Utsunomiya University

About: Utsunomiya University is a education organization based out in Utsunomiya, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Laser & Holography. The organization has 4139 authors who have published 6812 publications receiving 91975 citations. The organization is also known as: Utsunomiya daigaku.

Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC): A 5-year update and future perspectives

Abstract: Over the past decade, bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) has emerged as a key technique to visualize protein-protein interactions in a variety of model organisms. The BiFC assay is based on reconstitution of an intact fluorescent protein when two complementary non-fluorescent fragments are brought together by a pair of interacting proteins. While the originally reported BiFC method has enabled the study of many protein-protein interactions, increasing demands to visualize protein-protein interactions under various physiological conditions have not only prompted a series of recent BiFC technology improvements, but also stimulated interest in developing completely new approaches. Here we review current BiFC technology, focusing on the development and improvement of BiFC systems, the understanding of split sites in fluorescent proteins, and enhancements in the signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, we provide perspectives on possible future improvements of the technique.

A semidwarf phenotype of barley uzu results from a nucleotide substitution in the gene encoding a putative brassinosteroid receptor.

Abstract: Brassinosteroids (BRs) play important roles throughout plant growth and development. Despite the importance of clarifying the mechanism of BR-related growth regulation in cereal crops, BR-related cereal mutants have been identified only in rice (Oryza sativa). We previously found that semidwarf barley (Hordeum vulgare) accessions carrying the "uzu" gene, called "uzu" barley in Japan, are non-responding for brassinolide (BL). We then performed chemical and molecular analyses to clarify the mechanisms of uzu dwarfism using isogenic line pairs of uzu gene. The response of the uzu line to BL was significantly lower than that of its corresponding normal line. Measurement of BRs showed that the uzu line accumulates BRs, similar to known BR-insensitive mutants. The marker synteny of rice and barley chromosomes suggests that the uzu gene may be homologous to rice D61, a rice homolog of Arabidopsis BR-insensitive 1 (BRI1), encoding a BR-receptor protein. A barley homolog of BRI1, HvBRI1, was isolated by using degenerate primers. A comparison of HvBRI1 sequences in uzu and normal barley varieties showed that the uzu phenotype is correlated with a single nucleotide substitution. This substitution results in an amino acid change at a highly conserved residue in the kinase domain of the BR-receptor protein. These results may indicate that uzu dwarfism is caused by the missense mutation in HvBRI1. The uzu gene is being introduced into all hull-less barley cultivars in Japan as an effective dwarf gene for practical use, and this is the first report about an agronomically important mutation related to BRs.

Strigolactones as germination stimulants for root parasitic plants.

Abstract: Witchweeds (Striga spp.) and broomrapes (Orobanche and Phelipanche spp.) are the two most devastating root parasitic plants belonging to the family Orobanchaceae and are causing enormous crop losses throughout the world. Seeds of these root parasites will not germinate unless they are exposed to chemical stimuli, 'germination stimulants' produced by and released from plant roots. Most of the germination stimulants identified so far are strigolactones (SLs), which also function as host recognition signals for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and a novel class of plant hormones inhibiting shoot branching. In this review, we focus on SLs as germination stimulants for root parasitic plants. In addition, we discuss how quantitative and qualitative differences in SL exudation among sorghum cultivars influence their susceptibility to Striga.

Characterization of Silencing Suppressor 2b of Cucumber Mosaic Virus Based on Examination of its Small RNA-Binding Abilities

Abstract: Double-stranded (ds) RNAs and imperfect hairpin RNAs of endogenous genes trigger post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) and are cleaved by a Dicer-like nuclease into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNs (miRNAs), respectively. Such small RNAs (siRNAs and miRNAs) then guide an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) for sequence-specific RNA degradation. While PTGS serves as an antiviral defense in plants, many plant viruses encode suppressors as a counter defense. Here we demonstrate that the PTGS suppressor (2b) of a severe strain (CM95R) of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) can bind to in vitro synthesized siRNAs and even to long dsRNAs to a lesser extent. However, the 2b suppressor weakly bound to a miRNA (miR171) duplex in contrast to another small RNA-binding suppressor, p19 of tombusvirus that can effectively bind miRNAs. Because the 2b suppressor of an attenuated strain of CMV (CM95), which differs in a single amino acid from the 2b of CM95R, could barely bind siRNAs, we hypothesized that the weak suppressor activity of the attenuated strain resulted from a loss of the siRNA-binding property of 2b via a single amino acid change. Here we consider that 2b interferes with the PTGS pathway by directly binding siRNAs (or long dsRNA).