Splicing transitions of the anchoring protein ENH during striated muscle development.

The ENH (PDLIM5) protein acts as a scaffold to tether various functional proteins at subcellular sites via PDZ and three LIM domains. Splicing of the ENH primary transcript generates various products with different repertories of protein interaction modules. Three LIM-containing ENH predominates in neonatal cardiac tissue, whereas LIM-less ENHs are abundant in adult hearts, as well as skeletal muscles.

Crystal structure of the channelrhodopsin light-gated cation channel.

Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are light-gated cation channels derived from algae that have shown experimental utility in optogenetics; for example, neurons expressing ChRs can be optically controlled with high temporal precision within systems as complex as freely moving mammals. Although ChRs have been broadly applied to neuroscience research, little is known about the molecular mechanisms by which these unusual and powerful proteins operate. Here we present the crystal structure of a ChR (a C1C2 chimaera between ChR1 and ChR2 from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) at 2.

Protein kinase D regulates the human cardiac L-type voltage-gated calcium channel through serine 1884.

Protein kinase D (PKD) regulates the activity of the L-type calcium channel in rat ventricular cardiomyocytes. However, the functional target residues of PKD on the L-type calcium channel remain to be identified. Our aim was to identify the functional phosphorylation sites of PKD on the human L-type calcium channel.

Allometric growth of the trunk leads to the rostral shift of the pelvic fin in teleost fishes.

The pelvic fin position among teleost fishes has shifted rostrally during evolution, resulting in diversification of both behavior and habitat. We explored the developmental basis for the rostral shift in pelvic fin position in teleost fishes using zebrafish (abdominal pelvic fins) and Nile tilapia (thoracic pelvic fins). Cell fate mapping experiments revealed that changes in the distribution of lateral plate mesodermal cells accompany the trunk-tail protrusion.