Cambridge Biologists, Engineers, Mathematicians, Programmers: Want to be part of an exciting team project? We are recruiting students for a team project in Synthetic Biology over the summer at the University of Cambridge as part of the international Genetically Engineered Machine competition, iGEM2008. An assembled team of undergraduates and postgraduates/postdocs will face the challenge of conceiving and designing a simple biological system using standard, interchangeable parts and operating it in living cells. As well as spending the summer weeks designing the system and synthesising and testing the parts, there will be the opportunity to attend an end-of-competition jamboree at MIT with other international teams. Last ...

Opportunities in synthetic biology: "Synthetic biology is concerned with applying the engineering paradigm of systems design to biological systems…

Cytokinins Act Directly on Lateral Root Founder Cells to Inhibit Root Initiation: " In Arabidopsis thaliana, lateral roots are formed from root pericycle cells adjacent to the xylem poles. Lateral root development is regulated antagonistically by the plant hormones auxin and cytokinin. While a great deal is known about how auxin promotes lateral root development, the mechanism of cytokinin repression is still unclear. Elevating cytokinin levels was observed to disrupt lateral root initiation and the regular pattern of divisions that characterizes lateral root development in Arabidopsis. To identify the stage of lateral root development that is sensitive to cytokinins, we targeted the expression of the Agrobacterium tumef...

Diarch Symmetry of the Vascular Bundle in Arabidopsis Root Encompasses the Pericycle and Is Reflected in Distich Lateral Root Initiation.: "Publication Date: 2008 Jan PMID: 17993548Authors: Parizot, B. - Laplaze, L. - Ricaud, L. - Boucheron-Dubuisson, E. - Bayle, V. - Bonke, M. - De Smet, I. - Poethig, S. R. - Helariutta, Y. - Haseloff, J. - Chriqui, D. - Beeckman, T. - Nussaume, L.Journal: Plant PhysiolThe outer tissues of dicotyledonous plant roots (i.e. epidermis, cortex, and endodermis) are clearly organized in distinct concentric layers in contrast to the diarch to polyarch vascular tissues of the central stele. Up to now, the outermost layer of the stele, the pericycle, has always been regarded, in acco...

Cytokinin signaling: two-components and more.: "Publication Date: 2008 Feb PMID: 18262459Authors: To, J. P. - Kieber, J. J.Journal: Trends Plant SciThe hormone cytokinin is perceived via a phosphorelay that is similar to the two-component systems with which bacteria sense and respond to environmental stimuli. Characterization of two-component elements in Arabidopsis, maize and rice shows that cytokinin responses are mediated via partially redundant two-component protein families: histidine kinases, histidine phosphotransfer proteins and response regulators, as well as by novel players, such as the cytokinin response factors. Recent studies in the model plant Arabidopsis have revealed that cytokinin regulates these ...

Genetic approaches to crop improvement: responding to environmental and population changes: " Genetic approaches to crop improvement: responding to environmental and population changes Nature Reviews Genetics 9, 444 (2008). doi:10.1038/nrg2342 Authors: Shin Takeda & Makoto Matsuoka Crop production is threatened by global climate change, and recent demands for crops to produce bio-fuels have started to affect the worldwide supply of some of the most important foods. How can we support a growing human population in such circumstances?"