Host Resistance to Parasitic Plants-Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives.

Parasitic flowering plants represent a diverse group of angiosperms, ranging from exotic species with limited distribution to prominent weeds, causing significant yield losses in agricultural crops. The major damage caused by them is related to the extraction of water and nutrients from the host, thus decreasing vegetative growth, flowering, and seed production. Members of the root parasites of the Orobanchaceae family and stem parasites of the genus are among the most aggressive and damaging weeds, affecting both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crops worldwide.

Genomic and Epigenomic Mechanisms of the Interaction between Parasitic and Host Plants.

Parasitic plants extract nutrients from the other plants to finish their life cycle and reproduce. The control of parasitic weeds is notoriously difficult due to their tight physical association and their close biological relationship to their hosts. Parasitic plants differ in their susceptible host ranges, and the host species differ in their susceptibility to parasitic plants.

Transcription Factor Nrf2 and Mitochondria - Friends or Foes in the Regulation of Aging Rate.

At the first sight, the transcription factor Nrf2 as a master regulator of cellular antioxidant systems, and mitochondria as the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), should play the opposite roles in determining the pace of aging. However, since the causes of aging cannot be confined to the oxidative stress, the role of Nrf2 role cannot be limited to the regulation of antioxidant systems, and moreover, the role of mitochondria is not confined to the ROS production. In this review, we discussed only one aspect of this problem, namely, the molecular mechanisms of interaction between Nrf2 and mitochondria that influence the rate of aging and the lifespan.

Wheat Antipodal Cells with Polytene Chromosomes in the Embryo Sac Are Key to Understanding the Formation of Grain in Cereals.

The ultrastructure of antipodal cells of the embryo sac was studied at different stages of differentiation and programmed cell death. The importance of cell function in the antipodal complex is evidenced by the fact that it is fully formed before double fertilization, past the stages of proliferation of three initial cells, and several rounds of genome endoreduplication during differentiation. In this study, we showed that the actively synthesizing organelles, the granular reticulum, and Golgi apparatus, alter their structure during differentiation and death.

Age-associated epigenetic changes in mammalian sperm: implications for offspring health and development.

Background: Modern reproductive behavior in most developed countries is characterized by delayed parenthood. Older gametes are generally less fertile, accumulating and compounding the effects of varied environmental exposures that are modified by lifestyle factors. Clinicians are primarily concerned with advanced maternal age, while the influence of paternal age on fertility, early development and offspring health remains underappreciated.

A Crosstalk between the Biorhythms and Gatekeepers of Longevity: Dual Role of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3.

This review discusses genetic and molecular pathways that link circadian timing with metabolism, resulting in the emergence of positive and negative regulatory feedback loops. The Nrf2 pathway is believed to be a component of the anti-aging program responsible for the healthspan and longevity. Nrf2 enables stress adaptation by activating cell antioxidant defense and other metabolic processes via control of expression of over 200 target genes in response to various types of stress.

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Plant Adaptation to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses.

Unlike animals, plants are immobile and could not actively escape the effects of aggressive environmental factors, such as pathogenic microorganisms, insect pests, parasitic plants, extreme temperatures, drought, and many others. To counteract these unfavorable encounters, plants have evolved very high phenotypic plasticity. In a rapidly changing environment, adaptive phenotypic changes often occur in time frames that are too short for the natural selection of adaptive mutations.

Gene expression in human mesenchymal stem cell aging cultures: modulation by short peptides.

Effects of the short peptides Ala-Glu-Asp (AED), Lys-Glu-Asp (KED) and Lys-Glu (KE) on the expression of IGF1, FOXO1, TERT, TNKS2, and NFκB genes were studied in human embryo bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (line FetMSCs) variously aged in "passages" or "stationary" cultures. Both cell aging models were similar in gene expression. The main difference was in the TERT gene expression level, which showed an eightfold increase at the "stationary" aging.

The Effects of Parabiosis on Aging and Age-Related Diseases.

Parabiosis refers to the union of two living organisms by surgical operation, leading to the development of a shared circulatory system. It enables researchers to ask whether or not transmissible factors in the blood of one parabiont have physiological effects on its partner. In other words, parabiosis allows researchers to explore whether circulating factors in the bloodstream can alter tissue function.

Quantitative Analysis of DNA Methylation by Bisulfite Sequencing.

Changes in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation are shown to occur with aging in mammals. Besides changes that seem to be essentially stochastic, methylation levels of certain CpG sites display a strong correlation with age. Collectively, methylation of such CpG sites could be used as "epigenetic clocks" to predict biological age.

New C-Terminal Conserved Regions of Tafazzin, a Catalyst of Cardiolipin Remodeling.

Cardiolipin interacts with many proteins of the mitochondrial inner membrane and, together with cytochrome C and creatine kinase, activates them. It can be considered as an integrating factor for components of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which provides for an efficient transfer of electrons and protons. The major, if not the only, factor of cardiolipin maturation is tafazzin.

Epigenetic Clock: Just a Convenient Marker or an Active Driver of Aging?

A global DNA hypomethylation and local changes in the methylation levels of specific DNA loci occur during aging in mammals. Global hypomethylation mainly affects highly methylated repeat sequences, such as transposable elements; it is an essentially stochastic process usually referred to as "epigenetic drift." Specific changes in DNA methylation affect various genome sequences and could be either hypomethylation or hypermethylation, but the prevailing tendencies are hypermethylation of promoter sequences associated with CpG islands and hypomethylation of CpG poor genes.

Epigenetic Regulation of Plant Gametophyte Development.

Unlike in animals, the reproductive lineage cells in plants differentiate from within somatic tissues late in development to produce a specific haploid generation of the life cycle-male and female gametophytes. In flowering plants, the male gametophyte develops within the anthers and the female gametophyte-within the ovule. Both gametophytes consist of only a few cells.

Are There Common Mechanisms Between the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome and Natural Aging?

The Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) is a premature aging disease caused by mutations of the gene leading to increased production of a partially processed form of the nuclear fibrillar protein lamin A - progerin. Progerin acts as a dominant factor that leads to multiple morphological anomalies of cell nuclei and disturbances in heterochromatin organization, mitosis, DNA replication and repair, and gene transcription. Progerin-positive cells are present in primary fibroblast cultures obtained from the skin of normal donors at advanced ages.

Aging as an Epigenetic Phenomenon.

Introduction: Hypermethylation of genes associated with promoter CpG islands, and hypomethylation of CpG poor genes, repeat sequences, transposable elements and intergenic genome sections occur during aging in mammals. Methylation levels of certain CpG sites display strict correlation to age and could be used as "epigenetic clock" to predict biological age. Multi-substrate deacetylases SIRT1 and SIRT6 affect aging via locus-specific modulations of chromatin structure and activity of multiple regulatory proteins involved in aging.

Complete Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium sp. Strain VKM Ac-1817D, Capable of Producing 9α-Hydroxy-androst-4-ene-3,17-dione from Phytosterol.

Mycobacterium sp. strain VKM Ac-1817D is capable of converting phytosterol into 9α-hydroxy androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (9-OH-AD), which is a valuable intermediate for the steroid pharmaceutical industry. Here, a complete genome sequence of the strain is reported.

Complete Genome Sequence of Steroid-Transforming Nocardioides simplex VKM Ac-2033D.

Nocardioides simplex VKM Ac-2033D is an effective microbial catalyst for 3-ketosteroid 1(2)-dehydrogenation, and it is capable of effective reduction of carbonyl groups at C-17 and C-20, hydrolysis of acetylated steroids, and utilization of natural sterols. Here, the complete genome sequence is reported. An array of genes related to steroid metabolic pathways have been identified.

Complete Genome Sequence of Sterol-Transforming Mycobacterium neoaurum Strain VKM Ac-1815D.

Mycobacterium neoaurum strain VKM Ac-1815D produces 4-androstene-3,17-dione as a major compound from phytosterols. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the strain. The genome consists of a single circular 5,438,190-bp chromosome, with a G+C content of 66.