A pathogen type III effector with a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase architecture.

Type III effectors are virulence factors of Gram-negative bacterial pathogens delivered directly into host cells by the type III secretion nanomachine where they manipulate host cell processes such as the innate immunity and gene expression. Here, we show that the novel type III effector XopL from the model plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria exhibits E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro and in planta, induces plant cell death and subverts plant immunity.

Alternative splicing of conserved exons is frequently species-specific in human and mouse.

In this article, we provide evidence that a frequent source of diversity between mammalian transcripts occurs as a consequence of species-specific alternative splicing (AS) of conserved exons. Using a highly predictive computational method, we estimate that >11% of human and mouse cassette alternative exons undergo skipping in one species but constitutively splicing in the other. These species-specific AS events are predicted to modify conserved domains in proteins more frequently than other classes of AS events.

Effects of thyroid-stimulating hormone on the replicative cycle of vesicular stomatitis virus in primary cultured sheep thyroid cells.

Sheep thyroid cells in primary culture are highly sensitive to thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). We infected thyroid cells with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in the course of studies on cell polarity, and we found that TSH augmented the speed of the replicative cycle of VSV but did not affect the final yield of the virus. Three hours post-infection, at a multiplicity of infection of 10, the virus was detected in the cell layer of the cultures incubated with TSH but not in those without TSH.