Dimension reduction of microbiome data linked Bifidobacterium and Prevotella to allergic rhinitis.

Dimension reduction has been used to visualise the distribution of multidimensional microbiome data, but the composite variables calculated by the dimension reduction methods have not been widely used to investigate the relationship of the human gut microbiome with lifestyle and disease. In the present study, we applied several dimension reduction methods, including principal component analysis, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and non-negative matrix factorization, to a microbiome dataset from 186 subjects with symptoms of  allergic rhinitis (AR) and 106 controls. All the dimension reduction methods supported that the distribution of microbial data points appeared to be continuous rather than discrete.

Multiple nutritional and gut microbial factors associated with allergic rhinitis: the Hitachi Health Study.

Several studies suggest the involvement of dietary habits and gut microbiome in allergic diseases. However, little is known about the nutritional and gut microbial factors associated with the risk of allergic rhinitis (AR). We recruited 186 participants with symptoms of AR and 106 control subjects without symptoms of AR at the Hitachi Health Care Center, Japan.

Identification by large-scale screening of phytochrome-regulated genes in etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis using a fluorescent differential display technique.

Phytochrome A (PhyA)-regulated genes in 6-d-old etiolated seedlings of Arabidopsis Landsberg erecta were identified by fluorescent differential display. To screen for PhyA-regulated genes, mRNA fingerprints of the wild type and the phyA-201 mutant were compared from samples prepared 4 h after far-red light irradiation. Approximately 30,000 bands of cDNA were displayed by fluorescent differential display, and 24 differentially expressed bands were observed.

Fluence and wavelength requirements for Arabidopsis CAB gene induction by different phytochromes.

The roles of different phytochromes have been investigated in the photoinduction of several chlorophyll a/b-binding protein genes (CAB) of Arabidopsis thaliana. Etiolated seedlings of the wild type, a phytochrome A (PhyA) null mutant (phyA), a phytochrome B (PhyB) null mutant (phyB), and phyA/phyB double mutant were exposed to monochromatic light to address the questions of the fluence and wavelength requirements for CAB induction by different phytochromes. In the wild type and the phyB mutant, PhyA photoirreversibly induced CAB expression upon irradiation with very-low-fluence light of 350 to 750 nm.

Characterization of the pleckstrin homology domain of Btk as an inositol polyphosphate and phosphoinositide binding domain.

We previously reported that the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) binds Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 and that missense mutations in this domain which cause either human X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) or murine X-linked immunodeficiency (Xid) also dramatically reduce the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 binding activity. In this paper, we describe the inositol phosphate binding specificity of the Btk PH domain and different inositol polyphosphate binding properties among the PH domains of Tec family kinases. Our results suggest that certain inositol phosphates and/or phosphoinositides are physiological ligands of some Tec family kinases and that Tec family members are differently regulated by inositol molecules.