Photoperiod is one of the most reliable environmental cues for plants to regulate flowering timing. In Arabidopsis thaliana, CONSTANS (CO) transcription factor plays a central role in regulating photoperiodic flowering. In contrast to posttranslational regulation of CO protein, still little was known about CO transcriptional regulation. Here we show that the CINCINNATA (CIN) clade of class II TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1/ CYCLOIDEA/ PROLIFERATING CELL NUCLEAR ANTIGEN FACTOR (TCP) proteins act as CO activators. Our yeast one-hybrid analysis revealed that class II CIN-TCPs, including TCP4, bind to the CO promoter. TCP4 induces CO expression around dusk by directly associating with the CO promoter in vivo. In addition, TCP4 binds to another flowering regulator, GIGANTEA (GI), in the nucleus, and induces CO expression in a GI-dependent manner. The physical association of TCP4 with the CO promoter was reduced in the gi mutant, suggesting that GI may enhance the DNA-binding ability of TCP4. Our tandem affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry (TAP-MS) analysis identified all class II CIN-TCPs as the components of the in vivo TCP4 complex, and the gi mutant did not alter the composition of the TCP4 complex. Taken together, our results demonstrate a novel function of CIN-TCPs as photoperiodic flowering regulators, which may contribute to coordinating plant development with flowering regulation.
Although we have found that protease-treated royal jelly (pRJ) benefit for the skeletal muscle mass and strength in the aged animals, the potential beneficial effects have not been evaluated in humans. The aim of this study was to determine whether pRJ intake had beneficial effects on muscle strength in elderly nursing home residents. One hundred and ninety-four subjects enrolled into this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects received either placebo(Group 1), pRJ 1.2 g/d(Group 2), or 4.8 g/d(Group 3). Data through 1 year are reported for 163 subjects. The primary outcome measure is handgrip strength. Secondary outcomes include several physical performance tests (six-minute walk test, timed up and go test, and standing on one leg with eyes closed). The dropout rate was 16.0%. The means (95% confidence interval) of change in handgrip strength for placebo, low-dose, and high-dose groups are −0.98(−2.04,0.08), 0.50(−0.65,1.65) and 1.03(−0.37,2.44) kg (P = 0.06, P for trend = 0.02), respectively. No significant effects of the interventions were observed for physical performances. These findings suggest that pRJ treatment might not improve, but rather attenuate the progression of decrease in muscle strength in elderly people. In addition, we have not found that pRJ intervention can achieve improvement or attenuating the decrease in physical performance.
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