Nanjing University

About: Nanjing University is a education organization based out in Nanjing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Population. The organization has 85961 authors who have published 105504 publications receiving 2289036 citations. The organization is also known as: NJU & Nanking University.

Recent duplications dominate NBS-encoding gene expansion in two woody species.

Abstract: Most disease resistance genes in plants encode NBS-LRR proteins. However, in woody species, little is known about the evolutionary history of these genes. Here, we identified 459 and 330 respective NBS-LRRs in grapevine and poplar genomes. We subsequently investigated protein motif composition, phylogenetic relationships and physical locations. We found significant excesses of recent duplications in perennial species, compared with those of annuals, represented by rice and Arabidopsis. Consequently, we observed higher nucleotide identity among paralogs and a higher percentage of NBS-encoding genes positioned in numerous clusters in the grapevine and poplar. These results suggested that recent tandem duplication played a major role in NBS-encoding gene expansion in perennial species. These duplication events, together with a higher probability of recombination revealed in this study, could compensate for the longer generation time in woody perennial species e.g. duplication and recombination could serve to generate novel resistance specificities. In addition, we observed extensive species-specific expansion in TIR-NBS-encoding genes. Non-TIR-NBS-encoding genes were poly- or paraphyletic, i.e. genes from three or more plant species were nested in different clades, suggesting different evolutionary patterns between these two gene types.

Singlet oxygen mediated iron-based Fenton-like catalysis under nanoconfinement

Abstract: For several decades, the iron-based Fenton-like catalysis has been believed to be mediated by hydroxyl radicals or high-valent iron-oxo species, while only sporadic evidence supported the generation of singlet oxygen (1O2) in the Haber-Weiss cycle. Herein, we report an unprecedented singlet oxygen mediated Fenton-like process catalyzed by ∼2-nm Fe2O3 nanoparticles distributed inside multiwalled carbon nanotubes with inner diameter of ∼7 nm. Unlike the traditional Fenton-like processes, this delicately designed system was shown to selectively oxidize the organic dyes that could be adsorbed with oxidation rates linearly proportional to the adsorption affinity. It also exhibited remarkably higher degradation activity (22.5 times faster) toward a model pollutant methylene blue than its nonconfined analog. Strikingly, the unforeseen stability at pH value up to 9.0 greatly expands the use of Fenton-like catalysts in alkaline conditions. This work represents a fundamental breakthrough toward the design and understanding of the Fenton-like system under nanoconfinement, might cause implications in other fields, especially in biological systems.

Fabrication of a novel p–n heterojunction photocatalyst n-BiVO4@p-MoS2 with core–shell structure and its excellent visible-light photocatalytic reduction and oxidation activities

Abstract: The novel p–n heterojunction photocatalyst n-BiVO4@p-MoS2 with core–shell structure was successfully fabricated for the first time through a facile in-situ hydrothermal method, in which MoS2 shell thickness was easily tuned by varying the concentration of MoS2 precursor in the solution. The photocatalytic performances of samples were systematically investigated via the photocatalytic reduction of Cr6+ and oxidation of crystal violet (CV) under visible-light irradiation. The BiVO4@MoS2 samples exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance, among which, the BiVO4@MoS2 (10 wt%) sample with MoS2 shell 300 nm thickness, showed the highest photoreduction and photooxidation activities. The enhanced photocatalytic activities could be attributed to the suppression of charge recombination, the high specific surface area and strong adsorption ability toward the pollutant molecule, and the enhanced or tunable light absorption of BiVO4@MoS2. Especially, the core–shell structure geometry also increases the contact area between BiVO4 and MoS2, which facilitates the charge transfer at the BiVO4/MoS2 interface. The photocatalytic mechanism of BiVO4@MoS2 for reduction of Cr6+ and oxidation of CV was discussed in detail. Moreover, 12 photocatalytic degradation intermediates and products of CV were also identified by the gas chromatography–mass spectrometer (GC–MS).