Biology Molecular biology

A research team, led by researchers from Osaka University, performed genetic screening of fission yeast lacking DNA repair gene Rad51 to identify genes that play a role in gross chromosomal rearrangement (GCR), a type of mutation that occurs at the centromere. Cells lacking Srr1 or Skb1 exhibited reduced GCR, indicating that these genes are important to the occurrence of GCR. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying centromeric GCR.

A research group led by Osaka University has found that plant cells may be able to detect mechanical forces to determine their own position within the leaf—whether they are on the surface or in the inner tissues—and therefore differentiate into appropriate cell types after damage. These findings reveal how plants regenerate the correct type of tissues when damaged, and may improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the high regeneration potential of plants.

A new group of mitochondrial viruses confined to the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Glomeromycotina may represent an ancestral lineage of mitoviruses.

A new drug delivery system delivers an antioxidant directly to mitochondria in the liver, mitigating the effects of oxidative stress.

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A group including Osaka Metropolitan University researchers discovered that the rhodopsin—a protein in the eye that detects light—of whale sharks has changed to efficiently detect blue light, which penetrates deep-sea water easily. The amino acid substitutions–one of which is counterintuitively associated with congenital stationary night blindness in humans—aid in detecting the low levels of light in the deep-sea. Although these changes make the whale shark rhodopsin less thermally stable the deep-sea temperature, allows their rhodopsin to keep working. This suggests that the unique adaptation evolved to function in the low-light low-temperature environment where whale sharks live.

Researchers have revealed the modulatory effect of the anti-inflammatory metabolite itaconate on T helper and T regulatory cells, which may lead to new therapeutic approaches to treating some autoimmune diseases.

Lipid nanoparticles have been used to encapsulate CRISPR-Cas9 and deliver it to cells in mice, where it was highly effective at knocking down expression of a target protein.

Sifting through sewage for SARS-CoV-2 genetic material could help authorities tailor infection control policies.

In hepatic steatosis, hepatocytes "die," resulting in liver damage. Severe steatosis increases hepatocellular deaths, thus aggravating liver damage. The mechanism is unclear. Using mice, we show that mild steatosis causes apoptosis whereas severe steatosis predominantly causes necroptosis leading to cell rupture. This induces strong inflammation and new cell death, producing further liver damage. We reveal the transcription factor ATF3 to be involved in this process. Our results are expected to contribute to therapeutic method development.

A new microscopic technique allows for the real-time study of RNA G-quadruplexes in living cells, with implications for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

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A team of Japanese researchers created a high-quality genome assembly of red perilla, a step toward harnessing the plant’s potentially useful bioactive chemicals — and its medicinal properties.

Scientists reveal genetic mechanism associated with high-calorie food-fueled obesity

Researchers have designed and synthesized analogs of a new antibiotic that is effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria, opening a new front in the fight against these infections.

Using cryogenic electron microscopy, a research team from the Research Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (ReCAP) at Osaka Metropolitan University has revealed, for the first time, the structures and binding environments of pigments bound to a protein called a photosynthetic antenna of the marine green macroalga Codium fragile. The team’s results extend our knowledge about the molecular mechanism by which blue-green light—the only light available in deep seawater—is efficiently utilized for photosynthesis.

The Sox9 gene is upregulated in the absence of sex-determining Y chromosome and Sry gene in Amami spiny rat.

A novel branched lipid that has a high stability in storage and a high efficiency in the delivery of mRNA to cells has been developed.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors gain immunosuppression and chemoresistance through interactions between interleukin 34 and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, researchers find.

6th NanoLSI Symposium: International symposium on Nanoprobe Technology for Understanding Molecular Systems in Kanazawa, Japan

Giants in History: Maharani Chakravorty (1937 – 2015) was one of India’s earliest molecular biologists whose research paved the way for advances in the treatment of bacterial and viral infections.

Metastasis—when cancer spreads to form new tumors—causes approximately 90% of cancer-related deaths. Because metastatic cancer cells circulate in the blood, the liver—which filters the blood—is considered the most vulnerable organ, so treatments that prevent liver metastasis are urgently needed. A team of Osaka Metropolitan University researchers discovered a mechanism that allows metastatic cancer cells to infiltrate the liver, and how that infiltration can be blocked by inhibiting a related protein.

A simple and economical method of detecting SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in wastewater with high sensitivity has been developed, expanding the use of wastewater-based epidemiology for tracking the virus in populations.

Researchers at Hiroshima University are closer to identifying the molecular processes underlying how floods deprive plants of oxygen — and how to engineer hardier crops.

Innate immunity is activated when the pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). We show that a liver-derived secretory protein LECT2, a hepatokine, binds to the HGF receptor MET, a proto-oncogene product, to suppress the proliferation signal of MET. LECT2 activates retinoic acid-inducible gene-I, enhancing antiviral and innate immune responses through MET. Thus, LECT2 is an anti-proliferative and immunoregulatory factor that could be a therapeutic target for viral infections and cancer.

Scientists have revealed the genetic structure and diversity, and inferred the population history, of the wild house mouse across Europe and Asia.

Researchers at Kanazawa University in collaboration with teams from Toyama Prefectural University and BioSeeds Corporation report in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces the identification of a molecule with enhanced antiproliferative activity in cancer cells. The underlying biomolecular mechanism is the inhibition of an enzyme that is overproduced in several types of cancer.

Scientists have revealed two enzymes that regulate protein degradation of proteins in the cell membrane of plants, and established the roles they play in plant growth and development.

Researchers set out to find new ways to artificially induce mRNA to respond in ways that could eventually lead to therapeutic outcomes, expanding on the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines and opening up new possibilities across a host of possible genetic therapies.

The molecule trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) can be used to reversibly modulate the rigidity of microtubules, a key component of molecular machines and molecular robots.