Inhibitory effects of autolysate of Leuconostoc mesenteroides isolated from kimoto on melanogenesis.

We investigated the inhibitory effects of the autolysate of Leuconostoc mesenteroides, a lactic acid bacterium isolated from sake mash, on melanogenesis in B16F0 murine melanoma cells and a human skin model. The autolysate: induced a decrease in melanin content in B16F0 murine melanoma cells and a 17%, 36%, 41% and 58% decrease in the human skin model by the application of 0.125, 1.

Functional characterization of CCA1/LHY homolog genes, PpCCA1a and PpCCA1b, in the moss Physcomitrella patens.

The evolution of circadian clocks in land plants is not understood, because circadian rhythms have received little attention in plants other than angiosperms. We have characterized two genes, PpCCA1a and PpCCA1b, homologs of the Arabidopsis thaliana clock genes CCA1/LHY, from the moss Physcomitrella patens. PpCCA1a and PpCCA1b, together with angiosperm CCA1/LHY homologs, belong to the clock-associated single-myb gene family of green plants (including green algae and land plants).