Erythema multiforme possibly triggered by food substances in a dog

A 5-year-old female border collie presented with erythematous skin lesions at the axillae, groin, mucocutaneous junctions, and pinnae. Biopsy revealed lymphocytic interface dermatitis with hydropic degeneration of basal cells and keratinocyte apoptosis. Based on gross and histological features, diagnosis of erythema multiforme was made. The disease was resolved by treatment with azathioprine, prednisolone, and a hypoallergenic diet. Finally, the skin lesion was controlled without drug therapy but recurred easily every time commercial foods except the hypoallergenic diet were used, suggesting that food substances triggered this outbreak.     

Bioluminescence reporter assay system to monitor Arabidopsis MPK3 gene expression in response to infection by Botrytis cinerea

The Arabidopsis MPK3 gene product participates in disease resistance mediated by the MAP kinase cascade. The expression of the MPK3 gene is induced by pathogen inoculation and treatment with chemicals such as salicylic acid (SA) and methyl jasmonate (JA), but the detailed expression pattern of the MPK3 gene has been largely unknown. To investigate MPK3 gene expression in response to disease stress, we fused the MPK3 promoter to the firefly luciferase gene to create a real-time monitoring system for regulated gene expression in planta. The results of an in vivo reporter assay using transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring MPK3::Fluc showed that the MPK3 promoter activity was induced by treatment with chemicals such as SA and benzo(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH), that induce defense gene expression. Inoculation with the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea resulted in systemic induction of MPK3::Fluc.     

Synergistic Antifungal Activity of Chitinolytic Enzymes and Prodigiosin Produced by Biocontrol Bacterium, Serratia marcescens Strain B2 against Gray Mold Pathogen, Botrytis cinerea

Serratia marcescens strain B2 is an effective biocontrol agent against gray mold of cyclamen, caused by Botrytis cinerea Persoon. Strain B2 has strong antifungal activity against B. cinerea in vitro. The culture filtrate was found to contain different types of chitinolytic enzyme activity, including endochitinase and chitobiase activity. Four chitinolytic enzymes were detected among the extracellular proteins of strain B2. Two major enzymes, a 58-kDa endochitinase and a 98-kDa chitobiase, were purified by chromatography and electrofocusing, respectively. Both enzymes inhibited spore germination of B. cinerea. And a red pigment, prodigiosin, extracted and purified from the bacterial cells, also inhibited spore germination. When prodigiosin and the chitinolytic enzymes were applied in concert, a synergistic inhibitory effect was observed. S. marcescens strain B2 has multiple modes of action against the pathogen. Received 14 February 2001/ Accepted in revised form 31 May 2001     

化肥有机肥配合施用下双季稻田氮素形态变化

为揭示有机无机肥配合施用下稻田氮素的动态及迁移特征,在湘南双季水稻农作区第四纪红土发育的红黄泥稻田上进行了连续6年田间试验。通过比较不施氮肥（PK）、施用有机肥猪粪（M）、化肥（NPK）及有机肥化肥配合（NPKM）,研究稻田表层全氮、无机氮动态变化,不同层次（25—30、55—60、85—90 cm）土壤溶液无机氮动态,耕层土壤无机氮动态等。结果表明,NH4+-N是红壤双季稻田无机氮素存在的主要形态,施用化学肥料处理（NPK）施肥后1～3 d表面水NH4+-N浓度占全氮比例可达0.5～0.9,有机肥处理（M）为0.3左右。不同层次土壤溶液及其土壤氮素浓度呈现一致的特征,即施肥后短期内出现浓度峰值随后迅速下降,且随着往下推移,氮素峰值出现时间延长,表层水全氮及无机氮在施肥后1～2 d出现浓度高峰,耕层土壤及25—30 cm土壤溶液无机氮浓度高峰约在施肥后3～5 d。化肥有机肥配施有利于水稻稳产高产,年产量达12.2 t/hm2,比不施氮肥的对照产量（7.3 t/hm2）增加68%;土壤有机质6年提升18.5%,显著高于化肥。施用有机肥（M）及有机无机肥配合（NPKM）显著降低了稻田表层水全氮及不同层次土壤溶液和耕层土壤NH4+-N峰值浓度,提高水稻产量和培肥土壤,有利于减少当前氮肥过量施用带来的环境负荷。     

Responses of ethylene and methane consumption to temperature and pH in temperate volcanic forest soils

There is limited knowledge about the consumption and interaction of methane (CH₄) and ethylene (C₂H₄) in forest soils under disturbances of temperature and acidification. Temperate volcanic forest topsoils (0‐5 cm) sampled under different tree species (e.g. Pinus sylvestris, Cryptomeria japonica and Quercus serrata) were used to study the capacities for CH₄ and C₂H₄ consumption and their sensitivity to temperature and pH. We also studied the responses of soil nitrogen (N) transformations to temperature and relationships to consumption of both CH₄ and C₂H₄. The C₂H₄ consumption rates increased with temperature up to 35^oC, whereas the optimum temperature for CH₄ consumption rates was approximately 25^oC. Both Q₁₀ values and activation energies for CH₄ consumption rates over the range 5 to 25^oC were larger than corresponding values for C₂H₄ consumption rates. The rates of nitrous oxide (N₂O) and nitric oxide (NO) evolution and net N mineralization in the soils increased exponentially with temperature up to 35^oC, with relatively large Q₁₀ values and activation energies for NO evolution. In these forest topsoils, rates of CH₄ and C₂H₄ consumption at pH < 4.0 were negligible, and the pH optimum for both consumptions varied from 5.5 to 6.2. Most of the tested forest soils had an optimum pH for CH₄ and C₂H₄ consumption that was above natural pH values, which indicated that soil acidification would inhibit CH₄ and C₂H₄ consumption in situ. There was a high rate of net C₂H₄ evolution from forest soils acidified experimentally to pH < 4.0, particularly from Cryptomeria japonica forest soil, and 67% of the variation in C₂H₄ evolution rates could be accounted for by the increase in soil water‐soluble organic carbon concentrations. Previous studies have shown that addition of C₂H₄ in headspace gases can inhibit atmospheric CH₄ consumption in such forest soils. Hence, the evolution of C₂H₄ from temperate volcanic forest soils at decreasing pH can exacerbate inhibition of the soil atmospheric CH₄ consumption in situ.     

Inhibitory effects of <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-pipecolic acid from the edible mushroom, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sarcodon aspratus</Emphasis>, on angiotensin I-converting enzyme

The aqueous extract of the edible mushroom Sarcodon aspratus showed inhibitory effects against angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE). l-Pipecolic acid (l-piperidine-2-carboxylic acid) was isolated from a hot-water extract in a 0.02% yield as an active principle. The mode of inhibition of l-pipecolic acid was found to be competitive, whereas its d-isomer showed no significant inhibitory effects against ACE, suggesting that the configuration of the carboxyl group in the molecule plays an important role in the enzyme inhibition.     

Simultaneous detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Japanese yam mosaic virus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yam mild mosaic virus</Emphasis> from yam leaves using a tube capture reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay

To detect Japanese yam mosaic virus (JYMV) and Yam mild mosaic virus (YMMV) in yam plants in Japan, we developed a duplex RT-PCR assay consisting of a tube-capture procedure followed by one-step RT-PCR with two primer pairs. A 241-bp fragment of the coat protein region of JYMV and a 174-bp fragment of the nuclear inclusion protein b region of YMMV were amplified, thus identifying the two viruses from yam plants cultivated in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 2007. All water yam plants examined were infected with YMMV alone. All the Japanese yam and Chinese yam plants were infected with either JYMV alone or both JYMV and YMMV, suggesting that YMMV and JYMV are prevalent among field-grown yam plants.     

Gibberella ear rot of corn caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium asiaticum</Emphasis> in Japan

Ear rot with white or pink mold was found on corn (Zea mays L.). A species of Fusarium, not registered previously as a pathogen causing Gibberella ear rot of corn in Japan, was isolated from the rotted ear. The isolates, identified as F. asiaticum based on morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequences, caused white or pink mold on corn ear after inoculation. Moreover, the 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol chemotype and the nivalenol chemotype were found in the isolates. We propose to include F. asiaticum as one of the pathogens causing Gibberella ear rot of corn in Japan.     

Comparison of prevalence of Felis catus papillomavirus type 2 in squamous cell carcinomas in cats between Taiwan and Japan

Felis catus papillomavirus (FcaPV), especially type 2 (FcaPV2) is considered as one of the causative agents in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in cats. However, our previous study detected FcaPV3 and FcaPV4, but not FcaPV2 in feline SCCs collected in Japan, suggesting that the prevalence of FcaPV2 in SCC may vary depending on geographic locations. To evaluate this hypothesis, two conventional PCR reactions targeting E1 and E7 genes were performed to detect FcaPV2 in feline SCC samples collected in Taiwan and Japan. While 46.9% (23/49) of feline SCC cases from Taiwan were PCR positive for FcaPV2, only 8.6% (3/35) cases from Japan were positive. Our result suggests that the prevalence of FcaPV2 in feline SCCs may depend on the region.     

Effect of water management on greenhouse gas emissions and microbial properties of paddy soils in Japan and Indonesia

This research aims at elucidating the greenhouse gas emissions and its related soil microbial properties in continuously flooded or intermittently drained paddy soils in Japan and Indonesia. The study in Japan comprises alluvial soil and peat, cultivated to rice variety Nipponbare, while in Indonesia comprised alluvial soil cultivated to rice variety Siam Pandak. Intermittent drainage was performed to half number of the plot in 6 days interval, starting at tillering or heading stage of rice, while the other half number of plot was kept flooded as control. The experiments were carried out to follow the randomized block design with three replications. Gas samples were taken in weekly basis, except during the treatments (i.e., every 2 days interval) and analyzed for methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) concentrations. Soil samples were and analyzed for the population of methanogenic bacteria, denitrifiers, methane production and consumption potentials, and methanogenic substrate. Plant growth parameters were also observed. The results showed that intermittent drainage significantly reduced greenhouse gas emission from paddy soil of Indonesia and Japan without significant changes in soil microbial population. The reductions of greenhouse emission from Japanese peaty and alluvial paddy soil due to intermittent drained were about 32 and 37%, respectively. Meanwhile, the reductions in greenhouse gas emission from alluvial soil of Indonesia due to intermittent drainage were very similar to that of in Japan, i.e., average about 37%. This suggests that intermittent drainage can be an appropriate technology option to reduce the greenhouse gas emission from paddy soil in Japan and Indonesia.