How Do Plants and Phytohormones Accomplish Heterophylly, Leaf Phenotypic Plasticity, in Response to Environmental Cues

Plant species are known to respond to variations in environmental conditions. Many plant species have the ability to alter their leaf morphology in response to such changes. This phenomenon is termed heterophylly and is widespread among land plants. In some cases, heterophylly is thought to be an adaptive mechanism that allows plants to optimally respond to environmental heterogeneity. Recently, many research studies have investigated the occurrence of heterophylly in a wide variety of plants. Several studies have suggested that heterophylly in plants is regulated by phytohormones. Herein, we reviewed the existing knowledge on the relationship and role of phytohormones, especially abscisic acid, ethylene, gibberellins, and auxins (IAA), in regulating heterophylly and attempted to elucidate the mechanisms that regulate heterophylly

Combination of genetic analysis and ancient literature survey reveals the divergence of traditional Brassica rapa varieties from Kyoto, Japan

京の伝統野菜ミブナの育種の歴史を解明. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-06-02.Since ancient times, humans have bred several plants that we rely on today. However, little is known about the divergence of most of these plants. In the present study, we investigated the divergence of Mibuna (Brassica rapa L. subsp. nipposinica L. H. Bailey), a traditional leafy vegetable in Kyoto (Japan), by combining genetic analysis and a survey of ancient literature. Mibuna is considered to have been bred 200 years ago from Mizuna, another traditional leafy vegetable in Kyoto. Mibuna has simple spatulate leaves, whereas Mizuna has characteristic serrated leaves. The quantitative trait loci (QTL) and gene expression analyses suggested that the downregulation of BrTCP15 expression contributed to the change in the leaf shape from serrated to simple spatulate. Interestingly, the SNP analysis indicated that the genomic region containing the BrTCP15 locus was transferred to Mibuna by introgression. Furthermore, we conducted a survey of ancient literature to reveal the divergence of Mibuna and found that hybridization between Mizuna and a simple-leaved turnip might have occurred in the past. Indeed, the genomic analysis of multiple turnip cultivars showed that one of the cultivars, Murasakihime, has almost the same sequence in the BrTCP15 region as Mibuna. These results suggest that the hybridization between Mizuna and turnip has resulted in the establishment of Mibuna

Relationship between mucin expression and preoperative bile juice cytology in biliary tract carcinoma

The present study evaluated correlations between preoperative bile juice cytology and mucin expression of surgical specimens in biliary tract carcinoma. Twenty-five patients with biliary tract carcinoma surgically treated at our hospital, whose bile juice cytology had been evaluated before operation, were allocated to this study. Biliary cytology was classified into three categories based on the Papanicolaou classification. Immunohistochemical staining of tissues was performed using MUC1 and MUC2 monoclonal antibodies. Lesions showing MUC1 expression of ＋＋ or higher and MUC2 expression of - were classified as Group A, and the remaining lesions as Group B. According to the epithelial site, preoperative cytology was highly correlated in Group A, while it was negative in Group B (p<0.05). In the advanced site of carcinomas, preoperative cytology tended to highly be positive in Group A, while it tended to be negative in Group B (p<0.05). These results suggest that the bile juice cytology results are affected by characteristics of mucin expression in the tissue. Based on the possibility that mucin expression correlates with the prognosis of each carcinoma, a positive cytological result suggests a poor prognosis for the carcinoma, which may be informative for predicting the post-operative courses and choosing treatments

A patient with esophageal hemangioma treated by endoscopic mucosal resection : a case report and review of the literature

In a 58-year-old male, upper digestive endoscopy revealed a protruding lesion in the esophagus on a medical examination. The patient was referred to the Department of Surgery in our hospital to undergo surgery. On the initial consultation, upper digestive endoscopy showed a smooth, soft, black purple, typeⅡprotruding lesion measuring approximately 25mmat 35 cm apart from the incisor. For diagnotic treatment and patient’s request, endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR)was performed. The resected specimen measured 25mm× 25 mm. The histological findings suggested cavernous hemangioma. To treat esophageal hemangioma, esohagectomy, tumor enucleation, or sclerotherapy has been performed. However, recently, thorough preoperative examination, such as endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), has facilitated endoscopic resection, such as EMR

ガン カガク リョウホウ ニオケル ショウカカン ドクセイ ト ケッセイ Diamine Oxidase DAO カッセイ ニ カンスル ケントウ

There are so many patients with advanced gastric cancer who undergo systemic chemotherapy worldwide. The quality of life（QOL）of patients with gastric cancer who receive chemotherapy is often lowed by various gastrointestinal toxicities during the chemotherapy. Nutrition is also impaired by gastrointestinal toxicities. However, it is difficult to predict their occurrence in advance and further there is no good serum marker for nutrition in the patients treated with chemotherapy. Thus, it is important to objectively evaluate and predict the toxicity of the digestive tract during cancer chemotherapy. Diamine Oxidase（DAO）is an enzyme that is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Recently it has been reported that DAO activity may reflect damage or atrophy of the intestinal villi, and therefore it may be a sensitive serum marker for nutritional state. In this study, we measured serum DAO activity of patients with gastric cancer treated with systemic chemotherapy, and investigated the correlation between DAO activity and gastrointestinal toxicities. Six patients with gastric cancer, who were treated by docetaxel+cisplatin+S‐１combination chemotherapy, were enrolled. DAO activity was measured by sensitive colorimetric assay. DAO activities diminished after treatment in４patients with moderate to severe gastrointestinal toxicities. In contrast, they did not change in２patients with no gastrointestinal toxicities. Our results may suggest that DAO activity is a good serum marker for the gastrointestinal toxicities as well as nutrition state in patients who receive systemic chemotherapy. More large scale study is needed to warrant

Inflammatory bowel disease in Tokushima prefecture : A report of questionnaire investigation

To investigate the number of cases and clinical features of inflammatory bowel disease, a questionnaire was sent to 1,271 hospitals or clinics in Tokushima prefecture. A total of 320 cases were collected from 60 institutes for the period from January to December 1997. Eight cases were excluded from this study because of duplicated report (6 cases) and inadequate diagnosis (2 cases). Finally, 312 cases were investigated on their clinical features, treatments, complications, and prognosis. The cases included 195 ulcerative colitis (male 106, female 83, gender unknown 6 cases, age ranged 9-81, mean 39.5± 14.3 (standard deviation (SD) years old), 69 Crohn's disease (male 39, female 24, gender unknown 6 cases, age ranged 17-87, mean 35.1±10.5 (SD) years old), 28 ischemic colitis (male 11, female 17, mean age 65.9±12.6 (SD) years old), 9 intestinal tuberculosis (male 1, female 6, gender unknown 2, age 66.9±6.1 (SD) years old), 4 intestinal Behcet (male 3, female 1, age 39.0±14.2 (SD) years old), 6 simple ulcers (male 3, female 3, age 67.7±11.8 (SD) years old), and a case of aphtous enteritis. Two toxic megacolon cases and 5 colorectal cancer cases were reported among the 195 ulcerative colitis patients. 44 cases out of 69 Crohn's disease patients were received surgical treatment because of severe complications including perforation (12 cases), stenosis (10 cases), internal fistula formation (8 cases) and so on. However, no case died because of the diseases except 3 untraceable patients

A developmental model for branching morphogenesis of lake cress compound leaf

Lake cress, Rorippa aquatica (Brassicaceae), is a semi-aquatic plant that exhibits a variety of leaf shapes, from simple leaves to highly branched compound leaves, depending on the environment. Leaf shape can vary within a single plant, suggesting that the variation can be explained by a simple model. In order to simulate the branched structure in the compound leaves of R. aquatica, we implemented reaction-diffusion (RD) patterning onto a theoretical framework that had been developed for serration distribution in the leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana, with the modification of the one-dimensional reaction-diffusion domain being deformed with the spatial periodicity of the RD pattern while expanding. This simple method using an iterative pattern could create regular and nested branching patterns. Subsequently, we verified the plausibility of our theoretical model by comparing it with the experimentally observed branching patterns. The results suggested that our model successfully predicted both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the timing and positioning of branching in growing R. aquatica leaves

Center for Plant Sciences : Research activity annual report 2022

地球上には、多様な種の植物が存在し、光合成を中心とする物質生産を行っている。植物科学研究センターでは、植物のもつ多様性とその物質生産能力に着目し、その能力をゲノム解析、分子生物学的解析、生化学的解析などの手法を駆使して明らかにしている。また、多様な植物の能力を最大限に利用して利用価値の高い農作物を育種するための技術開発を行うとともに、それらを利用して持続可能な社会の実現にむけた取り組みを行っている。本報告では、令和4 年度における植物科学研究センターの研究成果について概説する。departmental bulletin pape

Plant Temperature Sensors

Temperature is one of the most important environmental signals for plants. High and low temperatures have a variety of effects that affect plant growth and development profoundly. Further, temperature is an indication of seasonal change. Plants must survive under severe conditions in winter and prepare to resume growth and reach their reproductive stage in the following spring. Recent studies have focused on plant mechanisms responsible for sensing temperature and the molecular systems underlying plant reactions in response to this signal. In this review, we describe how plants sense ambient temperature to adapt to ambient-temperature changes