Establishing winter annual cover crops by interseeding into Maize and Soybean

The limited time available for cover crop establishment after maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] harvest is one of the main reasons for low cover crop adoption in the upper Midwest. Therefore, a 2‐yr multilocation study was conducted to evaluate winter annual cover crops establishment, their effect on main crop grain yields, and soil water content when interseeded into standing maize and soybean. Treatments were three interseeding dates (broadcasting at R4, R5, and R6 growth stages for maize, and R6, R7, and R8 for soybean) and three cover crops (winter camelina [WC] [Camelina sativa L.], field pennycress [PC] [Thlaspi arvense L.], winter rye [Secale cereale L.] plus a no cover crop control). Cover crop establishment and growth varied with interseeding date across locations and seasons for both maize and soybean systems. Averaged over the years, rye produced more green cover and biomass than the oilseeds in spring. However, at the northern‐most site, the greatest (40%) green cover was recorded from pennycress and indicates its potential as a cover crop. Seeding date and cover crops did not negatively affect maize or soybean grain yields or soil water content. Generally, cover crop establishment and growth were better in the soybean system than maize due to better light penetration. Further research is needed to develop better suited cultivars and/or agronomic management practices for interseeding into maize. The results of this study indicate that producers could integrate these covers to diversify and add ecosystem services to soybean production practices

The Ccr4-Not Complex Interacts with the mRNA Export Machinery

The Ccr4-Not complex is a key eukaryotic regulator of gene transcription and cytoplasmic mRNA degradation. Whether this complex also affects aspects of post-transcriptional gene regulation, such as mRNA export, remains largely unexplored. Human Caf1 (hCaf1), a Ccr4-Not complex member, interacts with and regulates the arginine methyltransferase PRMT1, whose targets include RNA binding proteins involved in mRNA export. However, the functional significance of this regulation is poorly understood.Here we demonstrate using co-immunoprecipitation approaches that Ccr4-Not subunits interact with Hmt1, the budding yeast ortholog of PRMT1. Furthermore, using genetic and biochemical approaches, we demonstrate that Ccr4-Not physically and functionally interacts with the heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs) Nab2 and Hrp1, and that the physical association depends on Hmt1 methyltransferase activity. Using mass spectrometry, co-immunoprecipitation and genetic approaches, we also uncover physical and functional interactions between Ccr4-Not subunits and components of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and we provide evidence that these interactions impact mRNA export.Taken together, our findings suggest that Ccr4-Not has previously unrealized functional connections to the mRNA processing/export pathway that are likely important for its role in gene expression. These results shed further insight into the biological functions of Ccr4-Not and suggest that this complex is involved in all aspects of mRNA biogenesis, from the regulation of transcription to mRNA export and turnover

A Critical Technology: Interconnecting Distributed Generation to the Grid

Are current interconnection rules, as utilities often state, simplymeeting utilities’ needs for protecting the grid and ensuring the safetyof linesmen? Or—as independent developers of distributed genera-tion claim—are the rules’ anti-competitive measures designed to blockthe spread of on-site generation? Conflicts of interest appear to becommonplace, and the answer probably depends on one’s perspective.But no other issue controls the future of distributed generation likeinterconnection.</jats:p