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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

CUT&RUN identifies centromeric DNA regions of Rhodotorula toruloides IFO0880

ABSTRACT Rhodotorula toruloides has been increasingly explored as a host for bioproduction of lipids, fatty acid derivatives and terpenoids. Various genetic tools have been developed, but neither a centromere nor an autonomously replicating sequence (ARS), both necessary elements for stable episomal plasmid maintenance, has yet been reported. In this study, cleavage under targets and release using nuclease (CUT&RUN), a method used for genome-wide mapping of DNA–protein interactions, was used to identify R. toruloides IFO0880 genomic regions associated with the centromeric histone H3 protein Cse4, a marker of centromeric DNA. Fifteen putative centromeres ranging from 8 to 19 kb in length were identified and analyzed, and four were tested for, but did not show, ARS activity. These centromeric sequences contained below average GC content, corresponded to transcriptional cold spots, were primarily nonrepetitive and shared some vestigial transposon-related sequences but otherwise did not show significant sequence conservation. Future efforts to identify an ARS in this yeast can utilize these centromeric DNA sequences to improve the stability of episomal plasmids derived from putative ARS elements.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural snapshots of human DNA polymerase μ engaged on a DNA double-strand break

Genomic integrity is threatened by cytotoxic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which must be resolved efficiently to prevent sequence loss, chromosomal rearrangements/translocations, or cell death. Polymerase μ (Polμ) participates in DSB repair via the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway, by filling small sequence gaps in broken ends to create substrates ultimately ligatable by DNA Ligase IV. Here we present structures of human Polμ engaging a DSB substrate. Synapsis is mediated solely by Polμ, facilitated by single-nucleotide homology at the break site, wherein both ends of the discontinuous template strand are stabilized by a hydrogen bonding network. The active site in the quaternary Pol μ complex is poised for catalysis and nucleotide incoporation proceeds in crystallo. These structures demonstrate that Polμ may address complementary DSB substrates during NHEJ in a manner indistinguishable from single-strand breaks.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Metabolic multistability and hysteresis in a model aerobe-anaerobe microbiome community

Major changes in the microbiome are associated with health and disease. Some microbiome states persist despite seemingly unfavorable conditions, such as the proliferation of aerobe-anaerobe communities in oxygen-exposed environments in wound infections or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. Mechanisms underlying transitions into and persistence of these states remain unclear. Using two microbial taxa relevant to the human microbiome, we combine genome-scale mathematical modeling, bioreactor experiments, transcriptomics, and dynamical systems theory to show that multistability and hysteresis (MSH) is a mechanism describing the shift from an aerobe-dominated state to a resilient, paradoxically persistent aerobe-anaerobe state. We examine the impact of changing oxygen and nutrient regimes and identify changes in metabolism and gene expression that lead to MSH and associated multi-stable states. In such systems, conceptual causation-correlation connections break and MSH must be used for analysis. Using MSH to analyze microbiome dynamics will improve our conceptual understanding of stability of microbiome states and transitions between states.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Soil microbial community response to corrinoids is shaped by a natural reservoir of vitamin B12

Abstract Soil microbial communities perform critical ecosystem services through the collective metabolic activities of numerous individual organisms. Most microbes use corrinoids, a structurally diverse family of cofactors related to vitamin B12. Corrinoid structure influences the growth of individual microbes, yet how these growth responses scale to the community level remains unknown. Analysis of metagenome-assembled genomes suggests that corrinoids are supplied to the community by members of the archaeal and bacterial phyla Thermoproteota, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria. Corrinoids were found largely adhered to the soil matrix in a grassland soil, at levels exceeding those required by cultured bacteria. Enrichment cultures and soil microcosms seeded with different corrinoids showed distinct shifts in bacterial community composition, supporting the hypothesis that corrinoid structure can shape communities. Environmental context influenced both community- and taxon-specific responses to specific corrinoids. These results implicate corrinoids as key determinants of soil microbiome structure and suggest that environmental micronutrient reservoirs promote community stability.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Diverse electron carriers drive syntrophic interactions in an enriched anaerobic acetate-oxidizing consortium

Abstract In many anoxic environments, syntrophic acetate oxidation (SAO) is a key pathway mediating the conversion of acetate into methane through obligate cross-feeding interactions between SAO bacteria (SAOB) and methanogenic archaea. The SAO pathway is particularly important in engineered environments such as anaerobic digestion (AD) systems operating at thermophilic temperatures and/or with high ammonia. Despite the widespread importance of SAOB to the stability of the AD process, little is known about their in situ physiologies due to typically low biomass yields and resistance to isolation. Here, we performed a long-term (300-day) continuous enrichment of a thermophilic (55 °C) SAO community from a municipal AD system using acetate as the sole carbon source. Over 80% of the enriched bioreactor metagenome belonged to a three-member consortium, including an acetate-oxidizing bacterium affiliated with DTU068 encoding for carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and formate production, along with two methanogenic archaea affiliated with Methanothermobacter_A. Stable isotope probing was coupled with metaproteogenomics to quantify carbon flux into each community member during acetate conversion and inform metabolic reconstruction and genome-scale modeling. This effort revealed that the two Methanothermobacter_A species differed in their preferred electron donors, with one possessing the ability to grow on formate and the other only consuming hydrogen. A thermodynamic analysis suggested that the presence of the formate-consuming methanogen broadened the environmental conditions where ATP production from SAO was favorable. Collectively, these results highlight how flexibility in electron partitioning during SAO likely governs community structure and fitness through thermodynamic-driven mutualism, shedding valuable insights into the metabolic underpinnings of this key functional group within methanogenic ecosystems.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

NPRL2 reduces the niraparib sensitivity of castration-resistant prostate cancer via interacting with UBE2M and enhancing neddylation

In this study, we explored the regulatory effects of nitrogen permease regulator 2-like (NPRL2) on niraparib sensitivity, a PARP inhibitor (PARPi) in castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) program were retrospectively examined. Gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted between high and low NRPL2 expression prostate adenocarcinoma (PRAD) cases in TCGA. CCK-8 assay, Western blot analysis of apoptotic proteins, and flow cytometric analysis of apoptosis were applied to test niraparib sensitivity. Immunofluorescent (IF) staining and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) were conducted to explore the proteins interacting with NPRL2. Results showed that the upregulation of a canonical protein-coding transcript of NPRL2 (ENST00000232501.7) is associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Bioinformatic analysis predicts a physical interaction between NPRL2 and UBE2M, which is validated by a following Co-IP assay. This interaction increases NPRL2 stability by reducing polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Depletion of NPRL2 or UBE2M significantly increases the niraparib sensitivity of CRPC cells and enhances niraparib-induced tumor growth inhibition in vivo. NPRL2 cooperatively enhances UBE2M-mediated neddylation and facilitates the degradation of multiple substrates of Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligases (CRLs). In conclusion, this study identified a novel NPRL2-UBE2M complex in modulating neddylation and niraparib sensitivity of CRPC cells. Therefore, targeting NPRL2 might be considered as an adjuvant strategy for PARPi therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Multi-omic characterization of a soil microbial consortium reveals critical role of succinate and glutamate metabolism during calcium carbonate precipitation

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) holds potential for use in soil stabilization and carbon sequestration, with the overall efficiency of the process being a major determinant for use in many environmental and civil engineering applications. While the biogeochemical pathways and enzymes driving MICP are known, the microbial metabolic networks and community dynamics underlying such precipitation remain poorly characterized. To address this gap, we developed a four-member consortium of soil bacteria (Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens, Rhodococcus qingshengii, Microbacterium sp., and Bacillus toyonensis), termed carbon storing consortium - A (CSC-A), that is capable of MICP. Prior work shows that MICP production is higher in CSC-A compared to the sum of carbonate produced by each member, suggesting carbonate production is driven by consortium dynamics. To that end we used a multi-omic integration approach of genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to investigate potential inter-species interactions that may influence the MICP phenotype. Genomic life history characterizations identified evidence of niche specialization by B. toyonensis and Microbacterium, while metatranscriptomic analysis suggests R. qingshengii is a keystone species during growth in urea. By comparing individual species’ metabolomes to the metabolic profile of a shared well of precipitated metabolites, we identified over 200 metabolites predicted to be produced or consumed by CSC-A members. Integrating both data types to search the KEGG reactome highlighted a network centered around glutamine metabolism and branched chain amino acid biosynthesis under regulation during CSC-A growth in urea. Succinate metabolism was also a major node in this network and laboratory assays confirmed that increasing the amount of succinate in the growth medium leads to increased carbonate precipitation by CSC-A, a critical confirmation of our modeling approach. By isolating and identifying the interconnected metabolic components underlying MICP in CSC-A, we identified keystone taxa, metabolites, and pathways important for future optimization of the application of this consortia to carbonate precipitation.

carbon storing consortium - A (CSC-A)↗
DOE OSTI2021

Probing remdesivir nucleotide analogue insertion to SARS-CoV-2 RNA dependent RNA polymerase in viral replication

Remdesivir (RDV) prodrug can be metabolized into a triphosphate form nucleotide analogue (RDV-TP) to bind and insert into the active site of viral RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) to further interfere with viral genome replication. Here in this work, we computationally studied how RDV-TP binds and inserts to the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp active site, in comparison with natural nucleotide substrate adenosine triphosphate (ATP). To do that, we first constructed atomic structural models of an initial binding complex (active site open) and a substrate insertion complex (active site closed), based on high-resolution cryo-EM structures determined recently for SARS-CoV-2 RdRp or non-structural protein (nsp) 12, in complex with accessory protein factors nsp7 and nsp8. By conducting all-atom molecular dynamics simulation with umbrella sampling strategies on the nucleotide insertion between the open and closed state RdRp complexes, our studies show that RDV-TP can initially bind in a comparatively stabilized state to the viral RdRp active site, as it primarily forms base stacking with the template uracil nucleotide (nt +1), which under freely fluctuations supports a low free energy barrier of the RDV-TP insertion (~1.5 kcal mol -1 ). In comparison, the corresponding natural substrate ATP binds initially to the RdRp active site in Watson–Crick base pairing with the template nt, and inserts into the active site with a medium low free energy barrier (~2.6 kcal mol -1 ), when the fluctuations of the template nt are well quenched. The simulations also show that the initial base stacking of RDV-TP with the template can be specifically stabilized by motif C-S759, S682 (near motif B) with the base, and motif G-K500 with the template backbone. Although the RDV-TP insertion can be hindered by motif F-R555/R553 interaction with the triphosphate, the ATP insertion seems to be facilitated by such interactions. The inserted RDV-TP and ATP can be further distinguished by specific sugar interaction with motif B-T687 and motif A-D623, respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

High-resolution RNA tertiary structures in Zika virus stem-loop A for the development of inhibitory small molecules

Flaviviruses such as Zika (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) are positive-sense RNA viruses belonging to Flaviviridae. The flavivirus genome contains a 5’ end stem-loop promoter sequence known as stem-loop A (SLA) that is recognized by the flavivirus polymerase NS5 during viral RNA synthesis and 5’ guanosine cap methylation. The crystal structures of ZIKV and DENV SLAs show a well-defined fold, consisting of a bottom stem, side loop, and top stem-loop, providing unique interaction sites for small-molecule inhibitors to disrupt the promoter function. To facilitate identification of small molecule binding sites in flavivirus SLA, we determined high-resolution structures of bottom and top stems of ZIKV SLA, which contain a single U- or G-bulge, respectively. Both bulge nucleotides exhibit multiple orientations, from folded back on the adjacent nucleotide to flipped out of the helix, and are stabilized by stacking or base triple interactions. These structures suggest that even a single unpaired nucleotide can provide flexibility to RNA structures and its conformation is mainly determined by the stabilizing chemical environment. To facilitate discovery of small molecule inhibitors that interfere with the functions of ZIKV SLA, we screened and identified compounds that bind to the bottom and top stems of ZIKV SLA.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology↗
DOE OSTI2020

Roadmap for naming uncultivated Archaea and Bacteria

The assembly of single-amplified genomes (SAGs) and metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) has led to a surge in genome-based discoveries of members affiliated with Archaea and Bacteria, bringing with it a need to develop guidelines for nomenclature of uncultivated microorganisms. The International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) only recognizes cultures as ‘type material’, thereby preventing the naming of uncultivated organisms. In this Consensus Statement, we propose two potential paths to solve this nomenclatural conundrum. One option is the adoption of previously proposed modifications to the ICNP to recognize DNA sequences as acceptable type material; the other option creates a nomenclatural code for uncultivated Archaea and Bacteria that could eventually be merged with the ICNP in the future. Regardless of the path taken, we believe that action is needed now within the scientific community to develop consistent rules for nomenclature of uncultivated taxa in order to provide clarity and stability, and to effectively communicate microbial diversity.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Crystal structure of an RNA/DNA strand exchange junction

Short segments of RNA displace one strand of a DNA duplex during diverse processes including transcription and CRISPR-mediated immunity and genome editing. These strand exchange events involve the intersection of two geometrically distinct helix types—an RNA:DNA hybrid (A-form) and a DNA:DNA homoduplex (B-form). Although previous evidence suggests that these two helices can stack on each other, it is unknown what local geometric adjustments could enable A-on-B stacking. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure of an RNA-5′/DNA-3′ strand exchange junction at an anisotropic resolution of 1.6 to 2.2 Å. The structure reveals that the A-to-B helical transition involves a combination of helical axis misalignment, helical axis tilting and compression of the DNA strand within the RNA:DNA helix, where nucleotides exhibit a mixture of A- and B-form geometry. These structural principles explain previous observations of conformational stability in RNA/DNA exchange junctions, enabling a nucleic acid architecture that is repeatedly populated during biological strand exchange events.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Crystal structure of N-terminally hexahistidine-tagged Onchocerca volvulus macrophage migration inhibitory factor-1

Onchocerca volvulus causes blindness, onchocerciasis, skin infections and devastating neurological diseases such as nodding syndrome. New treatments are needed because the currently used drug, ivermectin, is contraindicated in pregnant women and those co-infected with Loa loa . The Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID) produced, crystallized and determined the apo structure of N-terminally hexahistidine-tagged O. volvulus macrophage migration inhibitory factor-1 (His- Ov MIF-1). Ov MIF-1 is a possible drug target. His- Ov MIF-1 has a unique jellyfish-like structure with a prototypical macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) trimer as the `head' and a unique C-terminal `tail'. Deleting the N-terminal tag reveals an Ov MIF-1 structure with a larger cavity than that observed in human MIF that can be targeted for drug repurposing and discovery. Removal of the tag will be necessary to determine the actual biological oligomer of Ov MIF-1 because size-exclusion chomatographic analysis of His- Ov MIF-1 suggests a monomer, while PISA analysis suggests a hexamer stabilized by the unique C-terminal tails.

Kimble, Amber D. (ORCID:0000000167851596)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Computational synthesis of 2D materials: A high-throughput approach to materials design

2D materials find promising applications in next-generation devices, however, large-scale, low-defect, and reproducible synthesis of 2D materials remains a challenging task. Here, to assist in the selection of suitable substrates for the synthesis of as-yet hypothetical 2D materials, we have developed an open-source high-throughput workflow package, Hetero2d, that searches for low-lattice mismatched substrate surfaces for any 2D material and determines the stability of these 2D-substrate heterostructures using density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Hetero2d automates the generation of 2D-substrate heterostructures, the creation of DFT input files, the submission and monitoring of computational jobs on supercomputing facilities, and the storage of relevant parameters alongside the post-processed results in a MongoDB database. We demonstrate the capability of Hetero2d in identifying stable 2D-substrate heterostructures for four 2D materials, namely 2H-MoS 2 , 1T- and 2H-NbO 2 , and hexagonal-ZnTe, considering 50 cubic elemental substrates. We find Cu, Hf, Mn, Nd, Ni, Pd, Re, Rh, Sc, Ta, Ti, V, W, Y, and Zr substrates sufficiently stabilize the formation energies of these 2D materials, with binding energies in the range of ~0.1–0.6 eV/atom. Upon examining the z-separation, the charge transfer, and the electronic density of states at the 2D-substrate interface, we find a covalent type bonding at the interface which suggests that these substrates can be used as contact materials for the 2D materials. Hetero2d is available on GitHub as an open-source package under the GNU license.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

The genetic architecture of biomechanical traits in sorghum

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is the fifth most commonly grown cereal crop worldwide with unrivaled drought tolerance compared with other cereal crops. Drought and heat tolerance and high biomass yield potential make sorghum a promising bioenergy crop. However, stem lodging is a significant problem that results in substantial yield losses. Stem biomechanical traits influence the mechanical stability of crops and breeding for desirable biomechanical traits may result in improved lodging resistance. In this study, we report the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for stem mechanical and morphological traits in three recombinant inbred line (RIL; populations from Tx623/Rio, Tx623/Della, and Tx631/Della) crosses between elite grain and sweet sorghum parents. The genetic architecture of stem biomechanical traits in the three RIL populations is multigenic and pleiotropic. Additionally, eight QTL affecting mechanical and morphological traits were detected; two main effects of these QTL were consistently found in all populations and colocated with previously identified dwarfing genes Dw1 and Dw3. These results indicate that dwarfing genes affect the mechanical properties of sorghum stems and their lodging resistance, while also having demonstrable effects on stem morphology. The identification of these QTL provides new opportunities for improving stem lodging resistance via genomics-assisted breeding.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Two novel fish paralogs provide insights into the Rid family of imine deaminases active in pre-empting enamine/imine metabolic damage

Reactive Intermediate Deaminase (Rid) protein superfamily includes eight families among which the RidA is conserved in all domains of life. RidA proteins accelerate the deamination of the reactive 2-aminoacrylate (2AA), an enamine produced by some pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes. 2AA accumulation inhibits target enzymes with a detrimental impact on fitness. As a consequence of whole genome duplication, teleost fish have two ridA paralogs, while other extant vertebrates contain a single-copy gene. We investigated the biochemical properties of the products of two paralogs, identified in Salmo salar. Ss RidA-1 and Ss RidA-2 complemented the growth defect of a Salmonella enterica ridA mutant, an in vivo model of 2AA stress. In vitro, both proteins hydrolyzed 2-imino acids (IA) to keto-acids and ammonia. Ss RidA-1 was active on IA derived from nonpolar amino acids and poorly active or inactive on IA derived from other amino acids tested. In contrast, SsRidA-2 had a generally low catalytic efficiency, but showed a relatively higher activity with IA derived from L-Glu and aromatic amino acids. The crystal structures of Ss RidA-1 and Ss RidA-2 provided hints of the remarkably different conformational stability and substrate specificity. Overall, Ss RidA-1 is similar to the mammalian orthologs whereas SsRidA-2 displays unique properties likely generated by functional specialization of a duplicated ancestral gene.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Genome-Wide Analysis of RNA Decay in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7002

ABSTRACT RNA degradation is an important process that influences the ultimate concentration of individual proteins inside cells. While the main enzymes that facilitate this process have been identified, global maps of RNA turnover are available for only a few species. Even in these cases, there are few sequence elements that are known to enhance or destabilize a native transcript; even fewer confer the same effect when added to a heterologous transcript. To address this knowledge gap, we assayed genome-wide RNA degradation in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 by collecting total RNA samples after stopping nascent transcription with rifampin. We quantified the abundance of each position in the transcriptome as a function of time using RNA-sequencing data and later analyzed the global mRNA decay map using machine learning principles. Half-lives, calculated on a per-ORF (open reading frame) basis, were extremely short, with a median half-life of only 0.97 min. Despite extremely rapid turnover of most mRNA, transcripts encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis were both highly expressed and highly stable. Upon inspection of these stable transcripts, we identified an enriched motif in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) that had similarity to Rho-independent terminators. We built statistical models for half-life prediction and used them to systematically identify sequence motifs in both 5′ and 3′ UTRs that correlate with stabilized transcripts. We found that transcripts linked to a terminator containing a poly(U) tract had a longer half-life than both those without a poly(U) tract and those without a terminator. IMPORTANCE RNA degradation is an important process that affects the final concentration of individual mRNAs, affecting protein expression and cellular physiology. Studies of how RNA is degraded increase our knowledge of this fundamental process as well as enable the creation of genetic tools to manipulate RNA stability. By studying global transcript turnover, we searched for sequence elements that correlated with transcript (in)stability and used these sequences to guide tool design. This study probes global RNA turnover in a cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002, that both has a unique array of RNases that facilitate RNA degradation and is an industrially relevant strain that could be used to convert CO 2 and sunlight into useful products.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Editorial: Nanotechnology for natural products

Humans around the globe have lived through an unprecedented time. The emergence and rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have resulted in the loss of millions of lives, and this number is still climbing every day and hour. As a consequence, there have been drastic changes over the past two years in how we live, communicate, and work, some of which may have changed forever: remote conferencing has become a new norm for businesses, schools, and academia; work-from-home and hybrid working is now more than just acceptable in many industries; most importantly, COVID-19 has raised global awareness of infectious diseases and pandemic responses to an exceptional level. Certainly, COVID-19 is not the only disease that is causing human suffering at this moment. Other highly contagious and lethal viruses, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Ebola, and the recent addition to the list, Monkeypox, pose extraordinary challenges to modern civilizations. On the other hand, non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer, are still claiming the majority of deaths on a global level (World Health Organization, 2020). Before the availability of synthetic drugs, civilizations worldwide relied on natural products extracted from the environment and various organisms for healthcare. Natural products and their derivatives continue to be critical components in the drug library available today. Indeed, almost a quarter of the new drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 1981 are natural products, botanical mixtures, or their derivatives (Newman and Cragg, 2020). Recent developments in analytical characterization, genome mining, and engineering have further increased interest in drug discovery from the pool of natural products (Atanasov et al., 2021). This Research Topic celebrates a collection of studies at the intersection of natural product research and nanotechnological advances. As a successor and extension of the Research Topic in “Nanotechnology in Traditional Medicines and Natural Products” published last year (Zhang et al., 2021), the present collection focused more on recent developments in employing the synthesis and characterization of nanostructures for the delivery of functional natural products. Specifically, the use of carrier nanostructures to conjugate or encapsulate therapeutically active natural products with carrier nanostructures could enable their robust, targeted delivery tailored to either tackle a specific disease or unlock a drug administration pathway. Over the last decade, nanostructures such as liposomes (Pattni et al., 2015) and lipid nanoparticles (Hou et al., 2021) have been developed as versatile platforms for the inclusion and delivery of a wide range of therapeutical compounds; a significant advance in this aspect is the stabilization of mRNA strands for COVID-19 vaccination recently produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna (Tenchov et al., 2021). Such engineered nanomaterials are now widely used in the development of new drugs, while regulatory forces, such as the US FDA, remain cautious with the evaluation of each product on a case-by-case basis (Wang and Grainger, 2022). In this collection, Zeng et al. provided a timely review of natural products conjugated to and contained within nanomaterials for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Natural products that are potentially useful in the mitigation of this disease, such as chloroquine and curcumin, supported in nanocarrier systems, have been discussed in detail. More broadly, Cheng et al. comprehensively reviewed the use of liposomes as a nanocarrier for natural products. This article provides a summary of natural product compounds and extracts used to form liposomal structures. Readers can further enjoy the practical aspects of these engineered drugs for the treatment of specific diseases as well as insights into future directions in this field.

peptides↗