Chinese Journal of Nature

ZHOU Tianjun, CHEN Xiaolong, ZHANG Wenxia, ZHANG Lixia

2024, 46(1): 1-11. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.01.001

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Since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has risen sharply due to the widely-used fossil fuel, leading to global warming and frequent extreme climate events. To effectively confront and mitigate the climate change, in the Paris Agreement, the international community set warming targets to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 ℃ above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 ℃ above pre-industrial levels. The concept of carbon neutrality starts spreading and known by larger communities. Here, we introduced some basic facts of global warming and the effect of anthropogenic carbon emission on the warming, summarized main results with respect to future climate changes, elucidated the relationship between 1.5/2 ℃ warming threshold and the carbon neutral, and finally overviewed the efforts of carbon reduction made by international community to effectively adapt to and mitigate the global warming.

Components and structural mechanism of the chloroplast protein translocon TOC-TIC supercomplex

LI Tian, LIU Hao, LIU Zhenfeng

2024, 46(1): 12-22. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.01.002

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Chloroplasts, the special organelles present in plant and algal cells, are responsible for converting light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. The majority of chloroplast proteins are encoded by nuclear genes. And the precursor proteins (preproteins) are synthesized by the 80S ribosomes in cytosol. Subsequently, guided by the transit peptides, preproteins are delivered into the chloroplasts through the post-translational translocation pathways across the outer and inner envelop membranes to fulfill their biological functions inside the chloroplasts. The central route for the preproteins to enter the chloroplast mainly relies on the synergistic action of the translocons in the outer and inner envelope membranes of chloroplasts (TOC and TIC). Here we review the recent research progress on structural biology studies of the TOC-TIC supercomplex and discuss the functional characteristics of its components, potential pathways for precursor protein translocation into chloroplasts, and the regulatory mechanisms.

Advances in structural biology of photosynthetic core complexes in purple bacteria

YUE Xingyu, WANG Zhengyu, YU Longjiang

2024, 46(1): 23-34. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.01.003

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As an ancient model organism for studying molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis, purple bacteria convert solar energy into chemical energy through anoxygenic photosynthesis. The primary reaction of photosynthesis mainly occurs in the LH1-RC core complex, which is composed of light-harvesting antenna complex 1 (LH1) and the reaction center (RC). Recently, structures of various bacterial LH1-RC complexes have been determined with developments of crystallography and cryo-EM techniques, significantly expanding our knowledge of this complex. In this paper, we systematically summarize the recent progress in structural biology research on the LH1-RC core complex from purple phototrophic bacteria, providing valuable insights for the deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis, improving photosynthetic efficiency, and advancing development and application of artificial photosynthetic systems.

Regulation of light harvesting and electron transfer process of plant photosynthesis

CHEN Zhufeng, TIAN Lijin

2024, 46(1): 35-45. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.01.004

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Photosynthesis is the largest energy and mass conversion process on the earth, providing the essential foundation for almost all life. It is also the most significant biological carbon fixation process in the world. As the first step of photosynthesis, light reaction has a crucial effect on plant growth. With the development of modern interdisciplinary integration in recent years, new molecular elements have been identified for some classical regulatory pathways, and several new regulatory mechanisms have emerged. In this paper, we briefly introduce the light reaction of photosynthesis, then discuss the regulation mechanisms of photosynthetic light harvesting and electron transfer process based on the latest research progress. Research on plant light reaction regulation not only deepens the understanding of photosynthesis but also inspires optimizing crop growth to meet the world’s challenge of food and energy shortages.

Generative artificial intelligence and future materials science

ZHU Hongwei

2024, 46(1): 46-49. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.01.005

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Artificial intelligence is a powerful driving force behind the rapid development of data-driven science. This article, using the application of deep learning in materials science as an example, introduces the concept of generative models, and their applications in the discovery of new materials and autonomous laboratories. Generative artificial intelligence not only greatly accelerates the research and development process of materials, but also enhances the transparency and credibility of the entire process, heralding a new era in materials science research.

Method and practice for controlling the emissivity of vanadium dioxide

CAO Chuanxiang , ZHANG Zhiqiang, ZHANG Liangmiao, CHEN Zhang, GAO Yanfeng

2024, 46(1): 50-62. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.01.006

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Vanadium dioxide is a commonly used phase change material that reversible changes of its optical and electrical properties occur at near 68 ℃. Since the 1990s, researchers have conducted extensive research on the optical properties of VO₂, and significant progresses have been achieved in the improvement of modulation properties in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions. Currently, the development of VO₂-based thermal regulation materials is mainly focused on regulating the solar radiation capabilities. The room temperature blackbody radiation heat flux is only equivalent to 15% of solar radiation, so it has received less attentions. However, the long-wave radiation in mid-to-far infrared range also plays a vital role in thermal regulation, which cannot be ignored even during the day when the solar radiation is strong. Therefore, the regulation of emissivity began to attract more and more attentions. This article focuses on the latest developments in regulation methods of VO₂ emissivity and the performance regulation of thermal radiation at room temperature, and provides an outlook on its application prospect. The article points out that new structures such as Fabry-Pérot resonator and metamaterials can be combined with VO₂, which greatly enriches the means of VO₂ emissivity regulation, and shows a significant regulation effect on blackbody radiation energy at room temperature. VO₂ emissivity regulation has great application potential for achieving energy efficient smart buildings, space thermal management and infrared camouflage.

Physical methods for intracellular delivery based on micro and nano technologies

YUAN Ziqun, MAO Zhiyu, GAO Xinghua, HU Guohui, WU Jinbo, ZHANG Mengying

2024, 46(1): 63-72. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.05.011

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The delivery of exogenous macromolecules into cells is very important in both basic biology and clinical applications, but the traditional biological methods using viral vectors have problems such as low throughput, high toxicity, low delivery performance and time consuming. In this review, it is summarized that electroporation, sonoporation, microinjection, cell extrusion and other technologies to achieve intracellular delivery based on cell membrane destruction. These physical methods of high throughput intracellular delivery through micro and nano technology can avoid many defects of traditional biological methods, and experiments have proved that they can achieve considerable delivery efficiency while guaranteeing cell activity. We focus on recent development emergence of microfluidicplatform based cell extrusion for gene delivery and their mechanisms, and discuss the advantages, limitations and development prospects of these technologies for delivering cellular drugs or molecules through cell membrane destruction.

Research of epigenetics in the regulation mechanisms and treatment roles of atherosclerosis

TONG Xiaolan, SONG Jiaxin, JIANG Jizong

2024, 46(1): 73-82. doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2023.04.013

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The development of atherosclerosis (As) is closely related to inflammatory response, lipid metabolism disorders and environmental factors. Epigenetic studies are concerned with regulatory mechanisms such as DNA methylation, non-coding RNA regulation, histone modifications and chromatin remodeling. An increasing number of studies have revealed the involvement of epigenetics in the development of As. Aberrant epigenetic changes play a key role in mediating foam cell production, endothelial dysfunction, and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotype transformation. In this paper, we describe the regulatory mechanisms and therapeutic roles of epigenetics in As, and summarize the latest research progress, aiming to provide a reference for early diagnosis and personalized treatments of clinical As from the perspective of non-genetic factors.

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