Upon entry into mitosis, many microtubules are nucleated that coordinately integrate into a stable, yet dynamic, mitotic spindle apparatus. In a recent publication, we examined microtubule-generating pathways within a single model system, the Drosophila syncytial embryo. We found that, following depolymerisation of metaphase spindle microtubules by cold treatment, spindles regenerate predominan...

The fate of most lignin linkages, other than the β-O-4, under selective oxidation conditions is largely unknown. In this work we use advanced β-5 lignin model compounds to identify the fate of phenylcoumaran units in a softwood lignin during oxidation with DDQ. By using model compounds combined with detailed characterisation of the oxidised lignin polymer using HSQC and HMBC NMR we show that ph...

There is an error in the seventh sentence of the “Plant materials, tissue collection, hormone treatment and A. rabiei infection” section of the Material and Methods. The sentence should read: The spore suspension of freshly grown A. rabiei cultures (2 X 10 spores/mL) were sprayed onto 3 week old phytotron-grown plants and almost one-third of the aerial part of the respective samples were collec...

The tropomyosin family of proteins form end-to-end polymers along the actin filament. Tumour cells rely on specific tropomyosin-containing actin filament populations for growth and survival. To dissect out the role of tropomyosin in actin filament regulation we use the small molecule TR100 directed against the C terminus of the tropomyosin isoform Tpm3.1. TR100 nullifies the effect of Tpm3.1 on...

Bio-based media, derived from cellulosic biomass depolymerisation or bioconversion processes, are composed of several chemicals and biochemicals. In this study, the main components of a hemicellulosic-based medium were analyzed using a dual detection HPLC method to separate and determine concentrations of the major monosaccharides (glucose, xylose, and arabinose), alcoholic and acidic component...

A universal feature of mitosis is that all chromosomes become aligned at the spindle equator--the halfway point between the two spindle poles--prior to anaphase onset. This migratory event is called congression, and is powered by centromere-bound protein machines called kinetochores. This Commentary aims to document recent advances concerning the two kinetochore-based force-generating mechanism...

An N-heterocyclic phosphine (NHP) has been investigated as a catalyst for transesterification of range commercial polymer samples. NHP catalysed degradation poly(lactic acid) with methanol provides access to methyl lactate (MeLA) in high yields over the course days. In situ NMR spectroscopy and kinetic analysis provided quantitative assessment catalyst, solvent screen is reported. Surprisingly ...