pposites really do attract. Results on page 101 by Oliveria et al. show that, although they perform opposing functions, a kinase and a phosphatase linked to synaptic plasticity are close neighbors at the plasma membrane. The two are brought together by the scaffolding protein AKAP79 into a complex that may be important for efficient learning. The close proximity of the three proteins is uncover...

pposites really do attract. Results on page 101 by Oliveria et al. show that, although they perform opposing functions, a kinase and a phosphatase linked to synaptic plasticity are close neighbors at the plasma membrane. The two are brought together by the scaffolding protein AKAP79 into a complex that may be important for efficient learning. The close proximity of the three proteins is uncover...

Changes in climate and land use that interact synergistically to increase fire frequencies and intensities in tropical regions are predicted to drive forests to new grass-dominated stable states. To reveal the mechanisms for such a transition, we established 50 ha plots in a transitional forest in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon to different fire treatments (unburned, burned annually (B1yr) o...

The influence of climate and time of deposition on the colonization of sheep faeces by nematophagous fungi was examined in the Mata Region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Sheep faeces were collected from the rectums of animals and deposited on pastures of Brachiaria decumbens in the months of July and October 1995 and January and April 1996. Samples of the deposited faeces were recovered 3, 7 an...

Two major endoglucanase genes (cel7B and cel5A) were cloned from Penicillium decumbens 114-2 using the method of modified thermal asymmetric interlaced polymerase chain reaction (TAIL-PCR). The result of Southern blotting suggested that P. decumbens has a single copy of the cel5A gene and a single copy of cel7B gene in its chromosomal DNA. The expression level of cel5A and cel7B were determined...

Microbial transformation has been successfully applied in the production of steroid intermediates with therapeutic use and commercial value in pharmaceutical industry due to its high regio- and stereo-selectivity. As such, it is still important to screen microbial strains with novel activity or more efficient abilities in the development of the commercial steroid industry. Biotransformation of ...

The genus Brachiaria contains species that have great economic importance in the Brazilian agricultural sector, as they enable cattle ranching on acid and poor soils with species that are resistant to spittlebugs and form crop-livestock-forest integration systems. The genus mainly consists of tetraploid (2n = 4x = 36) and apomictic species such as B. decumbens and B. brizantha. Sexuality is fou...