Flexible solar cells based on foldable silicon wafers with blunted edges.

Flexible solar cells have a lot of market potential for application in photovoltaics integrated into buildings and wearable electronics because they are lightweight, shockproof and self-powered. Silicon solar cells have been successfully used in large power plants. However, despite the efforts made for more than 50 years, there has been no notable progress in the development of flexible silicon solar cells because of their rigidity1-4. Here we provide a strategy for fabricating large-scale, foldable silicon wafers and manufacturing flexible solar cells. A textured crystalline silicon wafer always starts to crack at the sharp channels between surface pyramids in the marginal region of the wafer. This fact enabled us to improve the flexibility of silicon wafers by blunting the pyramidal structure in the marginal regions. This edge-blunting technique enables commercial production of large-scale (>240 cm2), high-efficiency (>24%) silicon solar cells that can be rolled similarly to a sheet of paper. The cells retain 100% of their power conversion efficiency after 1,000 side-to-side bending cycles. After being assembled into large (>10,000 cm2) flexible modules, these cells retain 99.62% of their power after thermal cycling between -70 °C and 85 °C for 120 h. Furthermore, they retain 96.03% of their power after 20 min of exposure to air flow when attached to a soft gasbag, which models wind blowing during a violent storm.

The Interaction in Electrolyte Additives Accelerates Ion Transport to Achieve High-Energy Non-Aqueous Lithium Metal Batteries.

Electrolyte engineering is a feasible strategy to realize high energy density lithium metal batteries. However, stabilizing both lithium metal anodes and nickel-rich layered cathodes is extremely challenging. To break through this bottleneck, a dual-additives electrolyte containing fluoroethylene carbonate (10 vol.%) and 1-methoxy-2-propylamine (1 vol.%) in conventional LiPF6 -containing carbonate-based electrolyte is reported. The two additives can polymerize and thus generate dense and uniform LiF and Li3 N-containing interphases on both electrodes' surfaces. Such robust ionic conductive interphases not only prevent lithium dendrite formation in lithium metal anode but also suppress stress-corrosion cracking and phase transformation in nickel-rich layered cathode. The advanced electrolyte enables Li||LiNi0.8 Co0.1 Mn0.1 O2 stably cycle for 80 cycles at 60 mA g-1 with a specific discharge capacity retention of 91.2% under harsh conditions.

Application of multi-omics combined with bioinformatics techniques to assess salinity stress response and tolerance mechanisms of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) during depuration.

Depuration is a vital stage to ensure the safety of oyster consumption, and salinity had a great impact on the environmental adaptability of oysters, but the underlying molecular mechanism was poorly understood during depuration stage. Here, Crassostrea gigas was depurated for 72 h at different salinity (26, 29, 32, 35, 38 g/L, corresponding to ±20%, ±10% salinity fluctuation away from oyster's production area) and then analyzed by using transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome combined with bioinformatics techniques. The transcriptome showed that the salinity stress led to 3185 differentially expressed genes and mainly enriched in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, etc. A total of 464 differentially expressed proteins were screened by the proteome, and the number of up-regulated expression proteins was less than the down-regulated, indicating that the salinity stress would affect the regulation of metabolism and immunity in oysters. 248 metabolites significantly changed in response to depuration salinity stress in oysters, including phosphate organic acids and their derivatives, lipids, etc. The results of integrated omics analysis indicated that the depuration salinity stress induced abnormal metabolism of the citrate cycle (TCA cycle), lipid metabolism, glycolysis, nucleotide metabolism, ribosome, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transport pathway, etc. By contrast with Pro-depuration, more radical responses were observed in the S38 group. Based on the results, we suggested that the 10% salinity fluctuation was suitable for oyster depuration and the combination of multi-omics analysis could provide a new perspective for the analysis of the mechanism changes.

In-Depth Analysis of the Mechanism of Astaxanthin Succinate Diester in Reducing Ulcerative Colitis in C57BL/6J Mice Based on Microbiota Informatics.

This paper aims to explore the effect and mechanism of water-soluble astaxanthin succinate diester (Asta-SD) on ulcerative colitis (UC) induced by dextran sodium sulfate in zebrafish and C57BL/6J mice. Asta-SD was synthesized with hydrophilic fatty acid succinic anhydride and the hydroxyl groups at the ends of F-Asta were synthesized by esterifying. Through the construction of a zebrafish intestinal inflammation model, it was found that Asta-SD could effectively reduce the levels of ROS and increase the number of healthy intestinal lysosomes in zebrafish. After continuous gavage of Asta-SD for seven days, the body weight, disease activity index, colonic length, colonic histopathology, expression of inflammatory factors, and intestinal flora of the mice were measured. The results showed that Asta-SD could significantly alleviate weight loss and colonic shrinkage, as well as reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and recess injury in UC mice. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that Asta-SD significantly increased the beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus, Anaerotruncus) and decreased the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, effectively maintaining intestinal microbiota homeostasis in mice. Based on Pearson analysis, Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Butyrimionas were expected to be associated with the significant difference in the expression of inflammatory factors between the UC and the corresponding host. Thus, Asta-SD significantly improves UC and maintains intestinal microbiota homeostasis.

Driver mutations in ADGRL3 are involved in the evolution of ependymoma.

Although there have been recent advances in the molecular pathology of ependymomas, little is known about the underlying molecular evolution during its development. Here, we assessed the clinical, pathological and molecular evolutionary process of ependymoma recurrence in a 9-year-old patient who had seven recurrences of supratentorial ependymoma and died from intracranial multiregional recurrences at the age of 19 years old. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 7 tumor samples (1 primary and 6 subsequent recurrent tumors) was performed to elucidate the mutation landscape and identify potential driver mutations for tumor evolution. The genetic profiles of the seven tumor specimens showed significant heterogeneity and suggested a highly branched evolutionary pattern. The mutational signatures and chromothripsis changed with treatments. Strikingly, adhesion G protein-coupled receptor L3 (ADGRL3, also known as Latrophilins 3, LPNH3) was found to be consistently mutated during the entire disease process. However, Sanger sequencing of other 78 ependymoma patients who underwent surgery at our institution showed no genetic alteration of ADGRL3, as found in the present case. The mRNA levels of ADGRL3 were significantly lower in ependymomas (n = 36), as compared with normal brain tissue (n = 3). Grade III ependymomas had the lowest ADGRL3 expression. Moreover, ependymomas with lower mRNA level of ADGRL3 had shorter overall survival. Our findings, therefore, demonstrate a rare evolutionary process of ependymoma involving ADGRL3.

Cryopreservation of stool samples altered the microbial viability quantitively and compositionally.

Stool is the most commonly used sample for gut microbiota analysis in humans and animals. Cryopreservation of stool at - 80 °C is a feasible and simple method in clinics and researches, especially in large-scale cohort studies. However, the viability of bacteria in stool after freezing has yet well-demonstrated quantitatively and compositionally. This study determined the viable microbiota of samples under cryopreservation at - 80 °C, relative to fresh samples and that stored at ambient. Stool samples were collected from three healthy adults. Propidium monoazide treatment combined with quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to target viable microbiota. After freezing, the number of viable bacteria decreased, though inter-individual difference existed. Notably, the alpha diversity of viable microbiota after freezing did not change significantly, while its composition changed. Freezing significantly reduced the viable bacteria in Gram-negative genera of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, and proportionally increased Gram-positive bacteria in genera of Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, including Bifidobacterium, Collinsella and Blautia, implying that the cell envelope structure associated with the bacterial sensitivity to freezing. On the contrary, the room temperature storage not only decreased the number of viable bacteria, but also decreased the microbial alpha diversity, and remarkably enriched facultative anaerobes of Escherichia-Shigella, Enterococcus and Lactococcus, some of which are opportunistic pathogens. Our findings suggested that changes in viable microbiota in stool samples caused by cryopreservation should be paid enough attention for downstream utilization.

Sea Cucumber Saponins Derivatives Alleviate Hepatic Lipid Accumulation Effectively in Fatty Acids-Induced HepG2 Cells and Orotic Acid-Induced Rats.

The sulfated echinoside A (EA) and holothurin A (HA) are two prominent saponins in sea cucumber with high hemolytic activity but also superior lipid-lowering activity. Deglycosylated derivatives EA2 and HA2 exhibit low hemolysis compared to EA and HA, but their efficacies on lipid metabolism regulation remains unknown. In this study, fatty acids-treated HepG2 cells and orotic acid-treated rats were used to investigate the lipid-lowering effects of sea cucumber saponin derivatives. Both the saponin and derivatives could effectively alleviate lipid accumulation in HepG2 model, especially EA and EA2. Moreover, though the lipid-lowering effect of EA2 was not equal with EA at the same dosage of 0.05% in diet, 0.15% dosage of EA2 significantly reduced hepatic steatosis rate, liver TC and TG contents by 76%, 41.5%, and 63.7%, respectively, compared to control and reversed liver histopathological features to normal degree according to H&E stained sections. Possible mechanisms mainly included enhancement of fatty acids ß-oxidation and cholesterol catabolism through bile acids synthesis and excretion, suppression of lipogenesis and cholesterol uptake. It revealed that the efficacy of EA2 on lipid metabolism regulation was dose-dependent, and 0.15% dosage of EA2 possessed better efficacy with lower toxicity compared to 0.05% dosage of EA.

Effects of microencapsulation in dairy matrix on the quality characteristics and bioavailability of docosahexaenoic acid astaxanthin.

BACKGROUND: Compared with free astaxanthin (Asta), docosahexaenoic acid astaxanthin monoester (Asta-C22:6) has higher stability and bioavailability. However, Asta-E is still unable to be used in the water system. Hence it is necessary to build a water-soluble delivery system. In this study, Asta-C22:6 microemulsion and microcapsule using whey protein isolate (WPI) and hydroxypropyl-ß-cyclodextrin (HPß-CD) as composite wall material were prepared. They were added to three dairy products (milk powder, yogurt and flavored dairy product). A dairy product rich in Asta-C22:6 with high bioavailability was designed by measuring quality characteristics, sensory evaluation and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: Compared with spray drying, the freeze-drying microcapsule had a higher encapsulation efficiency (72.5%), water content (4%) and better solubility, and Asta-C22:6 microcapsule (1 g L-1 ) yogurt had the best quality. The bioavailability of Asta-C22:6 microcapsule yogurt was further evaluated. After a single oral dose in mice, the bioavailability of Asta-C22:6 microcapsule in yogurt was significantly increased (Cmax  = 0.31 µg mL-1 , AUC0-T  = 3.20 h µg mL-1 ). CONCLUSION: We successfully prepared Asta-C22:6 microcapsule yogurt, which improved the stability and bioavailability of Asta. The present research is meaningful for delivering unstable bioactive small molecules based on WPI and HPß-CD. It provides an experimental basis for the application of Asta-C22:6 and the development of functional dairy products. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of salinity stress on respiratory metabolism, glycolysis, lipolysis, and apoptosis in Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) during depuration stage.

BACKGROUND: Depuration is an important process performed to ensure the safety of oyster consumption, and the effect of salinity stress on physiological and ecological characteristics of oyster remains unknow. In this study, the simulated depuration of Crassostrea gigas was performed with the salinities varying from ±10% to ±20% away from that of production area (26, 28, 32, 35, and 38 g L-1 ), as well as respiratory metabolism, glycolysis, lipolysis, and apoptosis were analyzed. RESULTS: (i) The oxygen consumption rate, ammonia discharge rate and enzyme activities related to respiratory metabolism were decreased significantly at salinities of 38 g L-1 , indicating that salinity stress triggered the abnormal respiratory metabolism of C. gigas, further, glycolysis was enhanced. (ii) Glycogen decomposition, lactic acid increase, and fatty acid composition modifications were caused by adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) -mediated during salinity stress. (iii) There was a clear decrease of the condition index and meat yield of C. gigas after 72 h of depuration, especially in salinity 38 g L-1 . (iv) Salinity stress would lead to the increase of cytochrome c levels, then cause apoptosis of C. gigas, while heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) would interfere with this process. CONCLUSION: Salinity stress had a significant effect on the physiological and ecological response of C. gigas during the depuration process, including respiratory metabolism, glycolysis, lipolysis, and apoptosis. In general, the low depuration salinity fluctuation (±10%) is helpful to maintain quality of C. gigas, as well as the optimal depuration time was 48 h. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of curcumin-mediated photodynamic treatment on lipid degradation of oysters during refrigerated storage.

BACKGROUND: Oyster's lipid degradation leads to a decrease in edible and nutritional value. Curcumin-mediated photodynamic treatment (PDT) is an innovative non-thermal technology, although evaluation of the oyster's lipid degradation has been scarce. In the present study, we investigated peroxide value, thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, triacylglycerol and free fatty acids to evaluate the effect of curcumin-mediated PDT on lipid degradation of oysters during refrigerated storage. RESULTS: The results showed that curcumin-mediated PDT could delay oyster's lipid degradation. Next, the activities of enzymes were detected to determine the mechanisms behind the effects of curcumin-mediated PDT. It was revealed that the activities of lipase, phospholipase A2 (PLA2 ), phospholipase C (PLC), phospholipase D (PLD) and lipoxygenase (LOX) were significantly inhibited after curcumin-mediated PDT (P < 0.05). Furthermore, 16 s rRNA analysis established that the relative abundances of Pseudoalteromonas and Psychrilyobacter were reduced by 51.58% and 43.82%, respectively, after curcumin-mediated PDT. CONCLUSION: Curcumin-mediated PDT could delay oyster's lipid degradation by inhibiting the activities of lipase, PLA2 , PLC, PLD and LOX, as well as by changing the oyster's microbial composition, reducing the relative abundance of Pseudoalteromonas and Psychrilyobacter. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Temperature effects on the nutritional quality in Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) during ultraviolet depuration.

BACKGROUND: Oysters are mainly consumed in the raw form, so it is important to get rid of bacteria and other harmful substances. Ultraviolet (UV) sterilization depuration is a commonly used method and does not produce chemical residues or act directly on shellfish, resulting in minimal adverse effects on flavor. This study simulated the industrial depuration process using UV sterilization to depurate Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas). The effects of different temperatures (15, 20, and 25 °C) on the quality and taste components of C. gigas were investigated by measuring changes in physiological and biochemical indexes in C. gigas tissue samples. RESULTS: At the end of depuration, no oyster mortality occurred, but it was up to 55% at 25 °C at 84 h. Glycogen content decreased the most at 25 °C at 48 h. The fatty acid content was higher at 20 and 25 °C. Succinic acid content decreased significantly and was higher at 20 and 25 °C at 48 h with no significant difference. Total free amino acid (FAA) content was significantly higher at 20 °C, however, there were no significant differences in nucleotide content at any temperature at 48 h. Adenylate energy charge (AEC) values decreased, with higher values at 15 and 25 °C, and equivalent umami concentration (EUC) values increased, with higher values at 20 and 25 °C. CONCLUSION: Considering the changes in flavor substances and mortality rate, 20 °C is the appropriate temperature for UV sterilization depuration of C. gigas to produce better edible quality. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Identification, isolation, characterization, and synthesis of impurities of pesticide spirotetramat.

Research work featured in this article describes the impurity profile of spirotetramat, a widely used broad-spectrum pesticide targeting acetyl-CoA carboxylase. Technical grade spirotetramat from four different sources were analyzed and compared with commercial Movento using UPLC-MS. Seven potential impurities were detected and six of them except for the trans-isomer of spirotetramat were subsequently isolated using preparative HPLC. All impurities were characterized mainly by MS and NMR spectroscopy and their structures were further confirmed by chemical synthesis. The formation of the impurities was described in this report as well.

Evaluation indicators of Ruditapes philippinarum nutritional quality.

To access the nutritional quality of the Ruditapes philippinarum, a comprehensive quality evaluation procedure is always important to be established. In this study, fifteen nutritional quality evaluation indicators of R. philippinarum from 7 months were analyzed, and the most important indicators were determined using a combination of multiple chemometric methods such as correlation analysis (CA), principal component analysis (PCA), and system cluster analysis (SCA). Significant differences in nutritional quality were observed across the 7 months, as per the ANOVA results (P < 0.05). The coefficient of variation values for the fifteen evaluation indicators for R. philippinarum across 7 months was 1.67-43.47%. The CA results revealed that some indicators were correlated to each other within a certain range. Four principal components with eigen-values > 1 were obtained with PCA, and a cumulative contribution of 92.11% was achieved. In addition, four essential quality indicators were extracted using SCA. Using these four indicators, a simple and efficient procedure can be applied for quality control in aquaculture.

Preparation and effects on neuronal nutrition of plasmenylethonoamine and plasmanylcholine from the mussel Mytilus edulis.

Plasmenylethonoamine (pPE) and plasmanylcholine (aPC) are important phospholipid subclasses. Herein we explored optimum conditions for enzymatic purification and preparation of pPE and aPC from the mussel Mytilus edulis and bovine brain. Among them, pPE in Mytilus edulis PE was mainly p18:0-20:5 and p18:0-22:6, and its purity was 92.7%; aPC in PC was primarily a16:0-22:6 and a16:0-20:5, and aPC accounted for 90.2% of PC. We thereafter evaluated neurotrophic effects of Mytilus edulis pPE, aPC, and bovine brain pPE in a NGF-induced PC12 cell model. Morphologically, pPE and aPC could both promote differentiation, manifested in a significant increase in neurite length and number, due to increased expression of synaptophysin and growth protein GAP-43 in a dose-independent and structure-selective manner. Importantly, the effect on neuronal nutrition of pPE was better than aPC, and marine pPE was better than terrestrial pPE, which might be ascribed to vinyl-ether bond and differences in fatty acid composition.Abbreviations: AA: arachidonic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; EIC: extracted ion chromatogram; EPA: eicosapentanoic acid; GAP: growth-associated protein; HPLC: high-performance liquid chromatography; LC-MS/MS: liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; LPC: lyso-PC; LPE: lyso-PE; MS: mass spectrometry; NGF: nerve growth factor; PC: phosphatidylcholine; aPC: plasmanylcholine; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; pPE: plasmenylethonoamine; PG: phosphoglycerols; PLs: phospholipids; PS: phosphoserines; TIC: total ion chromatogram.

Microbial Co-Occurrence Patterns and Keystone Species in the Gut Microbial Community of Mice in Response to Stress and Chondroitin Sulfate Disaccharide.

Detecting microbial interactions is essential to the understanding of the structure and function of the gut microbiome. In this study, microbial co-occurrence patterns were inferred using a random matrix theory based approach in the gut microbiome of mice in response to chondroitin sulfate disaccharide (CSD) under healthy and stressed conditions. The exercise stress disrupted the network composition and microbial co-occurrence patterns. Thirty-four Operational Taxonomic Units (OTU) were identified as module hubs and connectors, likely acting as generalists in the microbial community. Mucispirillum schaedleri acted as a connector in the stressed network in response to CSD supplement and may play a key role in bridging intimate interactions between the host and its microbiome. Several modules correlated with physiological parameters were detected. For example, Modules M02 (under stress) and S05 (stress + CSD) were strongly correlated with blood urea nitrogen levels (r = 0.90 and -0.75, respectively). A positive correlation between node connectivity of the OTUs assigned to Proteobacteria with superoxide dismutase activities under stress (r = 0.57, p < 0.05) provided further evidence that Proteobacteria can be developed as a potential pathological marker. Our findings provided novel insights into gut microbial interactions and may facilitate future endeavor in microbial community engineering.

Oxidation evaluation of free astaxanthin and astaxanthin esters in Pacific white shrimp during iced storage and frozen storage.

BACKGROUND: In this paper, the changes in free astaxanthin (F-AST) and astaxanthin esters (AST-Es) in Litopenaeus vannamei during iced storage and frozen storage were investigated. The liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was used to quantify the molecular species of AST-Es in shrimp during storage. RESULTS: Based on the analysis of autoxidation products, apo-12-astaxanthinal and apo-13-astaxanthinone docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ester were identified as the major oxidation products of F-AST and AST-Es in L. vannamei during storage. The total astaxanthin (T-AST) content decreased by 34.51% after 7 days in iced storage. In contrast, the content of T-AST decreased by 43.76% after 12 weeks in frozen storage. The content of F-AST decreased by 29.99% while 13-cis-astaxanthin increased after 3 days in iced storage, which indicated that degradation of AST was accompanied by isomerization. Total volatile basic nitrogen and T-AST content showed a significant negative correlation while in frozen storage, where the concentration of T-AST might be one indicator to evaluate shrimp freshness. CONCLUSION: The correlation coefficients between phenol oxidase, lipoxygenase, apo-12-astaxanthinal, and apo-13-astaxanthinone DHA ester were all greater than 0.97 (P < 0.01). This correlation indicates that phenol oxidase and lipoxygenase were the main internal factors to improve oxygenation of astaxanthin in L. vannamei. These results provide a theoretical basis for further study of oxidation and the degradation mechanism in astaxanthin, as well as a new idea for the development and utilization of astaxanthin compounds in Pacific white shrimp. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Inexpensive NaX (X = I, Br, Cl) as a halogen donor in the practical Ag/Cu-mediated decarboxylative halogenation of aryl carboxylic acids under aerobic conditions.

Versatile and practical Ag/Cu-mediated decarboxylative halogenation between readily available aryl carboxylic acids and abundant NaX (X = I, Br, Cl) has been achieved under aerobic conditions in moderate to good yields. The halodecarboxylation is shown to be an effective strategy for S-containing heteroaromatic carboxylic acid and benzoic acids with nitro, chloro and methoxyl substituents at the ortho position. A gram-scale reaction and a three-step procedure to synthesize iniparib have been performed to evaluate the practicality of this protocol. A preliminary mechanistic investigation indicates that Cu plays a vital role and a radical pathway is involved in the transformation.

Metal Chelating, Inhibitory DNA Damage, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Phenolics from Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) Peel and the Quantifications of Geraniin and Corilagin.

Whereas the preparation and biological properties of rambutan peel phenolics (RPP) were explored in our previous studies, the metal chelating, inhibitory DNA damage, and anti-inflammatory activities of RPP were evaluated and the important phenolics of RPP quantified in this study. Results showed that RPP had high Fe2+ and Cu2+-chelating activities with EC50 of 0.80 mg/mL and 0.13 mg/mL, respectively. RPP effectively decreased the production of hydroxyl radical with IC50 of 62.4 µg/mL. The protective effects of RPP against AAPH-induced DNA damage were also explored. RPP efficiently inhibited peroxyl radical-induced plasmid DNA strand breakage. The anti-inflammatory effects of RPP were determined using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cell model. RPP significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO) and controlled the levels of inducible NO synthase mRNA in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. The inhibitory activity increased in a dose-dependent manner. The above bioactivity of RPP was associated with its phenolic content and phenolic profiles. Furthermore, the contents of geraniin and corilagin in RPP were determined by an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadruple mass spectrometry (UPLC-QQQ-MS), showing 140.02 and 7.87 mg/g extract dry weight. Thus, RPP has potential applications as a novel nutraceutical and functional food in health promotion.

Characterization of protease and effects of temperature and salinity on the biochemical changes during fermentation of Antarctic krill.

BACKGROUND: Despite their abundance, Antarctic krill are underutilized because of numerous difficulties in their commercial processing. Ideally, fermentation technology can be applied to transform them into a popular condiment. In addition to the exploration of protease properties, the present study aimed to evaluate proteinase activity, pH, amino nitrogen, and histamine formation during fermentation at different temperatures and salt treatments. RESULTS: Even though the activity of Antarctic krill protease reached a maximum at 40 °C and pH 7, it was stable at 30 °C and pH 7-9. Among the metal ions tested, Ca2+ , Mg2+ and K+ increased protease activity, in contrast to Zn2+ and Cu2+ . Within each treatment, the highest protease activity and amino nitrogen content, as well as the lowest histamine level, were observed on day 12 of fermentation. Treatment at 35 °C with 180 g kg-1 salt led to the production of maximum amino nitrogen (0.0352 g kg-1 ) and low histamine (≤0.0497 g kg-1 ). CONCLUSION: Krill paste fermented for 12 days at 35 °C with 180 g kg-1 salt exhibited the optimal quality and properties, suggesting an efficient method for fermentation of Antarctic krill and other aquatic resources. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Expression of TaCYP78A3, a gene encoding cytochrome P450 CYP78A3 protein in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), affects seed size.

Several studies have described quantitative trait loci (QTL) for seed size in wheat, but the relevant genes and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we report the functional characterization of the wheat TaCYP78A3 gene and its effect on seed size. TaCYP78A3 encoded wheat cytochrome P450 CYP78A3, and was specifically expressed in wheat reproductive organs. TaCYP78A3 activity was positively correlated with the final seed size. Its silencing caused a reduction of cell number in the seed coat, resulting in an 11% decrease in wheat seed size, whereas TaCYP78A3 over-expression induced production of more cells in the seed coat, leading to an 11-48% increase in Arabidopsis seed size. In addition, the cell number in the final seed coat was determined by the TaCYP78A3 expression level, which affected the extent of integument cell proliferation in the developing ovule and seed. Unfortunately, TaCYP78A3 over-expression in Arabidopsis caused a reduced seed set due to an ovule developmental defect. Moreover, TaCYP78A3 over-expression affected embryo development by promoting embryo integument cell proliferation during seed development, which also ultimately affected the final seed size in Arabidopsis. In summary, our results indicated that TaCYP78A3 plays critical roles in influencing seed size by affecting the extent of integument cell proliferation. The present study provides direct evidence that TaCYP78A3 affects seed size in wheat, and contributes to an understanding of the cellular basis of the gene influencing seed development.