Efficient production of shinorine, a natural sunscreen material, from glucose and xylose by deleting HXK2 encoding hexokinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), microbial secondary metabolites with ultraviolet (UV) absorption properties, are promising natural sunscreen materials. Due to the low efficiency of extracting MAAs from natural producers, production in heterologous hosts has recently received attention. Shinorine is a well characterized MAA with strong UV-A absorption property.

Identification of a novel NPR1 homolog gene, OsNH5N16, which contributes to broad-spectrum resistance in rice.

Over half of the earth's population consumes rice as the primary food crop for dietary calories. However, severe loss of rice yield occurs due to bacterial blight caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) and bakanae disease caused by Fusarium fujikuroi (F.

Associations of the related factors of depression, social support and social participation in kyungro-dang among older adults in South Korea: A structural equation modelling analysis.

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the correlations between depression, social support and social participation among older adults in farming villages and identify their associations with the use of senior leisure and welfare facilities, called kyungro-dang, so as to provide foundational data for promoting community care in rural farming communities.

Design: A cross-sectional design was used to identify kyungro-dang use among the 156 participants-older adults aged 65.

Methods: Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analysis, factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

Vibration Control of Scanning Electron Microscopes with Experimental Approaches for Performance Enhancement.

A vibration isolator embedded in precision equipment, such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM), wafer inspection equipment, and nanoimprint lithography equipment, play a critical role in achieving the maximum performance of the equipment during the fabrication of nano/micro-electro-mechanical systems. In this study, the factors that degrade the performance of SEM equipment with isolation devices are classified and discussed, and improvement measures are proposed from the viewpoints of the measured image patterns and vibrations in comparison with the relevant vibration criteria. In particular, this study quantifies the image patterns measured using SEMs, and the results are discussed along with the measured vibration.

Selection and functional identification of a synthetic partial ABA agonist, S7.

The stress hormone abscisic acid (ABA) helps plants to survive under abiotic stresses; however, its use as an agrochemical is limited by its chemical instability and expense. Here, we report the development of an in vivo screening system to isolate chemicals able to induce ABA signalling responses in rice (Oryza sativa) protoplasts. This system consists of an ABA-hypersensitive synthetic promoter containing ABRE and DRE motifs driving a luciferase reporter gene.

Ectopic Expression of , a Member of the OsDREB1 Subfamily, Confers Cold Stress Tolerance in Rice.

Plants adapt to adverse environmental conditions through physiological responses, such as induction of the abscisic acid signaling pathway, stomatal regulation, and root elongation. Altered gene expression is a major molecular response to adverse environmental conditions in plants. Several transcription factors function as master switches to induce the expression of stress-tolerance genes.

OsTGA2 confers disease resistance to rice against leaf blight by regulating expression levels of disease related genes via interaction with NH1.

How plants defend themselves from microbial infection is one of the most critical issues for sustainable crop production. Some TGA transcription factors belonging to bZIP superfamily can regulate disease resistance through NPR1-mediated immunity mechanisms in Arabidopsis. Here, we examined biological roles of OsTGA2 (grouped into the same subclade as Arabidopsis TGAs) in bacterial leaf blight resistance.

Transcriptome Analysis of ABA/JA-Dual Responsive Genes in Rice Shoot and Root.

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) enables plants to adapt to adverse environmental conditions through the modulation of metabolic pathways and of growth and developmental programs. We used comparative microarray analysis to identify genes exhibiting ABA-dependent expression and other hormone-dependent expression among them in Oryza sativa shoot and root. We identified 854 genes as significantly up- or down-regulated in root or shoot under ABA treatment condition.

A Dominant Negative OsKAT2 Mutant Delays Light-Induced Stomatal Opening and Improves Drought Tolerance without Yield Penalty in Rice.

Stomata are the main gateways for water and air transport between leaves and the environment. Inward-rectifying potassium channels regulate photo-induced stomatal opening. Rice contains three inward rectifying shaker-like potassium channel proteins, OsKAT1, OsKAT2, and OsKAT3.

The protein phosphatase 2C clade A protein OsPP2C51 positively regulates seed germination by directly inactivating OsbZIP10.

Protein phosphatase 2C clade A members are major signaling components in the ABA-dependent signaling cascade that regulates seed germination. To elucidate the role of PP2CA genes in germination of rice seed, we selected OsPP2C51, which shows highly specific expression in the embryo compared with other protein phosphatases based on microarray data. GUS histochemical assay confirmed that OsPP2C51 is expressed in the seed embryo and that this expression pattern is unique compared with those of other OsPP2CA genes.

Comparative analysis of secretory factors from permanent- and deciduous-teeth periodontal ligament cells.

Objective: Studies of regenerative therapies have focused on the paracrine effects of mesenchymal stem cells, but little has been revealed about the humoral factors of periodontal ligament (PDL) stem cells. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the secretory factors of human permanent- and deciduous-teeth PDL cells (P-PDL and D-PDL cells, respectively) in order to understand the characteristics of these cells and their potential applications in regenerative therapies.

Design: Conditioned media were collected from P-PDL and D-PDL cells (P-PDL-CM and D-PDL-CM, respectively).

Genetic Comparison of Stemness of Human Umbilical Cord and Dental Pulp.

This study focuses on gene expression patterns and functions in human umbilical cord (UC) and dental pulp (DP) containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). DP tissues were collected from 25 permanent premolars. UC tissue samples were obtained from three newborns.

Ectopic expression of a hot pepper bZIP-like transcription factor in potato enhances drought tolerance without decreasing tuber yield.

Over-expression of group A bZIP transcription factor genes in plants improves abiotic stress tolerance but usually reduces yields. Thus, there have been several efforts to overcome yield penalty in transgenic plants. In this study, we characterized that expression of the hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) gene CaBZ1, which encodes a group S bZIP transcription factor, was induced by salt and osmotic stress as well as abscisic acid (ABA).

Functional characterization and reconstitution of ABA signaling components using transient gene expression in rice protoplasts.

The core components of ABA-dependent gene expression signaling have been identified in Arabidopsis and rice. This signaling pathway consists of four major components; group A OsbZIPs, SAPKs, subclass A OsPP2Cs and OsPYL/RCARs in rice. These might be able to make thousands of combinations through interaction networks resulting in diverse signaling responses.

A case of ampullary gangliocytic paraganglioma.

Gangliocytic paragangliomas (GPs) are rare tumors of the duodenum, presenting as single sessile or pedunculated polypoid masses. Clinical manifestations of duodenal GPs can vary from an incidental finding at endoscopy to frequent upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by mucosal ulceration and abdominal pain. GPs are considered benign, but the disease can recur and spread to regional lymph nodes.

Expression of StMYB1R-1, a novel potato single MYB-like domain transcription factor, increases drought tolerance.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is relatively vulnerable to abiotic stress conditions such as drought, but the tolerance mechanisms for such stresses in potato are largely unknown. To identify stress-related factors in potato, we previously carried out a genetic screen of potato plants exposed to abiotic environmental stress conditions using reverse northern-blot analysis. A cDNA encoding a putative R1-type MYB-like transcription factor (StMYB1R-1) was identified as a putative stress-response gene.