Evaluation of performance of sorghum varieties grown in Tokyo for sugar accumulation and its correlation with vacuolar invertase genes SbInv1 and SbInv2

ABSTRACT

The sugar-accumulating potential of global and local sweet and grain sorghum varieties were tested under the local conditions. The basis for this study was the dependency of sugar accumulation on temperature and photoperiod. Thus, the efficacy of cultivars as a bioenergy source would need to be determined based on their performance under the local environmental conditions. A strong correlation of sucrose content with brix was observed, enabling large-scale screening of varieties for high sucrose content. The morphological characteristics inherent in sweet sorghum, such as tall stems, greater number of leaves and a longer vegetative period, were found to correlate with the total stem sugar content. Assessment of sugars along the stem revealed maximum sugar accumulation in the upper intermediate to upper internodes in most of the varieties tested. The maximum theoretical ethanol yield (MTEY), a function of brix and juice yield, was determined as a better indicator of testing the performance of a variety as a potential source of bioethanol, mainly due to a negative correlation of stem juiciness and sucrose content in the varieties tested. Further, the relative expression of vacuolar invertase genes, SbINV1 and SbINV2, was studied, and a strong negative correlation of SbINV2 to stem sucrose content was observed. This reveals a possibility of involvement of vacuolar invertase gene, SbINV2, in sugar accumulation in sweet sorghum stems, and as a key candidate for molecular breeding studies for higher stem sugar content.     

Migration of primordial germ cells isolated from embryonic blood into the gonads after transfer to stage X blastoderms and detection of germline chimaerism by PCR

1. The present study was carried out to determine whether primordial germ cells isolated from embryonic blood can enter the bloodstream and successfully migrate to the germinal ridges of recipient embryos after transfer to stage X blastoderms, and also whether they can differentiate into blood cells, as is suggested in mice. 2. Primordial germ cells were transfected in vitro by lipofection and then transferred to stage X blastoderms. The introduced GFP gene was efficiently expressed in the gonads of 6-d incubated embryos. 3. Freshly collected primordial germ cells were transferred to stage X blastoderms. The fate of the transferred primordial germ cells was traced by detecting the single nucleotide polymorphism in the D-loop region of the mitochondrial DNA in White Leghorn and Barred Plymouth Rock chickens used in this study. The transferred donor primordial germ cell-derived cells were detected in the gonads, but not in the blood cells, of 17-d incubated embryos by PCR. 4. This procedure for primordial germ cell manipulation could provide a novel method of producing germline chimaeric chickens. 5. In conclusion, our findings indicate that primordial germ cells isolated from embryonic blood can migrate to the germinal ridges of recipient embryos after being transferred to stage X blastoderms. Although these transferred primordial germ cells differentiated into germ cells, no differentiation into blood cells was observed.     

几种坡度的台阶式溢洪道消能特性试验研究

对3种斜坡(5.7°,19°和30°)的台阶式溢洪道进行了模型试验研究。结果表明,当堰上相对临界水深yc/h≤2.5时,滑行水流、过渡水流和跌落水流消能率的大小不受堰上相对临界水深的限制,而只是相对坝高Hdam/yc和斜坡角度的函数,即随坡度变缓或相对坝高Hdam/yc增加,消能率增大;当坝坡相同坝高相等时,滑行水流、过渡水流和跌落水流之间的消能率差异很小,并且其消能率大小与台阶个数无关;此外,文中还给出了计算消能率的经验公式。     

Is experience on a farm an effective approach to understanding animal products and the management of dairy farming?

The understanding of animal products and dairy farming is important for the promotion of dairy farming. Thus, to examine the effects of farm experience on the understanding of animal products and the management of dairy farming, the interaction between students and dairy cows was investigated in groups of first‐year veterinary nursing students in 2011 and 2012 (n = 201). These students included 181 women and 20 men. Nine items about dairy cows were presented in a questionnaire. The survey was performed before and after praxis on the educational farm attached to the authors' university. After praxis on the farm, increases occurred in the number of positive responses to the items involving the price of milk, dairy farming and the taste of milk. For these items, a significant difference (P < 0.05) was found between the scores obtained before and after training. The results of the study suggested that farm experience is useful for improving the understanding of animal products and dairy farming.     

MicroPET detection of regional brain activation induced by colonic distention in a rat model of visceral hypersensitivity

Using microPET and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) as a tracer, we investigated regional brain activation in a rat model of visceral hypersensitivity induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS). TNBS injection into the proximal colon through laparotomy resulted in a significant, sustained decrease in the pain threshold to mechanical distention of the distal colon, indicating a phenomenon referred to as visceral hypersensitivity. When TNBS-induced colonic hypersensitivity was fully developed, all the TNBS-treated rats presented characteristic pain behaviors in response to colonic distention at previously innocuous pressure (0-35 mmHg) that produced no abdominal pain in sham-operated control animals. In microPET study, colonic distention at the normally non-painful pressure produced significant increases in (18)F-FDG uptake in the thalamus and sensory cortex I of TNBS-treated rats. Since the increases in (18)F-FDG uptake in the brain regions were completely abolished by an analgesic dose of morphine (375 microg/kg, s.c.), it is most likely that the regional brain activation detected by microPET is a pain-related central event. The pharmacological and microPET data indicate that colonic distention at the normally non-painful pressure activates specific brain regions in rats with TNBS-induced visceral hypersensitivity, and the microPET protocol described here could provide an objective measure to test visceral analgesic compounds.     

Cloning of DNA fragments specific to the pathotype and race of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Verticillium dahliae</Emphasis>

Japanese isolates of Verticillium dahliae, a causal agent of wilt disease in many plants, are classifiable into pathotypes based on their pathogenicity. Because these pathotypes are morphologically indistinguishable, establishing a rapid identification method is very important for the control of this pathogen in Japan. For cloning DNA fragments that are useful for identification and specific detection of V. dahliae pathotypes, we performed random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses using various isolates. One polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product, E10-U48, was specific to isolates pathogenic to sweet pepper. The other product, B68-TV, was specific to race 1 of isolates pathogenic to tomato. The specificity of these sequences was confirmed by genomic Southern hybridization. Further analyses revealed that the region peripheral to B68-TV obtained from the genomic DNA library includes the sequence specific to all isolates pathogenic to tomato (races 1 and 2). Moreover, sequence tagged site (STS) primers designed from B68-TV and its peripheral region showed race-specific and pathotype-specific amplification in a PCR assay. The probes and primers obtained in this study are likely to be useful tools for the identification and specific detection of pathotypes and races of V. dahliae. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number AB095266.     

Detection of Tobamoviruses from Soils by Non-precoated Indirect ELISA

A method for detecting tobamoviruses from field soils was developed using non-precoated indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Id-ELISA). Absorbance values in Id-ELISA were relatively low after directly applying Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV)-infested soil extract. However, heat treating the soil extract before application greatly enhanced the absorbance values. The heat treatment was essential for the Id-ELISA detection of tobamoviruses from infested soil, although the efficiency of virus recovery varied depending on the properties of soil. The number of local lesions in the infectivity assay was consistent with the absorbance values in Id-ELISA. Moreover, the absorbance values in Id-ELISA were correlated with the incidence of soil transmission of PMMoV. Thus, Id-ELISA combined with heat treatment is a practical technique for the diagnosis of infestation with Tobamovirus in field soils, Gray Lowland soil and Sand-dune Regosol. Received 4 October 1999/ Accepted in revised form 9 December 1999     

A Cucumber mosaic virus Isolated from Silene armeria

A Cucumber mosaic virus was newly isolated from Silene armeria and was characterized by biological, serological and molecular biological methods. Received 4 July 2001/ Accepted in revised form 28 August 2001