A genome‐wide association study for fat‐related traits computed by image analysis in Japanese Black cattle

The objective of this study was to identify genomic regions associated with fat‐related traits using a Japanese Black cattle population in Hyogo. From 1836 animals, those with high or low values were selected on the basis of corrected phenotype and then pooled into high and low groups (n = 100 each), respectively. DNA pool‐based genome‐wide association study (GWAS) was performed using Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip v2 with three replicate assays for each pooled sample. GWAS detected that two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on BTA7 (ARS‐BFGL‐NGS‐35463 and Hapmap23838‐BTA‐163815) and one SNP on BTA12 (ARS‐BFGL‐NGS‐2915) significantly affected fat percentage (FAR). The significance of ARS‐BFGL‐NGS‐35463 on BTA7 was confirmed by individual genotyping in all pooled samples. Moreover, association analysis between SNP and FAR in 803 Japanese Black cattle revealed a significant effect of SNP on FAR. Thus, further investigation of these regions is required to identify FAR‐associated genes and mutations, which can lead to the development of DNA markers for marker‐assisted selection for the genetic improvement of beef quality.     

Analysis of volatile compounds released during the grinding of roasted coffee beans using solid-phase microextraction

A dynamic solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method to sample fresh headspace volatile compounds released during the grinding of roasted coffee beans was described and the analytical results using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and GC/olfactometry (GC/O) were compared to those of the conventional static SPME sampling methods using ground coffee. Volatile compounds released during the grinding of roasted coffee beans (150 g) were obtained by exposing the SPME fiber (poly(dimethylsiloxane)/divinylbenzene, PDMS/ DVB) for 8 min to nitrogen gas (600 mL/min) discharged from a glass vessel in which the electronic coffee grinder was enclosed. Identification and characterization of volatile compounds thus obtained were achieved by GC/MS and GC/O. Peak areas of 47 typical coffee volatile compounds, separated on total ion chromatogram (TIC), obtained by the dynamic SPME method, showed coefficients of variation less than 5% (n = 3) and the gas chromatographic profile of volatile compounds thus obtained was similar to that of the solvent extract of ground coffee, except for highly volatile compounds such as 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone and 4-ethenyl-2-methoxyphenol. Also, SPME dilution analysis of volatile compounds released during the grinding of roasted coffee beans showed linear plots of peak area versus exposed fiber length (R (2) > 0.89). Compared with those of the headspace volatile compounds of ground coffee using GC/MS and GC/O, the volatile compounds generated during the grinding of roasted coffee beans were rich in nutty- and smoke-roast aromas.     

Inhibitory effects of plant-derived flavonoids and phenolic acids on malonaldehyde formation from ethyl arachidonate

The antioxidant activities of naturally occurring plant compounds were measured in a lipid peroxidation system consisting of ethyl arachidonate and Fenton's reagent. Inhibitory effects of 24 plant-derived flavonoids and 5 phenolic acids on malonaldehyde (MA) formation from ethyl arachidonate were examined using gas chromatography (GC) with a nitrogen-phosphorus detector (NPD). Luteolin, which showed the strongest antioxidant activity, inhibited MA formation by 94% and 97% at the levels of 0.5 and 1.0 mM, respectively. The antioxidant activities of the flavones and flavonols decreased in the following order: luteolin > rhamnetin > fisetin > kaempferol > morin > quercetin. Among the flavanones tested, hesperitin, taxifolin, and naringenin exhibited appreciable antioxidant activities (61-84%) at the 1.0 mM level. The inhibitory effect of epigallocatechin gallate (82.5% at the 1.0 mM level) was the strongest among the flavan-3-ols tested. Ferulic acid had the most potent antioxidant activity (74.6% at the 1.0 mM level) of the phenolic acids tested.     

Inheritance of Seed Shattering in Lolium temulentum and L. persicum Hybrids

Lolium temulentum and L. persicum are non-crop species found in wheat and barley fields. L. temulentum has non-shattering seeds like the associated grain crops, whereas L. persicum seeds shatter after maturity. We analyzed the inheritance mode of shattering tendency by comparing the F₂ of L. temulentum and L. persicum hybrids. The selfed progeny of L. temulentum and L. persicum exhibited typical non-shattering (1.6% shattering) and shattering phenotypes (70.8%), respectively. F₁ hybrids of L. temulentum×L. persicum and its reciprocals were of the shattering phenotype (71.4% and 63.8%, respectively), indicating that shattering is dominant to non-shattering. When the phenotype ratio was assumed to be 15 shattering: 1 non-shattering, the χ² value for F₂ segregation was not significant at the 5% level, and the reciprocal effect was not detected. This indicates that the non-shattering tendency is controlled by two recessive genes. The two-gene inheritance model of shattering tendency suggests that harvest is the selector for seed shattering in cultivated fields, thus the alternative tendency for non-shattering seeds of L. temulentum or shattering of L. persicum would be better adapted to cultivated fields.     

Oxidation of quercetin by salivary components. Quercetin-dependent reduction of salivary nitrite under acidic conditions producing nitric oxide

Under acidic conditions, nitrite is protonated to nitrous acid (pK(a) = 3.2-3.4) that can be transformed into nitric oxide by self-decomposition and reduction. When sodium nitrite was mixed with quercetin at pH 1-2, quercetin was oxidized producing nitric oxide. In addition to quercetin, kaempferol and quercetin 4'-glucoside were also oxidized by nitrous acid, but oxidation of apigenin, luteolin, and rutin was slow compared to oxidation of the above flavonols. These results suggested that flavonols, which have a free hydroxyl group at carbon position 3, can readily reduce nitrous acid to nitric oxide. When the pH of saliva was decreased to 1-2, formation of nitric oxide was observed. The nitric oxide formation was enhanced by quercetin, and during this process quercetin was oxidized. These results indicate that there is a possibility of reactions between phenolics and nitrous acid derived from salivary nitrite in the stomach.     

Constituents and their sweetness of food additive enzymatically modified licorice extract

Enzymatically modified licorice extract (EMLE) is a natural sweetener, which is prepared with cyclodextrin glucanotransferase. It is used because of its unique properties such as higher solubility and better taste than those of licorice extract. In the present paper, the structures of six major constituents isolated from EMLE were determined, and their sweetness was studied. The isolated compounds were glycyrrhizin (1), 3-O-[beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-glucuronopyranosyl]liquiritic acid (2), and their derivatives glucosylated at the C-4 position of the terminal glucuronopyranose with additional one (3 and 4, respectively) and two (5 and 6, respectively) glucose moieties. Compounds 1 and 2 are the major and minor sweet constituents in licorice extract, respectively. Compounds 3-6 are new compounds isolated for the first time. Compound 2 was sweeter than compound 1. Interestingly, compound 3, which is a monoglucosylated derivative of compound 1, was sweeter than compound 4. The sweetness of both compounds was lower than that of the parent compounds, while the lingering sweet aftertaste was markedly improved. Compounds 5 and 6, which have two additional glucose moieties, showed only slight sweetness.     

Relationship between wettability and sizing degree of paper containing bulking agent

The addition of a bulking agent achieves the bulking of paper and increases the pore volume. In this study, the effect of adding bulking agents with various alkyl chain lengths (C₁₄, C₁₈, and C₂₂) on the bulk of paper, the sizing performance, and sheet wettability was evaluated. The bulking effect of a bulking agent with a short alkyl chain length (C₁₄) was large, and reduction in the sheet tensile strength was confirmed to be suppressed. Good sheet sizing performance was achieved when a bulking agent was used with an alkyl ketene dimer (AKD). When 0.1% or more of AKD was added, using a bulking agent with a shorter alkyl chain length increased the improvement in the sizing degree. Pyrolysis gas chromatography measurements of the amount of reacted AKD revealed that the addition of a bulking agent increased the AKD content of the sheet. The sheet contact angle measured by the two-liquid method tended to increase with increasing alkyl chain length. However, the sheet contact angle was not directly correlated with the Stöckigt sizing degree. By using 1% ferric chloride (FeCl₃) and 2% ammonium thiocyanate (NH₄SCN) aqueous solution, which are used for measuring the Stöckigt sizing degree, the time-dependent change in the contact angle on the paper sheet surface was measured to evaluate wettability. The Stöckigt sizing degree of paper sheets was found to be greatly influenced by the sheet wettability by NH₄SCN solution. In the case of 2% NH₄SCN aqueous solution, different samples exhibited large wettability differences. When 0.2% or less of AKD was added, the effect of the concentration on the contact angle was confirmed to be large at all NH₄SCN concentrations.     

Fusarium root rot of prairie gentian caused by a species belonging to the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium solani</Emphasis> species complex

Rotting of roots and stem bases and wilting of entire plants were found on a gentianaceous flowering plant, prairie gentian (Eustoma grandiflorum), grown in Kagawa Prefecture in the southwest region of Japan in April 2001. A mitosporic fungus, isolated repeatedly from the diseased plants, was identified as a species belonging to the clade 3 of Fusarium solani species complex based on the morphology and the sequence of the translation elongation factor gene. It was demonstrated to cause the disease by inoculating potted plants and reisolating the fungus from the diseased plants. We propose the name “Fusarium root rot of prairie gentian” for this disease.     

Adaptation of feline immunodeficiency virus subtype B strain TM2 to a feline astrocyte cell line (G355-5 cells)

Based on receptor usage during infection, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) isolates can be divided into two groups; those that require feline CD134 (fCD134) as a primary receptor in addition to CXCR4 to enter the cells, and those that require CXCR4 only. Most primary isolates, including strain TM2, belong to the former group and cannot infect a feline astrocyte cell line (G355-5 cells) due to a lack of fCD134 expression. In a previous study, we found that G355-5 cells transduced with fCD134 (termed G355-5/fOX40 cells) were susceptible to strain TM2 and the inoculated cells became persistently infected. In this study, we examined the phenotype of the virus prepared from the persistently infected cells (termed strain TM2PI). Intriguingly, strain TM2PI replicated well in na?ve G355-5 cells and the inoculated G355-5 cells (termed G355-5/TM2PI cells) became persistently infected. The infection of TM2PI in G355-5 cells was inhibited by CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 and TM2PI infected other fCD134-negative, CXCR4-positive cell lines, FeTJ and 3201 cells. Four amino acid substitutions were found in the Env protein of the strain TM2PI when compared with that of the parental strain TM2. Among the substitutions, the Env amino acid position at 407 of TM2PI was substituted to lysine which has been known to be responsible for the FIV tropism for Crandell feline kidney cells. The strain TM2PI will be useful for studying the receptor switching mechanism and FIV pathogenesis in cats.