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The secretory insecticidal protein Sip1Ab and crystal protein Cry8Ca from

Tuberculosis (TB), which is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Increasing lines of evidence indicate that certain individuals, which are termed resisters, are naturally resistant to TB infection. The resister phenotype has been linked to host efficient innate immune responses, but the underlying mechanisms and the key immune factors remain unclear. Here, we find that upon Mtb infection, monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) from TB resisters exhibited distinctly higher production of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, higher ratio of bacteria in acidic vacuoles, and lower intracellular bacterial loads, as compared to that from the healthy controls, individuals with latent TB infection, and TB patients. Such enhanced anti-Mtb immune capacity of macrophages from resisters largely depends on histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), whose expression is specifically maintained in MDMs from TB resisters during Mtb infection. Furthermore, we demonstrate that HDAC6 is required for acidification of Mtb-containing phagosomes in macrophages, thus controlling the intracellular survival of Mtb. Taken together, these findings unravel an indispensable role of HDAC6 in human innate resistance against Mtb infection, suggesting that HDAC6 may serve as a marker for individual TB risk as well as a novel host-directed anti-TB therapeutic target.

Increasing the efficiency of cross-coupling reaction under mild condition and easy catalyst separation is a key issue in the realistically chemical industry application. Here, we report that the fiber-supported Pd catalyst shows a high activity and selectivity for the cross-coupling reaction of terminal alkynes. The yield of the asymmetric 1,3-diyne can reach 83% at 80 °C and 4 h reaction time in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc), and about 87% selectivity. XPS, EDS and SEM results show that Pd metal ions are successfully loaded onto the fiber surface and are reduced to produce active component of Pd (0) by terminal alkyne in reaction. We consider that Pd (0) is the active center of the catalytic cycle, the coordination of the fibers can stabilize Pd particles on the supports and increases the catalytic activity of Pd catalysts. Cu (I) plays a synergistic catalytic role. This study provides an alternative pathway for the high efficient cross-coupling reaction.

Vip3Aa11 and Vip3Aa39 were isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis strains C9 and T03B001, respectively. Despite that there is 95.06% similarity of amino acid sequences between these two prote...

Sip1Aa is an insecticidal protein of Bacillus thuringiensis at the secretory stage. It has a strong toxic effect on the members of order Coleoptera. To date, there are few available studies on Sip1Aa protein and the inclusion body problem is serious, and this raises the importance to conduct further studies on Sip1Aa protein. Disulfide bonds, as the only covalent bond on protein side chains, play an important role in the stability and function of the proteins. The tertiary structure of Sip1Aa protein was analyzed by homologous modeling and other bioinformatics methods to predict the conserved domain of Sip1Aa protein. Cysteine used to replace these amino acids by site-directed mutation. Consequently, we were able to successfully construct Sip149-251, Sip153-248, Sip158-243, and Sip178-314. These were exposed to ultraviolet radiation, and we found that Sip153-248 and Sip158-243 were the most stable, followed by Sip149-251 and Sip178-314 when compared with Sip1Aa. After the mutant strain was transferred into Escherichia coli BL21, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to detect the inducible expression products. Approximately 37.6 kDa of proteins that were highly expressed in E. coli. We found no significant change in the insecticidal activity.

Cavitation is a major pathological feature of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The study is aimed at investigating the mechanism of natural killer (NK) cells participating the cavity formation during Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. Human peripheral blood samples were donated by pulmonary TB patients with cavity or not. Real-time quantitative PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were performed to analyze the expression of cytokines secreted by NK cells. And the cytotoxicity of NK cells was compared between two groups. Our data showed that NK cells were more abundant in cohorts of cavity. Increased abundance of granzyme A and granzyme B was observed in culture supernatants of NK cells isolated from cavitary TB patients, which also resulted in a higher level of nonviable MTB-infected monocytes. Our data firstly demonstrates that NK cells participate in cavity formation in pulmonary TB patients. The elevated level and increased cytotoxicity of NK cells accelerate the cavitary formulation.

Jidong Guo,1,2,* Qiang Li,1,* Xuxia Zhang,2 Cong Yao,2 Rongmei Liu,1 Yu Pang,2 Mengqiu Gao1 1Department of Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, 101149, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, 101149, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: : Yu PangDepartment of Bacteriology and Immunology, Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, No. 9, Beiguan Street, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-10-8950 9162Email pangyupound@163.comMengqiu GaoDepartment of Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, No. 9, Beiguan Street, Tongzhou District, Beijing, 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-10-8950 9322Email gaomqwdm@aliyun.comIntroduction: Interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) can have high false-negative rates for active tuberculosis (TB) cases. Here we investigated factors, including potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms, that contributed to false-negative IGRA results.Methods: We established two cohorts. In the first cohort, we reviewed IGRA results for confirmed TB cases diagnosed in our hospital in 2018. Cases with false-negative IGRA results were analysed to identify factors contributing to false-negative results. In the second cohort, we prospectively studied IL-10 expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of IGRAs-positive and IGRAs-negative TB cases after antigenic stimulation to correlate IL-10 expression with IGRAs results.Results: Of 1232 culture-confirmed TB cases, 1124 produced true-positive IGRA results and 108 had false-negative IGRA results. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified glucocorticoid use and extrapulmonary TB as independent risk factors for false-negative IGRA results. Notably, IL-10 expression of the IGRA-negative group was significantly up-regulated as compared to that of the IGRA-positive group. The average cell supernatant IL-10 concentration of the IGRA-negative group was 4.77 pg/mL, a value that was statistically greater than the IGRA-positive group concentration (1.47 pg/mL, P = 0.007). After PBMCs pretreatment with BRD6989 (to enhance IL-10 secretion), average IFN-γ concentrations in cell supernatants from the IGRA-positive group significantly decreased from 59.73 pg/mL to 33.79 pg/mL (P = 0.011). By contrast, addition of AS101 (to inhibit IL-10 secretion) to false-negative group PBMCs led to an increase of average IFN-γ concentration in cell supernatants from 19.01 pg/mL to 45.10 pg/mL (P = 0.030), a result that was inversely correlated with IL-10 concentration.Conclusion: Our data demonstrate that increased IL-10 secretion by PBMCs is inversely correlated with IGRA assay results in culture-confirmed TB patients. Glucocorticoids use and extrapulmonary TB are significantly associated with false-negative IGRA results. Combination testing to measure IL-10 secretion and IFN-γ release is recommended to improve IGRAs specificity.Keywords: tuberculosis, interferon-γ release assay, interleukin 10

Background Early and accurate diagnosis of rifampicin (RIF)-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is essential for controlling community spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). In order to discover mutations residing outside the rifampicin resistance-determining region (RRDR) of the MTB rpoB gene, we conducted this retrospective study. Methods We retrospectively screened patient records to obtain Xpert MTB/RIF assay results for patients who received care at the Beijing Chest Hospital from 2016 to 2019 in order to identify subjects who met study selection criteria. Stored frozen patient isolates were cultured, harvested, and then subjected to drug susceptibility testing. Concurrently, entire rpoB gene DNA of each isolate was amplified and then sequenced to reveal rpoB mutations. Results Overall, 104 RIF-susceptible tuberculosis patients who were tested using the Xpert MTB/RIF assay also had poor first-line regimen treatment responses. Isolates obtained from these cases included 101 MTB isolates that possessed wild-type rpoB allelic profiles, as demonstrated using Sanger sequencing. However, sequences from the other three isolates confirmed that rpoB of one isolate harbored a mutation encoding the amino acid substitution Ile491Phe and that rpoB genes of two isolates contained a mutation encoding the amino acid substitution Ser450Leu. Conclusion Our data demonstrated that mutations found outside the RRDR of MTB rpoB are rare in Beijing, China, indicating that World Health Organization-approved molecular diagnostics are generally suitable for diagnosing RIF resistance.

Yanhua Song,1 Guirong Wang,2 Qiang Li,1 Rongmei Liu,1 Liping Ma,1 Qi Li,3 Mengqiu Gao1 1Department of Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of China; 2National Clinical Laboratory on Tuberculosis, Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of China; 3Clinical Center on Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Qi LiClinical Center on Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 10 89509322Fax +86 1069546790Email liqi88_dr@163.comMengqiu GaoDepartment of Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 10 89509322Fax +86 1069546790Email gaomengqi55_dr@163.comObjective: This study aims to analyze the correlation between gene inhA mutations by melting curve technology and phenotypic drug susceptibility (DST) results of ethionamide (ETH), and evaluate whether gene inhA mutations detection can serve as a molecular marker in predicting ETH resistance.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 382 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) with the anti-tuberculosis drugs isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), ETH, and others. Phenotypic drug susceptibility and the results of inhA and katG genotypes (mutation and no mutation) were obtained using the melting curve technology MeltPro TB assay.Results: Of the 382 clinical strains of MTB tested, 118 (30.9%) were resistant to INH, and 28 (7.3%) were resistant to ETH. Among the 28 phenotypically ETH-resistant strains, inhA mutations accounted for 42.9% (12/28). These ETH-resistant strains comprise 35.3% (12/34) of the 34 inhA mutant strains. Of 8 single inhA mutation strains (without katG or rpoB mutation), 4(50%) were resistant to INH; however, all of these 8 strains were sensitive to ETH.Conclusion: The inhA mutation test may not be a reliable predictor of ETH resistance. Mutant inhA strains are not necessarily resistant to ETH. The strains with single inhA mutation (without katG or rpoB mutation) may be effective for ETH treatment. The use of ETH in clinical medicine should be guided by gene (other than inhA alone) detection and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing.Keywords: melting curve technique, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, drug resistance, inhA, gene mutation, prothionamide, ethionamide

Yanhua Song,1,* Yifeng Ma,2,* Rongmei Liu,1,* Yuanyuan Shang,3,* Liping Ma,1 Fengmin Huo,3 Yunxu Li,3 Wei Shu,4 Yufeng Wang,5 Mengqiu Gao,1 Yu Pang3 1Department of Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Clinical Laboratory, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Center on TB, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Laboratory Quality Control, Innovation Alliance on Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Treatment (Beijing), Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Mengqiu GaoDepartment of Tuberculosis, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, No. 9, Beiguan Street, Tongzhou District, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-10-8950 9322Email gaomqwdm@aliyun.comYu PangDepartment of Bacteriology and Immunology, Beijing Key Laboratory on Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Research, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University/Beijing Tuberculosis & Thoracic Tumor Research Institute, No. 9, Beiguan Street, Tongzhou District, Beijing 101149, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-10-8950 9359Email pangyupound@163.comObjective: A prospective study was conducted to ascertain the accuracy of oral swab specimens collected in the early morning, spot and at night for detecting pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients with symptoms suggestive of pulmonary TB in Beijing Chest Hospital. An early morning sputum specimen was collected from each patient for GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) and mycobacterial culture. In addition, three oral swabs were collected for TB-LAMP testing.Results: With the combined results of three oral swab specimens, the proportion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)-positive cases achieved 40.6%, which was comparable to results for Xpert and MGIT (P=0.603). Using Xpert plus MGIT as reference, the sensitivity of OS-LAMP on a single specimen ranged from 32.6% on the night oral swab to 50.0% on the morning swab. The combination of three oral swab specimens correctly identified 38 MTB-positive cases, indicating an overall sensitivity of 82.6%, which was significantly higher than that of a single oral swab specimen (P< 0.001, P=0.001).Conclusion: Oral swab can be used as an alternative specimen for diagnosis of pulmonary TB using TB-LAMP. Morning oral swab exhibits the highest sensitivity, and the inclusion of more specimens at different time points provides compensation in diagnostic sensitivity with single oral swab.Keywords: diagnosis, oral swab, TB-LAMP, pulmonary tuberculosis, China

Tuberculosis (TB) is a serious infectious disease with high infection and mortality rates. 5%–10% of the latent tuberculosis infections (LTBI) are likely to develop into active TB, and there are currently no clinical biomarkers that can distinguish between LTBI, active TB and other non-tuberculosis populations. Therefore, it is necessary to develop rapid diagnostic methods for active TB and LTBI. In this study, urinary metabolome of 30 active TB samples and the same number of LTBI and non-TB control samples were identified and analyzed by UPLC-Q Exactive MS. In total, 3744 metabolite components were obtained in ESI- mode and 4086 in ESI + mode. Orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) showed that there were significant differences among LTBI, active TB and non-TB. Six differential metabolites were screened in positive and negative mode, 3-hexenoic acid, glutathione (GSH), glycochenodeoxycholate-3-sulfate, N-[4′-hydroxy-(E)-cinnamoyl]- l -aspartic acid, deoxyribose 5-phosphate and histamine. The overlapping pathways differential metabolites involved were mainly related to immune regulation and urea cycle. The results showed that the urine metabolism of TB patients was disordered and many metabolic pathways changed. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that GSH and histamine were selected as potential molecular markers, with area under curve of receiver operating characteristic curve over 0.75. Among the multiple differential metabolites, GSH and histamine changed to varying degrees in active TB, LTBI and the non-TB control group. The levels of GSH and histamine in 48 urinary samples were measured by ELISA in validation phase, and the result in our study provided the potential for non-invasive biomarkers of TB.

The study objective was to determine whether there is an association between changes in tuberculosis (TB) patient serum albumin levels during anti-TB treatment and subsequent treatment outcomes.We conducted a retrospective study to reveal associations between dynamic changes in TB patient serum albumin levels and stratified clinical outcomes.For TB patients with good treatment outcomes, serum albumin concentrations at treatment initiation and during treatment at 1 month (35.7±5.0 g/L), at 2 months (38.1±4.4 g/L) and at treatment completion (43.2±4.9 g/L) were significantly greater than baseline level (30.9±3.7 g/L, P0.01). Conversely, for patients with poor treatment outcomes, serum albumin concentrations showed no significant treatment-associated change relative to the baseline level (P0.05).Our data demonstrates that serum albumin level changes during early anti-TB treatment are useful indicators for identifying TB patients at high-risk for treatment failure.

Objective This study aims to analyze the correlation between gene inhA mutations by melting curve technology and phenotypic drug susceptibility (DST) results of ethionamide (ETH), and evaluate whether gene inhA mutations detection can serve as a molecular marker in predicting ETH resistance. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 382 strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) with the anti-tuberculosis drugs isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RIF), ETH, and others. Phenotypic drug susceptibility and the results of inhA and katG genotypes (mutation and no mutation) were obtained using the melting curve technology MeltPro TB assay. Results Of the 382 clinical strains of MTB tested, 118 (30.9%) were resistant to INH, and 28 (7.3%) were resistant to ETH. Among the 28 phenotypically ETH-resistant strains, inhA mutations accounted for 42.9% (12/28). These ETH-resistant strains comprise 35.3% (12/34) of the 34 inhA mutant strains. Of 8 single inhA mutation strains (without katG or rpoB mutation), 4(50%) were resistant to INH; however, all of these 8 strains were sensitive to ETH. Conclusion The inhA mutation test may not be a reliable predictor of ETH resistance. Mutant inhA strains are not necessarily resistant to ETH. The strains with single inhA mutation (without katG or rpoB mutation) may be effective for ETH treatment. The use of ETH in clinical medicine should be guided by gene (other than inhA alone) detection and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing.

The responsibility of root is absorbing water and nutrients, it is an important plant tissue, but easily to be affected by biotic and abiotic stresses, affecting crop growth and yield. The design of a synthetic root-specific promoter provides candidate promoters for the functional analysis and efficient expression of stress-related genes in crop roots. In this study, a synthetic root-specific module (pro-SRS) was designed using tandem four-copies of root specific cis-acting elements (OSE1ROOTNODULE, OSE2ROOTNODULE, SP8BFIBSP8AIB, and ROOTMOTIFAPOX1), and fused with minimal promoter from the CaMV 35S promoter to synthesize an artificially synthetic SRSP promoter. The SRSP promoter was cloned in pCAMBIA2300.1 by replacing CaMV 35S promoter so as to drive GUS expression. The constructs with SRSP promoter were transformed in tobacco by Agrobacterium-mediated method. SRSP promoter conferred root-specific expression in transgenic tobacco plants through Real-time PCR (RT-PCR) analysis and GUS histochemical staining analysis. It is indicated that the repeated arrangement of cis-acting elements can realize the expected function of the promoter. This study laid a theoretical foundation for the rational design of tissue-specific promoters.根负责吸收水分和养分，是重要的植物组织，但易受生物及非生物胁迫，影响作物的生长发育和产量。设计合成根特异启动子，可为与胁迫相关的抗性基因在作物根部的功能研究及高效表达提供候选启动子。文中将4 拷贝的根特异性顺式作用元件 (OSE1ROOTNODULE、OSE2ROOTNODULE、SP8BFIBSP8AIB 和ROOTMOTIFAPOX1) 以串联排列方式设计合成了一个根特异性模块 (pro-SRS)，并与来自CaMV 35S 启动子的最小启动子融合，合成一个人工合成启动子SRSP。通过替换CaMV 35S 启动子将SRSP 启动子克隆到pCAMBIA2300.1 中以驱动GUS 表达。将携带SRSP 启动子的构建体通过农杆菌介导的方法转化到烟草中。GUS组织化学染色分析和实时PCR (RT-PCR) 分析显示SRSP 启动子在转基因烟草中赋予根特异性表达。说明顺式作用元件重复排列可实现启动子预期功能，本研究为理性设计植物组织特异启动子奠定了理论基础。.

In this work, α-Fe2O3 nanowires were synthesized on nickel foam with the metal salt MgCl2 as inducing agents. When the prepared α-Fe2O3 nanowires were used as electrode materials in supercapacitors, they exhibited excellent electrochemical performance compared with pristine α-Fe2O3. The Mg2+-induced α-Fe2O3 nanowires have a large specific capacitance of 1.57 ​F ​cm-2 at a current density of 1 ​mA ​cm-2 and the specific capacitance retention is approximately 98% at a current density of 10 ​mA ​cm-2 after 500 cycles. The good electrochemical performance is due to the unique structure of the nanowires. This work opens a new route for supercapacitor materials.

In this work, we first successfully loaded the MOF structure Co-HKUST nanobundles on a foamed nickel without adding any binder. The Co-HKUST is a pseudo-capacitive material with excellent electrochemical performance as a unique energy storage material. As an electro-active material, such cobalt-based MOF exhibits superior pseudo-capacitive behavior in the KOH aqueous electrolyte with a high specific capacitance of 578.6 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, and the specific capacitance remains 452.3 F g−1 when the current density increased to 10 A g−1 with a good rate performance (78.2%). Meanwhile, the cycle retention rate of the Co-HKUST is 88.7% after 1000 cycles at 7.5 A g−1. The two-electrode asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device is also assembled in this work. The specific capacitance of Co-HKUST//AC ASC is 200.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. Though 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1, only 8.2% of the capacitance is lost. Energy density of asymmetric Co-HKUST//AC device can reach 71.35 Wh kg−1 at 1 A g−1 with a power of 809.9 W kg−1. More interestingly, even if the current density increased to 10 A g−1, the energy density maintains 44 Wh kg−1 at power density of 8.5 kW kg−1. The above test results can fully show that the synthesized Co-HKUST material is a promising energy storage material.

The edible mushroom industry produces massive amounts of spent mushroom substrate (SMS). Thus, there is an urgent need for high-value utilization technology to process the SMS, especially SMSs originating from woodchips. Protaetia brevitarsis larvae (PBL) can feed on various types of organic matter and can produce organic fertilizer and insect protein. In this study, we investigated the potential of PBL to utilize and convert SMSs from Auricularia auricula (SMS-AA) and Lentinula edodes (SMS-LE) cultivation. The results showed that the PBL were able to feed on SMS-AA and SMS-LE and form nutrient-enriched organic fertilizer with a low phytotoxicity and high humic acid content. Further analysis of the organic carbon dynamics suggested that PBL can efficiently digest and utilize lignin. This study demonstrates a new strategy for the utilization of SMSs originating from woodchips, and provides a new model for further investigations on the mechanism of lignin decomposition.

In this work, we designed a simple hydrothermal synthetic method for a ZnCo-PBA@α-Co(OH)2 nanosphere@nanosheet material with good electrochemical properties. The obtained material had a specific capacitance of 423.92 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a cycling retention ratio of 78.48% after 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1. A hybrid supercapacitor device (ZnCo-PBA@α-Co(OH)2//AC) assembled with activated carbon as the negative electrode had a specific capacitance of 122.4 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, a cycling retention rate of 73.53% after 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1, and a very high energy density of 49.13 Wh kg−1 at power density of 1734.0 W kg−1. The significantly improved electrochemical performance of the ZnCo-PBA@α-Co(OH)2 nanocomposites can be attributed to the positive synergistic effects of the porous structure of the PBA material and the large specific surface area of the α-Co(OH)2 nanosheets, on the ion permeability and number of active sites in the reinforcing material; thus, this composite is a potential material for use in future energy storage systems.

Determination and classification of geochemical anomalies is an important step on geochemical exploration. A method called seven levels' classification of geochemical anomalies is presented to determine and classify geochemical anomalies based on backgrounds and cutoff grades of trace elements. The geochemical backgrounds of trace elements resulted from weathering can be described quantitatively by empirical equations in China. Cutoff grades of trace elements are proposed and compiled here. The seven levels' classification method is an objective, distribution free, multivariate, unfixed method and is tested in South Nanling Range, China. Anomaly areas of trace elements are well consistent with their ore-forming geological bodies spatially. Deposits locate generally within their anomaly areas with levels larger than 3 in seven levels' classification. In order to calculate geochemical backgrounds and anomaly levels of trace elements conveniently, GBAL software is developed.

The vegetative insecticidal proteins (VIPs) of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have a broad-spectrum insecticidal activity against Lepidopteran pests and no cross-resistance with the insecticidal crystal protein Cry protein. So there are great potentials for the control of agricultural pests and the resolution of resistance problems. The structural information of Vip3Aa protein and the predicted key amino acid sites on the C-terminal domain of Vip3Aa were analyzed with the methods of bioinformatics such as homology modeling and molecular docking. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to replace these amino acids with alanine, and there was difference in the activities of the mutant protein and Vip3Aa protein. Y619A had improved insecticidal activity against Helicoverpa armigera, but the toxicity of W552A and E627A to Helicoverpa armigera was significantly reduced. The mutants of W552A and E627A had reduced insecticidal activity against Spodoptera exigua. This study demonstrated that the C-terminal domain played an important role in the function of Vip3Aa protein toxin, and the deletion of the side chain of key residues had a significant effect on the activity of the insecticidal protein. This study provides the theoretical basis for revealing the relationship between the structure and function of Vip3Aa protein.

Background The 3-month difference in turnaround time between Xpert and conventional phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (pDST) causes patient treatment challenges when pDST rifampin (RIF) susceptibility results and earlier Xpert results disagree, resulting in unnecessary tuberculosis (TB) patient exposure to toxic second-line drugs. Here, the prevalence of discordant RIF susceptibility test results, specifically Xpert (resistant) vs pDST (susceptible) results, was determined. Methods Tuberculosis patients enrolled between January 2015 and June 2018 at Beijing Chest Hospital who consecutively tested positive for RIF resistance using Xpert then negative using pDST were studied. DNA sequences and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) results provided insights for understanding discordant results. Results Of 26 826 patients with suggestive TB symptoms undergoing Xpert MTB/RIF testing, 728 diagnosed as RIF-resistant were evaluated. Of these, 118 (16.2%) exhibiting Xpert RIF resistance and phenotypic RIF susceptibility yielded 104 successfully subcultured isolates; of these, 86 (82.7%) harbored rpoB gene RIF resistance–determining region mutations and 18 (17.3%) did not. The Leu511Pro (25.0%) and Leu533Pro (17.3%) mutations were most frequently associated with discordant RIF susceptibility test results. Of the 86 isolates with rpoB mutations, 42 (48.8%) with MICs ≤1.0 mg/L were assigned to the RIF-susceptible group, with Leu511Pro being the most common mutation observed. Isolates with a very low bacterial load were most frequently misdiagnosed as RIF-resistant by Xpert. Conclusions Approximately one-sixth of RIF-resistant TB isolates identified via Xpert yielded discordant pDST results due to questionable interpretation of specific “disputed” mutations. Thus, a diagnostic flowchart should be used to correctly interpret Xpert RIF resistance results to best guide patient treatment.

In this study, we collected 540 soil samples from northeast China and isolated the wild-type strain of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) by identifying and cloning 9 Bt strains that expressed the secreted insecticidal protein (Sip) gene. We selected the strain QZL38 for further study. The sip gene was identified from the Bt strain QZL38 using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We sequenced a 1095-base pair fragment of DNA that encodes 364 amino acid residues of a 41.18 kDa pro-toxin and compared it with the registered Sip1Ab protein amino acid residue sequence. The sequence was submitted to GenBank with the accession no. KP231523, and the gene was named sip1Ab. The Sip1Ab protein expressed in Escherichia coli showed insecticidal activity against Colaphellus bowringi Baly, with an LC50 of 1.051 μg mL−1. To identify the active fragment of the Sip1Ab toxin, four pairs of primers with different truncation positions were designed, and the recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli. The truncated Sip protei...

High crystallinity, nano size, and full contact with conductive media are essential for improving the performance of battery materials. Herein, α-MnO2/super-P composite is synthesized via in-situ hydrothermal method. As the cathode material of aqueous Zinc ion battery, the α-MnO2/super-P was maintained 47.0% of discharge capacity after 1000 cycles (decreased from 180 mAh g−1 in the first cycle to 84.6 mAh g−1 in the 1000th cycle) at a high rate of 1.0 A g−1 and reaches the coulombic efficiency to 100% throughout the whole cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance of α-MnO2/super-P is mainly due to the short diffusion path of Zn2+ and the large-scale conductive network of conductive carbon (super P) particles.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used globally as a biopesticide for effective and environmentally friendly pest control. Research has intensified following the development of resistance by lepidopteran species to Bt insecticidal crystal proteins. Discovering new Bt strains with novel toxin properties which can overcome resistance is one of the strategies to improve pesticide sustainability. The genome of the Bacillus thuringiensis LTS290 strain was sequenced and assembled in 252 contigs containing a total of 6,391,328 bp. The novel cry79Aa1 gene from this strain was identified and cloned. Cry79Aa1 contains 729 amino acid residues and a molecular mass of 84.8 kDa by SDS-PAGE analysis. Cry79Aa1 was found to be active against the lepidopteran larvae of Spodoptera exigua, Helicoverpa armigera, and Plutella xylostella with LC50 values of 13.627 µg/mL, 42.8 µg/mL, and 38.086 µg/mL, respectively. However, Cry79Aa1 protein showed almost no insecticidal activity against Leguminivora glycinivorella, although some degree of growth retardation was observed.

The genus Pseudomonas is widely recognized for its potential for environmental remediation and plant growth promotion. Pseudomonas sp. DY-1 was isolated from the agricultural soil contaminated five years by prometryne, it manifested an outstanding prometryne degradation efficiency and an untapped potential for plant resistance improvement. Thus, it is meaningful to comprehend the genetic background for strain DY-1. The whole genome sequence of this strain revealed a series of environment adaptive and plant beneficial genes which involved in environmental stress response, heavy metal or metalloid resistance, nitrate dissimilatory reduction, riboflavin synthesis, and iron acquisition. Detailed analyses presented the potential of strain DY-1 for degrading various organic compounds via a homogenized pathway or the protocatechuate and catechol branches of the β-ketoadipate pathway. In addition, heterologous expression, and high efficiency liquid chromatography (HPLC) confirmed that prometryne could be oxidized by a Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO) encoded by a gene in the chromosome of strain DY-1. The result of gene knock-out suggested that the sulfate starvation-induced (SSI) genes in this strain might also involve in the process of prometryne degradation. These results would provide the molecular basis for the application of strain DY-1 in various fields and would contribute to the study of prometryne biodegradation mechanism as well.

The insecticidal activities and specificities of the Vip3Aa proteins derived from different Bt strains are very different, although the similarities between these proteins are higher than 95%. In t...

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the validity of GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) in the diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis (TBP). Methods: The laboratory results of peritoneal effusion (PE) specimens from patients with symptoms suggestive of TBP, attending three TB specialized hospitals between January 2016 and December 2018, were included retrospectively. Clinically diagnosed TBP was set as the gold standard to evaluate the performance of these methods. Results: In total, 191 individuals presenting with symptoms suggestive of TBP were included for analysis. The sensitivities of MGIT culture and Xpert were 17.2% and 18.3%, respectively. In addition, the TBP cases (69.8 ± 6.0 U/l) had higher amounts of ADA in their PE samples than the non-TBP cases (12.6 ± 1.6 U/l; p

Vip insecticidal proteins are produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) during its vegetative growth phase. In the present study, Vip3Aa11 and Vip3Aa39 proteins were investigated. These two proteins present 39 amino acid differential sites and they shared 95.06% amino acid sequence similarity. They are effective against some Lepidoptera insect larvae. In a previous study, using artificial diet bioassays, we estimated the LC50 of Vip3Aa11 and Vip3Aa39 strains against Agrotis ipsilon larvae were 73.41 μg/mL (with 95% confidence interval of 2.34–11.19) and 5.43 μg/mL (with 95% confidence interval of 43.20–115.03), respectively. To investigate the response of Agrotis ipsilon transcriptome in defending against Vip3Aa11 and Vip3Aa39 toxins, we performed high-throughput RNA-sequencing on cDNA generated from the midguts of Agrotis ipsilon larvae that consumed a control diet (CK-M-A), Vip3Aa11 (Vip3Aa11-M-A) and Vip3Aa39 (Vip3Aa39-M-A) proteins. We generated about 98.87 Gb bases in total on BGISEQ-500 sequencing platform. After assembling all samples together and filtering the abundance, we got 51,887 unigenes, the total length, average length, N50 and GC content of unigenes are 64,523,651 bp, 1243 bp, 2330 bp and 41.81% respectively. We revealed 558 midgut genes differential expressed in Vip3Aa11-M-A and 65 midgut genes differentially expressed in Vip3Aa39-M-A. The differentially expressed genes were enriched for serine proteases and potential Bt Vip toxin midgut receptor genes. Eleven serine proteases related genes and 13 Bt toxin potential receptor genes with differential expression were found. Based on transcriptome profiling, we focused on validation the sensitivity of these two Vip3Aa proteins to trypsin and their binding properties to Agrotis ipsilon midgut BBMV (Brush Border Membrane Vesicles). The results show that the sensitivity of the two proteins to trypsin is similar. Binding experiments revealed that both proteins can bind to Agrotis ipsilon midgut BBMV, and there is a competitive binding between them. This transcriptome dataset provided a comprehensive sequence resource of Agrotis ipsilon and provides a foundation for comparative studies with other species of insects.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The missing acknowledgement is provided below.

3D porous carbon is successfully fabricated from lotus leaves, an abundant and renewable biomass, via a facile and easy-scale up route of carbonization and successive activation by mechanically mixing with KOH. The as-prepared carbon possesses high surface area (3601 m2/g), hierarchical porous structure with interconnected micro/meso/macropores and good level of O–N–S heteroatoms doping. These admirable features endow beneficial multiple synergistic effects for high-performance supercapacitor electrode. The as-obtained carbon exhibit an ultra-high specific capacitance of 523 F/g at 1 A/g in a three-electrode system and 294 F/g at 1.0 A/g in a two-electrode system in 6 mol/L KOH electrolyte with high rate performance of ~85% retention from 1 to 10 A/g and outstanding cycling stability of ~99% capacitance retention after 10000 cycles. These values indicate a high-performance biomass-derived carbon as supercapacitor electrode and may boost the large-scale application of 3D porous carbons doped by heteroatoms for energy storage.

A luminescent three-dimensional metal-organic framework generally formulated as [Zn2(OH)(sip)(bpe)(H2O)]H2O (1), has been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized. It represents a new two-fold interpenetrated pillared-layer framework with (63)(69 · 8) topology constructed from π-electron-rich rigid ligand 5-sulfoisophthalic acid coupled with auxiliary ligand 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane. Interestingly, the strong emission of 1 could be quenched efficiently by trace amounts of Fe3 + at room temperature, even in the presence of other competing analogues, which indicated that 1 can serve as an excellent sensor for specific selective identification and quantification of Fe3 +.

Two new coordination polymers with flexible alicyclic carboxylate ligands, generally formulated as [Pb(chda)]n (1, H2chda = 1,1′-cyclohexanediacetic acid) and [Pb(tmg)]n (2, H2tmg = 3,3′-tetramethyleneglutate), have been successfully synthesized through the liquid–liquid diffusion method. They represent the first main group of metal–organic hybrid compounds assembled from H2chda and H2tmg. Compound 1 crystallized in the non-centrosymmetric space group Pca21, whereas 2 adopts the centrosymmetric P2(1)/c space group. Their structure features one-dimensional infinite chains extended into two-dimensional layer framework. Interestingly, the lead atoms exhibit hemi- as well as holo-directed coordination geometry with coordination number seven in both compounds.

UNLABELLED Atrazine has been used worldwide for over 50 years as a chemical herbicide. A strain of bacteria, YJY4 which utilizes atrazine as its sole nitrogen source for growth was isolated from agricultural black soil in northeastern China. 16S rDNA sequencing identified YJY4 as a Shewanella sp. PCR analysis and sequencing confirmed that YJY4 contained atrazine-degrading atzA, atzB and atzC genes. These genes revealed high similarity with those in Pseudomonas sp. ADP and Arthrobacter sp. TC1. The strain YJY4 was observed to degrade atrazine (100 mg l(-1) ) to cyanuric acid completely after 36 h. To the best of our knowledge, YJY4 was the first reported Shewanella sp. to grow in pure culture with atrazine serving as a sole source of nitrogen. Therefore, YJY4 may help with atrazine biodegradation and may become an abundant resource of atrazine degradation strains. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY A new isolated strain, YJY4 showed high atrazine-degrading ability, being able to degrade 100 mg l(-1) atrazine completely in 36 h. Strain YJY4 was identified as Shewanella sp. and contained atrazine-degrading atzA, atzB and atzC genes. This study examined the degradation mechanism and metabolic ability of this strain and for the bioremediation of contaminated environments, provides more strain selection and determines the strain of atrazine bioremediation potential.

Combination therapy provides an efficient way to overcome the potential multidrug resistance and enhance anticancer efficacy. In this work, a biodegradable pH-responsive hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticle (HMSN-GM-CS-FA) was developed for co-delivery of pheophorbide a (PA) and doxorubicin (DOX). This drug delivery system possessed controlled particle size and larger inner hollow core, which endowed the nanoparticle with excellent encapsulation capacities. The uptake efficiency of drug loaded nanoparticles HMSNs-GM-CS-FA@DOX/PA in cancer cells was greatly improved by folic acid-mediated endocytosis. The nanocarrier showed excellent drug controlled release properties based on the pH-dependent swelling effect of the coating layer. More importantly, the nanoplatform could fully combine photothermal-, photodynamic- and chemotherapies to develop synergistic antitumor efficacy. This strategy of integrating multi-therapeutic functions in one single formulation promised a powerful route to construct intelligent co-delivery carriers for efficient combinational clinical application.

We reported a new and facile synthesis route to prepare polyaniline (PANI) nanowire@Co-Fe LDHs nanosheets in two steps. The PANI@Co-Fe LDHs has excellent OER activity with a small overpotential of 261 mV at the current density of 10 mA·cm−2and a small Tafel slope of 67.85 mV·dec−1. The PANI@Co-Fe LDHs also has long-term performance and stability. The excellent electrocatalytic performance of the catalyst depends on the good electrical conductivity of PANI and the effect of the two-dimensional (2D) layered structure of Co-Fe LDHs. The work opens a new application for energy storage and conversion.

Stool is an alternative specimen matrix for tuberculosis (TB) tests, because Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) can be swallowed and detected in the samples from digestive tract. We aimed to assess the performance of GeneXpert on stool and gastric lavage fluid (GALF) in diagnosing TB among patients with severe pulmonary TB. We enrolled adults with suspected pulmonary TB who were unable to produce sputum at visit between January 2016 and June 2018. Bacteriological samples consisted of one transtracheal aspirate sputum specimen, one stool specimen and/or one gastric lavage fluid specimen. Bacterial culture of transtracheal aspirate sputum provided the gold standard. Of 65 individuals recruited for analysis, MGIT culture identified the presence of MTB in 32 samples. Overall, 29 of 32 stool samples from culture-positive cases were detected by the GeneXpert test, demonstrating a sensitivity of 90.6%. For GALF, 13 patients were detected as infected with MTB by GeneXpert, yielding a sensitivity of 56.5%. The statistical analysis revealed that GeneXpert showed significantly better sensitivity in detecting MTB from stool samples than GALF samples (P = 0.003). Among individuals with GeneXpert-positive stool, the percentage of individuals with comorbid diabetes was significantly higher than among individuals with GeneXpert-negative stool (19.4% vs. 2.9%, P = 0.034). In conclusion, our data reveal that GeneXpert provides a higher detection rate on stool compared to GALF, indicating stool should be considered as an alternative for adult TB patients unable to produce sputum. Individuals with diabetes are more likely to have positive GeneXpert stool than nondiabetic individuals.

An economical idea was developed to synthesize fluorescent carbon quantum dots (CQDs) directly from the refluxing extraction of orange pericarp via a hydrothermal technique. Hydrothermal temperatures and times were adjusted to control the particle sizes and the quantum yields of the obtained CQDs. The as-prepared carbon quantum dots showed narrow particle size distribution, good water solubility, and acceptable fluorescence lifetimes. Due to their high stability, these obtained carbon quantum dots have great application potential in nano-biotechnology. Furthermore, carbon spheres with uniform morphology and size can be easily obtained as the reaction byproducts of this green synthesis process.

Uniform α-Fe2O3 quasi-cubes with high-index facets exposed were synthesized in a controlled manner through a simple hydrothermal method using Mg2+ ions as structure-directing agents. The as-prepared α-Fe2O3 quasi-cubes are bound by (012), (10−2), and (1−12) facets with an edge length of about 200 nm and a dihedral angle of 86°. In the reaction system, the Mg2+ ions would undertake the role of structure and surface director, adsorb to the α-Fe2O3 high energy surface and induce the α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles to grow into quasi-cubic nanocrystals bound by high-index facets. Magnetic measurements testify that the quasi-cubes display surface-dependent magnetic behavior. The α-Fe2O3 quasi-cubes have a splitting between the FC curve and the ZFC curve from the highest experimental temperature to the lowest temperature and no Morin transformation occurs, indicating that they would be under defect ferromagnetic control both at room temperature and low temperature.

In this paper, we report the synthesis of novel red blood cell shaped α-Fe2O3 microstructures for the first time, which were synthesized by using urea as a hydrolysis agent, ammonium chloride as a structure directing agent and PVA as a surfactant through a hydrothermal method. By only adjusting the hydrothermal temperature, FeO(OH) nanorods were obtained. When used as electrode materials in supercapacitors, the FeO(OH) nanorods exhibit much better capacitive properties of 392.6 F g−1 than red blood cell shaped α-Fe2O3 microstructures (118.1 F g−1) at a current density of 1 A g−1, maintaining 91.4% and 75.5% of the initial capacity at a current density of 1 A g−1 after 500 cycles respectively. Such high performance can be attributed to the desirable morphology and components. The results manifest that the FeO(OH) nanorods may be promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.

In this study, porous Co3O4 nanospheres were controllably synthesized by applying metal Cu2+ ions as structure-inducing agents. The growth of the Co3O4 nanostructures was induced by the metal ions without the addition of any surfactants. The porous Co3O4 nanospheres were composed of nanosheets. When used as electrode materials in a supercapacitor, the porous Co3O4 nanospheres exhibited a much better capacity of 246.7 F g−1 than commercial Co3O4 powder at a current density of 0.5 A g−1, maintaining 86% of the initial capacity at a current density of 1 A g−1 after 500 cycles. Such high performance can be attributed to the desirable morphology. The results manifest that porous Co3O4 nanospheres composed of nanosheets are promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.

Transgenic soybean producing the Cry1Ac insecticidal protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is used to control larvae of the velvetbean caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner) and the soybean looper [Chrysodeixis includens (Walker)]. The main threat to the sustainability of this technology is the development of resistance, which could be delayed by using pyramiding of diverse Bt insecticidal genes. We report high activity of Cry2Ac7 and Vip3Aa11 but not Cry1Ie2 against larvae of A. gemmatalis and C. includens. In addition, we also report anti-feeding activity of Cry1Ie2 and Cry7Ab3 in adults of the bean leaf beetle [Ceratoma trifurcata (Foster)], an alternative pest of soybean.

Bacillus thuringiensis vegetative insecticidal proteins (VIPs) are not homologous to other known Cry proteins, and they act against lepidopteran larvae via a unique process. All reported studies on the mode of action of Vip3 proteins have been performed on the Vip3A family, mostly on the Vip3Aa subfamily. Vip3Aa proteins are activated by midgut proteases, and they cross the peritrophic membrane and bind specific proteins in apical membrane epithelial midgut cells, which results in pore formation and, eventually, death to the insects. Some studies of trypsin-activated protein (core fragment) and the full-length protein show differences in mortality on the same insect species. The N-terminus of Vip3A proteins is responsible for the translocation of the protein across the cell membrane. To determine whether the N-terminus of Vip3Aa11 proteins contribute to insecticidal activity, we exchanged Vip3Aa11 residues with Vip3Aa39 no-core fragment residues using site-directed mutagenesis. Bioassays showed that the toxicity of S9N, S193T, and S194L mutants displayed approximately one- and twofold increases in toxicity against Helicoverpa armigera. Mutant protein R115H demonstrated a threefold decrease in toxicity. This work serves as a guideline for the study of the Vip3Aa11 no-core fragment protein insecticidal mechanism.

There has been considerable effort made in recent years for research groups and other organizations to build up large collections of strains of Bacillus thuringiensis in the search for genes encoding novel insecticidal toxins, or encoding novel metabolic pathways. Whilst next generation sequencing allows the detailed genetic characterization of a bacterial strain with relative ease it is still not practicable for large strain collections. In this work we assess the practicability of mining a mixture of genomic DNA from a two thousand strain collection for particular genes. Using PCR the collection was screened for both a rare (cry15) toxin gene as well as a more commonly found gene (vip3A). The method was successful in identifying both a cry15 gene and multiple examples of the vip3A gene family including a novel member of this family (vip3Aj). A number of variants of vip3Ag were cloned and expressed, and differences in toxicity observed despite extremely high sequence similarity.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the most widely used insecticidal microbe due to its specific toxicity and safe use with respect to animals and the environment. In this study, we isolated Bt strain Q52-7 from a soil sample collected in the Qian Shan District, Liao Ning Province, China. We observed that the Q52-7 strain produced spherical crystals. The Bt Q52-7 strain had high toxicity against Asian Cockchafer (Holotrichia parallela), exhibiting an LC50 of 3.80 × 10(9) cfu/g, but is not toxic for Anomala corpulenta Motschulsky and Holotrichia oblita. Using general cry8 primers, we amplified a 1.3 kb fragment with the polymerase chain reaction. Specific primers were designed for the amplified fragment to clone the full-length coding region. A novel gene, cry8Na1, had 69 % sequence similarity with cry8Ca1. cry8Na1 gene was successfully expressed in the HD-73(-) acrystalliferous mutant of Bt subsp. Kurstaki HD-73. Bioassays demonstrated that the Cry8Na1 protein is highly toxic for the H. parallela, with a 50 % lethal concentration of 8.18 × 10(10) colony forming units per gram.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the most widely applied type of microbial pesticide due to its high specificity and environmental safety. The activity of Bt is largely attributed to the insecticidal crystal protein encoded by the cry genes. Different insecticidal crystal proteins of Bt have different bioactivity against distinct agricultural insect pests, and combination of these proteins not only increases insecticidal activity, but also overcomes and delays development of resistance. A Bt strain, S185, was isolated from a soil sample collected in Songfeng Shan district, Heilongjiang Province, China. Bt S185 has highly specific insecticidal activity against Coleoptera, and was determined to contain cry8 -type genes by peptide mess fingerprint (PMF) analysis. Application of polymerase chain reaction-restricted fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP) analysis further determined the genotype due to the high homology of cry8Ea1 and cry8Fa1 genes. Through the full-length primers design, two insecticidal crystal protein genes cry8Ca and cry8Ea were obtained. Using prokaryotic cloning vectors, the recombinant plasmids pEB-cry8Ca and pEB-cry8Ea were transferred into expression host strain Escherichia coli Rosetta, thus the two genes were successfully expressed in heterologous bacteria. Keywords: Bacillus thuringiensis , peptide mess fingerprint, identification, clone, insecticidal crystal protein. African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(25) 2484-2490

A novel porous metal–organic framework [Pb2(TETA)]·6H2O (1) has been prepared by hydrothermal reaction of lead(II) with a flexible bifunctional macrocyclic ligand. The 1D Pb O chains are cross-linked via the flexible macrocyclic rings of TETA4 − ligands in two different directions to form 3D framework with highly solvent accessible volume.