Electron microscopic evidence for phagocytic properties of human peripheral mononuclear cells cultured with PHA.

The time course of the ultrastructural changes induced in human peripheral mononuclear cells, when cultured with PHA, has been studied. In addition to findings common to many mitotic cells, such as an increase in nuclear and nucleolar size, the presence of free polyribosomes, glycogen and lipid globules in the cytoplasma, and a high number of mitochondria, agglutinating properties due to PHA per se were observed in the first 12 hours. At 72 hours certain cells developed phagocytic-like properties, i.e. they were able to incorporate both material from the extracellular compartment and syngeneic cells. These results are discussed suggesting the possible presence of macrophages in culture or the ability of activated T cells to express it.     

First record of a bicephalic embryo of smalltail shark Carcharhinus porosus

This study reports the first bicephalic embryo of smalltail shark Carcharhinus porosus, which was removed from a pregnant female in coastal waters of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. The observation suggested that although the individual's body was well formed, the malformation of the head would have affected it survival.     

Computational aspects underlying genome to phenome analysis in plants

Recent advances in genomics technologies have greatly accelerated the progress in both fundamental plant science and applied breeding research. Concurrently, high‐throughput plant phenotyping is becoming widely adopted in the plant community, promising to alleviate the phenotypic bottleneck. While these technological breakthroughs are significantly accelerating quantitative trait locus (QTL) and causal gene identification, challenges to enable even more sophisticated analyses remain. In particular, care needs to be taken to standardize, describe and conduct experiments robustly while relying on plant physiology expertise. In this article, we review the state of the art regarding genome assembly and the future potential of pangenomics in plant research. We also describe the necessity of standardizing and describing phenotypic studies using the Minimum Information About a Plant Phenotyping Experiment (MIAPPE) standard to enable the reuse and integration of phenotypic data. In addition, we show how deep phenotypic data might yield novel trait?trait correlations and review how to link phenotypic data to genomic data. Finally, we provide perspectives on the golden future of machine learning and their potential in linking phenotypes to genomic features.     

The essential role of chemokines in the selective regulation of lymphocyte homing

Knowledge of lymphocyte migration has become a major issue in our understanding of acquired immunity. The selective migration of na?ve, effector, memory and regulatory T-cells is a multiple step process regulated by a specific arrangement of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion receptors that guide these cells to specific locations. Recent research has outlined two major pathways of lymphocyte trafficking under homeostatic and inflammatory conditions, one concerning tropism to cutaneous tissue and a second one related to mucosal-associated sites. In this article we will outline our present understanding of the role of cytokines and chemokines as regulators of lymphocyte migration through tissues.     

AtABCG29 is a monolignol transporter involved in lignin biosynthesis

Lignin is the defining constituent of wood and the second most abundant natural polymer on earth. Lignin is produced by the oxidative coupling of three monolignols: p-coumaryl alcohol, coniferyl alcohol, and sinapyl alcohol. Monolignols are synthesized via the phenylpropanoid pathway and eventually polymerized in the cell wall by peroxidases and laccases. However, the mechanism whereby monolignols are transported from the cytosol to the cell wall has remained elusive. Here we report the discovery that AtABCG29, an ATP-binding cassette transporter, acts as a p-coumaryl alcohol transporter. Expression of AtABCG29 promoter-driven reporter genes and a Citrine-AtABCG29 fusion construct revealed that AtABCG29 is targeted to the plasma membrane of the root endodermis and vascular tissue. Moreover, yeasts expressing AtABCG29 exhibited an increased tolerance to p-coumaryl alcohol by excreting this monolignol. Vesicles isolated from yeasts expressing AtABCG29 exhibited a p-coumaryl alcohol transport activity. Loss-of-function Arabidopsis mutants contained less lignin subunits and were more sensitive to p-coumaryl alcohol. Changes in secondary metabolite profiles in abcg29 underline the importance of regulating p-coumaryl alcohol levels in the cytosol. This is the first identification of a monolignol transporter, closing a crucial gap in our understanding of lignin biosynthesis, which could open new directions for lignin engineering.