Late April 2009 papers

Some interest papers.

Ion channels versus ion pumps: the principal difference, in principle, David C. Gadsby, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 10:344-352 (May 2009).
Ions move across cell membranes through either ion channels or ion pumps. Recently, atomic-resolution structures and high-resolution functional measurements of examples from both channels and pumps have begun to suggest that these molecules need not be as different as was once thought.

Gene body DNA methylation in plants: a means to an end or an end to a means? Felipe Karam Teixeira and Vincent Colot, The EMBO Journal 28:997 - 998.

Floral stem cell termination involves the direct regulation of AGAMOUS by PERIANTHIA, Pradeep Das, Toshiro Ito, Frank Wellmer, Teva Vernoux, Annick Dedieu, Jan Traas, and Elliot M. Meyerowitz, Development 136:1605-1611.

Dual roles of the bZIP transcription factor PERIANTHIA in the control of floral architecture and homeotic gene expression, Annette T. Maier, Sandra Stehling-Sun, Heike Wollmann, Monika Demar, Ray L. Hong, Silke Haubeiss, Detlef Weigel, and Jan U. Lohmann, Development 136:1613-1620

CAMTA Proteins: A Direct Link between Calcium Signals and Cold Acclimation? Nancy A. Eckardt, Plant Cell 21:697.

Roles for Arabidopsis CAMTA Transcription Factors in Cold-Regulated Gene Expression and Freezing Tolerance, Colleen J. Doherty, Heather A. Van Buskirk, Susan J. Myers, and Michael F. Thomashow, Plant Cell 21:972-984.
The CBF cold response pathway plays a key role in cold acclimation. The authors show that the CBF2 promoter has both positive and negative DNA regulatory elements and establish roles for CAMTA proteins in regulating CBF2 transcription and freezing tolerance. The results suggest a possible mechanism for integrating low-temperature calcium signaling with cold-regulated gene expression.

Systems biology unlimited, Nature Genetics 41(5):505.
Sequencing technologies have unleashed more than enough quantitative data to test systems models of genome function, and sequence data are now driving a new systems biology. The new RNA entities uncovered may require new concepts of how genomes regulate their own expression.

Tiny RNAs associated with transcription start sites in animals, Ryan J Taft, Evgeny A Glazov, et al., Nature Genetics 41(5):572 - 578.
John Mattick and Yoshihide Hayashizaki and colleagues report the identifcation of tiny RNAs approximately 18 nucleotides in length that map near transcription start sites in human, chicken and Drosophila genomes. They call them transcription initiation RNAs (tiRNAs) and show that they associate with highly expressed transcripts and sites of RNA polymerase II binding.

Climate crunch: Sucking it up, Nicola Jones, Nature 458, 1094-1097 (2009)
It's simple to mop carbon dioxide out of the air, but it could cost a lot of money. In the second of three features on the carbon challenge, Nicola Jones talks with the scientists pursuing this strategy.

Chemistry: Fuel from thin air, Nature 458, 1080 (30 April 2009).
Angew. Chem. Int. Edn 48, 3322–3325 (2009)
Carbon dioxide can be sucked out of the air and turned into a useful fuel using a metal-free catalyst.

Exchange of Genetic Material Between Cells in Plant Tissue Grafts, S. Stegemann and R. Bock, Science 324(5927):649 - 651.
Plant genes can transfer between cells and across graft junctions, possibly explaining horizontal gene transfer.

A Yeast Hybrid Provides Insight into the Evolution of Gene Expression Regulation, I. Tirosh et al., Science 324(5927):659 - 662.
Gene expression between species of yeast may diverge, but recombination rewires their offspring into vigorous hybrids.