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The Genetics of Self-Incompatibility

By Guest PostNovember 6, 2010Nature, Scienceantigens, female, fertilization, genes, genetic, immune response, inbreeding, male, offspring, organism, petunia, petunia pistil, petunia pollen, plant, pollen, proteins, rna, rna-destroying enzyme, seiji takayama, sexual organs, t-cell receptors, teh-hui kao

*Petunias show that the mechanisms behind inbreeding prevention are similar to immune response*

About the image: The female part of the petunia flower secretes an enzyme that is designed to deter pollen tube growth, thereby preventing fertilization. However, in the cases that the pollen has come from a genetically different plant, the pollen produces its own protein that combats the pistil’s enzyme. With the enzyme out of the way, the pollen tube can keep growing and fertilization can occur. Image credit: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation

Inbreeding is a bad strategy for any organism, producing weak and problematic offspring. So imagine the challenge of inbreeding prevention in a plant where male and female sexual organs grow right next to each other! Such is the genetic conundrum faced by the petunia. (more…)

Too Much of a Good Thing: Human Activities Overload Ecosystems with Nitrogen

By Guest PostOctober 7, 2010Environment, Sciencebacteria, burning of fossil fuels, coastal zones, DNA, ecological damage, eutrophication, fresh waters, humans, microorganisms, national science foundation, nitrogen, nitrogen cycle, nitrogen fertilizers, nitrogen fixation, nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, paul falkowski, photosynthesize, plants, proteins, rna, robert burnap, Rutgers University, time-honored sustainable practices

*Resulting ecological damage is serious, but could be reduced by wider use of more sustainable, time-honored practices*

Humans are overloading ecosystems with nitrogen through the burning of fossil fuels and an increase in nitrogen-producing industrial and agricultural activities, according to a new study. While nitrogen is an element that is essential to life, it is an environmental scourge at high levels. (more…)

Bacteria Make Thrift a Habit

By Guest PostAugust 26, 2010Scienceamino acids, bacteria, bacterial protein, bacterium, balance function, curli, daniel smith, e coli, economic cost, escherichia coli, fibers, flagellu, glycine, illness, matthew chapman, mbio, metabolic, microbes, proteins, smith and chapman, ssga, university of michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— In these lean times, smart consumers refuse to pay a lot for throwaway items, but will shell out a little more for products that can be used again and again. The same is true of bacteria and other microbes, researchers at the University of Michigan have learned.

(more…)

A Cellular Housekeeper, and Potential Target of Obesity Drugs, Caught in Action

By Guest PostAugust 2, 2010Scienceberkeley lab, bing jap, cancer, crystal chuang, enzyme, eukaryotic cells, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, molecular breaks down, obesity, peter walian, proteins, roy kaltschmidt, tripeptidyl peptidase II

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have obtained the closest look yet of how a gargantuan molecular machine breaks down unwanted proteins in cells, a critical housekeeping chore that helps prevent diseases such as cancer.

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Tag Archives: proteins

The Genetics of Self-Incompatibility

Too Much of a Good Thing: Human Activities Overload Ecosystems with Nitrogen

Bacteria Make Thrift a Habit

A Cellular Housekeeper, and Potential Target of Obesity Drugs, Caught in Action