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Background: The dwarfing gene sdw1 has been widely used throughout the world to develop commercial barley varieties. There are at least four different alleles at the sdw1 locus., Results: Mutations in the gibberellin 20-oxidase gene (HvGA20ox2) resulted in multiple alleles at the sdw1 locus. The sdw1.d allele from Diamant is due to a 7-bp deletion in exon 1, while the sdw1.c allele from Abed Denso has 1-bp deletion and a 4-bp insertion in the 5' untranslated region. The sdw1.a allele from Jotun resulted from a total deletion of the HvGA20ox2 gene. The structural changes result in lower gene expression in sdw1.d and lack of expression in sdw1.a. There are three HvGA20ox genes in the barley genome. The partial or total loss of function of the HvGA20ox2 gene could be compensated by enhanced expression of its homolog HvGA20ox1and HvGA20ox3. A diagnostic molecular marker was developed to differentiate between the wild-type, sdw1.d and sdw1.a alleles and another molecular marker for differentiation of sdw1.c and sdw1.a. The markers were further tested in 197 barley varieties, out of which 28 had the sdw1.d allele and two varieties the sdw1.a allele. To date, the sdw1.d and sdw1.a alleles have only been detected in the modern barley varieties and lines., Conclusions: The results provided further proof that the gibberellin 20-oxidase gene (HvGA20ox2) is the functional gene of the barley sdw1 mutants. Different deletions resulted in different functional alleles for different breeding purposes. Truncated protein could maintain partial function. Partial or total loss of function of the HvGA20ox2 gene could be compensated by enhanced expression of its homolog HvGA20ox1 and HvGA20ox3.

Background: To investigate the role of total cellular microRNA (miRNA) in regulating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during human endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma (EEC)., Methods: A miRCURY LNA microRNA array was used to evaluate the miRNA profiles of human EEC tissues and corresponding nontumorous endometriums. An in vitro model of TGF-β induced EMT in HEC-1-A cells was used to investigate the role of miRNAs in the EEC during EMT. The expression of SMAD3, SMAD5, and a panel of EMT markers was detected by Western blot and quantitative PCR., Results: The results of miRNA profiling in human EEC tissues and corresponding nontumorous endometriums demonstrated that miR-23a expression was down-regulated. Using bioinformatics, we identified SMAD3 or SMAD5 maybe as a predicted target of miR-23a. The results of luciferase reporter assay showed miR-23a directly targets and down-regulates human SMAD3 protein levels, not SMAD5 protein levels. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-23a in HEC-1-A cells increased E-cadherin expression and decreased the expression of vimentin and alpha smooth muscle actin, markers of mesenchymal cellular phenotype., Conclusions: Our data provide firm evidence of a role for miR-23a in the direct regulation of EMT through its targeting of SMAD3. Due to its ability to repress the EMT, miR-23a may be a novel target for EER therapeutic intervention.