A dynamic compartment model for xylem loading and long-distance transport of iron explains the effect of kanamycin on metal uptake in .

plants exposed to the antibiotic kanamycin (Kan) display altered metal homeostasis. Further, mutation of the WBC19 gene leads to increased sensitivity to kanamycin and changes in iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) uptake. Here we propose a model that explain this surprising relationship between metal uptake and exposure to Kan.

What is the impact of aminoglycoside exposure on soil and plant root-associated microbiota? A systematic review protocol.

Background: Aminoglycosides are potent bactericidal antibiotics naturally produced by soil microorganisms and are commonly used in agriculture. Exposure to these antibiotics has the potential to cause shifts in the microorganisms that impact plant health. The systematic review described in this protocol will compile and synthesize literature on soil and plant root-associated microbiota, with special attention to aminoglycoside exposure.

Integration of biology, mathematics and computing in the classroom through the creation and repeated use of transdisciplinary modules.

The integration of biology with mathematics and computer science mandates the training of students capable of comfortably navigating among these fields. We address this formidable pedagogical challenge with the creation of transdisciplinary modules that guide students toward solving realistic problems with methods from different disciplines. Knowledge is gradually integrated as the same topic is revisited in biology, mathematics, and computer science courses.

Broadening the impact of plant science through innovative, integrative, and inclusive outreach.

Population growth and climate change will impact food security and potentially exacerbate the environmental toll that agriculture has taken on our planet. These existential concerns demand that a passionate, interdisciplinary, and diverse community of plant science professionals is trained during the 21st century. Furthermore, societal trends that question the importance of science and expert knowledge highlight the need to better communicate the value of rigorous fundamental scientific exploration.

Barley Anther Culture.

The production of doubled haploid (DH) barley plants through anther culture is a very useful yet simple in vitro technique. DH plants derive from divisions of haploid microspores that have undergone a developmental switch under the appropriate conditions. The successive divisions lead to the formation of an embryo or callus rather than the formation of mature pollen grains.

Evolvix BEST Names for semantic reproducibility across code2brain interfaces.

Names in programming are vital for understanding the meaning of code and big data. We define code2brain (C2B) interfaces as maps in compilers and brains between meaning and naming syntax, which help to understand executable code. While working toward an Evolvix syntax for general-purpose programming that makes accurate modeling easy for biologists, we observed how names affect C2B quality.

RNA-seq analysis of the effect of kanamycin and the ABC transporter AtWBC19 on Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings reveals changes in metal content.

Plants are exposed to antibiotics produced by soil microorganisms, but little is known about their responses at the transcriptional level. Likewise, few endogenous mechanisms of antibiotic resistance have been reported. The Arabidopsis thaliana ATP Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter AtWBC19 (ABCG19) is known to confer kanamycin resistance, but the exact mechanism of resistance is not well understood.

Incomplete homogenization of 18 S ribosomal DNA coding regions in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: As a result of concerted evolution, coding regions of ribosomal DNA sequences are highly conserved within species and variation is generally thought to be limited to a few nucleotides. However, rDNA sequence variation has not been systematically examined in plant genomes, including that of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana whose genome was the first to be sequenced.

Findings: Both genomic and transcribed 18 S sequences were sampled and revealed that most deviation from the consensus sequence was limited to single nucleotide substitutions except for a variant with a 270 bp deletion from position 456 to 725 in Arabidopsis numbering.

An Arabidopsis thaliana ABC transporter that confers kanamycin resistance in transgenic plants does not endow resistance to Escherichia coli.

Concerns have been raised about potential horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of antibiotic resistance markers (ARMs) from transgenic plants to bacteria of medical and environmental importance. All ARMs used in transgenic plants have been bacterial in origin, but it has been recently shown that an Arabidopsis thaliana ABC transporter, Atwbc19, confers kanamycin resistance when overexpressed in transgenic plants. Atwbc19 was evaluated for its ability to transfer kanamycin resistance to Escherichia coli, a kanamycin-sensitive model bacterium, under simulated HGT, staged by subcloning Atwbc19 under the control of a bacterial promoter, genetically transforming to kanamycin-sensitive bacteria, and assessing if resistance was conferred as compared with bacteria harbouring nptII, the standard kanamycin resistance gene used to produce transgenic plants.

Statistical tools for transgene copy number estimation based on real-time PCR.

Background: As compared with traditional transgene copy number detection technologies such as Southern blot analysis, real-time PCR provides a fast, inexpensive and high-throughput alternative. However, the real-time PCR based transgene copy number estimation tends to be ambiguous and subjective stemming from the lack of proper statistical analysis and data quality control to render a reliable estimation of copy number with a prediction value. Despite the recent progresses in statistical analysis of real-time PCR, few publications have integrated these advancements in real-time PCR based transgene copy number determination.

Laser-induced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy of GFP transgenic plants.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and other fluorescent protein bioreporters can be used to monitor transgenes in plants. GFP is a valuable marker for transgene presence and expression, but remote sensing instrumentation for stand-off detection has lagged behind fluorescent protein marker biotechnology. However, both biology and photonics are needed for the monitoring technology to be fully realized.

Overexpression of an Arabidopsis thaliana ABC transporter confers kanamycin resistance to transgenic plants.

Selectable markers of bacterial origin such as the neomycin phosphotransferase type II gene, which can confer kanamycin resistance to transgenic plants, represent an invaluable tool for plant engineering. However, since all currently used antibiotic-resistance genes are of bacterial origin, there have been concerns about horizontal gene transfer from transgenic plants back to bacteria, which may result in antibiotic resistance. Here we characterize a plant gene, Atwbc19, the gene that encodes an Arabidopsis thaliana ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter and confers antibiotic resistance to transgenic plants.