Distinct types of short open reading frames are translated in plant cells.

Genomes contain millions of short (<100 codons) open reading frames (sORFs), which are usually dismissed during gene annotation. Nevertheless, peptides encoded by such sORFs can play important biological roles, and their impact on cellular processes has long been underestimated. Here, we analyzed approximately 70,000 transcribed sORFs in the model plant (moss).

A massive white-dwarf merger product before final collapse.

Gravitational-wave emission can lead to the coalescence of close pairs of compact objects orbiting each other. In the case of neutron stars, such mergers may yield masses above the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff limit (2 to 2.7 solar masses), leading to the formation of black holes.

Phytohormone treatment induces generation of cryptic peptides with antimicrobial activity in the Moss Physcomitrella patens.

Background: Cryptic peptides (cryptides) are small bioactive molecules generated via degradation of functionally active proteins. Only a few examples of plant cryptides playing an important role in plant defense have been reported to date, hence our knowledge about cryptic signals hidden in protein structure remains very limited. Moreover, little is known about how stress conditions influence the size of endogenous peptide pools, and which of these peptides themselves have biological functions is currently unclear.

Alternative splicing shapes transcriptome but not proteome diversity in Physcomitrella patens.

Alternative splicing (AS) can significantly impact the transcriptome and proteome of a eukaryotic cell. Here, using transcriptome and proteome profiling data, we analyzed AS in two life forms of the model moss Physcomitrella patens, namely protonemata and gametophores, as well as in protoplasts. We identified 12 043 genes subject to alternative splicing and analyzed the extent to which AS contributes to proteome diversity.

[Estradiol inducible and flower-specific expression of ARGOS and ARGOS-LIKE genes in transgenic tobacco plants].

Transgenic tobacco plants expressing Arabidopsis thaliana ARGOS and ARGOS-LIKE genes under the control of the chalcone synthase promoter of Petunia hybrid L., as well as the estradiol inducible XVE system, have been obtained. The part of transgenic plants with flower-specific expression of the target genes was characterized by increased flower size, caused by an increase in cell size and quantity in the case of the ARGOS gene and by a stimulation of cell growth via stretching in the case of the ARGOS-LIKE gene.