We experimentally isolated and characterized a CFEM protein with putative GPI-anchored site BcCFEM1 in Botrytis cinerea. BcCFEM1 contains a CFEM (common in several fungal extracellular membrane proteins) domain with the characteristic eight cysteine residues at N terminus, and a predicted GPI modification site at C terminus. BcCFEM1 was significantly up-regulated during early stage of infection on bean leaves and induced chlorosis in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves using Agrobacterium infiltration method. Targeted deletion of BcCFEM1 in B. cinerea affected virulence, conidial production and stress tolerance, but not growth rate, conidial germination, colony morphology, and sclerotial formation. However, over expression of BcCFEM1 did not make any observable phenotype change. Therefore, our data suggested that BcCFEM1 contributes to virulence, conidial production, and stress tolerance. These findings further enhance our understanding on the sophisticated pathogenicity of B. cinerea beyond necrotrophic stage, highlighting the importance of CFEM protein to B. cinerea and other broad-host-range necrotrophic pathogens.

Phototherapy is a promising treatment method for cancer therapy. However, the various factors have greatly restricted phototherapy development, including the poor accumulation of photosensitizer in tumor, hypoxia in solid tumor tissue and systemic phototoxicity. Herein, a mitochondrial-targeted multifunctional dye-anchored manganese oxide nanoparticle (IR808@MnO NP) is developed for enhancing phototherapy of cancer. In this nanoplatform, IR808 as a small molecule dye acts as a tumor targeting ligand to make IR808@MnO NPs with capacity to actively target tumor cells and relocate finally in the mitochondria. Meanwhile, continuous production of oxygen (O ) and regulation of pH induced by the high reactivity and specificity of MnO NPs toward mitochondrial endogenous hydrogen peroxide (H O ) could effectively modulate tumor hypoxia and lessen the tumor subacid environment. Large amounts of reactive oxide species (ROS) are generated during the reaction process between H O and MnO NPs. Furthermore, under laser irradiation, IR808 in IR808@MnO NPs turns O into a highly toxic singlet oxygen ( O ) and generates hyperthermia. The results indicate that IR808@MnO NPs have the high efficiency of specific targeting of tumors, relieving tumor subacid environment, improving the tumor hypoxia environment, and generating large amounts of ROS to kill tumor cells. It is expected to have a wide application in treating cancer.

While magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents have potential in noninvasive image‐guided tumor treatment, further developments are needed to increase contrast, biodegradability, and safety. Here, novel engineered manganese‐eumelanin coordination nanocomposites (MnEMNPs) are developed via a facile one‐pot intrapolymerization doping (IPD) approach in aqueous solution, through simple chemical oxidation–polymerization of the 3,4‐dihydroxy‐DL‐phenylalanine precursor with potassium permanganate serving as the Mn source and an oxidant. The resulting MnEMNPs possess ultrahigh longitudinal relaxivity (r 1 value up to 60.8 mM−1 s−1 at 1.5 T) attributed to the high manganese doping efficiency (>10%) and geometrically confined conformation. Due to their high manganese chelation stability, excellent biocompatibility, and strong near‐infrared absorption, high‐performance longitudinal‐transverse (T 1 ‐T 2) dual‐modal magnetic resonance/photoacoustic imaging and photothermal tumor ablation are achieved. Furthermore, the hydrogen peroxide‐triggered decomposition behavior of MnEMNPs circumvents the poor biodegradation issue of many nanomaterials. This facile, convenient, economical, and efficient IPD strategy will open up new avenues for the development of high‐performance multifunctional theranostic nanoplatforms in bionanomedicine.