Comparison of microbial communities in percolating water from plow layer and subsoil layer estimated by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis

Abstract

The amount and composition of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) in the percolating water taken from different depths of soil (10 cm, PW10; 40 cm, PW40) and floodwater (FW) in a paddy field were compared during the period of rice cultivation. The amounts of PLFAs in PW10, PW40, and FW ranged from 22.6 to 46.2 μg L^?1, from 22.3 to 54.5 μg L^?1, and from 82.9 to 179.0 μg L^?1, respectively. The PLFA profiles in PW10, PW40, and FW were similar to each other and 16 : 1ω7c, 18 : 1ω7, and 16 : 0 PLFAs were dominant components, irrespective of the sampling site and sampling time. High proportions of straight mono-unsaturated PLFAs ranging from 42.0 to 76.5% suggested that Gram-negative bacteria were the major members in the microbial communities of the water samples studied. A potential indicator of the environmental stresses imposed upon the microbiota that was represented by the trans vs. cis ratio of 16 : 17 PLFA was constantly low (< 0.05), indicating that the microbial communities at these sites were hardly stressed.     

Glucose metabolism in detached leaves of tomato plants grown with ammonium and nitrate as nitrogen sources

The metabolism of exogenous glucose-¹⁴C in the light and the dark was studied in the detached leaves of tomato plants grown with ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen. In the light, ¹⁴CO₂, release and incorporation of glucose into insoluble materials were hardly affected at all by the nitrogen sources. Among the soluble labelled amino acids, serine had the greatest amount of label in the ammonium-plants while aspartate had the greatest amount in the nitrate-plants. This aspartate was synthesized from C₃-compounds by carboxylation. During dark-light transition, the change in the composition of soluble amino acids was more rapid in the ammonium-plants than in the nitrate-plants. In the dark, ¹⁴CO₂-release, which was ten times as much as in the light, was larger in the ammonium-plants than in the nitrate-plants; but the synthesis of high molecular compounds from glucose in the ammonium-plants was about half that in the nitrate-plants. So, it is considered that respiration operates sufficiently in the ammonium-plants. The effects of DCMU and a 100% O₂ atmosphere on glucose metabolism in both groups of plants were studied and the respiration of leaves in the light was discussed.     

Molecular species of collagen in muscular and vertebral parts of white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus

The molecular species of collagen in the muscular and vertebral parts of white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus were examined by biochemical techniques. Pepsin-solubilized collagens were prepared from these parts, and fractionated into major and minor collagen fractions by differential salt precipitation at acidic or neutral pH. Collagens contained in these fractions showed several features characteristic of fish type I and V collagens, respectively, in SDS-PAGE patterns and the amino acid compositions of both parts. These results suggest that at least two molecular species, corresponding to type I and V collagens, are distributed in the muscular and vertebral parts of white sturgeon.     

Inactivation of Escherichia coli in soil by solarization

Contamination of agricultural soil by fecal pathogenic bacteria poses a potential risk of infection to humans. For the biosafety control of field soil, soil solarization in an upland field was examined to determine the efficiency of solarization on the inactivation of Escherichia coli inoculated into soil as a model microorganism for human pathogenic bacteria. Soil solarization, carried out by sprinkling water and covering the soil surface with thin plastic sheets, greatly increased the soil temperature. The daily average temperature of the solarized soil was 4–10°C higher than that of the non-solarized soil and fluctuated between 31 and 38°C. The daily highest temperature reached more than 40°C for 8 days in total in the solarized soil during the second and third weeks of the experiment. Escherichia coli in the solarized soil became undetectable (< 0.08 c.f.u. g⁻¹ dry soil) within 4 weeks as a result, whereas E. coli survived for more than 6 weeks in the non-solarized soil. Soil solarization, however, had little influence on the total direct count and total viable count of bacteria in the soil. These results indicate that soil solarization would be useful for the biosafety control of soil contaminated by human pathogens via immature compost or animal feces.     

Postnatal developmental changes in immunohistochemical localization of alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and vimentin in bovine testes

The present study demonstrates the postnatal developmental changes in immunohistochemical localization of alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and vimentin in the bovine testis. In the peritubular myoid cells of seminiferous tubules and the sub-epithelial and stromal cells of straight tubules and the rete testis, alpha-SMA starts appearing at around 4 months of age. Peritubular alpha-SMA attains the continuous mature pattern at around 5 months of age whereas sub-epithelial and stromal alpha-SMA increases with advancing age. Vimentin is localized in the perinuclear zone of Sertoli cells, peritubular and vascular wall cells, a few interstitial cells, and in the basal part of the epithelia of straight and rete tubules. Developmental changes are only evident in the Sertoli cell vimentin, which is basal and weak at birth and increases moderately until 4 months of age. From around 5 to 8 months of age when the Sertoli cells are under morphological transformation, vimentin intensity is considerably increased and the characteristic vimentin extensions connect the Sertoli nuclei to the basal membrane. These extensions get shorter at around 9 month of age as the Sertoli nuclei are positioned basally. The mature Sertoli cell perinuclear vimentin is strong and stable without infranuclear extension. In conclusion, the age of appearance of alpha-SMA coincides with the onset of postnatal division of spermatogonia, and vimentin may play a key role in stabilizing Sertoli cell nuclei during their transformation in bovine.     

Genetic analysis of antixenosis resistance to the common cutworm (Spodoptera litura Fabricius) and its relationship with pubescence characteristics in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

The common cutworm (CCW, Spodoptera litura Fabricius) is one of the most serious pests of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). Previously, two quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for antibiosis resistance to CCW, CCW-1 and CCW-2, were detected in the resistant cultivar Himeshirazu. In this study, we conducted an anti-xenosis bioassay using a recombinant inbred population derived from a cross between a susceptible cultivar Fukuyutaka and Himeshirazu to perform QTL analysis. Two QTLs for antixenosis resistance, qRslx1 and qRslx2, were identified on Chrs 7 and 12, and the resistant alleles of qRslx1 and qRslx2 were derived from Himeshirazu and Fukuyutaka, respectively. The position of qRslx1 is similar to that of CCW-1. We also analyzed pubescence characteristics because they have been reported to be associated with soybean insect resistance. Two QTLs for pubescence length (on Chrs 7 and 12) and two QTLs for pubescence density (on Chrs 1 and 12) were identified. The pubescence QTLs on Chrs 7 and 12 were located near qRslx1 and qRslx2, respectively. These results suggest that the antixenosis resistance could be controlled genetically by the identified QTLs and that the pubescence characteristics might contribute to the soybean antixenosis resistance to CCW.     

Nodulation of Rj-soybean varieties with Rhizobium fredii USDA 193 under limited supply of nutrients

The compatibility between rhizobia and host plants for nodulation was determined based on the genetic and physiological properties of both symbionts. It has been observed that soybean varieties carrying the Rj-gene were not nodulated effectively by certain strains or groups of rhizobia. Soybeans carrying the Rj ₂-gene, Rj ₂-varieties, were found to nodule ineffectively by the rhizobial strains belonging to the 3-24-44 and 122 serogroups (Caldwell 1966). In the same way, Rj ₃- and Rj ₄-varieties were found to nodule ineffectively by strains USDA 33 (Vest 1970) and USDA 61 (Vest and Caldwell 1972), respectively.     

Methionine sulfoximine suppressed the stimulation of dark carbon fixation by ammonium nutrition in wheat roots

To evaluate the role of NH₄ ⁺ assimilates in dark carbon fixation in roots in providing carbon skeletons expended for NH₄ ⁺ assimilation, the rate of dark carbon fixation in roots was measured using NaH¹⁴CO₃. The ¹⁴C-metabolites were analyzed in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants grown in NH₄ ⁺ media for various periods of time with or without methionine sulfoximine (MSX) treatment. The dark carbon fixation rate in the roots of wheat plants that had been grown with NH₄ ⁺ for 1 d was approximately 6-fold higher than the rate in control roots. The stimulation of dark carbon fixation in NH₄ ⁺-grown plants, however, was not observed in MSX-treated roots. In the roots of NH₄ ⁺-grown plants, the concentration and ¹⁴C-Iabeling of acidic metabolites such as citrate and malate considerably decreased whereas those of basic metabolites, especially asparagine, increased noticeably. With MSX treatment, the incorporation of ¹⁴C into basic metabolites was negligible. In response to NH₄ ⁺, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) activity increased, and PEPC proteins accumulated in wheat roots. Neither activity nor amounts of PEPC in roots increased in the presence of MSX. These findings suggest that primary assimilation of NH₄ ⁺ in roots is essential for the stimulation of dark carbon fixation, which coincides with the increased activity of root PEPC, to sufficiently replenish carbon skeletons necessary for NH₄ ⁺ assimilation.