Relationship between heterosis and genetic divergence in 'Tongil'-type rice

Improving grain yield and quality of ‘Tongil’‐type rice (indica/japonica) continues to be a major breeding objective in Korea. In this study, genetic divergence among 13‘Tongil’‐type rice cultivars was evaluated and the relationship between genetic distance and hybrid performance in all possible nonreciprocal crosses between them assessed. The 78 F₁ hybrids together with the 13 parents were evaluated for eight traits of agronomic importance, including yield, in a replicated field trial. The 13 parents were examined for DNA polymorphism using 71 micro‐satellite or simple sequence repeats and 46 random decamer oligonucleotide primers. A total of 319 polymorphic variants were generated and, based on the polymorphism data, genetic distances (GDs) ranged from 0.021 to 0.437. Cluster analysis based on GDs revealed associations among cultivars which was in agreement with the pedigree data. Heterosis was observed in hybrids for most of the traits, and yield exhibited the highest heterosis among the eight traits examined. The correlation values of GDs with F₁ performance were mostly nonsignificant, except for yield, culm length and spikelets per panicle. The correlations of GDs with midparent and better‐parent heterosis were not significant enough to be of predictive value. These results indicate that GDs based on the microsatellite and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers may not be useful for predicting heterotic combinations in ‘Tongil’‐type rice and support the idea that the level of correlation between hybrid performance and genetic divergence is dependent on the germplasm used.     

Antibacterial Meroterpenoids,Merochlorins G–J from the Marine Bacterium Streptomyces sp.

Four new chlorinated meroterpenoids, merochlorins G−J (1−4), and 10, a dihydronaphthalenedione precursor, along with known merochlorins A (5) and C−F (6−9), were obtained from cultivation of the bacterium strain Streptomyces sp. CNH-189, which was isolated from marine sediment. The planar structures of compounds 1−4 and 10 were elucidated by interpretation of MS, UV, and NMR spectroscopic data. The relative configurations of compounds 1−4 were determined via analysis of nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) spectroscopic data, after which their absolute configurations were established by comparing the experimental electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra of compounds 1−4 to those of previously reported possible enantiomer models and DP4 calculations. Compound 3 displayed strong antibacterial activities against Bacillus subtilis, Kocuria rhizophila, and Staphylococcus aureus, with MIC values of 1, 2, and 2 μg/mL, respectively, whereas compound 1 exhibited weak antibacterial effects on these three strains, with a 16−32 μg/mL MIC value range.     

Policosanol Contents and Composition of Grain Sorghum Kernels and Dried Distillers Grains

Grain sorghum can be a major source of policosanols, long‐chained alcohols, that have beneficial physiological activities. Sorghum dried distillers grains (DDG), a by‐product of ethanol production from grain sorghum, contain a large amount of policosanols. Content and composition of policosanols in long‐chained lipids extracted from grain sorghum kernels and DDG were determined. Long‐chained lipids were extracted using hot hexane or hot ethanol. The major components of the long‐chained lipids extracted from grain sorghum kernels, as determined using HPLC, were policosanols (37–44%), aldehydes (44–55%), and acids (4–5%). Long‐chained lipids from DDG contained 52% policosanols, 23% aldehydes, 6.4% acids, and 17% wax esters/steryl esters. Composition of policosanols in DDG matched the composition in grain sorghum kernels, as determined by gas chromatography, even though the content of policosanols in DDG was greater than the content in grain sorghum kernels. Policosonal composition ranges were 0–1% C22:0, 0–3% C24:0, 6–8% C26:0, 1% C27:0, 43–47% C28:0, 1–2% C29:0, 40–43% C30:0, and 1–4% C32:0.     

Egg hatching rate and fatty acid composition of Acartia bilobata (Calanoida,Copepoda) across cold storage durations

To investigate egg storage capacity of the copepod Acartia bilobata for aquaculture interest, we tested hatching success rate (HSR) of inclusive eggs (mixture of all egg types) after 4°C storage. The HSR peaked after 14 days storage when incubating at 28°C for 48 hr (85.8 ± 1.6%) and 72 hr (87.6 ± 0.9%), then gradually declined until 1 year (48 hr: 7 ± 0.6%; 72 hr: 19.4 ± 3.9%). Reallocation of fatty acid profile suggests that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is correlated with the HSR of A. bilobata eggs. Additionally, we investigated the HSR of diapausing eggs (unhatched eggs after 72 hr incubation of the inclusive eggs) after 4°C storage. Their HSR peaked after 14 days storage (48 hr:75.3 ± 3.5%; 72 hr:78.2 ± 2.1%), then gradually declined until 60 days (48 hr HSR:42.1 ± 2.3%; 72 hr HSR:53.0 ± 3.2%). Overall, we illustrated the hatchability of diapausing and quiescent eggs of A. bilobata after 4°C storage. The cold storage capacities were low (<60% HSR after 60 days), and it could be limited by the egg DHA content. Our findings provide implications for future studies aiming to improve cold storage techniques of tropical copepod eggs for aquaculture applications.     

Calcifying aponeurotic fibroma on the paw in a dog

A 12-year-old, spayed female, Maltese dog with a round and firm mass on the dorsal part of the left rear paw and a cervical mass was brought to the clinic. The paw mass was contiguous to the adjacent tendon; it was composed of neoplastic mesenchymal cells and had scattered foci of calcification with chondroid differentiation microscopically. The neoplastic cells were positive for vimentin and S100, but negative for desmin and smooth muscle actin. Microscopic features and immunohistochemistry results were consistent with calcifying aponeurotic fibroma (CAF). The cervical mass was composed of polygonal cells forming acini with marked anisocytosis and anisokaryosis and diagnosed as thyroid follicular carcinoma. No recurrence or metastasis occurred during follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of canine CAF with features identical to its human counterparts.Key clinical message:This report describes the rare case of calcifying aponeurotic fibroma on the paw in a dog. This is apparently the first case in the veterinary literature with identical clinical and pathological features to the human counterpart.     

Isolation, antifungal activity, and structure elucidation of the glutarimide antibiotic, streptimidone, produced by Micromonospora coerulea.

The antibiotic Ao58A,which showed strong antifungal activity against some plant pathogenic fungi, was purified from the culture broth and mycelial mats of Micromonospora coerulea strain Ao58 using various chromatographic procedures. The molecular formula of the antibiotic Ao58A was deduced to be C(16)H(23)NO(4) (M + H, m/z 294.1707) by high-resolution FAB mass spectroscopy. Analyses of (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and 2D NMR spectral data revealed that the antibiotic Ao58A is the glutarimide antibiotic streptimidone, 4-(2-hydroxy-5, 7-dimethyl-4-oxo-6,8-nonadienyl)-2,6-piperidinedione. The antibiotic Ao58A was very effective in inhibiting growth of Phytophthora capsici,Didymella bryoniae, Magnaporthe grisea, and Botrytis cinerea in the range approximately 3-10 microg mL(-)(1) of MICs. In vivo evaluation of the antibiotic Ao58A under greenhouse condition showed strong control efficacies against the development of P. capsici, B. cinerea, and M. grisea on pepper, cucumber, and rice plants, respectively. The antibiotic Ao58A was equally as effective as metalaxyl, vinclozolin, and tricyclazole in the control of these plant diseases. However, it did not show any phytotoxicity on the plants even when treated with 500 microg mL(-)(1).     

Histological and ultrastructural comparisons of compatible, incompatible and -β-amino- n -butyric acid-induced resistance responses of pepper stems to Phytophthora capsici

The compatible interaction of pepper stems with Phytophthora capsici showed more rapid and severe disease development than did the incompatible interaction, although pathogen penetration styles of host cells in compatible and incompatible interactions were similar to each other. Treatment with -β-amino- n -butyric acid (BABA) protected the pepper plants against P. capsici infection. Reduced hyphal growth and sporangial formation were found after P. capsici infection in BABA-induced resistant and incompatible reactions. One of the most noticeable ultrastructural features of the BABA-induced resistant reaction was the formation of electron-dense wall appositions. The thick and dense wall appositions that encased the haustoria restricted haustorial development, thus leading to limitation of further pathogen penetration into inner plant tissues. A main host response in the incompatible interaction was the occlusion of cortical cells with an amorphous material. Plugging of the intercellular spaces in the cortical cells with electron opaque material was frequently observed in the incompatible interaction, but not in the compatible interaction. Another common feature of the BABA-induced resistant and incompatible reactions was degeneration of mitochondrial structure within penetrating hyphal cytoplasm. The mitochondrial structure in the BABA-induced resistant or incompatible reactions had no distinct double membrane layer and well-shaped cristae.