Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science

The adsorption and detection of SO2 using Zr-based MOF, NU-1000 grafted with an organometallic nickel silylphosphine complex ([NiSi]@NU-1000) via post-synthetic modification are reported. [NiSi]@NU-1000 exhibits high stability under dry and wet SO2, with a high cyclability performance. Moreover, fluorescence experiments postulate [NiSi]@NU-1000 as a promising SO2 detector due to its high SO2 selectivity over CO2 and air, showing an evident quenching effect, especially at low SO2 concentrations (0.1 bar of SO2). Time-resolved photoluminescence experiments suggest that host-guest SO2 interactions are associated with the turn-off effect.

Qua-Quine Starch (QQS), an Arabidopsis thaliana orphan gene, and its interactor, Arabidopsis Nuclear Factor Y subunit C4 (AtNF-YC4), can increase the total leaf and seed protein in different plants. Despite their potential in developing protein-rich crop varieties, their influence on the protein content of the stem, modified stem, and tuber was never investigated. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is one of the most valuable food crops worldwide. This staple food is rich in starch, vitamins (B6, C), phenolics, flavonoids, polyamines, carotenoids, and various minerals but lacks adequate proteins necessary for a healthy human diet. Here we expressed A. thaliana QQS (AtQQS) and overexpressed S. tuberosum NF-YC4 (StNF-YC4) in potatoes to determine their influence on the composition and morphological characteristics of potato tubers. Our data demonstrated higher protein and reduced starch content in potato tubers without significantly compromising the tuber yield, shape, and numbers, when QQS was expressed or StNF-YC4 was overexpressed. Publicly available expression data, promoter region, and protein-protein interaction analyses of StNF-YC4 suggest its potential functionality in potato storage protein, metabolism, stress resistance, and defense against pests and pathogens. The overall outcomes of this study support QQS and NF-YC4's potential utilization as tools to enhance tuber protein content in plants.