Investigation of sex expression profiles and the cantharidin biosynthesis genes in two blister beetles.

Cantharidin (CTD) is a well-established defensive toxin synthesized by blister beetles, displaying both therapeutic potential and toxicity. Among these beetles, Hycleus cichorii and Hycleus phaleratus are the two most commercially significant species due to their capacity to produce CTD in males. In this investigation, we conducted a gene expression profiling analysis of male and female individuals of these two species, utilizing the Illumina Hiseq4000 platform. We identified 7,983 expressed genes, including 2,823 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) shared by both male and female blister beetles. Nineteen genes related to CTD biosynthesis in the terpenoid backbone biosynthesis pathway were identified, including hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR; EC:1.1.1.34), which demonstrated a significant correlation with CTD content. Furthermore, hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGS; EC:2.3.3.10) and isopentenyl-diphosphate Delta-isomerase (IDI; EC:5.3.3.2) were also found to be significantly up-regulated in males. Comparative analysis revealed that NADP+-dependent farnesol dehydrogenase (FOHSDR; EC:1.1.1.216) and farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FDPS; EC:2.5.1.1) had the highest copy number in these beetles, significantly higher than the copy number of the other four non-Meloidae insects. The analysis of the protein-protein interaction network of genes related to CTD biosynthesis revealed that the acetyl-CoA C-acetyltransferase (ACAT; EC:2.3.1.9) gene was the central gene, exhibiting greater expression in male blister beetles than in females. This study offers novel insights into the mechanisms of CTD biosynthesis in blister beetles and enhances our comprehensions of the association between particular genes and CTD content.

Self-Assembly of a 3D Hollow BiOBr@Bi-MOF Heterostructure with Enhanced Photocatalytic Degradation of Dyes.

Considering the flexibility, adjustable pore structure, and abundant active sites of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), rational design and fine control of the MOF-based hetero-nanocrystals is a highly important and challenging subject. In this work, self-assembly of a 3D hollow BiOBr@Bi-MOF microsphere was fabricated through precisely controlled dissociation kinetics of the self-sacrificial template (BiOBr) for the first time, where the residual quantity of BiOBr and the formation of Bi-MOF were carefully regulated by changing the reaction time and the capability of coordination. Meanwhile, the hollow microstructure was formed in BiOBr@Bi-MOF through the Oswald ripening mechanism to separate photogenerated electron-hole pairs and increase the adsorption capacity of Bi-MOF for dyes, which significantly enhanced the photocatalytic degradation efficiency of RhB from 56.4% for BiOBr to 99.4% for the optimal BiOBr@Bi-MOF microsphere. This research broadens the selectivity of semiconductor/MOF hetero-nanocrystals with reasonable design and flexible synthesis.