A study on the applicability of Kirton adaption-innovation theory in the local context using undergraduates from Nanyang Technological University as subjects

Previous research identified that cognitive personality style of an individual affects the way he/she "appraises problems" and the "type of solutions produced". In addition, this style is said to remain stable even with training.ACCOUNTANC

Characterization of the Runx gene family in a jawless vertebrate, the Japanese lamprey (Lethenteron japonicum).

The cyclostomes (jawless vertebrates), comprising lampreys and hagfishes, are the sister group of jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes) and are hence an important group for the study of vertebrate evolution. In mammals, three Runx genes, Runx1, Runx2 and Runx3, encode transcription factors that are essential for cell proliferation and differentiation in major developmental pathways such as haematopoiesis, skeletogenesis and neurogenesis and are frequently associated with diseases. We describe here the characterization of Runx gene family members from a cyclostome, the Japanese lamprey (Lethenteron japonicum). The Japanese lamprey contains three Runx genes, RunxA, RunxB, and RunxC. However, phylogenetic and synteny analyses suggest that they are not one-to-one orthologs of gnathostome Runx1, Runx2 and Runx3. The major protein domains and motifs found in gnathostome Runx proteins are highly conserved in the lamprey Runx proteins. Although all gnathostome Runx genes each contain two alternative promoters, P1 (distal) and P2 (proximal), only lamprey RunxB possesses the alternative promoters; lamprey RunxA and RunxC contain only P2 and P1 promoter, respectively. Furthermore, the three lamprey Runx genes give rise to fewer alternative isoforms than the three gnathostome Runx genes. The promoters of the lamprey Runx genes lack the tandem Runx-binding motifs that are highly conserved among the P1 promoters of gnathostome Runx1, Runx2 and Runx3 genes; instead these promoters contain dispersed single Runx-binding motifs. The 3'UTR of lamprey RunxB contains binding sites for miR-27 and miR-130b/301ab, which are conserved in mammalian Runx1 and Runx3, respectively. Overall, the Runx genes in lamprey seem to have experienced a different evolutionary trajectory from that of gnathostome Runx genes which are highly conserved all the way from cartilaginous fishes to mammals

<i>Runx</i> Family Genes in a Cartilaginous Fish, the Elephant Shark (<i>Callorhinchus milii</i>)

<div><p>The <i>Runx</i> family genes encode transcription factors that play key roles in hematopoiesis, skeletogenesis and neurogenesis and are often implicated in diseases. We describe here the cloning and characterization of <i>Runx1</i>, <i>Runx2</i>, <i>Runx3</i> and <i>Runxb</i> genes in the elephant shark (<i>Callorhinchus milii</i>), a member of Chondrichthyes, the oldest living group of jawed vertebrates. Through the use of alternative promoters and/or alternative splicing, each of the elephant shark <i>Runx</i> genes expresses multiple isoforms similar to their orthologs in human and other bony vertebrates. The expression profiles of elephant shark <i>Runx</i> genes are similar to those of mammalian <i>Runx</i> genes. The syntenic blocks of genes at the elephant shark <i>Runx</i> gene loci are highly conserved in human, but represented by shorter conserved blocks in zebrafish indicating a higher degree of rearrangements in this teleost fish. Analysis of promoter regions revealed conservation of binding sites for transcription factors, including two tandem binding sites for Runx that are totally conserved in the distal promoter regions of elephant shark <i>Runx1-3</i>. Several conserved noncoding elements (CNEs), which are putative <i>cis</i>-regulatory elements, and miRNA binding sites were identified in the elephant shark and human <i>Runx</i> gene loci. Some of these CNEs and miRNA binding sites are absent in teleost fishes such as zebrafish and fugu. In summary, our analysis reveals that the genomic organization and expression profiles of <i>Runx</i> genes were already complex in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates.</p></div

Synteny of genes in the <i>Runx</i> loci of Japanese lamprey and selected metazoans.

<p>Genes are represented by block arrows. Genes with conserved synteny are coloured. Clusters of some non-syntenic genes are represented as white boxes. Grey circles indicate the end of scaffolds.</p

miRNA binding sites in the 3′UTR of human <i>Runx1</i> and <i>Runx3</i> and Japanese lamprey <i>RunxB</i> genes.

<p>The last coding region of <i>Runx</i> gene is represented by a rectangle and 3′UTR by a grey line. Positions of miRNA binding sites are indicated by vertical lines. Binding sites conserved in human and Japanese lamprey are shown in red.</p

Runx α-subunit proteins in human, elephant shark and Japanese lamprey. Alignment of human, elephant shark and Japanese lamprey Runx α-subunit proteins.

<p>The first block shows the amino-terminal part of the protein derived from the P1 promoter that differs from that derived from the P2 promoter. The highly conserved Runt domain is highlighted in pink. Within the Runt domain, surfaces involved in DNA contact and interaction with the β-subunit are denoted by black and blue lines, respectively. Cysteine residues involved in the redox regulation of DNA-binding activity are indicated with asterisks. Nuclear localization signal (NLS) is demarcated by a green dashed box. The PY and VWRPY motifs are indicated in red and blue, respectively. The transactivation domain (TAD) is highlighted in blue and the inhibitory domain (ID) is boxed in blue. The nuclear matrix targeting signal (NMTS) is boxed in black. Minimal consensus sequences for phosphorylation by Erk are boxed by dashed black lines. The consensus phosphorylation site for Cdc2 is indicated in green. The residue targeted for phosophorylation is indicated by ℗. Hs, <i>Homo sapiens</i>; Cm, <i>Callorhinchus milii</i>; Lj, <i>Lethenteron japonicum</i>.</p

Exon-intron organization and protein sequence encoded by the Japanese lamprey <i>Runxβ</i>.

<p>(A) Schematic representation of the genomic structure and the four transcripts cloned (<i>LjRunxb</i> types 1, 3, 4 and 5). Exons are indicated by boxes. The 5′- and 3′-UTRs are represented as crosshatched boxes. (B) Alignment of Japanese lamprey, elephant shark and human RUNXβ amino acid sequences using ClustalW. Conserved residues are shaded grey. Hs, <i>Homo sapiens</i>; Cm, <i>Callorhinchus milii</i>; Lj, <i>Lethenteron japonicum</i>.</p

A model depicting the evolution of <i>Runx</i> genes in vertebrates.

<p>The phylogenetic analysis and synteny maps suggest that the three <i>Runx</i> genes in lamprey are not one-to-one orthologs of the three <i>Runx</i> genes in gnathostomes.</p

Phylogenetic analysis of chordate Runx sequences.

<p>Protein sequences of Japanese lamprey <i>Runx</i> genes were aligned with homologous sequences from selected chordates. The gaps in the alignments were trimmed using the Gblocks Server. The resulting protein alignment used for phylogenetic analyses is provided in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0113445#pone.0113445.s004" target="_blank">Fig. S3</a>. Maximum Likelihood (ML) trees were generated for the alignments. Statistical support values for the nodes are shown as ML bootstrap percentages. Hagfish and Japanese lamprey Runx proteins are highlighted in red. Lancelet (<i>Branchiostoma floridae</i>) Runt (BfRunt) was used as the outgroup. Hs, <i>Homo sapiens</i>; Gg, <i>Gallus gallus</i>; Dr, <i>Danio rerio</i>; Cm, <i>Callorhinchus milii</i>; Sc, <i>Scyliorhinus canicula</i>; Mg, <i>Myxine glutinosa</i>; Lj, <i>Lethenteron japonicum</i>.</p

Exon-intron organization of lamprey (<i>Lj</i>) <i>Runx</i> genes.

<p>Schematic representation of the gene structures and transcript isoforms of (A) <i>LjRunxA</i>, (B) <i>LjRunxB</i> and (C) <i>LjRunxC</i>. Exons are indicated by boxes. The vertical dashed lines indicate internal splice sites located within the coding exon. Exons constituting the Runt domain are indicated in grey. The two alternative promoters are denoted as P1 and P2. Crosshatched boxes indicate 5′- and 3′-UTRs. The asterisk (*) indicates an exon in <i>LjRunxB</i> that is absent in gnathostome <i>Runx</i>. Not drawn to scale.</p