Heterologous expression screens in Nicotiana benthamiana identify a candidate effector of the wheat Yellow Rust Pathogen that associates with processing bodies

Rust fungal pathogens of wheat (Triticum spp.) affect crop yields worldwide. The molecular mechanisms underlying the virulence of these pathogens remain elusive, due to the limited availability of suitable molecular genetic research tools. Notably, the inability to perform high-throughput analyses of candidate virulence proteins (also known as effectors) impairs progress. We previously established a pipeline for the fast-forward screens of rust fungal candidate effectors in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. This pipeline involves selecting candidate effectors in silico and performing cell biology and protein-protein interaction assays in planta to gain insight into the putative functions of candidate effectors. In this study, we used this pipeline to identify and characterize sixteen candidate effectors from the wheat yellow rust fungal pathogen Puccinia striiformis f sp tritici. Nine candidate effectors targeted a specific plant subcellular compartment or protein complex, providing valuable information on their putative functions in plant cells. One candidate effector, PST02549, accumulated in processing bodies (P-bodies), protein complexes involved in mRNA decapping, degradation, and storage. PST02549 also associates with the P-body-resident ENHANCER OF mRNA DECAPPING PROTEIN 4 (EDC4) from N. benthamiana and wheat. We propose that P-bodies are a novel plant cell compartment targeted by pathogen effectors

Universal emission intermittency in quantum dots, nanorods, and nanowires

Virtually all known fluorophores, including semiconductor nanoparticles, nanorods and nanowires exhibit unexplainable episodes of intermittent emission blinking. A most remarkable feature of the fluorescence intermittency is a universal power law distribution of on- and off-times. For nanoparticles the resulting power law extends over an extraordinarily wide dynamic range: nine orders of magnitude in probability density and five to six orders of magnitude in time. The exponents hover about the ubiquitous value of -3/2. Dark states routinely last for tens of seconds, which are practically forever on quantum mechanical time scales. Despite such infinite states of darkness, the dots miraculously recover and start emitting again. Although the underlying mechanism responsible for this phenomenon remains an enduring mystery and many questions remain, we argue that substantial theoretical progress has been made.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, Accepted versio

sj-docx-1-sre-10.1177_23326492231162348 – Supplemental material for The Informal Safety Net: Social Network Activation among Hispanic Immigrants during COVID-19

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-sre-10.1177_23326492231162348 for The Informal Safety Net: Social Network Activation among Hispanic Immigrants during COVID-19 by Nicholas C. Smith, Caroline V. Brooks, Emily A. Ekl, Melissa J. García, Denise Ambriz, Gerardo Maupomé and Brea L. Perry in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity</p