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- June 4, 2012
- 02:05 AM
- 258 views
Plant Genetic Material (miRNAs) can Alter Animal Gene Expression
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
Eat your greens & grains! It's not just the macromolecular nutrients in them that are good for you (the natural carbs & proteins), but the genes too. Yup, plant genes can change the expression of our genes, and we just have to eat them.
Relatively recently, Zhang et. al. suggested that rice miR168 can regulate fat metabolism in animals and humans after eating rice. They were able to detect the plant miR168 in the sera/blood of multiple animals. It was also found in multiple organs. If you fol........ Read more »
Vaucheret, H., & Chupeau, Y. (2011) Ingested plant miRNAs regulate gene expression in animals. Cell Research, 22(1), 3-5. DOI: 10.1038/cr.2011.164
Zhang L, Hou D, Chen X, Li D, Zhu L, Zhang Y, Li J, Bian Z, Liang X, Cai X.... (2012) Exogenous plant MIR168a specifically targets mammalian LDLRAP1: evidence of cross-kingdom regulation by microRNA. Cell research, 22(1), 107-26. PMID: 21931358
- April 12, 2011
- 03:42 PM
- 828 views
miRNA Elevation
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
Been reading up a lot lately on miRNA over-expression in plants. The science (or art) of elevating miRNA levels by 100x. If you fuse any plant gene to a cauliflower mosaic virus promoter (called a 35S promoter), its mRNA transcript...... Read more »
Jones-Rhoades, M., Bartel, D., & Bartel, B. (2006) MicroRNAs AND THEIR REGULATORY ROLES IN PLANTS. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 57(1), 19-53. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.57.032905.105218
Millar, A. (2005) The Arabidopsis GAMYB-Like Genes, MYB33 and MYB65, Are MicroRNA-Regulated Genes That Redundantly Facilitate Anther Development. THE PLANT CELL ONLINE, 17(3), 705-721. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.104.027920
Achard, P. (2004) Modulation of floral development by a gibberellin-regulated microRNA. Development, 131(14), 3357-3365. DOI: 10.1242/dev.01206
- February 17, 2011
- 09:30 AM
- 879 views
Flooding and the Great Barrier Reef (and my 1st article)
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
It's been a few weeks now since the historic flood in Australia. Pretty much all that water has now gone into the oceans, with various effects on the wild life there. The impact of floodwaters isn't as extensive as you...... Read more »
Lough, J. (2007) Tropical river flow and rainfall reconstructions from coral luminescence: Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Paleoceanography, 22(2). DOI: 10.1029/2006PA001377
Van Woesik, R., De Vantier, L., & Glazebrook, J. (1995) Effects of Cyclone 'Joy' on nearshore coral communities of the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 261-270. DOI: 10.3354/meps128261
FABRICIUS, K. (2005) Effects of terrestrial runoff on the ecology of corals and coral reefs: review and synthesis. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50(2), 125-146. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2004.11.028
De'ath G, & Fabricius K. (2010) Water quality as a regional driver of coral biodiversity and macroalgae on the Great Barrier Reef. Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America, 20(3), 840-50. PMID: 20437968
Anthony, K., Kline, D., Diaz-Pulido, G., Dove, S., & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2008) Ocean acidification causes bleaching and productivity loss in coral reef builders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(45), 17442-17446. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0804478105
- February 10, 2011
- 10:58 AM
- 579 views
Thesising ~ Feeling Stuck?
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
(Or worse blocked? *gasp. this sort of fits in with two other posts on thesising I've had) Ever feel like everyday is the same? Like some song stuck on repeat? Or part of the lyrics of some familiar song? Or...... Read more »
Powell, K. (2010) Publications: Publish like a pro. Nature, 467(7317), 873-875. DOI: 10.1038/nj7317-873a
Mullins, G., & Kiley, M. (2002) 'It's a PhD, not a Nobel Prize': How experienced examiners assess research theses. Studies in Higher Education, 27(4), 369-386. DOI: 10.1080/0307507022000011507
- February 6, 2011
- 01:52 AM
- 588 views
Don't Panic! Realities of Vector Borne Diseases after the Queenslands Floods
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
While there's always a risk of rising disease incidence after a natural disaster, it's not always a cause for concern. For Western and developed countries, chances of acquiring a vector borne disease are slim. Yes, you should still probably take...... Read more »
Williams CR, Bader CA, Kearney MR, Ritchie SA, & Russell RC. (2010) The extinction of dengue through natural vulnerability of its vectors. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 4(12). PMID: 21200424
Russell, R. (1998) Mosquito-borne arboviruses in Australia: the current scene and implications of climate change for human health. International Journal for Parasitology, 28(6), 955-969. DOI: 10.1016/S0020-7519(98)00053-8
Russell, R. (2009) Mosquito-borne disease and climate change in Australia: time for a reality check. Australian Journal of Entomology, 48(1), 1-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2008.00677.x
- February 2, 2011
- 12:59 AM
- 550 views
The Sophisticated, Imperfect Relationship between miRNAs and their Targets
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
Perfect matches aren't always desirable in nature. despite what eharmony & plenty of fish tells you. And you shouldn't hanker for it either. Imperfections are what make matches harmonious..for gene silencing by miRNAs. macroscopic relationships are other people's problems, like...... Read more »
Himber, C. (2003) Transitivity-dependent and -independent cell-to-cell movement of RNA silencing. The EMBO Journal, 22(17), 4523-4533. DOI: 10.1093/emboj/cdg431
Schwab, R., & Voinnet, O. (2010) RNA silencing amplification in plants: Size matters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(34), 14945-14946. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1009416107
Park, W., Zhai, J., & Lee, J. (2008) Highly efficient gene silencing using perfect complementary artificial miRNA targeting AP1 or heteromeric artificial miRNA targeting AP1 and CAL genes. Plant Cell Reports, 28(3), 469-480. DOI: 10.1007/s00299-008-0651-5
Schwab, R. (2006) Highly Specific Gene Silencing by Artificial MicroRNAs in Arabidopsis. THE PLANT CELL ONLINE, 18(5), 1121-1133. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.105.039834
Voinnet, O. (2005) Induction and suppression of RNA silencing: insights from viral infections. Nature Reviews Genetics, 6(3), 206-220. DOI: 10.1038/nrg1555
Allen, E., Xie, Z., Gustafson, A., & Carrington, J. (2005) microRNA-Directed Phasing during Trans-Acting siRNA Biogenesis in Plants. Cell, 121(2), 207-221. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.04.004
- January 14, 2011
- 09:27 PM
- 503 views
The Mischief of Plants, the Birds & the Bees
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
When it wasn't too quirky, the biological analogies and references in Adaptation were quite creative. The scene here wonderful illustrates the deception of bees by orchids. I wonder how many know that flowers are all geared to lure in...... Read more »
Schiestl, F. (2005) On the success of a swindle: pollination by deception in orchids. Naturwissenschaften, 92(6), 255-264. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-005-0636-y
Baldwin, I. (2010) Plant volatiles. Current Biology, 20(9). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2010.02.052
Wright, G., & Schiestl, F. (2009) The evolution of floral scent: the influence of olfactory learning by insect pollinators on the honest signalling of floral rewards. Functional Ecology, 23(5), 841-851. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01627.x
Keeling, C., & Bohlmann, J. (2006) Genes, enzymes and chemicals of terpenoid diversity in the constitutive and induced defence of conifers against insects and pathogens. New Phytologist, 170(4), 657-675. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01716.x
Howe, G., & Jander, G. (2008) Plant Immunity to Insect Herbivores. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 59(1), 41-66. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092825
Bradford, M., Dennis, A., & Westcott, D. (2008) Diet and Dietary Preferences of the Southern Cassowary ( ) in North Queensland, Australia . Biotropica, 40(3), 338-343. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00372.x
Ratnieks, F., & Carreck, N. (2010) Clarity on Honey Bee Collapse?. Science, 327(5962), 152-153. DOI: 10.1126/science.1185563
Aizen, M., Garibaldi, L., Cunningham, S., & Klein, A. (2009) How much does agriculture depend on pollinators? Lessons from long-term trends in crop production. Annals of Botany, 103(9), 1579-1588. DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcp076
- January 11, 2011
- 12:34 PM
- 665 views
What's in a Gene? (or miRNA gene really...)
by Linda Lin in Oz Blog No. 159
Is what I'd like to know. And what many other people would like to know too... It's oddly enigmatic. What can a few sequences of 4 letters mean biologically? (GATTACA...) Only 2% of our genomes code for proteins, so they...... Read more »
Karginov, F., Cheloufi, S., Chong, M., Stark, A., Smith, A., & Hannon, G. (2010) Diverse Endonucleolytic Cleavage Sites in the Mammalian Transcriptome Depend upon MicroRNAs, Drosha, and Additional Nucleases. Molecular Cell, 38(6), 781-788. DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2010.06.001
Schwab, R., Palatnik, J., Riester, M., Schommer, C., Schmid, M., & Weigel, D. (2005) Specific Effects of MicroRNAs on the Plant Transcriptome. Developmental Cell, 8(4), 517-527. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2005.01.018
Dugas, D., & Bartel, B. (2008) Sucrose induction of Arabidopsis miR398 represses two Cu/Zn superoxide dismutases. Plant Molecular Biology, 67(4), 403-417. DOI: 10.1007/s11103-008-9329-1
Lanet, E., Delannoy, E., Sormani, R., Floris, M., Brodersen, P., Crete, P., Voinnet, O., & Robaglia, C. (2009) Biochemical Evidence for Translational Repression by Arabidopsis MicroRNAs. THE PLANT CELL ONLINE, 21(6), 1762-1768. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.108.063412
Cheloufi, S., Dos Santos, C., Chong, M., & Hannon, G. (2010) A dicer-independent miRNA biogenesis pathway that requires Ago catalysis. Nature, 465(7298), 584-589. DOI: 10.1038/nature09092
Meyers, B., Simon, S., & Zhai, J. (2010) MicroRNA Processing: Battle of the Bulge. Current Biology, 20(2). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.12.008
Bologna, N., Mateos, J., Bresso, E., & Palatnik, J. (2009) A loop-to-base processing mechanism underlies the biogenesis of plant microRNAs miR319 and miR159. The EMBO Journal, 28(23), 3646-3656. DOI: 10.1038/emboj.2009.292
Schwab, R., & Voinnet, O. (2009) miRNA processing turned upside down. The EMBO Journal, 28(23), 3633-3634. DOI: 10.1038/emboj.2009.334
- January 2, 2011
- 05:00 AM
- 111 views
Light the Way ~ Rnai Diagnostics
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
ResearchBlogging.org To warm up the mind:
It's possible to actually see the brain light up. In 2007, Harvard researchers stuck fluorescent proteins in neurons. Check out the palette of the 90 different "colours" and how the brain naturally paints itself with them. ... Read more »
Livet J, Weissman TA, Kang H, Draft RW, Lu J, Bennis RA, Sanes JR, & Lichtman JW. (2007) Transgenic strategies for combinatorial expression of fluorescent proteins in the nervous system. Nature, 450(7166), 56-62. PMID: 17972876
McCaffrey, A., Meuse, L., Pham, T., Conklin, D., Hannon, G., & Kay, M. (2002) Gene expression: RNA interference in adult mice. Nature, 418(6893), 38-39. DOI: 10.1038/418038a
Dunoyer, P., Himber, C., & Voinnet, O. (2006) Induction, suppression and requirement of RNA silencing pathways in virulent Agrobacterium tumefaciens infections. Nature Genetics, 38(2), 258-263. DOI: 10.1038/ng1722
Saleh, M., van Rij, R., Hekele, A., Gillis, A., Foley, E., O'Farrell, P., & Andino, R. (2006) The endocytic pathway mediates cell entry of dsRNA to induce RNAi silencing. Nature Cell Biology, 8(8), 793-802. DOI: 10.1038/ncb1439
Kittler R, Putz G, Pelletier L, Poser I, Heninger AK, Drechsel D, Fischer S, Konstantinova I, Habermann B, Grabner H.... (2004) An endoribonuclease-prepared siRNA screen in human cells identifies genes essential for cell division. Nature, 432(7020), 1036-40. PMID: 15616564
- December 14, 2010
- 05:00 AM
- 115 views
Charting the depths of RNAi
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
If you haven't heard of RNA interference yet, rest assured. You will the next 5-10 years to come. The Pharmaceutical industry is already hailing it as the next big thing in medicine since the advent of antibiotics. However, with all it's promise, there's still heaps we don't know about it. It's like exploring the "new world" looking for resources. ... Read more »
Lee, R. (1993) The C. elegans heterochronic gene lin-4 encodes small RNAs with antisense complementarity to lin-14. Cell, 75(5), 843-854. DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90529-Y
Fire A, Xu S, Montgomery MK, Kostas SA, Driver SE, & Mello CC. (1998) Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature, 391(6669), 806-11. PMID: 9486653
Napoli, C. (1990) Introduction of a Chimeric Chalcone Synthase Gene into Petunia Results in Reversible Co-Suppression of Homologous Genes in trans. THE PLANT CELL ONLINE, 2(4), 279-289. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.2.4.279
Siomi, H., & Siomi, M. (2009) On the road to reading the RNA-interference code. Nature, 457(7228), 396-404. DOI: 10.1038/nature07754
Baulcombe, D. (2004) RNA silencing in plants. Nature, 431(7006), 356-363. DOI: 10.1038/nature02874
Mattick, J. (2003) Challenging the dogma: the hidden layer of non-protein-coding RNAs in complex organisms. BioEssays, 25(10), 930-939. DOI: 10.1002/bies.10332
- December 9, 2010
- 05:00 AM
- 104 views
Obstacles to RNAi drug therapies
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
A small RNA (siRNA or miRNA) is the "magic bullet" in biotechnology. It's easy to manufacture, it's on target and has high "kill" rates. According to an Industry rep, it currently takes 2 billion USD to launch a new chemical product and the revenue comes back in negative. So companies actually wind up in a deficit when they put out a newly developed drug. However, the "magic bullet" is going to change all of that around. One company alone invested 1.2 bill........ Read more »
Fire A, Xu S, Montgomery MK, Kostas SA, Driver SE, & Mello CC. (1998) Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans. Nature, 391(6669), 806-11. PMID: 9486653
Grimm, D., Streetz, K., Jopling, C., Storm, T., Pandey, K., Davis, C., Marion, P., Salazar, F., & Kay, M. (2006) Fatality in mice due to oversaturation of cellular microRNA/short hairpin RNA pathways. Nature, 441(7092), 537-541. DOI: 10.1038/nature04791
Castanotto, D., & Rossi, J. (2009) The promises and pitfalls of RNA-interference-based therapeutics. Nature, 457(7228), 426-433. DOI: 10.1038/nature07758
- January 24, 2010
- 05:00 AM
- 128 views
What Love and Attraction Smells Of
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
I'd read (somewhere) that bouquets of chemicals you release when you meet 'that someone' become a concoction for hell that loving feeling. (Somewhat reminds me of that wacky Sandra Bullock film Love Potion No. 9). For the first 6 months-year you release endorphins, adrenaline, oxytocin. Subsequently, you might get 'butterflies', the sweats, sleepless nights, loss of appetite etc. etc. What causes that initial attraction anyways? i find it so random. If it was just person........ Read more »
Wedekind C, Seebeck T, Bettens F, & Paepke AJ. (1995) MHC-dependent mate preferences in humans. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 260(1359), 245-9. PMID: 7630893
Bernatchez L, & Landry C. (2003) MHC studies in nonmodel vertebrates: what have we learned about natural selection in 15 years?. Journal of evolutionary biology, 16(3), 363-77. PMID: 14635837
SANDROCARVALHOSANTOS, P., AUGUSTOSCHINEMANN, J., GABARDO, J., & DAGRACABICALHO, M. (2005) New evidence that the MHC influences odor perception in humans: a study with 58 Southern Brazilian students. Hormones and Behavior, 47(4), 384-388. DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2004.11.005
Lie, H., Simmons, L., & Rhodes, G. (2010) Genetic dissimilarity, genetic diversity, and mate preferences in humans. Evolution and Human Behavior, 31(1), 48-58. DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2009.07.001
- March 1, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 130 views
Purple Petunias ~ Chance Discovery of RNAi in Plants
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
"It fell straight down, why was that?"
- Issac Newton
RNAi started off as a series of accidental discoveries, that started with some plant geneticists trying to mutate their purple petunias in the 1990s. ... Read more »
Napoli, C. (1990) Introduction of a Chimeric Chalcone Synthase Gene into Petunia Results in Reversible Co-Suppression of Homologous Genes in trans. THE PLANT CELL ONLINE, 2(4), 279-289. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.2.4.279
- February 20, 2009
- 05:00 AM
- 123 views
Sexual Deception by Orchids
by Linda in Oz Blog No. 159
You might think they're lovely, but their researchers might disagree. Actually, plant biochemists and ecologists would argue that orchid flowers are meant to resemble female bee behinds. The evolutionary benefit to this mimcry is attracting pollinators, like flying insects. In the case of the orchid, during mating season the male bee would be attracted and deceived by the flower, and while trying to mate with it, he might fall into it and get pollen on himself. Then, after finishing his bus........ Read more »
Adler, L., & Irwin, R. (2005) ECOLOGICAL COSTS AND BENEFITS OF DEFENSES IN NECTAR. Ecology, 86(11), 2968-2978. DOI: 10.1890/05-0118
Kessler, D., & Baldwin, I. (2007) Making sense of nectar scents: the effects of nectar secondary metabolites on floral visitors of Nicotiana attenuata. The Plant Journal, 49(5), 840-854. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2006.02995.x
Schiestl, F. (2005) On the success of a swindle: pollination by deception in orchids. Naturwissenschaften, 92(6), 255-264. DOI: 10.1007/s00114-005-0636-y
Schiestl, F. (2003) The Chemistry of Sexual Deception in an Orchid-Wasp Pollination System. Science, 302(5644), 437-438. DOI: 10.1126/science.1087835
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