Joanna Friesner

TL;DR: It is found that although the majority of foci in M-phase cells exposed to ionizing radiation are ATM-dependent, approximately 10% of IR-induced gamma-H2AX foci require, instead, functional ATR, which indicates that even in the absence of DNA replication, a distinct subset ofIR-induced damage is recognized by ATR.

TL;DR: A citational network analysis of papers that mention Arabidopsis thaliana in the title, abstract or keywords is presented, to touch on some of the important discoveries in plant biology that have been made in this powerful model system, and highlight how these discoveries have then had an impact in crop species.

TL;DR: This work isolated T-DNA insertion mutations in the Arabidopsis homologs of the Ku80 and DNA ligase IV genes, required for the initiation and completion, respectively, of NHEJ, and found that both mutants were hypersensitive to the cytostatic effects of gamma radiation, suggesting that N HEJ is indeed a critical pathway for the repair of DSBs.

TL;DR: It is proposed that there is a need for a single core resource that is integrated into a larger international consortium of investigators, under shared international management of an International Arabidopsis Informatics Consortium (IAIC).

TL;DR: It is hoped that this article will inspire beginning and established scientists, corporations, and funding agencies to pursue directions in research and training identified by this workshop, capitalizing on the reference species Arabidopsis thaliana and other valuable plant systems.