A Melanesian α-thalassemia mutation suggests a novel mechanism for regulating gene expression

A Melanesian variant of the genetic disease α-thalassemia has recently been shown to be due to a single-nucleotide polymorphism located between the adult α-globin genes and their enhancers. The finding that this mutation creates a novel promoter provides support for a mechanism of gene regulation by facilitated chromatin looping.     

Photosystem I electron transport and phosphorylation supported by electron donation to the plastoquinone region

In chloroplasts, tetramethyl-p-hydroquinone supports high rates of phosphorylation-coupled, noncyclic electron flow through Photosystem I to methylviologen. The reaction is totally sensitive to dibromothymoquinone, indicating an electron donation to the plastoquinone region of the photosynthetic chain. The uncoupled electron flow rate exceeds 1000 μequivalents per hour per mg chlorophyll. The phosphorylation efficiency ($\text{P}\text{e}{}_2$) at the optimal pH of 8 is 0.6–0.65. Presumably this ratio represents the efficiency of energy coupling in the electron transfer step plastoquinone → cytochrome f.     

A yeast's eye view of mammalian reproduction: cross-species gene co-expression in meiotic prophase

Background  

Meiotic prophase is a critical stage in sexual reproduction. Aberrant chromosome recombination during this stage is a leading cause of human miscarriages and birth defects. However, due to the experimental intractability of mammalian gonads, only a very limited number of meiotic genes have been characterized. Here we aim to identify novel meiotic genes important in human reproduction through computational mining of cross-species and cross-sex time-series expression data from budding yeast, mouse postnatal testis, mouse embryonic ovary, and human fetal ovary.     

LncRNA Bmp1 promotes the healing of intestinal mucosal lesions via the miR-128-3p/PHF6/PI3K/AKT pathway

Intestinal mucosal injuries are directly or indirectly related to many common acute and chronic diseases. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are expressed in many diseases, including intestinal mucosal injury. However, the relationship between lncRNAs and intestinal mucosal injury has not been determined. Here, we investigated the functions and mechanisms of action of lncRNA Bmp1 on damaged intestinal mucosa. We found that Bmp1 was increased in damaged intestinal mucosal tissue and Bmp1 overexpression was able to alleviate intestinal mucosal injury. Bmp1 overexpression was found to influence cell proliferation, colony formation, and migration in IEC-6 or HIEC-6 cells. Moreover, miR-128-3p was downregulated after Bmp1 overexpression, and upregulation of miR-128-3p reversed the effects of Bmp1 overexpression in IEC-6 cells. Phf6 was observed to be a target of miR-128-3p. Furthermore, PHF6 overexpression affected IEC-6 cells by activating PI3K/AKT signaling which was mediated by the miR-128-3p/PHF6 axis. In conclusion, Bmp1 was found to promote the expression of PHF6 through the sponge miR-128-3p, activating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to promote cell migration and proliferation.Subject terms: Cell growth, Cell migration