Search results for " interference"

Effects of acclimation time and epigenetic mechanisms on growth of Neurospora in fluctuating environments

2017

AbstractReaction norms or tolerance curves have often been used to predict how organisms deal with fluctuating environments. A potential drawback is that reaction norms measured in different constant environments may not capture all aspects of organismal responses to fluctuating environments. We examined growth of the filamentous fungusNeurospora crassain fluctuating temperatures and tested if growth in fluctuating temperatures can be explained simply by growth in different constant temperatures or if more complex models are needed. In addition, as previous studies on fluctuating environments have revealed that past temperatures that organisms have experienced can affect their response to c…

Molecular signatures of silencing suppression degeneracy from a complex RNA virus

2021

As genomic architectures become more complex, they begin to accumulate degenerate and redundant elements. However, analyses of the molecular mechanisms underlying these genetic architecture features remain scarce, especially in compact but sufficiently complex genomes. In the present study, we followed a proteomic approach together with a computational network analysis to reveal molecular signatures of protein function degeneracy from a plant virus (as virus-host protein-protein interactions). We employed affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry to detect several host factors interacting with two proteins of Citrus tristeza virus (p20 and p25) that are known to function as RNA sil…

RNA uridylation and decay in plants

2018

RNA uridylation consists of the untemplated addition of uridines at the 3′ extremity of an RNA molecule. RNA uridylation is catalysed by terminal uridylyltransferases (TUTases), which form a subgroup of the terminal nucleotidyltransferase family, to which poly(A) polymerases also belong. The key role of RNA uridylation is to regulate RNA degradation in a variety of eukaryotes, including fission yeast, plants and animals. In plants, RNA uridylation has been mostly studied in two model species, the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana . Plant TUTases target a variety of RNA substrates, differing in size and function. These RNA substrates include …

Diminishing returns of inoculum size on the rate of a plant RNA virus evolution

2017

[EN] Understanding how genetic drift, mutation and selection interplay in determining the evolutionary fate of populations is one of the central themes of Evolutionary Biology. Theory predicts that by increasing the number of coexisting beneficial alleles in a population beyond some point does not necessarily translates into an acceleration in the rate of evolution. This diminishing-returns effect of beneficial genetic variability in microbial asexual populations is known as clonal interference. Clonal interference has been shown to operate in experimental populations of animal RNA viruses replicating in cell cultures. Here we carried out experiments to test whether a similar diminishing-re…

2019

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool for studying functions of candidate genes in both model and nonmodel organisms and a promising technique for therapeutic applications. Successful application of this technique relies on the accuracy and reliability of methods used to quantify gene knockdown. With the limitation in the availability of antibodies for detecting proteins, quantitative PCR (qPCR) remains the preferred method for quantifying target gene knockdown after dsRNA treatment. We evaluated how qPCR primer binding site and target gene expression levels affect quantification of intact mRNA transcripts following dsRNA-mediated RNAi. The use of primer pairs targeting the mRNA sequen…

Multiple paths to cold tolerance: the role of environmental cues, morphological traits and the circadian clock gene vrille

2021

AbstractBackgroundTracing the association between insect cold tolerance and latitudinally and locally varying environmental conditions, as well as key morphological traits and molecular mechanisms, is essential for understanding the processes involved in adaptation. We explored these issues in two closely-related species, Drosophila montana and Drosophila flavomontana, originating from diverse climatic locations across several latitudes on the coastal and mountainous regions of North America. We also investigated the association between sequence variation in one of the key circadian clock genes, vrille, and cold tolerance in both species. Finally, we studied the impact of vrille on fly cold…

The application of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing machinery in food and agricultural science: Current status, future perspectives, and associated cha…

2019

The recent progress in genetic engineering has brought multiple benefits to the food and agricultural industry by enhancing the essential characteristics of agronomic traits. Powerful tools in the field of genome editing, such as siRNA-mediated RNA interference for targeted suppression of gene expression and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) for DNA repair have been widely used for commercial purposes. However, in the last few years, the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 system has revolutionized genome editing and has attracted attention as a powerful tool for several industrial applications. Herein, we review current progresses in the uti…

Genetic variation in the mechanisms of direct mutual interference in a parasitic wasp: consequences in terms of patch-time allocation

2004

Summary 1. Direct mutual interference between insect parasitoids has always been considered to have major consequences for the population dynamics of parasitoid‐host systems. Furthermore, patch time allocation has also always been presented as an important behavioural component that is closely involved in the demographic features of host‐ parasitoid interactions. 2. Based on a detailed analysis of within-patch interactions between Trissolcus basalis (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) females, the present study aimed to understand accurately how direct mutual interference can influence patch time allocation in this species. 3. The genetic variation in the behavioural mechanisms involved in the inter…

Protein actors sustaining arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis: underground artists break the silence

2013

'Summary' 26 I. 'Casting for a scenario' 26 II. 'Nominees for a preliminary role' 27 III. 'Nominees for a leading role' 32 IV. 'Future artists' 37   'Acknowledgements' 38   References 38 Summary The roots of most land plants can enter a relationship with soil-borne fungi belonging to the phylum Glomeromycota. This symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi belongs to the so-called biotrophic interactions, involving the intracellular accommodation of a microorganism by a living plant cell without causing the death of the host. Although profiling technologies have generated an increasing depository of plant and fungal proteins eligible for sustaining AM accommodation and functioning, a …

The critical period of weed control in faba bean and chickpea in Mediterranean areas

2013

Weeds are often the major biological constraint to growing legume crops successfully, and an understanding of the critical period of weed control (CPWC) is important for developing environmentally sustainable weed management practices to prevent unacceptable yield loss. Therefore, we carried out two field experiments to identify the CPWC for two grain legume crops traditionally grown in Mediterranean areas: chickpea and faba bean. The experiments were conducted at two sites both located in the Sicilian inland (Italy). In chickpea, when weeds were left to compete with the crop for the whole cycle, the grain yield reduction was on average about 85% of the weed-free yield, whereas in faba bean…