The plant-specific RNA polymerases Pol IV and Pol V are essential to RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM), which also requires activities from RDR2 (RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase 2), DCL3 (Dicer-Like 3), AGO4 (Argonaute), and DRM2 (Domains Rearranged Methyltransferase 2). RdDM is dedicated to the methylation of target sequences which include transposable elements, regulatory regions of several pr...

As part of a continuing study on the origin of genetic coding and the process of protein synthesis, we have compared sequences of a large number of transfer RNAs and several 5S ribosomal RNAs using automated routines. Transfer RNAs were found to exhibit a high degree of matching with 5S rRNAs. These matches are considered to be indicative of sequence homology, reflecting common ancestry of the ...

Leukotriene B (LTB), a potent lipid chemotactic factor for neutrophils, is 5S,12R-dihydroxy-6,14-cis,8,10-trans-eicosatetraenoic acid (Fig 1), based upon direct comparison of natural LTB with synthetic 5S,12R-dihydroxy-6,8,10,14-eicosatetraenoic acid (5,12-di-HETE) stereoisomers in three biological assays. Of the six synthetic stereoisomers evaluated, only the 5S,12R,6,14-cis,8,10-trans compoun...

Spliced leader (SL) trans-splicing is a common mRNA processing mechanism in dinoflagellates, in which a 22-nt sequence is transferred from the 5'-end of a small noncoding RNA, the SL RNA, to the 5'-end of mRNA molecules. Although the SL RNA gene was shown initially to be organized as tandem repeats with transcripts of 50-60 nt, shorter than most of their counterparts in other organisms, other g...

Water stable methyl modified MOF-5s have been synthesized via a solvothermal route. Methyl- and 2,5-dimethyl-modified MOF-5s show the same topology and hydrogen uptake capability as that of MOF-5. The H(2) uptake capacity of MOF-5, however, drops rapidly when exposed to the ambient air, whereas the H(2) uptake capacities of the methyl modified MOF-5s remain stable for 4 days.