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June 2014

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Upon inflammation, blood cells transfer genetic information to Purkinje neurons.
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Although initially characterized as an organ with an immune privileged state, the brain does intimately interact with the immune system, particularly in response to systemic inflammation. Strong evidence for a direct transfer of functional RNA between blood and brain comes from transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase specifically in the hematopoietic lineage displaying numerous recombined Purkinje neurons in response to inflammation. This transfer from blood to neurons is mediated by extracellular vesicles of hematopoietic origin containing Cre RNA leading to reporter gene expression in recipient cells. Recombined neurons show changes in their microRNA profile, further indicating a previously unrecognized RNA-based communication between the hematopoietic system and various organs, including the brain, in response to inflammation. See Ridder et al.

Image Credit: Kirsten Ridder

Editorial

New Horizons for Plant Translational Research

Jane Alfred, Jeffery L. Dangl, Sophien Kamoun, Susan R. McCouch

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Synopses

A Recipe for Achieving Aichi: Conservation Planning for 2020 Biodiversity Targets

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Essays

The Billion Cell Construct: Will Three-Dimensional Printing Get Us There?

Jordan S. Miller

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Harvesting the Promising Fruits of Genomics: Applying Genome Sequencing Technologies to Crop Breeding

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Key Applications of Plant Metabolic Engineering

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Lab to Farm: Applying Research on Plant Genetics and Genomics to Crop Improvement

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Precision Genome Engineering and Agriculture: Opportunities and Regulatory Challenges

Daniel F. Voytas, Caixia Gao

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Perspectives

Moving beyond the GM Debate

Ottoline Leyser

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Genome Elimination: Translating Basic Research into a Future Tool for Plant Breeding

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Antarctica’s Protected Areas Are Inadequate, Unrepresentative, and at Risk

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Community Pages

microBEnet: Lessons Learned from Building an Interdisciplinary Scientific Community in the Online Sphere

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Research Articles

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