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Genome-host association mapping reveals wheat pathogen genes involved in host specialization
Item type: Journal Article
Lorrain, Cécile; Feurtey, Alice; Alassimone, Julien; et al. (2026)
Plant-pathogenic microorganisms, including the wheat fungal pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici, adapt to their host environment. In plants, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been extensively used to uncover the complexity of local adaptation and disease resistance. However, the application of GWAS to decipher the mechanisms underlying fungal pathogenicity and host adaptation trails far behind. Here we established a genome-host association approach to infer statistical associations between pathogen allele frequencies and host of origin for 832 fungal strains isolated from 12 different host cultivars during a natural field epidemic. We identified 2 to 20 genes associated with specialization to the different wheat cultivars, including one known effector gene, Avr3D1, as well as ten pathogenicity-related genes that provided a proof of concept for our genome-host association approach. Our study highlights the polygenic genetic architecture of host adaptation and provides a new application of GWAS in plant pathogens that transcends the limitations imposed by traditional phenotyping methods.
Probing voltage-induced chemical reactions and anharmonicity with a confined vacuum light field
Item type: Journal Article
Ke, Yaling (2026)
In this work, we present a proof-of-concept investigation of non-equilibrium chemical reaction dynamics at a molecule-electrode interface, driven out of equilibrium by an applied voltage bias and mediated by a confined, enhanced vacuum electromagnetic field inside an optical cavity. The coupled electron-vibration-photon system, together with the electrodes and a dissipative environment, is described within an open quantum system framework and solved using a numerically exact quantum dynamical approach. The reaction coordinate is modeled using a Morse potential, enabling explicit treatment of molecular anharmonicity and bond-breaking behavior. By varying the cavity frequency across the infrared regime to cover typical nuclear vibrational energies, we observe multiple resonant rate suppression features that emerge whenever the cavity mode is brought into resonance with a dipole-allowed vibrational transition along the anharmonic ladder up to the dissociation threshold. These findings open the door to extending polaritonic chemistry into genuinely non-equilibrium scenarios relevant to molecule-electrode interfaces. Moreover, building on these results, we further propose a multi-mode vibrational strong coupling strategy in which several cavity modes are individually matched to distinct vibrational transitions. This engineered multi-resonant cavity induces a stepwise vibrational ladder descending process that efficiently drains vibrational excited energy. The resulting cavity-assisted cooling suggests a potential route toward mitigating voltage-induced bond rupture and the long-standing instability issues of molecular junctions operating under high bias.
Cell-type-targeted mitochondrial transplantation rescues cell degeneration
Item type: Journal Article
Ayupov, Temurkhan; Moreno-Juan, Verónica; Curtoni, Serena; et al. (2026)
A number of currently untreatable diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders, optic nerve atrophy and heart failure, are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Transplantation of healthy mitochondria has been proposed as a potential therapeutic strategy1, 2-3. However, the lack of methods to target donor mitochondria to disease-affected cell types limits treatment specificity and efficacy. Here we developed MitoCatch as a system to deliver mitochondria to specific cell types using different types of protein binders. Donor mitochondria are captured by target cells by cell-surface-displayed monospecific binders, mitochondrion-displayed monospecific binders or bispecific binders linking mitochondria to target cells. Using MitoCatch, we show that donor mitochondria are efficiently internalized, exposed to the cytosol, move, and undergo fusion and fission inside target cells. By engineering binders with different affinities, we tune the efficiency of mitochondrial delivery. We demonstrate targeted mitochondrial transplantation to retinal cell types, neurons and cardiac, endothelial and immune cells in humans and mice. Transplanted mitochondria promoted the survival of damaged neurons from an individual with optic nerve atrophy in vitro and after neuronal injury in mice in vivo. MitoCatch is a potential strategy to target disease-affected cell types with mitochondria in organs affected by diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.
Quantitative Mass Spectrometry-Based Biodistribution of Monoclonal Antibodies: An Alternative to Radio-Biodistribution
Item type: Journal Article
Ravazza, Domenico; Plaza, Sheila Dakhel; Cazzamalli, Samuele; et al. (2026)
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are excellent tools for generating targeted therapies for cancer treatment, and an early assessment of their biodistribution properties is essential in the discovery process. Traditionally, radiolabeling methods are widely used, but they require structural alterations of the antibody, radiation exposure, and specialized infrastructure. In this work, we present the implementation of a non-radioactive Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based method to assess the ex vivo quantitative biodistribution of tumor-targeting mAbs directed against the tumor extracellular matrix. By combining protein A purification with a stable isotopically labeled standard, we obtained a versatile method that can be easily transferred to different analytes. The methodology was orthogonally validated by direct comparison against radiolabel-based biodistribution studies, demonstrating high reliability and accuracy.
Mismatch-Tuned Plasmonic Nanogap Networks on Block Copolymers for Ultrasensitive Nucleic Acid Quantification
Item type: Journal Article
Zhang, Yizhou; Du, Ying; Spillmann, Martin; et al. (2026)
In localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), rational nanogap engineering in metallic nanostructures enables strong plasmonic coupling and efficient confinement of incident electromagnetic fields, thereby significantly enhancing optical responses for biosensing applications. Traditional approaches to fabricating small gaps have relied on localizing dielectric spacers between gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). However, doing so has encountered challenges in producing high-density, clean gaps across large surface areas. Here, we demonstrate a straightforward, self-assembly-guided method for the consistent fabrication of topologically anchored AuNPs featuring sub-5 nm nanogaps, arranged on a nanostructured block copolymer template. The solution-based method enables time-dependent tuning toward high plasmonic coupling density, resulting in an extensive number of hotspots, with an equivalent sensing enhancement factor (ESEF) exceeding that of thermally annealed gold nanoisland chips by 1 & times; 105. Laser excitation of these densely packed AuNPs at their plasmonic resonance efficiently drives both nucleic acid hybridization and amplification-based cyclic fluorescence probe cleavage, enabling SARS-CoV-2 viral sequence quantification down to the attomolar level. Our results demonstrate that a carefully engineered template nanostructure and the AuNP diameter integrate plasmonic hotspots, target adsorption, thermoplasmonic heating, and signal transduction within a single platform. This facile strategy for densely packed hotspots offers a potentially scalable avenue for ultrasensitive biomolecular assays.