Aureusidin synthase: a polyphenol oxidase homolog responsible for flower coloration

Aurones are plant flavonoids that provide yellow color to the flowers of some popular ornamental plants, such as snapdragon and cosmos. In this study, we have identified an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of aurone from chalcones in the yellow snapdragon flower. The enzyme (aureusidin synthase) is a 39-kilodalton, copper-containing glycoprotein catalyzing the hydroxylation and/or oxidative cyclization of the precursor chalcones, 2',4',6',4-tetrahydroxychalcone and 2',4',6',3,4-pentahydroxychalcone. The complementary DNA encoding aureusidin synthase is expressed in the petals of aurone-containing varieties. DNA sequence analysis revealed that aureusidin synthase belongs to the plant polyphenol oxidase family, providing an unequivocal example of the function of the polyphenol oxidase homolog in plants, i.e., flower coloration.     

Repeated and sudden reversals of the dipole field generated by a spherical dynamo action

Using long-duration, three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we found that the magnetic dipole field generated by a dynamo action in a rotating spherical shell repeatedly reverses its polarity at irregular intervals (that is, punctuated reversal). Although the total convection energy and magnetic energy alternate between a high-energy state and a low-energy state, the dipole polarity can reverse only at high-energy states where the north-south symmetry of the convection pattern is broken and the columnar vortex structure becomes vulnerable. Another attractive finding is that the quadrupole mode grows, exceeding the dipole mode before the reversal; this may help to explain how Earth's magnetic field reverses.     

Pertussis toxin S1 mutant with reduced enzyme activity and a conserved protective epitope

Pertussis toxin (PTX) is a major virulence factor in whooping cough and can elicit protective antibodies. Amino acid residues 8 to 15 of PTX subunit S1 are important for the adenosine diphosphate-ribosyltransferase activity associated with the pathobiological effects of PTX. Furthermore, this region contains at least a portion of an epitope that elicits both toxin-neutralizing and protective antibody responses in mice. The gene encoding the S1 subunit was subjected to site-specific mutagenesis in this critical region. A mutant containing a single amino acid substitution (Arg9----Lys) had reduced enzymatic activity (approximately 0.02% of control) while retaining the protective epitope. This analog S1 molecule may provide the basis for a genetically detoxified PTX with potential for use as a component of an acellular vaccine against whooping cough.     

Carbon dioxide degassing by advective flow from Usu volcano, Japan

Magmatic carbon dioxide (CO2) degassing has been documented before the 31 March 2000 eruption of Usu volcano, Hokkaido, Japan. Six months before the eruption, an increase in CO2 flux was detected on the summit caldera, from 120 (September 1998) to 340 metric tons per day (September 1999), followed by a sudden decrease to 39 metric tons per day in June 2000, 3 months after the eruption. The change in CO2 flux and seismic observations suggests that before the eruption, advective processes controlled gas migration toward the surface. The decrease in flux after the eruption at the summit caldera could be due to a rapid release of CO2 during the eruption from ascending dacitic dikes spreading away from the magma chamber beneath the caldera.     

Oxygen fugacities directly measured in magmatic gases

An electrochemical device was used to measure the fugacity of oxygen (fo(o2)) in holes drilled through the crust of Makaopuhi lava lake, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. Results obtained within 6 months of the lake formation show that log fo(o2) normally varies linearly with the reciprocal of the absolute temperature, and that chemical changes occurring in the cooling tholeiitic basalt are reflected in the fo(o2) values measured in the holes.     

Induction of inflammatory arthropathy resembling rheumatoid arthritis in mice transgenic for HTLV-I

Human T cell leukemia virus type-I (HTLV-I) is the etiologic agent of adult T cell leukemia and has also been suggested to be involved in other diseases such as chronic arthritis or myelopathy. To elucidate pathological roles of the virus in disease, transgenic mice were produced that carry the HTLV-I genome. At 2 to 3 months of age, many of the mice developed chronic arthritis resembling rheumatoid arthritis. Synovial and periarticular inflammation with articular erosion caused by invasion of granulation tissues were marked. These observations suggest a possibility that HTLV-I is one of the etiologic agents of chronic arthritis in humans.     

Cartilage acidic protein-1B (LOTUS), an endogenous Nogo receptor antagonist for axon tract formation

Neural circuitry formation depends on the molecular control of axonal projection during development. By screening with fluorophore-assisted light inactivation in the developing mouse brain, we identified cartilage acidic protein-1B as a key molecule for lateral olfactory tract (LOT) formation and named it LOT usher substance (LOTUS). We further identified Nogo receptor-1 (NgR1) as a LOTUS-binding protein. NgR1 is a receptor of myelin-derived axon growth inhibitors, such as Nogo, which prevent neural regeneration in the adult. LOTUS suppressed Nogo-NgR1 binding and Nogo-induced growth cone collapse. A defasciculated LOT was present in lotus-deficient mice but not in mice lacking both lotus- and ngr1. These findings suggest that endogenous antagonism of NgR1 by LOTUS is crucial for normal LOT formation.     

Regular Production of Transgenic Wheat Mediated by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Wheat is the number one crop both in acreage and total yield in the world. Therefore, it is very important to improve wheat by gene engineering techniques even though it belongs to the plants insensitive to gene transformation, especially to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Wheat immature embryos of 1.0-1.5mm in size, C58c1 of Agrobacterium strain harboring pPTN249, pPTN270, pPTN254, and pSIS-GFP respectively (all the vectors contain the aphA selectable gene driven by enhanced 35S promoter and a target gene controlled by ubi promoter or E35S promoter), AB medium for Agrobacterium activate culture, WCC medium for co-culture, were used in this study. The embryos with 4 days of pre-culture were transferred onto selection medium with 10mg/L geneticin, 50mg/L ticarcillin, 50mg/L vancomycin, and 50mg/L cefotaxine after 30 minutes of infection and 2 days of co-cultivation with Agrobacterium. Followed callus production,shoot regeneration on selection medium, 114 resistant plantlets were obtained from 10 transformation experiments of four genotypes. By nptⅡ ELISA (nptⅡ enzyme assay), PCR, Southern blot and leaf bleach,29 positive plants were identified from two genotypes of Bobwhite and Yanglmai 10, with an average transformation efficiency of 0.82 %. The result tested by Southern blot also showed that the transgenic plants with single- copy integration of target gene took 65.52% among total positive plants. The ELISA value of transgenic plant was also related to the copies of alien DNA integrating into wheat chromosomes, the transgenic plants with single copy integration giving higher ELISA value than the ones with 2 or 3 copies integration.