The phytochrome (phy)-interacting basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors (PIFs) constitutively sustain the etiolated state of dark-germinated seedlings by actively repressing deetiolation in darkness. This action is rapidly reversed upon light exposure by phy-induced proteolytic degradation of the PIFs. Here, we combined a microarray-based approach with a functional profiling strategy and...

We show that a previously uncharacterized Arabidopsis thaliana basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) phytochrome interacting factor (PIF), designated PIF7, interacts specifically with the far-red light-absorbing Pfr form of phyB through a conserved domain called the active phyB binding motif. Similar to PIF3, upon light exposure, PIF7 rapidly migrates to intranuclear speckles, where it colocalizes with...

Differences in expression, protein interactions, and DNA binding of paralogous transcription factors ("TF parameters") are thought to be important determinants of regulatory and biological specificity. However, both the extent of TF divergence and the relative contribution of individual TF parameters remain undetermined. We comprehensively identify dimerization partners, spatiotemporal expressi...

The present study was carried out to screen and evaluate antimicrobial activity of leaf and bark extracts of Azadirachta indica. Ethanol and aqueous extract of leaves and barks of A. indica (Neem) were tested against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus which are known to be resistant to various antibiotics. Neem materials which were used during this study were collected from Bugesera dis...

Signal-transducing adaptor protein-2 (STAP-2) is a recently identified adaptor protein that contains pleckstrin and Src homology 2-like domains as well as a YXXQ motif in its C-terminal region. Our previous studies have demonstrated that STAP-2 binds to STAT3 and STAT5, and regulates their signaling pathways. In the present study, STAP-2 was found to positively regulate LPS/TLR4-mediated signal...

The submarine ikaite columns located in the Ikka Fjord in Southern Greenland represent a unique, permanently cold (less than 6°C) and alkaline (above pH 10) environment and are home to a microbial community adapted to these extreme conditions. The bacterial and archaeal community inhabiting the ikaite columns and surrounding fjord was characterised by high-throughput pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA ...

The Drosophila gene atonal encodes a basic helix-loop-helix protein similar to those encoded by the proneural genes of the achaete-scute complex (AS-C). The AS-C are required in the Drosophila PNS for the selection of neural precursors of external sense organs. We have isolated mutants of atonal, which reveal that this gene encodes the proneural gene for chordotonal organs and photoreceptors. I...

Brassinosteroids (BRs) signal through a plasma membrane-localized receptor kinase to regulate plant growth and development. We showed previously that a novel protein, BES1, accumulates in the nucleus in response to BRs, where it plays a role in BR-regulated gene expression; however, the mechanism by which BES1 regulates gene expression is unknown. In this study, we dissect BES1 subdomains and e...