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Photoperiodic floral induction has had a significant impact on the agricultural and horticultural industries. Changes in day length are perceived in leaves, which synthesize systemic flowering inducers (florigens) and inhibitors (antiflorigens) that determine floral initiation at the shoot apex. Recently, FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) was found to be a florigen; however, the identity of the corresponding antiflorigen remains to be elucidated. Here, we report the identification of an antiflorigen gene, Anti-florigenic FT/TFL1 family protein (AFT), from a wild chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum seticuspe) whose expression is mainly induced in leaves under noninductive conditions. Gain- and loss-of-function analyses demonstrated that CsAFT acts systemically to inhibit flowering and plays a predominant role in the obligate photoperiodic response. A transient gene expression assay indicated that CsAFT inhibits flowering by directly antagonizing the flower-inductive activity of CsFTL3, a C. seticuspe ortholog of FT, through interaction with CsFDL1, a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factor FD homolog of Arabidopsis . Induction of CsAFT was triggered by the coincidence of phytochrome signals with the photosensitive phase set by the dusk signal; flowering occurred only when night length exceeded the photosensitive phase for CsAFT induction. Thus, the gated antiflorigen production system, a phytochrome-mediated response to light, determines obligate photoperiodic flowering response in chrysanthemums, which enables their year-round commercial production by artificial lighting.

Strawberry, a vital crop in horticulture, faces challenges like pest infestations and climate variability that affect stable production. A crop model based on photosynthesis-derived dry matter (DM) production is an effective method to examine the environment–plant growth relationship. The developed model simulates total DM production and yield overtime using greenhouse environment, each inflorescence anthesis dates, leaf area, and physiological parameters as inputs. Total DM production was accurately simulated by inputting leaf area measured by either destructive measurement or web-camera based imaging without destructive measurements (RRMSE = 0.15 and 0.17). Cumulative yields closely matched measured values across two distinct growing seasons (RRMSE = 0.11–0.15). The monthly yield generally aligned with the observed values, except at the beginning and end of the harvest period, where the model tended to overestimate production. These result suggested the process of DM distribution calculation based on the potential growth of the individual leaves and fruit clusters present on that day was effective in capturing the dynamics of DM distribution to the fruit. The model could be applied to strawberry production in greenhouses controlled with optimal ranges for the plant growth. The model’s applicability to diverse greenhouse conditions would be broadened by improving the physiological parameters in future work.

Land cover classification and investigation of temporal changes are considered to be common applications of remote sensing. Water/non-water region estimation is one of the most fundamental classification tasks, analyzing the occurrence of water on the Earth’s surface. However, common remote sensing practices such as thresholding, spectral analysis, and statistical approaches are not sufficient to produce a globally adaptable water classification. The aim of this study is to develop a formula with automatically derived tuning parameters using perceptron neural networks for water/non-water region estimation, which we call the Perceptron-Derived Water Formula (PDWF), using Landsat-8 images. Water/non-water region estimates derived from PDWF were compared with three different approaches—Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), Automatic Water Extraction Index (AWEI), and Deep Convolutional Neural Network—using various case studies. Our proposed method outperforms all three approaches, showing a significant improvement in water/non-water region estimation. PDWF performance is consistently better even in cases of challenging conditions such as low reflectance due to hill shadows, building-shadows, and dark soils. Moreover, our study implemented a sunglint correction to adapt water/non-water region estimation over sunglint-affected pixels.

The floral regulators GIGANTEA (GI), CONSTANS (CO), and FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) play key roles in the photoperiodic flowering responses of the long-day plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The GI-CO-FT pathway is highly conserved in plants. Here, we demonstrate that the circadian clock proteins LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED1 (CCA1) not only repressed the floral transition under short-day and long-day conditions but also accelerated flowering when the plants were grown under continuous light (LL). LHY and CCA1 accelerated flowering in LL by promoting FT expression through a genetic pathway that appears to be independent of the canonical photoperiodic pathway involving GI and CO proteins. A genetic screen revealed that the late-flowering phenotype of the lhy;cca1 double mutant under LL was suppressed through mutations in SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP), a MADS box transcription factor. Yeast two-hybrid analysis demonstrated an interaction between SVP and FLOWERING LOCUS C, and genetic analysis indicated that these two proteins act as partially redundant repressors of flowering time. SVP protein accumulated in lhy;cca1 plants under LL. We propose a model in which LHY and CCA1 accelerate flowering in part by reducing the abundance of SVP and thereby antagonizing its capacity to repress FT expression under LL.

Objective The metabolic syndrome is an important social problem affecting many people in developed countries. Obesity is a leading cause of this syndrome, hence understanding molecular mechanisms underlying obesity is of prime importance for preventive medicine to develop novel methods to alleviate the corresponding social cost as well as for pharmaceutical companies to develop antimetabolic drugs. Methods Since adipocytes play an important role in obesity, we explored the signaling pathways leading to differentiation of adipocytes. We used a preadipocyte cell line to monitor the differentiation of adipocytes, and virus-mediated gene transfer to assess the role of the transcription factor Stat5 in adipogenesis. Adipocyte differentiation was assessed by Northern blot and Western blot analyses as well as accumulation of fat droplets in cells. Promoter activity of the proadipogenic transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) was evaluated by luciferase assay. Results Virus-mediated gene transfer of the constitutively active form of both Stat5A and Stat5B resulted in enhanced adipocyte differentiation in the absence of fetal bovine serum (FBS) as judged by expression of proadipogenic factors as well as accumulation of fat droplets in cells. Such a proadipogenic effect of Stat5 is, in part, mediated by its ability to enhance transcription of PPARγ, a master transcriptional regulator in adipogenesis. Conclusion The constitutively active form of Stat5A and Stat5B promoted adipocyte differentiation in the absence of FBS via induction of PPARγ.

Circadian clock proteins play key roles in adaptations of plants to diurnal environmental conditions. The photoperiodic flowering response is one of the mechanisms of adaptation to seasonal changes in the lengths of day and night. Double mutations in two clock genes, LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1), accelerated flowering under short days (SDs) but delayed flowering under continuous light (LL) in Arabidopsis thaliana. The mechanism underlying the late flowering of lhy;cca1 mutants under LL was investigated here. Late flowering of plants with overexpression of SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE (SVP) was much more pronounced under SDs and enhanced by constans 2 (co-2) under long days (LDs), suggesting that SVP and CO act independently in the photoperiodic flowering pathway. However, how SVP and FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) mediated the effects of LHY/CCA1 and thus influenced flowering time was not completely clear. A mutant line lhy;cca1 in the Landsberg erecta (Ler) background was established, ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized and used to screen suppressors of late flowering of lhy;cca1 under LL. Mutations in the clock gene EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3) were identified as suppressors. Overexpression and loss-of-function of ELF3 influenced SVP protein accumulation. Therefore, we propose that, as well as the classical GIGANTEA (GI)-CO pathway, LHY/CCA1 regulates a pathway negatively controlling FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), possibly via ELF3-SVP/FLC.

Chrysanthemum is a typical short-day (SD) plant that responds to shortening daylength during the transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase. FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT)/Heading date 3a (Hd3a) plays a pivotal role in the induction of phase transition and is proposed to encode a florigen. Three FT-like genes were isolated from Chrysanthemum seticuspe (Maxim.) Hand.-Mazz. f. boreale (Makino) H. Ohashi & Yonek, a wild diploid chrysanthemum: CsFTL1, CsFTL2, and CsFTL3. The organ-specific expression patterns of the three genes were similar: they were all expressed mainly in the leaves. However, their response to daylength differed in that under SD (floral-inductive) conditions, the expression of CsFTL1 and CsFTL2 was down-regulated, whereas that of CsFTL3 was up-regulated. CsFTL3 had the potential to induce early flowering since its overexpression in chrysanthemum could induce flowering under non-inductive conditions. CsFTL3-dependent graft-transmissible signals partially substituted for SD stimuli in chrysanthemum. The CsFTL3 expression levels in the two C. seticuspe accessions that differed in their critical daylengths for flowering closely coincided with the flowering response. The CsFTL3 expression levels in the leaves were higher under floral-inductive photoperiods than under non-inductive conditions in both the accessions, with the induction of floral integrator and/or floral meristem identity genes occurring in the shoot apexes. Taken together, these results indicate that the gene product of CsFTL3 is a key regulator of photoperiodic flowering in chrysanthemums.

Root-produced organic compounds in xylem sap, such as hormones and amino acids, are known to be important in plant development. Recently, biochemical approaches have revealed the identities of several xylem sap proteins, but the biological functions and the regulation of the production of these proteins are not fully understood. XYLEM SAP PROTEIN 30 kD (XSP30), which is specifically expressed in the roots of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), encodes a lectin and is hypothesized as affecting the development of above-ground organs. In this report, we demonstrate that XSP30 gene expression and the level of XSP30 protein fluctuate in a diurnal rhythm in cucumber roots. The rhythmic gene expression continues for at least two or three cycles, even under continuous light or dark conditions, demonstrating that the expression of this gene is controlled by a circadian clock. Removal of mature leaves or treatment of shoots with uniconazole-P, an inhibitor of gibberellic acid (GA) biosynthesis, dampens the amplitude of the rhythmic expression; the application of GA negates these effects. These results suggest that light signals perceived by above-ground organs, as well as GA that is produced, possibly, in mature leaves, are important for the rhythmic expression of XSP30 in roots. This is the first demonstration of the regulation of the expression of a clock-controlled gene by GA.

Solitary fibrous tumours can cause non-islet cell tumour-induced hypoglycaemia, a paraneoplastic syndrome resulting from extrapancreatic tumours secreting insulin-like growth factor -II. This is also known as Doege–Potter syndrome. A male patient in his 70s presented to our hospital with loss of consciousness because of a second relapse of the solitary fibrous tumour with Doege–Potter syndrome. A third surgery was performed after transcatheter arterial embolization. After surgery, blood glucose levels stabilized. Repeated relapses can occur in solitary fibrous tumours even after the complete resection. Embolization of the feeding arteries before resection may be effective in avoiding massive haemorrhage and reducing complications.

Recently several issues of Current Pharmaceutical Design have been dedicated to cytokines and their clinical applications. The topics on conventional and novel aspects in the field have been extensively covered by the reviews in them. As such, my purpose is to bring up-to-date information on somewhat \"atypical\" cytokine-related therapies. In this issue of Current Pharmaceutical Design, I invited six experts and their associates to present comprehensive reviews on these emerging topics. I would like to briefly introduce these exciting reviews. Feller and Lewitzky summarize the biology of adapter proteins, with emphasis on Crk and grb2. Both Crk and grb2 are classical adapters of protein-to-protein interaction without known catalytic domains. Alongwith other adapters, CrkL (Crk-like) and Nck, they are involved in signaling, triggered by ligasion of numerous cytokine/growth factor receptors. With 384 references, the readers will find this review exceptionally useful, to keep up with the rapid progresses in our understanding of these adapters and their ligands. Moreover, they also present the potential development of pharmacological reagents, which may modify the protein-to-protein interactions. It is seemingly a challenge, given that these adapters are keys players in so many different signaling pathways. On the other hand, once developed, such reagents may have very widespread applications in diverse clinical settings. Next, Ariga summarizes the development of gene therapy for treatment of primary immunodeficiency [2]. Recombinant cytokines are quite expensive and have only short half life time. Obviously, a gene therapy may be a choice for continual administration of cytokines. Among numerous trials of the gene therapies, those for treatment of immunodeficiency have been most successful. However, as he presents, there appears to be serious inherent problems in the therapy. Recombinant G-CSF has been extensively used to facilitate recovery of peripheral neutrophil counts following chemotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation. It is also used for mobilization of multipotent immature hematopoietic cells for transplantation. Somewhat atypical, but the most promising utilization of the cytokine is for the treatment of ischemic heart diseases. This review by Komuro's group [3] is a sequel to a review, recently published in Current Pharmaceutical Design [4]. The readers may notice numerous and sometimes-conflicting evidences presented in the fields. Their well-balanced review gives pretty nice pictures of somewhat chaotic situations. Protection of cells from apoptosis is mediated by cytokines. Surprisingly, cilostazol, a well-established, anti-platelet reagent [5], may have a \"cytokine-like\" function and rescue neuronal cells in ischemic regions. This interesting application of cilostazol is reviewed by Hong's group, who has actually published most of works on this unique aspect of the anti-platelet reagent [6]. Finally, I have also asked two expert groups to summarize two naturally occurring cytokine-like substances. Yatomi, who has established that platelets are a major source of circulating sphingosine 1-phophate, concisely summarizing the diverse functions of the bioactive-lipid [7]. Agonists and antagonists of its receptors are being developed and potential application of these in clinical setting is also described in depth. Kuroki's group calls attention to novel and evolving fields of lung surfactant proteins [8]. The cytokine-like function of these proteins, which regulates the innate immunity, is well presented. They are not just surfactants, but actually are key players in inflammation and immunity in lung tissues. I hope that the readers will really enjoy these reviews on the emerging field of cytokine and anti-cytokine therapies, just as I do. References [1] Feller SM, Lewitzky M. Potential disease targets for drugs that disrupt protein-protein interactions of Grb2 and Crk family adaptors. Curr Pharm Design 2006; 12(5): 529-548. [2] Ariga T. Gene therapy for primary immunodeficiency diseases; recent progress and misgivings. Curr Pharm Design 2006; 12(5): 549-556. [3] Tateno K, Minamino T, Miyauchi H, Kunieda T, Komuro I. Application of Hematopoietis Cells to Therapeutic...