KISS ME DEADLY proteins may help improve crop yields

Dartmouth study identifies new regulator for plant hormone signaling

2013-05-28

(Press-News.org) Dartmouth College researchers have identified a new regulator for plant hormone signaling -- the KISS ME DEADLY family of proteins (KMDs) – that may help to improve production of fruits, vegetables and grains.

The study's results will be published the week of May 27 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Journalists can access the paper, titled "SCFKMD controls cytokinin signaling by regulating the degradation of type-B response regulators," through EurekAlert!.

Professor G. Eric Schaller, the paper's senior author, studies the molecular mechanisms by which a plant recognizes a hormone and then responds to it. Among the hormones he studies are "anti-aging" cytokinins, which play critical roles in regulating plant growth and development, including stimulating yield, greening, branching, metabolism and cell division. Cytokinins are used in agriculture for multiple purposes, from crops to golf course greens.

In their PNAS paper, the researchers identify KMDs as a new regulator for cytokinin signaling. To regulate plant growth, plants need to perceive cytokinins and convert this information into changes in gene expression. The KMDs target a key group of cytokinin-regulated transcription factors for destruction, thereby regulating the gene expression changes that occur in response to cytokinin. In other words, increases in KMD levels result in a decreased cytokinin response (or less crop growth), while decreases in KMD levels result in a heightened cytokinin response (or greater crop growth).

The results suggest that KMDs represent a natural means by which plants can regulate the cytokinin response and may serve as a method to help regulate agriculturally important cytokinin responses.

"We expect that a better understanding of cytokinin activity and KMDs could lead to improved agricultural productivity," said Schaller, who is available to comment at george.e.schaller@dartmouth.edu.

### Broadcast studios: Dartmouth has TV and radio studios available for interviews. For more information, visit: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/radio-tv-studios/.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Spine function improves following cell replacement therapy with fetal human stem cells

2013-05-28

Human foetal stem cell grafts improve both motor and sensory functions in rats suffering from a spinal cord injury, according to research published this week in BioMed Central's open access journal Stem Cell Research and Therapy. This cell replacement therapy also improves the structural integrity of the spine, providing a functional relay through the injury site. The research gives hope for the treatment of spinal cord injuries in humans. Grafting human neural stem cells into the spine is a promising approach to promote the recovery of function after spinal injury. ...

Patients with end-stage kidney disease have different expectations than their doctors

2013-05-28

BOSTON – In any given year, 400,000 Americans suffering from end-stage kidney disease will undergo dialysis, and as many as 20 to 25 percent of those dialysis patients will die, a statistic comparable to many types of cancer. But while cancer doctors may be more accustomed to talking with patients about the likely course of their disease, a new study from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center finds that doctors who treat patients with kidney failure are reluctant to discuss a difficult prognosis, and their patients are likely to have distorted expectations about their own ...

All in one shot

2013-05-28

Boston, MA – Developing new vaccines to protect against diseases that plague humans is fraught with numerous challenges—one being that microbes tend to vary how they look on the surface to avoid being identified and destroyed by the immune system. However, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a sugar polymer that is common on the cell surface of several pathogens. This common sugar molecule makes it a promising target for the development of a broad-spectrum vaccine that can protect against numerous deadly microbes expressing this sugar on ...

When doctors and patients share in decisions, hospital costs go up

2013-05-28

Since the 1980s, doctors and patients have been encouraged to share decision making. Proponents argue that this approach promotes doctor-patient communication, enhances patient satisfaction, improves health outcomes, and even may lower cost. Yet, a hospital-based study found that patients who want to participate in their medical decisions end up spending more time in the hospital and raising costs of their hospital stay by an average of $865. The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, came from the first hospital-based study to examine how patients' desire ...

Meta-analysis: Bug and weed killers, solvents may increase risk of Parkinson's disease

2013-05-28

MINNEAPOLIS – A large analysis of more than 100 studies from around the world shows that exposure to pesticides, or bug and weed killers, and solvents is likely associated with a higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease. The research appears in the May 28, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Due to this association, there was also a link between farming or country living and developing Parkinson's in some of the studies," said study author Emanuele Cereda, MD, PhD, with the IRCCS University Hospital San Matteo ...

Should you stop blood thinners before surgery? AAN guideline provides direction

2013-05-28

MINNEAPOLIS – A new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology will help people who take blood thinners decide whether or not to take them during surgery or other medical procedures. The guideline is published in the May 28, 2013, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. People who have had a stroke often take blood thinners such as aspirin or warfarin to prevent another stroke. Blood thinners, or anticlotting drugs, are also used to prevent a first stroke in people with atrial fibrillation, an irregular or fast heartbeat. ...

Stem cell injections improve spinal injuries in rats

2013-05-28

An international team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that a single injection of human neural stem cells produced neuronal regeneration and improvement of function and mobility in rats impaired by an acute spinal cord injury (SCI). The findings are published in the May 28, 2013 online issue of Stem Cell Research & Therapy. Martin Marsala, MD, professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, with colleagues at UC San Diego and in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and The Netherlands, said grafting neural stem cells derived ...

Down syndrome neurons grown from stem cells show signature problems

2013-05-28

Madison, Wis. – Down syndrome, the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, results from an extra copy of one chromosome. Although people with Down syndrome experience intellectual difficulties and other problems, scientists have had trouble identifying why that extra chromosome causes such widespread effects. In new research published this week, Anita Bhattacharyya, a neuroscientist at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reports on brain cells that were grown from skin cells of individuals with Down syndrome. "Even though Down ...

Communication between physicians and patients important for expectations

2013-05-28

Seriously ill patients undergoing hemodialysis are more optimistic about their prognosis and prospects for transplants than their nephrologists, according to a study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. The study also found that nephrologists rarely had discussed estimates of life-expectancy with their patients. Melissa W. Wachterman, M.D., M.P.H., from Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System and colleagues compared patients' and physicians' expectations about one- and five-year survival rates and transplant candidacy among 207 patients undergoing hemodialysis ...

Patient participation in decision making associated with increased costs, services

2013-05-28

A survey of almost 22,000 admitted patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center found patient preference to participate in decision making concerning their care was associated with a longer length of stay and higher total hospitalization costs, according to a report published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. Hyo Jung Tak, Ph.D., and colleagues examined the relationship between patient preferences for participation in medical decision making and health care utilization among patients hospitalized between July 1, 2003 and August 31, 2011 by asking patients to ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

University of Oklahoma researchers develop durable hybrid materials for faster radiation detection

Medicaid disenrollment spikes at age 19, study finds

Turning agricultural waste into advanced materials: Review highlights how torrefaction could power a sustainable carbon future

Pollen counts can be predicted by machine learning models using meteorological data with more than 80% accuracy even a week ahead, for both grass and birch tree pollen, which could be key in effective

Rewriting our understanding of early hominin dispersal to Eurasia

Rising simultaneous wildfire risk compromises international firefighting efforts

Honey bee "dance floors" can be accurately located with a new method, mapping where in the hive forager bees perform waggle dances to signal the location of pollen and nectar for their nestmates