A decoy receptor derived from alternative splicing fine-tunes cytokinin signaling in Arabidopsis.

Hormone perception and signaling pathways have a fundamental regulatory function in the physiological processes of plants. Cytokinins, a class of plant hormones, regulate cell division and meristem maintenance. The cytokinin signaling pathway is well established in the model plant Arabidopsisthaliana.

Analysis of formin functions during cytokinesis using specific inhibitor SMIFH2.

The phragmoplast separates daughter cells during cytokinesis by constructing the cell plate, which depends on interaction between cytoskeleton and membrane compartments. Proteins responsible for these interactions remain unknown, but formins can link cytoskeleton with membranes and several members of formin protein family localize to the cell plate. Progress in functional characterization of formins in cytokinesis is hindered by functional redundancies within the large formin gene family.

The association of a reduced susceptibility to moxifloxacin in causative Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile strain with the clinical outcome of patients.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile strain characteristics and C. difficile infection (CDI) outcome.

Methods: Between October and December 2017, 16 hospitals collected epidemiological data according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) surveillance protocol for CDI.

Multifaceted roles of HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 90 molecular chaperones in plant development.

HEAT SHOCK PROTEINS 90 (HSP90s) are molecular chaperones that mediate correct folding and stability of many client proteins. These chaperones act as master molecular hubs involved in multiple aspects of cellular and developmental signalling in diverse organisms. Moreover, environmental and genetic perturbations affect both HSP90s and their clients, leading to alterations of molecular networks determining respectively plant phenotypes and genotypes and contributing to a broad phenotypic plasticity.

YODA-HSP90 Module Regulates Phosphorylation-Dependent Inactivation of SPEECHLESS to Control Stomatal Development under Acute Heat Stress in Arabidopsis.

Stomatal ontogenesis, patterning, and function are hallmarks of environmental plant adaptation, especially to conditions limiting plant growth, such as elevated temperatures and reduced water availability. The specification and distribution of a stomatal cell lineage and its terminal differentiation into guard cells require a master regulatory protein phosphorylation cascade involving the YODA mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase. YODA signaling results in the activation of MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASEs (MPK3 and MPK6), which regulate transcription factors, including SPEECHLESS (SPCH).