Anthracnose of Madagascar periwinkle caused by species belonging to the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex

Severe blight of stems was found on Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) in Shizuoka and Okinawa prefectures, Japan, in July 2003 and September 2004, respectively. Similar fungi were isolated from the diseased plants. The isolated fungi caused the disease after inoculation and subsequently were reisolated from diseased tissues. The fungi were identified as species closely related to C. siamense or C. tropicale according to sequences of the β-tubulin-2 gene, indicating that they belong to the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex. This is the first report specifying the genetic relationships of the pathogens of Madagascar periwinkle anthracnose in the complex.     

Clinical and histopathological evaluation of Dermatophagoides farinae-induced dermatitis in NC/Nga mice orally administered Bacillus subtilis

Probiotic strains have been reported to have the ability to control allergic and inflammatory diseases. In this study, we studied the inhibitory effect of Bacillus subtilis (natto) (BS) on atopic dermatitis. The effects of continuous oral administration of BS for 4 weeks on the development of atopic dermatitis induced by Dermatophagoides farinae body antigen (DF) in NC/Nga (NC) mice were evaluated using 4 groups of mice: group (Gp) DF, DF(+) with no administration of bacteria (n=3); Gp DF/BS, DF(+) and BS(+) (n=5); and Gp PBS, DF(-) with no administration of bacteria (n=3). The mice were gavaged with 1.2 × 10(17) CFU/head of BS 6 times a week for 4 weeks, and DF was applied twice a week for 4 weeks. Histopathological examination revealed significant differences in auricular thickness between Gp DF (664.4 μm, SD=78.0) and Gp DF/BS (278.7 μm, SD = 88.8; p<0.01). The dorsal skin of Gp DF/BS (316.7 μm, SD=187.4) was significantly thinner than that of Gp DF (503 μm, SD=116.3). These results suggest that continuous oral administration of fermented food-derived bacteria (BS) can be effective in alleviating the development of skin lesions induced by DF in NC mice.     

Prevalence of equine herpesvirus type 1 strains of neuropathogenic genotype in a major breeding area of Japan

A single non-synonymous nucleotide substitution of guanine (G) for adenine (A) at position 2254 in the viral DNA polymerase gene (encoded by open reading frame [ORF] 30) of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) has been significantly associated with neuropathogenic potential in strains of this virus. To estimate the prevalence of EHV-1 strains with the neuropathogenic genotype (ORF30 G(2254)) in the Hidaka district--a major horse breeding area in Japan--we analyzed the ORF30 genomic region in cases of EHV-1 infection in this area during the years 2001-2010. Of the 113 cases analyzed, 3 (2.7%) were induced by ORF30 G(2254) strains. This prevalence is lower than those observed in the U.S.A. (10.8-19.4%), Argentina (7.4%), France (24%), and Germany (10.6%).     

不同土地利用方式下紫色土中铵的容量和强度（Q/I）关系

研究了4种土地利用方式下(水田、旱地、林地、菜地)紫色土(紫色湿润雏形土)和紫色水稻土(紫色水耕人为土)NH4+的容量和强度(Q/I)关系。结果表明:紫色土和紫色水稻土NH4+Q/I曲线的曲线部分均出现在NH4+的活度比(ARNH4)较低时,表明土壤存在非交换性NH4+(或专性吸附的NH4+)的释放。紫色土和紫色水稻土NH4+的潜在缓冲容量(PBC)为71.47～203.7 cmol kg-1(mol L-1)-1/2;土壤活性NH4+(-ΔNH40)为0.029 5～0.089 7 cmol kg-1,NH4+的平衡活度比(AR0NH4)为0.187×10-3～1.255×10-3(mol L-1)1/2;土壤专性吸附位点(NH4-sas)为0.010 6～0.118 5 cmol kg-1。相关分析和通径分析表明,土壤小于0.002 mm黏粒含量与NH4+PBC及NH4-sas均呈极显著正相关(p<0.01),小于0.002 mm黏粒对PBC的影响主要是间接作用(间接通径系数为0.585),但对NH4-sas则有强烈的直接作用;有机碳与-ΔNH40和AR0NH4均呈极显著正相关(p<0.01),但是有机碳对-ΔNH40有较大的直接效应(直接通径系数为0.966),而对AR0NH4的影响主要以间接效应为主。土壤-ΔNH40与交换性NH4+数值接近且呈极显著相关(r=0.876 4,n=8,p<0.01),而AR0NH4与交换性NH 4+亦呈极显著相关(r=0.983 7,n=8,p<0.01)。土壤小于0.002 mm黏粒和有机碳的差异是导致不同土地利用方式下紫色土交换性NH4+以及Q/I参数的差异的主要原因,交换性NH4+标志的NH4+有效性指标与由Q/I关系得到的NH4+有效性指标类似。     

Verification of the prediction technique for the amount of adsorbed linuron on soils

The Freundlich isotherm was used to estimate the adsorption of the herbicide linuron on 39 Japanese soils to confirm the suitability of the prediction technique used in atrazine adsorption. Linuron was adsorbed on the soils according to the Freundlich isotherm. In conjunction with the log K _F prediction equation derived from the soil characteristics, it was possible to predict the linuron adsorption. Comparison of the equations for linuron with those for atrazine, indicated that the difference in the intercept of the 1 / n regression line against log K _F reflected the adsorptive characteristics of the herbicides.     

Soybean preference for Bradyrhizobium japonicum for nodulation

For examining the probability of increase in the occupation ratio of inoculated rhizobium in nodules, various Rj-soybean cultivars including the Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-lines of soybean were grown in a field of the Kyushu University Farm. Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA110 that carries uptake hydrogenase (Hup⁺) was used as an inoculum. The relative efficiency of nitrogen fixation generally increased by the inoculation. However, there were no significant differences in the effects among the genotypes of the host plants. The occupation ratio of serogroup USDA110 in the nodules on the taproot of the inoculated plants was in the range of 77–100%, suggesting that the B. japonicum strain USDA110 infected taproots immediately after inoculation. The occupation ratios in the nodules on the lateral roots were 53–67, 40–86, 63–83, and 62–77% in inoculated plants of the non-Rj-, Rj ₂ Rj ₃-, Rj ₄-, and Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-genotypes, respectively, and they decreased in all the genotypes with the progression of growth. At the time of the first sampling, the occupation ratios on the lateral roots of these Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-genotypes showed values intermediate between those of IAC-2 (Rj ₂ Rj ₃) and Hill (Rj ₄) , which were the parent cultivars of the Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-lines, B340, B349, and C242. The reduction in the occupation ratio of the serogroup USDA110 for about 1 month after the first sampling was the lowest (0.13–0.16) in the Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-genotypes, excluding B349, followed by the non-Rj- and Rj ₂ Rj ₃-genotypes and highest (0.52–0.69) in the Rj ₄-genotypes, excluding Hill. Therefore, it was considered that the population of compatible rhizobia with host soybean plants increased in the rhizosphere with the progression of the development and growth. The results showed that with the expansion of the root area of host plants, the occupation ratio of type A rhizobia including the serogroup USDA110 was high. Therefore, the Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-genotypes were superior to other Rj-genotypes in terms of the inoculation effects of nodulation type A rhizobium, B. japonicum USDA110. However, the preference of the Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄-genotype for serogroup USDA110 is not sufficient to rule out the competition with the other serogroups in this study. Therefore, the study should be centered on the isolation of more efficient (Hup⁺) and highly compatible rhizobial strains with the Rj ₂ Rj ₃ Rj ₄- genotypes.     

Effect of silicon on alleviation of manganese toxicity in pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch cv. Shintosa)

A series of experiments was conducted to investigate the mechanism of Siinduced alleviation of Mn toxicity in pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch cv. Shintosa) which has been used as a bloom-type stock for grafting cultivation of cucumbers. In the first experiment, the effect of Si on Mn toxicity in the Shintosa cultivar was compared with that in the Super unryu cultivar which is used as a bloomless-type stock. Without Si supply, growth depression occurred in both cultivars at the levels of 100 and 500 µM Mn in the nutrient solution. The alleviative effect of Si on the growth depression was observed more distinctly for the Shintosa cultivar than for the Super unryu cultivar, and the effect became more pronounced with increasing Si levels in the nutrient solution. Regardless of the Mn levels, addition of Si did not decrease the Mn content of the plants. The relative shoot growth was reduced to less than 80% when the molar ratio of Si/Mn in the shoots was lower than 4.5. In the second experiment, Mn and Si in the lower leaves of the Shintosa cultivar treated with different levels of Mn with and without Si supply were extracted with 10 mM Tris-HCI buffer (pH 7.4). At the levels of 100 and 250 µM Mn, the amounts of Mn in the buffer-insoluble fraction increased in the presence of Si supply and the buffer-soluble Mn accounted for less than 9% of the total Mn in the leaf. In addition, more than 84% of the total Si was found in the buffer-insoluble fraction at each Mn level. Distribution of Mn and Si on the surface of the lowerú leaves of the Shintosa cultivar treated with 250 µM Mn with and without Si supply was examined by electron probe X-ray microanalysis in the third experiment; Both Mn and Si accumulated at high concentrations around the base of the trichomes in the presence of Si supply. Without Si supply, Mn was detected around the necrotic brown lesions in addition to the base of the trichomes. These results suggested that in the Shintosa cultivar, Si alleviated the Mn toxicity through a localized accumulation of Mn with Si in a metabolically inactive form around the base of the trichomes on the leaf surface.     

Optimizing the application of dairy farm effluent and manure to mitigate gas emission

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The impact of dairy farm effluent and manure applications upon gas emissions from soil is of concern for agronomic, ecological, and environmental reasons. Yet it...     

用探针杂交法检测鸡毒支原体和滑液囊支原体

根据鸡毒支原体(MG)和滑液囊支原体(MS)的16SrRNA基因序列，设计并合成了探针MG和MS共同目的基因，跨幅为580bP的一对引物。用这对引物对2个标准的MG和1个标准的Ms菌株DNA模板进行聚合酶锭反应(PcR)，结果得到了预期大小约580bP的PcR产物。回收纯化琼脂糖电泳凝肢中的MG扩增产物克隆至T载体中，DIG随机引物法合成核酸探针，斑点杂交试验对MG和MS均呈阳性，检测灵敏度分别为2ng和3ng，其它对照菌(毒)株为阴性。