Substrate Enrichment Research Articles

Urine source separation-based pretreatment: A sustainable strategy for improving methane production from anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludge

Urine wastewater derived from source separation technology was employed to pretreat waste activated sludge (WAS) for anaerobic digestion in this study. In comparison to the control group, cumulative methane production was identified to be improved by 23% after pretreated by urine wastewater with its volumetric proportion of 1:8. Urea and hydrolyzed free ammonia (FA) in urine wastewater were observed to pose a synergistic effect on sludge disintegration, benefiting the reduction of sludge volume and enrichment of available substrates for bio-processes. Analysis of microbial community further revealed that acid-producing microbes were enriched in the experimental digesters. Although FA was found to be the major inhibitor to several microbial stages, metal ions supplemented by urine pretreatment might have alleviated such suppression. The proposed strategy would pave a more sustainable way for sludge pretreatment with waste materials.

Inferring kinase activity from phosphoproteomic data: Tool comparison and recent applications.

Aberrant cellular signaling pathways are a hallmark of cancer and other diseases. One of the most important signaling mechanisms involves protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation. Protein phosphorylation is catalyzed by protein kinases, and over 530 protein kinases have been identified in the human genome. Aberrant kinase activity is one of the drivers of tumorigenesis and cancer progression and results in altered phosphorylation abundance of downstream substrates. Upstream kinase activity can be inferred from the global collection of phosphorylated substrates. Mass spectrometry-based phosphoproteomic experiments nowadays routinely allow identification and quantitation of >10k phosphosites per biological sample. This substrate phosphorylation footprint can be used to infer upstream kinase activities using tools like Kinase Substrate Enrichment Analysis (KSEA), Posttranslational Modification Substrate Enrichment Analysis (PTM-SEA), and Integrative Inferred Kinase Activity Analysis (INKA). Since the topic of kinase activity inference is very active with many new approaches reported in the past 3 years, we would like to give an overview of the field. In this review, an inventory of kinase activity inference tools, their underlying algorithms, statistical frameworks, kinase-substrate databases, and user-friendliness is presented. The most widely-used tools are compared in-depth. Subsequently, recent applications of the tools are described focusing on clinical tissues and hematological samples. Two main application areas for kinase activity inference tools can be discerned. (1) Maximal biological insights can be obtained from large data sets with group comparisons using multiple complementary tools (e.g.,PTM-SEA and KSEA or INKA).(2)In the oncology context where personalized treatment requires analysis of single samples, INKA for example, has emerged as tool that can prioritize actionable kinases for targeted inhibition.

Light-Induced Selective Hydrogenation over PdAg Nanocages in Hollow MOF Microenvironment.

Selective hydrogenation with high efficiency under ambient conditions remains a long-standing challenge. Here, a yolk-shell nanostructured catalyst, PdAg@ZIF-8, featuring plasmonic PdAg nanocages encompassed by a metal-organic framework (MOF, namely, ZIF-8) shell, has been rationally fabricated. PdAg@ZIF-8 achieves selective (97.5%) hydrogenation of nitrostyrene to vinylaniline with complete conversion at ambient temperature under visible light irradiation. The photothermal effect of Ag, together with the substrate enrichment effect of the catalyst, improves the Pd activity. The near-field enhancement effect from plasmonic Ag and optimized Pd electronic state by Ag alloying promote selective adsorption of the -NO2 group and therefore catalytic selectivity. Remarkably, the unique yolk-shell nanostructure not only facilitates access to PdAg cores and protects them from aggregation but also benefits substrate enrichment and preferential -NO2 adsorption under light irradiation, the latter two of which surpass the core-shell counterpart, giving rise to enhanced activity, selectivity, and recyclability.

Catalytic oxidation of pentanethiol on basic nitrogen doped carbon hollow spheres derived from waste tires

A series of basic nitrogen doped carbon hollow spheres (p-N-C) catalysts derived from waste tires were prepared by a green, facile and environmental “leavening” strategy for the catalytic oxidation of pentanethiol. Compared to pristine carbon, the p-N-C has a higher surface curvature conducive to the enrichment of substrates, leading to an excellent catalytic performance. This increased surface curvature of p-N-C was fabricated on the synergistic effect of two foaming agents ((NH4)2C2O4 and NaHCO3), and the released gas also endows the spherical shell of p-N-C with a hierarchical porous structure, promoting the accessibility of active sites with pentanethiol. Pyridine-like and pyrrolic-like nitrogen atoms were investigated as reactive sites on the p-N-C to accelerate the electron transfer from sulfur to active surface oxygen and enhance the adsorption/oxidation process. As a result, the optimal p-N-C catalyst exhibits superior adsorption and oxidation performance (99.9%) of pentanethiol, outperforming the “unleavened” catalyst (20.8%). This work offers a new avenue for the fabrication of highly efficient materials for the desulfurization of fuel.

Exploring the expression patterns of palmitoylating and de-palmitoylating enzymes in the mouse brain using the curated RNA-seq database BrainPalmSeq.

Protein S-palmitoylation is a reversible post-translational lipid modification that plays a critical role in neuronal development and plasticity, while dysregulated S-palmitoylation underlies a number of severe neurological disorders. Dynamic S-palmitoylation is regulated by a large family of ZDHHC palmitoylating enzymes, their accessory proteins, and a small number of known de-palmitoylating enzymes. Here, we curated and analyzed expression data for the proteins that regulate S-palmitoylation from publicly available RNAseq datasets, providing a comprehensive overview of their distribution in the mouse nervous system. We developed a web-tool that enables interactive visualization of the expression patterns for these proteins in the nervous system (http://brainpalmseq.med.ubc.ca/), and explored this resource to find region and cell-type specific expression patterns that give insight into the function of palmitoylating and de-palmitoylating enzymes in the brain and neurological disorders. We found coordinated expression of ZDHHC enzymes with their accessory proteins, de-palmitoylating enzymes and other brain-expressed genes that included an enrichment of S-palmitoylation substrates. Finally, we utilized ZDHHC expression patterns to predict and validate palmitoylating enzyme-substrate interactions.

Bioinspired enzymatic compartments constructed by spatiotemporally confined in situ self-assembly of catalytic peptide

Enzymatic compartments, inspired by cell compartmentalization, which bring enzymes and substrates together in confined environments, are of particular interest in ensuring the enhanced catalytic efficiency and increased lifetime of encapsulated enzymes. Herein, we constructed bioinspired enzymatic compartments (TPE-Q18H@GPs) with semi-permeability by spatiotemporally controllable self-assembly of catalytic peptide TPE-Q18H in hollow porous glucan particles (GPs), allowing substrates and products to pass in/out freely, while enzymatic aggregations were retained. Due to the enrichment of substrates and synergistic effect of catalytic nanofibers formed in the confined environment, the enzymatic compartments exhibited stronger substrate binding affinity and over two-fold enhancement of second-order kinetic constant (kcat/Km) compared to TPE-Q18H nanofibers in disperse system. Moreover, GPs enabled the compartments sufficient stability against perturbation conditions, such as high temperature and degradation. This work opens an intriguing avenue to construct enzymatic compartments using porous biomass materials and has fundamental implications for constructing artificial organelles and even artificial cells.

UrPTMdb/TeaProt: Upstream and Downstream Proteomics Analysis.

We have developed the underrepresented post-translational modification (PTM) database (urPTMdb), a PTM gene set database to accelerate the discovery of enriched protein modifications in experimental data. urPTMdb provides curated lists of proteins reported to be substrates of underrepresented modifications. Their enrichment in proteomics datasets can reveal unexpected PTM regulations. urPTMdb can be implemented in existing workflows, or used in TeaProt, an online Shiny tool that integrates upstream transcription factor enrichment analysis with downstream pathway analysis through an easy-to-use interactive interface. TeaProt annotates user-uploaded data with drug-gene interactions, subcellular localizations, phenotypic functions, gene-disease associations, and enzyme-gene interactions. TeaProt enables gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to discover enrichments in gene sets from various resources, including MSigDB, CHEA, and urPTMdb. We demonstrate the utility of urPTMdb and TeaProt through the analysis of a previously published Western diet-induced remodeling of the tongue proteome, which revealed altered cellular processes associated with energy metabolism, interferon alpha/gamma response, adipogenesis, HMGylation substrate enrichment, and transcription regulation through PPARG and CEBPA. Additionally, we analyzed the interactome of ADP-ribose glycohydrolase TARG1, a key enzyme that removes mono-ADP-ribosylation. This analysis identified an enrichment of ADP-ribosylation, ribosomal proteins, and proteins localized in the nucleoli and endoplasmic reticulum. TeaProt and urPTMdb are accessible at https://tea.coffeeprot.com/.

LGG-44. Multi-omic analysis reveals integrated signalling networks in paediatric low-grade glioma

Paediatric low-grade gliomas (pLGGs) are the most common type of childhood CNS tumours. Our study included pilocytic astrocytomas (PAs; KIAA1549:BRAF), glioneuronal tumours (GNTs; BRAFV600E) and location-matched controls. We initially performed kinase substrate enrichment analysis (KSEA) to infer differential kinase activity, which allowed us to identify altered signalling networks in the two tumour types. Here we report the integration of these kinase signalling networks together with total proteomics, transcription factor enrichment analysis (TFEA) and transcriptomics (coding and non-coding). Total proteomic profiling confirmed an increase in proteins involved in cell cycle, inflammatory response and signal transduction in PAs, whilst there was an increase in proteins promoting cell growth, immune response and inflammation in GNTs. TFEA was performed using the DoRothEA database to identify master transcriptional regulators. We observed significant activation of transcription factors (TFs) that are direct targets of MAPK signalling in both tumour types. Notable differences include the higher activation of NF-kB/STAT TFs in PAs and the increased activation of RFX1/2 in GNTs. Next, we constructed kinase-TF networks and identified multiple kinases targeting STAT3 in PAs and STAT1/3 in GNTs. Pathway analysis of RNA-Sequencing data showed enrichment of NF-kB in both tumours and repression of E2F target genes (PA) and reduced expression of MYC target genes (GNT). We developed a BRAF-OIS signature and found 23 genes commonly enriched in both tumour types, highlighting shared senescence-associated targets. MicroRNA profiling identified upregulation of microRNAs that target MAPK and NF-kB signalling networks, and many down-regulated microRNAs with tumour suppressive roles. Finally, we identified several lncRNAs known to be differentially expressed in glioma and, whilst their mechanism(s) of action are varied, they are thought to act with other well-established regulators to fine-tune cellular processes. Taken together, we present a comprehensive signalling network as a framework for studying pLGGs.

LGG-27. Molecular implications of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway inhibition by the MEK inhibitor trametinib in BRAF-fusion-driven pediatric pilocytic astrocytoma

Pilocytic astrocytomas (PA) are the most common pediatric brain tumors. They are characterized by driving alterations in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, leading to its constitutive activation and modulating the balance between cell proliferation and oncogene-induced senescence (OIS) sustained by senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors. This makes PA susceptible to MAPK inhibitor (MAPKi) therapies, which show encouraging results in phase 1/2 clinical trials. However, little is known about the molecular implications of MAPK inhibition in PA. The DKFZ-BT66 cell line, derived from a primary KIAA:BRAF-fusion positive PA, was used as a model system. DKFZ-BT66 were treated with the MEKi trametinib for different durations in both proliferative and senescent states. Gene expression was analyzed by gene expression profiling and protein expression/phospho-regulation by data-dependent mass spectrometry followed by label-free quantitative analysis. A time course analysis based on differentially expressed genes and phosphorylated proteins was performed, followed by a single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and kinase substrate enrichment analysis, respectively. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that MEK inhibition led to the inhibition of the OIS/SASP gene programs in senescent DKFZ-BT66, with downregulation of key OIS/SASP partners such as IL1B on the protein level. This functionally translated into a de-sensitization of these cells towards the senolytic agent navitoclax. ssGSEA showed that most MAPK-related signatures were downregulated upon MEKi treatment, while pathways related to upstream MAPK activators (including FGFR, NTRK and TGFB pathways) were upregulated, in both proliferating and senescent DKFZ-BT66. This data indicates that MAPKi reverses OIS in senescent PA cells, while inducing the activation of MAPK upstream regulators in proliferating and senescent PA cells, identifying putative co-targets that could help increase treatment’s efficacy. Validation of these targets by post-translational modification enrichment analysis of the phospho-proteomics dataset is ongoing.

Aqueous-phase hydrogenation of α-pinene catalyzed by Ni-B alloys loaded on a Janus amphiphilic carbon@silica nanomaterial

A Janus amphiphilic carbon@silicon double-framework nanomaterial having an inner cavity, a hydrophobic N-doped carbon inner layer, and a hydrophilic silica outerlayer was prepared. Ni-B alloy nanoparticles were loaded on the amphiphilic carbon@silicon nanomaterial and used for catalyzing α-pinene hydrogenation in aqueous media. The hollow structure of the nanomaterial yielded a large specific surface area, which was beneficial for mass transfer and substrate enrichment, the doping of N atoms in the inner carbon skeleton allowed the attachment of additional metal nanoparticles, and the hydrophilic silica outer shell improved the stability and dispersion of the catalyst in the aqueous system. Crucially, in a water/oil two-phase reaction system, the amphiphilic nanocatalyst acted as a solid foaming agent, thus promoting the dissolution of H2 and substrate contact. Further, the synergy between Ni and B significantly improved the catalytic activity, and a kinetic study revealed the low activation energy for α-pinene hydrogenation over the prepared catalyst. DFT calculations indicate the transition states with low energy barriers. Further, the catalytic activity of our non-noble-metal nanocatalyst was comparable to that of noble metal Ru and Pd catalysts. Under mild conditions (80 °C, 1.0 MPa H2, 3 h), 99.0% α-pinene was converted to cis-pinane with 98.5% selectivity, and the developed amphiphilic Ni-B nanocatalyst also showed excellent recyclability as a result of the high dispersion and stability of the Ni-B nanoparticles on the carbon@silicon nanomaterial. The study provides a new green and efficient way for the deep processing and utilization of turpentine resources, and provides a guidance for the expansion of water-phase non-noble metal catalytic reaction types.

Zwitterionic polymer-mediated immobilization of organophosphorus hydrolase enhances hydrolysis of methyl parathion by substrate enrichment

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) degradation is highly demanded due to the toxic nature of the pesticides that have caused serious environmental concerns. Biocatalytic hydrolysis using organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH) is an important way to OPPs degradation, but the poor stability of OPH severely hindered its extensive applications in environmental bioremediation. It is well known that immobilization is an efficient way of enzyme stabilization, so this work has proposed to immobilize OPH onto mesoporous silica nanoparticles coated with a zwitterionic polymer containing short hydrophobic chains. It is found that the zwitterionic polymer coating significantly modified the microenvironment, leading to the stabilization of the immobilized enzyme while keeping its activity toward methyl parathion hydrolysis. More importantly, the coating resulted in the substrate enrichment onto the carrier (capacity, 49.7 mmol·g−1; dissociation constant, 11.7 μM), so the immobilized OPH presented a much lower Michaelis constant (0.09 mM) than its free counterpart (0.34 mM) as revealed by kinetic studies. Consequently, the catalytic efficiency (kcat/Km) of the immobilized OPH was 2.41 times higher than free OPH. Thus, this work demonstrated the promise of the zwitterionic polymer-mediated immobilization strategy for OPH in enhancing the enzyme performance for the hydrolysis of OPPs that are of low concentration in open environments.

Phosphoproteomics Unravel HBV Triggered Rewiring of Host Phosphosignaling Events.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection persists as a major global health problem despite the availability of HBV vaccines for disease prevention. However, vaccination rates remains low in some regions of the world, driving the need for novel strategies to minimise infections and prevent disease progression. Thus, understanding of perturbed molecular signaling events during early phases of HBV infection is required. Phosphosignaling is known to be involved in the HBV infection processes, yet systems-level changes in phosphosignaling pathways in the host during infection remain unclear. To this end, we performed phosphoproteome profiling on HBV-infected HepG2-NTCP cells. Our results showed that HBV infection drastically altered the host phosphoproteome and its associated proteins, including kinases. Computational analysis of this phosphoproteome revealed dysregulation of the pathways involved in immune responses, cell cycle processes, and RNA processing during HBV infection. Kinase Substrate Enrichment Analysis (KSEA) identified the dysregulated activities of important kinases, including those from CMGC (CDK, MAPK, GSK, and CLK), AGC (protein kinase A, G, and C), and TK (Tyrosine Kinase) families. Of note, the inhibition of CLKs significantly reduced HBV infection in HepG2-NTCP cells. In all, our study unravelled the aberrated phosphosignaling pathways and the associated kinases, presenting potential entry points for developing novel therapeutic strategies for HBV treatment.

Biomimic Nanozymes with Tunable Peroxidase-like Activity Based on the Confinement Effect of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for Biosensing.

Biomimic nanozymes coassembled by peptides or proteins and small active molecules provide an effective strategy to design attractive nanozymes. Although some promising nanozymes have been reported, rational regulation for higher catalytic activity of biomimic nanozymes remains challenging. Hence, we proposed a novel biomimic nanozyme by encapsulating the coassembly of hemin/bovine serum albumin (BSA) in zeolite imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8) to achieve controllable tailoring of peroxidase-like activity via the confinement effect. The assembly of Hemin@BSA was inspired by the structure of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), in which hemin served as the active cofactor surrounded by BSA as a blocking pocket to construct a favorable hydrophobic space for substrate enrichment. Benefiting from the confinement effect, ZIF-8 with a porous intracavity was identified as the ideal outer layer for Hemin@BSA to accelerate substrate transport and achieve internal circulation of peroxidase-like catalysis, significantly enhancing its peroxidase-like activity. Especially, the precise encapsulation of Hemin@BSA in ZIF-8 could also prevent it from decomposition in harsh environments by rapid crystallization around Hemin@BSA to form a protective shell. Based on the improved peroxidase-like activity of Hemin@BSA@ZIF-8, several applications were successfully performed for the sensitive detection of small molecules including H2O2, glucose, and bisphenol A (BPA). Satisfactory results highlight that using a ZIF-8 outer layer to encapsulate Hemin@BSA offers a very effective and successful strategy to improve the peroxidase-like activity and the stability of biomimic nanozymes, broadening the potential application of biocatalytic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Chemoenzymatic Cascade Reaction for Green Cleaning of Polyamide Nanofiltration Membrane.

Chemical cleaning is indispensable for the sustainable operation of nanofiltration (NF) in wastewater treatment. However, the common chemical cleaning methods are plagued by low cleaning efficiency, high chemical consumption, and separation performance deterioration. In this work, a chemoenzymatic cascade reaction is proposed for pollutant degradation and polyamide NF membrane cleaning. Glucose oxidase (GOD) enzymatic reaction in this cascade system produces hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and gluconic acid to trigger the oxidation of foulants by Fe3O4-catalyzed Fenton reaction. By virtue of the microenvironment (pH and H2O2 concentration) engineering and substrate enrichments, this chemoenzymatic cascade reaction (GOD-Fe3O4) exhibits a favorable degradation efficiency for bisphenol A and methyl blue (MB). Thanks to the strong oxidizing degradation, the water flux of the NF10 membrane fouled by MB is almost completely recovered (∼95.8%) after a 3-cycle fouling/cleaning experiment. Meanwhile, the chemoenzymatic cascade reaction improves the applicability of the Fenton reaction in polyamide NF membrane cleaning because it prevents the membrane from damaging by high concentration of H2O2 and inhibits the secondary fouling caused by ferric hydroxide precipitates. By immobilizing GOD on the aminated Fe3O4 nanoparticles, a reusable cleaning agent is prepared for highly efficient membrane cleaning. This chemoenzymatic cascade reaction without the addition of an acid/base/oxidant provides a promising candidate for sustainable and cost-effective cleaning for the polyamide NF membrane.

Vermistabilization of fecal sludge with organic enriched substrates for compost production using two earthworm species (Eisenia foetida and Eudrilus eugeniae)

AbstractDeveloping countries are facing high generation of fecal sludge without adequate systems for proper treatment, leading to detrimental effects on the environment from its disposal. An emerging and innovative option in curbing this problem is the use of epigeic earthworm species to stabilize the waste into vermicompost, a value‐added resource. Substrate enrichment techniques can be applied to promote the sustainability and effectiveness of the vermicomposting process. This study was therefore carried out to determine the potential of two epigeic earthworm species (Eisenia foetida and Eudrilus eugeniae) to transform and stabilize fecal sludge into vermicompost using organic enriched substrates. Enriched substrates were prepared with 160 g of coconut coir, 120 g of fecal matter (65–70% dry matter) and 80 g of organic black soil. Three treatments of the vermibed substrates were prepared which were labelled T1, T2 and T3, with T1 containing Eisenia foetida, T2 containing Eudrilus eugeniae and T3, the control treatment, containing no earthworm. Treatments were triplicated and about 3‐week‐old 20 clitellated, E. fetida (live weight ∼255–275 mg) were introduced into the vermibeds for vermicomposting over a duration of 12 weeks. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (Ntot), available phosphorus (Pavail), exchangeable calcium (Caexch), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), and aluminium (Al) changes in the setups at the beginning and end of the vermicomposting period were evaluated. Eisenia foetida demonstrated a higher Corg mineralization (67.59%) compared to Eudrilus eugeniae, which attained 67.22%. Eisenia foetida also showed 5% more mortality than Eudrilus eugeniae. The study revealed that the two epigeic earthworm species for the vermicomposting of fecal waste in the enriched substrates played significant role in stabilizing the waste into vermicompost that was rich in nutrients, with lower levels of metals, higher levels of microbial biomass and higher levels of enzyme concentration.

Silicon nanoparticles decrease arsenic translocation and mitigate phytotoxicity in tomato plants.

In this study, we simulate the irrigation of tomato plants with arsenic (As)-contaminated water (from 0 to 3.2mg L-1) and investigate the effect of the application of silicon nanoparticle (Si NPs) in the form of silicon dioxide (0, 250, and 1000mg L-1) on As uptake and stress. Arsenic concentrations were determined in substrate and plant tissue at three different stratums. Phytotoxicity, As accumulation and translocation, photosynthetic pigments, and antioxidant activity of enzymatic and non-enzymatic compounds were also determined. Our results show that irrigation of tomato plants with As-contaminated water caused As substrate enrichment and As bioaccumulation (roots > leaves > steam), showing that the higher the concentration in irrigation water, the farther As translocated through the different tomato stratums. Additionally, phytotoxicity was observed at low concentrations of As, while tomato yield increased at high concentrations of As. We found that application of Si NPs decreased As translocation, tomato yield, and root biomass. Increased production of photosynthetic pigments and improved enzymatic activity (CAT and APX) suggested tomato plant adaptation at high As concentrations in the presence of Si NPs. Our results reveal likely impacts of As and nanoparticles on tomato production in places where As in groundwater is common and might represent a risk.

Simulation design of a binding-pocket structure of natural enzymes in MOFs for enhanced catalytic activity

We demonstrated that the activity gap between metal-organic frameworks (Fe) and horseradish peroxidase could be bridged by simulating the binding-pocket structure and adding active centers. This customized structure promoted the activation and enrichment of substrates, and addition of gold nanoparticles led to activity superposition and synergistic enhancement.

Microenvironment engineering of supported metal nanoparticles for chemoselective hydrogenation.

Selective hydrogenation with supported metal catalysts widely used in the production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals often faces a trade-off between activity and selectivity, mainly due to the inability to adjust one factor of the active sites without affecting other factors. In order to solve this bottleneck problem, the modulation of the microenvironment of active sites has attracted more and more attention, inspired by the collaborative catalytic mode of enzymes. In this perspective, we aim to summarize recent advances in the regulation of the microenvironment surrounding supported metal nanoparticles (NPs) using porous materials enriched with organic functional groups. Insights on how the microenvironment induces the enrichment, oriented adsorption and activation of substrates through non-covalent interaction and thus determines the hydrogenation activity and selectivity will be particularly discussed. Finally, a brief summary will be provided, and challenges together with a perspective in microenvironment engineering will be proposed.

An ideal catalyst carrier: patchy nanoparticles with dual functional domains of substrate enrichment and catalysis.

Enriching substrates near catalysts is an effective strategy to improve heterogeneous catalytic performance. The surface of PMMA@PIL-PA patchy nanoparticles is segmented into PMMA and PIL-PA domains. The hydrophobic PMMA domain can enrich water-insoluble substrates, while the hydrophilic PIL-PA one catalyzes the reaction of water-soluble and water-insoluble substrates in close proximity. The special patchy nanoparticles with both a hydrophobic substrate warehouse and catalysis functional divisions can effectively improve the catalytic efficiency. They were employed to catalyze the acetal reaction between water-insoluble benzaldehyde and water-soluble ethylene glycol by phosphotungstic acid (PA). Compared with the homo-nanoparticles, the conversion rate was greatly improved.

Mutualistic interaction of native Serratia marcescens UENF-22GI with Trichoderma longibrachiatum UENF-F476 boosting seedling growth of tomato and papaya.

A plethora of bacteria-fungal interactions occur on the extended fungal hyphae network in soil. The mycosphere of saprophytic fungi can serve as a bacterial niche boosting their survival, dispersion, and activity. Such ecological concepts can be converted to bioproducts for sustainable agriculture. Accordingly, we tested the hypothesis that the well-characterised beneficial bacterium Serratia marcescens UENF-22GI can enhance plant growth-promoting properties when combined with Trichoderma longibrachiatum UENF-F476. The cultural and cell interactions demonstrated S. marcescens and T. longibrachiatum mutual compatibility. Bacteria cells were able to attach, forming aggregates to biofilms and migrating through the fungal hyphae network. Long-distance bacterial migration through growing hyphae was confirmed using a two-compartment Petri dishes assay. Fungal inoculation increased the bacteria survival rates into the vermicompost substrate over the experimental time. Also, in vitro indolic compound, phosphorus, and zinc solubilisation bacteria activities increased in the presence of the fungus. In line with the ecophysiological bacteria fitness, the bacterium-fungal combination boosted tomato and papaya plantlet growth when applied into the plant substrate under nursery conditions. Mutualistic interaction between mycosphere-colonizing bacterium S. marcescens UENF-22GI and the saprotrophic fungi T. longibrachiatum UENF-F467 increased the ecological fitness of the bacteria alongside with beneficial potential for plant growth. A proper combination and delivery of mutual compatible beneficial bacteria-fungal represent an open avenue for microbial-based products for the biological enrichment of plant substrates in agricultural systems.