CDK-dependent nuclear localization of B-Cyclin Clb1 promotes FEAR activation during meiosis I in budding yeast

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) are master regulators of the cell cycle in eukaryotes. CDK activity is regulated by the presence, post-translational modification and spatial localization of its regulatory subunit cyclin. In budding yeast, the B-cyclin Clb1 is phosphorylated and localizes to the nucleus during meiosis I. However the functional significance of Clb1's phosphorylation and nuclear localization and their mutual dependency is unknown. In this paper, we demonstrate that meiosis-specific phosphorylation of Clb1 requires its import to the nucleus but not vice versa. While Clb1 phosphorylation is dependent on activity of both CDK and polo-like kinase Cdc5, its nuclear localization requires CDK but not Cdc5 activity. Furthermore we show that increased nuclear localization of Clb1 during meiosis enhances activation of FEAR (Cdc Fourteen Early Anaphase Release) pathway. We discuss the significance of our results in relation to regulation of exit from meiosis I

Ipl1/aurora kinase suppresses S-CDK-driven spindle formation during prophase I to ensure chromosome integrity during meiosis

Cells coordinate spindle formation with DNA repair and morphological modifications to chromosomes prior to their segregation to prevent cell division with damaged chromosomes. Here we uncover a novel and unexpected role for Aurora kinase in preventing the formation of spindles by Clb5-CDK (S-CDK) during meiotic prophase I and when the DDR is active in budding yeast. This is critical since S-CDK is essential for replication during premeiotic S-phase as well as double-strand break induction that facilitates meiotic recombination and, ultimately, chromosome segregation. Furthermore, we find that depletion of Cdc5 polo kinase activity delays spindle formation in DDR-arrested cells and that ectopic expression of Cdc5 in prophase I enhances spindle formation, when Ipl1 is depleted. Our findings establish a new paradigm for Aurora kinase function in both negative and positive regulation of spindle dynamics

Rebaling of silage and haylage and its effects on forage microbial and chemical composition - A pilot study

Use of big bale silage and haylage can be difficult on farms where daily forage consumption is comparatively low as speed of deterioration of forage after bale opening may be faster than feed-out rate. Production of smaller bales at harvest is possible, but expensive and work-intensive. Therefore, a pilot study of rebaling forage stored in big bales to smaller bales was conducted. Three separate experiments were included, where microbial and chemical composition of silage and haylage was studied before and after rebaling. In Experiment III, residual big bale forage stored and opened together with rebaled forage was included. Results showed that rebaled haylage and silage had higher yeast counts compared to initial forage; however, residual bales in Experiment III had yeast counts similar to rebaled forage, indicating an effect of storage time rather than of rebaling. In Experiment II, mould counts were higher in rebaled compared to initial silage, but not in haylage. Chemical composition was similar in initial and rebaled forage except for ammonia-N. In Experiment III, ammonia-N was higher in rebaled compared to initial and residual forage and was the only chemical variable affected by rebaling. Bale temperature during aerobic storage followed ambient temperature until day 6-8 in Experiment I and until day 14 in Experiment III where ambient temperature was lower. In conclusion, rebaling can be done without large changes in chemical composition of the forage, but yeast and mould counts may be higher in rebaled forage, and this risk should be considered when using this procedure

Artefact Appropriation in Facilitated Modelling: An Adaptive Structuration Theory Approach

Scholars have long acknowledged the importance of unveiling the black box of Operational Research (OR) practice. However, despite the emerging empirical studies in the area known as ‘Behavioural OR’, there is still a dearth of research into how artefacts are used at the micro-level of OR practice. This paper addresses this gap by using Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) to study the appropriation (use) of artefacts during a Facilitated Modelling (FM) workshop. We argue that the appropriation of artefacts from the workshop participants enables them to engage in negotiation of meaning with action implications effectively, but appropriation occurs at varying intensities (high, medium, low) depending on the issue of concern. Moreover, we identify that artefacts are reproduced if their reproduction is an aim or part of an aim of strategic discourse. Finally, we outline the limitations of our study and future research avenues

Smc5/6 coordinates formation and resolution of joint molecules with chromosome morphology to ensure meiotic divisions

During meiosis, Structural Maintenance of Chromosome (SMC) complexes underpin two fundamental features of meiosis: homologous recombination and chromosome segregation. While meiotic functions of the cohesin and condensin complexes have been delineated, the role of the third SMC complex, Smc5/6, remains enigmatic. Here we identify specific, essential meiotic functions for the Smc5/6 complex in homologous recombination and the regulation of cohesin. We show that Smc5/6 is enriched at centromeres and cohesin-association sites where it regulates sister-chromatid cohesion and the timely removal of cohesin from chromosomal arms, respectively. Smc5/6 also localizes to recombination hotspots, where it promotes normal formation and resolution of a subset of joint-molecule intermediates. In this regard, Smc5/6 functions independently of the major crossover pathway defined by the MutLγ complex. Furthermore, we show that Smc5/6 is required for stable chromosomal localization of the XPF-family endonuclease, Mus81-Mms4Eme1. Our data suggest that the Smc5/6 complex is required for specific recombination and chromosomal processes throughout meiosis and that in its absence, attempts at cell division with unresolved joint molecules and residual cohesin lead to severe recombination-induced meiotic catastroph

THE ROLE OF INTERDEPENDENCE IN THE MICRO-FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATION DESIGN: TASK, GOAL, AND KNOWLEDGE INTERDEPENDENCE

Interdependence is a core concept in organization design, yet one that has remained consistently understudied. Current notions of interdependence remain rooted in seminal works, produced at a time when managers’ near-perfect understanding of the task at hand drove the organization design process. In this context, task interdependence was rightly assumed to be exogenously determined by characteristics of the work and the technology. We no longer live in that world, yet our view of interdependence has remained exceedingly task-centric and our treatment of interdependence overly deterministic. As organizations face increasingly unpredictable workstreams and workers co-design the organization alongside managers, our field requires a more comprehensive toolbox that incorporates aspects of agent-based interdependence. In this paper, we synthesize research in organization design, organizational behavior, and other related literatures to examine three types of interdependence that characterize organizations’ workflows: task, goal, and knowledge interdependence. We offer clear definitions for each construct, analyze how each arises endogenously in the design process, explore their interrelations, and pose questions to guide future research

Accelerated Multi-Organization Conflict Resolution

In this paper, we discuss two situations where two organizations with different aims recognized the dysfunctionality of their relationship. In each of these cases, which were long running (6–8 months), the organizations had worked hard to resolve this dysfunctionality, and conflict, by organizing off-site meetings designed to resolve the conflict. These 1-day meetings failed. Subsequently Group Support System workshops were used for 1 day workshops and in each case the conflict was essentially resolved within 55 min. The research reported in this paper seeks to answer the question: what happened in these cases that led to a resolution of the conflict in such a short time period, given other attempts had failed? Specifically the paper explores the impact of the GSS used to facilitate two organizations seeking to resolve a conflictual situation

From silence to primary definer: The rise of the Intelligence lobby in the public sphere

Until the end of the Cold War the UK intelligence services were not officially acknowledged, and their personnel were banned from entering the public sphere. From 1989 the UK government began to put the intelligence services on a legal footing and to release the identity of the heads of the intelligence agencies. Since then, public engagement by the intelligence agencies has gathered pace. What this article hypothesises is that there is now, in the UK, an effective intelligence lobby of former insiders who engage in the public sphere – using on the record briefings – to counter criticism of the intelligence community and to promote a narrative and vision of what UK intelligence should do, how it is supported and how oversight is conducted. Content analysis and framing models of non-broadcast coverage of intelligence debates, focusing on the 36 months after the Snowden revelations, confirm an active and rolling lobby of current and former intelligence officials. The paper concludes that the extent of the lobby’s interventions in the public sphere is a matter for debate and possible concern

Sense and Antisense Transcripts of Convergent Gene Pairs in Arabidopsis thaliana Can Share a Common Polyadenylation Region

The Arabidopsis genome contains a large number of gene pairs that encode sense and antisense transcripts with overlapping 3′ regions, indicative for a potential role of natural antisense transcription in regulating sense gene expression or transcript processing. When we mapped poly(A) transcripts of three plant gene pairs with long overlapping antisense transcripts, we identified an unusual transcript composition for two of the three gene pairs. Both genes pairs encoded a class of long sense transcripts and a class of short sense transcripts that terminate within the same polyadenylation region as the antisense transcripts encoded by the opposite strand. We find that the presence of the short sense transcript was not dependent on the expression of an antisense transcript. This argues against the assumption that the common termination region for sense and antisense poly(A) transcripts is the result of antisense-specific regulation. We speculate that for some genes evolution may have especially favoured alternative polyadenylation events that shorten transcript length for gene pairs with overlapping sense/antisense transcription, if this reduces the likelihood for dsRNA formation and transcript degradation