Concentration-dependent transcriptional switching through a collective action of cis-elements.

Gene expression specificity of homeobox transcription factors has remained paradoxical. WUSCHEL activates and represses transcription at lower and higher concentrations, respectively. We use computational modeling and experimental analysis to investigate the properties of the cis-regulatory module.

Auxin-induced signaling protein nanoclustering contributes to cell polarity formation.

Cell polarity is fundamental to the development of both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, yet the mechanisms behind its formation are not well understood. Here we found that, phytohormone auxin-induced, sterol-dependent nanoclustering of cell surface transmembrane receptor kinase 1 (TMK1) is critical for the formation of polarized domains at the plasma membrane (PM) during the morphogenesis of cotyledon pavement cells (PC) in Arabidopsis. Auxin-induced TMK1 nanoclustering stabilizes flotillin1-associated ordered nanodomains, which in turn promote the nanoclustering of ROP6 GTPase that acts downstream of TMK1 to regulate cortical microtubule organization.

The importance of mechanical constraints for proper polarization and psuedo-cleavage furrow generation in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo.

Intracellular polarization, where a cell specifies a spatial axis by segregation of specific factors, is a fundamental biological process. In the early embryo of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), polarization is often accompanied by deformations of the cortex, a highly contractile structure consisting of actin filaments cross-linked by the motor protein myosin (actomyosin).