Development of new natural polymer-based wood adhesives III: effects of glucose addition on properties of chitosan

The effects of a Maillard reaction between glucose and chitosan on the resultant chitosan films and the bonding properties of chitosans with different molecular weights were investigated. In film preparation, chitosan and glucose were dissolved in 1% acetic acid and dried in a Petri dish at 50°C. The bonding properties of the Maillard-reacted chitosan in three-ply plywood were evaluated by a tensile shear test. The weight, color, free amino groups, insoluble fraction, and thermal properties of the film changed significantly as the amount of added glucose increased. However, few differences in these properties due to the use of chitosan of different molecular weights were observed. The effect of glucose addition on the tensile strength of the film differed for chitosans of different molecular weights. Improvement of the strength by 10 wt% glucose addition was observed in low-molecular-weight chitosans. The dry- and wet-bond strengths were significantly enhanced with increasing glucose addition for low-molecular-weight chitosans. In addition, good bond strength was maintained even in 1% acetic acid solution. It was thus clarified that the bonding properties of low-molecular-weight chitosan were improved markedly by the environmentally safe method of glucose addition.     

Efficient digestion and structural characteristics of cell walls of coffee beans

Screening of effective food-processing cellulase for digestion of cell walls of coffee beans was carried out, and the cellulase from Trichoderma sp. was selected. The digestion of the cell walls of green and roasted coffee beans was carried out by sequential procedures of alkali boiling (0.1 M Na2CO3 buffer, pH 10, and 0.1 M NaOH), cellulase digestion, autoclaving with 0.1 M NaOH, and cellulase redigestion. The total digestion yields were >95 and >96%, respectively. The cell walls became thin, and the final residues of the cell walls were easily broken into small pieces. The neutral sugar analysis of the digestion or the extract and the residues and the microscopy observations with staining with toluidine blue O, Yariv reagent, and calcofluor for the residue in each step were investigated. Four structures, the galactomannan-cellulose (center part), the membrane of the arabinogalactan protein, the cellulose-rich galactomannan layer, and the arabinogalactan protein-rich layers (outer part), were found in the cell walls.     

Regulatory effect of amino acids on the pasting behavior of potato starch is attributable to its binding to the starch chain

The binding of an amino acid, glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala), epsilon-aminocaproic acid (-AC), monosodium glutamate (GluNa), or lysine (Lys), to starch was examined by a biomolecular interaction analyzer (IAsys). A starch sample (ATS) hydrolyzed to an extent of 1% hydrolysis rate with 15% sulfuric acid was used as a model starch for the binding examination. The reducing end of ATS was oxidized by the Somogyi reagent, and the conversion of the reducing end to the carboxyl group of ATS was confirmed by a carboxylic acid fluorescence labeling reagent. The oxidized ATS was immobilized to the amino group of a sensor cuvette by using water-soluble carbodiimide and N-hydroxysuccinimide through an amide bond. The IAsys examination showed that Gly, Ala, and epsilon-AC scarcely bound to the immobilized starch chains but that GluNa and Lys favorably bound with their increasing concentrations. The relative binding index (RBI) of each amino acid was defined by the ratio of the slope of the linear regression equation between the binding response and the concentration for each amino acid to that for Gly. Because the relationships between the RBI and the pasting characteristics (pasting temperature, peak viscosity, breakdown, and swelling index) could each be expressed by a linear regression equation with a high correlation coefficient, it is concluded that the regulation of the pasting behavior of starch with an amino acid is caused by binding of the amino acid to the starch chains.     

Effects of phosphorus and potassium deficiency treatment on roots secretion of wheat and rice seedlings

Abstract

Firstly, the secretion of sugars, protein and acid phosphatase from wheat and rice roots into surrounding medium under conditions of P and K deficiency stresses were studied. Secondly, Sephadex elution patterns of wheat root exudates labeled with ¹⁴C under N, P and K deficiency treatments were compared.

P deficiency treatment induced acid phosphatase activity in medium, in spite of the decrease in the secretion of total sugars and pro tein from roots into medium, whereas no such increase was observed in K deficiency stress.

Secretion of high molecular fraction of ¹⁴C compounds from roots was accelerated by P deficiency stress, probably being associated with the presence of phosphatase activity in the medium.

Activity of acid phosphatase secreted from P-deficient roots corresponded to nearly one half of the rate of P absorption by normal plant.     

Ant nestmate and non-nestmate discrimination by a chemosensory sensillum

In animal societies, chemical communication plays an important role in conflict and cooperation. For ants, cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) blends produced by non-nestmates elicit overt aggression. We describe a sensory sensillum on the antennae of the carpenter ant Camponotus japonicus that functions in nestmate discrimination. This sensillum is multiporous and responds only to non-nestmate CHC blends. This suggests a role for a peripheral recognition mechanism in detecting colony-specific chemical signals.     

Babesia microti-like parasites detected in feral raccoons (Procyon lotor) captured in Hokkaido, Japan

Raccoons (Procyon lotor), which have recently become feral in Japan, were examined for the presence of Babesia microti-like parasites. Out of 372 raccoons captured in the west-central part of Hokkaido, 24 animals with splenomegaly were selected and tested by nested PCR targeting the babesial 18S rRNA gene. B. microti-like parasites were detected in two of the 24 individuals, and their DNA sequences were identical to that of the B. microti-like parasite reported from raccoons in the United States, suggesting that the parasites were probably imported into Japan and that the life cycle of the parasite has already been established in the country. The potential risk of this B. microti-like parasite spreading among dogs and foxes in Japan will need to be carefully monitored, as parasitization by phylogenetically very close parasites has been reported from such animals.     

Front Cover Image

The cover image is based on the Research Article Nonanal, a new fall armyworm sex pheromone component, significantly increases the efficacy of pheromone lures by Ahmed M. Saveer et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.7460 . Image Credit: Matt Bertone.