Classification of rice (oryza sativa l. japonica nipponbare) immunophilins (fkbps, cyps) and expression patterns under water stress

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>FK506 binding proteins (FKBPs) and cyclophilins (CYPs) are abundant and ubiquitous proteins belonging to the peptidyl-prolyl <it>cis/trans </it>isomerase (PPIase) superfamily, which regulate much of metabolism through a chaperone or an isomerization of proline residues during protein folding. They are collectively referred to as immunophilin (IMM), being present in almost all cellular organs. In particular, a number of IMMs relate to environmental stresses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>FKBP and CYP proteins in rice (<it>Oryza sativa </it>cv. Japonica) were identified and classified, and given the appropriate name for each IMM, considering the ortholog-relation with <it>Arabidopsis </it>and <it>Chlamydomonas </it>or molecular weight of the proteins. 29 FKBP and 27 CYP genes can putatively be identified in rice; among them, a number of genes can be putatively classified as orthologs of <it>Arabidopsis </it>IMMs. However, some genes were novel, did not match with those of <it>Arabidopsis </it>and <it>Chlamydomonas</it>, and several genes were paralogs by genetic duplication. Among 56 IMMs in rice, a significant number are regulated by salt and/or desiccation stress. In addition, their expression levels responding to the water-stress have been analyzed in different tissues, and some subcellular IMMs located by means of tagging with GFP protein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Like other green photosynthetic organisms such as <it>Arabidopsis </it>(23 FKBPs and 29 CYPs) and <it>Chlamydomonas </it>(23 FKBs and 26 CYNs), rice has the highest number of IMM genes among organisms reported so far, suggesting that the numbers relate closely to photosynthesis. Classification of the putative FKBPs and CYPs in rice provides the information about their evolutional/functional significance when comparisons are drawn with the relatively well studied genera, <it>Arabidopsis </it>and <it>Chlamydomonas</it>. In addition, many of the genes upregulated by water stress offer the possibility of manipulating the stress responses in rice.</p

Two-dimensional layered hydroxide nanoporous nanohybrids pillared with zero-dimensional polyoxovanadate nanoclusters for enhanced water oxidation catalysis

The oxygen‐evolution reaction (OER) is critical in electrochemical water splitting and requires an efficient, sustainable, and cheap catalyst for successful practical applications. A common development strategy for OER catalysts is to search for facile routes for the synthesis of new catalytic materials with optimized chemical compositions and structures. Here, nickel hydroxide Ni(OH)2 2D nanosheets pillared with 0D polyoxovanadate (POV) nanoclusters as an OER catalyst that can operate in alkaline media are reported. The intercalation of POV nanoclusters into Ni(OH)2 induces the formation of a nanoporous layer‐by‐layer stacking architecture of 2D Ni(OH)2 nanosheets and 0D POV with a tunable chemical composition. The nanohybrid catalysts remarkably enhance the OER activity of pristine Ni(OH)2. The present findings demonstrate that the intercalation of 0D POV nanoclusters into Ni(OH)2 is effective for improving water oxidation catalysis and represents a potential method to synthesize novel, porous hydroxide‐based nanohybrid materials with superior electrochemical activities

Enhancement of the Thermoelectric Performance of Bi_(0.4)Sb_(1.6)Te_3 Alloys by In and Ga Doping

We report an enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit in polycrystalline In- and Ga-doped Bi_(0.4)Sb_(1.6)Te_3 compounds. Via the controlled doping of In or Ga, the lattice thermal conductivity was effectively reduced by strong point-defect phonon scattering while the power factor was not significantly changed due to the similarity of the density of states near the valence-band maximum between undoped and In- or Ga-doped compositions. An enhanced ZT of 1.2 at 320 K was obtained in 0.5 at.% In-doped Bi_(0.4)Sb_(1.6)Te_3 compound by these synergetic effects

MicroRNA Expression Profiles in Gastric Carcinogenesis

Abstract Intestinal-type gastric carcinoma exhibits a multistep carcinogenic sequence from adenoma to carcinoma with a gradual increase in genomic alterations. But the roles of microRNAs (miRNA) in this multistage cascade are not fully explored. To identify differentially expressed miRNA (DEM) during early gastric carcinogenesis, we performed miRNA microarray profiling with 24 gastric cancers and precursor lesions (7 early gastric cancer [EGC], 3 adenomas with high-grade dysplasia, 4 adenomas with low-grade dysplasia, and 10 adjacent normal tissues). Alterations in the expression of 132 miRNA were detected; these were categorized into three groups based on their expression patterns. Of these, 42 miRNAs were aberrantly expressed in EGC. Five miRNA (miR-26a, miR-375, miR-574-3p, miR-145, and miR-15b) showed decreased expression since adenoma. Expression of two miRNA, miR-200C and miR-29a, was down-regulated in EGCs compared to normal mucosa or adenomas. Six miRNA (miR-601, miR-107, miR-18a, miR-370, miR-300, and miR-96) showed increased expression in gastric cancer compared to normal or adenoma samples. Five representative miRNAs were further validated with RT-qPCR in independent 77 samples. Taken together, these results suggest that the dysregulated miRNA show alterations at the early stages of gastric tumorigenesis and may be used as a candidate biomarker

Nanohoneycomb rGO foam as a promising anode material for unprecedented ultrahigh Li storage and excellent endurance at ampere current stability

Most rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) exploit bulk carbon (e.g., graphite with low interlayer spacing of 0.335 nm) as an anode material despite its low theoretical capacity of 372 mAh/g because it has a high coulombic efficiency, good cycling performance, and low production costs. However, it is difficult to increase the specific capacity of graphite-based anodes without sacrificing these inherent advantages. In the present study, we developed reduced graphene oxide nanohoneycomb foam (H-rGO) as an anode material with higher surface area, porosity, and interlayer spacing for the rapid and efficient lithiation-delithiation of Li-ions. The combination of the hierarchical three-dimensional sponge-like mesoporous structure with highly efficient Li-ion conduction pathways and enlarge active surface area leads to a significantly improved specific capacity (1031 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g) and rapid charging with exceptional stability over 5,000 cycles. The H-rGO anode achieves an outstanding reversible capacity of ∼534 mAh/g over 2,500 cycles at 1.0 A/g, with a capacity retention of 87 and 84 % at high current densities of 10 and 20 A/g, respectively. Our approach is fully compatible with current LIBs technology and offer a simple and efficient strategy to significantly increase Li-storage capacity of under current graphite-based anode technology

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. Among these, only OsKAT2 is specifically expressed in guard cells. Here, we investigated the functions of OsKAT2 in stomatal regulation using three dominant negative mutant proteins, OsKAT2(T235R), OsKAT2(T285A) and OsKAT2(T285D), which are altered in amino acids in the channel pore and at a phosphorylation site. Yeast complementation and patch clamp assays showed that all three mutant proteins lost channel activity. However, among plants overexpressing these mutant proteins, only plants overexpressing OsKAT2(T235R) showed significantly less water loss than the control. Moreover, overexpression of this mutant protein led to delayed photo-induced stomatal opening and increased drought tolerance. Our results indicate that OsKAT2 is an inward- rectifying shaker-like potassium channel that mainly functions in stomatal opening. Interestingly, overexpression of OsKAT2(T235R) did not cause serious defects in growth or yield in rice, suggesting that OsKAT2 is a potential target for engineering plants with improved drought tolerance without yield penalty