c-Fos induces chondrogenic tumor formation in immortalized human mesenchymal progenitor cells

Mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) have been hypothesized as cells of origin for sarcomas, and c-Fos transcription factor has been showed to act as an oncogene in bone tumors. In this study, we show c-Fos is present in most sarcomas with chondral phenotype, while multiple other genes are related to c-Fos expression pattern. To further define the role of c-Fos in sarcomagenesis, we expressed it in primary human MPCs (hMPCs), immortalized hMPCs and transformed murine MPCs (mMPCs). In immortalized hMPCs, c-Fos expression generated morphological changes, reduced mobility capacity and impaired adipogenic- and osteogenic-differentiation potentials. Remarkably, immortalized hMPCs or mMPCs expressing c-Fos generated tumors harboring a chondrogenic phenotype and morphology. Thus, here we show that c-Fos protein has a key role in sarcomas and that c-Fos expression in immortalized MPCs yields cell transformation and chondrogenic tumor formation

Genomic organisation of the Mal d 1 gene cluster on linkage group 16 in apple

European populations exhibit progressive sensitisation to food allergens, and apples are one of the foods for which sensitisation is observed most frequently. Apple cultivars vary greatly in their allergenic characteristics, and a better understanding of the genetic basis of low allergenicity may therefore allow allergic individuals to increase their fruit intake. Mal d 1 is considered to be a major apple allergen, and this protein is encoded by the most complex allergen gene family. Not all Mal d 1 members are likely to be involved in allergenicity. Therefore, additional knowledge about the existence and characteristics of the different Mal d 1 genes is required. In the present study, we investigated the genomic organisation of the Mal d 1 gene cluster in linkage group 16 of apple through the sequencing of two bacterial artificial chromosome clones. The results provided new information on the composition of this family with respect to the number and orientation of functional and pseudogenes and their physical distances. The results were compared with the apple and peach genome sequences that have recently been made available. A broad analysis of the whole apple genome revealed the presence of new genes in this family, and a complete list of the observed Mal d 1 genes is supplied. Thus, this study provides an important contribution towards a better understanding of the genetics of the Mal d 1 family and establishes the basis for further research on allelic diversity among cultivars in relation to variation in allergenicity

DETERMINATION OF MISCONCEPTIONS REGARDING "COMPOUNDS'' CHAPTER IN SECONDARY EDUCATION 9th GRADE BY TWO-TIER CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING TEST

Bu çalışmada ortaöğretim 9. sınıf öğrencilerinin kimya dersi "Bileşikler" ünitesi ile ilgili kavram yanılgılarına sahip olup olmadıklarını ve sahip oldukları kavram yanılgıları varsa bu yanılgıların derecesini tespit edebilmek için iki aşamalı kavramsal anlama testini geliştirmek amaçlanmıştır. Çalışmada ayrıca geliştirilen bu test yoluyla öğrencilerin kavram yanılgılarının belirlenmesi hedeflenmiştir. Toplam 34 maddeden oluşan test İzmir ilinde bulunan ortaöğretim kurumlarında öğrenim görmekte olan ve konuyu bilen toplam 175 öğrenciye uygulanmıştır. Yapılan madde analizleri sonucunda testin güvenirliği, maddelerin güçlük ve ayırt edicilik indeksleri ve çeldirici fonksiyonları elde edilmiştir. Madde analizlerinin sonucunda iki aşamalı kavramsal anlama testinden 10 madde çıkarılmıştır. Testin güvenirlik katsayısı (Cronbach Alfa) 0.80 olarak bulunmuştur. Testin madde güçlük indeksleri 0.24-0.90 aralığında, ayırt edicilik indeksleri ise 0.22-0.50 aralığında bulunmuştur. Testte her bir maddeye verilen yanıtların incelenmesi sonucunda, ünite ile ilgili öğrencilerin bazı kavram yanılgılarına sahip oldukları belirlenmiştir. The aim of this study is to determine whether 9th grade students in secondary schools have misconceptions regarding ‘'compounds'' chapter and to develope a two-tier conceptual understanding test to be able to determine the degree of the misconceptions if there are any. Furthermore; this study aims determining the the misconceptions of the students by means of this test. The test, consisting of a total of 34 items, was carried out with 175 students familiar with the subject and receiving education in secondary schools in Izmir. As a result of item analyses made, the reliability of the test, the difficulty and distinctiveness indices and the distractor functions of the items were acquired. As a result of the analysis item two-tier conceptual understanding test 10 items were removed.The relaibility coefficient of the test (Cronbach Alfa) was found as 0.796. As a result of item analyses, the item difficulty indices were found to be between 0.24-0.90 and the item discrimination index were between 0.20-0.50. Some misconceptions about compounds chapter were determined after the analysis of the items in the tes

A Functional Phylogenomic View of the Seed Plants

A novel result of the current research is the development and implementation of a unique functional phylogenomic approach that explores the genomic origins of seed plant diversification. We first use 22,833 sets of orthologs from the nuclear genomes of 101 genera across land plants to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships. One of the more salient results is the resolution of some enigmatic relationships in seed plant phylogeny, such as the placement of Gnetales as sister to the rest of the gymnosperms. In using this novel phylogenomic approach, we were also able to identify overrepresented functional gene ontology categories in genes that provide positive branch support for major nodes prompting new hypotheses for genes associated with the diversification of angiosperms. For example, RNA interference (RNAi) has played a significant role in the divergence of monocots from other angiosperms, which has experimental support in Arabidopsis and rice. This analysis also implied that the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase IV and V (NRPD2) played a prominent role in the divergence of gymnosperms. This hypothesis is supported by the lack of 24nt siRNA in conifers, the maternal control of small RNA in the seeds of flowering plants, and the emergence of double fertilization in angiosperms. Our approach takes advantage of genomic data to define orthologs, reconstruct relationships, and narrow down candidate genes involved in plant evolution within a phylogenomic view of species' diversification