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Restoration of coastal dunes following tropical storm events often requires renourishment of sand substrate dredged from offshore sources, although dredging has well‐described negative ecological impacts and high economic costs. As a potential solution, recycled glass sand (cullet) made from crushed glass bottles has been proposed as a potential replacement for dredging. However, glass sand substrates may have limited ability to provide support to coastal plant communities due to the absence of native soil microbial communities. To explore the potential use of glass sand as a substrate for dune plants in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, we compared the growth of Sea oats (Uniola paniculata), Beach morning‐glory (Ipomoea imperati), and Railroad vine (I. pes‐caprae) in glass sand to growth in live beach sand. To determine if inoculation of glass sand with native soil microbial communities improved survival, growth, and biomass production, we also tested plant growth in glass sand with native microbial amendments. Overall, we found no difference in the survival of the three dune species across three soil treatments and weak differences in plant growth and biomass production across our soil substrates. Our results suggest that glass sand substrates may be a viable option for coastal dune restoration, with limited differences between live beach sand, glass sand, and glass sand inoculated with native soil microbes. Restoration and replenishment of coastal dunes using glass sand as a substrate following tropical storms or sea‐level rise may allow coastal managers to reduce the economic and ecological damage associated with offshore sediment dredging. 

Abstract AimsThe goal of this study was to explore the suitability of recycled glass sand for the growth of beach-adapted plant species given the potential environmental benefits of utilizing glass sand for beach and dune restoration in the face of dwindling natural sand resources. MethodsWe grew three species native to US Gulf of Mexico beaches (Ipomoea imperati(Vahl) Griseb.,I. pes-caprae(L.) R.Br., andUniola paniculata(L.)) in three greenhouse experiments in glass sand, beach sand, or mixtures. First, we investigated nutrient and microbial effects by growing each species in pure glass sand, beach sand, and 80%/20% mixtures of glass sand/beach sand. Second, we comparedU. paniculatagrowth in glass sand mixed with 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0% beach sand. These experiments included fertilizer and microbial sterilization treatments. Third, we investigated soil permeability effects by comparing growth of all species using different grain sizes of glass sand. ResultsOverall, plants produced significantly more biomass in beach sand than in glass sand, and the effect was more pronounced with the fertilizer treatment. There were significant effects of substrate mixtures and interactions with fertilizer treatments onUniolabiomass. Further, when glass sand grain sizes were manipulated, plant biomass was equal or higher in the coarsest glass sand compared to beach sand. ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that beach-adapted plants can grow in glass sand and suggest that recycled glass sand is a potential resource for ecological restoration with incorporation of soil amendments such as fertilizer and utilization of selected grain sizes. 

Abstract One of the major challenges in evaluating the suitability of potential ∼700 E3 ligases for target protein degradation (TPD) is the lack of binders specific to each E3 ligase. Here we apply genetic code expansion (GCE) to encode a tetrazine-containing non-canonical amino acid (Tet-ncAA) site-specifically into the E3 ligase, which can be conjugated with strained trans-cyclooctene (sTCO) tethered to a neo-substrate protein binder by click chemistry within living cells. The resulting E3 ligase minimally modified and functionalized in an E3-ligand free (ELF) manner, can be evaluated for TPD of the neo-substrate. We demonstrate that CRBN encoded with clickable Tet-ncAA, either in the known immunomodulatory drug (IMiD)-binding pocket or across surface, can be covalently tethered to sTCO-linker-JQ1 and recruit BRD2/4 for CRBN mediated degradation, indicating the high plasticity of CRBN for TPD. The degradation efficiency is dependent on location of the Tet-ncAA encoding on CRBN as well as the length of the linker, showing the capability of this approach to map the surface of E3 ligase for identifying optimal TPD pockets. This ELF-degrader approach has the advantages of not only maintaining the native state of E3 ligase, but also allowing the interrogation of E3 ligases and target protein partners under intracellular conditions and can be applied to any known E3 ligase.