This article draws attention to an understudied phenomenon, transnational political alliances (TPA), which occur when multinational corporations cooperate with local companies to influence public policies of the host government. The article first explores the economic and political sources of TPAs, their structures, and the obstacles to their formation. It then examines TPAs in the context of China, a critical case because of the hostile political environment that discourages TPAs. However, the surprisingly common occurrence of TPAs in China indicates the power (...) of economic incentives for political cooperation yet also suggests the need for further studies of TPAs in a wide variety of economic and political settings. (shrink)

PstS and DING proteins are members of a superfamily of secreted, high‐affinity phosphate‐binding proteins. Whereas microbial PstS have a well‐defined role in phosphate ABC transporters, the physiological function of DING proteins, named after their DINGGG N termini, still needs to be determined. PstS and DING proteins co‐exist in some Pseudomonas strains, to which they confer a highly adhesive and virulent phenotype. More than 30 DING proteins have now been purified, mostly from eukaryotes. They are often associated with infections or with (...) dysregulation of cell proliferation. Consequently, eukaryotic DING proteins could also be involved in cell–cell communication or adherence. The ubiquitous presence in eukaryotes of proteins structurally and functionally related to bacterial virulence factors is intriguing, as is the absence of eukaryotic genes encoding DING proteins in databases. DING proteins in eukaryotes could originate from unidentified commensal or symbiotic bacteria and could contribute to essential functions. Alternatively, DING proteins could be encoded by eukaryotic genes sharing special features that prevent their cloning. Both hypotheses are discussed. (shrink)