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Bioactive Molecules: Isolation, Synthesis, Analysis, and Application

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 1311

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
College of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
Interests: synthesis of bioactive molecules (especially of heterocycles); molecular docking; SAR and mode of action
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive molecules, such as bioactive peptides, bioactive amino acids and derivatives, amines, organic acids derivatives and heterocycles, play an important role in the discovery of novel medicines, pesticides or veterinary drugs. These molecules share common characteristics, such as small molecular weight, diversity structures and various biological activities. Many bioactive molecules have been studied as anticancer agents, anti-HIV agents, antifungal agents, antibacterial agents, anti-parasitic agents, herbicidal agents, insecticidal agents and so on. Their function and level have important medicinal significance. Natural products or synthetic compounds are the main sources of bioactive small molecules. In this process, the compounds must be isolated, the structure elucidated, their biological activities tested, their structure–activity relationship understood and new highly active biomolecules discovered. Therefore, this Special Issue will consider the most recent and significant contributions from research into bioactive molecules in relation to medicinal chemistry, including pesticidal chemistry or veterinary medicine chemistry.

Dr. **nghai Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at mdpi.longhoe.net by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioactive molecules
  • biological activity
  • isolation
  • structure analysis
  • synthesis
  • application

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

25 pages, 10932 KiB  
Article
Gene Cloning, Heterologous Expression, and In Silico Analysis of Chitinase B from Serratia marcescens for Biocontrol of Spodoptera frugiperda Larvae Infesting Maize Crops
by Ghada M. El-Sayed, Maha T. H. Emam, Maher A. Hammad and Shaymaa H. Mahmoud
Molecules 2024, 29(7), 1466; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29071466 - 26 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1076
Abstract
Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm (FAW), is a highly invasive polyphagous insect pest that is considered a source of severe economic losses to agricultural production. Currently, the majority of chemical insecticides pose tremendous threats to humans and animals besides insect resistance. Thus, [...] Read more.
Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm (FAW), is a highly invasive polyphagous insect pest that is considered a source of severe economic losses to agricultural production. Currently, the majority of chemical insecticides pose tremendous threats to humans and animals besides insect resistance. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop new pest management strategies with more specificity, efficiency, and sustainability. Chitin-degrading enzymes, including chitinases, are promising agents which may contribute to FAW control. Chitinase-producing microorganisms are reported normally in bacteria and fungi. In the present study, Serratia marcescens was successfully isolated and identified from the larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda. The bacterial strain NRC408 displayed the highest chitinase enzyme activity of 250 units per milligram of protein. Subsequently, the chitinase gene was cloned and heterologously expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). Recombinant chitinase B was overproduced to 2.5-fold, driven by the T7 expression system. Recombinant chitinase B was evaluated for its efficacy as an insecticidal bioagent against S. frugiperda larvae, which induced significant alteration in subsequent developmental stages and conspicuous malformations. Additionally, our study highlights that in silico analyses of the anticipated protein encoded by the chitinase gene (ChiB) offered improved predictions for enzyme binding and catalytic activity. The effectiveness of (ChiB) against S. frugiperda was evaluated in laboratory and controlled field conditions. The results indicated significant mortality, disturbed development, different induced malformations, and a reduction in larval populations. Thus, the current study consequently recommends chitinase B for the first time to control FAW. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Molecules: Isolation, Synthesis, Analysis, and Application)
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