Low glutelin content1 ( Lgc1 ) is a dominant mutation that reduces glutelin content in rice grains. Glutelin is a major seed storage protein encoded by a multigene family. RNA gel blot and reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR analyses revealed that Lgc1 acts at the mRNA level in a similarity-dependent manner. In Lgc1 homozygotes, there is a 3.5-kb deletion between two highly similar glutelin genes that forms a tail-to-tail inverted repeat, which might produce a double-stranded RNA molecule, a potent inducer of RNA silencing. The hypothesis that Lgc1 suppresses glutelin expression via RNA silencing is supported by transgenic analysis using this Lgc1 candidate region, by reporter gene analysis, and by the detection of small interfering RNAs. In this context, Lgc1 provides an interesting example of RNA silencing occurring among genes that exhibit various levels of similarity to an RNA-silencing-inducing gene. Possible mechanisms for gene silencing of the glutelin multigene family by Lgc1 are discussed.

Imidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-1-ylalkyl alcohols were reacted with diphenylborinic acid to give boron complexes in which nitrogen and oxygen atoms were coordinated to a boron atom. The use of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-1-ylalkyl alcohol with two 2-pyridyl groups also gave a boron complex, but the nitrogen atom in a 2-pyridyl group, rather than that in an imidazopyridyl group, was coordinated to the boron atom. The molecular structures of these complexes were revealed by X-ray analyses. The fluorescence spectra of the complexes were generally observed at wavelengths shorter than those for the starting materials and well-known boron complexes of 8-hydroxyquinolines.

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A 28-year-old woman presented with a rare case of endodermal cyst located ventral to the lower brain stem manifesting as recurrent aseptic meningitis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a cystic mass located ventral to the lower brain stem and extending from the prepontine to the upper cervical (C-2) cistern. The lesion was totally removed through a retrosigmoid craniotomy and C1-2 hemilaminectomy. Histological and immunohistochemical examination showed the cyst was derived from the endoderm. The histological diagnosis was endodermal cyst. Early diagnosis and surgical removal are important for patients with these cysts.