Robust control of plants with saturation nonlinearity based on coprime factor representations

We consider the robust control of plants with saturation nonlinearities from an input/output viewpoint. First, we present a parameterization for anti-windup control based on coprime factorizations of the controller. Second, we propose a synthesis method which exploits the freedom to choose a particular coprime factorization.

Epigenetic inheritance in plants.

The function of plant genomes depends on chromatin marks such as the methylation of DNA and the post-translational modification of histones. Techniques for studying model plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana have enabled researchers to begin to uncover the pathways that establish and maintain chromatin modifications, and genomic studies are allowing the mapping of modifications such as DNA methylation on a genome-wide scale. Small RNAs seem to be important in determining the distribution of chromatin modifications, and RNA might also underlie the complex epigenetic interactions that occur between homologous sequences. Plants use these epigenetic silencing mechanisms extensively to control development and parent-of-origin imprinted gene expression.