Bok choy Bok choy Bok choy, pak choi or pok choi (; "Brassica rapa" subsp. "chinensis") is a type of Chinese cabbage. "Chinensis" varieties do not form heads and have smooth, dark green leaf blades instead, forming a cluster reminiscent of mustard greens or celery. "Chinensis" varieties are popular in southern China and Southeast Asia. Being winter-hardy, they are increasingly grown in Northern Europe. This group was originally classified as its own species under the name "Brassica chinensis" by Linnaeus. Other than the ambiguous term "Chinese cabbage", the most widely used name in North America for the "chinensis" variety is "bok choy"
BOK (gene) of Bok to its interacting partners seems to be mediated by its BH3 domain. The splice variant Bok-S lacks this domain and is unable to form heterodimers with other proteins of the Bcl-2 family. In yeast two-hybrid experiments, Bok was found to interact with the anti-apoptotic proteins Mcl-1, BHRF-1, and Bfl-1. However, interactions with other anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Bcl-w were not detectable (1). Later studies aimed at confirming an interaction between Bok and pro-apoptotic Bak or Bax but were not successful. Accordingly, coexpression of anti-apoptotic proteins such as Mcl-1 suppresses apoptosis induced by Bok overexpression. Consistent