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OVULE DEVELOPMENT. "Events within individual ovules of the female carpel follow a similar pattern, with the megaspore mother cell and the one functional meiotic product requiring the presence of a normal nucellar layer for correct development. Once the cells of the embryo sac are formed, their correct positioning, division, and specification results from a complex interplay involving hormone gradients and interactions between the egg and other cells of the embryo sac." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580713000427 View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend on the complex reproductive strategies of plants. The descriptive is confounding without an explanation of how this came about, and the functions it serves. And this is the tip of the iceberg, for there are seemingly infinite variations on the theme when it comes to plant reproduction. Nothing has been left to the imagination. View in LinkedIn

CONTINUED THREAD. "Importantly, the supporting roles of the male and female companion cells do not end with gamete maturation. After pollen germination on the stigma surface, the male vegetative cell differentiates into the pollen tube that delivers the sperm to the ovule, whereas, after fertilization, the female central cell forms the basis of the triploid endosperm, which supports the developing next generation." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580713000427 View in LinkedIn

Russian trolls 'spreading discord' over vaccine safety online, a wedge issue https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/23/russian-trolls-spread-vaccine-misinformation-on-twitter?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other View in LinkedIn

CONTROLLING TRANSPOSONS. "Exonization of transposable elements sequences supplies the genome with a source of genetic material for evolution. Uncontrolled activity of transposable elements, however, causes deleterious effects, as evidenced in both plants and animals." https://lnkd.in/dwPiXaA View in LinkedIn

Volkswagen vows to tone down use of weather-altering technology after Mexican protests http://money.cnn.com/2018/08/23/news/companies/vw-volkswagen-mexico-drought/index.html View in LinkedIn

PRESERVING GENOME FIDELITY. "Companion cell DNA does not contribute to the zygotic genome, and therefore reactivation of companion cell transposable elements does not risk the genome fidelity of the next generation. Together with its vital biological function to facilitate fertilization and promote postfertilization development with reduced dependence on water, the ability of the gametophyte to protect the integrity of the zygotic genome has probably contributed to the maintenance of this distinct “generation” during angiosperm evolution." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580713000427 View in LinkedIn

BY PRECEDENT. “Because biological processes are often executed by protein complexes and fine-tuned by regulatory factors, the first-order protein-protein interactors of known longevity genes are likely to participate in the regulation of longevity.” https://lnkd.in/dzD-3br View in LinkedIn

SILENCING WORK. "Once cell fates are specified within the gametophytes, the current data suggest that “information flow” reverses with the companion cells of the pollen and embryo sac acting to silence transposable elements in the germ cells. Presumably, this would act to reinforce the default systems that repress transposable element activity in somatic cells, perhaps because of an increased requirement for genome integrity in the gametes caused by the gametic chromatin being differently packed from that of somatic cells." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580713000427 View in LinkedIn

MITONUCLEAR PROTEIN GENES. "Collectively these data demonstrate that MRPs represent an evolutionarily conserved protein family that ties the mitochondrial ribosome and mitonuclear protein imbalance to the mitochondrial unfolded protein response, an overarching longevity pathway across many species.” http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v497/n7450/abs/nature12188.html View in LinkedIn