Search

Lithium deposition on graphite electrode not only reduces fast-charging capability of lithium ion batteries but also causes safety trouble. Here, a low-field 7Li dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) is used to probe Li plating on the surfaces of three types of carbon electrodes: hard carbon, soft carbon and graphite. Owing to the strong Fermi contact interaction between 7Li and conduction electrons, the 7Li nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) signal of Li metal deposited on electrode surface could be selectively enhanced by DNP. It is suggested that low-field 7Li DNP spectroscopy is a sensitive tool for investigating Li deposition on electrodes during charging/discharging processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whiteleg shrimp is a widely cultured crustacean, but frequent disease outbreaks have decreased production and caused significant losses. Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) comprise a large innate immune family that is involved in the innate immune response. However, understanding of their regulatory mechanism is limited. In this study, PacBio sequencing and Illumina sequencing were applied to the gill and hepatopancreas tissues of whiteleg shrimp and an integrated transcript gene set was established. The upregulation of Toll1, Toll2 and Toll3 transcripts in the hepatopancreas tissue of whiteleg shrimp after iridescent virus infection implies that these proteins are involved in the immune response to the virus; simultaneously, the TRAF6 and relish transcripts in the Toll pathway were also upregulated, implying that the Toll pathway was activated. We predicted the three‐dimensional structure of the five Toll proteins in whiteleg shrimp and humans and constructed a phylogenetic tree of the Toll protein family. In addition, there was a large discrepancy of Toll1 between invertebrates and vertebrates, presumably because of the loss of Toll1 protein sequence during the evolution process from invertebrates to vertebrates. Our research will improve the cognition of Toll protein family in invertebrates in terms of evolution, structure and function and provide theoretical guidance for researchers in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete mitochondrial genome of Scyllarides squammosus was first determined and characterized. With a length of 15,644 bp, it consists of 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 1 control region. The nucleotide composition is significantly biased with AT contents of 65.6%. Among these PCGs, five of them used an unusual initiation codon, and nine genes ended with an incomplete or abnormal stop codon. Two microsatellites were identified and located in COX3 gene and D-loop region. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that S. squammosus was first clustered with Scyllarides latus, which was consistent with the previous work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first determined and characterized the complete mitochondrial genome of Parribacus antarcticus. It is 15,806 bp long and consists of 22 tRNA, 2 rRNA, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 1 control region. The nucleotide composition is significantly biased with AT contents of 69.3%. Five PCGs used an unusual initiation codon, and nine PCGs were terminated with an incomplete or abnormal stop codon. Three microsatellites were identified and located in the ND4 gene and D-loop region. Phylogenetic tree showed that P. antarcticus was first clustered with Ibacus ciliatus and Ibacus alticrenatus, which is consistent with the expected phylogenetic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]