Stem rust, caused by Puccinia graminis ssp. graminicola, is a major disease affecting the outcrossing species Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), leading to substantial reductions in seed yield. Until now, knowledge on the genetic control of stem rust resistance in Italian ryegrass has been limited to a few quantitative trait loci identified in bi-parental mapping […]
Robust division orientation of cambium stem cells requires cortical division zone components but not the preprophase band
The control of cell division plane orientation is fundamental for organizing developmental processes and shaping bodies of multicellular organisms. In plants, radial organ growth is mediated by the cambium, a stem cell niche deeply embedded in expanding organs and continuously producing xylem and phloem in a strictly bidirectional manner. Cambium stem cells (CSCs) are unique […]
A Practical Roadmap For Sampling Floral Nectar From Communities of Many Plant Species
1. Floral nectar plays a critical role in shaping the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator interactions. Effective and efficient methods that allow for broad-scale sampling of nectar volume and sugar concentration across a diversity of taxa are needed to improve our understanding of many dimensions of mutualistic plant-pollinator interactions–including their basic ecology and evolution, their […]
The effect of genome organisation on selection efficiency in two contrasted plant species
The level of complexity and the extent of pleiotropy have important implications for our understanding of molecular evolutionary patterns across the genome. For example, under the Fisher Geometric Model, which assumes universal pleiotropy, all new mutations will have the same effect on fitness, and complexity governs the strength of selection. However, the extent of pleiotropy […]
Exotic Tree Plantation Types and Their Distance to Urban Areas in Central Argentina Affect Various Facets of Bird Diversity
Tree plantations are expanding worldwide, negatively affecting native bird communities. However, most research has focused on the impact of tree monocultures on bird taxonomic diversity, while studies on their effects on functional and phylogenetic diversities are limited. This study aimed to compare different bird diversity facets between Eucalypt monocultures and mixed tree plantations, as well […]
Helix: a structure-aware deep learning model for accurate prediction of A-to-I RNA editing by endogenous ADARs
Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) converts adenosine to inosine within double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and can be co-opted for therapeutic RNA editing by introducing dsRNA substrates in trans using programmable guide RNAs (gRNAs). However, ADAR’s natural promiscuity necessitates sophisticated gRNA designs to achieve efficient and specific editing. Here we present Helix, a predictive model that […]
DGAT1-dependent lipid droplet synthesis in microglia attenuates neuroinflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharides.
Lipid droplets (LD) are dynamic storage organelles for triglycerides (TG). LD act as a hub that modulates the availability of fatty acids to sustain metabolic needs and the generation of fatty-acid derived signals. Recent evidence demonstrates that LD metabolism regulates immune responses including in microglia, the resident immune cells of the central nervous system. We […]
Helix: a structure-aware deep learning model for accurate prediction of A-to-I RNA editing by endogenous ADARs
Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) converts adenosine to inosine within double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and can be co-opted for therapeutic RNA editing by introducing dsRNA substrates in trans using programmable guide RNAs (gRNAs). However, ADAR’s natural promiscuity necessitates sophisticated gRNA designs to achieve efficient and specific editing. Here we present Helix, a predictive model that […]
CAD-C reveals centromere pairing and near-perfect alignment of sister chromatids
Three-dimensional (3D) genome organization plays a central role in gene regulation, chromatin folding, and genome stability. Although chromosome-conformation capture (3C)-derived methods have revolutionized our understanding of genome architecture, most remain limited in resolution, in their capacity to detect multiway interactions and in their ability to distinguish sister chromatids. Here, we present CAD-C, a new chromatin-conformation […]
5′ RNA Aminoacylation via Interstrand Acyl-Transfer
The catalytic transformations driving coded protein synthesis revolve around linkage of amino acids to molecules of RNA as 2’/3′-aminoacyl esters. This defining molecular species of life is installed, supervised and utilised by complex catalysts, but its relative hydrolytic lability limits its accumulation and behaviour during the early development of the translation system in a simpler […]