Paramyxoviruses, the cause of many important human and animal diseases, constitute a large family of enveloped negative-stranded RNA viruses including parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5). The virion RNA is associated with ∼2,600 protomers of N-protein in the form of a helical ribonucleoprotein (RNP) (nucleocapsid). The RNP serves as the template for the viral polymerase in vivo. When expressed, N forms a 13 member N-ring that resembles the building block of the RNP. We have determined the atomic structure of the N-ring from PIV5 with 78 bound RNA residues. Precisely, six nucleotides of RNA are associated with each N protomer.

Arachis hypogaea L. (cultivated peanut) is an allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 40) with an AABB genome type. Based on cytogenetic studies it has been assumed that peanut and wild-derived induced AABB allotetraploids have classic allotetraploid genetic behavior with diploid-like disomic recombination only between homologous chromosomes, at the exclusion of recombination between homeologous chromosomes.

Protein kinase A (PKA) complexes are versatile signaling enzymes controlling homeostasis in eukaryotes. This enzyme is involved in multiple functions under physiological and pathological conditions in humans and governs the virulence of many pathogenic fungi. Here we systematically identify PKA regulators in yeast. Notably, we describe signaling to PKA that involves feedback from the cellular recycling process, autophagy.

Self-incompatibility (SI) in plants prevents inbreeding by rejection of pollen from closely related individuals of the same species. Unilateral interspecific incompatibility (UI) blocks cross-hybridization between related species, typically when the pollen donor is self-compatible and the pistil parent is self-incompatible. In this study, we show that ui1.1, a pollen UI factor in tomato, encodes an S-locus F-box protein that is homologous to an SI gene that in Petunia determines pollen specificity.

Previous research using a bread wheat RIL population of the Seri/Babax cross showed that common QTL were associated with cooler canopies under both drought and heat-stressed conditions. A subset of RIL was grown under water-limited and hot-irrigated field environments to test how cooler canopies are related to root development. Eight sisters and the two parents were used in the study with genotypes grouped as COOL or HOT according to their respective QTL for canopy temperature and previous phenotypic data.

A study made by a team of researchers led by Atsuko Kinshita from RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource led to the identification of a protein necessary in controlling root structure and is important in plant cell signaling pathway. This was done by closely examining the mutant Arabidopsis thaliana. The mutant A. thaliana is lacking plant U-box E3 ubiquin ligase (PUB-4).

Early planting of corn (Zea mays L.) is a strategy to avoid excessive heat and drought that often negatively influence grain production during its reproductive phase. An experiment was conducted by imposing very low (day/night, 21/13°C), low (25/17°C), and optimum (29/21°C) temperatures during seed germination and seedling growth stages under optimum moisture and nutrient conditions. Above- and belowground growth parameters were assessed at 18 d after seeding. Several root morphological traits were assessed using the WinRHIZO root image analysis system.

Proteins in the chloroplast thylakoid membrane system are derived from both the nuclear and plastid genomes. Mechanisms that localize nucleus-encoded proteins to the thylakoid membrane have been studied intensively, but little is known about the analogous issues for plastid-encoded proteins. This genome-wide, high-resolution analysis of the partitioning of chloroplast ribosomes between membrane and soluble fractions revealed that approximately half of the chloroplast-encoded thylakoid proteins integrate cotranslationally and half integrate posttranslationally.

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease that affects a broad range of mammalian hosts. It is a serious threat to agriculture in many less-developed countries. In this study, we introduced a mutation to the FokI of the right hand of wild-type transcription activator-like effector nuclease and established a transcription activator-like effector nickase system that creates single-strand breaks in the genome.

Presence/absence variants (PAVs) correlate closely to the phenotypic variation, by impacting plant genome sizes and the adaption to the environment. To shed more light on their genome-wide patterns, functions and the possibility of using them as molecular markers, we generated next generation genome sequencing data for four sorghum inbred lines and used associated bioinformatic pipelines to identify small-size PAVs (40–10 kb).