Accumulation Dynamics of Transcripts and Proteins of Cold-Responsive Genes in Genotypes of Differing Cold Tolerance.

Identifying and characterizing cold responsive genes in associated with or responsible for low temperature tolerance is a vital part of strawberry cultivar development. In this study we have investigated the transcript levels of eight genes, two dehydrin genes, three putative ABA-regulated genes, two cold-inducible CBF genes and the alcohol dehydrogenase gene, extracted from leaf and crown tissues of three genotypes that vary in cold tolerance. Transcript levels of the CBF/DREB1 transcription factor exhibited stronger cold up-regulation in comparison to in all genotypes.

Poly-ADP-ribose assisted protein localization resolves that DJ-1, but not LRRK2 or α-synuclein, is localized to the mitochondrial matrix.

Several proteins linked to familial Parkinson disease have been associated with mitochondrial (dys-)function and have been described to reside within mitochondria. The putative mitochondrial and sub-mitochondrial localization of these proteins remains disputed, however, potentially due to conflicting results obtained by diverging technical approaches. Using the high-resolution poly-ADP-ribose assisted protein localization assay that also allows for detection of low level and even partial mitochondrial matrix localization, we demonstrate here that DJ-1, but not LRRK2 or α-synuclein, resides in the mitochondrial matrix.

Defective mitochondrial DNA homeostasis in the substantia nigra in Parkinson disease.

Increased somatic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutagenesis causes premature aging in mice, and mtDNA damage accumulates in the human brain with aging and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson disease (PD). Here, we study the complete spectrum of mtDNA changes, including deletions, copy-number variation and point mutations, in single neurons from the dopaminergic substantia nigra and other brain areas of individuals with Parkinson disease and neurologically healthy controls. We show that in dopaminergic substantia nigra neurons of healthy individuals, mtDNA copy number increases with age, maintaining the pool of wild-type mtDNA population in spite of accumulating deletions.