hoxc12/c13 as key regulators for rebooting the developmental program in Xenopus limb regeneration.

During organ regeneration, after the initial responses to injury, gene expression patterns similar to those in normal development are reestablished during subsequent morphogenesis phases. This supports the idea that regeneration recapitulates development and predicts the existence of genes that reboot the developmental program after the initial responses. However, such rebooting mechanisms are largely unknown.

Expression of prorenin receptor in renal biopsies from patients with IgA nephropathy.

Prorenin receptor (PRR) has been implicated in the onset and progression of various renal diseases, though its possible association with immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy remains unclear. In the present study, we tried to clarify expression and pathophysiological significance of PRR in IgA nephropathy. We immunohistochemically assessed PRR levels in renal biopsy specimens from 48 patients with IgA nephropathy and evaluated its relevance to the clinical and pathological features of the disease.

The integral membrane protein SEN1 is required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Lotus japonicus nodules.

Legume plants establish a symbiotic association with bacteria called rhizobia, resulting in the formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. A Lotus japonicus symbiotic mutant, sen1, forms nodules that are infected by rhizobia but that do not fix nitrogen. Here, we report molecular identification of the causal gene, SEN1, by map-based cloning.

Host plant genome overcomes the lack of a bacterial gene for symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Homocitrate is a component of the iron-molybdenum cofactor in nitrogenase, where nitrogen fixation occurs. NifV, which encodes homocitrate synthase (HCS), has been identified from various diazotrophs but is not present in most rhizobial species that perform efficient nitrogen fixation only in symbiotic association with legumes. Here we show that the FEN1 gene of a model legume, Lotus japonicus, overcomes the lack of NifV in rhizobia for symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

The Atg18-Atg2 complex is recruited to autophagic membranes via phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and exerts an essential function.

Atg18 is essential for both autophagy and the regulation of vacuolar morphology. The latter process is mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate binding, which is dispensable for autophagy. Atg18 also binds to phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PtdIns(3)P) in vitro.

Transport of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate into the vacuole via autophagic membranes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Vps34, the sole PtdIns 3-kinase in yeast, is essential for autophagy. Here, we show that the lipid-kinase activity of Vps34 is required for autophagy, implying an essential role of its product PtdIns(3)P. The protein-kinase activity of Vps15, a regulatory subunit of the PtdIns 3-kinase complex, is also required for efficient autophagy.