Adenosine monophosphate degradation and inosinic acid accumulation in the shrimp Penaeus japonicus

International Aquatic Research - Shrimp muscle contains taste component compounds, such as glutamic acid and inosinic acid (IMP). When both are present, taste intensity increases by fourfold to...     

Behavior of four broad-leaved tree species used to revegetate eroded granite hill slopes

Information on primary growth behavior after planting is required for mixed-plantation revegetation using broad-leaved species. To estimate primary growth, especially from the perspective of crown coverage and changing growth rates, we examined the growth and survival of four broad-leaved species that are frequently used in erosion-control plantations in Japan. The species studied were Myrica rubra Sieb. et Zucc., Alnus pendula Matsum., Quercus glauca Thunb., and Q. serrata Thunb. The survival, height, and basal diameter of planted trees were measured over a 4-year period, and crown area was calculated over a 3-year period. We found a negative relationship between relative growth rate (RGR) and survival rate, suggesting that fast growth may be fatal when resources are severely limited. The relative height growth rate (RHGR) of A. pendula was especially high during the early period of the study (1997–1999) and then drastically declined, whereas the opposite tendency was observed in Q. glauca. The results of stem allometry analyses conformed to the specific relationships between height growth and diameter growth of the four species; increases in stem thickness based on height increments were smaller in the pioneer species A. pendula. Between-species differences in coverage per planted tree (mean crown area multiplied by survival rate) were small as a result of the negative relationship between coverage area and survival rate.     

The regulation of ovarian granulosa cell death by pro- and anti-apoptotic molecules

In the mammalian ovary, follicular development and atresia are closely regulated by cell death and survival-promoting factors, including hormones (gonadotropins) and intraovarian regulators (gonadal steroids, cytokines, and intracellular proteins). Several hundred thousand primordial follicles are present in the mammalian ovary; however, only a limited number of primordial follicles develop to the preovulatory stage and ovulate. The others, more than 99% of follicles, will be eliminated via a degenerative process known as "atresia". The endocrinological regulatory mechanisms involved in follicular development and atresia have been characterized to a large extent, but the precise temporal and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of these events have remained largely unknown. Recent studies suggest that the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells plays a major role in follicular atresia. In this review, we provide an overview of development and atresia of follicles, and apoptosis of granulosa cells in mammals.     

The role of primary germ tubes in the life cycle of Blumeria graminis: The primary germ tube is responsible for the suppression of resistance induction of a host plant cell

When the conidia of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei (Bgh) are inoculated on barley coleoptile cells they produce short germ tubes called primary germ tubes (PGTs) about 2 h after inoculation. We evaluated the positive role of a PGT in inducing accessibility of the host cell under the germ tube. When an appressorium (APP) penetrated the same cell on which a PGT was present, the ratio of haustorium formation (penetration efficiency) was significantly higher than when an APP penetrated the cell adjacent to the one on which a PGT was present. When an APP penetrated the cell laterally adjacent to the one on which a PGT was present we killed the cell under the PGT by puncturing it with a microneedle and then investigated the penetration efficiency of the cell adjacent to the dead cell. As a control we killed the cell longitudinally adjacent to the one on which a PGT was present and investigated the penetration efficiency of the laterally adjacent cell. The results showed that the penetration efficiency of the former was significantly lower than that of the latter. This suggests that some accessibility factor might transfer from a cell on which a PGT is present to a laterally adjacent cell. The existence of a conidium body but not a PGT was not effective for induced accessibility of the host cell. Moreover, when a Bgh germling was removed 6 h after inoculation and another germling was transferred to the same cell, the penetration efficiency was significantly higher than that of control. As a control, a Bgh germling was transferred to a cell on which no germling was present. These results suggest that the existence of PGT is effective for induced accessibility of a host cell when penetrated by Bgh. However, it is unclear whether or not a PGT secretes some substance(s) which suppresses the resistance induction of a host cell.     

Comparison of stand dynamics after dieback caused by pine wilt disease among pine forests with different management regimes in western Japan

In pine forests damaged by pine wilt disease, in western Japan, the effect of protection regimes of pine trees on the stand dynamics were examined in the following four stands: (1) lightly damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with no procedure in operation for protecting pine trees; (2) severely damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with no procedure in place for protecting pine trees; (3) severely damaged stand (age 50 years) with a selective cutting of infected trees; (4) severely damaged stand (age 30–40 years) with a selective cutting of infected trees. All the stands had been abandoned before the pine wilt disease damage. The understory structure of the severely damaged stand with no protection procedure was similar to that of the lightly damaged stand. Frequent invasion by tree species and acceleration in the growth of understory trees occurred after the dieback in the selective cutting stand. These results suggest that a deficiency in the canopy layer caused by the dieback resulted in low disturbance intensity in the early stages after the dieback, but the selective cutting increased the intensity by the reduction in the understory as well as the canopy layer. The intensity of the disturbance in the selective cutting stands was larger in the younger stand because it had a higher density of selectively cut pine trees. The different stand structure of pine forests occurred after the dieback because the intensity of the disturbance varied as a result of the selective cutting operation and the stand age.     

Soil solution chemistry at different positions on slope in a conifer plantation forest

It is known that soil property varies along the slope. It suggests that soil solution chemistry also differs topographically. To determine the variation in soil solution chemistry within one watershed, soil solution chemistry at the different positions of the slope was investigated. Soil N transformation changed along the slope. NH₄ ⁺ ratio to inorganic N (NH₄ ⁺ + NO₃ ⁻) increased upslope. The tendency was verified by laboratory incubation. After incubation most of the mineralized N was nitrified at the lower part of the slope, while little nitrification occurred at the upper part of the slope. At the ridge and the backslope inorganic N form in soil solution was concomitant with inorganic N form by incubation. At the ridge NH₄ ⁺ was predominant form in soil solution, at that time major anion was sea salt originated Cl⁻. From this, soil solution chemistry seems to be regulated by the external nutrient source at the ridge. In the second year of lysimeter installation NO₃ ⁻ concentration increased in both sites and the ratio of NH₄ ⁺ to inorganic N decreased. It was considered due to the effect of lysimeter installation. The lag time and the magnitude of NO₃ ⁻ increase were different between the ridge and the backslope. It would be related with soil N transformation in pre-disturbance. The influence of disturbance were shown in other solute concentrations of soil solution.     

A rapid and easy method of detecting levels of gene expression in intact tobacco plants using an Agrobacterium-mediated transient assay: Toward development of nutritional diagnosis based on gene expression

For the use of gene expression for nutritional diagnosis, a rapid and easy method of detecting levels of gene expression was proposed. Agrobacterium tumefaciens carrying the GUS reporter gene was injected into intact tobacco leaves with a plastic syringe, and transient GUS expression was determined. GUS activities were reproducible in young leaves.