Selection of Catechin Biosynthesis-Related Genes and Functional Analysis from Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly in C. sinensis L. Variety 'Sangmok'.

Camellia is an important plant genus that includes well-known species such as C. sinensis, C. oleifera, and C. japonica. The C. sinensis cultivar 'Sangmok', one of Korea's standard types of tea landraces, is a small evergreen tree or shrub. Genome annotation has shown that Korean tea plants have special and unique benefits and superior components, such as catechin. The genome of Camellia sinensis cultivar 'Sangmok' was assembled on the chromosome level, with a length of 2678.62 Mbp and GC content of 38.16%. Further, 15 chromosome-scale scaffolds comprising 82.43% of the assembly (BUSCO completeness, 94.3%) were identified. Analysis of 68,151 protein-coding genes showed an average of 5.003 exons per gene. Among 82,481 coding sequences, the majority (99.06%) were annotated by Uniprot/Swiss-Prot. Further analysis revealed that 'Sangmok' is closely related to C. sinensis, with a divergence time of 60 million years ago. A total of 3336 exclusive gene families in 'Sangmok' were revealed by gene ontology analysis to play roles in auxin transport and cellular response mechanisms. By comparing these exclusive genes with 551 similar catechin genes, 17 'Sangmok'-specific catechin genes were identified by qRT-PCR, including those involved in phytoalexin biosynthesis and related to cytochrome P450. The 'Sangmok' genome exhibited distinctive genes compared to those of related species. This comprehensive genomic investigation enhances our understanding of the genetic architecture of 'Sangmok' and its specialized functions. The findings contribute valuable insights into the evolutionary and functional aspects of this plant species.

The complete chloroplast genome of Artemisia Montana (Nakai) Pamp. (Asteraceae), a traditional medicinal herb in Korea.

Artemisia Montana (Nakai) Pamp. is a widely used heath food and a well-known traditional Korean herbal medicine. The complete chloroplast genome sequence of A. Montana was determined using high-throughput sequencing technology. Chloroplast genome was 151,133 bp in length, with a large single-copy (LSC) region of 98,497 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,352 bp, separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 17,142 bp each. It contained a total of 113 genes, with an overall GC content of 37.5%. The phylogenetic analysis showed that A. montana most closely related to A. feddei. This result will enrich the genetic resources of medicinal plant and useful for future investigation of genetics, evolution and identification of Artemisia species.

Nano-storage wires.

We report the development of "nano-storage wires" (NSWs), which can store chemical species and release them at a desired moment via external electrical stimuli. Here, using the electrodeposition process through an anodized aluminum oxide template, we fabricated multisegmented nanowires composed of a polypyrrole segment containing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules, a ferromagnetic nickel segment, and a conductive gold segment. Upon the application of a negative bias voltage, the NSWs released ATP molecules for the control of motor protein activities. Furthermore, NSWs can be printed onto various substrates including flexible or three-dimensional structured substrates by direct writing or magnetic manipulation strategies to build versatile chemical storage devices. Since our strategy provides a means to store and release chemical species in a controlled manner, it should open up various applications such as drug delivery systems and biochips for the controlled release of chemicals.