A fertile field

RNA editing in plant organelles: a fertile field.

In 1989, three groups simultaneously and independently discovered RNA editing in the mitochondria of angiosperms (flowering plants; refs. 1-3). Two years later, H. Kossel and colleagues reported the same type of editing in angiosperm chloroplasts (4). In both cases, multiple site-specific changes from C to U occur in RNAs transcribed from the organellar DNA. These changes take place predominant...

The Fertile Field of Drosophila JAK/STAT Signalling

The JAK/STAT pathway plays important roles in vertebrate and invertebrate development. The recent cloning and characterisation of the receptor in Drosophila shows that the pathway is conserved across phyla. In this review we describe current knowledge of the pathway and use genome data to discuss what elements are present in Drosophila. We also summarise recent work describing the involvement o...

Adaptive evolution in the lab: unique phenotypes in fruit flies comprise a fertile field of study.

Laboratory selection for desiccation resistance, which has been imposed on five replicate populations of Drosophila melanogaster for >200 generations, has resulted in enhanced survivability during periods of extreme water stress. The ability of these populations to persistently resist the fatal effects of desiccation is correlated with evolved physiological traits, namely preferential storage o...

Percutaneous mitral valve repair: a fertile field of innovative treatment strategies.

The mitral valve is a complex structure composed of the leaflets, annulus, chordae tendineae, and papillary muscles. Competency of the mitral valve is dependent on the proper function of each of these component structures. The pathophysiological triad of mitral regurgitation (MR) was originally described by Carpentier in 1983.1 It included the etiology of the valve lesion, the valve lesion itse...

A Survey on Oocyte Donation: Turkish Fertile and Infertile Women