Somatic signals counteract reproductive aging in females

Recent research shows that declining oocyte quality with age is not inevitable in nematodes, and similar signals might regulate reproductive aging in women

Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Vegetables and Small Fruits 2004

Herbicide evaluation studies on vegetables and small fruits were conducted in 2004 at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at Fayetteville, AR, in an effort to evaluate new herbicides, herbicide mixtures, and their application timings for weed control efficacy and crop tolerance. Results of these studies, in part, provide useful information to producers, fellow researchers, the Crop Protection Industry, and the IR-4 Minor Crop Pest Management Program in the development of potential new herbicide uses in vegetable, and fruit

Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Rice 2005

Field studies to evaluate herbicides in rice weed management systems were conducted in 2005 at the Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, Arkansas. New herbicides, herbicide mixtures, and application timings were evaluated for weed control efficacy and rice tolerance. Results of these studies, in part, provide useful information to producers, fellow researchers, and the crop protection industry for the most effective, economical herbicide programs for successful rice production in Arkansas

Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Rice 2004

Herbicide evaluation studies on rice were conducted in 2004 at the Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, AR, in an effort to evaluate new herbicides, herbicide mixtures, and their application timings for weed control and crop tolerance. Results of these studies, in part, provide useful information to producers, fellow researchers, and the Crop Protection Industry for the potential use of new herbicide programs for successful rice production in Arkansas

Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Rice 2003

Herbicide evaluation studies on rice were conducted in 2003 at the Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, Ark., in an effort to evaluate new herbicides, herbicide mixtures, and their application timings for weed control efficacy and crop tolerance. Results of these studies, in part, provide useful information to producers, fellow researchers, and the crop protection industry for the potential use of new herbicide programs for successful rice production in Arkansas

Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Vegetables, Small Fruit, and Ornamental Crops 2003

Herbicide evaluation studies on vegetables, small fruit, and ornamental crops were conducted in 2003 at the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station in Fayetteville, Ark., and the Vegetable Substation near Kibler, Ark., in an effort to evaluate new herbicides, herbicide mixtures, and their application timings for weed control efficacy and crop tolerance. Results of these studies, in part, provide useful information to producers, fellow researchers, the Crop Protection Industry, and the IR-4 Minor Crop Pest Management Program in the development of potential new herbicide uses in vegetable, fruit, and ornamental production

Genetic Interactions Due to Constitutive and Inducible Gene Regulation Mediated by the Unfolded Protein Response in C. elegans

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is an adaptive signaling pathway utilized to sense and alleviate the stress of protein folding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In mammals, the UPR is mediated through three proximal sensors PERK/PEK, IRE1, and ATF6. PERK/PEK is a protein kinase that phosphorylates the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 to inhibit protein synthesis. Activation of IRE1 induces splicing of XBP1 mRNA to produce a potent transcription factor. ATF6 is a transmembrane transcription factor that is activated by cleavage upon ER stress. We show that in Caenorhabditis elegans, deletion of either ire-1 or xbp-1 is synthetically lethal with deletion of either atf-6 or pek-1, both producing a developmental arrest at larval stage 2. Therefore, in C. elegans, atf-6 acts synergistically with pek-1 to complement the developmental requirement for ire-1 and xbp-1. Microarray analysis identified inducible UPR (i-UPR) genes, as well as numerous constitutive UPR (c-UPR) genes that require the ER stress transducers during normal development. Although ire-1 and xbp-1 together regulate transcription of most i-UPR genes, they are each required for expression of nonoverlapping sets of c-UPR genes, suggesting that they have distinct functions. Intriguingly, C. elegans atf-6 regulates few i-UPR genes following ER stress, but is required for the expression of many c-UPR genes, indicating its importance during development and homeostasis. In contrast, pek-1 is required for induction of approximately 23% of i-UPR genes but is dispensable for the c-UPR. As pek-1 and atf-6 mainly act through sets of nonoverlapping targets that are different from ire-1 and xbp-1 targets, at least two coordinated responses are required to alleviate ER stress by distinct mechanisms. Finally, our array study identified the liver-specific transcription factor CREBh as a novel UPR gene conserved during metazoan evolution

EFFECTS OF TERNARY ADDITIONS OF ALUMINUM-35 w/o URANIUM ALLOYS

The effects of a number of ternary additions on the constitution, casting, and fabricating characteristics and the physical properties of aluminum- 35 wt.% uranium were investigated. Initial investigations were concerned with the effects of 3 at.% ternary additions on the microstructure and press-forging characteristics of the alloy. It was found that additions of this magnitude often introduced extrinsic phases in the alloy. At the 3 wt% level, additions of germanium, silicon, tin, or zirconium inhibited the formation of UAl/sub 4/ and thereby increased the extent of the aluminum matrix in the alloy. It was also noted that these additions decreased the pressures required for extruding, and the tin addition also improved the homogeneity of cast shapes. Lead and palladium also improved the homogeneity of the cast material; however, neither of these was an effective inhibitor of UAl/sub 4/ and free lead was detected in the alloy to which lead had been added as the ternary. From these studies it appears that tin and zirconium are as effective as silicon in enhancing the fabricating characteristics of rior when evaluated on the bases of casting qualities and recycling characteristics. (auth

Evolution of Yin and Yang isoforms of a chromatin remodeling subunit precedes the creation of two genes

Genes can encode multiple isoforms, broadening their functions and providing a molecular substrate to evolve phenotypic diversity. Evolution of isoform function is a potential route to adapt to new environments. Here we show that de novo, beneficial alleles in the nurf-1 gene became fixed in two laboratory lineages of C. elegans after isolation from the wild in 1951, before methods of cryopreservation were developed. nurf-1 encodes an ortholog of BPTF, a large (>300 kD) multidomain subunit of the NURF chromatin remodeling complex. Using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and transgenic rescue, we demonstrate that in C. elegans, nurf-1 has split into two, largely non-overlapping isoforms (NURF-1.D and NURF-1.B, which we call Yin and Yang, respectively) that share only two of 26 exons. Both isoforms are essential for normal gametogenesis but have opposite effects on male/female gamete differentiation. Reproduction in hermaphrodites, which involves production of both sperm and oocytes, requires a balance of these opposing Yin and Yang isoforms. Transgenic rescue and genetic position of the fixed mutations suggest that different isoforms are modified in each laboratory strain. In a related clade of Caenorhabditis nematodes, the shared exons have duplicated, resulting in the split of the Yin and Yang isoforms into separate genes, each containing approximately 200 amino acids of duplicated sequence that has undergone accelerated protein evolution following the duplication. Associated with this duplication event is the loss of two additional nurf-1 transcripts, including the long-form transcript and a newly identified, highly expressed transcript encoded by the duplicated exons. We propose these lost transcripts are non-functional side products necessary to transcribe the Yin and Yang transcripts in the same cells. Our work demonstrates how gene sharing, through the production of multiple isoforms, can precede the creation of new, independent genes.National Institute of General Medical Sciences R01GM114170 Patrick T McGrat National Institute of General Medical Sciences R01GM121688 Ronald E Ellis.The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.S