Single-cell epigenome sequencing techniques have recently been developed. However, the combination of different layers of epigenome sequencing in an individual cell has not yet been achieved. Here, ...we developed a single-cell multi-omics sequencing technology （single-cell COOL-seq） that can analyze the chromatin state/nucleosome positioning, DNA methylation, copy number variation and ploidy simultaneously from the same individual mammali- an cell. We used this method to analyze the reprogramming of the chromatin state and DNA methylation in mouse preimplantation embryos. We found that within 〈 12 h of fertilization, each individual cell undergoes global genome demethylation together with the rapid and global reprogramming of both maternal and paternal genomes to a highly opened chromatin state. This was followed by decreased openness after the late zygote stage. Furthermore, from the late zygote to the 4-cell stage, the residual DNA methylation is preferentially preserved on intergenie regions of the paternal alleles and intragenic regions of maternal alleles in each individual blastomere. However, chromatin acces- sibility is similar between paternal and maternal alleles in each individual cell from the late zygote to the blastocyst stage. The binding motifs of several pluripotency regulators are enriched at distal nucleosome depleted regions from as early as the 2-cell stage. This indicates that the cis-regulatory elements of such target genes have been primed to an open state from the 2-cell stage onward, long before pluripotency is eventually established in the ICM of the blastocyst. Genes may be classified into homogeneously open, homogeneously closed and divergent states based on the chromatin accessibility of their promoter regions among individual cells. This can be traced to step-wise transitions during preimplantation development. Our study offers the first single-cell and parental allele-specific analysis of the genome-scale chromatin state and DNA methylation dynamics at single-base resolution in early mouse embryos and provides new insights into the heterogeneous yet highly ordered features of epigenomic reprogramming during this process.
The number of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) is steadily increasing in order to meet the ever‐growing demand for sustainable energy and a high quality of life for humankind. At the same time, the ...resulting large number of LIB waste certainly poses safety hazards if it is not properly disposed of and will seriously harm the environment due to its inherent toxicity due to the use of toxic substances. Moreover, the consumption of many scarce precious metal resources is behind the mass production of batteries. In the light of severe environmental, resources, safety and recycling problems, recycling spent LIBs have become an essential urgently needed action to achieve sustainable social development. This review therefore critically analyses the value and the need for recycling of spent LIBs from a variety of resources and the environment. A range of existing technologies for recycling and reusing spent LIBs, such as pretreatment, pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and direct recycled methods, is subsequently summarized exclusively. In addition, the benefits and problems of the methods described above are analyzed in detail. It also introduces recycling progress of other LIB components, such as anodes, separators, and electrolytes, as well as the high‐value cathode. Finally, the prospects for recycling LIBs are addressed in four ways (government, users, battery manufacturers, and recyclers). This review should contribute to the development of the recycling of used LIBs, particularly in support of industrialization and recycling processes.
Spent lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) recovery is quite urgent due to the pressure from environmental, resources, and economic. Spent LIBs are turned into treasures through a series of recycling methods, which reflects the real meaning of recycling.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new class of non-polyadenylated non-coding RNAs that may play important roles in many biological processes. Here we develop a single-cell universal poly(A)-independent ...RNA sequencing (SUPeR-seq) method to sequence both polyadenylated and non-polyadenylated RNAs from individual cells. This method exhibits robust sensitivity, precision and accuracy. We discover 2891 circRNAs and 913 novel linear transcripts in mouse preimplantation embryos and further analyze the abundance of circRNAs along development, the function of enriched genes, and sequence features of circRNAs. Our work is key to deciphering regulation mechanisms of circRNAs during mammalian early embryonic development.
The ultrasmall Ni3S2 nanocrystals embedded into N-doped porous carbon nanoparticles are prepared using the scalable Ni-MOF as precursor to exhibit high-rate Na+ storage. This study provides a ...scalable and universal strategy to develop the advanced transition metal sulfides for practically feasible sodium-ion batteries.
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Metal organic framework (MOF) has been confirmed as the promising precursor to develop the conversion-typed anode materials of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of the tunable structure design and simple functional modification. Here, we prepare the ultrasmall Ni3S2 nanocrystals embedded into N-doped porous carbon nanoparticles using the scalable Ni-MOF as precursor (denoted as Ni3S2@NPC). The ultrasmall size of Ni3S2 can work for accelerated electron/ion transfer to facilitate the electrochemical reaction kinetics. Moreover, the robust conductivity network originated from N-doped porous carbon nanoparticles can not only improve the electron conductivity, but also enhance the electrode integrity and stability of the electrode/electrolyte interface. In addition, the N heteroatoms provide extra Na storage sites. Accordingly, the electrode delivers the obviously competitive capacities and high-power output with respect to the currently reported Ni3S2/C composites. This study provides a scalable and universal strategy to develop the advanced transition metal sulfides for practically feasible SIBs.
DNA methylation is crucial for a wide variety of biological processes, yet no technique suitable for the methylome analysis of DNA methylation at single-cell resolution is available. Here, we ...describe a methylome analysis technique that enables single-cell and single-base resolution DNA methylation analysis based on reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (scRRBS). The technique is highly sensitive and can detect the methylation status of up to 1.5 million CpG sites within the genome of an individual mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC). Moreover, we show that the technique can detect the methylation status of individual CpG sites in a haploid sperm cell in a digitized manner as either unmethylated or fully methylated. Furthermore, we show that the demethylation dynamics of maternal and paternal genomes after fertilization can be traced within the individual pronuclei of mouse zygotes. The demethylation process of the genic regions is faster than that of the intergenic regions in both male and female pronuclei. Our method paves the way for the exploration of the dynamic methylome landscapes of individual cells at single-base resolution during physiological processes such as embryonic development, or during pathological processes such as tumorigenesis.
Over the past few decades, the design and development of advanced catalysts for efficient energy conversion technologies have undergone extensive study. Black phosphorus (BP) is considered to be one ...of the most promising catalysts, exhibiting remarkable performance and drawing significant attention, because of its extraordinary physicochemical properties: a unique layered structure, anisotropic structure, tunable direct bandgap, and ultrahigh charge mobility. In this review, the fundamentals of bulk BP, single‐ and few‐layer phosphorene, and BP quantum dots are briefly introduced, along with their crystal structure, optical and electrical properties, stability, and synthetic methods. Furthermore, recent progress toward diverse BP‐based materials for photo‐ and electrocatalysis for renewable energy is summarized, specifically focusing on water splitting, CO2 conversion, and nitrogen fixation. Finally, the challenges ahead for these BP‐based catalysts are also emphasized, alongside and perspectives on their further development as part of the this fast‐flourishing renewable energy field.
This review summarizes the fundamentals of black phosphorus‐based structures including basic properties, synthesis, and stability, specifically focusing on the application for photo‐ and electrocatalysis‐driven energy conversion.
Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water has triggered an intensive search for metal-free semiconducting photocatalysts. However, traditional semiconducting materials suffer from limited hydrogen ...evolution efficiency owing to low intrinsic electron transfer, rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers, and lack of artificial microstructure. Herein, we report a metal-free half-metallic carbon nitride for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. The introduced half-metallic features not only effectively facilitate carrier transfer but also provide more active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. The nanosheets incorporated into a micro grid mode resonance structure via in situ pyrolysis of ionic liquid, which show further enhanced photoelectronic coupling and entire solar energy exploitation, boosts the hydrogen evolution rate reach up to 1009 μmol g
h
. Our findings propose a strategy for micro-structural regulations of half-metallic carbon nitride material, and meanwhile the fundamentals provide inspirations for the steering of electron transfer and solar energy absorption in electrocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, and photovoltaic cells.
The heart is the central organ of the circulatory system, and its proper development is vital for maintaining human life. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to profile the gene expression ...landscapes of ∼4,000 cardiac cells from human embryos and identified four major types of cells: cardiomyocytes (CMs), cardiac fibroblasts, endothelial cells (ECs), and valvar interstitial cells (VICs). Atrial and ventricular CMs acquired distinct features early in heart development. Furthermore, both CMs and fibroblasts show stepwise changes in gene expression. As development proceeds, VICs may be involved in the remodeling phase, and ECs display location-specific characteristics. Finally, we compared gene expression profiles between humans and mice and identified a series of unique features of human heart development. Our study lays the groundwork for elucidating the mechanisms of in vivo human cardiac development and provides potential clues to understand cardiac regeneration.
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•Systematic mapping of the transcriptomic landscape of the human fetal heart•Critical biological features of cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts are revealed•Synergistic activation of NOTCH and BMP signaling pathways during heart development•Human-specific marker genes are revealed by comparing with mouse heart data
Cui et al. reveal the transcriptional landscapes of human fetal heart development at single-cell resolution and identify critical biological features of different cell types, providing insights into the molecular mechanisms of human heart development.
Measuring gene expression in individual cells is crucial for understanding the gene regulatory network controlling human embryonic development. Here we apply single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) ...analysis to 124 individual cells from human preimplantation embryos and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) at different passages. The number of maternally expressed genes detected in our data set is 22,687, including 8,701 long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which represents a significant increase from 9,735 maternal genes detected previously by cDNA microarray. We discovered 2,733 novel lncRNAs, many of which are expressed in specific developmental stages. To address the long-standing question whether gene expression signatures of human epiblast (EPI) and in vitro hESCs are the same, we found that EPI cells and primary hESC outgrowth have dramatically different transcriptomes, with 1,498 genes showing differential expression between them. This work provides a comprehensive framework of the transcriptome landscapes of human early embryos and hESCs.
Hydrogen generated by water splitting provides a renewable energy source, but development of materials with efficient electrocatalytic water splitting capability is challenging. Thin-film ...electrocatalytic material (H2–NiCat) with robust water reduction properties, which can be readily prepared by a reduction-induced electrodeposition method from nickel salts in a borate-buffered electrolyte (pH 9.2), is reported. The material consists of nanoparticles with nickel oxide or hydroxide species located at the surface and metallic nickel in the bulk. The catalyst mediates H2 evolution in a near-neutral aqueous buffer at low overpotential. The catalyst requires a subsequent oxidative pretreatment in order to attain a well-defined hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity, and the 1.5 h anodized catalyst film exhibits a HER current density of about 1.50 mA cm–2 at 0.452 V overpotential over a period of 24 h with no observable corrosion. In addition, it can be converted by anodic equilibration into an amorphous Ni-based oxide film (O2–NiCat) to catalyze O2 evolution, and the switch between the two catalytic forms is fully reversible. The robust, bifunctional, switchable, and noble-metal-free catalytic material has immense potential in artificial solar water-splitting devices.
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