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Aeromonas salmonicida is an important pathogen that causes furunculosis in trout and salmon with high morbidity and mortality, resulting in significant economic losses in aquaculture. Overuse of antibiotics has led to the continuous emergence of drug-resistant strains. Hence, there is an urgent need to find an alternative environmentally friendly antimicrobial agent. In this study, we isolated a virulent phage of A. salmonicida, named ASG01, which belongs to the Myoviridae family and maintains lytic activity at a pH value range from 4 to 12 and in the temperature range from 30 °C to 60 °C. The whole genomic sequence of ASG01 showed 82% similarity to Aeromonas phage pAh6-C. The cell wall hydrolase (Cwh)-encoding gene from the genome of ASG01 was predicted and heterologously expressed. Notably, in the absence of additional phage genes, endogenous expression of Cwh could lyse E. coli cells and greatly inhibit the growth of tested fish pathogenic bacteria. The lytic activity of Cwh was eliminated when the predicted active site was mutated. These results indicate that Cwh of ASG01 possessed excellent lytic activity and a wide antibacterial spectrum, suggesting its potential as an effective enzybiotic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production is necessary for global food and nutrition security. Reducing plant height is an effective strategy to increase lodging resistance, harvest index, and eventually wheat yield. Rht8 is a gibberellic acid–sensitive reduced height (Rht) gene and has been cloned. Rht8 encodes a ribonuclease H‐like (RNHL) superfamily protein that reduces plant height without reduction in coleoptile length. High‐throughput diagnostic markers are not available for precise selection of RNHL in wheat breeding. In this study, we found that different cultivars may carry 1–3 copies of RNHLs on chromosome 2D, and only 2D carries the semi‐dwarf allele of RNHL although the wild‐type RNHL allele is detected in several other chromosomes. We developed two kompetitive allele specific PCR (KASP) markers, Rht8‐KASP‐V2 and Rht8‐KASP‐V3, based on the causal variation in RNHL. The two markers co‐segregated with plant height in a recombinant inbred population and were validated in a panel of hard winter wheat breeding lines from the 2022 Regional Germplasm Observation Nursery and Regional Performance Nursery. Rht8 has not been extensively deployed in US hard winter wheat and development of the diagnostic KASP markers will facilitate Rht8 transfer to US wheat cultivars. Core Ideas: Each cultivar carries 1–3 copies of ribonuclease H‐like domains (RNHLs) on 2D and mutations in all those copies determine Rht8 phenotype.Two kompetitive allele‐specific PCR (KASP) markers were developed for the recently cloned Rht8 gene.The two markers were diagnostic for Rht8 in a wheat diversity panel.Low Rht8 frequency in US wheat suggests high potential of using Rht8 in the United States to improve US wheat production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single‐molecule electronic devices offer the ultimate solution to miniaturize integrated circuits, and subthreshold swing (SS) is the key indicator of the power consumption for single‐molecule transistors but is still quite restricted. In this study, the redox‐mediated single‐molecule transistor with a SS down to 120 mV decade−1 in the faradaic potential region via the electrochemical‐STM break junction (EC‐STM‐BJ) technique is fabricated. With an off‐state leakage current of less than 10 pA and an on/off ratio of 100, the balance between low static power consumption and a high switching ratio is achieved. The theoretical investigations reveal that the conductance tuning is from the difference of transmission in the redox process. The study provides a new strategy for the design of single‐molecule transistors with promising SS, which is essential for the potential application of single‐molecule devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single‐molecule electronic devices offer the ultimate solution to miniaturize integrated circuits, and subthreshold swing (SS) is the key indicator of the power consumption for single‐molecule transistors but is still quite restricted. In this study, the redox‐mediated single‐molecule transistor with a SS down to 120 mV decade−1 in the faradaic potential region via the electrochemical‐STM break junction (EC‐STM‐BJ) technique is fabricated. With an off‐state leakage current of less than 10 pA and an on/off ratio of 100, the balance between low static power consumption and a high switching ratio is achieved. The theoretical investigations reveal that the conductance tuning is from the difference of transmission in the redox process. The study provides a new strategy for the design of single‐molecule transistors with promising SS, which is essential for the potential application of single‐molecule devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]