Amino acid composition of rice callus tissue grown with different kinds of nitrogen sources

There have been several papers dealing with the difference in chemical composition between callus tissue and normal parent tissue. WEINSTEIN, TULECKE, NICKELL, and LAURENCOT (1–3) revealed, in a series of papers, that the contents of amino acids, sugars, and nucleic acids often differed strikingly between callus and normal tissue of Agave toumeyana Trel. (1), Ginkgo biloba, L. (2), and PAUL's scarlet rose (3). STEWARD, THOMPSON, and POLLARD (4) also reported that the content of some amino acids of rapidly growing and randomly proliferating tissue is outstandingly different from that of normal tissue.     

狭叶茶提取物对小鼠氧化应激性肝损伤的保护作用

研究狭叶茶(Camellia angustifolia Chang)提取物对拘束负荷诱发小鼠应激性肝损伤的保护作用。采用拘束负荷小鼠应激性肝损伤模型,18h拘束负荷诱发小鼠应激性肝损伤,分别用赖氏法测定小鼠血浆和肝组织丙氨酸转移酶(ALT)活性、硫代巴比妥酸法测定丙二醛(MDA)含量、HPLC法测定谷胱甘肽(GSH)水平、比色法测定黄嘌呤氧化酶(XOD)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GPX)和谷胱甘肽S转移酶(GST)活性,荧光酶标仪测定血浆、肝组织及狭叶茶提取物体外抗氧化能力指数(ORAC)。与拘束模型组相比,狭叶茶提取物可以明显提高拘束负荷小鼠血浆与肝组织匀浆的ALT活性和抗氧化能力指数,提高GSH水平,增强GPX和GST活性,有效降低肝组织中MDA含量和XOD活性,并在体外显示出较强的抗氧化能力。说明狭叶茶提取物对拘束应激引起的小鼠肝损伤具有一定的保护作用,其作用机制可能部分来自于减少拘束负荷小鼠氧化应激水平,清除自由基和抑制脂质过氧化过程。     

Chemerin fragments show different effects on systemic blood pressure dependent on carboxyl-terminal cleavage site

Chemerin is an adipocytokine whose concentration in blood correlates positively with blood pressure (BP). We have recently revealed that acute intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of chemerin-9, an active fragment of human chemerin, increased systemic BP in normal Wistar rats, suggesting that chemerin is involved in the central nervous control of peripheral BP. After secreted as an inactive form as prochemerin, a mature form of active chemerin is produced through the cleavage of its carboxyl (C)-terminus by proteases. Although the activity of cleaved products of chemerin has been examined in vitro, in vivo effects remained to be elusive. In order to explore them, we performed acute i.c.v. injection of mouse chemerin-9 (mChemerin-9; 148F-156S), mouse chemerin-8 (mChemerin-8; 148F-155F), and mouse chemerin-7 (mChemerin-7; 148F-154A) into Wistar rats, and examined the effects on systemic BP. After chemerin fragment (1–30 nmol/head, i.c.v.) was cumulatively administered, systemic BP was measured by a cannulation method under an isoflurane anesthesia. mChemerin-9 but not mChemerin-8 and -7 induced a pressor response, which was concentration-dependent. In conclusion, we for the first time demonstrated that mChemerin-9 that corresponds to the C-terminal nine amino acids of active mouse chemerin156S increased systemic BP in rats, and also that chemerin fragments showed different effects on systemic BP dependent on how their C-terminus was cleaved.     

Effects of rumen‐protected methionine on milk production in early lactation dairy cattle fed with a diet containing 14.5% crude protein

We evaluated the influence on milk production of feeding early lactation cows a diet that included 14.5% crude protein (CP) and that did not meet methionine (Met) requirements or that met them by supplying rumen‐protected Met (RPMet). Thirty‐nine multiparous Holstein cows were allocated into two groups. For 15 weeks after calving, each group was fed one of the two total mixed rations, Control (n = 20) or Treatment (n = 19). The Treatment group received added RPMet at 0.034% (8 g/day) of the Control diet on dry matter basis. The adequacies of Met for the Control and Treatment groups were 96% and 106%, respectively, and for other amino acids, >110%. The CP level (14.5%) was 1 percentage point lower than that recommended by the Japanese Feeding Standard (2006). No between‐group differences were found in milk yield (40 kg/day), milk composition, plasma profile, rumen fermentation, nitrogen balance, or cow health. Met intake and the amount of rumen‐undegradable feed Met were higher in the Treatment group (p < 0.05). Microbial Met and total metabolizable Met did not differ between groups. Supplying RPMet in a 14.5% CP diet during early lactation did not dramatically affect milk production, because the amount of total metabolizable Met was unchanged.     

Kazakhstani native cattle reveal highly divergent mtDNA from Bos taurus and Bos indicus lineages with an absence of Bos indicus Y chromosome

Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country and contains two important propagation routes for livestock from the Fertile Crescent to Asia. Therefore, genetic information about Kazakhstani cattle can be important for understanding the propagation history and the genetic admixture in Central Asian cattle. In the present study, we analyzed the complete mtDNA D‐loop sequence and SRY gene polymorphism in 122 Kazakhstani native cattle. The D‐loop sequences revealed 79 mitochondrial haplotypes, with the major haplogroups T and I. The Bos taurus subhaplogroups consisted of T (3.3%), T1 (2.5%), T2 (2.5%), and T4 (0.8%) in addition to the predominant subhaplogroup T3 (86.9%), and the Bos indicus subhaplogroup of I1 (4.1%). Subsequently, we investigated the paternal lineages of Bos taurus and Bos indicus, however, all Kazakhstani cattle were shown to have Y chromosome of Bos taurus origin. While highly divergent mtDNA subhaplogroups in Kazakhstani cattle could be due to the geographical proximity of Kazakhstan with the domestication center of the Fertile Crescent, the absence of Bos indicus Y chromosomes could be explained by a decoupling of the introgression dynamics of maternal and paternal lineages. This genetic information would contribute to understanding the genetic diversity and propagation history of cattle in Central Asia.     

Effects of feeding condensed barley distillers soluble on growth rate,ruminal fermentation,plasma metabolites,and myofiber properties of the longissimus thoracis muscle in Japanese Black calves

This study evaluated the effects of condensed barley distillers soluble (CBDS) on growth rate, rumen fermentation, plasma metabolite, and myofiber properties, and gene expression related to metabolism in the skeletal muscles of Japanese Black calves, compared with soybean meal and corn. Twenty‐four calves were divided into four groups: fed 5% CBDS based on the hay dry matter weight (low CBDS) and fed soybean meal and corn at the same nutrition level (control); and fed 15% CBDS based on the hay dry matter weight (high CBDS) and fed soybean meal and corn at the same nutrition level (high soy). The daily gain was larger in the low (p = 0.08) and high (p < 0.05) CBDS groups compared with the control group. In the CBDS‐fed groups, plasma β‐hydroxybutyric acid concentrations were significantly higher at 6 months of age (p < 0.05), the percentage of type I myofibers was significantly lower and their diameters were significantly larger at 9 months of age (p < 0.05), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1b mRNA expression was significantly lower (p < 0.05) and citrate synthase mRNA expression tended to be lower (low; p = 0.06, high; p = 0.05) compared with control group. Thus, feeding CBDS promotes growth and leads to animals with more glycolytic and less oxidative muscle metabolism.     

The Eurasian Steppe is an important goat propagation route: A phylogeographic analysis using mitochondrial DNA and Y‐chromosome sequences of Kazakhstani goats

Goats (Capra hircus) were domesticated in the Fertile Crescent and propagated all over the world. The Silk Road through the Eurasian Steppe belt is a possible propagation route for domestic goats to Central Asia. Kazakhstan is in close geographical proximity to domestication centers and covers the majority of the Eurasian Steppe belt. In this study, we examined the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of Kazakhstani goats. The mtDNA sequences of 141 Kazakhstani goats were categorized into haplogroups A, C, and D, of which haplogroup A was predominant (97%), whereas haplogroups C and D were detected at low frequencies (1.4% each). The Kazakhstani haplotypes C were thzen categorized into Asian mtDNA type. Sequence analysis of the SRY gene on the Y‐chromosome in 67 male Kazakhstani goats revealed two haplotypes: Y1A (64%) and Y2A (36%). Analysis of the distribution of mtDNA haplogroups and SRY haplotypes from Eurasia and Africa demonstrated genetic similarity among animals from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Northwest China located on the Eurasian Steppe belt. These phylogeographic results suggested that the Eurasian Steppe belt was an important propagation route for goats to Central Asia.     

Effects of added protein (bovine serum albumin) on the rate and enantiotopic selectivity of oxidative O-demethylation of methoxychlor in rat liver microsomes

The addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) to rat liver microsomal suspensions during the O-demethylation of methoxychlor (1,1-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,2,2-trichloroethane) produced a good substrate concentration-reaction rate relationship, and allowed us to determine the rate parameters for this reaction. The apparent K_m became larger when the albumin content was increased, whereas V_max was not changed. The enantiotopic selectivity of the reaction dramatically changed when the substrate concentration was increased in the absence of BSA in phenobarbital-treated rat liver microsomes.     

Deuterium isotope effects on the formation of mercapturic acids from lindane in rats

Metabolism experiments with rats showed that significant isotope effects ($\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>H</mtext>}}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>D</mtext>}}\text{= 2.4}\text{to}\text{3.5}$) were associated with the in vivo formation of dichloro and trichlorophenylmercapturic acids from a 1:1 mixture of normal and hexadeuterated lindane. This is evidence that rate-determining dehydrogenation and dehydrochlorination, both of which proceed with significant isotope effects, are essential in the pathway of dichloro- and trichlorophenylmercapturic acid formation from lindane. No significant primary isotope effects were associated ($\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>H</mtext>}}\text{k}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>D</mtext>}}\text{= 1.31 ± 0.17}$) with the formation of monochlorophenylmercapturic acid. This suggests that the 1,2-dechlorination to tetrachlorocyclohexene followed by glutathione conjugation is the probable pathway that produces this metabolite from lindane.