Washington State University

About: Washington State University is a education organization based out in Pullman, Washington, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 26947 authors who have published 57736 publications receiving 2341509 citations. The organization is also known as: WSU & Wazzu.

Jasmonate perception by inositol-phosphate-potentiated COI1-JAZ co-receptor

Abstract: Jasmonates are a family of plant hormones that regulate plant growth, development and responses to stress. The F-box protein CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1 (COI1) mediates jasmonate signalling by promoting hormone-dependent ubiquitylation and degradation of transcriptional repressor JAZ proteins. Despite its importance, the mechanism of jasmonate perception remains unclear. Here we present structural and pharmacological data to show that the true Arabidopsis jasmonate receptor is a complex of both COI1 and JAZ. COI1 contains an open pocket that recognizes the bioactive hormone (3R,7S)-jasmonoyl-l-isoleucine (JA-Ile) with high specificity. High-affinity hormone binding requires a bipartite JAZ degron sequence consisting of a conserved α-helix for COI1 docking and a loop region to trap the hormone in its binding pocket. In addition, we identify a third critical component of the jasmonate co-receptor complex, inositol pentakisphosphate, which interacts with both COI1 and JAZ adjacent to the ligand. Our results unravel the mechanism of jasmonate perception and highlight the ability of F-box proteins to evolve as multi-component signalling hubs.

Folding-Unfolding Transitions in Single Titin Molecules Characterized with Laser Tweezers

Abstract: Titin, a giant filamentous polypeptide, is believed to play a fundamental role in maintaining sarcomeric structural integrity and developing what is known as passive force in muscle. Measurements of the force required to stretch a single molecule revealed that titin behaves as a highly nonlinear entropic spring. The molecule unfolds in a high-force transition beginning at 20 to 30 piconewtons and refolds in a low-force transition at approximately 2.5 piconewtons. A fraction of the molecule (5 to 40 percent) remains permanently unfolded, behaving as a wormlike chain with a persistence length (a measure of the chain's bending rigidity) of 20 angstroms. Force hysteresis arises from a difference between the unfolding and refolding kinetics of the molecule relative to the stretch and release rates in the experiments, respectively. Scaling the molecular data up to sarcomeric dimensions reproduced many features of the passive force versus extension curve of muscle fibers.

Timing of Millennial-Scale Climate Change in Antarctica and Greenland During the Last Glacial Period

Abstract: A precise relative chronology for Greenland and West Antarctic paleotemperature is extended to 90,000 years ago, based on correlation of atmospheric methane records from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 and Byrd ice cores. Over this period, the onset of seven major millennial-scale warmings in Antarctica preceded the onset of Greenland warmings by 1500 to 3000 years. In general, Antarctic temperatures increased gradually while Greenland temperatures were decreasing or constant, and the termination of Antarctic warming was apparently coincident with the onset of rapid warming in Greenland. This pattern provides further evidence for the operation of a “bipolar see-saw” in air temperatures and an oceanic teleconnection between the hemispheres on millennial time scales.

The composite genome of the legume symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti.

Abstract: The scarcity of usable nitrogen frequently limits plant growth. A tight metabolic association with rhizobial bacteria allows legumes to obtain nitrogen compounds by bacterial reduction of dinitrogen (N2) to ammonium (NH4+). We present here the annotated DNA sequence of the alpha-proteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti, the symbiont of alfalfa. The tripartite 6.7-megabase (Mb) genome comprises a 3.65-Mb chromosome, and 1.35-Mb pSymA and 1.68-Mb pSymB megaplasmids. Genome sequence analysis indicates that all three elements contribute, in varying degrees, to symbiosis and reveals how this genome may have emerged during evolution. The genome sequence will be useful in understanding the dynamics of interkingdom associations and of life in soil environments.