Regulator of myeloid differentiation and function:The secret life of Ikaros

Ikaros (also known as Lyf-1) was initially described as a lymphoid-specific transcription factor.Although Ikaros has been shown to regulate hematopoietic stem cell renewal,as well as the development and function of cells from multiple hematopoietic lineages,including the myeloid lineage,Ikaros has primarily been studied in context of lymphoid development and malignancy.This review focuses on the role of Ikaros in myeloid cells.We address the importance of post-transcriptional regulation of Ikaros function;the emerging role of Ikaros in myeloid malignancy;Ikaros as a regulator of myeloid differentiation and function;and the selective expression of Ikaros isoform-x in cells with myeloid potential.We highlight the challenges of dissecting Ikaros function in lineage commitment decisions among lymphoidmyeloid progenitors that have emerged as a major myeloid differentiation pathway in recent studies,which leads to reconstruction of the traditional map of murine and human hematopoiesis.

The Twisted Fate of the King James Version and the Black Religious Experience in America

The only version of the Bible African slaves in the English colonies known to exist was the King James Version(KJV).In reflecting on the 400th centennial of the arrival of African captives to America and the 1611 King James Version,African American church scholars do well to mark this occasion,not so much for what the biblical text did to reform the church in Europe,but to commemorate its role in forming a people.When they published the King James Scripture,those 54 language scholars of 1611 no doubt understood the impact they would make as reformers of European Christianity.They may not have imagined their work would have such a profound impact on the formation of a community of abducted Africans.Their fellow brothers and sisters in captivity would teach the purveyors of the King James Version how subversive their text is to human political,economic,and religious institutions.

Description of two new species of Hemiphyllodactylus(Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from karst landscapes in Yunnan, China, highlights complex conservation needs

Karst habitats are hotspots of diversity and endemism. Their naturally fragmented distributions across broad geographic landscapes have led to the complex array of smaller evolutionary ecosystems that present unique challenges from a conservation perspective.Comprehensivebiodiversity assessments of karst habitats have revealed that these ecosystems contain an almost unparalleled level of endemism, and many site-restricted species remain undescribed, thus posing considerable challenges for effective conservation management.Small rock-dwelling species, such as geckos, may be particularly prone to such isolation. In this paper, we discuss one such genus, i.e.,Hemiphyllodactylus, and explore its diversity across karst landforms in Yunnan Province, southwestern China. Based on morphological and genetic data, we describe two new species of Hemiphyllodactylus from karst habitats in Simao District and Yanshan County. A phylogenetic tree for Hemiphyllodactylus was constructed using 1?039 base pairs(bp) of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene(ND2). The Simao and Yanshan specimens can be distinguished from all other congeners within their respective subclades based on uncorrected genetic pairwise distances greater than 6.3% and 4.3%respectively, as well as significant morphological differences. The discovery and description of these two new species brings the total number of described Hemiphyllodactylus species in China to 14and indicates many more undescribed species from unsurveyed karst regions await discovery.Our findings suggest that karst ecosystems in Yunnan support a higher diversity of Hemiphyllodactylus than previously known.This study also highlights the importance of karst ecosystems as refugia for sitespecific endemic species and the need for heightened conservation efforts.

Zinc finger structure-function in Ikaros

The zinc finger motif was used as a vehicle for the initial discovery of Ikaros in the context of T-cell differentiation and has been central to all subsequent analyses of Ikaros function.The Ikaros gene is alternately spliced to produce several isoforms that confer diversity of function and consequently have complicated analysis of the function of Ikaros in vivo.Key features of Ikaros in vivo function are associated with six C2H2 zinc fingers;four of which are alternately incorporated in the production of the various Ikaros isoforms.Although no complete structures are available for the Ikaros protein or any of its family members,considerable evidence has accumulated about the structure of zinc fingers and the role that this structure plays in the functions of the Ikaros family of proteins.This review summarizes the structural aspects of Ikaros zinc fingers,individually,and in tandem to provide a structural context for Ikaros function and to provide a structural basis to inform the design of future experiments with Ikaros and its family members.