Site-directed immobilization of enzymes on nanoparticles using self-assembly systems.

Enzyme immobilization is an effective method for improving the stability and reusability. However, linking at random sites on the enzyme results in low catalytic efficiency due to blockage of the active site or conformational changes. Therefore, controlling the orientation of enzymes on the carrier has been developed. Here, the site-specific mutation and the SpyTag/SpyCatcher systems were used to prepare a site-directed immobilized enzyme. The thermal stability of the immobilized enzyme was better than that of the free enzyme, and ≥80 % of the catalytic activity was retained after 30 days of storage. Furthermore, the Michaelis constant (Km) and the turnover number (kcat) of the immobilized enzyme were 5.23-fold lower and 6.11-fold higher than those of the free enzyme, respectively, which appeared to be related to changes in secondary structure after immobilization. These findings provide a new and effective option for enzyme-directed immobilization.

The complete reference genome for grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) genetics and breeding.

Grapevine is one of the most economically important crops worldwide. However, the previous versions of the grapevine reference genome tipically consist of thousands of fragments with missing centromeres and telomeres, limiting the accessibility of the repetitive sequences, the centromeric and telomeric regions, and the study of inheritance of important agronomic traits in these regions. Here, we assembled a telomere-to-telomere (T2T) gap-free reference genome for the cultivar PN40024 using PacBio HiFi long reads. The T2T reference genome (PN_T2T) is 69 Mb longer with 9018 more genes identified than the 12X.v0 version. We annotated 67% repetitive sequences, 19 centromeres and 36 telomeres, and incorporated gene annotations of previous versions into the PN_T2T assembly. We detected a total of 377 gene clusters, which showed associations with complex traits, such as aroma and disease resistance. Even though PN40024 derives from nine generations of selfing, we still found nine genomic hotspots of heterozygous sites associated with biological processes, such as the oxidation-reduction process and protein phosphorylation. The fully annotated complete reference genome therefore constitutes an important resource for grapevine genetic studies and breeding programs.

RGCA: A Reliable GPU Cluster Architecture for Large-Scale Internet of Things Computing Based on Effective Performance-Energy Optimization.

This paper aims to develop a low-cost, high-performance and high-reliability computing system to process large-scale data using common data mining algorithms in the Internet of Things (IoT) computing environment. Considering the characteristics of IoT data processing, similar to mainstream high performance computing, we use a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) cluster to achieve better IoT services. Firstly, we present an energy consumption calculation method (ECCM) based on WSNs. Then, using the CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) Programming model, we propose a Two-level Parallel Optimization Model (TLPOM) which exploits reasonable resource planning and common compiler optimization techniques to obtain the best blocks and threads configuration considering the resource constraints of each node. The key to this part is dynamic coupling Thread-Level Parallelism (TLP) and Instruction-Level Parallelism (ILP) to improve the performance of the algorithms without additional energy consumption. Finally, combining the ECCM and the TLPOM, we use the Reliable GPU Cluster Architecture (RGCA) to obtain a high-reliability computing system considering the nodes' diversity, algorithm characteristics, etc. The results show that the performance of the algorithms significantly increased by 34.1%, 33.96% and 24.07% for Fermi, Kepler and Maxwell on average with TLPOM and the RGCA ensures that our IoT computing system provides low-cost and high-reliability services.

An overlooked component: (Z)-9-tetradecenal as a sex pheromone in Helicoverpa armigera.

The sex pheromone blend of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a multi-component system, as is that of many other moths, and (Z)-11-hexadecenal 90-99%+(Z)-9-hexadecenal 10-1% was recommended as a standard blend for attracting the species. However, this fails to account for the significance of other compounds that exist in the sex gland. The aim of the present study was to investigate the function of other compounds present in the female sex gland of H. armigera. Extract of female sex glands were analysed by GC-MS combined with GC-EAD. Total 10 compounds were identified, which two novel were reported in female sex gland: heptanal and nonanal, and some previously identified compounds were confirmed. We developed bioassays to evaluate the potential roles of these 10 compounds. In Y-tube bioassays, the gland constituents hexadecanal, (Z)-7-hexadecenal and (Z)-9-tetradecenal increased male attractiveness when added as a three-compound admixture to the standard blend. Field trapping tests showed that (Z)-9-tetradecenal doubled trap catch in comparison with the standard blend, but that the addition of (Z)-7-hexadecenal and hexadecanal did not significantly increase trap catch. These results indicated that while (Z)-7-hexadecenal and hexadecanal function well only at short range, (Z)-9-tetradecenal plays a very important role at both short and long ranges. We suggest that that (Z)-9-tetradecenal as a previously overlooked sex pheromone component of H. armigera, it should be added to sex pheromone lure formulations to improve pheromone trap sensitivity and the efficacy of commercial mating disruption.

Sex pheromone components of the sandthorn carpenterworm, Holcocerus hippophaecolus.

Extracts of female sex pheromone gland of the carpenterworm moth, Holcocerus hippophaecolus Hua, a pest of sandthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides L. were found to contain (E)-3-tetradecenyl acetate (E3-14:Ac), (Z)-3-tetradecenyl acetate (Z3-14:Ac), (Z)-7-tetradecenyl acetate (Z7-14:Ac), the corresponding alcohols, E3-14:OH, Z3-14:OH, Z7-14:OH, and (E)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (E9-14:Ac). Electroantennographic (EAG) analysis of these chemicals and their analogs demonstrated that Z7-14:Ac elicited the largest male EAG response, followed by E3-14:Ac. In field trials, traps baited with either Z7-14:Ac or E3-14:Ac alone caught no male moths, whereas a combination of these two components in a 1:1 ratio caught more males than control traps. Addition of Z7-14:OH and Z3-14:OH or the alcohols plus E9-14:Ac did not enhance trap catches. We conclude that the sex pheromone of H. hippophaecolus is composed of Z7-14:Ac and E3-14:Ac. Optimal ratios and doses of these two components, and the possible role of other minor components, remain to be determined.