SMZ/SNZ and gibberellin signaling are required for nitrate-elicited delay of flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The reproductive success of plants largely depends on the correct programming of developmental phase transitions, particularly the shift from vegetative to reproductive growth. The timing of this transition is finely regulated by the integration of an array of environmental and endogenous factors. Nitrogen is the mineral macronutrient that plants require in the largest amount, and as such its availability greatly impacts on many aspects of plant growth and development, including flowering time.

Nitrate signaling and early responses in Arabidopsis roots.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential macronutrient that impacts many aspects of plant physiology, growth, and development. Besides its nutritional role, N nutrient and metabolites act as signaling molecules that regulate the expression of a wide range of genes and biological processes. In this review, we describe recent advances in the understanding of components of the nitrate signaling pathway.

High quality RNA extraction from Maqui berry for its application in next-generation sequencing.

Maqui berry (Aristotelia chilensis) is a native Chilean species that produces berries that are exceptionally rich in anthocyanins and natural antioxidants. These natural compounds provide an array of health benefits for humans, making them very desirable in a fruit. At the same time, these substances also interfere with nucleic acid preparations, making RNA extraction from Maqui berry a major challenge.

Deep sequencing reveals the complete genome and evidence for transcriptional activity of the first virus-like sequences identified in Aristotelia chilensis (Maqui Berry).

Here, we report the genome sequence and evidence for transcriptional activity of a virus-like element in the native Chilean berry tree Aristotelia chilensis. We propose to name the endogenous sequence as Aristotelia chilensis Virus 1 (AcV1). High-throughput sequencing of the genome of this tree uncovered an endogenous viral element, with a size of 7122 bp, corresponding to the complete genome of AcV1.

The conserved PFT1 tandem repeat is crucial for proper flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana.

It is widely appreciated that short tandem repeat (STR) variation underlies substantial phenotypic variation in organisms. Some propose that the high mutation rates of STRs in functional genomic regions facilitate evolutionary adaptation. Despite their high mutation rate, some STRs show little to no variation in populations.

Background-dependent effects of polyglutamine variation in the Arabidopsis thaliana gene ELF3.

Tandem repeats (TRs) have extremely high mutation rates and are often considered to be neutrally evolving DNA. However, in coding regions, TR copy number mutations can significantly affect phenotype and may facilitate rapid adaptation to new environments. In several human genes, TR copy number mutations that expand polyglutamine (polyQ) tracts beyond a certain threshold cause incurable neurodegenerative diseases.

Arabidopsis sodium dependent and independent phenotypes triggered by H⁺-PPase up-regulation are SOS1 dependent.

Coordinate regulation of transporters at both the plasma membrane and vacuole contribute to plant cell's ability to adapt to a changing environment and play a key role in the maintenance of the chemiosmotic circuits required for cellular growth. The plasma membrane (PM) Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter (SOS1) is involved in salt tolerance, presumably in sodium extrusion; the vacuolar type I H⁺-PPase AVP1 is involved in vacuolar sodium sequestration, but its overexpression has also been shown to alter the abundance and activity of the PM H⁺-ATPase. Here we investigate the relationship between these transporters utilizing loss-of-function mutants of SOS1 (sos1) and increased expression of AVP1 (AVP1OX).