Publications by authors named "M J McGregor"

Article Synopsis
  • Transgenic plants can express double-stranded RNA that silences mRNAs in fungal pathogens, but how this RNA crosses cell membranes during infection is unclear.
  • A new protocol allowed researchers to isolate RNA from the leaf surface, revealing a unique pattern distinct from intercellular RNA, suggesting it might be secreted directly rather than through stomata.
  • The isolated surface RNAs, primarily from Arabidopsis and including various RNA types, may play a vital role in establishing microbial communities on leaf surfaces.
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Unlabelled: Although genomes encode instructions for mammalian cell differentiation with rich syntactic relationships, existing methods for genetically programming cells have modest capabilities for stepwise regulation of genes. Here, we developed a sequential genetic system that enables transcriptional activation of endogenous genes in a preprogrammed, stepwise manner. The system relies on the removal of an RNA polymerase III termination signal to induce both the transcriptional activation and the DNA endonuclease activities of a Cas9-VPR protein to effect stepwise progression through cascades of gene activation events.

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The province of Ontario, Canada, has a longstanding history of non-partisanship in municipal elections. In this distinctive context, we report results on citizen attitudes toward municipal partisanship using a survey of eligible voters in Canada's most populous province. Using a mixed-methods approach, we focus on three interrelated research questions.

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