Primed for resistance

Enhanced tomato disease resistance primed by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus

Roots of most terrestrial plants form symbiotic associations (mycorrhiza) with soil- borne arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Many studies show that mycorrhizal colonization enhances plant resistance against pathogenic fungi. However, the mechanism of mycorrhiza-induced disease resistance remains equivocal. In this study, we found that mycorrhizal inoculation with AMF Funneliformis mosseae sig...

Primed for Reading

Reading is an amazing skill. As you read this review, meaning flows from the page (or for many readers, the screen) into your brain. This happens automatically—you can’t choose not to understand the written word any more than the spoken one. It’s also highly efficient. Most people can process text two or three times faster than speech. Of course, humans have many amazing skills. We also identif...

RNA: primed for packing?

How does RNA's seemingly subtle 2'-hydroxyl group contribute to its diverse biological functions? Using quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis, Piccirilli and colleagues find that the 2'-OH fosters van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions that play underappreciated roles in RNA structure and molecular recognition.

The Primed In Situ (PRINS) Technique: An Alternative Approach for Preimplantation Chromosomal Diagnosis

TGF-β gets primed for action

M yofibroblasts are highly con-tractile cells that repair damaged tissues by secreting and remod-eling the extracellular matrix (ECM) within a wound in order to draw it closed (1). When myofibroblasts are dysregulated, however, they continue to act on healed tissues and induce fi brosis. TGF-␤1 is a key signaling molecule within the ECM that promotes tissue fi brosis. Klingberg et al. reveal th...