16 research outputs found
Sequence-Based Analysis Uncovers an Abundance of Non-Coding RNA in the Total Transcriptome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
RNA sequencing provides a new perspective on the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by revealing an extensive presence of non-coding RNA, including long 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions, antisense transcripts, and intergenic small RNA (sRNA) molecules. More than a quarter of all sequence reads mapping outside of ribosomal RNA genes represent non-coding RNA, and the density of reads mapping to intergenic regions was more than two-fold higher than that mapping to annotated coding sequences. Selected sRNAs were found at increased abundance in stationary phase cultures and accumulated to remarkably high levels in the lungs of chronically infected mice, indicating a potential contribution to pathogenesis. The ability of tubercle bacilli to adapt to changing environments within the host is critical to their ability to cause disease and to persist during drug treatment; it is likely that novel post-transcriptional regulatory networks will play an important role in these adaptive responses
Rice early flowering1, a CKI, phosphorylates DELLA protein SLR1 to negatively regulate gibberellin signalling
The plant hormone gibberellin (GA) is crucial for multiple aspects of plant growth and development. To study the relevant regulatory mechanisms, we isolated a rice mutant earlier flowering1, el1, which is deficient in a casein kinase I that has critical roles in both plants and animals. el1 had an enhanced GA response, consistent with the suppression of EL1 expression by exogenous GA3. Biochemical characterization showed that EL1 specifically phosphorylates the rice DELLA protein SLR1, proving a direct evidence for SLR1 phosphorylation. Overexpression of SLR1 in wild-type plants caused a severe dwarf phenotype, which was significantly suppressed by EL1 deficiency, indicating the negative effect of SLR1 on GA signalling requires the EL1 function. Further studies showed that the phosphorylation of SLR1 is important for maintaining its activity and stability, and mutation of the candidate phosphorylation site of SLR1 results in the altered GA signalling. This study shows EL1 a novel and key regulator of the GA response and provided important clues on casein kinase I activities in GA signalling and plant development
Glucose regulates clathrin adaptors at the trans-Golgi network and endosomes
Traffic at the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and endosomes is regulated by glucose via an unknown mechanism that depends on protein kinase A (PKA). TGN–endosomal clathrin adaptors exhibit specific responses to glucose starvation that likely are coordinated with other cell behaviors regulated by PKA
Seed-expressed casein kinase I acts as a positive regulator of the SeFAD2 promoter via phosphorylation of the SebHLH transcription factor
High probability of comorbidities in bronchial asthma in Germany
Clinical experience has shown that allergic and non-allergic respiratory, metabolic, mental, and cardiovascular disorders sometimes
coexist with bronchial asthma. However, no study has been carried out that calculates the chance of manifestation of these
disorders with bronchial asthma in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Using ICD10 diagnoses from health care
institutions, the present study systematically analyzed the co-prevalence and odds ratios of comorbidities in the asthma population
in Germany. The odds ratios were adjusted for age and sex for all comorbidities for patients with asthma vs. without asthma.
Bronchial asthma was strongly associated with allergic and with a lesser extent to non-allergic comorbidities: OR 7.02 (95%
CI:6.83–7.22) for allergic rhinitis; OR 4.98 (95%CI:4.67–5.32) allergic conjunctivitis; OR 2.41 (95%CI:2.33–2.52) atopic dermatitis; OR
2.47 (95%CI:2.16–2.82) food allergy, and OR 1.69 (95%CI:1.61–1.78) drug allergy. Interestingly, increased ORs were found for
respiratory diseases: 2.06 (95%CI:1.64–2.58) vocal dysfunction; 1.83 (95%CI:1.74–1.92) pneumonia; 1.78 (95%CI:1.73–1.84) sinusitis;
1.71 (95%CI:1.65–1.78) rhinopharyngitis; 2.55 (95%CI:2.03–3.19) obstructive sleep apnea; 1.42 (95%CI:1.25–1.61) pulmonary
embolism, and 3.75 (95%CI:1.64–8.53) bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Asthmatics also suffer from psychiatric, metabolic, cardiac
or other comorbidities. Myocardial infarction (OR 0.86, 95%CI:0.79–0.94) did not coexist with asthma. Based on the calculated
chances of manifestation for these comorbidities, especially allergic and respiratory, to a lesser extent also metabolic,
cardiovascular, and mental disorders should be taken into consideration in the diagnostic and treatment strategy of bronchial
asthma
Regulation of G Protein–Initiated Signal Transduction in Yeast: Paradigms and Principles
The AP-3 adaptor complex is required for vacuolar function in Arabidopsis
Subcellular trafficking is required for a multitude of functions in eukaryotic cells. It involves regulation of cargo sorting, vesicle formation, trafficking and fusion processes at multiple levels. Adaptor protein (AP) complexes are key regulators of cargo sorting into vesicles in yeast and mammals but their existence and function in plants have not been demonstrated. Here we report the identification of the protein-affected trafficking 4 (pat4) mutant defective in the putative d subunit of the AP-3 complex. pat4 and pat2, a mutant isolated from the same GFP imaging-based forward genetic screen that lacks a functional putative AP-3 ß, as well as dominant negative AP-3 µ transgenic lines display undistinguishable phenotypes characterized by largely normal morphology and development, but strong intracellular accumulation of membrane proteins in aberrant vacuolar structures. All mutants are defective in morphology and function of lytic and protein storage vacuoles (PSVs) but show normal sorting of reserve proteins to PSVs. Immunoprecipitation experiments and genetic studies revealed tight functional and physical associations of putative AP-3 ß and AP-3 d subunits. Furthermore, both proteins are closely linked with putative AP-3 µ and s subunits and several components of the clathrin and dynamin machineries. Taken together, these results demonstrate that AP complexes, similar to those in other eukaryotes, exist in plants, and that AP-3 plays a specific role in the regulation of biogenesis and function of vacuoles in plant cells