Новости науки и практики // Март 2017

New gene for atrazine resistance identified in waterhemp
Plants use any one of hundreds of possible enzymes to detoxify the chemical, rendering it useless. Although University of Illinois weed scientists Dean Riechers, Rong Ma, and Josh Skelton recently developed a quick and easy test for metabolic resistance, they still had no way of knowing which enzyme was responsible.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/uoic-ngf022317.php

Modifying fat content in soybean oil with the molecular scissors Cpf1 
A team from the Center for Genome Engineering, within the Institute for Basic Research (IBS), succeeded in editing two genes that contribute to the fat contents of soybean oil using the new CRISPR-Cpf1 technology: an alternative of the more widely used gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9. The results of this new plant gene editing method, applied to soybeans and wild tobacco genes, are published in Nature Communications.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/ifbs-mfc021517.php

New research on why plant tissues have a sense of direction
Scientists at the John Innes Centre, Norwich have published new evidence that plant tissues can have a preferred direction of growth and that this characteristic is essential for producing complex plant shapes.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/jic-nro020717.php

The origin of stem cells
Freiburg plant biologist Prof. Dr. Thomas Laux and his research group have published an article in the journal Developmental Cell presenting initial findings on how shoot stem cells in plants form during embryogenesis, the process of embryonic development.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/uof-too020817.php

Researchers detail genetic mechanisms that govern growth and drought response in plants
Research outlines how the genetic pathways that govern growth and stress response in plants sometimes clash. The research could lead to better performing crop varieties.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170224111136.htm

New method reveals how proteins stabilize the cell surface
To withstand external mechanical stress and handle trafficking of various substances, a cell needs to adjust its surrounding membrane. This is done through small indentations on the cell surface called caveolae. In order to stabilize its membrane, cells use the protein EHD2, which can be turned on and off to alternate between an inactive closed form and an active open form, scientists have discovered.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170222102543.htm

Molecular biology: Fingerprinting cell identities
Every cell has its own individual molecular fingerprint, which is informative for its functions and regulatory states. Researchers have now carried out a comprehensive comparison of methodologies that quantify RNAs of single cells.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170221095651.htm

Wires and supercapacitors constructed inside living plants
A special structure for storing energy known as a supercapacitor has been constructed in a plant for the first time. The plant, a rose, can be charged and discharged hundreds of times.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170227152004.htm

Correlations of polyploidy, apomixis and alpine environmental gradients
In a recent article published in AoB PLANTS,Schinkel et al. present a study on geographical parthenogenesis, an enigmatic and much disputed phenomenon that involves closely related sexual and apomictic (asexually reproducing) taxa displaying largely divergent distribution patterns. Based on a large sampling of natural populations of Ranunculus kuepferi, their study is the first quantitative, population-based assessment of mode of reproduction throughout the Alps to test for correlations with elevation and geographical distance patterns.
https://aobblog.com/2017/02/correlations-polyploidy-apomixis-elevation-associated-environmental-gradients-alpine-plant/

Seedling photosynthesis and leaf respiration under climate change
Climate change is expected to bring warmer temperatures and more variable precipitation patterns worldwide, patterns that will depend on the ability of the world’s flora to take up carbon under these new conditions. In a recent study published in AoB PLANTS, Smith et al. subjected deciduous tree seedlings growing in an old-field ecosystem in Massachusetts, USA to warming and altered precipitation.
https://aobblog.com/2017/02/characterizing-drivers-seedling-leaf-gas-exchange-responses-warming-altered-precipitation-indirect-direct-effects/

Directional gene conversion and homogenization of rDNA shapes evolution in Brassica
Brassica napus (AACC, oilseed rape) is an allotetraploid species derived from the putative progenitor diploid species B.rapa (AA) and B. oleracea (CC). To assess the influence of intensive breeding conditions on the evolution of the B. napus genome, Kovarik et al. employ cytogenetic and genomic approaches to analyze rDNA structure in 21 cultivars of B. napus.
https://aobblog.com/2017/02/directional-gene-conversion-homogenization-rdna-shapes-evolution-brassica/

Evaluating traits contributing to salinity tolerance
The authors present methods and support methodologies to test for and quantify the impact of salinity on individual traits, such as ion exclusion, maintenance of water relations, transpiration rate and efficiency, ionic relations, photosynthesis, senescence, and maintenance of growth and yield components.
https://aobblog.com/2017/02/evaluating-traits-contributing-salinity-tolerance/

Aluminium accumulation in a temperate accumulating plant
In a recent study published in AoB PLANTS, Schmitt et al. investigated the Al accumulation behaviour in the temperate, deciduous species Symplocos paniculata, which belongs to a mainly tropical genus known to accumulate high levels of Al in its aboveground tissues. Based on a growing experiment in hydroponics with and without Al, they found that S. paniculata has the capacity to accumulate Al and that the absence of Al in the nutrient solution has a negative impact on the performance of saplings.
https://aobblog.com/2017/02/effects-aluminium-plant-growth-temperate-deciduous-aluminium-accumulating-species/

В МГУ запустили «Ноев ковчег»
Масштабная электронная база данных предназначена для работы с самой разной биологической информацией – от рациона питания одноклеточных организмов до секвенированных геном.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/tiot-ppp020817.php

CU scientists help pinpoint genetic changes related to carnivorous plant evolution
A team of scientists have sequenced the genome of the Australian pitcher plant and discovered a key to the mystery of how those plants became predatory.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-02/uoca-csh020317.php

Plants smell different when they are eaten by exotic herbivoresAn international research team has tested the effects of twelve types of herbivores on field mustard (Brassica rapa). The researchers found that the plants consistently adapt the odours they emit upon attack to the characteristics of the respective herbivore. This helps the plant to specifically attract natural enemies that feed on the herbivores eating them. Most surprisingly, they emit different odour bouquets in response to exotic as opposed to native herbivores.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170213131417.htm