Light regulates plant growth and development via multiple photoreceptors including phytochromes and cryptochromes. Although the functions of photoreceptors have been studied extensively, questions remain regarding the involvement of cryptochromes in photomorphogenesis. In this study, we identified a protein, TEOSINTE-LIKE1, CYCLOIDEA, and PROLIFERATING CELL FACTOR 2 (TCP2), which interacts with...

Circadian rhythms in mammals are generated by a transcriptional negative feedback loop that is driven primarily by oscillations of PER and CRY, which inhibit their own transcriptional activators, CLOCK and BMAL1. Current models posit that CRY is the dominant repressor, while PER may play an accessory role. In this study, however, constitutive expression of PER, and not CRY1, severely disrupted ...

In mammals, the circadian oscillator within the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) entrains circadian clocks in numerous peripheral tissues. Central and peripheral clocks share a molecular core clock mechanism governing daily time measurement. In the rat SCN, the molecular clockwork develops gradually during postnatal ontogenesis. The aim of the present work was to elucidate when during ontogenesis t...

The visual system of adult pigeons shows a lateralization of object discrimination with a left hemispheric dominance on the behavioural, physiological and anatomical levels. The crucial trigger for the establishment of this asymmetry is the position of the embryo inside the egg, which exposes the right eye to light falling through the egg shell. As a result, the right-sided retina is more stron...

Seasonal mammals integrate changes in the duration of nocturnal melatonin secretion to drive annual physiologic cycles. Melatonin receptors within the proximal pituitary region, the pars tuberalis (PT), are essential in regulating seasonal neuroendocrine responses. In the ovine PT, melatonin is known to influence acute changes in transcriptional dynamics coupled to the onset (dusk) and offset (...

Cry1 delta-endotoxins of Bacillus thuringiensis are generally active against lepidopteran insects, but Cry1Ba and Cry1Ia have additional, though low, levels of activity against coleopterans such as the Colorado potato beetle. Here we report the construction of Cry1Ba/Cry1Ia hybrid toxins which have increased activities against this insect species.

The SCN as a site of the circadian clock itself exhibits rhythmicity. A molecular clockwork responsible for the rhythmicity consists of clock genes and their negative and positive transcriptional-translational feedback loops. The authors' previous work showed that rhythms in clock gene expression in the rat SCN were not yet detectable at embryonic day (E) 19 but were already present at postnata...

The binding and pore formation properties of four Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1 toxins were analyzed by using brush border membrane vesicles from Spodoptera exigua and Spodoptera frugiperda, and the results were compared to the results of toxicity bioassays. Cry1Fa was highly toxic and Cry1Ac was nontoxic to S. exigua and S. frugiperda larvae, while Cry1Ca was highly toxic to S. exigua and weakly...

Ultraviolet B radiation (UV-B, 290-315 nm) can cause damage and induce photomorphogenic responses in plants. The mechanisms that mediate the photomorphogenic effects of UV-B are unclear. In etiolated Arabidopsis seedlings, a daily exposure to 2.5 h of UV-B enhanced the cotyledon opening response induced by a subsequent red light (R) pulse. An R pulse alone, 2.5 h of UV-B terminated with a far-r...