This article finds that the transcript profile of the laccase gene ChLAC8 parallels the accumulation of C-lignin during seed coat development. Recombinant ChLAC8 oxidizes caffeyl and sinapyl alcohols, generating their corresponding dimers or trimers in vitro, but cannot oxidize coniferyl alcohol. The authors propose a basis for this substrate preference based on molecular modeling/docking experiments. Suppression of ChLAC8 expression led to significantly reduced C-lignin content in the seed coats of transgenic Cleome plants. Feeding of 13C-caffeyl alcohol to the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) caffeic acid o-methyltransferase mutant resulted in no incorporation of 13C into C-lignin, but expressing ChLAC8 in this genetic background led to appearance of C-lignin with >40% label incorporation. These results indicate that ChLAC8 is required for C-lignin polymerization and determines lignin composition when caffeyl alcohol is available.

Article testing the tradeoff between protein and oil storage in oilseed crops by analyzing the effect of suppressing key genes encoding protein storage products (napin and cruciferin). This study provides mechanistic insights into the intriguing link between lipid and protein storage, which have implications for biotechnological strategies directed at improving oilseed crops.

This article shows that the activity of N-linolenoylethanolamine (NAE 18:3) requires an intact G-protein complex. Specifically, genetic ablation of the Gβγ dimer or loss of the full set of atypical Gα subunits strongly attenuates an NAE-18:3–induced degreening of cotyledons in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings. This effect involves, at least in part, transcriptional regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis and catabolism genes. In addition, there is feedforward transcriptional control of G-protein signaling components and G-protein interactors. These results are consistent with NAE 18:3 being a lipid signaling molecule in plants with a requirement for G-proteins to mediate signal transduction, a situation similar, but not identical, to the action of NAE endocannabinoids in animal systems.

This article explores the relationship among MYB30, the ROS wave, and systemic acclimation in Arabidopsis by determining the SAA response to HL stress of MYB30 mutants and wild-type plants.

Article demonstrating the adaptively molecular discrimination of xylene isomers by employing a NbOF52−-pillared metal–organic framework (NbOFFIVE-bpy-Ni, also referred to as ZU-61) with rotational anionic sites.

This article tests if it is possible to piggyback more than one antisense deoxyoligonucleotide (dO) with one vivo morpholino (VMO). The authors previously developed a piggyback knockdown method that was used to knockdown genes in adult zebrafish. In this article, the authors develop a method to knockdown three genes at one time, and by increasing the concentration of VMO by twofold, could knockdown six genes simultaneously. These multiple gene knockdowns will not only increase the efficiency of the method in whole genome-wide knockdowns but will also be useful to study multifactorial disorders.

Article discussing grand canonical simulations based on density-functional theory to study the thermodynamic properties of electrochemical interfaces of metallic electrodes in aqueous environments.

Article studying a heavy-heavy-light three-body system confined to one space dimension.

Article presenting the idea of lattice quantum magnetometry, i.e., quantum sensing of magnetic fields by a charged (spinless) particle placed on a finite two-dimensional lattice.

Article demonstrates an efficient electro-optical modulation by using an edge-plasmon mode specific for the hybrid plasmonic waveguide.

Article introducing the quasiharmonic approximation three-phonon method to calculate the thermodynamic properties of both nonmetallic and metallic compounds. This study demonstrates that QHA3P is an ideal framework for the high-throughput prediction of finite-temperature material properties, combining the accuracy of QHA with the computational efficiency of SC-QHA.

This article shows that both Cys-EC and 4β-(S-cysteinyl)-catechin (Cys-C) are present in grapevine. The data from this study advance knowledge of PA building blocks and LAR function and provide targets for grapevine breeding to alter PA composition.

This article uses a large-scale mutant screening to identify a dominant activation-tagging mutant, fiberless-d (fls-d), showing defective SCW development in stem fibers, similar to that of the nac secondary wall thickening promoting factor1-1 (nst1-1)nst3-3 double mutant. The results demonstrate auxin is upstream of LBD29 in repressing NAC master regulators, and therefore sheds new light on the regulation of SCW biosynthesis in Arabidopsis.

Article studying the responses of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants to a combination of high light and heat stress (HL+HS) conditions. The study reveals that Jasmonic acid (JA) plays an important role in the acclimation of plants to a combination of HL+HS.

Article reports observations of two Subarctic North Pacific puffin species in the North Atlantic near the coast of north-west Greenland.

Article presents a method that provides a novel way to synthesize NPs and expose biological organisms for various toxicological analysis.

Article describing the isolation and genomic characterization of 116 phages that infect Microbacterium spp.

Article presents a combination of first principles and quantum ballistic transport calculations to shed important insights from an atomistic viewpoint on the underlying mechanisms governing spin transport in graphene/ CrI₃ junctions.

Article aims to identify other proteases that may activate FVII using zebrafish as a model.

This article isolated resveratrol by a non-optimized protocol from ten varieties of grape cane grown in central Texas, USA. A statistical grouping of the ten varieties suggests that Norton, Blanca du bois, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Lenoir are the best candidates to use for further resveratrol isolation.

Article exploring the use of pressured and decoctions water to extract anti-diabetic phytochemicals from cinnamon. The extensive metabolite profiling of novel SW and SG extracts and comparison of that with commercially available CC are reported for the first time in this study. The C. zeylanicum, SW accession holds some promise in the management of diabetes.

Article integrating a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film recognition unit with a liquid crystal (LC) in an optical cell transducer to incur the selectivity of liquid crystal-based sensors.

This article proposes a new model to represent a vesicle membrane with internal nematic order whose equilibrium states depend on the competition between the bending, elastic and anchoring energies.

Article argues that the Dunbar number arises as a consequence of a natural phase transition in the dynamic self-organization among N individuals within a social system. The authors provide a theoretical basis for the value of the Dunbar number and establish a theory-based bridge spanning the gap between sociology and psychology.