A sodium-dependent trehalose transporter contributes to anhydrobiosis in insect cell line, Pv11.

Pv11 is the only animal cell line that, when preconditioned with a high concentration of trehalose, can be preserved in the dry state at room temperature for more than one year while retaining the ability to resume proliferation. This extreme desiccation tolerance is referred to as anhydrobiosis. Here, we identified a transporter that contributes to the recovery of Pv11 cells from anhydrobiosis. In general, the solute carrier 5 (SLC5)-type secondary active transporters cotransport Na+ and carbohydrates including glucose. The heterologous expression systems showed that the transporter belonging to the SLC5 family, whose expression increases upon rehydration, exhibits Na+-dependent trehalose transport activity. Therefore, we named it STRT1 (sodium-ion trehalose transporter 1). We report an SLC5 family member that transports a naturally occurring disaccharide, such as trehalose. Knockout of the Strt1 gene significantly reduced the viability of Pv11 cells upon rehydration after desiccation. During rehydration, when intracellular trehalose is no longer needed, Strt1-knockout cells released the disaccharide more slowly than the parental cell line. During rehydration, Pv11 cells became roughly spherical due to osmotic pressure changes, but then returned to their original spindle shape after about 30 min. Strt1-knockout cells, however, required about 50 min to adopt their normal morphology. STRT1 probably regulates intracellular osmolality by releasing unwanted intracellular trehalose with Na+, thereby facilitating the recovery of normal cell morphology during rehydration. STRT1 likely improves the viability of dried Pv11 cells by rapidly alleviating the significant physical stresses that arise during rehydration.

How the Mixed Cations (Guanidium, Formamidinium, and Phenylethylamine) in Tin Iodide Perovskites Affect Their Charge Carrier Dynamics and Solar Cell Characteristics.

Despite recent interest in lead-free Sn iodide perovskite (ASnI3) solar cells, the role of mixed A-site cations is yet to be fully understood. Here, we report the effect of the ternary mixing of organic A-site cations (guanidium, GA; formamidinium, FA; and phenylethylamine, PEA) on the solar cell performance and charge carrier dynamics that are evaluated using time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC). (GAxFA1-x)0.9PEA0.1SnI3 exhibits the maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.90% at x = 0.15 and a drastic decrease with increasing GA content. Notably, our TRMC measurements of ASnI3 with/without a hole transport layer reveal the same trend with the devices. From the analyses, we suggest that a variation of electron mobility affected by the location of the GA cation in the grains significantly impacts the PCE. Our work sheds light on the role of mixed A-site cations and directs a route toward the further development of Sn perovskite solar cells.