Unveiling crucial amino acid residues in the red clover necrotic mosaic virus movement protein for dynamic subcellular localization and viral cell-to-cell movement.

Emerging evidence suggests that the localization of viral movement proteins (MPs) to both plasmodesmata (PD) and viral replication complexes (VRCs) is the key to viral cell-to-cell movement. However, the molecular mechanism that establishes the subcellular localization of MPs is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the PD localization pathway of red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV) MP and the functional regions of MP that are crucial for MP localization to PD and VRCs.

Assaying Effector Cell-to-Cell Mobility in Plant Tissues Identifies Hypermobility and Indirect Manipulation of Plasmodesmata.

In plants, plasmodesmata establish cytoplasmic continuity between cells to allow for communication and resource exchange across the cell wall. While plant pathogens use plasmodesmata as a pathway for both molecular and physical invasion, the benefits of molecular invasion (cell-to-cell movement of pathogen effectors) are poorly understood. To establish a methodology for identification and characterization of the cell-to-cell mobility of effectors, we performed a quantitative live imaging-based screen of candidate effectors of the fungal pathogen .

Diffusion and bulk flow of amino acids mediate calcium waves in plants.

In plants, a variety of stimuli trigger long-range calcium signals that travel rapidly along the vasculature to distal tissues via poorly understood mechanisms. Here, we use quantitative imaging and analysis to demonstrate that traveling calcium waves are mediated by diffusion and bulk flow of amino acid chemical messengers. We propose that wounding triggers release of amino acids that diffuse locally through the apoplast, activating the calcium-permeable channel GLUTAMATE RECEPTOR-LIKE 3.

Evaluating the Influence of ipRGCs on Color Discrimination.

To investigate the influence of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) on color discrimination, it is necessary to create two metameric light stimuli (metameric ipRGC stimuli) with the same amount of cone and rod stimulation, but different amounts of ipRGC stimulation. However, since the spectral sensitivity functions of cones and rods overlap with those of ipRGCs in a wavelength band, it has been difficult to independently control the amount of stimulation of ipRGCs only. In this study, we first propose a method for calculating metameric ipRGC stimulation based on the orthogonal basis functions of human photoreceptor cells.