Molecular characterization of avian polyomavirus isolated from psittacine birds based on the whole genome sequence analysis

Seven avian polyomaviruses (APVs) were isolated from seven psittacine birds of four species. Their whole genome sequences were genetically analyzed. Comparing with the sequence of BFDV1 strain, nucleotide substitutions in the sequences of seven APV isolates were found at 63 loci and a high level of conservation of amino acid sequence in each viral protein (VP1, VP2, VP3, VP4, and t/T antigen) was predicted. An A-to-T nucleotide substitution was observed in non-control region of all seven APV sequences in comparison with BFDV1 strain. Two C-to-T nucleotide substitutions were also detected in non-coding regions of one isolate. A phylogenetic analysis of the whole genome sequences indicated that the sequences from the same species of bird were closely related. APV has been reported to have distinct tropism for cell cultures of various avian species. The present study indicated that a single amino acid substitution at position 221 in VP2 was essential for propagating in chicken embryonic fibroblast culture and this substitution was promoted by propagation on budgerigar embryonic fibroblast culture. For two isolates, three serial amino acids appeared to be deleted in VP4. However, this deletion had little effect on virus propagation.     

Pathogenicity and immunogenicity of equine herpesvirus type 1 mutants defective in either gI or gE gene in murine and hamster models

To develop a live vaccine for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), two EHV-1 mutants containing no heterogeneous DNA, DeltagI and DeltagE, were constructed with deletions in the open reading frame of either glycoprotein I (gI) or E (gE), respectively. In equine cell culture, deletion mutants formed smaller plaques than the parental and revertant viruses, but the one-step growth patterns of the deletion mutants and the parental strain were approximately the same. These results suggest that both gI and gE contribute to the ability of EHV-1 to spread directly from cell-to-cell, but that these glycoproteins are not required for viral growth in vitro. Mice and hamsters inoculated intranasally with these mutants showed no clinical signs, and continued to gain weight, whereas those inoculated with the parental virus exhibited a reduction in mean body weight. Furthermore, nervous manifestations were observed in hamsters inoculated with the parental virus. These results suggest that gI and gE have an important role in EHV-1 virulence including neurovirulence in experimental animal models. On the other hand, serum neutralizing antibodies were detected in mice immunized with DeltagI or DeltagE at two weeks after inoculation. Following challenge with the parental virus, DeltagI- or DeltagE-immunized mice were able to clear parental virus from their lungs faster than mock-immunized mice. These results suggest that the EHV-1 mutants defective in gI and in gE are attenuated but have ability to elicit immune responses in inoculated mice that contribute to virus clearance.     

Idiopathic hypertrophic osteopathy in a cat

This report describes the first case of idiopathic hypertrophic osteopathy (HO) in a cat. No causes for the bone pathology were found following evaluation of the physical and laboratory examinations (complete blood count, albumin, creatinine, urea, alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyltransferase and urinalysis), and after histopathological evaluation of organs at necropsy. Based on the radiographic, clinical and anatomopathological findings, idiopathic HO was diagnosed.     

Photodegradation of fenitrothion and parathion in tomato epicuticular waxes

Photodegradation of (14)C-labeled fenitrothion ([O,O-dimethyl O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate]) and parathion ([O,O-diethyl O-(4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate]) was conducted on a series of solid surfaces including isolated tomato fruit and leaf cuticle waxes. The wax-coated glass plate gave the comparative degradation of fenitrothion observed for the intact plant but both surfaces of octadecyl-capped silica gel and poly(tetrafluoroethylene) enhanced its volatilization. Photoinduced desulfuration and ester cleavage were common to both pesticides in waxes, but formation of the azo derivative was found to be a major degradation pathway characteristic of parathion. The modified electronic states of the nitro group by introduction of m-methyl group accounted for this different photoreactivity based on molecular orbital calculations.     

Behavior of monolignol glucosides in angiosperms

To examine the behavior of cinnamaldehyde and cinnamyl alcohol glucosides in lignifying tissues, angiosperms were subjected to tracer experiments using radioisotope-labeled and stable isotope-labeled glucosides. The aglycone from coniferaldehyde glucoside was efficiently incorporated into guaiacyl and syringyl lignin as a cinnamyl alcohol unit. The aglycone from coniferin was also incorporated into guaiacyl and syringyl lignin. However, some of the coniferin-derived aglycone that was incorporated into lignin passed through a cinnamaldehyde form prior to dehydrogenative polymerization. When coniferin was administered together with coniferaldehyde glucoside, syringyl units were rarely synthesized from coniferin via the cinnamyl alcohol stage, whereas numerous syringyl units were synthesized from coniferaldehyde glucoside. These observations suggest that the coniferaldehyde form is crucial for the biosynthesis of syringyl lignin in angiosperms.     

Metabolism of fenitrothion and conjugation of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol in tomato plant (Lycopersicon esculentum)

The metabolism of (14)C-labeled fenitrothion (Sumithion, [O,O-dimethyl-O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl)phosphorothioate]) in tomato plant (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. Ponderosa) grown in the greenhouse equipped with quartz glass was conducted to investigate the effect of sunlight on the behavior of fenitrothion and to elucidate the detailed structure of conjugated metabolites. Tomato plants (BBCH 85) were topically treated with (14)C-labeled fenitrothion twice with a 2 week interval between applications. At 15 days after the second application, more than half of the recovered (14)C was detected as unaltered fenitrothion, glucose, and cellobiose esters of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (NMC) in extracts from tomato fruit. The photoinduced formation of the S-methyl isomer of fenitrothion via thiono-thiolo rearrangement was detected only in the surface rinse but at trace amounts. In the whole tomato fruit, fenitrothion, the S isomer, NMC-beta-glucoside, and NMC cellobioside were detected at 34.16, 1.28, 7.47, and 15.07% of the recovered (14)C, respectively. Trace amounts of the oxon analogue of fenitrothion were detected only on tomato leaves. The chemical structure of the cellobiose conjugate of NMC, 1-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-3-methyl-4-nitrophenol, was determined by spectroscopic analyses (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, NMR), using the metabolite obtained from leaves and stems of tomato plant hydroponically grown with (14)C-labeled NMC.     

Genetic variation in barley landraces from Bhutan

Summary In Bhutan, barley is usually grown in mountainous regions over 2,000 m elevation. The barleys investigated were six-rowed naked, and classified into three groups by spike and awn characters; lax spike and long awn, dense spike and long awn, and dense spike and elevated hood. They also varied in spike color; yellow, purple and black. For isozymes, there was no variation at Aat2 and Aat3 loci for aspartate aminotransferase in the Bhutanese barley.However, allelic variations at Est1, Est2 and Est4 loci for esterase were detected, and three genotypes consisting of their allelic combinations were found. Most of the collections were heterogeneous for these features. Combinations between spike-awn types and esterase genotypes were not at random, indicating that genetic diversities resulted from mechanical mixtures of different types. These types were distributed with geographical regularity in Bhutan. In comparing the spike-awn type and esterase genotype in barley collections from other regions of the Himalayas, the Bhutanese barleys were s-imilar to the Tibetan ones, but were much different from the Nepalese barleys. This suggests that the Bhutanese barleys had been introduced from Tibet.