Plants

Root-associated bacteria are able to influence plant fitness and vigor. A key step in understanding the belowground plant-bacteria interactions is to quantify root colonization by the bacteria of interest. Probably, genetic engineering with fluorescence markers is the most powerful way to monitor bacterial strains in plant. However, this could

CRISPR/Cas9 is an established and flexible tool for genome editing. However, most methods used to generate expression clones for the CRISPR/Cas9 are time-consuming. Hence, we have developed a one-step protocol to introduce sgRNA expression cassette(s) directly into binary vectors (Liu et al., 2020). In this approach, we have optimized the

We have demonstrated that a specific population of ginger-derived nanoparticles (GDNP-2) could effectively target the colon, reduce colitis, and alleviate colitis-associated colon cancer. Naturally occurring GDNP-2 contains complex bioactive components, including lipids, proteins, miRNAs, and ginger secondary metabolites (gingerols and shogaols).

The majority of cellular proteins are degraded by the 26S proteasome in eukaryotes. However, intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), which contain large portions of unstructured regions and are inherently unstable, are degraded via the ubiquitin-independent 20S proteasome. Emerging evidence indicates that plant IDP homeostasis may also be

RNA secondary structures are highly dynamic and subject to prompt changes in response to the environment. Temperature in particular has a strong impact on RNA structural conformation, and temperature-sensitive RNA hairpin structures have been exploited by multiple organisms to modify the rate of translation in response to temperature changes.

Targeted metabolomics is a useful approach to evaluate crop breeding studies. Antioxidant and flavor-related traits are of increasing interest and are considered quality traits in tomato breeding. The present study presents chromatographic methods to study antioxidants (carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, phenolic compounds, and glutathione) and

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has opened up the possibility of studying virtually any organism at the whole transcriptome level. Nevertheless, the absence of a sequenced and accurately annotated reference genome may be an obstacle for applying this technique to non-model organisms, especially for those with a complex genome. While de novo transcriptome

Over the last decade, it has been noticed that microbial pathogens and pests deliver small RNA (sRNA) effectors into their host plants to manipulate plant physiology and immunity for infection, known as cross kingdom RNA interference. In this process, fungal and oomycete parasite sRNAs hijack the plant ARGONAUTE (AGO)/RNA-induced silencing complex

The ion-selective vibrating probe has been used to detect and quantify the magnitude and direction of transmembrane fluxes of several ions in a wide range of biological systems. Inherently non-invasive, vibrating probes have been essential to access relevant electrophysiological parameters related to apical growth and morphogenesis in pollen

Histological stains are useful tools for characterizing cell shape, arrangement and the material they are made from. Stains can be used individually or simultaneously to mark different cell structures or polymers within the same cells, and to visualize them in different colors. Histological stains can be combined with genetically-encoded