Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine mastitis in Japan

Fifty-three strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from cows affected with mastitis from 21 prefectures in Japan were characterized by phenotypic and genotypic methods. Thirty-three (62.3%) strains showed biotype K-beta+CV:A, coagulase type VI, and sensitivity to bovine phages of group III or IV. These 33 strains could be subdivided into two groups on the basis of the production of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) and on toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1). By pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, the 16 SEC- and TSST-1-producing strains showed similar patterns that differed by only a few fragments, suggesting that they were genetically closely related. Fifteen of 17 non SEC-producing strains which did not produce any other SEs and TSST-1 were genetically different from the SEC-producing strains and showed genetic diversity.     

Nutrio-physiological studies on the tomato plant II. Translocation of photosynthates

The percentage translocation from the leaf is low in the tomato; it is as low as 16 per cent in some cases and the maximum value observed is 62 per cent.

The ability of a leaf to act as the sink for the photosynthates of other leaves becomes very low with age, but it serves as a sink for its own photosynthates for a long period.

The photosynthates of a leaf may be translocated to any alnk, but the major translocation stream under ordinary conditions is determined by the growth stage of the plant and the position of the source leaf. In this sense thero are source-sink partnerships between certain leaves and organs: The major sinks of L₅, L₉, L₁₁, L₁₄, and L₁₆ are the roots, T-1, T-Il, T-III, and T-III, respectively, although the partnerships are weak and flexible.     

PCR–RFLP identifies differences in hrpZ sequences to distinguish two genetic groups of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae strains from barley and wheat with bacterial black nod

Differences in hrpZ sequences determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were used to investigate the molecular epidemiology of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (PSS) strains that were isolated from diseased barley and wheat plants in Okayama, Japan. PCR–RFLP using HhaI separated PSS strains into two groups (A and B). Although specific PCR–RFLP groups of PSS strains were not always isolated from specific cultivars or seeds produced in a specific area, many strains isolated from barley and wheat belonged to PCR–RFLP groups A and B, respectively.     

Correction: QTL mapping under salt stress in rice using a Kalarata–Azucena population

Euphytica - The color of flour and its end-use products is an important quality trait of wheat. Understanding the genetic basis of this trait is essential for improving wheat quality. In this...     

Formation of a one-dimensional array of oxygen in a microporous metal-organic solid

We report the direct observation of dioxygen molecules physisorbed in the nanochannels of a microporous copper coordination polymer by the MEM (maximum entropy method)/Rietveld method, using in situ high-resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction measurements. The obtained MEM electron density revealed that van der Waals dimers of physisorbed O2 locate in the middle of nanochannels and form a one-dimensional ladder structure aligned to the host channel structure. The observed O-O stretching Raman band and magnetic susceptibilities are characteristic of the confined O2 molecules in one-dimensional nanochannels of CPL-1 (coordination polymer 1 with pillared layer structure).     

Conversion of a male-specific RAPD marker into an STS marker in Asparagus officinalis L.

Garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) is an economically important plant. This species is dioecious, and male plants are considered to be more desirable than females due to their higher yields. To reduce the time required for asparagus breeding, molecular marker techniques have been employed to identify sex-linked DNA markers. In the present study, we converted the male-specific random amplified polymorphic DNA marker T35R54-1600 into a sequence tagged site marker. We cloned a male-specific DNA fragment amplified with the T35R54 primer and determined the sequence of the fragment. The size of T35R54-1600 is 1,586 bp, and this fragment is not homologous to known sex-linked BAC sequences, indicating that this fragment is a new sex-linked region. Within this fragment, we designed the primer pair ‘MSSTS710’ to amplify a 710 bp region. This marker could be used to identify the sex of eight cultivars of A. officinalis: ‘Mary Washington 500W’, ‘UC157’, ‘Harumachi Green’, ‘Super Welcome’, ‘F4’, ‘Pacific 2000’, ‘F2’ and ‘Backlim’. We also analyzed the applicability of this marker to two dioecious Asparagus species, A. schoberioides and A. kiusianus, which are cross-compatible with A. officinalis. Although male-specific DNA fragments of two dioecious Asparagus species, A. schoberioides and A. kiusianus, were generated using the existing male-specific marker Asp1T7sp, no amplicon was obtained using the MSSTS710 marker. Since MSSTS710 can be employed for sex identification only in A. officinalis and not in closely related Asparagus species, the DNA region around the MSSTS710 marker must be variable among Asparagus species.