Molecular insights and future frontiers in cell photosensitization for solar-driven CO2 conversion.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight studies inspecting charge uptake pathways and singularities in photosensitized cells and discuss further analyses to more completely elucidate these constructs, and focus on criteria to be met for designing photosensitizing nanomaterials.
About: This article is published in iScience.The article was published on 2021-08-05 and is currently open access. It has received 12 citations till now.
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TL;DR: Integration of bioreactors with electrochemical systems will permit new production opportunities with enhanced productivities and the advantage of using a low-carbon electricity from renewable and sustainable sources.
Abstract: In the movement to decarbonize our economy and move away from fossil fuels we will need to harness the waste products of our activities, such as waste lignocellulose, methane and carbon dioxide. Our wastes need to be integrated into a circular economy where used products are recycled into a manufacturing carbon cycle. Key to this will be the recycling of plastics at the resin and monomer levels. Biotechnology is well suited to a future chemical industry that must adapt to widely distributed and diverse biological chemical feedstocks. Our increasing mastery of biotechnology is allowing us to develop enzymes and organisms that can synthesize a widening selection of desirable bulk chemicals, including plastics, at commercially viable productivities. Integration of bioreactors with electrochemical systems will permit new production opportunities with enhanced productivities and the advantage of using a low-carbon electricity from renewable and sustainable sources.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the photoelectrophy, a new trophic linkage that occurs between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and nonphototrophic microorganisms, was demonstrated in a Thiobacillus denitrificans-DOM coupled system.
Abstract: The biogeochemical fates of dissolved organic matter (DOM) show important environmental significance in aqueous ecosystems. However, the current understanding of the trophic relationship between DOM and microorganisms limits the ability of DOM to serve as a heterotrophic substrate or electron shuttle for microorganisms. In this work, we provide the first evidence of photoelectrophy, a new trophic linkage, that occurs between DOM and nonphototrophic microorganisms. Specifically, the photoelectrotrophic denitrification process was demonstrated in a Thiobacillus denitrificans-DOM coupled system, in which DOM acted as a microbial photosensitizer to drive the model denitrifier nitrate reduction. The reduction of nitrate followed a pseudo-first-order reaction with a kinetic constant of 0.06 ± 0.003 h-1, and the dominant nitrogenous product was nitrogen. The significant upregulated (p < 0.01) expression of denitrifying genes, including nar, nir, nor, and nos, supported that the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen was the microorganism-mediated process. Interestingly, the photoelectrophic process triggered by DOM photosensitization promotes humification of DOM itself, an almost opposite trend of pure DOM irradiation. The finding not only reveals a so far overlooked role of DOM serving as the microbial photosensitizer in sunlit aqueous ecosystems but also suggests a strategy for promoting sunlight-driven denitrification in surface environments.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors highlight the importance of fully understanding the structures and operating mechanisms of these hybrid systems, as well as the criterion to select suitable microbes and photosensitized nanomaterials.
Abstract: Global warming and climate change are among the most immediate challenges confronting humans in the 21st century. Artificial photosynthesis represents a promising approach to mitigating the environmental crisis. Recently, people demonstrated that interfacing semiconductor, polymer, or metal-based nanomaterials with specific bacteria can generate built-in artificial photosynthetic systems, enabling solar-to-fuel conversion by forming a basic photosynthetic unit from a network of light-harvesting receptors, molecular water splitting and CO2, or proton reduction machinery. As a cutting-edge research direction, several strategies have been employed to create the artificial photosynthetic biohybrids. Notably, understanding of the molecular basis of these photosynthetic biohybrid systems is the key to improving the solar-to-chemical conversion efficiency. In the current review, we highlight the study of charge uptake channels in biohybrid artificial photosynthetic systems using various nanomaterials and microbes. We emphasize the importance of fully understanding the structures and operating mechanisms of these hybrid systems, as well as the criterion to select suitable microbes and photosensitized nanomaterials.
10 citations
21 Feb 2022
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article , a self-assembled manganese oxides (MnOx) was used for CO2 fixation in a diatom-based biohybrid system for marine phytoplankton.
Abstract: Continuous CO2 emissions from human activities increase atmospheric CO2 concentrations and affect global climate change. The carbon storage capacity of the ocean is 20-fold higher than that of the land, and diatoms contribute to approximately 40% of carbon capture in the ocean. Manganese (Mn) is a major driver of marine phytoplankton growth and the marine carbon pump. Here, we discovered self-assembled manganese oxides (MnOx) for CO2 fixation in a diatom-based biohybrid system. MnOx shared key features (e.g., di-μ-oxo-bridged Mn-Mn) with the Mn4CaO5 cluster of the biological catalyst in photosystem II and promoted photosynthesis and carbon capture by diatoms/MnOx. The CO2 capture capacity of diatoms/MnOx was 1.5-fold higher than that of diatoms alone. Diatoms/MnOx easily allocated carbon into proteins and lipids instead of carbohydrates. Metabolomics showed that the contents of several metabolites (e.g., lysine and inositol) were positively associated with increased CO2 capture. Diatoms/MnOx upregulated six genes encoding photosynthesis core proteins and a key rate-limiting enzyme (Rubisco, ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase) in the Calvin-Benson-Bassham carbon assimilation cycle, revealing the link between MnOx and photosynthesis. These findings provide a route for offsetting anthropogenic CO2 emissions and inspiration for self-assembled biohybrid systems for carbon capture by marine phytoplankton.
1 citations
References
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TL;DR: For nanoparticles to move into the clinical arena, it is important that nanotoxicology research uncovers and understands how these multiple factors influence the toxicity of nanoparticles so that their undesirable properties can be avoided.
Abstract: Human exposure to nanoparticles is inevitable as nanoparticles become more widely used and, as a result, nanotoxicology research is now gaining attention. However, while the number of nanoparticle types and applications continues to increase, studies to characterize their effects after exposure and to address their potential toxicity are few in comparison. In the medical field in particular, nanoparticles are being utilized in diagnostic and therapeutic tools to better understand, detect, and treat human diseases. Exposure to nanoparticles for medical purposes involves intentional contact or administration; therefore, understanding the properties of nanoparticles and their effect on the body is crucial before clinical use can occur. This Review presents a summary of the in vitro cytotoxicity data currently available on three classes of nanoparticles. With each of these nanoparticles, different data has been published about their cytotoxicity due to varying experimental conditions as well as differing nanoparticle physiochemical properties. For nanoparticles to move into the clinical arena, it is important that nanotoxicology research uncovers and understands how these multiple factors influence the toxicity of nanoparticles so that their undesirable properties can be avoided.
2,546 citations
TL;DR: An understanding of how synthetic and natural chemical moieties on the nanoparticle surface (in addition to nanoparticle shape and size) impact their interaction with lipid bilayers and cells is presented.
Abstract: The interaction of nanomaterials with cells and lipid bilayers is critical in many applications such as phototherapy, imaging, and drug/gene delivery. These applications require a firm control over nanoparticle-cell interactions, which are mainly dictated by surface properties of nanoparticles. This critical Review presents an understanding of how synthetic and natural chemical moieties on the nanoparticle surface (in addition to nanoparticle shape and size) impact their interaction with lipid bilayers and cells. Challenges for undertaking a systematic study to elucidate nanoparticle-cell interactions are also discussed.
2,346 citations
TL;DR: In vivo generation of mouse models carrying clinically relevant mutations using C→T and A→G editors is demonstrated, making it feasible to model and potentially cure relevant genetic diseases.
Abstract: A recently developed adenine base editor (ABE) efficiently converts A to G and is potentially useful for clinical applications. However, its precision and efficiency in vivo remains to be addressed. Here we achieve A-to-G conversion in vivo at frequencies up to 100% by microinjection of ABE mRNA together with sgRNAs. We then generate mouse models harboring clinically relevant mutations at Ar and Hoxd13, which recapitulates respective clinical defects. Furthermore, we achieve both C-to-T and A-to-G base editing by using a combination of ABE and SaBE3, thus creating mouse model harboring multiple mutations. We also demonstrate the specificity of ABE by deep sequencing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Taken together, ABE is highly efficient and precise in vivo, making it feasible to model and potentially cure relevant genetic diseases. CRISPR-based base editors allow for single nucleotide genome editing in a range of organisms. Here the authors demonstrate the in vivo generation of mouse models carrying clinically relevant mutations using C→T and A→G editors.
2,114 citations
TL;DR: Can PSII be exploited through increased use of biomass as an energy source and, more importantly, can the energy/CO2 problem be addressed by developing new photochemical technologies which mimic the natural system?
Abstract: Photosystem II (PSII) is the water splitting enzyme of photosynthesis. Its appearance during evolution dramatically changed the chemical composition of our planet and set in motion an unprecedented explosion in biological activity. Powered by sunlight, PSII supplies biology with the ‘hydrogen’ needed to convert carbon dioxide into organic molecules. The questions now are can we continue to exploit this photosynthetic process through increased use of biomass as an energy source and, more importantly, can we address the energy/CO2 problem by developing new photochemical technologies which mimic the natural system? (Critical review, 82 references)
1,494 citations
TL;DR: Inefficiencies in photosynthetic energy transduction in crops from light interception to carbohydrate synthesis, and how classical breeding, systems biology, and synthetic biology are providing new opportunities to develop more productive germplasm are examined to more than double the yield potential of major crops.
Abstract: Increasing the yield potential of the major food grain crops has contributed very significantly to a rising food supply over the past 50 years, which has until recently more than kept pace with rising global demand. Whereas improved photosynthetic efficiency has played only a minor role in the remarkable increases in productivity achieved in the last half century, further increases in yield potential will rely in large part on improved photosynthesis. Here we examine inefficiencies in photosynthetic energy transduction in crops from light interception to carbohydrate synthesis, and how classical breeding, systems biology, and synthetic biology are providing new opportunities to develop more productive germplasm. Near-term opportunities include improving the display of leaves in crop canopies to avoid light saturation of individual leaves and further investigation of a photorespiratory bypass that has already improved the productivity of model species. Longer-term opportunities include engineering into plants carboxylases that are better adapted to current and forthcoming CO2 concentrations, and the use of modeling to guide molecular optimization of resource investment among the components of the photosynthetic apparatus, to maximize carbon gain without increasing crop inputs. Collectively, these changes have the potential to more than double the yield potential of our major crops.
1,399 citations