Transgenic expression of the dicotyledonous pattern recognition receptor EFR in rice leads to ligand-dependent activation of defense responses

Plant plasma membrane localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) detect extracellular pathogen-associated molecules. PRRs such as Arabidopsis EFR and rice XA21 are taxonomically restricted and are absent from most plant genomes. Here we show that rice plants expressing EFR or the chimeric receptor EFR::XA21, containing the EFR ectodomain and the XA21 intracellular domain, sense both Escherichia coli- and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo)-derived elf18 peptides at sub-nanomolar concentrations. Treatment of EFR and EFR::XA21 rice leaf tissue with elf18 leads to MAP kinase activation, reactive oxygen production and defense gene expression. Although expression of EFR does not lead to robust enhanced resistance to fully virulent Xoo isolates, it does lead to quantitatively enhanced resistance to weakly virulent Xoo isolates. EFR interacts with OsSERK2 and the XA21 binding protein 24 (XB24), two key components of the rice XA21-mediated immune response. Rice-EFR plants silenced for OsSERK2, or overexpressing rice XB24 are compromised in elf18-induced reactive oxygen production and defense gene expression indicating that these proteins are also important for EFR-mediated signaling in transgenic rice. Taken together, our results demonstrate the potential feasibility of enhancing disease resistance in rice and possibly other monocotyledonous crop species by expression of dicotyledonous PRRs. Our results also suggest that Arabidopsis EFR utilizes at least a subset of the known endogenous rice XA21 signaling components

Nothing Lasts Forever: Environmental Discourses on the Collapse of Past Societies

The study of the collapse of past societies raises many questions for the theory and practice of archaeology. Interest in collapse extends as well into the natural sciences and environmental and sustainability policy. Despite a range of approaches to collapse, the predominant paradigm is environmental collapse, which I argue obscures recognition of the dynamic role of social processes that lie at the heart of human communities. These environmental discourses, together with confusion over terminology and the concepts of collapse, have created widespread aporia about collapse and resulted in the creation of mixed messages about complex historical and social processes

Cell influx and contractile actomyosin force drive mammary bud growth and invagination

Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites licenseThe mammary gland develops from the surface ectoderm during embryogenesis and proceeds through morphological phases defined as placode, hillock, bud, and bulb stages followed by branching morphogenesis. During this early morphogenesis, the mammary bud undergoes an invagination process where the thickened bud initially protrudes above the surface epithelium and then transforms to a bulb and sinks into the underlying mesenchyme. The signaling pathways regulating the early morphogenetic steps have been identified to some extent, but the underlying cellular mechanisms remain ill defined. Here, we use 3D and 4D confocal microscopy to show that the early growth of the mammary rudiment is accomplished by migration-driven cell influx, with minor contributions of cell hypertrophy and proliferation. We delineate a hitherto undescribed invagination mechanism driven by thin, elongated keratinocytes-ring cells-that form a contractile rim around the mammary bud and likely exert force via the actomyosin network. Furthermore, we show that conditional deletion of nonmuscle myosin IIA (NMIIA) impairs invagination, resulting in abnormal mammary bud shape.Peer reviewe

A phase II clinical trial of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide followed by thalidomide for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. An NCRI clinical trial. CRUK number C17050/A5320.

Accepted version (12 month embargo

piggyBac is an effective tool for functional analysis of the Plasmodium falciparum genome

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Much of the <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>genome encodes hypothetical proteins with limited homology to other organisms. A lack of robust tools for genetic manipulation of the parasite limits functional analysis of these hypothetical proteins and other aspects of the <it>Plasmodium </it>genome. Transposon mutagenesis has been used widely to identify gene functions in many organisms and would be extremely valuable for functional analysis of the <it>Plasmodium </it>genome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we investigated the lepidopteran transposon, <it>piggyBac</it>, as a molecular genetic tool for functional characterization of the <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>genome. Through multiple transfections, we generated 177 unique <it>P. falciparum </it>mutant clones with mostly single <it>piggyBac </it>insertions in their genomes. Analysis of <it>piggyBac </it>insertion sites revealed random insertions into the <it>P. falciparum </it>genome, in regards to gene expression in parasite life cycle stages and functional categories. We further explored the possibility of forward genetic studies in <it>P. falciparum </it>with a phenotypic screen for attenuated growth, which identified several parasite genes and pathways critical for intra-erythrocytic development.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results clearly demonstrate that <it>piggyBac </it>is a novel, indispensable tool for forward functional genomics in <it>P. falciparum </it>that will help better understand parasite biology and accelerate drug and vaccine development.</p

Nuclear RNA export factor 7 is localized in processing bodies and neuronal RNA granules through interactions with shuttling hnRNPs

The nuclear RNA export factor (NXF) family proteins have been implicated in various aspects of post-transcriptional gene expression. This study shows that mouse NXF7 exhibits heterologous localization, i.e. NXF7 associates with translating ribosomes, stress granules (SGs) and processing bodies (P-bodies), the latter two of which are believed to be cytoplasmic sites of storage, degradation and/or sorting of mRNAs. By yeast two-hybrid screening, a series of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) were identified as possible binding partners for NXF7. Among them, hnRNP A3, which is believed to be involved in translational control and/or cytoplasmic localization of certain mRNAs, formed a stable complex with NXF7 in vitro. Although hnRNP A3 was not associated with translating ribosomes, it was co-localized with NXF7 in P-bodies. After exposing to oxidative stress, NXF7 trans-localized to SGs, whereas hnRNP A3 did not. In differentiated neuroblastoma Neuro2a cells, NXF7 was co-localized with hnRNP A3 in cell body and neurites. The amino terminal half of NXF7, which was required for stable complex formation with hnRNP A3, coincided with the region required for localization in both P-bodies and neuronal RNA granules. These findings suggest that NXF7 plays a role in sorting, transport and/or storage of mRNAs through interactions with hnRNP A3

Atlas of Schistosoma mansoni long non-coding RNAs and their expression correlation to protein-coding genes

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely discovered in several organisms with the help of high-throughput RNA sequencing. LncRNAs are over 200 nt-long transcripts that do not have protein-coding (PC) potential, having been reported in model organisms to act mainly on the overall control of PC gene expression. Little is known about the functionality of lncRNAs in evolutionarily ancient non-model metazoan organisms, like Schistosoma mansoni, the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, one of the most prevalent infectious-parasitic diseases worldwide. In a recent transcriptomics effort, we identified thousands of S. mansoni lncRNAs predicted to be functional along the course of parasite development. Here, we present an online catalog of each of the S. mansoni lncRNAs whose expression is correlated to PC genes along the parasite life-cycle, which can be conveniently browsed and downloaded through a new web resource http://verjolab.usp.br. We also provide access now to navigation on the co-expression networks disclosed in our previous publication, where we correlated mRNAs and lncRNAs transcriptional patterns across five life-cycle stages/forms, pinpointing biological processes where lncRNAs might act upon

A qualitative investigation of lived experiences of long-term health condition management with people who are food insecure.

Background: As more people are living with one or more chronic health conditions, supporting patients to become activated, self-managers of their conditions has become a key health policy focus both in the UK and internationally. There is also growing evidence in the UK that those with long term health conditions have an increased risk of being food insecure. While international evidence indicates that food insecurity adversely affects individual's health condition management capability, little is known about how those so affected manage their condition(s) in this context. An investigation of lived experience of health condition management was undertaken with food insecure people living in north east Scotland. The study aimed to explore the challenges facing food insecure people in terms of, i. their self-care condition management practices, and ii. disclosing and discussing the experience of managing their condition with a health care professional, and iii. Notions of the support they might wish to receive from them. Methods: Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals attending a food bank and food pantry in north east Scotland. Interview audio recordings were fully transcribed and thematically analysed. Results: Individuals reporting multiple physical and mental health conditions, took part in the study. Four main themes were identified i.e.: 1. food practices, trade-offs and compromises, that relate to economic constraints and lack of choice; 2. illness experiences and food as they relate to physical and mental ill-health; 3. (in) visibility of participants' economic vulnerability within health care consultations; and 4. perceptions and expectations of the health care system. Conclusions: This study, the first of its kind in the UK, indicated that participants' health condition management aspirations were undermined by the experience of food insecurity, and that their health care consultations in were, on the whole, devoid of discussions of those challenges. As such, the study indicated practical and ethical implications for health care policy, practice and research associated with the risk of intervention-generated health inequalities that were suggested by this study. Better understanding is needed about the impact of household food insecurity on existing ill health, wellbeing and health care use across the UK

RNA localization in neurite morphogenesis and synaptic regulation: current evidence and novel approaches

It is now generally accepted that RNA localization in the central nervous system conveys important roles both during development and in the adult brain. Of special interest is protein synthesis located at the synapse, as this potentially confers selective synaptic modification and has been implicated in the establishment of memories. However, the underlying molecular events are largely unknown. In this review, we will first discuss novel findings that highlight the role of RNA localization in neurons. We will focus on the role of RNA localization in neurotrophin signaling, axon outgrowth, dendrite and dendritic spine morphogenesis as well as in synaptic plasticity. Second, we will briefly present recent work on the role of microRNAs in translational control in dendrites and its implications for learning and memory. Finally, we discuss recent approaches to visualize RNAs in living cells and their employment for studying RNA trafficking in neurons