The genome sequence and structure of rice chromosome 1

The rice species Oryza sativa is considered to be a model plant because of its small genome size, extensive genetic map, relative ease of transformation and synteny with other cereal crops. Here we report the essentially complete sequence of chromosome 1, the longest chromosome in the rice genome. We summarize characteristics of the chromosome structure and the biological insight gained from the sequence. The analysis of 43.3 megabases (Mb) of non-overlapping sequence reveals 6,756 protein coding genes, of which 3,161 show homology to proteins of Arabidopsis thaliana, another model plant. About 30% (2,073) of the genes have been functionally categorized. Rice chromosome 1 is (G + C)-rich, especially in its coding regions, and is characterized by several gene families that are dispersed or arranged in tandem repeats. Comparison with a draft sequence indicates the importance of a high-quality finished sequence.     

Direct observation of Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid state in carbon nanotubes at low temperatures

The electronic transport properties of conventional three-dimensional metals are successfully described by Fermi-liquid theory. But when the dimensionality of such a system is reduced to one, the Fermi-liquid state becomes unstable to Coulomb interactions, and the conduction electrons should instead behave according to Tomonaga-Luttinger-liquid (TLL) theory. Such a state reveals itself through interaction-dependent anomalous exponents in the correlation functions, density of states and momentum distribution of the electrons. Metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are considered to be ideal one-dimensional systems for realizing TLL states. Indeed, the results of transport measurements on metal-SWNT and SWNT-SWNT junctions have been attributed to the effects of tunnelling into or between TLLs, although there remains some ambiguity in these interpretations. Direct observations of the electronic states in SWNTs are therefore needed to resolve these uncertainties. Here we report angle-integrated photoemission measurements of SWNTs. Our results reveal an oscillation in the pi-electron density of states owing to one-dimensional van Hove singularities, confirming the one-dimensional nature of the valence band. The spectral function and intensities at the Fermi level both exhibit power-law behaviour (with almost identical exponents) in good agreement with theoretical predictions for the TLL state in SWNTs.     

Effects of various hormones and adrenalectomy on the levels of amylase in rat pancreas and parotid gland.

Dexamethasone, adrenocorticotropic hormone and thyroxine increased the amylase activities in both the pancreas and the parotid gland of infant rats. After adrenalectomy, the amylase activities of the pancreas and parotid gland were about half the control levels, suggesting that both glucocorticoid and thyroxine are involved in maintaining the amylase activities in these organs.     

Supramolecular Organization of Porphyrin and Phthalocyanine by Complementary Coordination

1 Results We have already established a methodology of supramolecular organization of porphyrin and phthalocyanine by complementary coordination of the imidazolyl substituent to their metal centers.Since the stability constants reached a range of 1011 to 1012 M-1 in nonpolar solvents,it allowed construction of stable structures such as special pair of photosynthetic reaction center and light-harvesting antenna complex of photosynthetic bacteria.Here,we report one-dimensional array of porphyrin for the d...     

Angptl3 regulates lipid metabolism in mice.

The KK obese mouse is moderately obese and has abnormally high levels of plasma insulin (hyperinsulinemia), glucose (hyperglycemia) and lipids (hyperlipidemia). In one strain (KK/San), we observed abnormally low plasma lipid levels (hypolipidemia). This mutant phenotype is inherited recessively as a mendelian trait. Here we report the mapping of the hypolipidemia (hypl) locus to the middle of chromosome 4 and positional cloning of the autosomal recessive mutation responsible for the hypolipidemia. The hypl locus encodes a unique angiopoietin-like lipoprotein modulator, which we named Allm1. It is identical to angiopoietin-like protein 3, encoded by Angptl3, and has a highly conserved counterpart in humans. Overexpression of Angptl3 or intravenous injection of the purified protein in KK/San mice elicited an increase in circulating plasma lipid levels. This increase was also observed in C57BL/6J normal mice. Taken together, these data suggest that Angptl3 regulates lipid metabolism in animals.