Pingfang Tian

Although integrated pest management promotes the coordinated use of multiple disease-control tactics, single sprayable formulations that consolidate complementary crop-protection functions remain underdeveloped. Here, we combined semi-rational screening with supramolecular co-assembly to construct a ternary nanoassembly comprising glycyrrhizic acid (GA, a plant-derived amphiphile), magnolol (MN, a plant-derived antifungal phenolic), and Zn²⁺, termed G-M@Zn NPs. Compared with free MN, G-M@Zn NPs enhanced MN photostability by 3.7-fold and increased rainfastness by 2.1-fold, indicating improved formulation persistence under simulated photolytic and wash-off stresses. The nanoformulation exhibited broad-spectrum antifungal activity in vitro against representative phytopathogenic fungi and, in a wheat-spike infection model of Fusarium graminearum, reduced the disease index from 52.5 ± 2.46 in the infected control to 22.3 ± 3.4. Under toxin-inducing conditions, G-M@Zn NPs also reduced deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation and downregulated key TRI genes. Mechanistic assays linked the antifungal activity of G-M@Zn NPs to fungal membrane injury and mitochondria-associated oxidative stress in F. graminearum, with free MN eliciting qualitatively similar but weaker responses. G-M@Zn NP treatment was also accompanied by host defence-related physiological and metabolic responses involving redox regulation and tryptophan/indole-related pathways, together with treatment-associated shifts in the wheat spike microbiome. Preliminary biosafety assays indicated crop compatibility under the tested conditions and low acute toxicity toward earthworms. Serial-passage assays with F. graminearum showed only a modest increase in EC₅₀ after eight passages. Overall, this ternary co-assembly provides a strategy for integrating complementary crop-protection functions within a single multifunctional nanoformulation and supports IPM-compatible control of F. graminearum infection in wheat. It may also inform the design of bioinspired nanopesticide systems that combine improved formulation persistence with direct antifungal activity and crop-associated biological responses.

Insect sex pheromones (ISPs) can act as baits to trap heterosexual insects, representing a promising biocontrol strategy. However, current industrial production of ISPs relies largely on conventional chemical synthesis, which shows drawbacks, such as low yield and environmental pollution. Fortunately, remarkable progress in metabolic pathway engineering opens the possibility of biomanufacturing ISPs in microbial cell factories, which seems to be superior to chemical synthesis. While previous reviews have summarized pathways and enzymes related to the biosynthesis of ISPs, this review zeroes in on the enzymatic structures and catalytic mechanisms. In particular, we propose a potential pathway and discuss strategies for the heterologous biosynthesis of type-I ISPs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a suitable host for expressing enzymes, especially those requiring post-translational modifications. Overall, this review seeks to provide valuable insights for the complete biosynthesis of type-I ISPs.

Huperzine A (HupA) can alleviate Alzheimer’s disease due to its reversible inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The chemical synthesis and plant extraction of HupA is plagued by route complexity and resource scarcity, respectively. Although some endophytic fungi from Huperzia serrata can independently biosynthesize HupA, their yields are trivial. After a comprehensive investigation of HupA-producing H. serrata across China, we focused on the endophytic fungi from Hunan and Hubei provinces, which demonstrated high-level HupA. Morphological characteristics and internal transcriptional sequence (ITS) analysis revealed their diversity. Among the four HupA-producing endophytic fungi, Colletotrichum kahawae is the best-performing and was thus subjected to fermentation optimization. When its fermentation medium was supplemented with H. serrata flavonoids daidzein and apigenin, HupA yields reached 58.38 μg/g (dry cell weight, dcw) and 72.21 μg/g dcw, respectively. In contrast, the addition of L-lysine and H. serrata extracts led to yields of 50.17 μg/g dcw and 255.32 μg/g dcw, respectively. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that H. serrata extracts substantially upregulated the expression of HupA biosynthesis genes in C. kahawae. Overall, H. serrata extracts outperformed L-lysine, daidzein, and apigenin in boosting HupA production, as they encompass all the necessary nutrients for C. kahawae growth. This study not only connotes a nutritional exchange between H. serrata and C. kahawae during long-term coevolution but also offers insights for harnessing plant extracts for the overproduction of desired metabolites in endophytic fungi.

Aclacinomycin A (ACM-A) is an anthracycline antitumor agent widely used in clinical practice. The current industrial production of ACM-A relies primarily on chemical synthesis and microbial fermentation. However, chemical synthesis involves multiple reactions which give rise to high production costs and environmental pollution. Microbial fermentation is a sustainable strategy, yet the current fermentation yield is too low to satisfy market demand. Hence, strain improvement is highly desirable, and tremendous endeavors have been made to decipher biosynthesis pathways and modify key enzymes. In this review, we comprehensively describe the reported biosynthesis pathways, key enzymes, and, especially, catalytic mechanisms. In addition, we come up with strategies to uncover unknown enzymes and improve the activities of rate-limiting enzymes. Overall, this review aims to provide valuable insights for complete biosynthesis of ACM-A.

Transposons are mobile genetic elements that can give rise to gene mutation and genome rearrangement. Due to their mobility, transposons have been exploite