Identification of sialyl oligosaccharides including an oligosaccharide nucleotide in colostrum of an addax (Addax nasomaculatus) (Subfamily Antelopinae)

Mammalian milk/colostrum usually contains milk oligosaccharides along with the predominant lactose. Although milk oligosaccharides of a variety of Bovidae species including cow, sheep and goat have been characterized, those of the addax, an Antelopinae species of the Bovidae, have not as yet been clarified. In this study, several sialyl oligosaccharides were purified from a sample of addax colostrum and characterized as follows: Neu5Ac(α2‐8)Neu5Ac(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc, Neu5Gc(α2‐8)Neu5Gc(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc, Neu5Ac(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc, Neu5Ac(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)GlcNAc, Neu5Gc(α2‐3)Gal(β1‐4)Glc, Neu5Gc(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)Glc, Neu5Gc(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)GlcNAc. In addition, an oligosaccharide nucleotide Neu5Gc(α2‐6)Gal(β1‐4)GlcNAcα1‐UDP was characterized. Molecular species of a variety of sialyl oligosaccharides found in milk and colostrum of these Bovidae were compared.     

The immunohistochemical evaluation of estrogen receptor-alpha and progesterone receptors of normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic endometrium in 88 pet rabbits

The expression of estrogen receptor-alpha (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in normal, hyperplastic, and neoplastic endometrium in rabbits was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The tissues evaluated were 27 normal uteri, 19 cases with endometrial hyperplasia, and 42 adenocarcinomas. Sixteen of 27 cases of normal uteri (59.3%) and 13 out of 19 hyperplasias (68.4%) stained positive with both ER-alpha and PR. Adenocarcinomas were further subdivided into 26 papillary and 16 tubular/solid adenocarcinomas. Papillary adenocarcinoma infiltrated the myometrium late in the disease and caused attenuation of the myometrium. In contrast, tubular/solid adenocarcinoma invaded into the deep myometrium early in the disease without thinning of the myometrium. Twenty-one cases out of 26 (80.8%) cases of papillary adenocarcinoma were both ER-alpha and PR negative, whereas 15 out of 16 (93.8%) of the tubular/solid adenocarcinomas were positive for ER-alpha, PR, or both. The total immunoreactive scores of ER-alpha, PR, and mode of myometrial invasion were significantly different between histopathologic types. This suggests that there may be 2 different developmental pathways for uterine adenocarcinomas in the rabbit.     

Changes in major capsid genes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">g23</Emphasis>) of T4-type bacteriophages with soil depth in two Japanese rice fields

Although microbial communities in soil are well known to change with soil depth, the changes in viral communities with soil depth have not been documented. This study examined the soil depth profiles of T4-type phage communities in two Japanese rice fields from g23 clones in soil DNA extracts to a depth of 1 m. T4-type phage communities changed with soil depth, and the communities were grouped into two groups: the communities of the surface soil layers, where rice roots developed densely, and those of the subsoil layers. Although coarse- and fine-textured soils were stratified in the subsoil layers in both profiles, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis band patterns and phylogenetic affiliation of g23 were highly similar to each other among the subsoil layers in both fields, indicating that soil texture did not affect T4-type phage communities in these fields. In addition, some clones had g23 sequences identical to those retrieved from rice fields in Northeast China, indicating that closely related viruses and their hosts distribute across the sea between rice fields in Japan and Northeast China.     

Comparison of g23 gene sequence diversity between Novosphingobium and Sphingomonas phages and phage communities in the floodwater of a Japanese paddy field

Our previous study indicated that the diversity of the major capsid gene (g23) of T4-type bacteriophages (phages) of Novosphingobium and Sphingomonas strains isolated from the floodwater of a Japanese paddy field is comparable to those of the clones obtained from other Japanese paddy fields. For more strict comparison of the diversity, this study examined g23 sequences between Novosphingobium and Sphingomonas phages and phage communities in the identical floodwater of a Japanese paddy field. The clones were obtained by applying g23-specific primers to DNA extracted from the floodwaters. Many 23 clones in the floodwater were grouped into the same clusters of Paddy Groups I-VI with g23 genes of Novosphingobium/Sphingomonas phages with some clones belonging to an additional cluster. In addition, the remaining clones belonged to the clusters of marine clones and T4-type enterophages. These findings indicate that the g23 genes in the floodwater are more diversified than those of Novosphingobium/Sphingomonas phages including g23 genes closely related to the genes of enterophages and marine origins.     

Surveillance of Marek's disease virus in migratory and sedentary birds in Hokkaido, Japan

Marek's disease virus serotype 1 (MDV-1) strains cause malignant lymphoma in chickens. MDV-1 has been previously reported to be widespread in white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons); however, the prevalence of MDV-1 in other wild birds has not been determined. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of MDV-1 in various wild birds in Hokkaido, Japan. The MDV-1 genome was widespread in geese and ducks, but was not detected in other birds. MDV-1 was detected in both sedentary and migratory species. These results suggest that, in Japan, MDV-1 is widespread in wild goose and duck populations, and that resident ducks may be significant carriers and reservoirs of MDV-1.