Yield potential, plant height and heading date are three classes of traits that determine the productivity of many crop plants. Here we show that the quantitative trait locus (QTL) Ghd7, isolated from an elite rice hybrid and encoding a CCT domain protein, has major effects on an array of traits in rice, including number of grains per panicle, plant height and heading date. Enhanced expression of Ghd7 under long-day conditions delays heading and increases plant height and panicle size. Natural mutants with reduced function enable rice to be cultivated in temperate and cooler regions. Thus, Ghd7 has played crucial roles for increasing productivity and adaptability of rice globally.

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Natural variation in Ghd7 is an important regulator of heading date and yield potential in rice

In the present study, we examined the expression of regulators of bone formation and osteoclastogenesis in human atherosclerosis because accumulating evidence suggests that atherosclerotic calcification shares features with bone calcification. The most striking finding of this study was the constitutive immunoreactivity of matrix Gla protein, osteocalcin, and bone sialoprotein in nondiseased aortas and the absence of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, BMP-4, osteopontin, and osteonectin in nondiseased aortas and early atherosclerotic lesions. When atherosclerotic plaques demonstrated calcification or bone formation, BMP-2, BMP-4, osteopontin, and osteonectin were upregulated. Interestingly, this upregulation was associated with a sustained immunoreactivity of matrix Gla protein, osteocalcin, and bone sialoprotein. The 2 modulators of osteoclastogenesis (osteoprotegerin [OPG] and its ligand, OPGL) were present in the nondiseased vessel wall and in early atherosclerotic lesions. In advanced calcified lesions, OPG was present in bone structures, whereas OPGL was only present in the extracellular matrix surrounding calcium deposits. The observed expression patterns suggest a tight regulation of the expression of bone matrix regulatory proteins during human atherogenesis. The expression pattern of both OPG and OPGL during atherogenesis might suggest a regulatory role of these proteins not only in osteoclastogenesis but also in atherosclerotic calcification.

Differential Expression of Bone Matrix Regulatory Proteins in Human Atherosclerotic Plaques

Purkinje-cell-derived Sonic hedgehog regulates granule neuron precursor cell proliferation in the developing mouse cerebellum

https://www.cell.com/molecular-plant/pdf/S1674-2052(14)60622-5.pdf

A Major QTL, Ghd8, Plays Pleiotropic Roles in Regulating Grain Productivity, Plant Height, and Heading Date in Rice

The proglucagon-derived peptide glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2), a product of a subset of gut epithelial cells, is pursued clinically for its ability to stimulate gut epithelial growth and repair. Here we show that although specific epithelial progenitors respond to GLP-2 administration, the epithelium does not express the GLP-2 receptor. Rather, enteric neurons express the receptor, respond to GLP-2, and transmit a signal (which can be blocked by the voltage-gated sodium channel inhibitor tetrodotoxin) back to the epithelium. Thus the nervous system is a key component of a feedback loop regulating epithelial growth and repair.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/98/22/12497.full.pdf

Modulation of specific intestinal epithelial progenitors by enteric neurons

RNA-RNA in Situ Hybridization Using Digoxigenin-Labeled Probes: The Use of High-Molecular-Weight Polyvinyl Alcohol in the Alkaline Phosphatase Indoxyl-Nitroblue Tetrazolium Reaction

D. Debrouwer

Papers

RNA-RNA in Situ Hybridization Using Digoxigenin-Labeled Probes: The Use of High-Molecular-Weight Polyvinyl Alcohol in the Alkaline Phosphatase Indoxyl-Nitroblue Tetrazolium Reaction