Terminology

You should know, what these terms mean and you should be able to explain them in your own words.

second messengers . scalar . vectorial . genetic engineering . chemical engineering . enhancer trap . FACS . flow cytometry . laser ablation . laser-capture microdissection . aquaporins . microinjection . cell permeating peptides . peptoids . laser tweezer . caged compounds . optogenetics

1. Basal immunity in plants iniates from receptors at the plasma membrane, at the end, defence genes have to be activated in the nucleus. By which second messenger is the signal conveyed from the membrane to the nucleus?

2. How can the following molecules pass the plasma membrane barreer? water, glucose, NaCl, insulin, the membrane-penetrating peptoid CoQ, the natural auxin indole acetic acid?

3. You want to test, which genes are differentially expressed in the quiescent center (few cells in the central part of the root) compared to other epidermal cells. Describe an experimental strategy to get sufficient material for doing this experiment.

4.  You heard about an approach to engineer a light-switchable nuclear transport of a protein. Do you know natural proteins that are doing this already without engineering?