Rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple crop that supports half the world's population and an important monocot model system. Monocot leaf matures in a basipetal manner, and has a well-defined developmental gradient along the longitudinal axis. However, little is known about its transcriptional dynamics after leaf maturation. In this study, we have reconstructed a high spatial resolution transcriptome ...

We eventually isolated two different clonotypic CD8 T cell subsets recognizing an HIV Pol-derived epitope peptide (IPLTEEAEL) in association with HLA-B35 from a chronic HIV-infected patient. By kinetic analysis experiments, the subsets showed a >3-fold difference in half-lives for the HLA tetramer in complex with the Pol peptide. In functional assays in vitro and ex vivo, both subsets showed su...

Yellow Leaf Syndrome of sugarcane is caused by Sugarcane Yellow Leaf Virus (SCYLV) and/or Sugarcane Yellows Phytoplasma (SCYP). Using tissue blot immunoassay to determine the presence of SCYLV, leaf samples of sugarcane variety N32 taken from a propagation plot at Mount Edgecombe all tested positive. In this study, two methods of tissue culture were used in an attempt to eradicate SCYLV from N3...

Aims Aboveground biomass production commonly increases with species richness in plant biodiversity experiments. Little is known about the direct mechanisms that cause this result. We tested if by occupying different heights and depths above and below ground, and by optimizing the vertical distribution of leaf nitrogen, species in mixtures can contribute to increased resource uptake and, thus, i...

Beta vulgaris L. accumulates a large amount of glycinebetaine (betaine), a metabolite that is related to salttolerance. Production of betaine involves expression of many genes that encode enzymes such as betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, choline monooxygenase, phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase, S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthetase, S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase, and methionine synthase....

Although it has been shown that CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells (T(reg)) contribute to long-term graft acceptance, their impact on the effector compartment and the mechanism by which they exert suppression in vivo remain unresolved. Using a CD4(+) TCR transgenic model for graft tolerance, we have unveiled the independent contributions of anergy and active suppression to the fate of immune and ...

Dysfunctional CD8(+) T (T(CD8(+))) cells lacking cytokine production have been identified in many viral infections, but their genesis is not well understood. Established results indicate that such cells could be either high avidity that enter a refractory state due to overstimulation or low avidity that are only partially stimulated. Using an acute, resolving infection model that results in rap...

ITK-SH3-mediated interactions, both with exogenous ligands and via intermolecular self-association with ITK-SH2, have been shown to be important for regulation of ITK activity. The biological significance of these competing SH3 interactions is not completely understood. A mutant of ITK where substitution of the SH3 domain with that of the related kinase BTK (ITK-BTK((SH3))) was used to disrupt ...

Most of the sugarcane (interspecific hybrids of Saccharum sp.) production in Florida is on organic soils. Supplemental phosphorus (P) fertilizer is often applied for optimum yields, but producers are required to reduce P levels in farm drainage waters. The objectives of this study were to relate optimum leaf P tissue concentration with yield in organic soil, and to determine optimum leaf sampli...