Enzyme function is regulated by its localization

To better understand how enzyme localization affects enzyme activity we studied the cellular localization of the glycosyltransferase MurG, an enzyme necessary for cell wall synthesis at the spore during sporulation in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. During sporulation MurG was gradually enriched to the membrane at the forespore and point mutations in a MurG helical domain disrupting its localization to the membrane caused severe sporulation defects, but did not affect localization nor caused detectable defects during exponential growth. We found that this localization is dependent on the phospholipid cardiolipin, as in strains where the cardiolipin-synthesizing genes were deleted, MurG levels were diminished at the forespore. Furthermore, in this cardiolipin-less strain, MurG localization during sporulation was rescued by external addition of purified cardiolipin. These results support localization as a critical factor in the regulation of proper enzyme function and catalysis.     

Versatile Near-Infrared Super-Resolution Imaging of Amyloid Fibrils with the Fluorogenic Probe CRANAD-2

CRANAD-2 is a fluorogenic curcumin derivative used for near-infrared detection and imaging in vivo of amyloid aggregates, which are involved in neurodegenerative diseases. We explore the performance of CRANAD-2 in two super-resolution imaging techniques, namely stimulated emission depletion (STED) and single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM), with markedly different fluorophore requirements. By conveniently adapting the concentration of CRANAD-2, which transiently binds to amyloid fibrils, we show that it performs well in both techniques, achieving a resolution in the range of 45–55 nm. Correlation of SMLM with atomic force microscopy (AFM) validates the resolution of fine features in the reconstructed super-resolved image. The good performance and versatility of CRANAD-2 provides a powerful tool for near-infrared nanoscopic imaging of amyloids in vitro and in vivo.     

Properties of RhP predicted by first-principles

Using density functional theory combined with a global crystal structure search with the particle swarm optimization method, we propose three stable three-dimensional (3D) metallic RhP structures, namely, the Cmcm (RhP-I), P6/mmm (RhP-II), and P6₃mc (RhP-III) phases. All these structures are found to be dynamically stable through vibrational normal mode calculations, indicating that they could be successfully synthesized in experiments. We show that the RhP-I phase has a relatively high thermodynamic stability and high mechanical strength in comparison with the others. The RhP-II and RhP-III phases have porous structures which could accommodate small atoms or molecules. However their thermodynamics are poor, especially the RhP-III phase. The RhP-II structure is stable at 500 K, but the RhP-III fails to survive even at the freezing point of water. Importantly, all these materials have one dimensional conducting channels corresponding to ultrahigh Fermi velocities. Moreover, the porous hexagonal RhP-II and III structures exhibit excellent ability to trap lithium, hydrogen, oxygen, and boron atoms. The RhP-II structure could be especially useful for directly dissociating the hydrogen molecule into two atoms without an energy barrier. In the present study, we identify three new metallic structures to the family of RhP structures, and anticipate their potential for technological applications.     

Non-Abelian gauge potentials driven localization transition in quasiperiodic optical lattices

Derived from quantum waves immersed in an Abelian gauge potential, the quasiperiodic Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) model is a simple yet powerful Hamiltonian to study the Anderson localization of ultracold atoms. Here, we investigate the localization properties of ultracold atoms in quasiperiodic optical lattices subject to a non-Abelian gauge potential, which are depicted by non-Abelian AAH models. We identify that the non-Abelian AAH models can bear the self-duality. We analyze the localization of such non-Abelian self-dual optical lattices, revealing a rich phase diagram driven by the non-Abelian gauge potential involved: a transition from a pure delocalization phase, then to coexistence phases, and finally to a pure localization phase. This is in stark contrast to the Abelian counterpart that does not support the coexistence phases. Our results establish the connection between localization and gauge symmetry, and thus comprise a new insight on the fundamental aspects of localization in quasiperiodic systems, from the perspective of non-Abelian gauge potential.     

Single-Molecule 3D Orientation Imaging Reveals Nanoscale Compositional Heterogeneity in Lipid Membranes

In soft matter, thermal energy causes molecules to continuously translate and rotate, even in crowded environments, thereby impacting the spatial organization and function of most molecular assemblies, such as lipid membranes. Directly measuring the orientation and spatial organization of large collections (>3000 molecules μm⁻²) of single molecules with nanoscale resolution remains elusive. In this paper, we utilize SMOLM, single-molecule orientation localization microscopy, to directly measure the orientation spectra (3D orientation plus “wobble”) of lipophilic probes transiently bound to lipid membranes, revealing that Nile red's (NR) orientation spectra are extremely sensitive to membrane chemical composition. SMOLM images resolve nanodomains and enzyme-induced compositional heterogeneity within membranes, where NR within liquid-ordered vs. liquid-disordered domains shows a ≈4° difference in polar angle and a ≈0.3π sr difference in wobble angle. As a new type of imaging spectroscopy, SMOLM exposes the organizational and functional dynamics of lipid-lipid, lipid-protein, and lipid-dye interactions with single-molecule, nanoscale resolution.     

An artificial hummingbird algorithm based localization with reduced number of reference nodes for wireless sensor networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are widely used in recent years due to the advancements in wireless and sensor technologies. Many of these applications require to know the location information of nodes. This information is useful to understand the collected data and to act on them. Existing localization algorithms make use of a few reference nodes for estimating the locations of sensor nodes. But, the positioning and utilization of reference nodes increase the cost and complexity of the network. To reduce the dependency on reference nodes, in this paper, we have developed a novel optimization based localization method using only two reference nodes for the localization of the entire network. This is achieved by reference nodes identifying a few more nodes as reference nodes by the analysis of the connectivity information. The sensor nodes then use the reference nodes to identify their locations in a distributive manner using Artificial Hummingbird Algorithm (AHA). We have observed that the localization performance of the reported algorithm at a lower reference node ratio is comparable with other algorithms at higher reference node ratios.     

Monovalent cation localization in DNA A-tracts with different sequences

The free solution mobilities of 26-base pair (bp) DNA oligomers containing A-tracts with and without internal ApT steps have been measured by capillary electrophoresis, using the mobility of a 26-bp random-sequence oligomer as a reference. The background electrolytes (BGEs) contained mixtures of Li⁺ and tetrapropylammonium (TPA⁺) ions, keeping the total cation concentration constant at 0.3 M. The mobility ratios equaled 1.00 in 0.3 M TPA⁺, indicating that the A-tract and reference oligomers had the same B-form conformation in this BGE. With increasing [Li⁺], the mobility ratio decreased as Li⁺ ions became localized in the A-tract minor groove, suggesting that the A-tract was now in the B* conformation. If the A-tract contained an internal ApT step and the oligomer contained less than ∼50% A + T, the mobility ratio reached a reduced plateau value that remained constant as the [Li⁺] increased to 0.3 M. However, for A-tracts without an internal ApT step and for A-tracts embedded in oligomers containing more than 50% A + T, the mobility ratios increased again at high [Li⁺], eventually reaching a plateau value of 1.00. Hence, DNA A-tracts in solution appear to exist as mixtures of the B and B* conformations, with the fractional concentration of each conformer depending on the [Li⁺], the A-tract sequence, and the total A + T content of the oligomer.