High-throughput capture of transcription factor-driven epigenome dynamics using PHILO ChIP-seq.

Assessing the dynamics of chromatin features and transcription factor (TF) binding at scale remains a significant challenge in plants. Here, we present PHILO (Plant HIgh-throughput LOw input) ChIP-seq, a high-throughput ChIP-seq platform that enables the cost-effective and extensive capture of TF binding and genome-wide distributions of histone modifications. The PHILO ChIP-seq pipeline is adaptable to many plant species, requires very little starting material (1mg), and provides the option to use MNase (micrococcal nuclease) for chromatin fragmentation.

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation to Investigate H2A.Z Dynamics in Response to Environmental Changes.

DNA methylation and posttranslational modifications of histones instruct gene expression in eukaryotes. Besides canonical histones, histone variants also play a critical role in transcriptional regulation. One of the best studied histone variants in plants is H2A.

A Comparison of Proximal and Tracheal Airway Pressures During Pressure Controlled Ventilation.

Background: Airway pressure is usually measured by sensors placed in the ventilator or on the ventilator side of the endotracheal tube (ETT), at the Y-piece. These remote measurements serve as a surrogate for the tracheal or alveolar pressure. Tracheal pressure can only be predicted correctly by using a model that incorporates the pressure at the remote location, the flow through the ETT, and the resistance of the ETT if the latter is a predictable function of Y-piece flow.

Transcription Factor Dynamics in Cross-Regulation of Plant Hormone Signaling Pathways.

Cross-regulation between hormone signaling pathways is indispensable for plant growth and development. However, the molecular mechanisms by which multiple hormones interact and co-ordinate activity need to be understood. Here, we generated a cross-regulation network explaining how hormone signals are integrated from multiple pathways in etiolated Arabidopsis () seedlings.

Testing of pandemic ventilators under early and agile development.

Aiming to address clinical requirements subsequent to SARS-CoV-2-related pulmonary disease, multiple research groups and industry groups carried out intensive studies to develop pandemic ventilators (PDVs). testing to critically evaluate the specific performance of the developed apparatuses is an essential requirement. This study presents a test protocol which promotes a test-oriented, iterative, and agile assessment and consecutive development of such PDVs.

knockout in excitatory neurons impairs postnatal synapse maturation and increases the repressive histone modification H3K27me3.

Two epigenetic pathways of transcriptional repression, DNA methylation and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), are known to regulate neuronal development and function. However, their respective contributions to brain maturation are unknown. We found that conditional loss of the de novo DNA methyltransferase in mouse excitatory neurons altered expression of synapse-related genes, stunted synapse maturation, and impaired working memory and social interest.

In-Vitro Visualization of Thrombus Growth in Artificial Lungs Using Real-Time X-Ray Imaging: A Feasibility Study.

Purpose: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation has gained increasing attention in the treatment of patients with acute and chronic cardiopulmonary and respiratory failure. However, clotting within the oxygenators or other components of the extracorporeal circuit remains a major complication that necessitates at least a device exchange and bears risks of adverse events for the patients. In order to better predict thrombus growth within oxygenators, we present an approach for in-vitro visualization of thrombus growth using real-time X-ray imaging.

PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORs trigger environmentally responsive chromatin dynamics in plants.

The interplay between light receptors and PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTORs (PIFs) serves as a regulatory hub that perceives and integrates environmental cues into transcriptional networks of plants. Although occupancy of the histone variant H2A.Z and acetylation of histone H3 have emerged as regulators of environmentally responsive gene networks, how these epigenomic features interface with PIF activity is poorly understood.

Publisher Correction: Integrated multi-omics framework of the plant response to jasmonic acid.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Integrated multi-omics framework of the plant response to jasmonic acid.

Understanding the systems-level actions of transcriptional responses to hormones provides insight into how the genome is reprogrammed in response to environmental stimuli. Here, we investigated the signalling pathway of the hormone jasmonic acid (JA), which controls a plethora of critically important processes in plants and is orchestrated by the transcription factor MYC2 and its closest relatives in Arabidopsis thaliana. We generated an integrated framework of the response to JA, which spans from the activity of master and secondary regulatory transcription factors, through gene expression outputs and alternative splicing, to protein abundance changes, protein phosphorylation and chromatin remodelling.

Chimeric Activators and Repressors Define HY5 Activity and Reveal a Light-Regulated Feedback Mechanism.

The first exposure to light marks a crucial transition in plant development. This transition relies on the transcription factor HY5 controlling a complex downstream growth program. Despite its importance, its function in transcription remains unclear.

The JA-pathway MYC transcription factors regulate photomorphogenic responses by targeting HY5 gene expression.

Jasmonates are key regulators of the balance between defence and growth in plants. However, the molecular mechanisms by which activation of defence reduces growth are not yet fully understood. Here, we analyze the role of MYC transcription factors (TFs) and jasmonic acid (JA) in photomorphogenic growth.

A MYC2/MYC3/MYC4-dependent transcription factor network regulates water spray-responsive gene expression and jasmonate levels.

Mechanical stimuli, such as wind, rain, and touch affect plant development, growth, pest resistance, and ultimately reproductive success. Using water spray to simulate rain, we demonstrate that jasmonic acid (JA) signaling plays a key role in early gene-expression changes, well before it leads to developmental changes in flowering and plant architecture. The JA-activated transcription factors MYC2/MYC3/MYC4 modulate transiently induced expression of 266 genes, most of which peak within 30 min, and control 52% of genes induced >100-fold.

Epigenetic silencing of a multifunctional plant stress regulator.

The central regulator of the ethylene (ET) signaling pathway, which controls a plethora of developmental programs and responses to environmental cues in plants, is ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE2 (EIN2). Here we identify a chromatin-dependent regulatory mechanism at requiring two genes: ETHYLENE-INSENSITIVE6 (EIN6), which is a H3K27me3 demethylase also known as (), and EIN6 ENHANCER (EEN), the homolog of the yeast INO80 chromatin remodeling complex subunit (). Strikingly, EIN6 (REF6) and the INO80 complex redundantly control the level and the localization of the repressive histone modification H3K27me3 and the histone variant H2A.

The complex architecture and epigenomic impact of plant T-DNA insertions.

The bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens has been the workhorse in plant genome engineering. Customized replacement of native tumor-inducing (Ti) plasmid elements enabled insertion of a sequence of interest called Transfer-DNA (T-DNA) into any plant genome. Although these transfer mechanisms are well understood, detailed understanding of structure and epigenomic status of insertion events was limited by current technologies.

Technical Indicators to Evaluate the Degree of Large Clot Formation Inside the Membrane Fiber Bundle of an Oxygenator in an In Vitro Setup.

The most common technical complication during ECMO is clot formation. A large clot inside a membrane oxygenator reduces effective membrane surface area and therefore gas transfer capabilities, and restricts blood flow through the device, resulting in an increased membrane oxygenator pressure drop (dpMO). The reasons for thrombotic events are manifold and highly patient specific.

TGA2 signaling in response to reactive electrophile species is not dependent on cysteine modification of TGA2.

Reactive electrophile species (RES), including prostaglandins, phytoprostanes and 12-oxo phytodienoic acid (OPDA), activate detoxification responses in plants and animals. However, the pathways leading to the activation of defense reactions related to abiotic or biotic stress as a function of RES formation, accumulation or treatment are poorly understood in plants. Here, the thiol-modification of proteins, including the RES-activated basic region/leucine zipper transcription factor TGA2, was studied.

Cryptochromes Interact Directly with PIFs to Control Plant Growth in Limiting Blue Light.

Sun-loving plants have the ability to detect and avoid shading through sensing of both blue and red light wavelengths. Higher plant cryptochromes (CRYs) control how plants modulate growth in response to changes in blue light. For growth under a canopy, where blue light is diminished, CRY1 and CRY2 perceive this change and respond by directly contacting two bHLH transcription factors, PIF4 and PIF5.

A Smaug2-Based Translational Repression Complex Determines the Balance between Precursor Maintenance versus Differentiation during Mammalian Neurogenesis.

Unlabelled: Here, we have asked about post-transcriptional mechanisms regulating murine developmental neurogenesis, focusing upon the RNA-binding proteins Smaug2 and Nanos1. We identify, in embryonic neural precursors of the murine cortex, a Smaug2 protein/nanos1 mRNA complex that is present in cytoplasmic granules with the translational repression proteins Dcp1 and 4E-T. We show that Smaug2 inhibits and Nanos1 promotes neurogenesis, with Smaug2 knockdown enhancing neurogenesis and depleting precursors, and Nanos1 knockdown inhibiting neurogenesis and maintaining precursors.

Fat1 interacts with Fat4 to regulate neural tube closure, neural progenitor proliferation and apical constriction during mouse brain development.

Mammalian brain development requires coordination between neural precursor proliferation, differentiation and cellular organization to create the intricate neuronal networks of the adult brain. Here, we examined the role of the atypical cadherins Fat1 and Fat4 in this process. We show that mutation of Fat1 in mouse embryos causes defects in cranial neural tube closure, accompanied by an increase in the proliferation of cortical precursors and altered apical junctions, with perturbations in apical constriction and actin accumulation.

Music performance anxiety in young musicians: comparison of playing classical or popular music.

Objectives: Music performance anxiety (MPA) is an issue frequently experienced by musicians. It occurs not only in experienced musicians but also in children and adolescents. Furthermore, most research on MPA has been done with musicians who specialized in classical music.