Root hairs are extensions of root epidermal cells and a model system for directional tip growth of plant cells. A previously uncharacterized Arabidopsis thaliana phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase gene (PIP5K3) was identified and found to be expressed in the root cortex, epidermal cells, and root hairs. Recombinant PIP5K3 protein was catalytically active and converted phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate to phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P 2 ]. Arabidopsis mutant plants homozygous for T-DNA-disrupted PIP5K3 alleles were compromised in root hair formation, a phenotype complemented by expression of wild-type PIP5K3 cDNA under the control of a 1500-bp PIP5K3 promoter fragment. Root hair-specific PIP5K3 overexpression resulted in root hair deformation and loss of cell polarity with increasing accumulation of PIP5K3 transcript. Using reestablishment of root hair formation in T-DNA mutants as a bioassay for physiological functionality of engineered PIP5K3 variants, catalytic activity was found to be essential for physiological function, indicating that PtdIns(4,5)P 2 formation is required for root hair development. An N-terminal domain containing membrane occupation and recognition nexus repeats, which is not required for catalytic activity, was found to be essential for the establishment of root hair growth. Fluorescencetagged PIP5K3 localized to the periphery of the apical region of root hair cells, possibly associating with the plasma membrane and/or exocytotic vesicles. Transient heterologous expression of full-length PIP5K3 in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) pollen tubes increased plasma membrane association of a PtdIns(4,5)P 2 -specific reporter in these tip-growing cells. The data demonstrate that root hair development requires PIP5K3-dependent PtdIns(4,5)P 2 production in the apical region of root hair cells.

We present an analysis of CO spectroscopy and infrared-to-millimetre dust photometry of 11 exceptionally bright far-infrared (FIR) and sub-mm sources discovered through a combination of the Planck all-sky survey and follow-up Herschel-SPIRE imaging -"Planck's Dusty Gravitationally Enhanced subMillimetre Sources". Each source has a secure spectroscopic redshift z = 2.2-3.6 from multiple lines obtained through a blind redshift search with EMIR at the IRAM 30-m telescope. Interferometry was obtained at IRAM and the SMA, and along with optical/near-infrared imaging obtained at the CFHT and the VLT reveal morphologies consistent with strongly gravitationally lensed sources, including several giant arcs. Additional photometry was obtained with JCMT/SCUBA-2 and IRAM/GISMO at 850 µm and 2 mm, respectively. The SEDs of our sources peak near either the 350 µm or 500 µm bands of SPIRE with peak flux densities between 0.35 and 1.14 Jy. All objects are extremely bright isolated point sources in the 18 beam of SPIRE at 250 µm, with apparent FIR luminosities of up to 3 × 10 14 L (not correcting for the lensing effect). Their morphologies, sizes, CO line widths, CO luminosities, dust temperatures, and FIR luminosities provide additional empirical evidence that these are amongst the brightest strongly gravitationally lensed high-redshift galaxies on the sub-mm sky. Our programme extends the successful wide-area searches for strongly gravitationally lensed high-redshift galaxies (carried out with the South Pole Telescope and Herschel) towards even brighter sources, which are so rare that their systematic identification requires a genuine all-sky survey like Planck. Six sources are above the 600 mJy 90% completeness limit of the Planck catalogue of compact sources (PCCS) at 545 and 857 GHz, which implies that these must literally be amongst the brightest high-redshift FIR and sub-mm sources on the extragalactic sky. We discuss their dust masses and temperatures, and use additional WISE 22-µm photometry and template fitting to rule out a significant contribution of AGN heating to the total infrared luminosity. Six sources are detected in FIRST at 1.4 GHz, and the others have sensitive upper limits. Four have flux densities brighter than expected from the local FIR-radio correlation, but in the range previously found for high-z sub-mm galaxies, one has a deficit of FIR emission, and 6 are consistent with the local correlation, although this includes 3 galaxies with upper limits. We attribute this to the turbulent interstellar medium of these galaxies, rather than the presence of radio AGN. The global dust-to-gas ratios and star-formation efficiencies of our sources are predominantly in the range expected from massive, metal-rich, intense, high-redshift starbursts. An extensive multi-wavelength follow-up programme is being carried out to further characterize these sources and the intense star formation within them.Key words. galaxies: high-redshift -galaxies: star formation -galaxies: starburst -submillimeter: galaxies -gravi...

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A gravitational-wave (GW) transient was identified in data recorded by the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors on 2015 September 14. The event, initially designated G184098 and later given the name GW150914, is described in detail elsewhere. By prior arrangement, preliminary estimates of the time, significance, and sky location of the event were shared with 63 teams of observers covering radio, optical, near-infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths with ground-and space-based facilities. In this Letter we describe the low-latency analysis of the GW data and present the sky localization of the first observed compact binary merger. We summarize the follow-up observations reported by 25 teams via private Gamma-ray Coordinates Network circulars, giving an overview of the participating facilities, the GW sky localization coverage, the timeline, and depth of the observations. As this event turned out to be a binary black hole merger, there is little expectation of a detectable electromagnetic (EM) signature. Nevertheless, this first broadband campaign to search for a counterpart of an Advanced LIGO source represents a milestone and highlights the broad capabilities of the transient astronomy community and the observing strategies that have been developed to pursue neutron star binary merger events. Detailed investigations of the EM data and results of the EM follow-up campaign are being disseminated in papers by the individual teams.

Context. We report on a successful, simultaneous observation and modeling of the sub-millimeter to near-infrared flare emission of the Sgr A* counterpart associated with the super-massive (4 × 10 6 M ) black hole at the Galactic center. Aims. We study and model the physical processes giving rise to the variable emission of Sgr A*. Methods. Our non-relativistic modeling is based on simultaneous observations that have been carried out on 03 June, 2008. We used the NACO adaptive optics (AO) instrument at the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope and the LABOCA bolometer at the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX). We emphasize the importance of a multi-wavelength simultaneous fitting as a tool for imposing adequate constraints on the flare modeling. Results. The observations reveal strong flare activity in the 0.87 mm (345 GHz) sub-mm domain and in the 3.8 μ/2.2 μm NIR. Inspection and modeling of the light curves show that the sub-mm follows the NIR emission with a delay of 1.5 ± 0.5 h. We explain the flare emission delay by an adiabatic expansion of the source components. The derived physical quantities that describe the flare emission give a source component expansion speed of v exp ∼ 0.005c, source sizes around one Schwarzschild radius with flux densities of a few Janskys, and spectral indices of α = 0.8 to 1.8, corresponding to particle spectral indices ∼2.6 to 4.6. At the start of the flare the spectra of these components peak at frequencies of a few THz. Conclusions. These parameters suggest that the adiabatically expanding source components either have a bulk motion greater than v exp or the expanding material contributes to a corona or disk, confined to the immediate surroundings of Sgr A*.

Context. The compact radio, NIR, and X-ray source Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), associated with the super massive black hole at the center of the Galaxy, has been studied with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations performed on 10 consecutive days and at mm-wavelength. Aims. Sgr A* varies in the radio through X-ray bands and occasionally shows rapid flux density outbursts. We monitor Sgr A* with VLBI, aiming at the detection of related structural variations on the submilliarcsecond scale and variations of the flux density occurring after NIR-flares. Methods. We observed Sgr A* with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 3 frequencies (22, 43, 86 GHz) on 10 consecutive days in May 2007 during a global multiwaveband campaign. From this we obtained accurate flux densities and sizes of the VLBI structure, which is partially resolved at mm-wavelength. Results. The total VLBI flux density of Sgr A* varies from day to day. The variability is correlated at the 3 observing frequencies with higher variability amplitudes appearing at the higher frequencies. For the modulation indices, we find 8.4% at 22 GHz, 9.3% at 43 GHz, and 15.5% at 86 GHz. The radio spectrum is inverted between 22 and 86 GHz, suggesting inhomogeneous synchrotron self-absorption with a turnover frequency at or above 86 GHz. The radio spectral index correlates with the flux density, which is harder (more inverted spectrum) when the source is brighter. The average source size (FWHM) does not appear to be variable over the 10-day observing interval. However, we see a tendency for the sizes of the minor axis to increase with increasing total flux, whereas the major axis remains constant. Towards higher frequencies, the position angle of the elliptical Gaussian increases, indicative of intrinsic structure, which begins to dominate the scatter broadening. At cm-wavelength, the source size varies with wavelength as λ 2.12±0.12 , which is interpreted as the result of interstellar scatter broadening. After removal of this scatter broadening, the intrinsic source size varies as λ 1.4...1.5 . The VLBI closure phases at 22, 43, and 86 GHz are zero within a few degrees, indicating a symmetric or point-like source structure. In the context of an expanding plasmon model, we obtain an upper limit of the expansion velocity of about 0.1 c from the non-variable VLBI structure. This agrees with the velocity range derived from the radiation transport modeling of the flares from the radio to NIR wavelengths.

Plants exposed to hyperosmotic stress undergo changes in membrane dynamics and lipid composition to maintain cellular integrity and avoid membrane leakage. Various plant species respond to hyperosmotic stress with transient increases in PtdIns(4,5)P(2); however, the physiological role of such increases is unresolved. The plasma membrane represents the outermost barrier between the symplast of plant cells and its apoplastic surroundings. In the present study, the spatio-temporal dynamics of stress-induced changes in phosphoinositides were analysed in subcellular fractions of Arabidopsis leaves to delineate possible physiological roles. Unlabelled lipids were separated by TLC and quantified by gas-chromatographic detection of associated fatty acids. Transient PtdIns(4,5)P(2) increases upon exposure to hyperosmotic stress were detected first in enriched plasmamembrane fractions, however, at later time points, PtdIns(4,5)P(2) was increased in the endomembrane fractions of the corresponding two-phase systems. When major endomembranes were enriched from rosette leaves prior to hyperosmotic stress and during stimulation for 60 min, no stress-induced increases in the levels of PtdIns(4,5)P(2) were found in fractions enriched for endoplasmic reticulum, nuclei or plastidial membranes. Instead, increased PtdIns(4,5)P(2) was found in CCVs (clathrin-coated vesicles), which proliferated several-fold in mass within 60 min of hyperosmotic stress, according to the abundance of CCV-associated proteins and lipids. Monitoring the subcellular distribution of fluorescence-tagged reporters for clathrin and PtdIns(4,5)P(2) during transient co-expression in onion epidermal cells indicates rapid stress-induced co-localization of clathrin with PtdIns(4,5)P(2) at the plasma membrane. The results indicate that PtdIns(4,5)P(2) may act in stress-induced formation of CCVs in plant cells, highlighting the evolutionary conservation of the phosphoinositide system between organismic kingdoms.

We present the Hubble imaging Probe of Extreme Environments and Clusters, HiPEEC survey. We fit HST NUV to NIR broadband and Hα fluxes, to derive star cluster ages, masses, extinctions and determine the star formation rate (SFR) of 6 merging galaxies. These systems are excellent laboratories to trace cluster formation under extreme gas physical conditions, rare in the local universe, but typical for star-forming galaxies at cosmic noon. We detect clusters with ages of 1-500 Myr and masses that exceed 107 M⊙. The recent cluster formation history and their distribution within the host galaxies suggest that systems like NGC34, NGC1614, NGC4194 are close to their final coalescing phase, while NGC3256, NGC3690, NGC6052 are at an earlier/intermediate stage. A Bayesian analysis of the cluster mass function in the age interval 1-100 Myr provides strong evidence in 4 of the 6 galaxies that an exponentially truncated power law better describes the observed mass distributions. For two galaxies, the fits are inconclusive due to low number statistics. We determine power-law slopes β ∼ −1.5 to −2.0, and truncation masses, Mc, between 106 and a few times 107 M⊙, among the highest values reported in the literature. Advanced mergers have higher Mc than early/intermediate merger stage galaxies, suggesting rapid changes in the dense gas conditions during the merger. We compare the total stellar mass in clusters to the SFR of the galaxy, finding that these systems are among the most efficient environments to form star clusters in the local universe.