Isolation and functional characterization of CE1 binding proteins

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone that controls seed germination, protective responses to various abiotic stresses and seed maturation. The ABA-dependent processes entail changes in gene expression. Numerous genes are regulated by ABA, and promoter analyses of the genes revealed that <it>cis</it>-elements sharing the ACGTGGC consensus sequence are ubiquitous among ABA-regulated gene promoters. The importance of the core sequence, which is generally known as ABA response element (ABRE), has been demonstrated by various experiments, and its cognate transcription factors known as ABFs/AREBs have been identified. Although necessary, ABRE alone is not sufficient, and another <it>cis</it>-element known as "coupling element (CE)" is required for full range ABA-regulation of gene expression. Several CEs are known. However, despite their importance, the cognate transcription factors mediating ABA response via CEs have not been reported to date. Here, we report the isolation of transcription factors that bind one of the coupling elements, CE1.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To isolate CE1 binding proteins, we carried out yeast one-hybrid screens. Reporter genes containing a trimer of the CE1 element were prepared and introduced into a yeast strain. The yeast was transformed with library DNA that represents RNA isolated from ABA-treated Arabidopsis seedlings. From the screen of 3.6 million yeast transformants, we isolated 78 positive clones. Analysis of the clones revealed that a group of AP2/ERF domain proteins binds the CE1 element. We investigated their expression patterns and analyzed their overexpression lines to investigate the <it>in vivo </it>functions of the CE element binding factors (CEBFs). Here, we show that one of the CEBFs, AtERF13, confers ABA hypersensitivity in Arabidopsis, whereas two other CEBFs enhance sugar sensitivity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that a group of AP2/ERF superfamily proteins interacts with CE1. Several CEBFs are known to mediate defense or abiotic stress response, but the physiological functions of other CEBFs remain to be determined. Our <it>in vivo </it>functional analysis of several CEBFs suggests that they are likely to be involved in ABA and/or sugar response. Together with previous results reported by others, our current data raise an interesting possibility that the coupling element CE1 may function not only as an ABRE but also as an element mediating biotic and abiotic stress responses.</p

THE ADJUSTMENT OF LEG STIFFNESS DURING DYNAMIC EXERCISE AND DOWNWARD STEPPING FOR ELDERLY

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the ability of leg stiffness regulation during downward stepping and maximal Counter-Movement-Jump (CMJ) for the elderly. Ten healthy aged people (age: 68.6±5 years; height: 165.3±4.4cm; mass: 61.7±9.3kg) and 10 students (age: 24.3±2years; height: 171.5±4.6cm; mass: 65.9±8kg) volunteered as subjects. Kistler force platform (1200Hz) and Peak high-speed camera (120Hz) were used synchronously to record the ground reaction force and the kinematic parameters of the subjects performing CMJ and stepping down from different heights. The results revealed that the elderly group has a smaller joint range of motion and greater leg stiffness than the young group during stepping down. The force and the leg stiffness during CMJ were significantly smaller for the elderly. The leg stiffness during downward stepping is independent of dynamic leg stiffness during CMJ. With aging, the adjustment ability of leg stiffness for maximal dynamic voluntary contraction was decreased

Calculating highly fluctuated suspended sediment fluxes from mountainous rivers in Taiwan

Small drainage basins, highly fractured rock, high relief, and steep gradients make Taiwan watersheds particularly sensitive to episodic events such as typhoons and earthquakes, and to various types of anthropogenic disturbance. Here we analyze the characteristics of a long-term hydrological dataset from Taiwan and re-evaluate methods used to calculate sediment loads for Taiwan\u27s event-driven rivers. We suggest using the rating curve method stratified down to seasonal levels to reflect the rapid changes in the relationship between water discharge and suspended sediment load. A program is developed to determine the optimal time-interval for constructing rating curves, and is used to calculate hourly, daily, yearly, and long-term mean suspended sediment loads. Seasonal rating curves applied to hourly discharges are particularly critical to calculate sediment fluxes and concentrations in response to episodic events, particularly typhoons. The calculated cumulative long-term mean sediment fluxes for the Jhou-Shuei and Bei-Nan Rivers are considerably smaller than those calculated using monthly weighted average (MWA) method (Dadson et al. 2003). The MWA method likely over-estimates the mean load due to more frequent sediment observations during high-flow events

Vertical Macular Asymmetry Measures Derived From SD-OCT for Detection of Early Glaucoma.

PurposeTo test the hypothesis that vertical asymmetry in macular ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness can improve detection of early glaucoma.MethodsSixty-nine normal eyes and 101 glaucoma eyes had macular imaging with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT; 200 × 200 cube). The resulting GCIPL thickness matrix was grouped into a 20 × 20 superpixel array and superior superpixels were compared to their inferior counterparts. A global asymmetry index (AI) was defined as the grand mean of the asymmetry ratios. To measure local asymmetry, the corresponding thickness measurements of three rows above and below the horizontal raphe were compared individually and in combinations. Global and local AIs were compared to the best-performing GCIPL thickness parameters with area under the receiver operating curves (AUC) and sensitivity/specificities.ResultsAge or axial length did not influence AIs in normal subjects (P ≥ 0.08). Global and local AIs were significantly higher in the glaucoma group compared to normal eyes. Minimum (AUC = 0.962, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.936-0.989) and inferotemporal thickness (AUC = 0.944, 95% CI: 0.910-0.977; P = 0.122) performed best for detection of early glaucoma. The AUC for global AI was 0.851 (95% CI: 0.792-0.909) compared to 0.916 (95% CI: 0.874-0.958) for the best local AI. Combining minimum or inferotemporal GCIPL thickness and the best local AI led to higher partial AUCs (0.088 and 0.085, 90% specificity, P = 0.120 and 0.130, respectively) than GCIPL thickness measures.ConclusionsMacular vertical thickness asymmetry measures did not perform better than sectoral or minimum GCIPL thickness for detection of early glaucoma. Combining local asymmetry parameters with the best sectoral GCIPL thickness measures enhanced this task

Electron transport properties in magnetic tunnel junctions with epitaxial NiFe (111) ferromagnetic bottom electrodes

科研費報告書収録論文(課題番号:13305001・基盤研究(A)(2) ・H13～H15/研究代表者:宮崎, 照宣/高品位微小トンネル接合へのスピン注入