Dietary supplementation with cellooligosaccharide improves growth performance in weanling pigs

Nondigestible oligosaccharides are not digested in the small intestine, but are fermented by bacteria colonizing in the large intestine. Physiological effects of non‐digestible oligosaccharides have been considered to be conferred by the fermentation of bacteria colonizing in the large intestine. Because cellooligosaccharide is a non‐digestible oligosaccharide, various physiological effects are expected. However, physiological functions of cellooligosaccharide are not well understood. This experiment was conducted to clarify the effect of dietary supplementation with cellooligosaccharide on the growth performance in weanling pigs. The result showed that average daily gain was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in pigs fed a diet supplemented with cellooligosaccharide than in pigs without cellooligosaccharide. There was a tendency to increasing average daily feed intake in pigs with cellooligosaccharide, though the significant difference was not detected (P = 0.18). Feed efficiency and nutrient digestibility of feces and ileum were not changed by feeding cellooligosaccharide. In addition, blood urea nitrogen was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the diet supplemented with cellooligosaccharide than in pigs without cellooligosaccharide. The concentrations of acetic and iso‐valeric acids in the cecum of pigs fed the diet with cellooligosaccharide tended to be higher (P < 0.10) than those without cellooligosaccharide. The results obtained in this study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with cellooligosaccharide improves growth performance in weanling pigs.     

Frequency of phage-infected bacterial cells in the floodwater of a Japanese paddy field

In aquatic environments, viruses play an important role in the microbial food web through microbial mortality from viral lysis. Bacteriophages (phages) compose the majority of viral communities in the floodwater of paddy fields. The present study evaluated bacterial mortality from phage lysis in the floodwater of a Japanese paddy field based on the frequency of phage-infected bacterial cells by transmission electron microscopy. Floodwater was sampled five times during the rice cultivation period from two plots of NPK plus lime (no-compost plot) and NPK plus lime and compost (compost plot) under a long-term and ongoing fertilizer trial that began in 1925. The frequency of visibly infected cells in the compost plot was larger, ranging from 2.4 to 3.6% (average 3.0%), than that in the no-compost plot, which ranged from 1.6 to 2.9% (average 2.0%). The fractions of bacterial mortality from phage lysis in the floodwater samples were estimated to range from 12.8 to 27.3% (average 17.2%) and from 21.7 to 35.0% (average 27.9%) for the samples collected from the no-compost plot and the compost plot, respectively. This is the first study to estimate bacterial mortality from phage lysis in the paddy field ecosystem, and the frequency of phage lysis in floodwater was found to be within the frequency ranges observed in other aquatic environments.     

Phylogenetic positions of Mn<Superscript>2+</Superscript>-oxidizing bacteria and fungi isolated from Mn nodules in rice field subsoils

We isolated manganous ion (Mn²⁺) oxidizing bacteria and fungi from Mn nodules collected from two Japanese rice fields. The phylogenetic position of the Mn-oxidizing bacteria and fungi was determined based on their 16S rDNA and 18S rDNA sequences, respectively. Among 39 bacterial and 25 fungal isolates, Burkholderia and Acremonium strains were the most common and dominant Mn²⁺-oxidizing bacteria and fungi, respectively. Majority of the Mn-oxidizing bacteria and fungi isolated from the Mn nodules belonged to the genera that had been isolated earlier from various environments. Manganese oxide depositions on Mn²⁺-containing agar media by these microorganisms proceeded after their colony developments, indicating that the energy produced from Mn²⁺ oxidation is poorly used for microbial growth.     

Effects of two novel Wx-A1 alleles of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) on amylose and starch properties

Common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has three Wx proteins (Wx-A1, Wx-B1, and Wx-D1), which are granule-bound starch synthases I and are responsible for the amylose synthesis of flour starch. The effects of two novel Wx-A1 proteins identified by gel electrophoresis on amylose content and starch properties were analyzed. The variant Wx-A1 protein coded by the Wx-A1i allele was present in smaller amounts and produced less amylose (7.3%) compared to standard lines with the Wx-A1a allele (21.5%). Wx-A1i generated altered starch properties; greater swelling power (SP), glucoamylase digestibility, starch paste clarity, and gelatinization enthalpy in differential scanning calorimetry. The starch from Wx-A1i also showed an altered pasting profile on a Rapid Visco-Analyzer, greater peak viscosity, smaller final viscosity, and lower pasting temperature. The Wx-A1i allele is a novel genetic resource for reducing amylose content in wheat. The other Wx-A1 protein coded by the Wx-A1j allele showed a more basic isoelectric point compared to Wx-A1a on an electrophoretic gel. The amylose content of Wx-A1j did not differ from standard Wx-A1a. Starch SP, paste clarity, and glucoamylase digestibility also suggested that Wx-A1j produced amylose as much as Wx-A1a.     

Discovery of a spawning area of the common Japanese conger <Emphasis Type="Italic">Conger myriaster</Emphasis> along the Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the western North Pacific

The common Japanese conger Conger myriaster is an important commercial coastal fisheries species in East Asia, but its spawning area has not been determined. A larval sampling survey was conducted in September 2008 along 136°E between 13°N and 22°N, which roughly followed the Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the western North Pacific. Twenty larval specimens were confirmed to be C. myriaster using DNA analysis. Two were newly hatched larvae (preleptocephali) 5.8 and 7.8 mm in total length (TL), which were caught at 17°N. The 5.8 mm TL larva was estimated to be 3–4 days after hatching, the youngest preleptocephalus (i.e., the earliest stage) of this species ever collected. Eighteen other leptocephali were caught at 18°N and 21°N, and these ranged from 18.6 to 40.0 mm TL. Based on these collections, we discerned that there is a spawning area of C. myriaster in the area along the Kyushu-Palau Ridge approximately 380 km south of Okinotorishima Island. Similar to the Japanese eel spawning area along the West Mariana Ridge, the Kyushu-Palau Ridge may play an important role as a landmark of the spawning area. The discovery of this offshore spawning area should lead us to a better understanding of the recruitment mechanisms of C. myriaster, and help to facilitate future international management efforts.     

Identification of novel haze-active beer proteins by proteome analysis

Colloidal haze reduces beer quality considerably. Four haze samples were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) in order to identify haze-active proteins. Several protein spots were observed in all of the four haze samples. Using mass spectrometry analysis followed by a database search identified these spots as barley dimeric alpha-amylase inhibitor (BDAI-1), CMb component of tetrameric alpha-amylase inhibitor (CMb) and trypsin inhibitor CMe precursor (CMe). These proteins were considered to be haze-active. Since haze-active proteins are adsorbed by silica gel in the beer filtration process, we eluted proteins adsorbed onto silica gel (PAS) and identified their species. These major PAS were identified as protein Z4, protein Z7 and trypsin/amylase inhibitor pUP13 (TAI), rather than BDAI-1, CMb and CMe. Furthermore, we analyzed proline compositions in the beer proteins, PAS and the haze proteins. Consequently, we found that the proline compositions of PAS were higher (ca. 20 mol%) than those in the beer proteins (ca. 10 mol%), although those of the haze-active proteins such as BDAI-1, CMb and CMe were 6.6–8.7 mol%. Our results suggest that BDAI-1, CMb and CMe are not predominant haze-active proteins, but growth factors of beer colloidal haze.     

Erratum to “Modeling the interactive effects of atmospheric CO2 and N on rice growth and yield” [Field Crops Res. 93 (2005) 237–251]

The publisher regrets that the following error has occurred in the above article: page 239, Table 1, and page 247, Table 5 should be replaced with below Tables in the original printing of the above-mentioned paper.