Recombinant overexpression of dihydroneopterin aldolase catalyst potentially regulates folate-biofortification

Revolutionizing Biological Science: The Synergy of Genomics in Health, Bioinformatics, Agriculture, and Artificial Intelligence

With climate emergency, COVID-19, and the rise of planetary health scholarship, the binary of human and ecosystem health has been deeply challenged. The interdependence of human and nonhuman animal health is increasingly acknowledged and paving the way for new frontiers in integrative biology. The convergence of genomics in health, bioinformatics, agriculture, and artificial intelligence (AI) has ushered in a new era of possibilities and applications. However, the sheer volume of genomic/multiomics big data generated also presents formidable sociotechnical challenges in extracting meaningful biological, planetary health and ecological insights. Over the past few years, AI-guided bioinformatics has emerged as a powerful tool for managing, analyzing, and interpreting complex biological datasets. The advances in AI, particularly in machine learning and deep learning, have been transforming the fields of genomics, planetary health, and agriculture. This article aims to unpack and explore the formidable range of possibilities and challenges that result from such transdisciplinary integration, and emphasizes its radically transformative potential for human and ecosystem health. The integration of these disciplines is also driving significant advancements in precision medicine and personalized health care. This presents an unprecedented opportunity to deepen our understanding of complex biological systems and advance the well-being of all life in planetary ecosystems. Notwithstanding in mind its sociotechnical, ethical, and critical policy challenges, the integration of genomics, multiomics, planetary health, and agriculture with AI-guided bioinformatics opens up vast opportunities for transnational collaborative efforts, data sharing, analysis, valorization, and interdisciplinary innovations in life sciences and integrative biology.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Mechanisms of Folate Accumulation in Maize Grains

Previously, the complexity of folate accumulation in the early stages of maize kernel development has been reported, but the mechanisms of folate accumulation are unclear. Two maize inbred lines, DAN3130 and JI63, with different patterns of folate accumulation and different total folate contents in mature kernels were used to investigate the transcriptional regulation of folate metabolism during late stages of kernel formation by comparative transcriptome analysis. The folate accumulation during DAP 24 to mature kernels could be controlled by circumjacent pathways of folate biosynthesis, such as pyruvate metabolism, glutamate metabolism, and serine/glycine metabolism. In addition, the folate variation between these two inbred lines was related to those genes among folate metabolism, such as genes in the pteridine branch, para-aminobenzoate branch, serine/tetrahydrofolate (THF)/5-methyltetrahydrofolate cycle, and the conversion of THF monoglutamate to THF polyglutamate. The findings provided insight into folate accumulation mechanisms during maize kernel formation to promote folate biofortification.

Bioengineering of crop plants for improved tetrahydrofolate production

De novo synthesis of folates in plants is tightly regulated through feedback-regulation of certain pathway catalysts. Recently, we investigated the prospects of incessant production of folates in an evolutionary conjunction, through the overexpression of feedback targeted and evolutionarily conserved heterologous E.coli dihydroneopterin aldolase (EcDHNA) in tobacco. 1 The enhanced production of folates in the transgenic lines was associated with differential allosteric regulatory cavities accessible at EcDHNA surface having critical amino-acid differences as Ile 64 (His_63), Val 70 (Phe_69), His 75 (Arg_78) and Arg 79 (Glu_72). These structural characteristics are indicative of evolutionary signatures of the catalytic feedback-regulation of folate manufacturing. We exploited the biotechnological potential of such allosterically diverged trans-DHNA for improved folate production in plants. Nonetheless, genetic manipulation of single enzymes modulating complex pathways such as folate biosynthesis is often inadequate to achieve desired phenotypes; therefore, multi-gene integration with explicit genic-combination for folate enrichment in plants has also been projected for future folate agri-biofortification schemes.