CT examination of the guttural pouch (auditory tube diverticulum) in Przewalski's Horse (Equus przewalskii).

The domestic horse (Equus caballus) have the large symmetrical guttural pouches (the auditory tube diverticulum) formed by saccate bulge of the auditory tube. In this study, CT examination was carried out in the head of Przewalski's horse (Equus przewalskii), the only true wild horse living at present. As results of the examination, Przewalski's horse possessed the large symmetrical guttural pouches divided into medial and lateral compartments by the stylohyoid bone. Moreover, the right and left guttural pouches meet each other at the median part to form a thin septum. As CT sections get close to the part of the occipital condyle, the lateral compartment disappeared, and the medial compartment gradually became small toward the base of the skull. These results indicate that the nuchal-basal part of the medial compartment is not well-developed as compared with the domestic horse.     

Experimental and clinical studies on plasma leptin in obese dogs

Leptin is a protein synthesized and secreted primarily by adipocytes, and the circulating leptin concentration is elevated in obese humans and rodents. Recently, we have established a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for canine leptin. In the present study, plasma leptin concentrations were measured in experimentally developed obese beagles and in clinically obese dogs. When 5 male beagles were given a high-energy diet for 3 months, all of them became obese and the plasma leptin concentration significantly increased from 2.4+/-1.2 to 4.9+/-0.9 ng/ml, positively correlating with body fat content estimated by the deuterium oxide dilution method (r=0.87). The leptin concentrations of plasma samples collected from 59 dogs in veterinary practices were compared with their body condition scores (BCS). The plasma leptin concentrations of obese dogs were 9.7+/-0.7 and 12.3+/-1.5 ng/ml at BCS=4 and BCS=5, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of optimal (BCS=3) dogs (2.7+/-0.3 ng/ml). There was no significant effect of sex and breed. A weak positive correlation (r=0.37) was found between the plasma leptin concentration and age, probably due to the lesser content of visceral fat in puppies younger than 1 year old. These results indicate that plasma leptin is a good index of adiposity in dogs regardless of breed, age and sex, and may be useful for quantitative assessment of obesity in small animal practice.     

Class I hydrophobin BcHpb1 is important for adhesion but not for later infection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Botrytis cinerea</Emphasis>

Hydrophobins are small secreted proteins unique to filamentous fungi. In this study, we cloned and characterized the class I hydrophobin gene BcHpb1 in the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea. The BcHpb1 protein consisted of 117 amino acids. Similar to class I hydrophobins from other fungi, BcHpb1 contains eight conserved cysteine residues. The hydropathy plot of the BcHpb1 amino acid sequence was characteristic of a class I hydrophobin. These results indicated that the BcHpb1 gene encodes a class I hydrophobin. Vegetative growth of ΔBcHpb1 strains, null mutants of BcHpb1, was similar to that of the wild-type strain as were the conidiophores, conidia, appressoria and virulence on host plants. However, adherence of ΔBcHpb1 strains to hydrophobic surfaces was greatly reduced, implying that BcHpb1 is important for the hydrophobicity of conidia and that BcHpb1 may be required to adhere to plant surfaces under certain environmental conditions.     

Effets de divers herbicides sur la croissance mycélienne de souches de Botrytis cinerea pers et de Penicillium expansum Link, sensibles ou résistantes à certains fongicides

Effects of various herbicides on mycelial growth of strains of Botrytis cinerea. Pers. and Pénicillium expansum Link, sensitive or resistant to certain fungicides Of seventy herbicides tested, thirty-eight were slightly toxic to B. cinerea (CI50, concentration giving 50% inhibition of the speed of mycelial growth, exceeding or equal to 100g of herbicide/ml of nutrient solution) and, of those, ten had no effect even at 1000 g/ml. The most active products (CI50 less than 10 g/ml) were Chlorthiamid, dichlobénil, nitrofen, propyzamide and phenolic derivatives (DNOC, ioxynil, PCP). In most cases P. expansum was less sensitive than B. cinerea except to endothal, propachlor, prynachlor and certain substituted ureas. Strains resistant to the benzimidazole fungicides (carbendazim, thiabendazole etc.) show increased sensitivity to certain carbamade herbicides (barban, chlorbufam etc.), this indicates the existence of a negative cross resistance between these groups of antimitotic pesticides. Strains resistant to the cyclic-imide fungicides (iprodionc, procymidone, vinclozolin) and to various aromatic compounds (biphenyl. chloroneb, dicloran etc.) may also be resistant to bipyridilium, dinitroanilinc and diphenylethcr herbicides, to chlorthamid. dichlobénil and oxadiazon. This cross resistance between pesticides with different biochemical modes of action has yet to be explained.     

Methane production and its fate in paddy fields

Abstract

Oxidation of methane and total water soluble organic carbon (TOC) in the subsoil, which percolated from the plow layer, was investigated in a column experiment. The amounts of both methane and TOC in the leachate decreased by percolation in the subsoil.

Fe²⁺ percolated from the plow layer was nearly completely retained in the subsoil. The decomposition of methane and TOC in the subsoil was considered to result in the coupling with the formation of Fe²⁺. Methane was estimated to contribute ca. 19–21% to the total amount of Fe²⁺ formed in the subsoil by the organic materials in the leachate.     

Effects of testosterone on rat placental development

We investigated the morphological effects of testosterone on placental development in a rat model of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Testosterone propionate (TP), which was subcutaneously administered to pregnant rats with 5 mg/animal from gestation day (GD) 14 to GD 18, induced a maternal weight reduction without mortality or clinical signs from GD 19 onwards. A decrease in fetal and placental weight, an increase in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) rates, and histological changes in the placenta were observed on GD 21 but not on GD15 or 17. Histopathologically, on GD 21, the trophoblast septa thickened, and the maternal sinusoids were narrowed in the labyrinth zone, resulting in a small placenta. Additionally, the placental weight, thickness, and histological morphology in the labyrinth zone on GD 21 in the TP-treated group were nearly identical to those on GD 17 in the control and TP-treated groups. Therefore, it was assumed that the testosterone-induced small placenta was induced in association with the developmental inhibition of the fetal part of the placentas from GD 17 onwards.