https://phys.org/biology-news/molecular-computational en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news on molecular and Computational biology The polysaccharide β-1,2-glucan consists of repeating units of glucose linked together by β-1,2-glycosidic bonds. Cyclic β-1,2-glucans (CβGs) occur in different bacterial species and have a role in bacterial infections and symbiotic relationships. CβG biosynthesis is catalyzed by cyclic β-1,2-glucan synthase (CGS), an enzyme that catalyzes the cyclization (closed ring formation) of linear β-1,2-glucan (LβG). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-uncovering-cyclization-mechanism-cyclic-glucan.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:46:00 EST news628965958 The determination of animal growth rate and body size is an interesting scientific issue, and understanding the molecular mechanisms involved can guide agricultural production for genetic breeding. However, differences in the genetic background across species have led to slow progress in related research. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-comparison-diploid-triploid-hybrid-fish.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:17:03 EST news628964221 Autophagy is a self-eating process for recycling and rejuvenating cellular organelles and components. Intracellular calcium dynamics has been shown to be essential for the initiation of the autophagy process. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-relationship-mitochondrial-calcium-dynamics-autophagy.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:21:03 EST news628957261 New research finds around a quarter of Labrador retriever dogs face a double-whammy of feeling hungry all the time and burning fewer calories due to a genetic mutation. The results are published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-genetic-mutation-quarter-labradors-hard.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EST news628942750 A computational model of the more than 26 million atoms in a DNA-packed viral capsid expands our understanding of virus structure and DNA dynamics, insights that could provide new research avenues and drug targets, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-atom-packaged-viral-genome-reveals.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:17:03 EST news628953421 Whereas humans have one receptor on their tongues that can detect all sorts of sweet things, from real sugar to artificial sweeteners like aspartame, insects have many receptors that each detect specific types of sugars. Yale researchers have now uncovered one way insect receptors are able to be so selective, an insight they say will help us understand how animals decipher the chemical world and how we might mimic that ability in the future. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-insects-sugars.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:13:03 EST news628953181 Stem cells are the body's wellspring of renewal. They can turn into any kind of cell the body needs, from liver to skin to bone. But the well would run dry if all the stem cells transformed. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-exploring-stem-cells-message.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:29:37 EST news628950550 Researchers from the Bhogaraju Group at EMBL Grenoble have gained new insights into how a cancer-relevant family of proteins bind their targets. The results of the study, published in The EMBO Journal, could potentially help in the development of drugs against certain chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-resistant cancers. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-relationships-cancer-proteins.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:28:31 EST news628950509 Early experiences in an animal's life can have a significant impact on its capacity to thrive, even years or decades later, and DNA methylation may help record their effects. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-early-life-adversity-term-signatures.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:44:04 EST news628947842 Originally discovered in extreme environments such as hydrothermal vents, archaea, a single-celled microorganism, can also be found in the digestive systems of animals, including humans in which they play a key role in gut health. Yet, little is known about the function of these cells or how they form the distinct shapes they assume to match their environments. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-archaea-proteins-cell-function.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:09:04 EST news628945741 "Random DNA" is naturally active in the one-celled fungi yeast, while such DNA is turned off as its natural state in mammalian cells, despite their having a common ancestor a billion years ago and the same basic molecular machinery, a new study finds. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-synthetic-dna-mysterious-difference-cells.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:00:01 EST news628942902 One of the fundamental goals of basic biology is understanding how diverse cell types work in concert to form tissues, organs, and organ systems. Recent efforts to catalog the different cell types in every tissue in our bodies are a step in the right direction, but only one piece of the puzzle. The great mystery of how those cells communicate with one another remains unsolved. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-universal-tool-tracking-cell-interactions.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:00:01 EST news628942911 Some of our genes can be expressed or silenced depending on whether we inherited them from our mother or our father. The mechanism behind this phenomenon, known as genomic imprinting, is determined by DNA modifications during egg and sperm production. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-revealing-evolutionary-genomic-imprinting.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:00:01 EST news628942517 A multi-institutional team of geneticists in China has discovered the gene mutation responsible for a brown coat in giant pandas. In their study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group sequenced the genes of a captive giant panda with a brown coat and compared the results with the genes of hundreds of black and white pandas. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-gene-mutation-responsible-brown-giant.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:02:11 EST news628941720 In the pursuit of enhancing almond genetic diversity for the ever-expanding global demand, researchers have delved into a private almond germplasm collection, shedding light on the potential for new cultivars adapted to diverse growing conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-exploring-genetic-diversity-almond-accessions.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:00:03 EST news628880401 Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most economically important perennial fruit species growing in temperate regions. However, partly due to climate change and biological pressures from pathogens, sweet cherry production in France has been declining since the 1980s. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-sweet-cherry-insights-genotyping-sequencing.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:50:01 EST news628865220 Due to the increased demand for food for the growing population, pesticides are widely used to control diseases and boost productivity. A study published in the journal Gene Expression was designed to evaluate the toxic effects of the fungicide Mancozeb (MZ) in the liver of the fish strain Channa punctatus. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-perturbations-redox-status-biochemical-indices.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:36:03 EST news628878962 What are the molecular processes in a unicellular marine algae species that can cause harmful algal blooms? A research team led by microbiologist Prof. Dr. Ralf Rabus from the University of Oldenburg (Germany) has conducted the first detailed analyses of the unusual cell biology of Prorocentrum cordatum, a globally widespread species of the dinoflagellates group, using both advanced microscopic and proteomics approaches. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-microalgae-unusual-cell-biology-algal.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:28:41 EST news628878518 The 1986 disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant transformed the surrounding area into the most radioactive landscape on Earth. Humans were evacuated, but many plants and animals continue to live in the region, despite the high levels of radiation that persist nearly four decades later. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-tiny-worms-tolerate-chornobyl.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:38:30 EST news628875504 Bacteria can be tricked into sending death signals to stop the growth of their slimy, protective homes that lead to deadly infections, a new study demonstrates. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-trojan-horse-stubborn-bacterial-infections.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:38:18 EST news628875496 Recent years have seen the rise of bacterial pathogens that have developed resistance to antibiotics. One such superbug, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), kills hundreds of critically ill patients in the U.S. each year, usually in hospital settings, by causing blood, lung, or urinary tract infections that don't respond to treatments. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-focus-flaws-superbugs-armor.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:12:05 EST news628873921 Melon, with its significant economic value and extensive phenotypic diversity, has been cultivated globally for over 4,000 years, featuring two main subspecies that have undergone independent domestication processes. Recent advancements have led to the assembly of several high-quality melon genomes, enhancing our understanding of genetic diversity and improving genetic mapping. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-telomere-genome-melon-high-quality.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:50:01 EST news628865214 The blood orange, renowned for its vibrant color due to anthocyanins, is a focus of increasing demand in the nutraceutical industry, with 'Tarocco' [C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck] being the most widespread variety. Current research sheds light on the genetic mechanisms underpinning anthocyanin production, such as the activation of the RUBY1 transcription factor and the importance of the MBW complex. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-alternative-splicing-transcription-factor-interplay.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:00:01 EST news628865227 'Vanilla' (XQC, brassica variety chinensis), a Brassica rapa subspecies chinensis, is a vital vegetable crop in the Brassicaceae family, renowned for its intense volatile fragrance. Despite the significant progress that has been made in understanding the genomes of Brassica species, including the discovery of a whole-genome triplication event, XQC's genome remains unexplored. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-deciphering-fragrance-code-high-quality.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:53:03 EST news628865582 Pear ring rot, a significant threat to pear production, is caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, leveraging the complex dynamics of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during infection. Initially, plants employ their innate immune system, detecting pathogens through conserved molecular patterns and triggering a defense mechanism that includes ROS bursts, restricting pathogen growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-role-pbrchia-chitinase-ros-antifungal.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:50:01 EST news628865208 Every time a cell divides, its DNA is duplicated so that the two daughter cells have the same genetic material as their parent. This means that, millions of times a day, a biochemical wonder takes place in the body: the copying of the DNA molecule. It is a high-precision job carried out by specific proteins and includes systems to protect against potential errors that could lead to diseases such as cancer. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-newly-protein-dna-triplication.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:57:36 EST news628790254 Research conducted by Dr. Shota Nakanoh in a collaboration between Dr. Teresa Rayon's lab at the Institute and Professor Ludovic Vallier's lab at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute has determined that the degree of cell crowding in the early human embryo influences whether cells develop as extra-embryonic cells or become a part of the embryo and eventually give rise to skin, hair and nails. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-degree-cell-crowding-early-human.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:12:54 EST news628787571 Charles Darwin described evolution as "descent with modification." Genetic information in the form of DNA sequences is copied and passed down from one generation to the next. But this process must also be somewhat flexible, allowing slight variations of genes to arise over time and introduce new traits into the population. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-life-evidence-rna-world.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:00:01 EST news628757739 Plant genomics has come a long way since Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) helped sequence the first plant genome. But engineering the perfect crop is still, in many ways, a game of chance. Making the same DNA mutation in two different plants doesn't always give us the crop traits we want. The question is why not? CSHL plant biologists just dug up a reason. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-evolutionary-mystery-million-years.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EST news628757086 Yale scientists have discovered a family of immune proteins, which they describe as a "massive molecular machine," that could affect the way our bodies fight infection. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-discovery-molecular-machine-immune-therapies.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:51:51 EST news628775506