A Kinase Gets Caspases into Shape

A Kinase Gets Caspases into Shape

Two new papers (Kuranaga et al., 2006; Oshima et al., 2006) describe a previously uncharacterized Drosophila kinase (DmIKK epsilon) that regulates the abundance of DIAP1, a protein best known for its ability to inhibit apoptosis. However, DmIKK epsilon-mediated degradation of DIAP1 does not regulate apoptosis as might be predicted but instead regulates actin dynamics, cell morphology, and the d...

How the Er Gets into Shape

How a leaf gets its shape.

Leaves are formed from a group of initial cells within the meristem. One of the earliest markers of leaf initiation is the down-regulation of KNOX genes in initial cells. Polar auxin activity, MYB and LOB domain transcription factors function to keep KNOX out of the initiating leaf. If KNOX genes are expressed in initial cells, leaves fail to form. As the leaf grows away from the meristem, its ...

Plant Cell Shape: Trafficking Gets Edgy.

Polyhedral-shaped plant cells have faces, corners, and edges that can have different material properties. As Kirchhelle et al. (2016) now show, RAB-A5c reveals a trafficking compartment that localizes to the edges where two cell walls meet, with a potential role in mediating local wall stiffness.

How the ER gets its shape

How the ER gets its shape T wo proteins are suffi cient to form tubules at the ER, say Junjie Hu, Tom Rapoport (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA), and William Prinz (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD). The ER often appears as a tubular network. Previous work showed its tubular shaping involves a class of integral membrane proteins, comprising the reticulons and a protein family that...