Quantitative analysis of germline mitosis in adult C. elegans.

Certain aspects of the distal gonad of C. elegans are comparable to niche/stem cell systems in other organisms. The distal tip cell (DTC) caps a blind-ended tube; only the distal germ cells maintain proliferation in response to signaling from the DTC via the GLP-1/Notch signaling pathway in the germ line.

Transcription past DNA adducts derived from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The ability of a DNA lesion to block transcription is a function of many variables: (1) the ability of the RNA polymerase active site to accommodate the damaged base; (2) the size and shape of the adduct, which includes the specific modified base; (3) the stereochemistry of the adduct; (4) the base incorporated into the growing transcript; (5) and the local DNA sequence. Each of these parameters, either alone or in combination, can influence how a particular lesion in the genome will affect transcription elongation, resulting in potential clearance of the lesion via transcription-coupled DNA repair or in the formation of truncated or full-length transcripts that might encode defective proteins.

'One receptor' rules in sensory neurons.

With the recent explosion in the characterization of different sensory systems, a general rule is emerging: only one type of sensory receptor molecule is expressed per receptor neuron. The visual system is no exception and, in most cases, photoreceptors express only one visual pigment per cell. However, the mechanisms underlying the exclusion of sensory receptors are poorly understood.

RNAi as a tool to study cell biology: building the genome-phenome bridge.

In the few short years since its discovery, RNA interference (RNAi) has revolutionized the functional analysis of genomes: both technical and conceptual approaches to the investigation of gene function are being transformed as a result of this new technology. Genome-scale RNAi analyses have already been performed in the model organisms Caenorhabditis elegans (in vivo) and Drosophila melanogaster (in cell lines), ushering in a new era of RNAi-based approaches to probing the inner workings of the cell. The transformation of complex phenotypic data into mineable 'digitized' formats is fostering the emergence of a new area of bioinformatics related to the phenome.

Transcription and DNA adducts: what happens when the message gets cut off?

DNA damage located within a gene's transcription unit can cause RNA polymerase to stall at the modified site, resulting in a truncated transcript, or progress past, producing full-length RNA. However, it is not immediately apparent why some lesions pose strong barriers to elongation while others do not. Studies using site-specifically damaged DNA templates have demonstrated that a wide range of lesions can impede the progress of elongating transcription complexes.

A broad competence to respond to SHORT ROOT revealed by tissue-specific ectopic expression.

In plants, cell fate specification depends primarily on position rather than lineage. Recent results indicate that positional information can be transmitted through intercellular trafficking of transcription factors. The SHORT ROOT (SHR) gene, a member of the GRAS family of putative transcription factors, is involved in root radial patterning in Arabidopsis.