Category: 3. Business

  • Oil slips on oversupply concerns, stronger dollar – Reuters

    1. Oil slips on oversupply concerns, stronger dollar  Reuters
    2. Crude Oil Holds Range as Weak Demand and Fed Uncertainty Weigh on Outlook  FXEmpire
    3. Oil Price Forecast: WTI Targets $65 as Traders Brace for OPEC Breakout Week  FXLeaders
    4. Oil prices slip to $64.67 amid oversupply concerns after OPEC+ output plans  Economy Middle East
    5. WTI Oil outlook: Bears regain control on demand concerns, reaction at key $60 support in focus  FXStreet

    Continue Reading

  • Spotify Reports Third Quarter 2025 Earnings — Spotify

    Spotify Reports Third Quarter 2025 Earnings — Spotify

    Today, we announced our third quarter 2025 earnings, marking strong momentum as we surpassed 700 million Monthly Active Users and achieved double-digit subscriber growth. We continue to deliver on our focus of Accelerated Execution, launching new updates and features across music, podcasts, and audiobooks, and further adding value for users and creators around the world. Take a look at the highlights below:

      • Subscribers climbed 12% Y/Y to 281 million.
      • Monthly Active Users grew 11% Y/Y to 713 million.
      • Total Revenue increased 12% Y/Y constant currency to €4.3 billion.
      • Gross Margin improved by 56 bps YoY to 31.6%.
      • Operating Income reached €582M.

    “The business is healthy. We’re shipping faster than ever. And we have the tools we need – pricing, product innovation, operational leverage, and eventually the ads turnaround – to deliver both revenue growth and profit expansion,” said Daniel Ek, Spotify’s Founder and CEO. “It all comes back to user fundamentals and that’s where we are: 700 million users who keep coming back, engagement at all-time highs. We’re building Spotify for the long-term.”

    Interested in hearing more? Click here to review the full earnings release and listen to the webcast Q&A on our Investor Relations site here.

    Continue Reading

  • Plastid-mediated feedback regulation of Arabidopsis LYCOPENE EPSILON CYCLASE is modulated by the promoter and a 5′UTR structural variant harbouring a conserved IRES | BMC Biology

    Plastid-mediated feedback regulation of Arabidopsis LYCOPENE EPSILON CYCLASE is modulated by the promoter and a 5′UTR structural variant harbouring a conserved IRES | BMC Biology

  • Li Y, Grotewold E, Dudareva N. Enough is enough: feedback control of specialized metabolism. Trends Plant Sci. 2024;29(5):514–23.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Li C, Jiang R, Wang X, Lv Z, Li W, Chen W. Feedback regulation of plant secondary metabolism: applications and challenges. Plant Sci. 2024;340:111983.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Baranski R, Cazzonelli C. Carotenoid biosynthesis and regulation in plants. In: Kaczor A, Baranska M, editors. Carotenoids: nutrition. Analysis and technology. Wiley-Blackwell. 2016:161–89.

  • Sun T, Rao S, Zhou X, Li L. Plant carotenoids: recent advances and future perspectives. Mol Hortic. 2022;2(1):3.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Pogson BJ. Source to sink: regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in plants. Trends Plant Sci. 2010;15(5):266–74.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun T, Yuan H, Cao H, Yazdani M, Tadmor Y, Li L. Carotenoid metabolism in plants: the role of plastids. Mol Plant. 2018;11(1):58–74.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Llorente B, Martinez-Garcia JF, Stange C, Rodriguez-Concepcion M. Illuminating colors: regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis and accumulation by light. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2017;37:49–55.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng X, Yang Y, Al-Babili S. Exploring the diversity and regulation of apocarotenoid metabolic pathways in plants. Front Plant Sci. 2021;12:787049.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreno JC, Mi J, Alagoz Y, Al-Babili S. Plant apocarotenoids: from retrograde signaling to interspecific communication. Plant J. 2021;105(2):351.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Hou X, Alagoz Y, Rivers J, Dhami N, Lee J, et al. A cis-carotene derived apocarotenoid regulates etioplast and chloroplast development. Elife. 2020;9:e45310.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Escobar-Tovar L, Sierra J, Hernandez-Munoz A, McQuinn RP, Mathioni S, Cordoba E, et al. Deconvoluting apocarotenoid-mediated retrograde signaling networks regulating plastid translation and leaf development. Plant J. 2021;105(6):1582–99.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hou X, Alagoz Y, Welsch R, Mortimer MD, Pogson BJ, Cazzonelli CI. Reducing PHYTOENE SYNTHASE activity fine-tunes the abundance of a cis-carotene-derived signal that regulates the PIF3/HY5 module and plastid biogenesis. J Exp Bot. 2024;75(4):1187–204.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Norman JM, Zhang J, Cazzonelli CI, Pogson BJ, Harrison PJ, Bugg TD, et al. Periodic root branching in Arabidopsis requires synthesis of an uncharacterized carotenoid derivative. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(13):E1300–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson AJ, Lehner K, Mi J, Jia KP, Mijar M, Dinneny J, et al. β-Cyclocitral is a conserved root growth regulator. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2019;116(21):10563–7.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Nayak JJ, Anwar S, Krishna P, Chen ZH, Plett JM, Foo E, et al. Tangerine tomato roots show increased accumulation of acyclic carotenoids, less abscisic acid, drought sensitivity, and impaired endomycorrhizal colonization. Plant Sci. 2022;321:111308.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • van Veen E, Küpers JJ, Gommers CMM. Plastids in a Pinch: Coordinating Stress and Developmental Responses Through Retrograde Signalling. Plant Cell Environ. 2025;48(9):6897-6911. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.15664. Epub 2025 Jun 5. PMID: 40474490; PMCID: PMC12319301.

  • Agrawal S, Karcher D, Ruf S, Erban A, Hertle AP, Kopka J, et al. Riboswitch-mediated inducible expression of an astaxanthin biosynthetic operon in plastids. Plant Physiol. 2022;188(1):637–52.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Alagoz Y, Nayak P, Dhami N, Cazzonelli CI. Cis-carotene biosynthesis, evolution and regulation in plants: the emergence of novel signaling metabolites. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2018;654:172–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2018.07.014.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Alagoz Y, Nayak P, Dhami N, Cazzonelli CI. cis-carotene biosynthesis, evolution and regulation in plants: The emergence of novel signaling metabolites. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2018;654:172-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2018.07.014. Epub 2018 Jul 18. PMID: 30030998.

  • Álvarez D, Voß B, Maass D, Wüst F, Schaub P, Beyer P, et al. Carotenogenesis is regulated by 5′ UTR-mediated translation of phytoene synthase splice variants. Plant Physiol. 2016;172(4):2314–26.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitra S, Estrada-Tejedor R, Volke DC, Phillips MA, Gershenzon J, Wright LP. Negative regulation of plastidial isoprenoid pathway by herbivore-induced β-cyclocitral in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(10):e2008747118.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun J, Narayanasamy S, Curley RW Jr, Harrison EH. B;-Apo-13-carotenone regulates retinoid X receptor transcriptional activity through tetramerization of the receptor *. J Biol Chem. 2014;289(48):33118–24.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham FX Jr, Pogson B, Sun Z, McDonald KA, DellaPenna D, Gantt E. Functional analysis of the beta and epsilon lycopene cyclase enzymes of Arabidopsis reveals a mechanism for control of cyclic carotenoid formation. Plant Cell. 1996;8(9):1613–26.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Pogson B, McDonald KA, Truong M, Britton G, DellaPenna D. Arabidopsis carotenoid mutants demonstrate that lutein is not essential for photosynthesis in higher plants. Plant Cell. 1996;8(9):1627–39.

    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Enfissi EM, Nogueira M, Bramley PM, Fraser PD. The regulation of carotenoid formation in tomato fruit. Plant J. 2017;89(4):774–88.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Park H, Kreunen SS, Cuttriss AJ, DellaPenna D, Pogson BJ. Identification of the carotenoid isomerase provides insight into carotenoid biosynthesis, prolamellar body formation, and photomorphogenesis. Plant Cell. 2002;14(2):321–32.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuttriss AJ, Chubb AC, Alawady A, Grimm B, Pogson BJ. Regulation of lutein biosynthesis and prolamellar body formation in Arabidopsis. Funct Plant Biol. 2007;34(8):663–72.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Cuttriss AJ, Cossetto SB, Pye W, Crisp P, Whelan J, et al. Regulation of carotenoid composition and shoot branching in Arabidopsis by a chromatin modifying histone methyltransferase, SDG8. Plant Cell. 2009;21(1):39–53.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi Y, Wang R, Luo Z, Jin L, Liu P, Chen Q, et al. Molecular cloning and functional characterization of the lycopene ε-cyclase gene via virus-induced gene silencing and its expression pattern in Nicotiana tabacum. Int J Mol Sci. 2014;15(8):14766–85.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Yu B, Lydiate DJ, Young LW, Schäfer UA, Hannoufa A. Enhancing the carotenoid content of Brassica napus seeds by downregulating lycopene epsilon cyclase. Transgenic Res. 2008;17(4):573–85.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim SH, Kim YH, Ahn YO, Ahn MJ, Jeong JC, Lee HS, et al. Downregulation of the lycopene ϵ-cyclase gene increases carotenoid synthesis via the β-branch-specific pathway and enhances salt-stress tolerance in sweetpotato transgenic calli. Physiol Plant. 2013;147(4):432–42.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Ke Q, Kang L, Kim HS, Xie T, Liu C, Ji CY, et al. Down-regulation of lycopene ε-cyclase expression in transgenic sweetpotato plants increases the carotenoid content and tolerance to abiotic stress. Plant Sci. 2019;281:52–60.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Diretto G, Tavazza R, Welsch R, Pizzichini D, Mourgues F, Papacchioli V, et al. Metabolic engineering of potato tuber carotenoids through tuber-specific silencing of lycopene epsilon cyclase. BMC Plant Biol. 2006;6(1):1–11.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaur N, Alok A, Kumar P, Kaur N, Awasthi P, Chaturvedi S, et al. CRISPR/Cas9 directed editing of lycopene epsilon-cyclase modulates metabolic flux for β-carotene biosynthesis in banana fruit. Metab Eng. 2020;59:76–86.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Livneh Y, Leor-Librach E, Agmon D, Makov-Bouaniche T, Tiwari V, Shor E, et al. Combined enhancement of ascorbic acid, β-carotene and zeaxanthin in gene-edited lettuce. Plant Biotechnol J. 2025;23(6):1954–67.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Richaud D, Stange C, Gadaleta A, Colasuonno P, Parada R, Schwember AR. Identification of Lycopene epsilon cyclase (LCYE) gene mutants to potentially increase β-carotene content in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum) through TILLING. PLoS ONE. 2018;13(12):e0208948.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Harjes CE, Rocheford TR, Bai L, Brutnell TP, Kandianis CB, Sowinski SG, et al. Natural genetic variation in lycopene epsilon cyclase tapped for maize biofortification. Science. 2008;319(5861):330–3.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthusamy V, Hossain F, Thirunavukkarasu N, Saha S, Gupta HS. Allelic variations for lycopene-ε-cyclase and β-carotene hydroxylase genes in maize inbreds and their utilization in β-carotene enrichment programme. Cogent Food Agric. 2015;1(1):1033141.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Thatcher LF, Carrie C, Andersson CR, Sivasithamparam K, Whelan J, Singh KB. Differential gene expression and subcellular targeting of Arabidopsis glutathione S-transferase F8 is achieved through alternative transcription start sites. J Biol Chem. 2007;282(39):28915–28.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Chung BY, Balcerowicz M, Di Antonio M, Jaeger KE, Geng F, Franaszek K, et al. An RNA thermoswitch regulates daytime growth in Arabidopsis. Nat Plants. 2020;6(5):522–32.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Assmann SM, Chou HL, Bevilacqua PC. Rock, scissors, paper: how RNA structure informs function. Plant Cell. 2023;35(6):1671–707.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Bocobza S, Adato A, Mandel T, Shapira M, Nudler E, Aharoni A. Riboswitch-dependent gene regulation and its evolution in the plant kingdom. Genes Dev. 2007;21(22):2874–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Wachter A, Tunc-Ozdemir M, Grove BC, Green PJ, Shintani DK, Breaker RR. Riboswitch control of gene expression in plants by splicing and alternative 3′ end processing of mrnas. Plant Cell. 2007;19(11):3437–50.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Li S, Breaker RR. Eukaryotic TPP riboswitch regulation of alternative splicing involving long-distance base pairing. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013;41(5):3022–31.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Salas E, Francisco-Velilla R, Fernandez-Chamorro J, Embarek AM. Insights into structural and mechanistic features of viral IRES elements. Front Microbiol. 2018;8:2629.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cui Y, Rao S, Chang B, Wang X, Zhang K, Hou X, et al. Atla1 protein initiates IRES-dependent translation of WUSCHEL mRNA and regulates the stem cell homeostasis of Arabidopsis in response to environmental hazards. Plant, Cell Environ. 2015;38(10):2098–114.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinkova TD, Zepeda H, Martínez-Salas E, Martínez LM, Nieto-Sotelo J, de Jiménez ES. Cap-independent translation of maize Hsp101. Plant J. 2005;41(5):722–31.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Jiménez-González AS, Fernández N, Martínez-Salas E, Sánchez de Jiménez E. Functional and structural analysis of maize hsp101 IRES. PLoS One. 2014;9(9):e107459.

  • Urwin P, Yi L, Martin H, Atkinson H, Gilmartin PM. Functional characterization of the EMCV IRES in plants. Plant J. 2000;24(5):583–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez J, Yaman I, Huang C, Liu H, Lopez AB, Komar AA, et al. Ribosome stalling regulates IRES-mediated translation in eukaryotes, a parallel to prokaryotic attenuation. Mol Cell. 2005;17(3):405–16.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawaguchi R, Bailey-Serres J. mRNA sequence features that contribute to translational regulation in Arabidopsis. Nucleic Acids Res. 2005;33(3):955–65.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Isaacson T, Ronen G, Zamir D, Hirschberg J. Cloning of tangerine from tomato reveals a carotenoid isomerase essential for the production of beta-carotene and xanthophylls in plants. Plant Cell. 2002;14(2):333–42.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Romer S, Fraser PD, Kiano JW, Shipton CA, Misawa N, Schuch W, et al. Elevation of the provitamin A content of transgenic tomato plants. Nat Biotechnol. 2000;18(6):666–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon SH, Kim JE, Lee SH, Park HM, Choi MS, Kim JY, et al. Engineering the lycopene synthetic pathway in E. coli by comparison of the carotenoid genes of Pantoea agglomerans and Pantoea ananatis. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2007;74(1):131–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong EY, Hironaka CM, Fischhoff DA. Arabidopsis thaliana small subunit leader and transit peptide enhance the expression of Bacillus thuringiensis proteins in transgenic plants. Plant Mol Biol. 1992;20(1):81–93.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Næsted H, Holm A, Jenkins T, Nielsen HB, Harris CA, Beale MH, et al. Arabidopsis VARIEGATED 3 encodes a chloroplast-targeted, zinc-finger protein required for chloroplast and palisade cell development. J Cell Sci. 2004;117(20):4807–18.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhuiyan NH, Friso G, Rowland E, Majsec K, van Wijk KJ. The plastoglobule-localized metallopeptidase PGM48 is a positive regulator of senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 2016;28(12):3020–37.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez-Jorge S, Ha SH, Magallanes-Lundback M, Gilliland LU, Zhou A, Lipka AE, et al. Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase4 is a negative regulator of β-carotene content in Arabidopsis seeds. Plant Cell. 2013;25(12):4812–26.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Brausemann A, Gemmecker S, Koschmieder J, Ghisla S, Beyer P, Einsle O. Structure of phytoene desaturase provides insights into herbicide binding and reaction mechanisms involved in carotene desaturation. Structure. 2017;25(8):1222-32.e3.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayfield SP, Taylor WC. Carotenoid-deficient maize seedlings fail to accumulate light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein (LHCP) mRNA. Eur J Biochem. 1984;144(1):79–84.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Dhami N, Pogson BJ, Tissue DT, Cazzonelli CI. A foliar pigment-based bioassay for interrogating chloroplast signalling revealed that carotenoid isomerisation regulates chlorophyll abundance. Plant Methods. 2022;18(1):18.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Roberts AC, Carmody ME, Pogson BJ. Transcriptional control of SET DOMAIN GROUP 8 and CAROTENOID ISOMERASE during Arabidopsis development. Mol Plant. 2010;3(1):174–91.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumari S, Ware D. Genome-wide computational prediction and analysis of core promoter elements across plant monocots and dicots. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(10):e79011.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Shahmuradov IA, Umarov RK, Solovyev VV. TSSPlant: a new tool for prediction of plant Pol II promoters. Nucleic acids Res. 2017;45(8):e65-e.

  • Yamamoto YY, Ichida H, Matsui M, Obokata J, Sakurai T, Satou M, et al. Identification of plant promoter constituents by analysis of local distribution of short sequences. BMC Genomics. 2007;8:67.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava R, Rai KM, Srivastava M, Kumar V, Pandey B, Singh SP, et al. Distinct role of core promoter architecture in regulation of light-mediated responses in plant genes. Mol Plant. 2014;7(4):626–41.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto YY, Yoshitsugu T, Sakurai T, Seki M, Shinozaki K, Obokata J. Heterogeneity of Arabidopsis core promoters revealed by high-density TSS analysis. Plant J. 2009;60(2):350–62.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Parra G, Bradnam K, Rose AB, Korf I. Comparative and functional analysis of intron-mediated enhancement signals reveals conserved features among plants. Nucleic Acids Res. 2011;39(13):5328–37.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallegos JE, Rose AB. Intron DNA sequences can be more important than the proximal promoter in determining the site of transcript initiation. Plant Cell. 2017;29(4):843–53.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Laxa M, Müller K, Lange N, Doering L, Pruscha JT, Peterhänsel C. The 5′ UTR intron of Arabidopsis GGT1 aminotransferase enhances promoter activity by recruiting RNA polymerase II. Plant Physiol. 2016;172(1):313–27.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Etzel M, Mörl M. Synthetic riboswitches: from plug and pray toward plug and play. Biochemistry. 2017;56(9):1181–98.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Boerneke MA, Dibrov SM, Gu J, Wyles DL, Hermann T. Functional conservation despite structural divergence in ligand-responsive RNA switches. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2014;111(45):15952–7.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Giegerich R, Haase D, Rehmsmeier M. Prediction and visualization of structural switches in RNA. Biocomputing’99: World Scientific. 1999:126–37.

  • Voss B, Meyer C, Giegerich R. Evaluating the predictability of conformational switching in RNA. Bioinformatics. 2004;20(10):1573–82.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Steffen P, Voß B, Rehmsmeier M, Reeder J, Giegerich R. RNAshapes: an integrated RNA analysis package based on abstract shapes. Bioinformatics. 2006;22(4):500–3.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorenz R, Bernhart SH, Zu Siederdissen CH, Tafer H, Flamm C, Stadler PF, et al. ViennaRNA Package 2.0. Algorithms Mol Biol. 2011;6(1):1–14.

  • Gruber AR, Lorenz R, Bernhart SH, Neuböck R, Hofacker IL. The Vienna RNA websuite. Nucleic Acids Res. 2008;36(Web Server issue):W70-W4.

  • Wu GZ, Bock R. GUN control in retrograde signaling: how GENOMES UNCOUPLED proteins adjust nuclear gene expression to plastid biogenesis. Plant Cell. 2021;33(3):457–74.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi Y, Liu P, Xia Y, Wei P, Li W, Zhang W, et al. Downregulation of the lycopene ε-cyclase gene confers tolerance to salt and drought stress in Nicotiana tabacum. Acta Physiol Plant. 2015;37(10):1–15.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez-Verdeja T, Strand A. Retrograde signals navigate the path to chloroplast development. Plant Physiol. 2018;176(2):967–76.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhong V, Archibald BN, Brophy JAN. Transcriptional and post-transcriptional controls for tuning gene expression in plants. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2023;71:102315.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y, Wang Z. IRES-mediated cap-independent translation, a path leading to hidden proteome. J Mol Cell Biol. 2019;11(10):911–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Lozano G, Trapote A, Ramajo J, Elduque X, Grandas A, Robles J, et al. Local RNA flexibility perturbation of the IRES element induced by a novel ligand inhibits viral RNA translation. RNA Biol. 2015;12(5):555–68.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Ebina I, Takemoto-Tsutsumi M, Watanabe S, Koyama H, Endo Y, Kimata K, et al. Identification of novel Arabidopsis thaliana upstream open reading frames that control expression of the main coding sequences in a peptide sequence-dependent manner. Nucleic Acids Res. 2015;43(3):1562–76.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, McCallum EJ, Lee R, Botella JR. Characterization of a strong, constitutive mung bean (Vigna radiata L.) promoter with a complex mode of regulation in planta. Transgenic Res. 2005;14(6):941–67.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald KD, Semler BL. Bridging IRES elements in mrnas to the eukaryotic translation apparatus. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2009;1789(9–10):518–28.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Salas E, Lozano G, Fernandez-Chamorro J, Francisco-Velilla R, Galan A, Diaz R. RNA-binding proteins impacting on internal initiation of translation. Int J Mol Sci. 2013;14(11):21705–26.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava AK, Lu Y, Zinta G, Lang Z, Zhu JK. Utr-dependent control of gene expression in plants. Trends Plant Sci. 2018;23(3):248–59.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardy EC, Balcerowicz M. Untranslated yet indispensable—UTRs act as key regulators in the environmental control of gene expression. J Exp Bot. 2024;75(14):4314–31.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y, Li F, Wurtzel ET. Isolation and characterization of the Z-ISO gene encoding a missing component of carotenoid biosynthesis in plants. Plant Physiol. 2010;153(1):66–79.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Chory J, Peto C, Feinbaum R, Pratt L, Ausubel F. Arabidopsis thaliana mutant that develops as a light-grown plant in the absence of light. Cell. 1989;58(5):991–9.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Kachanovsky DE, Filler S, Isaacson T, Hirschberg J. Epistasis in tomato color mutations involves regulation of phytoene synthase 1 expression by cis-carotenoids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012;109(46):19021–6.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Velten J. An in vivo, luciferase-based, Agrobacterium-infiltration assay system: implications for post-transcriptional gene silencing. Planta. 2006;224(3):582–97.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Velten J. In vivo characterization of plant promoter element interaction using synthetic promoters. Transgenic Res. 2008;17(3):437–57.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazzonelli CI, Velten J. Analysis of RNA-mediated gene silencing using a new vector (pKNOCKOUT) and an in planta Agrobacterium transient expression system. Plant Mol Biol Rep. 2004;22(4):347–59.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Holsters M, De Waele D, Depicker A, Messens E, Van Montagu M, Schell J. Transfection and transformation of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Mol Gen Genet MGG. 1978;163(2):181–7.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanahan D. Techniques for transformation of E. coli. DNA Cloning. 1985;1:109–35.

  • Velten J, Pogson B, Cazzonelli CI. Luciferase as a reporter of gene activity in plants. Transgenic Plant J. 2008;2:1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Untergasser A, Cutcutache I, Koressaar T, Ye J, Faircloth BC, Remm M, et al. Primer3—new capabilities and interfaces. Nucleic Acids Res. 2012;40(15):e115-e.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfaffl MW. A new mathematical model for relative quantification in real-time RT–PCR. Nucleic Acids Res. 2001;29(9):e45-e.

    Article 

    Google Scholar 

  • Czechowski T, Stitt M, Altmann T, Udvardi MK, Scheible W-R. Genome-wide identification and testing of superior reference genes for transcript normalization in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 2005;139(1):5–17.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Alagoz Y, Dhami N, Mitchell C, Cazzonelli CI. cis/trans carotenoid extraction, purification, detection, quantification, and profiling in plant tissues. Plant and food carotenoids. Springer. 2020:145–63.

  • Anwar S, Nayak JJ, Alagoz Y, Wojtalewicz D, Cazzonelli CI. Purification and use of carotenoid standards to quantify cis-trans geometrical carotenoid isomers in plant tissues. Methods Enzymol. 2022;670:57-85. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.mie.2022.01.005. Epub 2022 Jan 31. PMID: 35871846.

  • Janssen S, Giegerich R. The RNA shapes studio. Bioinformatics. 2015;31(3):423–5.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Grillo G, Turi A, Licciulli F, Mignone F, Liuni S, Banfi S, et al. UTRdb and UTRsite (RELEASE 2010): a collection of sequences and regulatory motifs of the untranslated regions of eukaryotic mRNAs. Nucleic Acids Res. 2010;38(Database issue):D75-D80.

  • Mokrejs M, Masek T, Vopálensky V, Hlubucek P, Delbos P, Pospísek M. IRESite–a tool for the examination of viral and cellular internal ribosome entry sites. Nucleic Acids Res. 2010;38(Database issue):D131–6.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Pesole G, Liuni S. Internet resources for the functional analysis of 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions of eukaryotic mRNAs. Trends Genet. 1999;15(9):378.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

  • Lescot M, Déhais P, Thijs G, Marchal K, Moreau Y, Van de Peer Y, et al. PlantCARE, a database of plant cis-acting regulatory elements and a portal to tools for in silico analysis of promoter sequences. Nucleic Acids Res. 2002;30(1):325–7.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Hruz T, Laule O, Szabo G, Wessendorp F, Bleuler S, Oertle L, et al. Genevestigator v3: a reference expression database for the meta-analysis of transcriptomes. Adv Bioinformatics. 2008;2008:420747.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter D, Vinegar B, Nahal H, Ammar R, Wilson GV, Provart NJ. An “Electronic Fluorescent Pictograph” browser for exploring and analyzing large-scale biological data sets. PLoS ONE. 2007;2(8):e718.

    Article 
    PubMed 
    PubMed Central 

    Google Scholar 

  • Klepikova AV, Kasianov AS, Gerasimov ES, Logacheva MD, Penin AA. A high resolution map of the Arabidopsis thaliana developmental transcriptome based on RNA-seq profiling. Plant J. 2016;88(6):1058–70.

    Article 
    PubMed 

    Google Scholar 

Continue Reading

  • Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission issues warning against AI misuse

    Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission issues warning against AI misuse

    Maureen Daly of Pinsent Masons was commenting following a recent discrimination case before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in Ireland.

    The dispute arose after a flight attendant launched a discrimination claim on the grounds of race and family status against his former employer, Ryanair. He also alleged victimisation, harassment, sexual harassment and procedural unfairness in Ryanair’s disciplinary procedure.

    However, the adjudication officer said the claimant, who did not have legal representation, failed to provide “cogent evidence” to support his allegations and rejected the claims. Moreover, in her decision, she criticised the flight attendant’s suspected use of AI in preparing his submissions, stating they were “rife with citations that were not relevant, mis-quoted and in many instances, non-existent”, thereby wasting a considerable amount of time – both of the adjudication officer and the other party – in trying to establish the veracity of the legal citations in his submission.

    Although initially the flight attendant appeared to deny using AI to prepare his submission, the decision noted that on the second day of the hearing he acknowledged that he may have used AI and “became defensive” about its use.

    The adjudication officer said that his attempts “to rely on phantom citations to support his claims can only be described as egregious and an abuse of process”. She warned that parties making submissions to the WRC, Ireland’s main forum for litigating employment disputes, “have an obligation to ensure that their submissions are relevant and accurate and do not set out to mislead either the other party or the Adjudication Officer”.

    Daly, an intellectual property expert at Pinsent Masons, said the case served as a wake-up call for litigants – particularly those representing themselves – and lawyers to take due care when using AI in legal submissions. “AI can serve as a valuable resource in the preparation of legal submissions, offering efficiencies in drafting and research,” she said. “However, it is essential that any AI-generated material is subject to thorough human review to ensure its accuracy, legal soundness and contextual appropriateness. Failure to do so may result in the inclusion of incorrect, misleading or non-compliant content, which could undermine the credibility of the submissions, breach professional obligations or expose the party to legal risk.”

    In a direct response to the case, on 30 October, the WRC published new guidance on the use of AI tools to prepare material for submission, reminding parties of the need to “take full responsibility for the content”, that any incorrect or misleading information “may negatively affect [their] case” and that they “may be asked to explain [their] submission or provide clarification”.

    Continue Reading

  • UK climate credentials boosted by ‘cheaper clean power’ pledge

    UK climate credentials boosted by ‘cheaper clean power’ pledge

    Hayden Morgan of Pinsent Masons, who advises organisations on meeting sustainability goals and managing risk, was commenting after the UK government pledged to tie the country’s pursuit of ‘net zero’ targets to a lowering of energy bills. New policy to achieve those twin objectives was trailed in its response (92-page / 649KB PDF) to a report issued by the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) and in its carbon budget and growth delivery plan (CBGDP) (238-page / 1.74MB PDF).

    The UK government has a legal obligation, under the Climate Change Act 2008, to deliver a net zero economy by 2050. Under the Act, the government is further required to set five-yearly carbon ‘budgets’ that align with the net zero goal. After each budget is approved by parliament, the government must set out the proposals and policies it has or will develop for meeting that and future carbon budgets. The CBGDP represents the government’s latest attempt to meet that reporting obligation: earlier versions of the report were ruled unlawful.

    The CCC, which advises the government on setting its carbon budgets, faces a statutory duty to report on the UK’s progress towards the net zero target and on delivery against the carbon budgets.

    In June, the CCC called on the government to put “making electricity cheaper” top of its net zero agenda priority list. This is because, it said, “the UK’s electricity-to-gas price ratio remains too high” to incentivise homeowners and businesses to take up low-carbon options for heating buildings. It called on the government to remove “policy costs from electricity” to incentivise the switch to “efficient electric technologies”. For example, it said “the UK’s electricity-to-gas price ratio remains too high to ensure the underlying cost-savings of heat pumps’ greater efficiency are captured by households”.

    The government has now confirmed it will act on this.

    “The UK has a particularly high ratio of residential electricity price to gas price compared to many countries in Europe,” the government said. “Our electricity price does not reflect the cheaper wholesale price of clean energy. This means low carbon technologies can be more expensive to run than fossil-fuel powered alternatives.”

    “Over this parliament the government will be working relentlessly to translate the much cheaper wholesale costs of clean power into lower bills for consumers. This will be core to every decision we make. We will set out our plans in due course,” it said.

    Further measures “to reduce costs and make electrification an economically rational choice for a wider range of businesses and organisations” will also be consulted on, it said.

    Morgan said: “Whilst the UK has had a leading role in developing policies leading to green investment and associated deployment in energy generation, with green electricity generation among the highest in the world, per capita, this is not yet reflected in the price of energy and erodes the UK’s climate leadership credentials. With the application of the appropriate fiscal and policy levers set out in these plans, there is optimism that the UK will continue to demonstrate the case for economic growth, whilst de-carbonising electricity, and building climate resilient infrastructure.”

    In the CBGDP, the government highlighted how the UK has “already met, and overachieved” against the first three carbon budgets that were set, which covered the period from 2008 to 2022. It said the UK is “on track to meet the fourth”, which applies to the period for 2023 to 2027. The UK’s fifth and sixth carbon budgets have already been set. The government is due to outline the seventh carbon budget by June 2026. It will cover the period from 2038 to 2042.

    Siobhan Cross of Pinsent Masons said that a major focus of the CBGDP is on decarbonisation of UK real estate. She has written a separate article analysing the measures the government has outlined in this regard.

    Continue Reading

  • C40 supported by IFC and IAPH to unlock sustainable finance for ports and tackle critical funding gap

    • C40 Cities, supported by IFC and IAPH, announces first-of-its-kind partnership at the C40 World Mayors Summit to drive port decarbonisation through innovative sustainable finance mechanisms
    • The new Global Port Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) initiative targets $1 billion in green maritime infrastructure investment within three years, with a focus on Global South ports
    • The partnership will help address a $200 billion sustainability-linked financing gap for infrastructure in the maritime sector  

    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (4 November 2025) – C40 Cities, supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), today announces the launch of the Global Port Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) Initiative at the C40 World Mayors Summit. This transformative partnership is designed to unlock massive investment in sustainable port infrastructure and accelerate the maritime sector’s just transition to net-zero.

    The initiative establishes the first global framework specifically tailored to deploy Sustainability-Linked Loans for port decarbonisation projects worldwide. By combining C40’s network of nearly 100 cities and dozens of ports, IFC’s expertise in structuring climate finance transactions, and IAPH’s global alliance of 201 ports, the partnership will deliver comprehensive market guidance, capacity-building programmes, and direct access to finance for port authorities, particularly in the Global South, where financing barriers have hindered green infrastructure deployment.

    Maritime transport carries over 80% of global goods and accounts for roughly 3% of global CO₂ emissions. Ports, as nodes of global trade, require an estimated $1-2 trillion in cumulative investment through 2050 for shore power electrification, alternative fuel bunkering infrastructure, and zero-emission cargo-handling equipment. Yet approximately $200 billion in sustainability-linked capital remains untapped due to technical, financial, and regulatory barriers facing port authorities.

    The C40-IFC-IAPH partnership directly addresses this climate finance gap through:

    • Standardised SLL frameworks that tie loan terms to ambitious sustainability KPIs, reducing transaction costs and improving investor confidence
    • Technical advisory support, helping port authorities structure investment-ready projects and access to a global network of development banks and commercial lenders
    • Blended finance mechanisms combining concessional climate funds, development bank capital, and commercial investment to de-risk early-stage green technologies
    • Capacity-building programs, including regional workshops and Port SLL Academies, targeting Global South participants

    The projected impact will drive C40’s efforts to:

    • Prepare more than 50 zero-emission port and shipping projects for investment by 2030
    • Mobilise resilient and sustainable maritime infrastructure finance for at least $1 billion within three years, leveraging IFC’s mobilisation capacity 
    • Reduce maritime and port-related emissions in participating cities by 25-40% by 2035
    • Generate up to 4 million new jobs globally by 2050 through maritime decarbonisation, with significant concentration in Global South port cities
    • Support the achievement of C40 cities’ commitment to drive the creation of 50 million good, green jobs by 2030
    • Facilitate equitable access to competitive infrastructure financing for IAPH member ports in the Global South and Small Island States

    The initiative builds on extensive groundwork, including comprehensive market assessments and lender outreach to 30 commercial banks, confirming strong support for standardised port SLL frameworks. The partnership formalises the Memorandum of Understanding signed between IFC and C40 in September 2024, moving beyond information-sharing to active co-leadership of sector-wide financial mobilisation.

    The initiative will provide critical support for port authorities in the Global South, which handle more than half of seaborne exports and 60% of imports and face acute challenges, including limited fiscal space, higher perceived investment risk, and weak credit ratings that drive up borrowing costs. 

    The partnership’s next steps include regional workshops and capacity-building programmes, commencing in 2026. 

    C40 Cities Managing Director of Climate Finance, Knowledge, and Partnerships Andrea Fernandez said, “Ports are gateways of international trade, and this global framework sets a new precedent, sending clear signals to the market and accelerating the pace and scale of climate finance for critical investments in zero-emission port infrastructure.

    “This joint initiative delivers many wins: it de-risks commercial investments in port infrastructure and green fuels, it advances a just transition by enabling ports, particularly in the Global South, to address fiscal challenges, and also enhances technical assistance and capacity-building programmes.

    “Crucially, the Global Port SLL initiative makes a compelling case to ramp up maritime decarbonisation and accelerate climate resilience, protecting the people and places we love.”

    IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven said, “The Global Port Sustainability-Linked Loan initiative marks an important step forward for further collaboration between ports, loan providers, and regulators. These land-based investments can fund long-term infrastructure and support offtake agreements for low and zero-carbon shipping fuels and liquid bulk transport. 

    “Access to finance can equip ports with the necessary infrastructure to handle future low and zero-carbon energy molecules produced from renewable energy sources. This initiative complements IAPH’s work on the Clean Energy Marine Hubs (CEM HUBS) initiative, which aims to import, export, bunker, and where feasible, produce clean energy sources and zero and near-zero-emission fuels.

    “We look forward to further collaboration with C40 Cities and IFC to mobilise this framework with our port members to advance maritime decarbonisation.”

    More Articles

    Mutirão in action at C40 World Mayors Summit as cities lead the way to COP30

    Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (4 November 2025) – As the C40 World Mayors Summit enters its second day, city leaders…

    COP30: As global pledges move forward, cities are proving what real climate action looks like. Now they need the funds.

    From the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap and beyond, COP30 is a pivotal moment to mobilize climate finance, strengthen policies, and deliver real…

    Continue Reading

  • Dollar gains as traders upgrade rate outlook, risk appetite wanes – Reuters

    1. Dollar gains as traders upgrade rate outlook, risk appetite wanes  Reuters
    2. Dollar edges up as rate cut outlook remains clouded  Reuters
    3. Dollar at 3-month high as traders pare near-term rate cut wagers  Profit by Pakistan Today
    4. Dollar flirts with three-month peak as investors look to US data releases  Business Recorder
    5. Asia FX muted as dollar steadies near 3-mth high; RBA rate decision in focus  Investing.com

    Continue Reading

  • Castrol India’s third-quarter profit rises on strong automotive lubricants demand

    Castrol India’s third-quarter profit rises on strong automotive lubricants demand

    Nov 4 (Reuters) – Engine oil maker Castrol India (CAST.NS), opens new tab posted a 9.8% rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, supported by steady demand for its automotive lubricants.
    The company, majority-owned by oil major BP (BP.L), opens new tab, said profit after tax rose to 2.28 billion rupees ($25.9 million) in the July-September quarter, from 2.07 billion rupees a year ago.

    Sign up here.

    Castrol India supplies lubricants to India’s biggest auto manufacturers across segments, including Maruti Suzuki (MRTI.NS), opens new tab and Hero MotoCorp (HROM.NS), opens new tab.

    India’s vehicle sales rose 6.1% year-on-year in the quarter through September, a key leading indicator for companies like Castrol, which derives about 80% of its revenue from the automotive segment.

    India’s automotive engine oils market size is estimated at 1.12 billion liters in 2025, and is expected to reach 1.15 billion liters by 2030, according to a report by research firm Mordor Intelligence.

    Two-wheeler sales climbed 7.4% during the quarter, while commercial vehicle sales advanced 8.3%, industry data showed.

    Castrol India, which also makes industrial lubricants like turbine and hydraulic oils, said total revenue from operations grew 5.8% to 13.63 billion rupees in the quarter.

    Total expenses grew 3.8% in the quarter, with heavyweight cost of raw and packing materials consumed growing 2.7%.

    ($1 = 87.8950 Indian rupees)

    Reporting by Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

    Continue Reading

  • Sandvik Named Best Swedish Corporate Website 2025

    Sandvik Named Best Swedish Corporate Website 2025

    Sandvik has secured first place in this year’s edition of Comprend’s Webranking – for the fourth consecutive year. Corporate governance, careers, share information, and sustainability are particularly strong areas.

    Sweden’s 155 largest companies were included in this year’s Webranking by Comprend, where the average score was 46.7. Sandvik took the top spot with 86.6 points, ahead of Trelleborg (85.1) in second place and Pandox (78.7) in third.

    “I’m extremely proud that we once again top the Swedish webranking, and we put a lot of effort into optimizing the digital experience for all visitors,” says Björn Roodzant, Head of Communications and Sustainability at Sandvik. “The award is proof of excellent work, but we are aware that we must continue to evolve and improve to maintain our leading position.”

    Another confirmation of Sandvik’s high-quality website is a monthly survey conducted by the company Webperf. While the Webranking focuses on content, Webperf measures technical aspects such as accessibility, speed, web standards, and information security. Here, Sandvik has been best in class among all OMX 30 companies every month for almost two years (since December 2023).

    Continue Reading

  • Sarepta slumps as gene therapy setback adds to drug pipeline woes – Reuters

    1. Sarepta slumps as gene therapy setback adds to drug pipeline woes  Reuters
    2. Sarepta Therapeutics Stock Is Tumbling After The Close: Here’s Why  Benzinga
    3. Sarepta’s Duchenne gene therapy misses main goal in late-stage study; shares fall  Yahoo Finance
    4. Sarepta Therapeutics Inc reports results for the quarter ended September 30 – Earnings Summary  TradingView
    5. Sarepta’s Duchenne confirmatory trial fails, but biotech will ask FDA for full approval anyways  Endpoints News

    Continue Reading