Table of Content

25 February 2023, Volume 45 Issue 1

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Invited Special Paper

Technology for terahertz wave manipulation: harnessing the light of terahertz

YAO Jianquan, LI Jie, ZHANG Yating, DING Xin, WU Liang

2023, 45(1):  1-16.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.01.001

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With the deepening of research, terahertz (THz) science and technology becomes increasingly prominent in many fields for both basic research and engineering applications. Radiation source, transmission and control, detection and sensing are three important
aspects that need to be explored in the further development of THz technology. The common basis of THz wave applications is to
make the effective interaction with the material for carrying information or transmitting power. To implement these processes, we
need to control the electromagnetic parameters like amplitude, phase, frequency, polarization, wavefront and the photonic parameters like spin and orbital angular momentum of THz wave. The above manipulation can be carried out directly at the radiation source or additional functional devices in the transmission process. In this paper, several representative source- and device-based THz manipulation technologies are introduced, and the basic principles, development history and latest progress are summarized. The development of THz manipulation technology will lay a solid foundation for the further application of THz wave.




Review Article

Viral genome packaging motor

DAI Liqiang, SHU Yaogen

2023, 45(1):  17-21.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.01.002

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The virus cannot replicate itself until it has infected host cell and irritated relative biomotorsto exhaust latter’s ATP. The packaging of the viral genome, however, is the key step of viral replication. The dsDNA or dsRNA virus has to utilize hydrolysis energy of ATP by a biomotor to inject its nascent disordered genome into the preformed capsid to form a crystal-like structure before it completes replication. Here, we briefly introduce the structure, function and working mechanism of the packaging motor, and infer that its mechanochemical coupling is irreversible from the perspective of efficiency.




Advances in single-molecule investigation on DNA damage repair

JIANG Ting, ZHAI Fanfan, ZHONG Shanshan, FAN Jun

2023, 45(1):  22-32.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2022.03.009

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Exogenous or endogenous DNA damages occur continuously in all domains of organisms. Defects in DNA damage repair are closely related to many serious diseases even cancers. Along with evolution, biological cells have developed a series of sophisticated repair pathways to remove or tolerate these damages. Different from conventional biochemical and molecular biology methods, cutting-edge single-molecule technologies are employed to investigate the dynamic functionality of DNA repairrelated
biomolecules in vitro and in living cells, which is beneficial to understand more adequately the mechanisms of DNA repair pathways. This review focuses on the common types of DNA damage and repair pathways, and describes single-molecule
manipulation techniques such as atomic force microscopy, magnetic tweezers, optical tweezers, and single-molecule fluorescence
imaging technologies such as total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, photoactivation localization microscopy, and superresolution tracking microscopy. The researches of DNA repair mechanism in recent years have been presented as well. The longstanding
problems about DNA repair studied via single-molecule technology are sorted out. In the end, we prospected single-molecule
technology and other interdisciplinary technologies in the investigation of DNA repair mechanism.




Advances in single-molecule investigation of dynamic DNA transcription regulation by RNA polymerase

HAO Li, JIANG Ting, FAN Jun

2023, 45(1):  33-44.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2022.05.010

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Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (Pol II) and prokaryotic RNA polymerase (RNAP) are mainly dedicated to messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesis, influencing the growth and development of organisms as well as in response to complicated environment conditions by regulating the transcriptional level of different genes. Clusters assembled by RNA polymerases were observed using conventional fluorescence microscopy, which was proposed as a “transcription factories” model for DNA transcription regulation. However, along with the development of single-molecule technology, dynamic regulation of transcription by RNAP was observed at single-molecule level, which thus raised the liquid-liquid phase separation model of RNAP transcription regulation. This paper reviewed the technical principles of multiple single-molecule fluorescent microscopies and the related labeling strategies via fluorescence probes. The advances in application of single-molecule technology in visualizing dynamic DNA transcription regulation of RNA polymerase were presented for both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The application prospects of transcription regulation investigation using single-molecule technologies are introduced briefly at the end of this paper.




Applications of optical tweezers and DNA nanotechnology in membrane biology

LIN Xiaona, SHI Lijun, YE Yang, WANG Yunyun, MA Lu, YANG Yang, BIAN Xin

2023, 45(1):  45-53.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.01.005

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Biological membranes are platforms for signal transduction and material transport in cellular activities. In recent years, the applications of multidisciplinary approaches have shed new lights on the mechanisms of membrane protein-mediated membrane fusion and division, vesicle formation and secretion, and lipid metabolism etc. For example, the single-molecule optical tweezers, 

which accurately and quantitatively detect the interactions between proteins and membranes, provide a powerful approach to understand the regulatory mechanisms of such interactions at spatiotemporal level. In addition, DNA nanotechnology, which uses DNA molecules to construct programmable and self-assembled nanostructures, provides molecular devices that can be precisely

modified and functionalized. The hydrophobically modified DNA nanostructures can act on phopholipid bilayers or biological membranes to modify lipid properties, modulate membrane structures, control membrane parameters and regulate transmembrane
communications. The advances in these techniques will contribute to the mechanistic study of cell biology, the analysis and detection of secretory vesicles, the optimization of artificial liposome preparation, and the development of new drugs and carriers. These techniques will also provide novel systems for synthetic biology, chemical biology, and molecular medicine.




Science for the Future

Hydrogen energy and new materials

ZHU Hongwei

2023, 45(1):  54-56.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.01.006

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Hydrogen is a clean and efficient energy carrier, and an important chemical material. In this paper, starting with the problems and challenges faced by the current hydrogen energy utilization, the applications of new materials in hydrogen energy utilization, including hydrogen production, separation and purification, storage and conversion, are briefly discussed. The development trend of new materials in hydrogen energy utilization is prospected.




Progress

Effect of hydrogen combustion characteristics on the performance of hydrogen internal combustion engine#br#

LI Xingguo

2023, 45(1):  57-67.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2022.03.007

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Hydrogen energy development is an important part of CO₂ emission reduction strategy. At present, hydrogen energy is mainly applied in the form of converting chemical energy into electrical energy through fuel cells. In contrast, hydrogen internal combustion engine (HICE) directly converts hydrogen energy into mechanical energy, which is then used in many fields such as transportation, machine operation and power generation, providing a different way of utilizing hydrogen energy, which plays an important role in promoting the development of hydrogen energy. The biggest difference between HICE and traditional internal combustion engine is that hydrogen replaces the traditional fossil fuel. The combustion characteristics of hydrogen have a great impact on the performance of internal combustion engine, and put forward new requirements for the structure of internal combustion engine. So far, there is little work to understand HICE from the hydrogen combustion characteristics. Therefore, the author attempts to understand the performance of HICE from the perspective of hydrogen combustion characteristics, and especially analyzes and discusses the thermal efficiency, output power, NO_x emission, abnormal combustion and other performance of HICE. These results show that compared with traditional internal combustion engines and fuel cells, HICE has excellent comprehensive performance in energy conservation and emission reduction, power output and cost. It is another effective conversion method from hydrogen energy to electric energy. The development of hydrogen internal combustion engines can also promote the large-scale application of hydrogen energy. The performance of conversion is affected by hydrogen combustion characteristics. The control of hydrogen combustion characteristics is important to improve the performance of HICE.



Recent advances in aggrephagy research

HUA Rui, GE Liang, MA Xinyu

2023, 45(1):  68-78.  doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.01.008

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Misfolded proteins accumulate in cells to form protein aggregates, which interfere with the normal physiological activities of cells and cause various human diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, studying the process of aggregate formation and clearance is significant for the therapy of neurodegenerative diseases. Protein aggregates are regulated by phase separation during their formation, transitioning from liquid to solid states, which affects the properties and removal of aggregates. Although a variety of intracellular protein quality control systems can be involved in the removal of misfolded proteins, protein aggregates need to be cleared through the autophagy pathway, and the process is called aggrephagy. In aggrephagy, autophagy receptors such as p62, NBR1, TAX1BP1, Tollip, and CCT2 can help the autophagy system to recognize protein aggregates, thus plays an important role in the removal of aggregates. This article will introduce the formation and autophagic clearance of aggregates, with a focus on the latest research progress in the field of aggrephagy.