Tuberculosis remains a threat to global health and recent attempts to shorten therapy have not succeeded mainly due to cases of clinical relapse. This has focussed attention on the importance of "dormancy" in tuberculosis. There are a number of different definitions of the term and a similar multiplicity of different in vitro and in vivo models. The danger with this is the implicit assumption of equivalence between the terms and models, which will make even more difficult to unravel this complex conundrum. In this review we summarise the main models and definitions and their impact on susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. We also suggest a potential nomenclature for debate. Dormancy researchers agree that factors underpinning this phenomenon are complex and nuanced. If we are to make progress we must agree the terms to be used and be consistent in using them.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tube.2016.05.006 | DOI Listing |
Ann Bot
January 2025
Seed Biology and Technology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, TW20 0EX, Egham, United Kingdom.
The biomechanical, morphological and ecophysiological properties of plant seed/fruit structures are adaptations that support survival in unpredictable environments. High phenotypic variability of noxious and invasive weed species such as Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish) allow diversification into new environmental niches. Dry indehiscent fruits (thick and lignified pericarp [fruit coat] enclosing seeds) have evolved many times independently.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeoplasia
January 2025
Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Clinical and Translational Research Center of Excellence, Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37208, USA.
Background: Cancer stem cells in human tumors have been defined by stem cell markers, embryonal signaling pathways and characteristic biology, ie., namely the ability to repopulate the proliferating population. However, even if these properties can be demonstrated within a tumor cell subpopulation, it does not mean that they are truly hierarchical stem cells because they could have been derived from the proliferating population in a reversible manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Bot
January 2025
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Wageningen University and Research, 6708PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
The phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family members FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and TERMINAL FLOWER1 (TFL1) are major regulators of plant reproduction. In Arabidopsis, the FT/TFL1 balance defines the timing of floral transition and the determination of inflorescence meristem identity. However, emerging studies have elucidated a plethora of previously unknown functions for these genes in various physiological processes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPersisters describe phenotypically switched cells refractory to antibiotic killing in a genetically susceptible population, while preserving the ability to resume growth when antibiotics are discontinued1,2. Since its proposal 70 years ago, great strides were made to build the framework regarding persistence, including defining triggered, spontaneous and antibiotic-induced persisters. However, challenges remain in characterizing the molecular determinants underlying the phenotypic switch into persistence3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Exp Bot
January 2025
College of Agronomy & Biotechnology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan 650201, China.
DNA methylation plays a crucial role in regulating fruit ripening and seed development. It remains unknown about the dynamic characteristics of DNA methylation and its regulation mechanisms in morpho-physiological dormancy (MPD)-typed seeds with recalcitrant characteristics. The Panax notoginseng seeds are defined by the MPD and are characterized by a strong sensitivity to dehydration during the after-ripening process.
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