Studies on amino acids generated from rape seed cake in the soil

Among the several kinds of seed cakes, the cake made from rape seeds has been most widely employed for tobacco cultivation. Numerous investigations have been conducted by many workers, on the mineralization of organic nitrogen in rape seed cake applied to the soil and on the absorption of inorganic nitrogen degraded from the seed cake in soil by tobacco plants (8,9). However, little has been known about the organic nitrogen compounds which are generated through the process of decomposition of the seed cake. Recently, it has been believed that the plant roots are able to absorb the organic nitrogen compounds such as amino acids (10,11, 12). Therefore, it is considered that these organic nitrogen compounds produced by mineralization of the seed cake applied to the soil would have some effects upon the yield and quality of some crops such as tobacco plant with their physiological effects on plants. This paper deals with the changes in amino acids produced by the mineralization of rape seed cake in the soil.     

Seasonal influence on testicular function of male raccoons, Procyon lotor

In order to clarify the breeding capability of male raccoons in Japan, the testes of raccoons, a nuisance animal, collected in Kanagawa Prefecture and Hokkaido were histologically inspected. Furthermore, testosterone concentrations in their blood were measured. The testosterone concentrations increased in winter and the diameter of seminiferous tubules and the spermatogenetic score decreased in summer for the animals captured in Kanagawa Prefecture. For the animals captured in Hokkaido, the diameter of seminiferous tubules did not change and the decrease of the spermatogenetic score in summer was slight. As the above results show, there is a breeding season in male raccoons in Japan, and the reduction of testicular function in summer was greater in animals captured in Kanagawa Prefecture than in animals captured in Hokkaido.     

Ovicidal activity of juvenile hormone mimics in the bean bug,Riptortus pedestris

Insect juvenile hormone (JH) mimics (JHMs) are known to have ovicidal effects if applied to adult females or eggs. Here, we examined the effects of exogenous JHMs on embryonic development of the bean bug, Riptortus pedestris. The expression profiles of JH early response genes and JH biosynthetic enzymes indicated that JH titer was low for the first 3 days of the egg stage and increased thereafter. Application of JH III skipped bisepoxide (JHSB₃) or JHM on Day 0 eggs when JH titer was low caused reduced hatchability, and the embryos mainly arrested in mid- or late embryonic stage. Application of JHMs on Day 5 eggs also resulted in an arrest, but this was less effective compared with Day 0 treatment. Interestingly, ovicidal activity of synthetic JHMs was much lower than that of JHSB₃. This study will contribute to developing novel insecticides that are selective among insect species.