Characterization of the Possible Roles for B Class MADS Box Genes in Regulation of Perianth Formation in Orchid1[C]

To investigate sepal/petal/lip formation in Oncidium Gower Ramsey, three paleoAPETALA3 genes, O. Gower Ramsey MADS box gene5 (OMADS5; clade 1), OMADS3 (clade 2), and OMADS9 (clade 3), and one PISTILLATA gene, OMADS8, were characterized. The OMADS8 and OMADS3 mRNAs were expressed in all four floral organs as well as in vegetative leaves. The OMADS9 mRNA was only strongly detected in petals and lips. The mRNA for OMADS5 was only strongly detected in sepals and petals and was significantly down-regulated in lip-like petals and lip-like sepals of peloric mutant flowers. This result revealed a possible negative role for OMADS5 in regulating lip formation. Yeast two-hybrid analysis indicated that OMADS5 formed homodimers and heterodimers with OMADS3 and OMADS9. OMADS8 only formed heterodimers with OMADS3, whereas OMADS3 and OMADS9 formed homodimers and heterodimers with each other. We proposed that sepal/petal/lip formation needs the presence of OMADS3/8 and/or OMADS9. The determination of the final organ identity for the sepal/petal/lip likely depended on the presence or absence of OMADS5. The presence of OMADS5 caused short sepal/petal formation. When OMADS5 was absent, cells could proliferate, resulting in the possible formation of large lips and the conversion of the sepal/petal into lips in peloric mutants. Further analysis indicated that only ectopic expression of OMADS8 but not OMADS5/9 caused the conversion of the sepal into an expanded petal-like structure in transgenic Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants

Molecular Phylogeny and Genetic Differentiation of the Tanakia himantegus Complex (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in Taiwan and China

Chia-Hao Chang, Wen-Wen Lin, Yi-Ta Shao, Ryoichi Arai, Toshilhiro Ishinabe, Takayoshi Ueda, Masaru Matsuda, Hitoshi Kubota, Feng-Yu Wang, Nian-Hong Jang-Liaw, and Hsiao-Wei Kao (2009) Molecular phylogeny and genetic differentiation of the Tanakia himantegus complex (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in Taiwan and China. Zoological Studies 48(6): 823-834. Tanakia himantegus himantegus is a subspecies endemic to Taiwan (referred as the Taiwanese himantegus), while T himantegus chii is distributed in both Taiwan (referred as the Taiwanese chh) and China (referred as the Chinese chii). We analyzed the complete cytochrome (Cyt) b DNA sequences of 61 specimens of the T himantegus complex (including the Taiwanese chii, Chinese chii, and Taiwanese himantegus) to infer their phylogeny, genetic differentiation, and historical demography. Both Bayesian and maximum-likelihood trees showed that the Taiwanese chii, Chinese chii, and Taiwanese himantegus are 3 monophyletic groups. Among them, the Taiwanese chii clustered with the Chinese chii. The average pairwise genetic distance (HKY + G) between the Taiwanese chii and Chinese chii was 6.8%, which is smaller than 10.8% (distance between the Taiwanese chii and Taiwanese himantegus) and 11.8% (distance between the Chinese chii and Taiwanese himantegus). The results suggest that the Taiwanese chii is phylogenetically closer to the Chinese chii than to the Taiwanese himantegus. Sequence analyses showed that the Taiwanese chii has smaller genetic diversity (h = 0.771, pi = 0.0014) than the Chinese chii (h = 0.927, pi = 0.0087) and Taiwanese himantegus (h = 0.879, pi = 0.0066). The AMOVA revealed that about 92.8% of the genetic variance among sequences can be explained by differences among the 3 monophyletic groups (Taiwanese chii, Chinese chii, and Taiwanese himantegus). A unimodal mismatch distribution with a positively skewed distribution for the Taiwanese chii suggests that it has recently experienced sudden population expansions. Bimodal or ragged mismatch distributions for the Chinese chii and Taiwanese himantegus suggest that they are either admixtures of 2 expanding populations or stable populations. The origin of the Taiwanese chii is discussed based on the geographical history of Taiwan, records of fish collection, and phylogenetic analyses. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/JournaIs/48.6/823.pd

Induction and regulation of differentiation in neural stem cells on ultra-nanocrystalline diamond films

100學年度研究獎補助論文[[abstract]]The interaction of ultra-nanocrystalline diamond (UNCD) with neural stem cells (NSCs) has been studied in order to evaluate its potential as a biomaterial. Hydrogen-terminated UNCD (H-UNCD) films were compared with standard grade polystyrene in terms of their impact on the differentiation of NSCs. When NSCs were cultured on these substrates in medium supplemented with low concentration of serum and without any differentiating factors, H-UNCD films spontaneously induced neuronal differentiation on NSCs. By direct suppression of mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signaling-regulated kinase1/2 (MAPK/Erk1/2) signaling pathway in NSCs using U0126, known to inhibit the activation of Erk1/2, we demonstrated that the enhancement of Erk1/2 pathway is one of the effects of H-UNCD-induced NSCs differentiation. Moreover, functional-blocking antibody directed against integrin β1 subunit inhibited neuronal differentiation on H-UNCD films. This result demonstrated the involvement of integrin β1 in H-UNCD-mediated neuronal differentiation. Mechanistic studies revealed the cell adhesion to H-UNCD films associated with focal adhesion kinase (Fak) and initiated MAPK/Erk1/2 signaling. Our study demonstrated that H-UNCD films-mediated NSCs differentiation involves fibronectin-integrin β1 and Fak–MAPK/Erk signaling pathways in the absence of differentiation factors. These observations raise the potential for the use of UNCD as a biomaterial for central nervous system transplantation and tissue engineering.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙

Evaluating sustainability in the Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration project: The model and process

Background: In the context of health-related interventions, sustainability is the capacity to maintain the changes resulting from the intervention. These can be improved policies, practices or trends intended to improve population health. The Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration (CORD) project was a multi-site, multi-intervention collaboration testing the Obesity Chronic Care Model with interventions for childhood obesity prevention and management. We present the model, definitions and methodology used for the cross-site sustainability evaluation of CORD. Methods: We applied the Ecologic Model of Obesity to childhood obesity interventions to operationalize four sustainability constructs: replicability, continuation of benefits, institutionalization, and community capacity. We used a triangulation approach and employed mixed methods to assess sustainability constructs at each level of the Ecologic Model of Obesity: Micro, Meso, Exo and Macro. We constructed checklists to count and code intervention activities, use of evidence-based practices among providers, and environmental factors and policies hypothesized to influence intervention sustainability. We developed in-depth interviews for principal investigators and project leads. We applied the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory with key stakeholders. Results: Lessons learned suggested that sustainability constructs should be clearly identified and operationalized a priori. Constructs must be flexible to account for differences between intervention plans and implementation to obtain robust and informative data. Conclusion: Strong links are needed among researchers, program implementers and com