Single-Molecule Discrimination of Saccharides Using Carbon Nitride Nanopores.

Structural complexity brings a huge challenge to the analysis of sugar chains. As a single-molecule sensor, nanopores have the potential to provide fingerprint information on saccharides. Traditionally, direct single-molecule saccharide detection with nanopores is hampered by their small size and weak affinity. Here, a carbon nitride nanopore device is developed to discern two types of trisaccharide molecules (LeApN and SLeCpN) with minor structural differences. The resolution of LeApN and SLeCpN in the mixture reaches 0.98, which has never been achieved in solid-state nanopores so far. Monosaccharide (GlcNAcpN) and disaccharide (LacNAcpN) can also be discriminated using this system, indicating that the versatile carbon nitride nanopores possess a monosaccharide-level resolution. This study demonstrates that the carbon nitride nanopores have the potential for conducting structure analysis on single-molecule saccharides.

The Mitochondrial Genome of Ylistrum japonicum (Bivalvia, Pectinidae) and Its Phylogenetic Analysis.

The Ylistrum japonicum is a commercially valuable scallop known for its long-distance swimming abilities. Despite its economic importance, genetic and genomic research on this species is limited. This study presents the first complete mitochondrial genome of Y. japonicum. The mitochondrial genome is 19,475 bp long and encompasses 13 protein-coding genes, three ribosomal RNA genes, and 23 transfer RNA genes. Two distinct phylogenetic analyses were used to explore the phylogenetic position of the Y. japonicum within the family Pectinidae. Based on one mitochondrial phylogenetic analysis by selecting 15 Pectinidae species and additional outgroup taxa and one single gene phylogenetic analysis by 16S rRNA, two phylogenetic trees were constructed to provide clearer insights into the evolutionary placement of Y. japonicum within the family Pectinidae. Our analysis reveals that Ylistrum is a basal lineage to the Pectininae clade, distinct from its previously assigned tribe, Amusiini. This study offers critical insights into the genetic makeup and evolutionary history of Y. japonicum, enhancing our knowledge of this economically vital species.

Selenium-based metabolic oligosaccharide engineering strategy for quantitative glycan detection.

Metabolic oligosaccharide engineering (MOE) is a classical chemical approach to perturb, profile and perceive glycans in physiological systems, but probes upon bioorthogonal reaction require accessibility and the background signal readout makes it challenging to achieve glycan quantification. Here we develop SeMOE, a selenium-based metabolic oligosaccharide engineering strategy that concisely combines elemental analysis and MOE,enabling the mass spectrometric imaging of glycome. We also demonstrate that the new-to-nature SeMOE probes allow for detection, quantitative measurement and visualization of glycans in diverse biological contexts. We also show that chemical reporters on conventional MOE can be integrated into a bifunctional SeMOE probe to provide multimodality signal readouts. SeMOE thus provides a convenient and simplified method to explore the glyco-world.