Plectosporium blight of monkshood caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plectosporium tabacinum</Emphasis>

Severe blight of potted seedlings of monkshood caused by Plectosporium tabacinum was found in glasshouses in Kagawa Prefecture in southwest Japan in May 2001. Root rot and browning of stem bases were followed by wilting and yellowing of leaves, then blighting of leaves, flower buds and stems. A fungus was isolated from diseased plants and confirmed to cause the disease. The new disease was named “Plectosporium blight of monkshood”.     

Snowcover Components in Northern Japan

Snowcover surveys were carried out in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Snowpack samples were collected using a steel pipe at 80 sites in 1988, 69 sites in 1992, and 66 sites in 1996 and 2000 during the time when the water equivalents of the snowcover are the greatest. Spatial distribution maps of water equivalents and of the concentrations and the accumulated amounts of hydrogen, non-sea-salt sulfate and non-sea-salt calcium ion of the snowcover drawn by Kriging method are discussed. The distribution maps show that water equivalents and the accumulated amounts of hydrogen and non-sea-salt sulfate in all the sample years were largest in the Japan Sea region, as were the ion concentrations of hydrogen and non-sea-salt sulfate. It was estimated this was caused by air pollutants transported from a great distance. The ratio of areas below pH 5.0 increased temporally from 1988 (20%) to 1992, 1996 and 2000 (66–80%). This trend was estimated to be affected by a decline of non-sea-salt calcium concentrations derived from alkaline road dust. In addition, the effect of snowcover components was assessed by comparison between the acid loads of the snowcover and the acid neutralizing capacity of lake water. We found that lakes in the middle of the Japan Sea coast have the potential to be acidified by snowmelt.     

Characterisation of endobacterial communities in ectomycorrhizas by DNA- and RNA-based molecular methods

The diversity of endobacteria associated with ectomycorrhizas of Suillus variegatus and Tomentellopsis submollis, in two Corsican pine (Pinus nigra) stands was analysed by cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent molecular methods. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis revealed the cultivable endobacterial communities associated with S. variegatus were similar within the same stand. The most abundant cultivable bacterial species belonged to the genera Pseudomonas and Burkholderia. Cultivation-independent molecular analysis indicated that the structure of the endobacterial communities in ectomycorrhizas was consistent across all samples regardless of ECM fungal species or the pine stand from which the samples were collected. However, comparison between rDNA- and rRNA-derived DGGE gels showed that metabolically active endobacterial species were not always detected in rDNA-based profiles. Clone libraries constructed from rRNA molecules indicated that Pseudomonas and Burkholderia spp. were metabolically active bacteria. As some of the most abundant cultivable bacteria, including Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., were not detected in cultivation-independent DGGE profiles, a combination of cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches provided a more complete assessment of the diversity of endobacteria associated with ectomycorrhizas.     

Precipitation chemistry in Japan 1989–1993

Precipitation chemistry in Japan was discussed on a wet-only sample database obtained in a nationwide survey from April 1989 to March 1993. Wet-only samples were collected at 29 stations over Japan on a biweekly basis. Commonly determined chemical parameters were measured in laboratories. The volume-weighted annual mean pH at each site ranged from 4.50 to 5.83 with a mean of 4.76. Concentration ranges and means (parenthesized) on an equivalent basis for major ions were as follows: nss-SO₄ ^2–; 5.2–58.9 (38.6), NO₃ ^–; 1.8–25.0 (14.1), NH₄ ⁺; 0.55–29.8 (18.3), nss-Ca²⁺; 2.0–34.5(14.2), Na⁺; 6.4–275.3 (49.1), Cl^–; 13.7–322.4 (63.5) eq L^–1. Acid-base relationships for Phase-II records were quantitatively discussed in terms of three measures: pH, fractional acidity, and our proposed pA_i.     

Soy isoflavonoid aglycons genistein and daidzein Do not increase the cytochrome P-450 content of the liver microsomes of mice

Mice (4-week-old, male ddy) were fed four isonitrogenic diets for 21 days: purified diet (C diet); fermented soybean (400 mg of soy isoflavonoids/kg; FSB); fermented soybean extract (400 mg of soy isoflavonoid aglycones/kg; FSBE); C with indole-3 carbinol (I3C) (2500 mg of I3C/kg; I3C). The I3C and FSB diets significantly increased the cytochrome P-450 content of hepatic microsomes in comparison with the C diet, while the FSBE diet did not. Other mice were fed seven diets for 21 days: C; C with 100 mg or 200 mg of genistein, 100 mg or 200 mg of daidzein, or 100 mg of genistein + 100 mg of daidzein/kg; I3C diet. Genistein and daidzein did not change the liver cytochrome P-450 content. There was no synergistic effect of the combined feeding of genistein and daidzein. The increase in the cytochrome P-450 content with the FSB diet depends on chemicals other than genistein and daidzein. Genistein and daidzein do not induce cytochrome P-450.     

Isolation and characterization of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein from horses, and its evaluation as an acute-phase reactive protein in horses.

Equine alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1AG) was isolated from equine serum by successive ammonium precipitation, anion- and cation-exchange chromatographies, and gel filtration. Purified equine alpha 1AG had a molecular weight of 46,000 +/- 1,000, and contained 31.4% carbohydrate. Gel isoelectric focusing revealed an isoelectric point range of 2.8 to 3.7. With immunoelectrophoresis, it was found that alpha 1AG migrated to the alpha 1-globulin region. Single radial immunodiffusion was used for quantitative measurement of alpha 1AG in equine serum. In clinically normal foals, serum alpha 1AG was undetectable (less than or equal to 20 micrograms/ml) in less than or equal to 7-day-old foals, but was detected by 14 days. The alpha 1AG concentration (mean +/- SD) increased to reach mean adult values of 99.23 +/- 26.90 micrograms/ml by 1 year of age. The alpha 1AG concentration in pregnant mares decreased at 2 to 3 months before parturition, then gradually increased until 1 day after parturition, when a brief decrease was observed. The concentration increased again at 2 weeks after foaling, then a decrease was observed, after which the alpha 1AG concentration increased again by 2 to 4 months after parturition. The concentration of serum alpha 1AG quickly rose to peak values 2 to 3 days after castration and jejunojejunostomy in adult horses, returning to baseline values by 14 to 28 days after surgery. The alpha 1AG was concluded to be an acute-phase reactive protein in horses.     

In vitro effect of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-alpha on canine neutrophil apoptosis

Neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes: PMNs) are essential for the host defense against various infections and are often injurious to the host, causing inflammatory diseases where tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is suggested to play an important role. Since an effect of TNF-alpha on canine PMN apoptosis has not been studied, canine PMNs were stimulated with recombinant human (rh)TNF-alpha in the present study to investigate the effect of TNF-alpha on canine PMN apoptosis. PMN apoptosis and function to produce ROS were assessed by flow cytometry. Delayed apoptosis was observed in the PMNs treated with rhTNF-alpha at 100 ng/ml, accompanied by retention of capability to produce ROS. However, PMN apoptosis was accelerated by rhTNF-alpha combined with cycloheximide. Therefore, it is indicated that TNF-alpha is able to activate anti- and pro-apoptotic pathways in PMNs and that the inhibition of PMN apoptosis by TNF-alpha requires protein synthesis in the PMNs.     

Effects of a collagenolytic cell wall component from Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. necrophorum on rabbit tissue-culture cells

The effects on rabbit tissue-cultured cells of collagenolytic cell wall component (CCWC) from Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. necrophorum were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that CCWC damaged the cell surfaces of the rabbit granulocytes and hepatocytes but the effects of the cells differed from each other. Granulocytes appeared smooth and morphologically irregular whereas hepatocytes looked rough and had tiny holes in the cell membranes. Differences in cell viability were observed in MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulphophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium, inner salt) assay. The findings suggest that cytotoxic activity in vivo may well contribute to the establishment of an initial injury in visceral tissues, and the action of CCWC could increase the chances of survival for an invading F. necrophorum subsp. necrophorum at the first stages of infection.     

Identification of a novel locus Rmo2 conditioning resistance in barley to host-specific subgroups of Magnaporthe oryzae

Barley cultivars show various patterns of resistance against isolates of Magnaporthe oryzae and M. grisea. Genetic mechanisms of the resistance of five representative barley cultivars were examined using a highly susceptible barley cultivar, 'Nigrate', as a common parent of genetic crosses. The resistance of the five cultivars against Setaria, Oryza, Eleusine, and Triticum isolates of M. oryzae was all attributed to a single locus, designated as Rmo2. Nevertheless, the Rmo2 locus in each cultivar was effective against a different range of isolates. Genetic analyses of pathogenicity suggested that each cultivar carries an allele at the Rmo2 locus that recognizes a different range of avirulence genes. One allele, Rmo2.a, corresponded to PWT1, which conditioned the avirulence of Setaria and Oryza isolates on wheat, in a gene-for-gene manner. The other alleles, Rmo2.b, Rmo2.c, and Rmo2.d, corresponded to more than one avirulence gene. On the other hand, the resistance of those cultivars to another species, M. grisea, was conditioned by another locus, designated as Rmo3. These results suggest that Rmo2 is effective against a broad range of blast isolates but is specific to M. oryzae. Molecular mapping revealed that Rmo2 is located on the 7H chromosome.