Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
Reverse genetics has been an indispensable tool to gain insights into viral pathogenesis and vaccine development. The genomes of large RNA viruses, such as those from coronaviruses, are cumbersome to clone and manipulate inEscherichia coliowing to the size and occasional instability of the genome(1-3). Therefore, an alternative rapid and robust reverse-genetics platform for RNA viruses would benefit the research community. Here we show the full functionality of a yeast-based synthetic genomics platform to genetically reconstruct diverse RNA viruses, including members of theCoronaviridae,FlaviviridaeandPneumoviridaefamilies. Viral subgenomic fragments were generated using viral isolates, cloned viral DNA, clinical samples or synthetic DNA, and these fragments were then reassembled in one step inSaccharomyces cerevisiaeusing transformation-associated recombination cloning to maintain the genome as a yeast artificial chromosome. T7 RNA polymerase was then used to generate infectious RNA to rescue viable virus. Using this platform, we were able to engineer and generate chemically synthesized clones of the virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)(4), which has caused the recent pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in only a week after receipt of the synthetic DNA fragments. The technical advance that we describe here facilitates rapid responses to emerging viruses as it enables the real-time generation and functional characterization of evolving RNA virus variants during an outbreak.
A yeast-based synthetic genomics platform is used to reconstruct and characterize large RNA viruses from synthetic DNA fragments
The ability to communicate quantum information over long distances is of central importance in quantum science and engineering(1). Although some applications of quantum communication such as secure quantum key distribution(2,3) are already being successfully deployed(4-7), their range is currently limited by photon losses and cannot be extended using straightforward measure-and-repeat strategies without compromising unconditional security(8). Alternatively, quantum repeaters(9), which utilize intermediate quantum memory nodes and error correction techniques, can extend the range of quantum channels. However, their implementation remains an outstanding challenge(10-16), requiring a combination of efficient and high-fidelity quantum memories, gate operations, and measurements. Here we use a single solid-state spin memory integrated in a nanophotonic diamond resonator(17-19) to implement asynchronous photonic Bell-state measurements, which are a key component of quantum repeaters. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we demonstrate high-fidelity operation that effectively enables quantum communication at a rate that surpasses the ideal loss-equivalent direct-transmission method while operating at megahertz clock speeds. These results represent a crucial step towards practical quantum repeaters and large-scale quantum networks(20,21).
A solid-state spin memory is used to demonstrate quantum repeater functionality, which has the potential to overcome photon losses involved in long-distance transmission of quantum information.
When a magnetic impurity exists in a metal, conduction electrons form a spin cloud that screens the impurity spin. This basic phenomenon is called the Kondo effect(1,2). Unlike electric-charge screening, the spin-screening cloud(3-6) occurs quantum coherently, forming spin-singlet entanglement with the impurity. Although the spins interact locally around the impurity, the Kondo cloud can theoretically spread out over several micrometres. The cloud has not so far been detected, and so its physical existence-a fundamental aspect of the Kondo effect-remains controversial(7,8). Here we present experimental evidence of a Kondo cloud extending over a length of micrometres, comparable to the theoretical length xi(K). In our device, a Kondo impurity is formed in a quantum dot(2,9-11), coupling on one side to a quasi-one-dimensional channel(12) that houses a Fabry-Perot interferometer of various gate-defined lengths L exceeding one micrometre. When we sweep a voltage on the interferometer end gate-separated by L from the quantum dot-to induce Fabry-Perot oscillations in conductance we observe oscillations in the measured Kondo temperature T-K, which is a signature of the Kondo cloud at distance L. When L is less than xi(K) the T-K oscillation amplitude becomes larger as L becomes smaller, obeying a scaling function of a single parameter L/xi(K), whereas when L is greater than xi(K) the oscillation is much weaker. Our results reveal that xi(K) is the only length parameter associated with the Kondo effect, and that the cloud lies mostly within a length of xi(K). Our experimental method offers a way of detecting the spatial distribution of exotic non-Fermi liquids formed by multiple magnetic impurities or multiple screening channels(13-16) and of studying spin-correlated systems.