Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology – Page 3

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#Researchers complete first-ever chromosomal-level genome sequencing of a freshwater sponge

Admin6 years ago05 mins

“#Researchers complete first-ever chromosomal-level genome sequencing of a freshwater sponge” Scientists have completed the first-ever chromosomal-level genome sequencing of Ephydatia muelleri, a freshwater sponge found in lakes, rivers, ponds and canals. Credit: Sally Leys Scientists have completed the first chromosomal-level genome sequence for a freshwater sponge—offering insight into how the sponge has evolved over 600…

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#How the zebrafish got its stripes

Admin6 years ago08 mins

“#How the zebrafish got its stripes” Zoom into the zebrafish’s alternating pattern and the stripes of colour resolve into individual pigment cells like a pointillist painting. Credit: Adapted by Kit Yates from Wikimedia and inset by Jennifer Owen Animal patterns—the stripes, spots and rosettes seen in the wild—are a source of endless fascination, and now…

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#Researchers develop gene regulation strategies for plants

Admin6 years ago05 mins

“#Researchers develop gene regulation strategies for plants” Credit: Asociación RUVID A team of scientists from the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMCP), a mixed center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Valencia’s Polytechnic University (UPV), has developed two strategies based on trans-acting small interfering RNAs (syn-tasiRNAs) to modulate the level of silencing induced…

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#New study shows how plants regulate their growth-inhibiting hormones to survive

Admin6 years ago08 mins

“#New study shows how plants regulate their growth-inhibiting hormones to survive” Dimerization of OsGA2ox and OsDAO enhances its enzymatic activity. Under low substrate concentration (GA4 or IAA) (left), GA2ox or DAO functions as a monomer with low enzyme activity. At high substrate concentration (right), the interface GA4 or IAA causes the formation of multimers by…

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#Researchers uncover molecular architecture of natural photosynthetic machinery

Admin6 years ago04 mins

“#Researchers uncover molecular architecture of natural photosynthetic machinery” Credit: CC0 Public Domain Biological membranes play important roles in shaping the cell, sensing the external environment, molecule transport, and generating energy for life. One of the most significant biological membranes are the thylakoid membranes produced in plants, algae and cyanobacteria, which carry out the light reactions…

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#Discovery reveals how plants make cellulose for strength and growth

Admin6 years ago07 mins

“#Discovery reveals how plants make cellulose for strength and growth” Credit: CC0 Public Domain New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine reveals how plants create the load-bearing structures that let them grow—much like how building crews frame a house. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the new discovery unveils the molecular…

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#Dissecting fruit flies’ varying responses to life-extension diet

Admin6 years ago09 mins

“#Dissecting fruit flies’ varying responses to life-extension diet” A cartoon of an elderly fruit-fly enjoying his breakfast. The effects of calorie-restricted diets on fruit fly aging and lifespans is not uniform across different strains. A new study looks at small molecules involved in cell metabolism to see why this inconsistency occurs. Credit: Alice C. Gray…

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#Born to be a cannibal: Genes for feeding behaviour in mandarin fish identified

Admin6 years ago06 mins

“#Born to be a cannibal: Genes for feeding behaviour in mandarin fish identified” Young S. chuatsi preying on a live fish. Credit: HZAU Some mandarin fish species (Sinipercidae) are pure fish-eaters, which feed exclusively on living juvenile fish—also of their own species. A research team led by the Chinese Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU) and the…

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#Enzymes as double agents: New mechanism discovered in protein modification

Admin6 years ago07 mins

“#Enzymes as double agents: New mechanism discovered in protein modification” Researchers discovered a new family of certain acetyltransferases (GNAT) in the chloroplasts of plant cells (center). The enzymes can drive two different acetylations on protein sequences (colourful chains of amino acids). Credit: Annika Brünje/Molecular Systems Biology Proteins are the workers in a cell and, as…

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#Research reveals regulatory features of maize genome during early reproductive development

Admin6 years ago06 mins

“#Research reveals regulatory features of maize genome during early reproductive development” Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Growth and development of all organisms depends on coordinated regulation of gene expression in time and space, and this is largely controlled by non-coding sequences in the genome. A major challenge in genomics-enabled crop improvement is functional annotation of cis-regulatory…