Transcriptional repression by MYB3R proteins regulates plant organ growth

In multicellular organisms, temporal and spatial regulation of cell proliferation is central for generating organs with defined sizes and morphologies. For establishing and maintaining the post-mitotic quiescent state during cell differentiation, it is important to repress genes with mitotic functions. We found that three of the Arabidopsis MYB3R transcription factors synergistically maintain G2/M-specific genes repressed in post-mitotic cells and restrict the time window of mitotic gene expression in proliferating cells. The combined mutants of the three repressor-type MYB3R genes displayed long roots, enlarged leaves, embryos, and seeds. Genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed that MYB3R3 binds to the promoters of G2/M-specific genes and to E2F target genes. MYB3R3 associates with the repressor-type E2F, E2FC, and the RETINOBLASTOMA RELATED proteins. In contrast, the activator MYB3R4 was in complex with E2FB in proliferating cells. With mass spectrometry and pairwise interaction assays, we identified some of the other conserved components of the multiprotein complexes, known as DREAM/dREAM in human and flies. In plants, these repressor complexes are important for periodic expression during cell cycle and to establish a post-mitotic quiescent state determining organ size

Strain-induced skeletal rearrangement of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon on a copper surface

金属表面で分子を曲げて骨格を変える新・有機合成法を開発 --原子間力顕微鏡を用いて炭素骨格変換の可視化に成功--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2017-07-24.Controlling the structural deformation of organic molecules can drive unique reactions that cannot be induced only by thermal, optical or electrochemical procedures. However, in conventional organic synthesis, including mechanochemical procedures, it is difficult to control skeletal rearrangement in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Here, we demonstrate a reaction scheme for the skeletal rearrangement of PAHs on a metal surface using high-resolution noncontact atomic force microscopy. By a combination of organic synthesis and on-surface cyclodehydrogenation, we produce a well-designed PAH—diazuleno[1, 2, 3-cd:1′, 2′, 3′-fg]pyrene—adsorbed flatly onto Cu(001), in which two azuleno moieties are highly strained by their mutual proximity. This local strain drives the rearrangement of one of the azuleno moieties into a fulvaleno moiety, which has never been reported so far. Our proposed thermally driven, strain-induced synthesis on surfaces will pave the way for the production of a new class of nanocarbon materials that conventional synthetic techniques cannot attain