T-loop phosphorylation of Arabidopsis CDKA;1 is required for its function and can be partially substituted by an aspartate residue

As in other eukaryotes, progression through the cell cycle in plants is governed by cyclin-dependent kinases. Phosphorylation of a canonical Thr residue in the T-loop of the kinases is required for high enzyme activity in animals and yeast. We show that the Arabidopsis thaliana Cdc21/Cdc28 homolog CDKA; 1 is also phosphorylated in the T-loop and that phosphorylation at the conserved Thr-161 residue is essential for its function. A phospho-mimicry T161D substitution restored the primary defect of cdka; 1 mutants, and although the T161D substitution displayed a dramatically reduced kinase activity with a compromised ability to bind substrates, homozygous mutant plants were recovered. The rescue by the T161D substitution, however, was not complete, and the resulting plants displayed various developmental abnormalities. For instance, even though flowers were formed, these plants were completely sterile as a result of a failure of the meiotic program, indicating that different requirements for CDKA; 1 function are needed during plant development

Mit Tintín auf Schatzsuche: Anmerkungen zu den katalanischen Versionen von Le trésor de Rackham le Rouge

Summary: This paper is devoted to the inter- and intra-linguistic comparison of comics on the basis of the volume Le trésor de Rackham le Rouge (engl. Red Rackham’s Treasure) of the Franco-Belgian Tintin series and its two Catalan versions published in 1964 and 2002, respectively. These versions are analyzed with respect to morpho-syntactic (forms of address, clitic pronoun combinations, clause-initial que and future-oriented temporal adverbial clauses introduced by quan) and lexical criteria (technical vocabulary). The study reveals that the models for the reference variety applied by the translators diverge and that the translations reflect, to a certain extent, the sociolinguistic situation of Catalan at the moment of their creation. [Keywords: Tintin; inter- and intra-linguistic translation; linguistic norm; sociolinguistics of normativization; Joaquim Ventalló

Sprachlandschaft in der Grenzregion: Eine Linguistic Landscape Study in Llívia (Cerdanya)

Summary: The present contribution studies the written presence of different languages in the public space of the municipality of Llívia (Cerdanya / Pyrenees), an enclave of the Spanish state on French territory. Applying the sociolinguistic methodology known as Linguistic Landscape Studies, it analyzes the use of Catalan, Castilian, French and English in bottom-up commercial signage in Llívia. It turns out that Catalan predominates in the old town center, while along the main thoroughfare, written language use shows more variation. French, despite being less frequent in absolute terms, shows up prominently and with high visibility in certain commercial branches such as gastronomy and health / beauty / wellness services. [Keywords: Linguistic Landscape Studies; bottomup signs; border towns; multilingualism; Llívia; Cerdanya; Catalonian Pyrenees