Polyadenylation of a functional mRNA controls gene expression in Escherichia coli

Although usually implicated in the stabilization of mRNAs in eukaryotes, polyadenylation was initially shown to destabilize RNA in bacteria. All the data are consistent with polyadenylation being part of a quality control process targeting folded RNA fragments and non-functional RNA molecules to degradation. We report here an example in Escherichia coli, where polyadenylation directly controls the level of expression of a gene by modulating the stability of a functional transcript. Inactivation of poly(A)polymerase I causes overexpression of glucosamine–6-phosphate synthase (GlmS) and both the accumulation and stabilization of the glmS transcript. Moreover, we show that the glmS mRNA results from the processing of the glmU-glmS cotranscript by RNase E. Interestingly, the glmU-glmS cotranscript and the mRNA fragment encoding GlmU only slightly accumulated in the absence of poly(A)polymerase, suggesting that the endonucleolytically generated glmS mRNA harbouring a 5′ monophosphate and a 3′ stable hairpin is highly susceptible to poly(A)-dependent degradation

Fonctionnement hydrique de sols en agriculture de conservation: Quelques résultats du programme BAG'AGES

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Turn Digitalization and Automation to a Job Resource

My aim with this commentary is to discuss my vision on what will determine its impact, building on Parker and Grote (2020). To my view, digitalization and automation can contribute to stimulating and “healthy” jobs, if (a) they are designed to support people’s work, (b) people are in control and can craft their use, (c) job resources are maximized and job demands are affordable, (d) the economic growth is shared among stakeholders, including employees, and (e) authorities protect employees and employment (conditions)

Operator recognition by the ROK transcription factor family members, NagC and Mlc

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Physical properties of soils under conservation agriculture: A multi-site experiment on five soil types in south-western France

International audienceSoil properties, under the major influence of agricultural practices in cultivated fields, influence the distribution and quality of water and vary greatly in space and time. In conservation agriculture (CA), the combination of practices implemented can modify water retention and circulation. In this study, fields managed under CA and adjacent fields with regular ploughing (CONV) were used to characterize the water functioning of soils in the Adour-Garonne basin in south-western France. Hydraulic conductivity (KS), bulk density and available water capacity (AWC) of the soils were measured to a depth of 50 cm on multiple dates to assess their temporal dynamics. Mean KS was 1.5–3.0 times as high under CA (100–160 mm h−1) as under CONV (50–70 mm h−1), depending on the soil. CA had less temporal variability in infiltration capacity than CONV. Under CONV, infiltration was generally high after ploughing but decreased rapidly (by a factor of 2–20) depending on the soil and depth studied. AWC was significantly higher in the surface horizon (0–5 cm) under CA than under CONV, but the difference remained small (≤10 %) at the scale of the soil profile. In contrast, rooting depth, and thus the ability to use this AWC, was higher under CA. Thus, the changes in soil water functioning under CA seem to be related more to improved functioning of the AWC (through greater and more stable infiltration over time) and use by crops (through increased root exploration) than to an increase in the AWC itself. These elements make it possible to better evaluate effects of CA implementation on crop water supply and quantitative water management under CA

Two critical brain networks for generation and combination of remote associations

International audienceRecent functional imaging findings in humans indicate that creativity relies on spontaneous and controlled processes, possibly supported by the default mode and the fronto-parietal control networks, respectively. Here, we examined the ability to generate 10 and combine remote semantic associations, in relation to creative abilities, in patients with focal frontal lesions. Voxel-based lesion-deficit mapping, disconnection-deficit mapping and network-based lesion-deficit approaches revealed critical prefrontal nodes and connections for distinct mechanisms related to creative cognition. Damage to the right medial prefrontal region, or its potential disrupting effect on the default mode network, affected the ability to generate remote ideas, likely by altering the organization of semantic associations. Damage to the left rostrolateral prefrontal region and its connections, or its potential disrupting effect on the 15 left fronto-parietal control network, spared the ability to generate remote ideas but impaired the ability to appropriately combine remote ideas. Hence, the current findings suggest that damage to specific nodes within the default mode and fronto-parietal control networks led to a critical loss of verbal creative abilities by altering distinct cognitive mechanisms

Effect of the mutation on functional mRNA stability and protein synthesis

kan (IBPC 903 and CA244-PAP, respectively) (lanes 2 and 4) and (IBPC 690) (lane 6) derivatives. Cells were grown in LB medium until mid-log phase and soluble proteins analyzed by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and revealed by Coomassie Blue staining