Major QTLs associated with green stem disorder insensitivity of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)

Green stem disorder (GSD) is one of the most serious syndromes affecting soybean (Glycine max) cultivation in Japan. In GSD, stems remain green even when pods mature. When soybean plants develop GSD, seed surfaces are soiled by tissue fluid and seed quality is deteriorated during machine harvesting. We performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses for GSD insensitivity using recombinant inbred lines (RILs; n = 154) derived from a cross between an insensitive line (‘Touhoku 129’) and a sensitive leading cultivar (‘Tachinagaha’) during a 6-year evaluation. Three effective QTLs were detected. The influences of these QTLs were in the following order: qGSD1 (LG_H) > qGSD2 (LG_F) > qGSD3 (LG_L). At these three QTLs, ‘Touhoku 129’ genotypes exhibited more GSD insensitivity than ‘Tachinagaha’ genotypes. The lower incidence of GSD for ‘Touhoku129’ was attributable primarily to these three QTLs because RILs harboring a ‘Touhoku 129’ genotype at the three QTLs exhibited a GSD incidence similar to that of ‘Touhoku 129.’ Although a limitation of this study is that only one mapping population was evaluated, this QTL information and the flanking markers of these QTLs would be effective tools for resolving GSD in soybean breeding programs.     

Reducing eye fatigue through the use of wood

To clarify if eye fatigue is lessened when looking at wood, we carried out objective examinations using a near-point ruler and also performed sensory evaluations. Visual contact target materials were a white plastic panel, a black plastic panel or a wood panel which had Japanese ash flat grain surface. Each size of the materials was 140 × 280 mm. Test subjects were 30 undergraduate and graduate students. Each subject’s visual distance to a panel was 40–50 cm. The results showed that subjects suffered from more eye fatigue when looking at white and black plastic panels compared to looking at the wood panel in objective examinations. In sensory evaluations, almost all subjective symptom items for eyes and head progressed when subjects looked at white plastic panel or black plastic panel. However, almost no progression of subjective symptoms was noted when subjects looked at the wood panel. In both objective examinations and sensory evaluations, eye fatigue was most highly associated with the black plastic panel, followed by the white plastic panel and, finally, the wood panel.     

Study on Graft-induced Resistance to Cucumber Mosaic Virus in Pepper

To introduce CMV resistance to susceptible variety, interspecific grafting between d45-6 (Capsicum annuum) and LS1205 (C. baccatum) was conducted. The graft-progenies, G1 and G1S1 were obtained. Mechanical inoculation with CMV showed that disease index of G1and G1S1 were significantly decreased, similar to that of the resistant stock. EUSA serological test indicated that resistance of LS1205 and the graft-progenies to CMV was caused by inhibition of virul replication. Further, peroxidase isozymatic analysis revealed that zymotypes of G1 were a summation of those found in the donor plants. This result perfectly fit the theory of gene transformation and reconfirmed the conclusion of mechanism of graft-induced variants.     

Experimental infection of equine herpesvirus 9 in dogs

Equine herpesvirus 9 (EHV-9), a new neurotropic equine herpesvirus, was inoculated intranasally at 107 plaque-forming units in five dogs to assess its pathogenicity. Dogs showed weight loss, pyrexia, anorexia, and neurologic signs on the fourth day. The EHV-9 virus was recovered from the examined brains. Histologically, dogs had a fulminant nonsuppurative encephalitis characterized by severe neuronal degeneration and loss, with intranuclear inclusions, slight glial reactions, perivascular cuffing, and multifocal hemorrhage. The olfactory bulb and the frontal and temporal lobes were predominantly affected. Immunohistochemistry revealed reactivity for EHV-9 antigen in neurons. All dogs had mild bronchopneumonia and various degrees of lymphoid necrosis. These findings indicate that dogs are fully susceptible to EHV-9 and that EHV-9 can cause fulminant encephalitis with high mortality in dogs, as in gazelles and goats.     

Pyrolysis and combustion toxicity of wood treated with CCA

Summary The study was carried out in order to determine the effects of CCA on the pyrolysis and the combustion toxicity of wood. The results from CCA treated wood are summarized as follows: 1. CCA accelerated the beginning of pyrolysis of wood, increased the activation energies for the weight loss by pyrolysis, and increased the char yields in both air and helium. 2. Almost all the original amounts of cromium and copper were retained in the ash while some of the arsenic evolved into the gas phase, which increased with increasing temperature and air supply. 3. The combustion toxicity of wood samples was affected more by the sample density and CO concentration than CCA. It is concluded that for minimizing gaseous toxicants from arsenic, CCA treated wood must be burned at low temperatures with a reduced air supply.     

The potential of organoids in toxicologic pathology: Histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation of a mouse normal tissue-derived organoid-based carcinogenesis model

Recently, we introduced an organoid-based chemical carcinogenesis model using mouse normal tissue-derived organoids. In the present review article, the histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of mouse normal tissue-derived organoids and tumors derived from these organoids after their in vitro treatment with genotoxic carcinogens and injection into nude mouse are reviewed. In organoids treated in vitro with genotoxic carcinogens, we confirmed macroscopic tumorigenicity and histopathological findings, including neoplastic characteristics, such as multilayered epithelia and/or invasion of epithelia into the surrounding interstitium. In contrast glandular/cystic structures with monolayered epithelia were clearly demarcated from the surrounding Matrigel/interstitium in the untreated control groups. In addition to macroscopic tumorigenicity, these microscopic epithelial changes, which are characteristic of the early stages of carcinogenesis, are included in the requirements for carcinogenicity-positive judgement of the organoid-based carcinogenesis model. Immunohistochemistry of cytokeratins (CKs), used to determine the origin of epithelia and distribution of extraductal invasive lesions, or oncogenic kinases, which reflect molecular activation in epithelia following chemical treatment, is helpful for accurate diagnosis and molecular evaluation in the early stages of carcinogenesis. This information improves our biological understanding of organoid-based chemical carcinogenesis models.     

Preclinical Development of Seriniquinones as Selective Dermcidin Modulators for the Treatment of Melanoma

The bioactive natural product seriniquinone was discovered as a potential melanoma drug, which was produced by the as-yet-undescribed marine bacterium of the rare genus Serinicoccus. As part of a long-term research program aimed at the discovery of new agents for the treatment of cancer, seriniquinone revealed remarkable in vitro activity against a diversity of cancer cell lines in the US National Cancer Institute 60-cell line screening. Target deconvolution studies defined the seriniquinones as a new class of melanoma-selective agents that act in part by targeting dermcidin (DCD). The targeted DCD peptide has been recently examined and defined as a “pro-survival peptide” in cancer cells. While DCD was first isolated from human skin and thought to be only an antimicrobial peptide, currently DCD has been also identified as a peptide associated with the survival of cancer cells, through what is believed to be a disulfide-based conjugation with proteins that would normally induce apoptosis. However, the significantly enhanced potency of seriniquinone was of particular interest against the melanoma cell lines assessed in the NCI 60-cell line panel. This observed selectivity provided a driving force that resulted in a multidimensional program for the discovery of a usable drug with a new anticancer target and, therefore, a novel mode of action. Here, we provided an overview of the discovery and development efforts to date.