Molecular interactions of the chaperone CcmS and carboxysome shell protein CcmK1 that mediate ß-carboxysome assembly.

The carboxysome is a natural proteinaceous organelle for carbon fixation in cyanobacteria and chemoautotrophs. It comprises hundreds of protein homologs that self-assemble to form a polyhedral shell structure to sequester cargo enzymes, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and carbonic anhydrases. How these protein components assemble to construct a functional carboxysome is a central question in not only understanding carboxysome structure and function but also synthetic engineering of carboxysomes for biotechnological applications. Here, we determined the structure of the chaperone protein CcmS, which has recently been identified to be involved in ß-carboxysome assembly, and its interactions with ß-carboxysome proteins. The crystal structure at 1.99 Å resolution reveals CcmS from Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 forms a homodimer, and each CcmS monomer consists of five α-helices and four ß-sheets. Biochemical assays indicate that CcmS specifically interacts with the C-terminal extension of the carboxysome shell protein CcmK1, but not the shell protein homolog CcmK2 or the carboxysome scaffolding protein CcmM. Moreover, we solved the structure of a stable complex of CcmS and the C-terminus of CcmK1 at 1.67 Å resolution and unveiled how the CcmS dimer interacts with the C-terminus of CcmK1. These findings allowed us to propose a model to illustrate CcmS-mediated ß-carboxysome assembly by interacting with CcmK1 at the outer shell surface. Collectively, our study provides detailed insights into the accessory factors that drive and regulate carboxysome assembly, thereby improving our knowledge of carboxysome structure, function, and bioengineering.

Screening of 439 Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables by Gas Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Based on TOF Accurate Mass Database and Q-TOF Spectrum Library.

Because of its unique characteristics of accurate mass full-spectrum acquisition, high resolution, and fast acquisition rates, GC-quadrupole-time-of-flight MS (GC-Q-TOF/MS) has become a powerful tool for pesticide residue analysis. In this study, a TOF accurate mass database and Q-TOF spectrum library of 439 pesticides were established, and the parameters of the TOF database were optimized. Through solid-phase extraction (SPE), whereby pesticides are extracted from fruit and vegetable substrates by using 40 mL 1% acetic acid in acetonitrile (v/v), purified by the Carbon/NH2 SPE cartridge, and finally detected by GC-Q-TOF/MS, the rapid analysis of 439 pesticides in fruits and vegetables can be achieved. The methodology verification results show that more than 70 and 91% of pesticides, spiked in fruits and vegetables with concentrations of 10 and 100 µg/kg, respectively, saw recoveries that conform to the European Commission's criterion of between 70 and 120% with RSD ≤20%. Eighty-one percent of pesticides have screening detection limits lower than 10 µg/kg, which makes this a reliable analysis technology for the monitoring of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. This technology was further validated for its characteristics of high precision, high speed, and high throughput through successful detection of 9817 samples during 2013-2015.

Screening of 485 Pesticide Residues in Fruits and Vegetables by Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Based on TOF Accurate Mass Database and QTOF Spectrum Library.

This paper uses the LC-quadrupole-time-of-flight MS technique to evaluate the behavioral characteristics of MS of 485 pesticides under different conditions and has developed an accurate mass database and spectra library. A high-throughput screening and confirmation method has been developed for the 485 pesticides in fruits and vegetables. Through the optimization of parameters such as accurate mass number, time of retention window, ionization forms, etc., the method has improved the accuracy of pesticide screening, thus avoiding the occurrence of false-positive and false-negative results. The method features a full scan of fragments, with 80% of pesticide qualitative points over 10, which helps increase pesticide qualitative accuracy. The abundant differences of fragment categories help realize the effective separation and qualitative identification of isomer pesticides. Four different fruits and vegetables-apples, grapes, celery, and tomatoes-were chosen to evaluate the efficiency of the method at three fortification levels of 5, 10, and 20 µg/kg, and satisfactory results were obtained. With this method, a national survey of pesticide residues was conducted between 2012 and 2015 for 12 551 samples of 146 different fruits and vegetables collected from 638 sampling points in 284 counties across 31 provincial capitals/cities directly under the central government, which provided scientific data backup for ensuring pesticide residue safety of the fruits and vegetables consumed daily by the public. Meanwhile, the big data statistical analysis of the new technique also further proves it to be of high speed, high throughput, high accuracy, high reliability, and high informatization.

[Calculation and simulation on infrared radiation of hot jet from engine].

Spectral distribution of infrared radiation from plume by the method to calculate infrared radiance of the gaze direction in small sight field was calculated. Based on numerical value and form of radiative transfer equation, infrared radiant intensity of the gaze direction was calculated using the Malkmus statistical narrow-band model and CG approach. Flow field and mole fraction distribution were simulated using a FLUENT computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software. Infrared imaging simulation model of hot jet was established. The hot jet's infrared images of liquid rocket engine were generated. The results demonstrate that the method can detect well-resolved fine structure of flow field. And the model is also applicable to calculation and simulation on infrared radiation of hot jet from engine.

An oligonucleotide microarray for microRNA expression analysis based on labeling RNA with quantum dot and nanogold probe.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important regulatory roles in animals and plants by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or translational repression. They have diverse expression patterns and might regulate various developmental and physiological processes. Profiling miRNA expression is very helpful for studying biological functions of miRNAs. We report a novel miRNA profiling microarray, in which miRNAs were directly labeled at the 3' terminus with biotin and hybridized with complementary oligo-DNA probes immobilized on glass slides, and subsequently detected by measuring fluorescence of quantum dots labeled with streptavidin bound to miRNAs through streptavidin-biotin interaction. The detection limit of this microarray for miRNA was approximately 0.4 fmol, and the detection dynamic range spanned about 2 orders of magnitude. We made a model microarray to profile 11 miRNAs from leaf and root of rice (Oryza sativa L. ssp. indica) seedlings. The analysis results of the miRNAs had a good reproducibility and were consistent with the northern blot result. To avoid using high-cost detection equipment, colorimetric detection, a method based on nanogold probe coupled with silver enhancement, was also successfully introduced into miRNA profiling microarray detection.