Inhibition of SNF1-related protein kinase1 by trehalose 6-phosphate and other metabolites and the interrelation with plant gorwth

All life forms need to monitor carbon and energy availability to survive and this is especially true for plants which must integrate unavoidable environmental conditions with metabolism for cellular homeostasis maintenance. Sugars, in the heart of metabolism, are now recognized as crucial signaling molecules that translate those conditions. One such signal is trehalose 6- phosphate (T6P), a phosphorylated dimer of glucose molecules which levels correlate well with those of sucrose (Suc). Central integrators of stress and energy regulation include the conserved plant Snf1-related kinase1 (SnRK1) which respond to low cellular energy levels by up-regulating energy conserving and catabolic metabolism and down-regulating energy consuming processes. In 2009 T6P was shown to inhibit SnRK1. The in vitro inhibition of SnRK1 by T6P was confirmed in vivo through the observation that genes normally induced by SnRK1 were repressed by T6P and vice-versa, promoting growth processes. These observations provided a model for the regulation of growth by sugar.(...)

English Language Learning Inside and Outside the Classroom in Portugal

This study investigates the way of learning the English language in Portugal. First-year students of the faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of New University of Lisbon were selected as participants in the case study. As data collection tools a questionnaire and focus-groups were used. 115 students completed the designed questionnaire and after that 12 students were selected for the more detailed focus-group discussions. Results of the research show that most part of the students´ English knowledge is received from outside the classroom by means of movies, songs, computer games, the Internet, communication with friends and other sources. Also, the results show that motivation is very important in language learning process and motivated students acquire the language faster and easier.