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The deep sea, which is defined as sea water below a depth of 1000 m, is one of the largest biomes on the Earth, and is recognised as an extreme environment due to its range of challenging physical parameters, such as pressure, salinity, temperature, chemicals and metals (such as hydrogen sulphide, copper and arsenic). For surviving in such extreme conditions, deep-sea extremophilic microorganisms employ a variety of adaptive strategies, such as the production of extremozymes, which exhibit outstanding thermal or cold adaptability, salt tolerance and/or pressure tolerance. Owing to their great stability, deep-sea extremozymes have numerous potential applications in a wide range of industries, such as the agricultural, food, chemical, pharmaceutical and biotechnological sectors. This enormous economic potential combined with recent advances in sampling and molecular and omics technologies has led to the emergence of research regarding deep-sea extremozymes and their primary applications in recent decades. In the present review, we introduced recent advances in research regarding deep-sea extremophiles and the enzymes they produce and discussed their potential industrial applications, with special emphasis on thermophilic, psychrophilic, halophilic and piezophilic enzymes.

Seamounts are globally distributed across the oceans and form one of the major oceanic biomes. Here, we utilized combined analyses of bulk metagenome and virome to study viral communities in seamount sediments in the western Pacific Ocean. Phylogenetic analyses and the protein-sharing network demonstrate extensive diversity and previously unknown viral clades. Inference of virus-host linkages uncovers extensive interactions between viruses and dominant prokaryote lineages, and suggests that viruses play significant roles in carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen cycling by compensating or augmenting host metabolisms. Moreover, temperate viruses are predicted to be prevalent in seamount sediments, which tend to carry auxiliary metabolic genes for host survivability. Intriguingly, the geographical features of seamounts likely compromise the connectivity of viral communities and thus contribute to the high divergence of viral genetic spaces and populations across seamounts. Altogether, these findings provides knowledge essential for understanding the biogeography and ecological roles of viruses in globally widespread seamounts. Little is known about viral communities in deep-sea seamounts. In this study, the authors performed metagenomic and virome analysis from sediments in the western Pacific Ocean and characterize the diversity, distribution and potential ecological roles of viruses in deep-sea seamount sediments.

Four novel compounds, chaephilone C (1), chaetoviridides A–C (2–4), were obtained from the culture of a deep sea derived fungus Chaetomium sp. NA-S01-R1, together with four known compounds—chaetoviridin A (5), chaetoviridine E (6), chaetomugilin D (7) and cochliodone A (8). Their structures, including absolute configurations, were assigned based on NMR, MS and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) ECD calculations. A plausible biogenetic pathway for compounds 1–3 was proposed. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited antibacterial activities against Vibrio rotiferianus and Vibrio vulnificus. Compounds 1, 3 and 4 displayed similar anti-methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (anti-MRSA) activities in comparison to chloramphenicol. Compound 2 showed the most potent cytotoxic activities towards the Hep G2 cell and compounds 1 and 3 demonstrated relatively stronger cytotoxic activities than the other compounds against the HeLa cell.

The development of semi‐artificial photosynthetic systems, which integrate metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with industrial microbial cell factories for light‐driven synthesis of fuels and valuable chemicals, represents a highly promising avenue for both research advancements and practical applications. In this study, an MOF (PCN‐222) utilizing racemic‐(4‐carboxyphenyl) porphyrin and zirconium chloride (ZrCl4) as primary constituents is synthesized. Employing a self‐assembly process, a hybrid system is constructed, integrating engineered Escherichia coli (E. coli) to investigate light‐driven hydrogen and lysine production. These results demonstrate that the light‐irradiated biohybrid system efficiently produce H2 with a quantum efficiency of 0.75% under full spectrum illumination, the elevated intracellular reducing power NADPH is also observed. By optimizing the conditions, the biohybrid system achieves a maximum lysine production of 18.25 mg L−1, surpassing that of pure bacteria by 332%. Further investigations into interfacial electron transfer mechanisms reveals that PCN‐222 efficiently captures light and facilitates the transfer of photo‐generated electrons into E. coli cells. It is proposed that the interfacial energy transfer process is mediated by riboflavin, with facilitation by secreted small organic acids acting as hole scavengers for PCN‐222. This study establishes a crucial foundation for future research into the light‐driven biomanufacturing using E. coli‐based hybrid systems. A self‐assembly biohybrid is constructed by combining Escherichia coli with a metal‐organic framework via multiple interactions. Under illumination, the system demonstrates a remarkable improvement in H2 production and NADPH level, leading to an increased production of NADPH‐dependent lysine. Mechanistic investigations indicate riboflavin plays a role in electron transfer, while secreted small organic acids act as hole scavengers and carbon source.

The combined pollution of heavy metals and organic pollutants in water body has become one of vital environmental issues. Herein, a series of BiVO 4 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 nanocomposites were synthesized for concurrent removals of organic pollutant and heavy metal. Results showed that using the optimized photocatalyst BiVO 4 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 -28, tetracycline (TC) removal of 87.3% and copper (Cu (II)) removal of 90.6% were achieved under visible-light irradiation within 3 h, respectively; much higher than those using BiVO 4 and g-C 3 N 4 . More importantly, synergistic effect of TC and Cu (II) removals occurred on the surface of BiVO 4 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 in the TC-Cu (II) coexistence condition. Additionally, the ·OH and ·O 2 ˉ were the most important active species for TC oxidation, while photogenerated electrons were the most responsible for Cu (II) reduction. Results of various characterizations and electron spin resonance test demonstrated that BiVO 4 /rGO/g-C 3 N 4 was a Z-scheme photocatalyst. Based on the identified intermediates, possible degradation pathways and mechanisms for photocatalytic degradation of TC were proposed. This study advances the development and mechanism of photocatalysts for collaborative removal of pollutants.

Male hypogonadism arises from the inadequate production of testosterone (T) by the testes, primarily due to Leydig cell (LC) dysfunction. Small molecules possess several advantages, including high cell permeability, ease of synthesis, standardization, and low effective concentration. Recent investigations have illuminated the potential of small molecule combinations to facilitate direct lineage reprogramming, removing the need for transgenes by modulating cellular signaling pathways and epigenetic modifications. In this study, we have identified a specific cocktail of small molecules, comprising forskolin, DAPT, purmorphamine, 8-Br-cAMP, 20α-hydroxycholesterol, and SAG, capable of promoting the conversion of fibroblasts into Leydig-like cells (LLCs). These LLCs expressed key genes involved in testosterone synthesis, such as Star, Cyp11a1, and Hsd3b1, and exhibited the ability to secrete testosterone in vitro. Furthermore, they successfully restored serum testosterone levels in testosterone-castrated mice in vivo. The small molecule cocktails also induced alterations in the epigenetic marks, specifically H3K4me3, and enhanced chromosomal accessibility on core steroidogenesis genes. This study presents a reliable methodology for generating Leydig-like seed cells that holds promise as a novel therapeutic approach for hypogonadism.

Sacral spinal cord injury (SSCI) can disrupt bladder neuromodulation and impair detrusor function. Current studies provide limited information on the histologic and genetic changes associated with SSCI-related neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD), resulting in few treatment options. This study aimed to establish a simple animal model of SSCI to better understand the disease progression. Ninety 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly separated into sham operation and SSCI groups. The SSCI group underwent sacral spinal cord injury, while the sham group did not. Urodynamic and histological assessments were conducted at various intervals (1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks) post-injury to elucidate the disease process. Urodynamic examinations revealed significant bladder dysfunction in the SSCI group compared to the sham group, stabilizing around 3–4 weeks post-injury. Histological examination, including hematoxylin–eosin and Masson’s trichrome staining, correlated these functional changes with bladder microstructural alterations. RNA-seq was performed on bladder tissues from the sham group and SSCI group at 6 weeks to identify differentially expressed genes and pathways. Selected genes were further analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The findings indicated a pronounced inflammatory response in the first 2 weeks post-SSCI, progressing to bladder fibrosis at 3–4 weeks. In conclusion, this study presents a reliable, reproducible, and straightforward SSCI model, providing insights into bladder functional and morphological alterations post-SSCI and laying the groundwork for future therapeutic research.

Nitrous acid (HONO) is the major source of OH radicals in polluted regions and plays a key role in the nitrogen cycle of the atmosphere. Therefore, accurate measurements of HONO in the atmosphere is important. Long Path Absorption Photometer (LOPAP) is a common and highly sensitive method used for ambient HONO measurements. Incoherent Broadband Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (IBBCEAS) is a recent alternative for the detection of HONO with high temporal and spatial resolutions, which has shown a detection limit of 0.76 ppbv at a sampling average of 180 s. In this study, LOPAP and IBBCEAS-HONO instruments were deployed in a Shanghai Urban Site (Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences) and simultaneously recorded the data from both instruments for a quantitative intercomparison of the measured atmospheric HONO for four days from 30 December 2017–2 January 2018. The HONO concentration measured by IBBCEAS and LOPAP were well matched. The campaign average concentrations measured by IBBCEAS and LOPAP were 1.28 and 1.20 ppbv, respectively. The intercomparison results demonstrated that both the IBBCEAS-HONO instrument and LOPAP-HONO instrument are suitable for ambient monitoring of HONO in a polluted urban environment.

The development of the greenhouse gas (GHGs) voluntary emission reduction market has created a new way for all agricultural GHGs emission reduction projects. Figuring out how to drive farmers to participate in the market is the key to the development of the agricultural voluntary emission reduction project mechanism. Current research on farmers’ participation in voluntary emission reduction projects has mostly been conducted from the perspective of the economic, social, and ecological benefits of the project and lacks research on analyzing farmers’ willingness to participate in combination with specific GHGs operational mechanisms. To find out how the operational mechanism of the field water management voluntary emission reduction (FWMVER) projects influences farmers’ willingness to participate in the project, this study constructed the attitude–context–behavior theoretical framework to consider the FWMVER operational mechanism. Based on the survey data of 789 rice farmers in GuangXi, China, the structural equation model (SEM) was adopted to analyze the impact of social networks, social trust, social norms, profit expectations, cost expectations, and satisfaction with the government in relation to the farmers’ willingness to participate in FWMVER projects. Results showed that social networks, social trust, social norms, profit expectations, cost expectations, and satisfaction with the government had significant impacts on the willingness of farmers to participate in FWMVER projects. Satisfaction with the government can effectively regulate the profit expectations and cost expectations for farmers to participate in the FWMVER projects. Policy implications were proposed based on analytical results to advise local governments to develop agricultural carbon finance, to improve public services in agricultural production, and to encourage establishing non-governmental organizations in rural areas involved in voluntary agricultural GHGs emission reduction projects.

As the bioelectrochemical system, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) and the microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) were developed to selectively recover Cu 2+ and Ni 2+ ions from wastewater. The wastewater was treated in the cathode chambers of the system, in which Cu 2+ and Ni 2+ ions were removed by using the MFC and the MEC, respectively. At an initial Cu 2+ concentration of 500 mg ·L −1 , removal efficiencies of Cu 2+ increased from 97.0%± 1.8% to 99.0%±0.3% with the initial Ni 2+ concentrations from 250 to 1000 mg·L −1 , and maximum power densities increased from 3.1±0.5 to 5.4±0.6W·m −3 . The Ni 2+ removal mass in the MEC increased from 6.8±0.2 to 20.5±1.5 mg with the increase of Ni 2+ concentrations. At an initial Ni 2+ concentration of 500 mg·L −1 , Cu 2+ removal efficiencies decreased from 99.1%±0.3% to 74.2%±3.8% with the initial Cu 2+ concentrations from 250 to 1000 mg ·L −1 , and maximum power densities increased from 3.0±0.1 to 6.3±1.2W·m −3 . Subsequently, the Ni 2+ removal efficiencies decreased from 96.9%±3.1% to 73.3%±5.4%. The results clearly demonstrated the feasibility of selective recovery of Cu 2+ and Ni 2+ from the wastewater using the bioelectrochemical system.