Yield estimation of 1-year-old asparagus grown using rootstock-planting forcing culture

Rootstock-planting forcing culture was developed in asparagus to harvest spears even during the seasons when the plants become dormant, but the demand for them high. In this study, cumulative hours during which the air temperature remained lower than 5°C, i.e. chilling hours (CHs), were calculated to determine dormancy breakage for asparagus cultures. We also measured CIELab colour values for cut stems immediately before rootstock digging, and determined whether they could be substituted and/or compensated for CHs while evaluating asparagus plant productivity in different low-temperature backgrounds, and obtained regression equations for yield estimation. Asparagus seedlings were cultivated in seven different regions across Japan and brought to the study site for harvesting. Our regression equation based on CHs and rootstock weight for yield estimation had relatively high fitness (adjusted R² = 0.5795). The colour values of cut stalks at rootstock digging can also be used to evaluate their productivity. These values can be useful in regions where CHs cannot be determined, although their effectiveness was slightly lower than that of CHs of areas adjacent to the study sites.     

Structural unit of xylans from sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) and hinoki (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecyparis obtusa</Emphasis>)

Arabinoglucuronoxylans (AGXs) isolated from the holocellulose of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) and hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) contained one 4-O-methyl-d-glucopyranosyluronic acid (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp) residue per 6.2 d-xylopyranose (d-Xylp) residues and one 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residue per 3.8 d-Xylp residues. These AGXs were subjected to partial acid hydrolysis. Analyses by size exclusion chromatography and electrospray-ionization mass spectroscopy of the neutral sugar fractions in the hydrolysates showed the presence of xylooligosaccharides having a degree of polymerization of 2-8 in addition to d-Xyl, suggesting that the AGXs from sugi and hinoki contained unsubstituted chains consisting of at least eight d-Xyl residues. The acidic sugars in the hydrolysates were separated into two series of aldouronic acids composed of 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp and d-Xylp by ion-exchange chromatography. The first series included aldouronic acids from aldobiouronic acid (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp-Xyl) to aldopentaouronic acids (4-O-Me-d-GlcAp-Xyl₄). The second series were aldouronic acids composed of two 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residues and 2-4 d-Xyl residues. In these acidic sugars, the uronic acid side chains were located on two contiguous d-Xyl residues. These facts indicated that AGXs from sugi and hinoki had a structural unit containing two 4-O-Me-d-GlcAp residues on two contiguous d-Xyl residues as well as AGXs from spruce and larch.     

Why invest in minor projects in sub-Saharan Africa? An exploration of the scale economy and diseconomy of irrigation projects

It is well-known that major irrigation projects have a strong scale economy, handicapping irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of the difficulty in formulating large-scale projects. Using project-level investment cost and performance data of major and minor irrigation projects, this paper examines the causes of the economy of scale phenomenon. We find that strong scale economy exists not only for major but also for minor projects, i.e., small- and micro-scale, projects. This is largely because of the existence of indivisible overhead costs such as high-opportunity-cost human resources for planning, designing and engineering management and supervision. We also find that large differences between major and minor projects in the absolute level of overhead as well as construction costs creates a strong scale diseconomy and results in better performance of minor projects. The advantage of minor projects holds even when their higher risk associated with the water source is taken into consideration. We argue that there is an urgent need to promote irrigation development in SSA through developing minor projects, and to reduce the heavy burden of overhead costs by developing the capacity of human resources at the national, local and farmer levels in the fields of irrigation engineering, irrigation agronomy, institutional development, and micro water management technologies.     

The Physcomitrella genome reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants

We report the draft genome sequence of the model moss Physcomitrella patens and compare its features with those of flowering plants, from which it is separated by more than 400 million years, and unicellular aquatic algae. This comparison reveals genomic changes concomitant with the evolutionary movement to land, including a general increase in gene family complexity; loss of genes associated with aquatic environments (e.g., flagellar arms); acquisition of genes for tolerating terrestrial stresses (e.g., variation in temperature and water availability); and the development of the auxin and abscisic acid signaling pathways for coordinating multicellular growth and dehydration response. The Physcomitrella genome provides a resource for phylogenetic inferences about gene function and for experimental analysis of plant processes through this plant's unique facility for reverse genetics.     

Role for piRNAs and noncoding RNA in de novo DNA methylation of the imprinted mouse Rasgrf1 locus

Genomic imprinting causes parental origin-specific monoallelic gene expression through differential DNA methylation established in the parental germ line. However, the mechanisms underlying how specific sequences are selectively methylated are not fully understood. We have found that the components of the PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway are required for de novo methylation of the differentially methylated region (DMR) of the imprinted mouse Rasgrf1 locus, but not other paternally imprinted loci. A retrotransposon sequence within a noncoding RNA spanning the DMR was targeted by piRNAs generated from a different locus. A direct repeat in the DMR, which is required for the methylation and imprinting of Rasgrf1, served as a promoter for this RNA. We propose a model in which piRNAs and a target RNA direct the sequence-specific methylation of Rasgrf1.     

Regulated fast nucleocytoplasmic shuttling observed by reversible protein highlighting

The observation of the regulation of fast protein dynamics in a cellular context requires the development of reliable technologies. Here, a signal regulation cascade reliant on the stimulus-dependent acceleration of the bidirectional flow of mitogen-activated protein kinase (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) across the nuclear envelope was visualized by reversible protein highlighting. Light-induced conversion between the bright and dark states of a monomeric fluorescent protein engineered from a novel coral protein was employed. Because of its photochromic properties, the protein could be highlighted, erased, and highlighted again in a nondestructive manner, allowing direct observation of regulated fast nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of key signaling molecules.     

自溶法回收鱼类加工废弃物中蛋白质成分(英文)

鱼头和鱼内脏为鱼类在加工过程中废弃的主要组织,其中含有丰富的蛋白质和脂肪等有益成分,有必要进行回收利用。双鳍舵鲣鱼的头部和内脏约占其鱼体重量的30％,富含蛋白质(14.4％-22.6％)。为了将这些废弃物中的蛋白质进行回收,分别采用双鳍舵鲣鱼内脏本身含有的内源性蛋白酶(自溶)和四种外源性的商业蛋白酶Papain W-40(E1),Pancidase NP-2(E2),Sumichiimu FP(E3)和Protease M(E4)对废弃物中的蛋白质进行水解(50℃,1～4h),考察自溶和不同酶解方法对蛋白质的回收率以及对回收液氨基酸组成的影响。结果显示,自溶法对废弃物中蛋白质的回收效果最好。当水解温度为50℃,水解时间为2h时,自溶法的蛋白质回收率最高,达到76％;其次为E2酶解法,回收率达到70％;E3酶解法效果最差,回收率为63％。进一步研究表明,自溶回收液(AE)的氨基酸总量也最高,达到11756 mg/100g,而采用E1、E2、E3和E4水解方法得到的酶解回收液(EE1、EE2、EE3和EE4)中氨基酸含量分别仅为10294、10642、8750、10121 mg/100g。感观评定结果表明,自溶回...