The development of microbial synthetic biology has been revolutionizing the industrial production of import- ant plant terpenoids since the dawn of the century 1, 2. By reconstructing the downstream ...biosynthetic pathways and systematically engineering the supply of common terpenoid precursors, the engineered microorganism chassis （e.g., Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cer- evisiae） can produce desired terpenoids in a more con- trollable manner. This strategy is also adapted to enrich the knowledge of cell metabolism via either discovery of novel or proof of postulated pathways 3.
The Baige landslide in southwest China has been active for at least 50 years, and experienced two failure events on Oct. 10 and Nov. 3, 2018. The rock mass and debris of the slope failure formed a ...landslide dam. The discharge of the dammed lake plus the failure events caused significant socio-economic losses. Many slow-moving areas appeared after the two failure events and potential landslide risk still exists. Retrieving the long-term spatial-temporal pattern of landslide activity can help us to understand and mitigate landslide disasters. However, it is difficult to monitor all movement episodes of some landslides using single satellite dataset and method, due to the different deformation characteristics. Employing multiple radar and optical images may solve this problem. In this study, the Landsat 8, the ALOS PALSAR and ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 images are used to obtain the surface displacements before the first failure event by using the cross-correlation technique (for Landsat 8 images) and the pixel offset tracking technique. The displacement velocity map after the second failure is derived by the Multi-temporal Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (MT-InSAR) method from the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 and the Sentinel-1 images. The maximum radar line of sight (LOS) average velocity is 3 m/yr between Jan. 2007 and Feb. 2011, and 12 m/yr between Jul. 2015 and Jul. 2018. From Oct. 2013 to Feb. 2018, the maximum horizontal average velocity is 5.8 m/yr. The movement accelerated from Jul. 2017. A large deformation area appeared on the south of the failed slope after the second failure. The unstable area observed by the MT-InSAR is much larger than that obtained through the field measurements. In the first month after the second failure, the maximum LOS displacements are more than 20 cm. The depletion area and the neighboring zones of the landslide are unstable even one year after the second failure. This study shows how to use multiple satellite images and hybrid remote sensing techniques to investigate the landslide deformation history, and illustrates the benefits of landslide monitoring based on images from multiple satellite sensors.
•The pre-failure acceleration movement signal of the Baige landslide was extracted from the SAR images.•The horizontal displacement velocity map shows the complexity of the motion pattern of the Baige landslide.•The size of the unstable area identified in this study is much larger than that found by field investigation.
We derive the ALOS‐2 coseismic interferograms, pixel‐offsets and Sentinel‐2 sub‐pixel offsets of the 2023 Mw7.8 and Mw7.7 Kahramanmaras, Turkey earthquake sequence. Offset maps show that the sequence ...ruptured ∼300 km along the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) and ∼180 km along the secondary Cardak and Dogansehir faults. We infer the coseismic slip distribution and interseismic fault motion by inverting the co‐ and inter‐seismic observations. Inversion results show that the coseismic slip (∼8.0 m) and interseismic strike‐slip rate (∼4.6 mm/yr) on the main rupture of the Mw7.8 event are basically consistent with the ∼8.4 m and ∼3.9 mm/yr of the Mw7.7 event. Most coseismic slips of the Mw7.8 and Mw7.7 events occur within 10 and 12 km at depth, respectively, in keeping with the interseismic locking depth of 10.4 ± 3.3 km and 11.1 ± 3.1 km. This implies that the coseismic rupture kinematics correlate with the interseismic strain accumulation. Moreover, static stress changes show that the Mw7.7 event is likely promoted by ∼2 bar stress increase from the Mw7.8 event on the central section of its main rupture.
Plain Language Summary
The middle and northern sections of the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) have experienced seven major earthquakes (M > 6.0) since the twentieth century, in accordance with the fast slip rate (∼10.5 mm/yr) and shallow locking depth (∼5 km) (Bletery et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl087775), leaving a well‐known seismic gap, the Pazarcık segment in the southern section of the EAF. Stress analysis by Nalbant et al. (2002, https://doi.org/10.1016/s0012-821x(01)00592-1) suggested that this seismic gap has potential to produce an Mw ≥ 7.3 earthquake. The 2023 Mw7.8 and Mw7.7 Kahramanmaras, Turkey earthquake sequence ruptured the Pazarcık segment. This earthquake sequence offers a valuable opportunity to explore the critical stage of the seismic cycle from interseismic strain accumulation to coseismic rupture. We extract the surface fault traces from the deformation maps derived from the ALOS‐2 interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), pixel offset and Sentinel‐2 sub‐pixel offset measurements, and then construct a seven‐segment fault geometric model according to the fault segmentation based on Duman and Emre (2013, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP372.14). By inverting the coseismic interferograms and pixel offsets and the interseismic LOS velocities from Weiss et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087376), we determine the coseismic slip model of Mw7.8 and Mw7.7 earthquakes, and relate it to the interseismic kinematics.
Key Points
We drive a complete series of coseismic deformation maps and detailed slip distribution of the 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes
The Mw7.7 event produced normal dip‐slip (∼6 m) near the Goksun releasing bend and thrust dip‐slip (∼2 m) on the Dogansehir fault
The coseismic slip behaviors on the Cardak and Pazarcık faults correlate with the interseismic kinematics
Streptococcus thermophilus is used extensively in the dairy industry and has shown great promise as a chassis cell for the biosynthesis of high-value metabolites. However, metabolic engineering in S. ...thermophilus lacks effective genetic modification tools to modulate gene expression to relieve metabolic burden and maximize the production of desired compounds. Here, we developed a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats interference (CRISPRi) system for efficient gene transcriptional modulation in S. thermophilus. Our CRISPRi system typically achieved 66 to 98% knockdown of single or multiple gene expression. We used CRISPRi for the biosynthesis of a new exopolysaccharide (EPS) as a paradigm model. Repression of galK at module of uridine diphosphate glucose sugar metabolism and overexpression of epsA and epsE at EPS synthesis module resulted in an approximately 2-fold increase in EPS titer (277 mg/L) when compared with a control strain. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of CRISPRi as a powerful metabolic engineering tool and synthetic biology strategy for S. thermophilus.
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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been used as ingredients of functional foods to promote health and prevent diseases because of their beneficial effects. This study aimed to investigate the ...antioxidative effects of LAB on the hepatotoxicity in D‐galactose‐induced aging mice. LAB were isolated from the traditional Chinese fermented foods and screened by the tolerance of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Male ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) mice were subcutaneously injected with D‐galactose for 5 weeks and then gastric gavage with LAB for 6 weeks. The results showed that Lactobacillus plantarum AR113 and AR501, and Pediococcu pentosaceus AR243 could tolerate up to 1.5 mM H2O2 in vitro, and they could live through simulated gastrointestinal tract (GIT) to colonizing the GIT of host. In vivo, oral administration of L. plantarum AR113 and AR501 improved the antioxidant status of D‐galactose‐induced oxidative stress mice such as alleviated liver damages and reduced abnormal activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase to normal levels. In addition, L. plantarum AR501 markedly elevated the gene expression of nuclear factor erythroid‐2‐related factor 2 and upregulated the expressions of several antioxidant genes such as glutathione reductase, glutathione S‐transferase, glutamate‐cysteine ligase catalytic subunit, glutamate‐cysteine ligase modifier subunit, and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 in the liver of an aging mice. Therefore, L. plantarum AR501 could be a good candidate for producing antiaging functional foods.
In recent years, photovoltaic power generation and greenhouse planting (PPG&GP) have become effective approaches for reconstructing and restoring the ecological environment of old coal-mining ...industry bases, such as Xintai City. However, the ecological impacts or improvements of the PPG&GP projects and their daily operations on the local environment are still unclear. To solve these problems, this study retrieved the ground deformation velocities and time series of the study region by performing the Small-Baseline Subset (SBAS)-Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technique on the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) PALSAR and Sentinel-1 SAR datasets. With these deformation results, the spatial analysis indicated that the area of the subsidence region within the PPG&GP projects reached 10.70 km2, with a magnitude of approximately −21.61 ± 12.10 mm/yr. Also, even though the ground deformations and their temporal changes were both visible in the construction and operation stages of the PPG&GP projects, the temporal analysis demonstrated that most observation points finally entered into the stationary phases in the late stage of the observation period. This phenomenon validated the effectiveness of the PPG&GP projects in enhancing the ground surface stability in coal-mining areas. Additionally, the precipitation, geological structure, increased coal-mining depths, and emergent agricultural modes were assumed to be the major impact factors controlling the ground deformation within the local PPG&GP projects. Finally, a novel risk assessment method with a designed index of IRA was utilized to classify the ground subsidence risks of the PPG&GP projects into three levels: Low (69.7%), Medium (16.9%), and High (9.4%). This study sheds a bright light on the ecological monitoring and risk management of the burgeoning industrial and agricultural infrastructures, such as the PPG&GP projects, constructed upon the traditional coal-mining areas in China from a multi-temporal InSAR perspective.
Bifidobacterium animalis, one of the predominant bacteria in the intestines of humans and other mammals, is widely added to dairy products. We employed RNA sequencing to analyze gene expression ...variance on a genome-wide scale and found stable reference genes (RG) in B. animalis. A total of 1,665 genes were identified by analyzing the data from the transcriptome under 4 different conditions, and 13 probable candidate RG with variation coefficient values <0.1 were validated using reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). The amplification efficiency of candidate RG were ranging from 94.16% to 126.25%. We integrated the analysis results of BestKeeper, geNorm, NormFinder, and RefFinder algorithms and revealed that rplD and atpA comprehensive ranked 1.68 and 2.82, respectively, which were more stable than traditional RG. Compared with plate count (1.58 × 106 cfu/mL), the concentrations of B. animalis AR668 by RT-qPCR using rplD, atpA, and 16S rRNA as RG were 2.27 × 106, 2.24 × 106, and 6.66 × 106 cfu/mL, respectively, after 10 h of fermentation in fermented skim milk. It suggested that rplD and atpA as RG can be accurate for colony counting of B. animalis. Our study provides the foundation for more accurate analysis of colony counting by RT-qPCR of B. animalis in dairy foods.
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•Ternary GaSiP solid solution with a disordered lattice and liquid metallic phase is synthesized.•Ternary GaSiP presents ultrafast Li-ion and electronic conductivity.•Ternary GaSiP ...anode demonstrates excellent Li-storage performances.
Silicon (Si) has become the most promising next-generation anode to replace commercial graphite for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) profiting from its large reversible capacity of 4,200 mA h g−1. However, its sluggish reaction kinetics and large volume effect need to be resolved. Herein, we prepare a ternary GaSiP solid solution with a disordered lattice by a facile mechanochemistry method. As anodes of LIBs, the GaSiP provides a reversible capacity of 1,527 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 with an initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 90.8% based on the reversible Li-storage mechanism integrated intercalation and subsequent conversion processes as confirmed by crystallography characterization and electrochemical measurements. Importantly, the GaSiP carbon composite presents a long cycling stability of maintaining 1,362 mA h g−1 after 50 cycles at 0.1 A g−1, and 75% capacity retention rate after 1,200 cycles at 2 A g−1, and a high-rate performance of remaining 440 mA h g−1 at 20 A g−1. Broadly, this work opens the door to develop ternary phosphides with disordered lattice and liquid metallic phase using for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.
SUMMARY
We study the 2016 January 21 (${{{M}}}_{\rm{w}}$ 5.9) and 2022 January 8 (${{{M}}}_{\rm{w}}$ 6.7) earthquake sequence that struck the Menyuan region in northwest China's Qinghai province. ...These two earthquakes are destructive events that occurred around/on the Lenglongling fault (LLLF). Here, we derive the line-of-sight displacement fields of the two earthquakes using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurements of Sentinel-1 SAR data, and map the range and horizontal offset fields of the 2022 event using Sentinel-1 amplitude images and Planet-Lab optical images. Based on the offset maps, we determine the detailed surface rupture trace of the 2022 event. We perform slip inversions for the two earthquakes on triangle fault patches whose size increases with depth. Results show that the western branch segment of the 2022 event has a ∼0.5-m normal dip-slip motion. This result contradicts previous inferences on dip-slip sense of this branch segment. We identify a left-stepping fault structure with a ∼5-km step width in the transition zone between the Tuolaishan fault (TLSF) and LLLF, which may serve as a kinematic barrier to prevent further propagation of seismic rupture along the TLSF. Stress calculation shows that a stress drop of ∼0.4 bar produced by the 2016 event on a ∼5-km long LLLF segment may act as a negative stress barrier to suppress rupture propagation of the 2022 event toward the southeast of the LLLF.
As an economic crop, pepper satisfies people's spicy taste and has medicinal uses worldwide. To gain a better understanding of Capsicum evolution, domestication, and specialization, we present here ...the genome sequence of the cultivated pepper Zunla-1 (C. annuum L.) and its wild progenitor Chiltepin (C. annuum var. glabriusculum). We estimate that the pepper genome expanded ∼0.3 Mya (with respect to the genome of other Solanaceae) by a rapid amplification of retrotransposons elements, resulting in a genome comprised of ∼81% repetitive sequences. Approximately 79% of 3.48-Gb scaffolds containing 34,476 protein-coding genes were anchored to chromosomes by a high-density genetic map. Comparison of cultivated and wild pepper genomes with 20 resequencing accessions revealed molecular footprints of artificial selection, providing us with a list of candidate domestication genes. We also found that dosage compensation effect of tandem duplication genes probably contributed to the pungent diversification in pepper. The Capsicum reference genome provides crucial information for the study of not only the evolution of the pepper genome but also, the Solanaceae family, and it will facilitate the establishment of more effective pepper breeding programs.
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