MaizeCODE reveals bi-directionally expressed enhancers that harbor molecular signatures of maize domestication.

Modern maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) was domesticated from Teosinte parviglumis (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis), with subsequent introgressions from Teosinte mexicana (Zea mays ssp.

Pseudouridine guides germline small RNA transport and epigenetic inheritance.

Developmental epigenetic modifications in plants and animals are mostly reset during gamete formation but some are inherited from the germline. Small RNAs guide these epigenetic modifications but how inherited small RNAs are distinguished in plants and animals is unknown. Pseudouridine (Ψ) is the most abundant RNA modification but has not been explored in small RNAs.

Retrotransposon addiction promotes centromere function via epigenetically activated small RNAs.

Retrotransposons have invaded eukaryotic centromeres in cycles of repeat expansion and purging, but the function of centromeric retrotransposons has remained unclear. In Arabidopsis, centromeric ATHILA retrotransposons give rise to epigenetically activated short interfering RNAs in mutants in DECREASE IN DNA METHYLATION1 (DDM1). Here we show that mutants that lose both DDM1 and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase have pleiotropic developmental defects and mis-segregate chromosome 5 during mitosis.

Leishmania major telomerase RNA knockout: From altered cell proliferation to decreased parasite infectivity.

This study focuses on the biological impacts of deleting the telomerase RNA from Leishmania major (LeishTER), a parasite responsible for causing leishmaniases, for which no effective treatment or prevention is available. TER is a critical player in the telomerase ribonucleoprotein complex, containing the template sequence copied by the reverse transcriptase component during telomere elongation. The success of knocking out both LeishTER alleles was confirmed, and no off-targets were detected.