Effect of carpropamid on secondary infection by rice blast fungus

Carpropamid (WIN™, KTU 3616) provides good control of leaf and panicle blast by ‘one-shot’ nursery-box treatment. It inhibits melanin biosynthesis in appressorial cells of Pyricularia oryzae, making them hyaline. Penetration by infection hyphae from the hyaline appressoria into rice epidermal cells is substantially hindered. In addition, the spread of rice blast spores from primary lesions to the other parts of the plant leading to secondary infection is largely prevented when the plants are treated with carpropamid by spray or water surface application. Secondary infection was simulated in a glass chamber fitted with an ultrasonic humidifier. On treated plants, many blast spores formed in the lesions, but the number of air spora that were dispersed from the lesions decreased significantly. A similar suppression of the spore liberation was observed in vitro when lesions on rice leaf segments, or discs from Pyricularia cultures on oatmeal agar were treated with the chemical. Spores from treated lesions or from the cultures on oatmeal agar amended with the chemical germinated normally and produced well-melanized appressoria on cellophane membranes. In addition, the spores proved to be fully pathogenic towards rice seedlings, producing normal disease symptoms. These results strongly suggest that carpropamid reduces the secondary infection of rice by Pyricularia by specifically hindering spore liberation. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

严重水分失衡状态下四照花蒸腾表面的削减

应用RGB图像分析的方法,研究了日本山口市街区生长的四照花（Comus kousa Buerg.）对2007年夏季干热多风的环境的响应。结果表明,许多四照花叶尖叶缘出现焦枯,清晰的暗棕色防护带显示在焦枯的叶片上。这些防护带逐渐从叶尖向叶基退缩直到成功控制焦枯为止,且留下许多不成功的防卫痕迹。焦枯的叶片呈现鲜明的逻辑斯蒂函数式变化趋势。依据气象数据分析,四照花叶片退缩型焦枯几乎与干燥峰值期同步。这表明在干燥度突然升高期间,极端的水分亏缺诱发了四照花的防卫反应,从而保护其余部分免于进一步的失水。像素分析结果表明,截止到2007年8月底四照花样树通过局部叶片退缩型焦枯减少了40.2%的叶面积。相比之下,鉴于上半年雨量充足,2008年,相同的样树只有13.2%叶面积减少。不管怎样,四照花的确削减了蒸腾表面积,并且表现出一种独特的蒸腾表面减少方式。既不同于落叶也不同于地上部枯死。依据脱水过程的分析,四照花在突然的干热胁迫下叶尖始发的干缩和叶片防卫反应的共同作用被认为是其蒸腾表面削减的关键所在。     

Cellulase activity in meiobenthos in wetlands

To validate the involvement of meiobenthos in cellulose breakdown in wetlands, meiobenthos were collected from sediments of Lake Furen and the Biwase River in Hokkaido Prefecture, the Kako River in Hyogo Prefecture, and the Chinai River in Shiga Prefecture. Cellulase activities of the meiobenthos were measured by cellulose zymographic analysis using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gels containing 0.5% carboxymethyl cellulose. The results showed that most of the Turbellaria, Nematoda, Harpacticoida, and Oligochaeta species exhibited cellulase activity. The molecular sizes of the cellulase-active bands of the sediments in Lake Furen, the Biwase River, and the Chinai River coincided with those of meiobenthos. The findings suggest that meiobenthos might play a major function in cellulose breakdown in these wetlands. This paper is the first to report cellulase activity in meiobenthos and that they are possibly involved in the breakdown of cellulose in wetlands.     

The antagonist activity of lipid IVa on the stimulation by lipid A of TNF-alpha production from canine blood mononuclear cells

Lipid A, the active component of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), exists in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and binds to the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and MD-2 complex. On the other hand, the synthetic precursor of Escherichia coli lipid A, tetraacylated lipid IVa, is an agonist for TLR4 and MD-2 complex in murine, equine and feline cells but is an antagonist for lipid A in human cells. The aim of the study was to examine the function of canine Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and MD-2 complex on canine blood mononuclear cells (BMC), by analyzing lipid A- or lipid IVa-induction of TNF-α production from these cells in order to understand canine innate immune system. After 5-h culture of canine BMC with lipid A (lipid A culture) or lipid IVa (lipid IVa culture), the TNF-α, as determined by ELISA, had increased in the supernatants of the lipid A cultures in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the TNF-α was undetectable in supernatant of lipid IVa-treated cultures. The TNF-α was statistically significantly different between the lipid A and lipid IVa cultures (100 and 1000 ng/ml). TNF-α production from canine BMC was inhibited, in a lipid IVa-dose-dependent manner, when the BMC were pre-cultured with lipid IVa for 60 min and then cultured with lipid A for 5h, while in control BMC cultures production if TNF-α was unchanged. These results indicate that the TNF-α production stimulated by lipid A was competed out by pre-exposing the BMC to lipid IVa. Thus, lipid A is an agonist for TNF-α production in canine BMC, whereas lipid IVa appears to be an antagonist against this lipid A stimulation of canine BMC.     

RGB图像分析法测定台风0613诱发的竹叶黄化和坏死(英文)

遭遇台风0613号袭击之后,日本山口市的许多乔木和灌木出现叶尖和叶缘甚至整叶黄化和坏死的症状。同一竹林林分中既有黄化叶片也有坏斑叶片。本文用非破坏、非接触的RGB图像分析法研究了这一现象。研究表明,室内拍摄的黄化竹单叶图像的G/R值与叶绿素计(SPAD)值之间呈紧密的正相关,平方回归相关系数0.961;与坏死斑面积率之间呈反逻辑斯蒂函数关系,平方回归相关系数0.958。用RGB图像分析法不仅可以估测叶片的黄化程度而且可也估测叶片的坏死斑面积。研究还发现,光线差异较大时拍摄的图片,相同叶片的G/L值的方差小于G/R值的方差值,尤其是绿色叶片。与G/R相比,黄化叶片的G/L值得到了与SPAD更紧密的相关性。室外拍摄的竹林冠分析表明,光线差别较大的图像G/L值与林分距海岸的距离的相关性也高于G/R值。     

Effectiveness of small interfering RNA (siRNA) against the Mcl-1 gene in a canine mammary gland tumor cell line

The effect of down-regulation of Mcl-1 expression by small interfering RNA (siRNA) against the canine Mcl-1 gene on apoptosis was investigated by transfecting CF33 (canine mammary gland tumor cell line) with siRNA using cationic liposomes. The siRNA against canine Mcl-1 increased the rate of apoptotic cells and decreased the numbers of viable cells. Further, sequence-specific down-regulation of Mcl-1 expression was measured by real time-PCR and Western blot analysis. The siRNA directed against the Mcl-1 gene reduced both the mRNA and protein expression in the CF33. Our study suggests the importance of Mcl-1 in canine mammary tumors for inducing apoptosis and reinforces using Mcl-1 as a putative therapeutic target in canine mammary gland tumor.     

Effects of DDAVP administrated subcutaneously in dogs with aspirin-induced platelet dysfunction and hemostatic impairment due to chronic liver diseases

To evaluate the hemostatic effects of desmopressin (DDAVP) in dogs with aspirin-induced platelet dysfunction and hemostatic impairment in chronic liver diseases, 3 microg/kg DDAVP was administrated subcutaneously. In aspirin-induced platelet dysfunction dogs (n=5), prolonged BMBT (buccal mucosal bleeding time) was shortened significantly after DDAVP injection (2.2 +/- 1.2 min, P<0.05). In dogs with chronic liver diseases (n=4), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) tended to shorten by 0.9 to 3.0 sec, and prolonged BMBT was shortened in two cases for 4.2 and 1.7 min after DDAVP injection. Therefore, the present results indicated that DDAVP shortened the prolonged BMBT in dogs with aspirin-induced platelet dysfunction and chronic liver disease. DDAVP might be helpful in hemostasis under invasive procedures such as biopsy or surgery for dogs with hemostatic impairment.     

Prototheca zopfii genotypes isolated from cow barns and bovine mastitis in Japan

This study is the first investigation on Japanese isolates of Prototheca zopfii from bovine mastitis and the cow-barn surroundings by molecular characterization to clarify routes of infection for bovine protothecal mastitis. We performed isolation of Prototheca from cow-barn surroundings (drinking water, sewage and feces) and milk samples from cases of bovine mastitis. Genotypes of the 32 isolates of P. zopfii from cow-barn surroundings and 67 isolates from mastitis were analyzed by genotype-specific PCR assays and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays. All mastitis isolates were identified as P. zopfii genotype 2. Conversely, 29 isolates from cow-barn surroundings were identified as P. zopfii genotypes 1 and 3 isolates as genotype 2, respectively. Given these results, both genotypes of P. zopfii could exist in cow-barn surroundings, but no sites were identified as frequent sources of P. zopfii genotype 2. P. zopfii isolates should thus be further explored with regard to genotype to clarify the reservoir of etiological agents in bovine Prototheca mastitis.     

Sequence and polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the large subunit rRNA gene of bivalve: Simple and widely applicable technique for multiple species identification of bivalve larva

ABSTRACT:   One of the biggest and long-standing difficulties in investigation of larval ecology in the field is species-level identification. In the present study, we developed polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis based on the large subunit (LSU) rRNA gene (rDNA) D1/D2/D3 region for identification of multiple species of bivalve larvae using 14 species of bivalve collected from Maizuru Bay. The LSU rDNA D1/D2/D3 region of all analyzed species could be amplified by PCR using bvD1f/bvD3r primers, and RFLP analysis by Hae III digestion on the PCR products showed species-specific fragment patterns. Furthermore, this analysis applied to single bivalve larvae in Maizuru Bay revealed efficient amplification of the target region and the species-specific pattern from 80% of the larvae, 75% of which showed a pattern that matched a certain pattern of the adult bivalves. In addition, the analysis of inter- and intraspecies variation of the LSU rDNA D1/D2/D3 region using the sequence data of the genus Crassostrea from the DDBJ database showed high applicability of this RFLP analysis on closely related species. Because of the wide applicability and technical simplicity, this method can become the standard for the identification of bivalve larvae species once the sequence data of the LSU rDNA D1/D2/D3 region of many bivalve species have been accumulated.