Molecular Biology Commons^™

Whole-Genome Sequencing And Rna-Seq Reveal Differences In Genetic Mechanism For Flowering Response Between Weedy Rice And Cultivated Rice, Richard S. Garcia, Sapphire Coronejo, Jonathan Concepcion, Prasanta K. Subudhi

Faculty Publications

Flowering is a key agronomic trait that influences adaptation and productivity. Previous studies have indicated the genetic complexity associated with the flowering response in a photoinsensitive weedy rice accession PSRR-1 despite the presence of a photosensitive allele of a key flowering gene Hd1. In this study, we used whole-genome and RNA sequencing data from both cultivated and weedy rice to add further insights. The de novo assembly of unaligned sequences predicted 225 genes, in which 45 were specific to PSRR-1, including two genes associated with flowering. Comparison of the variants in PSRR-1 with the 3K rice genome (RG) dataset identified …

Docking And Molecular Dynamic Of Microalgae Compounds As Potential Inhibitors Of Beta-Lactamase, Roberto Pestana-Nobles, Yani Aranguren-Diaz, Elwi Machado-Sierra, Juvenal Yosa, Nataly J. Galan-Freyle,, Laura X. Sepulveda-Montano, Daniel G. Kuroda, Leonardo C. Pacheco-Londono

Faculty Publications

Bacterial resistance is responsible for a wide variety of health problems, both in children and adults. The persistence of symptoms and infections are mainly treated with beta-lactam antibiotics. The increasing resistance to those antibiotics by bacterial pathogens generated the emergence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), an actual public health problem. This is due to rapid mutations of bacteria when exposed to antibiotics. In this case, beta-lactamases are enzymes used by bacteria to hydrolyze the beta-lactam rings present in the antibiotics. Therefore, it was necessary to explore novel molecules as potential beta-lactamases inhibitors to find antibacterial compounds against infection caused by ESBLs. …

Structure Of A Monomeric Photosystem Ii Core Complex From A Cyanobacterium Acclimated To Far-Red Light Reveals The Functions Of Chlorophylls D And F, Christopher J. Gisriel, Gaozhong Shen, Ming-Yang Ho, Vasily Kurashov, David A. Flesher

Faculty Publications

Far-red light (FRL) photoacclimation in cyanobacteria provides a selective growth advantage for some terrestrial cyanobacteria by expanding the range of photosynthetically active radiation to include far-red/near-infrared light (700-800 nm). During this photoacclimation process, photosystem II (PSII), the water:plastoquinone photooxidoreductase involved in oxygenic photosynthesis, is modified. The resulting FRL-PSII is comprised of FRL-specific core subunits and binds chlorophyll (Chl) d and Chl f molecules in place of several of the Chl a molecules found when cells are grown in visible light. These new Chls effectively lower the energy canonically thought to define the "red limit" for light required to drive photochemical …

Prion-Like C-Terminal Domain Of Tdp-43 And Α-Synuclein Interact Synergistically To Generate Neurotoxic Hybrid Fibrils, Shailendra Dhakal, Courtney E. Wyant, Hannah E. George, Sarah E. Morgan, Vijayaraghavan Rangachari

Faculty Publications

Aberrant aggregation and amyloid formation of tar DNA binding protein (TDP-43) and α-synuclein (αS) underlie frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), respectively. Amyloid inclusions of TDP-43 and αS are also commonly co-observed in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer disease (AD). Emerging evidence from cellular and animal models show colocalization of the TDP-43 and αS aggregates, raising the possibility of direct interactions and co-aggregation between the two proteins. In this report, we set out to answer this question by investigating the interactions between αS and prion-like pathogenic C-terminal domain of TDP-43 (TDP-43 PrLD). PrLD …

Photoreceptor Phosphodiesterase (Pde6): Structure, Regulatory Mechanisms, And Implications For Treatment Of Retinal Diseases, Rick H. Cote, Richa Gupta, Michael J. Irwin, Xin Wang

Faculty Publications

The photoreceptor phosphodiesterase (PDE6) is a member of large family of Class I phosphodiesterases responsible for hydrolyzing the second messengers cAMP and cGMP. PDE6 consists of two catalytic subunits and two inhibitory subunits that form a tetrameric protein. PDE6 is a peripheral membrane protein that is localized to the signaling-transducing compartment of rod and cone photoreceptors. As the central effector enzyme of the G-protein coupled visual transduction pathway, activation of PDE6 catalysis causes in a rapid decrease in cGMP levels that results in closure of cGMP-gated ion channels in the photoreceptor plasma membrane. Because of its importance in the phototransduction …

Photoreceptor Phosphodiesterase (Pde6): Activation And Inactivation Mechanisms During Visual Transduction In Rods And Cones, Rick H. Cote

Faculty Publications

Rod and cone photoreceptors of the vertebrate retina utilize cGMP as the primary

intracellular messenger for the visual signaling pathway that converts a light stimulus into an electrical response. cGMP metabolism in the signal-transducing photoreceptor outer segment reflects the balance of cGMP synthesis (catalyzed by guanylyl cyclase) and degradation (catalyzed by the photoreceptor phosphodiesterase, PDE6). Upon light stimulation, rapid activation of PDE6 by the heterotrimeric G-protein (transducin) triggers a dramatic drop in cGMP levels that lead to cell hyperpolarization. Following cessation of the light stimulus, the lifetime of activated PDE6 is also precisely regulated by additional processes. This review summarizes …

Electronic-Cigarette Vehicles And Flavoring Affect Lung Function And Immune Responses In A Murine Model, Brittany N. Szafran, Rakeysha Pinkston, Zakia Perveen, Matthew K. Ross, Timothy Morgan, Daniel B. Paulsen, Arthur L. Penn, Barbara L. F. Kaplan, Alexandra Noel

Faculty Publications

The use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), also known as electronic-cigarettes (e-cigs), has raised serious public health concerns, especially in light of the 2019 outbreak of e-cig or vaping product use-associated acute lung injury (EVALI). While these cases have mostly been linked to ENDS that contain vitamin E acetate, there is limited research that has focused on the chronic pulmonary effects of the delivery vehicles (i.e., without nicotine and flavoring). Thus, we investigated lung function and immune responses in a mouse model following exposure to the nearly ubiquitous e-cig delivery vehicles, vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG), used …

Comparative Transcriptomics Of Rice Genotypes With Contrasting Responses To Nitrogen Stress Reveals Genes Influencing Nitrogen Uptake Through The Regulation Of Root Architecture, Prasanta K. Subudhi, Richard S. Garcia, Sapphire Coronejo, Ronald Tapia

Faculty Publications

The indiscriminate use of nitrogenous fertilizers continues unabated for commercial crop production, resulting in air and water pollution. The development of rice varieties with enhanced nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) will require a thorough understanding of the molecular basis of a plant's response to low nitrogen (N) availability. The global expression profiles of root tissues collected from low and high N treatments at different time points in two rice genotypes, Pokkali and Bengal, with contrasting responses to N stress and contrasting root architectures were examined. Overall, the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in Pokkali (indica) was higher than in Bengal …

Evidence Of Pathogen-Induced Immunogenetic Selection Across The Large Geographic Range Of A Wild Seabird, Hila Levy, Stephen R. Fiddaman, Julianna A. Vianna, Daly Noll, Gemma Clucas, Jasmine K. H. Sidhu, Michael J. Polito, Charles A. Bost, Richard A. Phillips, Sarah Crofts, Gary D. Miller, Pierre Pistorius, Francesco Bonnadonna, Celine Le Bohec, Andres Barbosa, Phil Trathan, Andrea Raya Rey, Laurent A. F. Frantz, Tom Hart, Adrian L. Smith

Faculty Publications

Over evolutionary time, pathogen challenge shapes the immunepheno type of the host to better respond to an incipient threat. The extent and direction of this selection pressure depend on the local pathogen composition, which is in turn determined by biotic and abiotic features of the environment. However, little is known about adaptation to local pathogen threats in wild animals. The Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua) is a species complex that lends itself to the study of immune adaptation because of its circumpolar distribution over a large latitudinal range, with little or no admixture between ''different clades. Inthis study, we examine the …

A Transcriptional Regulatory System Of The S. Cerevisiae Ole1 Gene Responds To Fatty Acid Species And Intracellular Amount, And Not Simply Membrane Status, Marshall Willey, Matthew Ochs, Clara Schriemer, Virginia Mcdonough

Faculty Publications

We examined the effects of unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) species and their concentration on the expression of OLE1, which encodes the stearoyl CoA desaturase, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We controlled the amount of UFA taken up by the cell by varying the concentration of tergitol in the medium. When cultured with 1 mM fatty acid in 0.1% tergitol, cells took up much more fatty acid than when cultured with the same concentration of fatty acid at 1% tergitol, although the amount incorporated was dependent on UFA species. For each fatty acid tested, we found that the higher uptake (0.1% tergitol condition) …

An Expanded Toolkit For Gene Tagging Based On Mimic And Scarless Crispr Tagging In, David Li-Kroeger, Oguz Kanca, Pei-Tseng Lee, Sierra Cowan, Michael T Lee, Manish Jaiswal, Jose Luis Salazar, Yuchun He, Zhongyuan Zuo, Hugo J Bellen

Faculty Publications

We generated two new genetic tools to efficiently tag genes in Drosophila. The first, Double Header (DH) utilizes intronic MiMIC/CRIMIC insertions to generate artificial exons for GFP mediated protein trapping or T2A-GAL4 gene trapping in vivo based on Cre recombinase to avoid embryo injections. DH significantly increases integration efficiency compared to previous strategies and faithfully reports the expression pattern of genes and proteins. The second technique targets genes lacking coding introns using a two-step cassette exchange. First, we replace the endogenous gene with an excisable compact dominant marker using CRISPR making a null allele. Second, the insertion is replaced …

A Rare Case Of Erythema Elevatum Diutinum Presenting As Diffuse Neuropathy., G H. Nguyen, E L. Guo, D Norris

Faculty Publications

no abstract available

Consensus Paper: Cerebellar Development., K Leto, M Arancillo, Ebe Becker, A Chiang, Et Al.

Faculty Publications

The development of the mammalian cerebellum is orchestrated by both cell-autonomous programs and inductive environmental influences. Here, we describe the main processes of cerebellar ontogenesis, highlighting the neurogenic strategies used by developing progenitors, the genetic programs involved in cell fate specification, the progressive changes of structural organization, and some of the better-known abnormalities associated with developmental disorders of the cerebellum.

Epstein-Barr Viral Micrornas Target Caspase 3, Cecelia Harold, Diana Cox, Kasandra J. Riley

Faculty Publications

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus that transforms B cells and causes several malignancies including Burkitt’s lymphoma. EBV differentially expresses at least 49 mature microRNAs (miRNAs) during latency in various infected epithelial and B cells. Recent high-throughput studies and functional assays have begun to reveal the function of the EBV miRNAs suggesting roles in latency, cell cycle control, and apoptosis. In particular, the central executioner of apoptosis, Caspase 3 (CASP3), was proposed as a target of select EBV miRNAs. However, whether CASP3 is truly a target of EBV miRNAs, and if so, which specific miRNAs target CASP3 is …

Comparison Of Interactive Voice Response (Ivr) With Paper Administration Of Instruments To Assess Functional Status, Sexual Function, And Quality Of Life In Elderly Men., Rc Rosen, Aj Stephens-Shields, Gr Cunningham, D Cifelli, D Cella, Jt Farrar, E Barrett-Connor, Ce Lewis, M Pahor, X Hou, Pj Snyder

Faculty Publications

PURPOSE: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are essential for assessing subjective patient experiences. Interactive voice response (IVR) data collection provides advantages for clinical trial design by standardizing and centralizing the assessment. Prior to adoption of IVR as a mode of PRO administration in the Testosterone Trials (TTrials), we compared IVR to paper versions of the instruments to be used. METHODS: IVR versions of the FACIT-Fatigue scale and Psychosexual Daily Questionnaire, Question 4, were developed. In one pilot study, IVR versions of these scales were compared to paper versions in 25 men = 65 years at each of two clinical sites. In …

Ct-Based Structural Rigidity Analysis Is More Accurate Than Mirels Scoring For Fracture Prediction In Metastatic Femoral Lesions., Ta Damron, A Nazarian, V Entezari, C Brown, W Grant, N Calderon, Et Al.

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Controversy continues regarding the appropriate assessment of fracture risk in long bone lesions affected by disseminated malignancy. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The purpose of this ongoing Musculoskeletal Tumor Society-sponsored, multi-institutional prospective cross-sectional clinical study is to compare CT-based structural rigidity analysis (CTRA) with physician-derived Mirels scoring for predicting pathologic fracture in femoral bone lesions. We hypothesized CTRA would be superior to Mirels in predicting fracture risk within the first year based on (1) sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value; (2) receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis; and (3) fracture prediction after controlling for potential confounding variables such as age and …

Identification Of An Association Of Tnfaip3 Polymorphisms With Matrix Metalloproteinase Expression In Fibroblasts In An Integrative Study Of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Genetic And Environmental Factors.*, Peng Wei, Yang Yang, Xinjian Guo, Nainan Hei, Syeling Lai, Shervin Assassi, Mengyuan Liu, Filemon Tan, Xiaodong Zhou

Faculty Publications

OBJECTIVE: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a fibrotic disease attributed to both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. This study was undertaken to investigate the associations between SSc-associated genetic variants and the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes in human fibroblasts stimulated with silica particles in time-course and dose-response experiments.

METHODS: A total of 200 fibroblast strains were examined for ECM gene expression after stimulation with silica particles. The fibroblasts were genetically profiled using Immunochip assays and then subjected to whole-genome genotype imputation. Associations of genotypes and gene expression were first analyzed in a Caucasian cohort and then validated in a meta-analysis …

Is Whole-Exome Sequencing An Ethically Disruptive Technology? Perspectives Of Pediatric Oncologists And Parents Of Pediatric Patients With Solid Tumors., Laurence B Mccullough, Melody J Slashinski, Amy L Mcguire, Richard L Street, Christine M Eng, Richard A Gibbs, D William Parsons, Sharon E Plon

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: It has been anticipated that physician and parents will be ill prepared or unprepared for the clinical introduction of genome sequencing, making it ethically disruptive.

PROCEDURE: As a part of the Baylor Advancing Sequencing in Childhood Cancer Care study, we conducted semistructured interviews with 16 pediatric oncologists and 40 parents of pediatric patients with cancer prior to the return of sequencing results. We elicited expectations and attitudes concerning the impact of sequencing on clinical decision making, clinical utility, and treatment expectations from both groups. Using accepted methods of qualitative research to analyze interview transcripts, we completed a thematic analysis …

Explicit Time Deficit In Schizophrenia: Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Indicate It Is Primary And Not Domain Specific., V Ciullo, G Spalletta, C Caltagirone, Re Jorge, F Piras

Faculty Publications

Although timing deficits are a robust finding in schizophrenia (SZ), the notion of a genuine time perception disorder in SZ is still being debated because distortions in timing might depend on neuropsychological deficits that are characteristics of the illness. Here we used meta-analytic methods to summarize the evidence of timing deficits in SZ and moderator analyses to determine whether defective timing in SZ arises from nontemporal sources or from defective time perception. PubMed Services, PsycNET, and Scopus were searched through March 2015, and all references in articles were investigated to find other relevant studies. Studies were selected if they included …

Early Rescue Of Interneuron Disease Trajectory In Developmental Epilepsies., Ms Siehr, Jl Noebels

Faculty Publications

The discovery of over 150 monogenic epilepsies and advances in early genetic diagnoses have launched a search for molecular strategies and developmental timetables to reverse or even prevent the course of these debilitating brain disorders. Orthologous rodent models of key disease genes are providing important examples of the range of targets, and serve as valuable test systems for perinatal therapeutic approaches. While gene-specific analyses of single rare 'orphan' diseases are each narrow in scope, they illuminate downstream pathways converging onto interneurons, and treatments that strengthen inhibition during cortical maturation may provide broad protection against these seemingly disparate gene errors. Several …

Efficacy Of Psychosocial Interventions In Inducing And Maintaining Alcohol Abstinence In Patients With Chronic Liver Disease: A Systematic Review., A Khan, A Tansel, Dl White, Wt Kayani, Wt Bano, J Lindsay, Hb El-Serag, F Kanwal

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We conducted a systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial interventions in inducing or maintaining alcohol abstinence in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). METHODS: We performed structured keyword searches in PubMed, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE for original research articles that were published from January 1983 through November 2014 that evaluated the use of psychosocial interventions to induce or maintain alcohol abstinence in patients with CLD and AUD. RESULTS: We identified 13 eligible studies that comprised 1945 patients; 5 were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Delivered therapies included motivational enhancement therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), …

Eosinophilic Esophagitis In Children And Its Relationship With Parental Allergies: Texas Children's Hospital Experience., G Hiremath, D Byramji, A Pacheco, G Constantine, C Davis, R Shulman, A Olive

Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergen-mediated, clinicopathological condition affecting all ages. The characteristics of children with EoE in the southwestern USA have not been fully described. Furthermore, very little is known about the relationship between parental allergies and risk of EoE in their offspring in this patient population. AIMS: To characterize children with EoE and to examine the relationship between prevalence of parental allergies and occurrence of EoE in their offspring at a single referral pediatric center in the southwestern USA. METHODS: Demographic and clinical information of 126 children (=18 years of age) with EoE was abstracted in a …

Glial Contributions To Neural Function And Disease., Mn Rasband

Faculty Publications

The nervous system consists of neurons and glial cells. Neurons generate and propagate electrical and chemical signals, whereas glia function mainly to modulate neuron function and signaling. Just as there are many different kinds of neurons with different roles, there are also many types of glia that perform diverse functions. For example, glia make myelin; modulate synapse formation, function, and elimination; regulate blood flow and metabolism; and maintain ionic and water homeostasis to name only a few. Although proteomic approaches have been used extensively to understand neurons, the same cannot be said for glia. Importantly, like neurons, glial cells have …

Effect Of Two-Year Caloric Restriction On Bone Metabolism And Bone Mineral Density In Non-Obese Younger Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial., Dt Villareal, L Fontana, Sk Das, Et Al.

Faculty Publications

Although caloric restriction (CR) could delay biologic aging in humans, it is unclear if this would occur at the cost of significant bone loss. We evaluated the effect of prolonged CR on bone metabolism and bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy younger adults. Two-hundred eighteen non-obese (body mass index [BMI] 25.1?±?1.7?kg/m(2) ), younger (age 37.9?±?7.2 years) adults were randomly assigned to 25% CR (CR group, n?=?143) or ad libitum (AL group, n?=?75) for 2 years. Main outcomes were BMD and markers of bone turnover. Other outcomes included body composition, bone-active hormones, nutrient intake, and physical activity. Body weight (-7.5?±?0.4 versus …

Local Corticotropin Releasing Hormone (Crh) Signals To Its Receptor Crhr1 During Postnatal Development Of The Mouse Olfactory Bulb., Isabella Garcia, Paramjit K Bhullar, Burak Tepe, Joshua Ortiz-Guzman, Longwen Huang, Alexander M Herman, Lesley Chaboub, Benjamin Deneen, Nicholas J Justice, Benjamin R Arenkiel

Faculty Publications

Neuropeptides play important physiological functions during distinct behaviors such as arousal, learning, memory, and reproduction. However, the role of local, extrahypothalamic neuropeptide signaling in shaping synapse formation and neuronal plasticity in the brain is not well understood. Here, we characterize the spatiotemporal expression profile of the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and its receptor CRHR1 in the mouse OB throughout development. We found that CRH-expressing interneurons are present in the external plexiform layer, that its cognate receptor is expressed by granule cells, and show that both CRH and CRHR1 expression enriches in the postnatal period when olfaction becomes important towards olfactory-related …

Identification Of A Novel Gene On 10q22.1 Causing Autosomal Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa (Adrp)., Stephen P Daiger, Lori S Sullivan, Sara J Bowne, Daniel C Koboldt, Susan H Blanton, Dianna K Wheaton, Cheryl E Avery, Elizabeth D Cadena, Robert K Koenekoop, Robert S Fulton, Richard K Wilson, George M Weinstock, Richard A Lewis, David G Birch

Faculty Publications

Whole-genome linkage mapping identified a region on chromosome 10q21.3-q22.1 with a maximum LOD score of 3.0 at 0 % recombination in a six-generation family with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). All known adRP genes and X-linked RP genes were excluded in the family by a combination of methods. Whole-exome next-generation sequencing revealed a missense mutation in hexokinase 1, HK1 c.2539G > A, p.Glu847Lys, tracking with disease in all affected family members. One severely-affected male is homozygous for this region by linkage analysis and has two copies of the mutation. No other potential mutations were detected in the linkage region nor were …

Precise Repair Of Mping Excision Sites Is Facilitated By Target Site Duplication Derived Microhomology, David M. Gilbert, M. Catherine Bridges, Ashley E. Strother, Courtney E. Burckhalter, James M. Burnette Iii, C. Nathan Hancock

Faculty Publications

A key difference between the Tourist and Stowaway families of miniature inverted repeat transposable elements (MITEs) is the manner in which their excision alters the genome. Upon excision, Stowaway-like MITEs and the associated Mariner elements usually leave behind a small duplication and short sequences from the end of the element. These small insertions or deletions known as “footprints” can potentially disrupt coding or regulatory sequences. In contrast, Tourist-like MITEs and the associated PIF/Pong/Harbinger elements generally excise precisely, returning the genome to its original state. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanisms underlying these …

Large-Scale Identification Of Chemically Induced Mutations In Drosophila Melanogaster., Nele A Haelterman, Lichun Jiang, Yumei Li, Vafa Bayat, Hector Sandoval, Berrak Ugur, Kai Li Tan, Ke Zhang, Danqing Bei, Bo Xiong, Wu-Lin Charng, Theodore Busby, Adeel Jawaid, Gabriela David, Manish Jaiswal, Koen J T Venken, Shinya Yamamoto, Rui Chen, Hugo J Bellen

Faculty Publications

Forward genetic screens using chemical mutagens have been successful in defining the function of thousands of genes in eukaryotic model organisms. The main drawback of this strategy is the time-consuming identification of the molecular lesions causative of the phenotypes of interest. With whole-genome sequencing (WGS), it is now possible to sequence hundreds of strains, but determining which mutations are causative among thousands of polymorphisms remains challenging. We have sequenced 394 mutant strains, generated in a chemical mutagenesis screen, for essential genes on the Drosophila X chromosome and describe strategies to reduce the number of candidate mutations from an average of …

Expansion Of Breast Cancer Stem Cells With Fibrous Scaffolds, Sheng Feng, Pang-Kuo Lo, Shou Liu, Xinfeng Liu, Hexin Chen, Qian Wang

Faculty Publications

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are hypothesized as tumor-initiating cells within tumors and main contributors of tumor growth, metastasis and recurrence. Mammary cancer cells, MCF-7 cells, were cultured on 3D polycaprolactone (PCL) fibrous scaffolds, showing an increased proportion of CSCs. The expression of stem cell markers, including OCT3/4 and SOX2, and breast CSC-specific markers, SOX4 and CD49f, was significantly upregulated, and the mammosphere-forming capability in cells cultured on PCL fibrous scaffolds increased. The fibrous scaffolds also induced the elongation of MCF-7 cells and extended cell proliferation. The increase of CSC properties after being cultured on fibrous scaffolds was further confirmed with …

An Acid Catalyzed Reversible Ring-Opening/Ring-Closure Reaction Involving A Cyano-Rhodamine Spirolactam, H. Li, H. Guan, X. Duan, J. Hu, Guiren Wang, Qian Wang

Faculty Publications

Cyanamide was introduced into the rhodamine spirolactam framework to produce a colorless and non-fluorescent compound RBCN. It shows a reversible ring-opening/ring-closure process in response to the solution pH, which exhibits an “ON/OFF” switching in its fluorescence. Different from other rhodamine-type dyes, the ring-open form of RBCN is stable in protic solvents under neutral, near neutral and basic conditions, showing a pink color and very strong fluorescence. We also demonstrated the potential of RBCN in live cell imaging.