During development, several populations of progenitor cells in the dorsal telencephalon generate a large variety of neurons which acquire distinct morphologies and physiological properties and serve distinct functions in the mammalian cortex. This paper reviews recent work that has identified (i) key molecules involved in the specification and differentiation of cortical neurons, (ii) novel gen...

The most striking molecular event during erythroid differentiation is the accumulation of haemoglobin but this is only one of many overt changes which occur in the maturing erythroid cell. Other proteins accumulate progressively, notably carbonic anhydrase and catalase while yet others, particularly the enzymes of haem synthesis, such as aminolaevulinic acid synthetase, accumulate during early ...

Epidermal keratinocytes (skin cells) are highly specialized epithelial cells designed to perform a very specific function, separation of the organism from its environment. To accomplish this the cells synthesize precursors and assemble them into two distinct structures, the cornified envelope and keratin intermediate filaments. The intermediate filaments are assembled from keratin monomers and ...

The heart is the first organ to form during embryonic development. Given the complex nature of cardiac differentiation and morphogenesis, it is not surprising that some form of congenital heart disease is present in ≈1 percent of newborns. The molecular determinants of heart development have received much attention over the past several decades. This has been driven in large part by an interest...

Nuclear simple sequence repeats (nSSRs), together with 16 different enzyme loci, were used to analyzegenetic diversity and differentiation among beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) populations along two altitudinalgradients in Hyrcanian forests of Iran. Both enzymes and nSSR analyses revealed a high level ofgenetic diversity in natural populations of F. orientalis. The genetic div...

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease with global distribution that caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Accurate diagnosis for differentiation of leptospirosis from other pyrogenic infections prevailing in the same locality and is imperative for proper treatment. Therefore a molecular diagnostic test with high specificity and sensitivity such as PCR is essential. Gene encodi...