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A new Cd(II) compound has been prepared, and luminescent investigations indicated that it could be served as a luminescent sensor for the probe of Fe3+ ions in the aqueous solution. Moreover, the treatment activity of the compound on focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion was evaluated and the specific mechanism was explored at the same time.

Polycyathus chaishanensis is a symbiotic caryophyllid coral described from a single population in a tidal pool off Chaishan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Due to its rarity, P. chaishanensis was declared a critically-endangered species under the Taiwan Wildlife Protection Act. In May 2017, a P. chaishanensis colony was discovered in the intertidal area of the Datan Algal Reef, Taoyuan, Taiwan. To determine whether this is a stable population in the algal reef, a demographic census—including data on occurrence, distribution, and colony size—was carried out in the algal reef in southern Taoyuan. Intertidal censuses and sediment collections were conducted at five different sections—Baiyu, Datan G1, Datan G2, Yongxing, and Yongan algal reefs—during the monthly spring low tide from July 2018 to January 2019. In total, 84 colonies—23 in Datan G1 and 61 in Datan G2—were recorded from a tidal range of − 160 to − 250 cm, according to the Taiwan Vertical Datum 2001 compiled by the Central Weather Bureau. No P. chaishanensis was found in Baiyu, Yongxing, or Yongan. The P. chaishanensis colony sizes ranged from 2.55 to 81.5 cm in diameter, with the larger P. chaishanensis present in the lower intertidal zone. Sediment was extremely high, with monthly site averages ranging from 3,818.26 to 29,166.88 mg cm−2 day−1, and there was a significant difference between sites and months, both of which affected the distribution of P. chaishanensis in the algal reef. Our study confirms the existence of a second population of P. chaishanensis in Taiwan, highlighting the importance of the Datan Algal Reef for the survival and protection of this critically-endangered caryophyllid coral and why it is so urgent that the reef should be conserved.

Symbiodiniaceae communities in some corals often shuffle or switch after severe bleaching events, one of the major threats to coral survival in a world with climate change. In this study we reciprocally transplanted five Leptoria phrygia colonies between two sites with significantly different temperature regimes and monitored them for 12 months. Our ITS2 amplicon deep sequencing demonstrated that L. phrygia acclimatized to maintain a strong and stable association with Durusdinium D17, D. trenchii, and D. glynnii, but also remained flexible and formed a short-term association with different Cladocopium. Most interestingly, two colonies shuffled between Durusdinium and Cladocopium without the occurrence of bleaching; one colony even switched its dominant Cladocopium after generic shuffling. Both dominant Cladocopium were originally rare with relative abundances as low as 0.024%. This is the first record of adult corals switching dominant symbiont without bleaching.

Neuropathic pain is an intractable comorbidity of spinal cord injury. Increasing noncoding RNAs have been implicated in neuropathic pain development. lncRNAs have been recognized as significant regulators of neuropathic pain. lncRNA Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 4 (SNHG4) is associated with several tumors. However, the molecular mechanisms of SNHG4 in neuropathic pain remain barely documented. Here, we evaluated the function of SNHG4 in spinal nerve ligation (SNL) rat models. We observed that SNHG4 was significantly upregulated in SNL rat. Knockdown of SNHG4 was able to attenuate neuropathic pain progression via regulating behaviors of neuropathic pain including mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia. Moreover, knockdown of SNHG4 could repress the neuroinflammation via inhibiting IL-6, IL-12, and TNF

Coral reefs in the Anthropocene are being subjected to unprecedented levels of stressors, including local disturbances—such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution—and large-scale destruction related to the global impacts of climate change—such as typhoons and coral bleaching. Thus, the future of corals and coral reefs in any given community and coral-Symbiodiniaceae associations over time will depend on their level of resilience, from individual corals to entire ecosystems. Herein we review the environmental settings and long-term ecological research on coral reefs, based on both coral resilience and space, in Kenting National Park (KNP), Hengchun Peninsula, southern Taiwan, wherein fringing reefs have developed along the coast of both capes and a semi-closed bay, known as Nanwan, within the peninsula. These reefs are influenced by a branch of Kuroshio Current, the monsoon-induced South China Sea Surface Current, and a tide-induced upwelling that not only shapes coral communities, but also reduces the seawater temperature and creates fluctuating thermal environments which over time have favoured thermal-resistant corals, particularly those corals close to the thermal effluent of a nuclear power plant in the west Nanwan. Although living coral cover (LCC) has fluctuated through time in concordance with major typhoons and coral bleaching between 1986 and 2019, spatial heterogeneity in LCC recovery has been detected, suggesting that coral reef resilience is variable among subregions in KNP. In addition, corals exposed to progressively warmer and fluctuating thermal environments show not only a dominance of associated, thermally-tolerant Durusdinium spp. but also the ability to shuffle their symbiont communities in response to seasonal variations in seawater temperature without bleaching. We demonstrate that coral reefs in a small geographical range with unique environmental settings and ecological characteristics, such as the KNP reef, may be resilient to bleaching and deserve novel conservation efforts. Thus, this review calls for conservation efforts that use resilience-based management programs to reduce local stresses and meet the challenge of climate change.

Symbiosis between organisms is an important driving force in evolution. Among the diverse relationships described, extensive progress has been made in insect–bacteria symbiosis, which improved our understanding of the genome evolution in host-associated bacteria. Particularly, investigations on several obligate mutualists have pushed the limits of what we know about the minimal genomes for sustaining cellular life. To bridge the gap between those obligate symbionts with extremely reduced genomes and their non-host-restricted ancestors, this review focuses on the recent progress in genome characterization of facultative insect symbionts. Notable cases representing various types and stages of host associations, including those from multiple genera in the family Enterobacteriaceae (class Gammaproteobacteria), Wolbachia (Alphaproteobacteria) and Spiroplasma (Mollicutes), are discussed. Although several general patterns of genome reduction associated with the adoption of symbiotic relationships could be identified, extensive variation was found among these facultative symbionts. These findings are incorporated into the established conceptual frameworks to develop a more detailed evolutionary model for the discussion of possible trajectories. In summary, transitions from facultative to obligate symbiosis do not appear to be a universal one-way street; switches between hosts and lifestyles (e.g. commensalism, parasitism or mutualism) occur frequently and could be facilitated by horizontal gene transfer., This review synthesizes the recent progress in genome characterization of insect-symbiotic bacteria, the emphases include (i) patterns of genome organization, (ii) evolutionary models and trajectories, and (iii) comparisons between facultative and obligate symbionts.

Common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) belongs to the subfamily Chloridoideae of the Poaceae family, one of the most important plant families ecologically and economically. This grass has a long connection with human culture but its systematics is relatively understudied. In this study, we sequenced and investigated the chloroplast genome of common bermudagrass, which is 134,297 bp in length with two single copy regions (LSC: 79,732 bp; SSC: 12,521 bp) and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (21,022 bp). The annotation contains a total of 128 predicted genes, including 82 protein-coding, 38 tRNA, and 8 rRNA genes. Additionally, our in silico analyses identified 10 sets of repeats longer than 20 bp and predicted the presence of 36 RNA editing sites. Overall, the chloroplast genome of common bermudagrass resembles those from other Poaceae lineages. Compared to most angiosperms, the accD gene and the introns of both clpP and rpoC1 genes are missing. Additionally, the ycf1, ycf2, ycf15, and ycf68 genes are pseudogenized and two genome rearrangements exist. Our phylogenetic analysis based on 47 chloroplast protein-coding genes supported the placement of common bermudagrass within Chloridoideae. Our phylogenetic character mapping based on the parsimony principle further indicated that the loss of the accD gene and clpP introns, the pseudogenization of four ycf genes, and the two rearrangements occurred only once after the most recent common ancestor of the Poaceae diverged from other monocots, which could explain the unusual long branch leading to the Poaceae when phylogeny is inferred based on chloroplast sequences.

Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is a symbol of the tropics and a source of numerous edible and nonedible products of economic value. Despite its nutritional and industrial significance, coconut remains under-represented in public repositories for genomic and transcriptomic data. We report de novo transcript assembly from RNA-seq data and analysis of gene expression in seed tissues (embryo and endosperm) and leaves of a dwarf coconut variety. Assembly of 10 GB sequencing data for each tissue resulted in 58,211 total unigenes in embryo, 61,152 in endosperm, and 33,446 in leaf. Within each unigene pool, 24,857 could be annotated in embryo, 29,731 could be annotated in endosperm, and 26,064 could be annotated in leaf. A KEGG analysis identified 138, 138, and 139 pathways, respectively, in transcriptomes of embryo, endosperm, and leaf tissues. Given the extraordinarily large size of coconut seeds and the importance of small RNA-mediated epigenetic regulation during seed development in model plants, we used homology searches to identify putative homologs of factors required for RNA-directed DNA methylation in coconut. The findings suggest that RNA-directed DNA methylation is important during coconut seed development, particularly in maturing endosperm. This dataset will expand the genomics resources available for coconut and provide a foundation for more detailed analyses that may assist molecular breeding strategies aimed at improving this major tropical crop.

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) homologous to transcriptional regulatory regions can induce RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) and transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) of target genes. In our system, siRNAs are produced by transcribing an inverted DNA repeat (IR) of enhancer sequences, yielding a hairpin RNA that is processed by several Dicer activities into siRNAs of 21-24 nt. Primarily 24-nt siRNAs trigger RdDM of the target enhancer in trans and TGS of a downstream GFP reporter gene. We analyzed siRNA accumulation from two different structural forms of a trans-silencer locus in which tandem repeats are embedded in the enhancer IR and distinguished distinct RNA polymerase II (Pol II)- and Pol IV-dependent pathways of siRNA biogenesis. At the original silencer locus, Pol-II transcription of the IR from a 35S promoter produces a hairpin RNA that is diced into abundant siRNAs of 21-24 nt. A silencer variant lacking the 35S promoter revealed a normally masked Pol IV-dependent pathway that produces low levels of 24-nt siRNAs from the tandem repeats. Both pathways operate concurrently at the original silencer locus. siRNAs accrue only from specific regions of the enhancer and embedded tandem repeat. Analysis of these sequences and endogenous tandem repeats producing siRNAs revealed the preferential accumulation of siRNAs at GC-rich regions containing methylated CG dinucleotides. In addition to supporting a correlation between base composition, DNA methylation and siRNA accumulation, our results highlight the complexity of siRNA biogenesis at repetitive loci and show that Pol II and Pol IV use different promoters to transcribe the same template.

The Symbiodinaceae are paradoxical in that they play a fundamental role in the success of scleractinian corals, but also in their dismissal when under stress. In the past decades, the discovery of the endosymbiont's genetic and functional diversity has led people to hope that some coral species can survive bleaching events by associating with a stress-resistant symbiont that can become dominant when seawater temperatures increase. The variety of individual responses encouraged us to scrutinize each species individually to gauge its resilience to future changes. Here, we analyse the temporal variation in the Symbiodinaceae community associated with Leptoria phrygia, a common scleractinian coral from the Indo-Pacific. Coral colonies were sampled from two distant reef sites located in southern Taiwan that differ in temperature regimes, exemplifying a 'variable site' (VS) and a 'steady site' (SS). We investigated changes in the relative abundance of the dominant symbiont and its physiology every 3-4 months from 2016-2017. At VS, 11 of the 12 colonies were dominated by the stress-resistant Durusdinium spp. (>90% dominance) and only one colony exhibited co-dominance between Durusdinium spp. and Cladocopium spp. Every colony displayed high photochemical efficiency across all sampling periods, while showing temporal differences in symbiont density and chlorophyll a concentration. At SS, seven colonies out of 13 were dominated by Cladocopium spp., five presented co-dominance between Durusdinium spp./Cladocopium spp. and only one was dominated by Durusdinium spp. Colonies showed temporal differences in photochemical efficiency and chlorophyll a concentration during the study period. Our results suggest that VS colonies responded physiologically better to high temperature variability by associating with Durusdinium spp., while in SS there is still inter-colonial variability, a feature that might be advantageous for coping with different environmental changes.

Molecular phylogenetic studies have not yet reached a consensus on the placement of Ginkgoales, which is represented by the only living species, Ginkgo biloba (common name: ginkgo). At least six discrepant placements of ginkgo have been proposed. This study aimed to use the chloroplast phylogenomic approach to examine possible factors that lead to such disagreeing placements. We found the sequence types used in the analyses as the most critical factor in the conflicting placements of ginkgo. In addition, the placement of ginkgo varied in the trees inferred from nucleotide (NU) sequences, which notably depended on breadth of taxon sampling, tree-building methods, codon positions, positions of Gnetopsida (common name: gnetophytes), and including or excluding gnetophytes in data sets. In contrast, the trees inferred from amino acid (AA) sequences congruently supported the monophyly of a ginkgo and Cycadales (common name: cycads) clade, regardless of which factors were examined. Our site-stripping analysis further revealed that the high substitution saturation of NU sequences mainly derived from the third codon positions and contributed to the variable placements of ginkgo. In summary, the factors we surveyed did not affect results inferred from analyses of AA sequences. Congruent topologies in our AA trees give more confidence in supporting the ginkgo–cycad sister-group hypothesis.

Kidney in diabetic state is more sensitive to ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, we examined the impact of diabetes mellitus on thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) expression and whether mediated NLRP3 activation was associated with renal ischemia/reperfusion- (I/R-) induced AKI. In an in vivo model, streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats showed higher susceptibility to I/R injury with increased TXNIP expression, which was significantly attenuated by resveratrol (RES) treatment (10 mg/kg intraperitoneal daily injection for 7 consecutive days prior to I/R induction). RES treatment significantly inhibited TXNIP binding to NLRP3 in diabetic rats subjected to renal I/R injury. Furthermore, RES treatment significantly reduced cleaved caspase-1 expression and production of IL-1β and IL-18. In an in vitro study using cultured human kidney proximal tubular cell (HK-2 cells) in high glucose condition (HG, 30 mM) subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R), HG combined H/R (HH/R) stimulated TXNIP expression which was accompanied by increased NLRP3 expression, ROS generation, caspase-1 activity and IL-1β levels, and aggravated HK-2 cells apoptosis. All these changes were significantly attenuated by TXNIP RNAi and RES treatment. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that TXNIP-mediated NLRP3 activation through oxidative stress is a key signaling mechanism in the susceptibility to AKI in diabetic models.

We determined the complete chloroplast genome (cpDNA) of Ginkgo biloba (common name: ginkgo), the only relict of ginkgophytes from the Triassic Period. The cpDNA molecule of ginkgo is quadripartite and circular, with a length of 156,945 bp, which is 6,458 bp shorter than that of Cycas taitungensis. In ginkgo cpDNA, rpl23 becomes pseudo, only one copy of ycf2 is retained, and there are at least five editing sites. We propose that the retained ycf2 is a duplicate of the ancestral ycf2, and the ancestral one has been lost from the inverted repeat A (IR(A)). This loss event should have occurred and led to the contraction of IRs after ginkgos diverged from other gymnosperms. A novel cluster of three transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, trnY-AUA, trnC-ACA, and trnSeC-UCA, was predicted to be located between trnC-GCA and rpoB of the large single-copy region. Our phylogenetic analysis strongly suggests that the three predicted tRNA genes are duplicates of trnC-GCA. Interestingly, in ginkgo cpDNA, the loss of one ycf2 copy does not significantly elevate the synonymous rate (Ks) of the retained copy, which disagrees with the view of Perry and Wolfe (2002) that one of the two-copy genes is subjected to elevated Ks when its counterpart has been lost. We hypothesize that the loss of one ycf2 is likely recent, and therefore, the acquired Ks of the retained copy is low. Our data reveal that ginkgo possesses several unique features that contribute to our understanding of the cpDNA evolution in seed plants.

A cladistic analysis was conducted to test the monophyly of Eschweilera and Lecythis as well as to examine the relationships of these two genera and their close relatives Bertholletia and Corythophora. The study included 86 species, representing all four genera and covering the range of taxonomic and morphological variation in the genera. The data matrix included 49 parsimony-informative characters derived from vegetative, floral, fruit, and seed morphology and anatomy. The results based on the consensus of all most parsimonious trees indicate that Bertholletia, Corythophora, Eschweilera, and Lecythis form a clade supported by brachyparacytic stomata, the absence of pedicels (with subsequent reversals in several clades), a two or four-locular ovary, the presence of an aril, and the absence of cotyledons. Within the clade, the monophyly of Corythophora is supported by the presence of inflorescence scales and the absence of nectar. Eschweilera is monophyletic only if E. congestiflora and E. simiorum are excluded. The monophyly of Eschweilera is supported by the presence of a two-locular ovary. Lecythis is not monophyletic, but sections Corrugata, Pisonis, and Poiteaui are monophyletic. Three species of section Lecythis are more closely related to Eschweilera, and other species of section Lecythis along with Bertholletia excelsa remain as unresolved.

Background: Perceived insufficient milk supply is a frequent concern and reason for early weaning in Taiwanese mothers. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors related to maternal milk supply. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at a medical center in northern Taiwan. A total of 205 healthy mother-infant pairs were recruited. A tool to assess insufficient milk supply developed by P.D. Hill and S.S. Humenick (1996) was used to gather breastfeeding information during each participant's hospital stay. Results: Infant-feeding methods, planned breastfeeding duration, infant sucking behaviors, family support, and infant sucking patterns were found to explain 35.3% of variance in maternal perception of milk supply. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: Mothers in Taiwan are particularly sensitive to infant crying. To prevent mothers from perceiving inadequate milk supply, nurses should encourage postpartum mothers to suckle their infant on the breast and teach mothers breastfeeding skills and how to pacify crying babies. In addition, hospital managers should make policies to minimize bottle and supplementary formula feeding.

Cariniana as previously circumscribed is a genus of 16 species restricted to neotropical forest habitats on well-drained sites. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus based on 33 morphological and anatomical characters was undertaken. The results show that Cariniana consists of two clades: the Allantoma/Cariniana decandra clade includes Allantoma lineata and seven species of actinomorphic-flowered Cariniana and is characterized by 5-merous flowers, carnose petals, incurved petal apex, scarcely lobed calyces, eucamptodromous secondary veins, dichotomizing venation, and poorly developed areolation; the C. legalis clade is made up of nine species and is characterized by an obliquely zygomorphic androecium, reticulate tertiary venation, and anomocytic stomata. The actinomorphic-flowered Cariniana are more closely related to the monotypic Allantoma lineata than they are to the species of the C. legalis clade. In order to reflect these relationships, Cariniana is divided into two genera: species in the C. legalis clade, which includes the generic type C. legalis, remain as Cariniana while species of Cariniana in the Allantoma/Cariniana decandra clade are transferred to Allantoma. The following new combinations are proposed: Allantoma decandra, A. integrifolia, A. kuhlmannii, A. pluriflora (a nomen novum for Cariniana multiflora because Allantoma multiflora is a synonym of Couratari multiflora), A. pachyantha, A. pauciramosa, and A. uaupensis.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a phytopathogenic bacterium that causes crown gall disease. The strain Ach5 was isolated from yarrow ( Achillea ptarmica L.) and is the wild-type progenitor of other derived strains widely used for plant transformation. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of this bacterium.

Few studies have provided evidence to verify that bottle-feeding has negative effects on breastfeeding. There is insufficient evidence to support the practice of cup-feeding to supplement breastfeeding. However, it has been applied as a substitute for bottle-feeding to promote breastfeeding. The aims of this study were to explore the differences in infant sucking competence, infant sucking behavior and maternal milk supply among babies who were exclusively breastfeeding (breast group), breast feeding with cup supplementation (cup group) and breast-feeding with bottle supplementation (bottle group) at different periods postpartum.A longitudinal study was carried out at a medical center located in northern Taiwan. The cup and bottle groups were recruited at two different times to avoid interaction. The breast group consisted of infants who were fully breastfed and were never exposed to a bottle or a cup during the hospital stay. Two hundred and five healthy mothers and their full-term, singletoninfants were eligible for enrollment. We used structured questionnaires and made observations to obtain information on breastfeeding at the first breastfeeding and the third day after birth, and then followed up these cases at two and four weeks.The bottle group was significantly more fretful during breastfeeding (p.01). Mothers in the bottle group perceived that their milk supply was less sufficient than those in breast and cup groups (p.01).Some indicators of breastfeeding were similar in the breast and cup groups. Cup-feeding was better than bottle-feeding when supplementary formula was needed for medical treatment.

Lecythidaceae subfam. Lecythidoideae is limited to the Neotropics and is the only naturally occurring subfamily of Lecythidaceae in the New World. A subset of genera with zygomorphic flowers— Bertholletia , Corythophora , Eschweilera and Lecythis —comprises a group of about 125 species called the Bertholletia clade. A previous study based on plastid ndhF and trnL - F genes supported the monophyly of Corythophora but suggested that Eschweilera and Lecythis are not monophyletic. Using this study as a baseline, we sampled more taxa and sequenced more loci to address the taxonomic problems of the ambiguous genera and to determine relationships within the Bertholletia clade. Our results support the monophyly of the Bertholletia clade as previously circumscribed. In addition, Corythophora is monophyletic, and the two accessions of Bertholletia excelsa come out together on the tree. Results of the simultaneous analysis do not support the monophyly of Lecythis or Eschweilera . Lecythis consists of four main groups (the Lecythis pisonis , L . poiteaui , L. chartacea , and L. corrugata clades), the last of which is nested within Eschweilera , and Eschweilera consists of three clades (the Eschweilera integrifolia , E . tetrapetala , and Eschweilera parvifolia clades). We compare our results with the generic classification presented in the latest monograph of neotropical Lecythidaceae and make recommendations for a revised generic classification of the Bertholletia clade of Lecythidaceae.

Increased morbidity and mortality has been associated with neonates admitted with body temperatures below 36 degrees C. We employed an experimental design in a randomized control trial to compare the effectiveness of using early kangaroo care (KC) for extrauterine temperature adaptation against that of using radiant warmers. Trial subjects included 78 consecutive cesarean newborn infants with hypothermia problems. The KC group received skin-to-skin contact with their mothers in the post-operative room, while infants in the control group received routine care under radiant warmers. The mean temperature of the KC group was slightly higher than that of the control group (36.29 degrees C vs. 36.22 degrees C, p = .044). After four hours, 97.43% of KC group infants had reached normal body temperatures, compared with 82.05% in the radiant warmer group. Results demonstrate the positive effects of KC for extrauterine temperature adaptation in hypothermia infants. In the course of evidence-based practice, KC could be incorporated into the standard care regimen in order to improve hypothermia care.

Among the ten steps to successful breastfeeding advocated by the WHO and UNICEF, steps six and nine clearly state that formula supplementation and pacifier use, except when medically necessary, should be avoided. Early formula supplementation may not only interfere with the mother's lactation but also result in nipple confusion on the part of the baby. To avoid nipple confusion, the encouragement of cup feeding and the non-provision of pacifiers or bottles are required nursing practice in baby-friendly hospitals. However, the relationship between nipple confusion and the duration of breastfeeding has not been well examined. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between three methods of feeding (i.e. pacifier, bottle feeding, and cup feeding), nipple confusion, and duration of breastfeeding. A hypothetical framework is proposed to explain these relationships on the basis of a review of the literature.

Lon proteases are a family of ATP-dependent proteases involved in protein quality control, with a unique proteolytic domain and an AAA(+) (ATPases associated with various cellular activities) module accommodated within a single polypeptide chain. They were classified into two types as either the ubiquitous soluble LonA or membrane-inserted archaeal LonB. In addition to the energy-dependent forms, a number of medically and ecologically important groups of bacteria encode a third type of Lon-like proteins in which the conserved proteolytic domain is fused to a large N-terminal fragment lacking canonical AAA(+) motifs. Here we showed that these Lon-like proteases formed a clade distinct from LonA and LonB. Characterization of one such Lon-like protease from Meiothermus taiwanensis indicated that it formed a hexameric assembly with a hollow chamber similar to LonA/B. The enzyme was devoid of ATPase activity but retained an ability to bind symmetrically six nucleotides per hexamer; accordingly, structure-based alignment suggested possible existence of a non-functional AAA-like domain. The enzyme degraded unstructured or unfolded protein and peptide substrates, but not well-folded proteins, in ATP-independent manner. These results highlight a new type of Lon proteases that may be involved in breakdown of excessive damage or unfolded proteins during stress conditions without consumption of energy.