This paper builds on exploring the applications of biomediated pathways to solve geotechnical challenges.First,the state of the art of biological remediation strategies including microbial remediation and phytoremedia...This paper builds on exploring the applications of biomediated pathways to solve geotechnical challenges.First,the state of the art of biological remediation strategies including microbial remediation and phytoremediation have been introduced and critically reviewed in the context of decontaminating the soils.Next,biopolymerisation,biomineralisation and bioneutralisation processes have been depicted with a special emphasis on the applications including but not limited to soil stabilisation,soil erosion prevention,anti-desertification and pH neutralisation.Each of these methods have their own limitations and bottlenecks while scaling up,and these challenges have been summarised and some possible paths to overcome the challenges have also been discussed.The state of the art of electromagnetic(EM)monitoring methods to capture the effects of biomediation on spatio-temporal soil properties are then highlighted as a non-invasive and rapid pathway to track the progress of biomediated soil processes.Finally,each of the technologies discussed have been evaluated for their maturity level using the principles of technology readiness level(TRL).A majority of the technologies amounting to around 77%are still in the TRL 4e7,i.e.in the valley of death.It is thus evident that development of these technologies needs to be supported with appropriate funding for improving their maturity to a level of industrial deployment.展开更多
Haima cold seep ecosystem is on the northwestern slope of the South China Sea,which is characterised by high pressure,low temperature,hypoxia,and low pH value.The deep-sea mussel Gigantidas haimaensis is distributed i...Haima cold seep ecosystem is on the northwestern slope of the South China Sea,which is characterised by high pressure,low temperature,hypoxia,and low pH value.The deep-sea mussel Gigantidas haimaensis is distributed in this ecosystem.Previous studies have focused on its adaptation to abiotic stress,biogeography,ecotoxicology,genomes,immunity and symbiosis,but knowledge on biomineralisation remains lacking.Herein,we generated a comprehensive transcript dataset from G.haimaensis mantle tissue,and 30255 unigenes were assembled.The top 20 most highly expressed genes are related to energy supply,such as mitochondrial genes,suggesting they may mediate the adaptability of this deep-sea mussel to the high pressure and hypoxia environment.Eleven shell matrix protein(SMP)-related genes were identified from the transcriptome data.Quantitative PCR analyses showed that five of ten acidic SMPs and nacreous-layer-matrix-protein genes(nacrein,perlucin,perlwapin,pif and mantle protein)were highly expressed in mantle tissue,while the expressions of other five genes(chitinase,SPARC,TRY,papilin and calmodulin)were low.Scanning electron microscopy showed that the shell was composed of a prismatic layer and a nacreous layer,and every nacreous layer was made of the whole pieces of aragonite that stacked on top of each other.These results indicated the conservation of the structure and functions of nacreous matrix genes in G.haimaensis.Moreover,the nacreous layer was made of whole pieces of aragonite that were not quadrilateral or polygonal pieces.Studying these genes will likely reveal the molecular mechanisms of biomineralisation in G.haimaensis and other deep-sea mussels.展开更多
Malaria is a disease that has drawn worldwide attention due to the alarming rise of mortality rates particularly in third world countries. During the Plasmodium parasite intraerythrocytic life cycle, metabolic process...Malaria is a disease that has drawn worldwide attention due to the alarming rise of mortality rates particularly in third world countries. During the Plasmodium parasite intraerythrocytic life cycle, metabolic processes include the formation of hemozoin or malaria pigment. This pigment functions in the prevention of oxygen radical-mediated damage to the parasite. Drugs targeting hemozoin formation such as chloroquine and amodaquine are effective and are still used, but recently Plasmodium parasites have become resistant to these drugs, especially against chloroquine. In this study we looked at the potential use of two heterocyclic pyrimidine derivatives as anti-malaria drugs; 2,4-Diamino-6-Mercaptopyrimidine （DAMP） and 2-Mercaptopyrimidine （2-MP）. These compounds bear various coordination sites that enable them to react with metal ions to form coordination compounds. We used two methods for testing the inhibition of ferriprotoporphyrin IX （FP） biomineralisation： semi-quantitative microassay used by Deharo, and a quantitative assay used by G. Blaner and M. Akkawi. We report here the finding that （DAMP） has an in vitro inhibitory effect on I%hematin formation at concentrations and magnitude of nearly similar order to that of chloroquine, 2-MP was found to be effective but to a lower degree than DAMP.展开更多
文摘This paper builds on exploring the applications of biomediated pathways to solve geotechnical challenges.First,the state of the art of biological remediation strategies including microbial remediation and phytoremediation have been introduced and critically reviewed in the context of decontaminating the soils.Next,biopolymerisation,biomineralisation and bioneutralisation processes have been depicted with a special emphasis on the applications including but not limited to soil stabilisation,soil erosion prevention,anti-desertification and pH neutralisation.Each of these methods have their own limitations and bottlenecks while scaling up,and these challenges have been summarised and some possible paths to overcome the challenges have also been discussed.The state of the art of electromagnetic(EM)monitoring methods to capture the effects of biomediation on spatio-temporal soil properties are then highlighted as a non-invasive and rapid pathway to track the progress of biomediated soil processes.Finally,each of the technologies discussed have been evaluated for their maturity level using the principles of technology readiness level(TRL).A majority of the technologies amounting to around 77%are still in the TRL 4e7,i.e.in the valley of death.It is thus evident that development of these technologies needs to be supported with appropriate funding for improving their maturity to a level of industrial deployment.
基金supported by the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory,Guangzhou,China(No.GML2019ZD0401)the Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research of Guangdong Province(No.2019 B030302004)the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province,China(No.2020B1212060058).
文摘Haima cold seep ecosystem is on the northwestern slope of the South China Sea,which is characterised by high pressure,low temperature,hypoxia,and low pH value.The deep-sea mussel Gigantidas haimaensis is distributed in this ecosystem.Previous studies have focused on its adaptation to abiotic stress,biogeography,ecotoxicology,genomes,immunity and symbiosis,but knowledge on biomineralisation remains lacking.Herein,we generated a comprehensive transcript dataset from G.haimaensis mantle tissue,and 30255 unigenes were assembled.The top 20 most highly expressed genes are related to energy supply,such as mitochondrial genes,suggesting they may mediate the adaptability of this deep-sea mussel to the high pressure and hypoxia environment.Eleven shell matrix protein(SMP)-related genes were identified from the transcriptome data.Quantitative PCR analyses showed that five of ten acidic SMPs and nacreous-layer-matrix-protein genes(nacrein,perlucin,perlwapin,pif and mantle protein)were highly expressed in mantle tissue,while the expressions of other five genes(chitinase,SPARC,TRY,papilin and calmodulin)were low.Scanning electron microscopy showed that the shell was composed of a prismatic layer and a nacreous layer,and every nacreous layer was made of the whole pieces of aragonite that stacked on top of each other.These results indicated the conservation of the structure and functions of nacreous matrix genes in G.haimaensis.Moreover,the nacreous layer was made of whole pieces of aragonite that were not quadrilateral or polygonal pieces.Studying these genes will likely reveal the molecular mechanisms of biomineralisation in G.haimaensis and other deep-sea mussels.
文摘Malaria is a disease that has drawn worldwide attention due to the alarming rise of mortality rates particularly in third world countries. During the Plasmodium parasite intraerythrocytic life cycle, metabolic processes include the formation of hemozoin or malaria pigment. This pigment functions in the prevention of oxygen radical-mediated damage to the parasite. Drugs targeting hemozoin formation such as chloroquine and amodaquine are effective and are still used, but recently Plasmodium parasites have become resistant to these drugs, especially against chloroquine. In this study we looked at the potential use of two heterocyclic pyrimidine derivatives as anti-malaria drugs; 2,4-Diamino-6-Mercaptopyrimidine （DAMP） and 2-Mercaptopyrimidine （2-MP）. These compounds bear various coordination sites that enable them to react with metal ions to form coordination compounds. We used two methods for testing the inhibition of ferriprotoporphyrin IX （FP） biomineralisation： semi-quantitative microassay used by Deharo, and a quantitative assay used by G. Blaner and M. Akkawi. We report here the finding that （DAMP） has an in vitro inhibitory effect on I%hematin formation at concentrations and magnitude of nearly similar order to that of chloroquine, 2-MP was found to be effective but to a lower degree than DAMP.
