A bHLH Transcription Factor Confers Salinity Stress Tolerance in .

Basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins comprise a large family of transcription factors that are involved in plant growth and development, as well as responses to various types of environmental stress. (birch) is a pioneer tree species in secondary forest that plays a key role in maintaining ecosystem stability and forest regeneration, but few bHLHs involved in abiotic stress responses have been unveiled in birch. In this study, nine BpbHLH TFs related to stress responses in the birch genome were identified.

Cigarette smoking promotes keratinocyte malignancy via generation of cancer stem-like cells.

: Cigarette smoking is involved in the pathogenesis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of cigarette smoking-induced HNSCC carcinogenesis are unclear and may involve cancer stem-like cell generation. We examined the effects of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) on the formation of cancer stem-like cells, which are rich in octamer-binding transcription factor (OCT)-4, inhibitor of differentiation 1 (ID1), nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (BMI-1).

Phylogenetic relationships of four endemic genera of the Phasianidae in China based on mitochondrial DNA control-region genes.

The taxonomic status of some genera within the Phasianidae remains controversial. To demonstrate the phylogenetic relationships of four endemic genera (Tetraophasis, Ithaginis, Crossoptilon and Chrysolophus) and other 11 genera of Phasianidae in China, a total of 1070 nucleotides of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control-region genes were sequenced. There are 376 variable sites including 345 parsimony sites.