fold higher than the standard biofilm quantification with the crystal violet assay. There is a good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity from the biofilms and the number of CFU from the biofilms in the range from 2.6 × 10 5 to 6.7 × 10 7  CFU/mL. The developed nanocluster-mediated method of biofilm staining was successfully applied for quantitative detection of biofilm formation on urinary catheter surface. The presented data suggest that fluorescent GSH-AuNCs can be used to diagnose medical device-associated infections., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)