Identification of promoter targets by Aureochrome 1a in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

Aureochromes (AUREOs) are unique blue light receptors and transcription factors found only in stramenopile algae. While each of the four AUREOs identified in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum may have a specific function, PtAUREO1a has been shown to have a strong impact on overall gene regulation, when light changes from red to blue light conditions. Despite its significance, the molecular mechanism of PtAUREO1a is largely unexplored. To comprehend the overall process of gene regulation by PtAUREO1a, we conducted a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments, including pull-down assays, yeast one-hybrid experiments, and phenotypical characterization using recombinant PtAUREOs and diatom mutant lines expressing a modified PtAureo1a gene. We describe the distinct light absorption properties of four PtAUREOs and the formation of all combinations of their potential dimers. We demonstrate the capability of PtAUREO1a and 1b to activate the genes, diatom-specific cyclin 2, PtAureo1a, and PtAureo1c under both light and dark conditions. Using mutant lines expressing a modified PtAUREO1a protein with a considerably reduced light absorption, we found novel evidence that PtAUREO1a regulates the expression of PtLHCF15, which is essential for red light acclimation. Based on current knowledge, we present a working model of PtAUREO1a gene regulation properties.

Functional demonstration of Aureochrome 1a proteasomal degradation after blue light incubation in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

Aureochromes (AUREOs) are both blue light photoreceptors and transcription factors found in diatoms and related algal groups that play a critical role in regulating gene and cell physiology. One of the AUREOs in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, PtAUREO1a, has been demonstrated to significantly influence global cellular transcription upon blue light exposure. PtAUREO1a itself is highly regulated on the gene transcription level, depending on the light conditions. However, little is known about the proteostasis of PtAUREO1a in vivo. In this study, we used quantitative immunoblot analysis to examine PtAUREO1a levels under different light conditions as well as in the presence of inhibitors for translation and proteolysis. Our results demonstrate that PtAUREO1a is rapidly degraded in response to blue light exposure after red light acclimation, while the protein has an extended protein half-life in white light conditions. Moreover, the data provide the first in vivo evidence for a functional ubiquitin-proteasome system in the model diatom P. tricornutum. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for studies on protein degradation mechanisms and the regulation of PtAUREO1a, suggesting that changing light conditions can have an impact on the PtAUREO1a protein amount by directly affecting its protein stability.

A language compatibility effect in fraction processing.

A language compatibility effect occurs when there is a match between what a language provides and what a mathematical task demands. Here, we investigated whether such an effect exists for fraction processing in English, which names the numerator first, versus Korean, which names the denominator first. We developed two new tasks: a fraction span task where participants view and then recall four fractions and a fraction identification task where they view one fraction and then another and judge whether the two fractions are the same or not. We generally found that English speakers were advantaged when the numerator drove task performance and Korean speakers were advantaged when the denominator was critical. These findings, particularly from the fraction identification task, were inconsistent with the attentional focus hypothesis, which proposes that the serialisation bias of a language guides which fraction component is attended to first. Rather, they were better explained by the verbal encoding hypothesis, which states that a necessary condition for observing language compatibility effects may be that the fraction components must be encoded in verbal working memory and rehearsed there.

Understanding development requires assessing the relevant environment: Examples from mathematics learning.

Although almost everyone agrees that the environment shapes children's learning, surprisingly few studies assess in detail the specific environments that shape children's learning of specific content. The present article briefly reviews examples of how such environmental assessments have improved understanding of child development in diverse areas, and examines in depth the contributions of analyses of one type of environment to one type of learning: how biased distributions of problems in mathematics textbooks influence children's learning of fraction arithmetic. We find extensive parallels between types of problems that are rarely presented in US textbooks and problems where children in the US encounter greater difficulty than might be expected from the apparent difficulty of the procedures involved. We also consider how some children master fraction arithmetic despite also learning the textbook distributions. Finally, we present findings from a recent intervention that indicates how children's fraction learning can be improved.

Genetic toolkits of the red alga Pyropia tenera against the three most common diseases in Pyropia farms.

Disease outbreaks devastate Pyropia aquaculture farms every year. The three most common and serious diseases are Olpidiopsis-blight and red-rot disease caused by oomycete pathogens and green-spot disease caused by the PyroV1 virus. We hypothesized that a basic genetic profile of molecular defenses will be revealed by comparing and analyzing the genetic response of Pyropia tenera against the above three pathogens. RNAs isolated from infected thalli were hybridized onto an oligochip containing 15,115 primers designed from P. tenera expressed sequence tags (EST)s. Microarray profiles of the three diseases were compared and interpreted together with histochemical observation. Massive amounts of reactive oxygen species accumulated in P. tenera cells exposed to oomycete pathogens. Heat shock genes and serine proteases were the most highly up-regulated genes in all infection experiments. Genes involved in RNA metabolism, ribosomal proteins and antioxidant metabolism were also highly up-regulated. Genetic profiles of P. tenera in response to pathogens were most similar between the two biotrophic pathogens, Olpidiopsis pyropiae and PyroV1 virus. A group of plant resistance genes were specifically regulated against each pathogen. Our results suggested that disease response in P. tenera consists of a general constitutive defense and a genetic toolkit against specific pathogens.

Taking an educational psychology course improves neuroscience literacy but does not reduce belief in neuromyths.

Educators are increasingly interested in applying neuroscience findings to improve educational practice. However, their understanding of the brain often lags behind their enthusiasm for the brain. We propose that educational psychology can serve as a bridge between basic research in neuroscience and psychology on one hand and educational practice on the other. We evaluated whether taking an educational psychology course is associated with increased neuroscience literacy and reduced belief in neuromyths in a sample of South Korean pre-service teachers. The results showed that taking an educational psychology course was associated with the increased neuroscience literacy, but there was no impact on belief in neuromyths. We consider the implications of these and other findings of the study for redesigning educational psychology courses and textbooks for improving neuroscience literacy.

Extending the seductive allure of neuroscience explanations effect to popular articles about educational topics.

BACKGROUND: The seductive allure of neuroscience explanations (SANE) is the finding that people overweight psychological arguments when framed in terms of neuroscience findings. AIM: This study extended this finding to arguments concerning the application of psychological findings to educational topics. SAMPLE: Participants (n = 320) were recruited from the general public, specifically among English-speaking Amazon Mechanical Turk workers residing in the United States. METHODS: We developed eight articles that orthogonally varied two processes (learning vs. development) with two disciplines (cognitive vs. affective psychology). We increased neuroscience framing across four levels: psychological finding alone, with an extraneous neuroscience finding (verbal), with an extraneous neuroscience finding (verbal) and graph, and with an extraneous neuroscience finding (verbal) and brain image. Participants were randomly assigned to one level of neuroscience framing and rated the credibility of each article's argument. RESULTS: Seductive allure of neuroscience explanations effects were not ubiquitous. Extraneous verbal neuroscience framings, either alone or accompanied by graphs, did not influence the credibility of the application of psychological findings to educational topics. However, there was a SANE effect when educational articles were accompanied by both extraneous verbal neuroscience findings and brain images. This effect persisted even after controlling for individual differences in familiarity with education, attitude towards psychology, and knowledge of neuroscience. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that there is a SANE effect for articles about educational topics among the general public when they are accompanied by both extraneous verbal neuroscience findings and brain images.