Dopamine reuptake and inhibitory mechanisms in human dopamine transporter.

The dopamine transporter has a crucial role in regulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission by uptake of dopamine into neurons and contributes to the abuse potential of psychomotor stimulants. Despite decades of study, the structure, substrate binding, conformational transitions and drug-binding poses of human dopamine transporter remain unknown. Here we report structures of the human dopamine transporter in its apo state, and in complex with the substrate dopamine, the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug methylphenidate, and the dopamine-uptake inhibitors GBR12909 and benztropine.

Transport and inhibition mechanisms of the human noradrenaline transporter.

The noradrenaline transporter (also known as norepinephrine transporter) (NET) has a critical role in terminating noradrenergic transmission by utilizing sodium and chloride gradients to drive the reuptake of noradrenaline (also known as norepinephrine) into presynaptic neurons. It is a pharmacological target for various antidepressants and analgesic drugs. Despite decades of research, its structure and the molecular mechanisms underpinning noradrenaline transport, coupling to ion gradients and non-competitive inhibition remain unknown.

Green light mediates atypical photomorphogenesis by dual modulation of Arabidopsis phytochromes B and A.

Although green light (GL) is located in the middle of the visible light spectrum and regulates a series of plant developmental processes, the mechanism by which it regulates seedling development is largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that GL promotes atypical photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana via the dual regulations of phytochrome B (phyB) and phyA. Although the Pr-to-Pfr conversion rates of phyB and phyA under GL were lower than those under red light (RL) in a fluence rate-dependent and time-dependent manner, long-term treatment with GL induced high Pfr/Pr ratios of phyB and phyA.

Opportunities and Challenges in Advancing Plant Research with Single-cell Omics.

Plants possess diverse cell types and intricate regulatory mechanisms to adapt to the ever-changing environment of nature. Various strategies have been employed to study cell types and their developmental progressions, including single-cell sequencing methods which provide high-dimensional catalogs to address biological concerns. In recent years, single-cell sequencing technologies in transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and spatial transcriptomics have been increasingly used in plant science to reveal intricate biological relationships at the single-cell level.

Promotion of seedling germination in Arabidopsis by B-box zinc-finger protein BBX32.

Seed germination represents a determinant for plants to enter ecosystems and is thus regarded as a key ecological and agronomic trait. It is tightly regulated by a variety of environmental cues to ensure that seeds germinate under favorable conditions. Here, we characterize BBX32, a B-box zinc-finger protein, as an imbibition-stimulated positive regulator of seed germination.

Phytochrome B interacts with LIGULELESS1 to control plant architecture and density tolerance in maize.

Over the past few decades, significant improvements in maize yield have been largely attributed to increased plant density of upright hybrid varieties rather than increased yield per plant. However, dense planting triggers shade avoidance responses (SARs) that optimize light absorption but impair plant vigor and performance, limiting yield improvement through increasing plant density. In this study, we demonstrated that high-density-induced leaf angle narrowing and stem/stalk elongation are largely dependent on phytochrome B (phyB1/B2), the primary photoreceptor responsible for perceiving red (R) and far-red (FR) light in maize.

Modeling 0.6 million genes for the rational design of functional -regulatory variants and de novo design of regulatory sequences.

Rational design of plant -regulatory DNA sequences without expert intervention or prior domain knowledge is still a daunting task. Here, we developed PhytoExpr, a deep learning framework capable of predicting both mRNA abundance and plant species using the proximal regulatory sequence as the sole input. PhytoExpr was trained over 17 species representative of major clades of the plant kingdom to enhance its generalizability.

Harnessing landrace diversity empowers wheat breeding.

Harnessing genetic diversity in major staple crops through the development of new breeding capabilities is essential to ensure food security. Here we examined the genetic and phenotypic diversity of the A. E.

Lanthanum interferes with the fundamental rhythms of stomatal opening, expression of related genes, and evapotranspiration in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The accumulation of rare earth elements (REEs) in the global environment poses a threat to plant health and ecosystem stability. Stomata located on leaves serve as the primary site for plant responses to REE-related threats. This study focused on lanthanum [La(III)], a prevalent REE in the atmospheric environment.

Epigenetic control of gene expression by cellular metabolisms in plants.

Covalent modifications on DNA and histones can regulate eukaryotic gene expression and are often referred to as epigenetic modifications. These chemical reactions require various metabolites as donors or co-substrates, such as acetyl coenzyme A, S-adenosyl-l-methionine, and α-ketoglutarate. Metabolic processes that take place in the cytoplasm, nucleus, or other cellular compartments may impact epigenetic modifications in the nucleus.

Maize smart-canopy architecture enhances yield at high densities.

Increasing planting density is a key strategy for enhancing maize yields. An ideotype for dense planting requires a 'smart canopy' with leaf angles at different canopy layers differentially optimized to maximize light interception and photosynthesis, among other features. Here we identified leaf angle architecture of smart canopy 1 (lac1), a natural mutant with upright upper leaves, less erect middle leaves and relatively flat lower leaves.

Cereal genetics: Novel modulators of spikelet number and flowering time.

The spikelet is the unit component of the spike and the site of grain production in Triticeae crops. Two new studies revealed that plant-specific transcription factors ALOG1 and PDB1 participate in modulating spikelet number and flowering time in barley and wheat.

Resveratrol and piceid enhance efferocytosis by increasing the secretion of MFG-E8 in human THP-1 macrophages.

The process of apoptotic cell clearance by phagocytes, known as efferocytosis, plays an essential role in maintaining homeostasis. Defects in efferocytosis can lead to inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis and autoimmune disorders. Therefore, the maintenance and promotion of efferocytosis are considered crucial for preventing these diseases.

ACMGA: a reference-free multiple-genome alignment pipeline for plant species.

Background: The short-read whole-genome sequencing (WGS) approach has been widely applied to investigate the genomic variation in the natural populations of many plant species. With the rapid advancements in long-read sequencing and genome assembly technologies, high-quality genome sequences are available for a group of varieties for many plant species. These genome sequences are expected to help researchers comprehensively investigate any type of genomic variants that are missed by the WGS technology.

Single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing analyses provide molecular insights into early pod development of peanut fruit.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important leguminous oil and economic crop that produces flowers aboveground and fruits belowground. Subterranean fruit-pod development, which significantly affects peanut production, involves complex molecular mechanisms that likely require the coordinated regulation of multiple genes in different tissues.

Development of nanoparticle vaccines utilizing designed Fc-binding homo-oligomers and RBD-Fc of SARS-CoV-2.

The Fc-fused receptor binding domain (RBD-Fc) vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 has garnered significant attention for its capacity to provide effective and specific immune protection. However, its immunogenicity is limited, highlighting the need for improvement in clinical application. Nanoparticle delivery has been shown to be an effective method for enhancing antigen immunogenicity.

Two telomere-to-telomere gapless genomes reveal insights into Capsicum evolution and capsaicinoid biosynthesis.

Chili pepper (Capsicum) is known for its unique fruit pungency due to the presence of capsaicinoids. The evolutionary history of capsaicinoid biosynthesis and the mechanism of their tissue specificity remain obscure due to the lack of high-quality Capsicum genomes. Here, we report two telomere-to-telomere (T2T) gap-free genomes of C.

Light control of three-dimensional chromatin organization in soybean.

Higher-order chromatin structure is critical for regulation of gene expression. In plants, light profoundly affects the morphogenesis of emerging seedlings as well as global gene expression to ensure optimal adaptation to environmental conditions. However, the changes and functional significance of chromatin organization in response to light during seedling development are not well documented.

The microRNA408-plantacyanin module balances plant growth and drought resistance by regulating reactive oxygen species homeostasis in guard cells.

The conserved microRNA (miRNA) miR408 enhances photosynthesis and compromises stress tolerance in multiple plants, but the cellular mechanism underlying its function remains largely unclear. Here, we show that in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the transcript encoding the blue copper protein PLANTACYANIN (PCY) is the primary target for miR408 in vegetative tissues. PCY is preferentially expressed in the guard cells, and PCY is associated with the endomembrane surrounding individual chloroplasts.