Lethal effects caused by suspended particles and sediment load on zoospores and gametophytes of the brown alga <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eisenia bicyclis</Emphasis>

ABSTRACT:   The effects caused by suspended particles in seawater and sediment cover of the substrate on the attachment to the substrate of zoospores, and on the subsequent growth and survival of gametophytes of the brown alga Eisenia bicyclis were examined in the laboratory. The attachment rate to the substrate of the zoospores was remarkably reduced by the sediment cover on the substrate, and it decreased to 3.8% of the no-sediment control by a slight sediment cover of 3.0 mg/cm² (0.048 mm in thickness). The growth of gametophytes was not inhibited at 10 mg/cm² or less of sediment cover, though it was stopped at 30 mg/cm². The survival rate of gametophytes became 39.4% at 5 mg/cm² on the substrate, and gametophytes were all blighted at 30 mg/cm². The ratio of male to female of the surviving gametophytes became 81.5:18.5, when the sediment cover was 10 mg/cm². The rate of total loss ( TL [%]) of zoospores and gametophytes of Eisenia bicyclis was obtained from the following equation: TL  = 100 (1 − exp[−0.0339  C ] exp[−1.24  Q ]), where, C (mg/L) and Q (mg/cm²) indicate the concentration of suspended particles in seawater and the sediment on the substrate, respectively.     

Tryptophan synthesis block-associated sugar response, a physiological marker for rapid selection of Arabidopsis thaliana transformants, marked with feedback-inhibition-insensitive anthranilate synthase gene

The feedback-insensitive anthranilate synthase (AS) gene was used as a selection marker for transformants of Arabidopsis thaliana . The mutant gene ( mAS1-2 ) was constructed by substituting nucleotide at the effector-binding site of the intrinsic AS gene via PCR-mediated site-directed mutagenesis and flanked with the myrosinase promoter pyk10 to drive its expression during initial root elongation. This inducible gene cassette was first introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens and then delivered into A. thaliana by floral-dip inoculation. 5-methyltryptophan (5-MT) inhibited AS and suppressed seedling growth of wild type plants as a result of tryptophan starvation. With the addition of sucrose (10 mg/ml), 5-MT inhibited cotyledon opening and caused anthocyanin to accumulate in juvenile seedlings. The present mutant reversed the tryptophan starvation caused by 5-MT and blocked subsequent sugar responses. The sugar responses were detected in non-transformed plants grown on a selection medium containing 10 mg/ml of sucrose and 10 μg/ml of 5-MT after 3 days of incubation. Thus, true transformants could be selected after a short incubation, compared to the conventional kanamycin-selection method that did not eliminate all non-transformed plants.     

Effects on Maize Starch Properties of Heat-treatment with Water–ethanol Mixtures

Maize starch (1 part) was heated at 120 °C for 20 min in water–ethanol mixtures (5 volumes), in which the water content varied over the range 0–70%, and the product solvent-exchanged with acetone. On treatment with mixtures containing 40–60% water, the swelling power and solubility at 97 °C decreased and the differences between these values measured at 25 and 97 °C narrowed. The properties of starch treated with a mixture containing 30% water resembled those of heat–moisture treated starch. The values of ΔH and ΔS for swelling were greatly decreased by treatment in mixtures with a water content greater than 20–40% (0·39–0·63 mole fraction). Furthermore, the digestibility ratio ofalpha-amylase (endo-type) to glucoamylase (exo-type) was at a maximum after treatment with a mixture containing 30% water. These findings suggest that rearrangements between the amylose and amylopectin in starch granules are occurring after treatment with mixtures containing more than 30% water. These changes in the starch granule are enhanced when the treatment temperature is increased to 100–130 °C.     

Influence of volcanic ash sediments on spore adhesion of the red alga Gelidium elegans from the coastal seabed around Miyakejima Island, Japan

The populations of red alga Gelidium elegans along the coast of Miyakejima Island were severely damaged by a volcanic eruption in 2000. The effect of this volcanic eruption has been long lasting, and populations of this red alga still have not recovered. We investigated the effect of seabed sediment particles derived from volcanic ash on the substrate adhesion of G.?elegans spores. The analysis provides evidence that increasing amounts of sediment particles result in lower adhesion rates of G.?elegans spores, and that smaller sediment particles have a greater influence on adhesion. The amount of seabed sediment particles around Miyakejima Island was 9.3?C1815.4?mg/cm². This amount has changed greatly from year to year. The adhesion rate of G.?elegans spores in water around Miyakejima Island was 0?% at all points in 2008 and 2010, but it was estimated as 6.3?C38.6?% in 2009. These results suggest that there is significant inhibition of algal spore adhesion by seabed sediment particles derived from volcanic ash around Miyakejima Island.     

Meteorological factors affecting seroconversion of Akabane disease in sentinel calves in the subtropical Okinawa Islands of Japan

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Akabane virus, the pathogen-causing Akabane disease, is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) transmitted by the Culicoides biting midge. A nationwide...     

The influence and impact of tsunamis on the microorganism assembly of Nagatsura-Ura Lagoon,Miyagi, northeastern Japan

Fisheries Science - Two sediment cores were collected from two sites in Nagatsura-Ura Lagoon, the mouth of which was destroyed in the 2011 Tohoku-oki tsunami. Although sediment conditions differed...     

Production of galacto-manno-oligosaccharides from guar gum by beta-mannanase from Penicillium oxalicum SO

Beta-mannanase from Penicillium oxalicum SO efficiently hydrolyzed guar galactomannan to galacto-manno-oligosaccharides. Gel filtration estimated the molecular weight of the beta-mannanase as 35 000 and SDS-PAGE as 29 000. The optimum pH was around 5 while a stable pH was reached in the range of 3-6. Optimum temperature was around 60 degrees C at pH 5, while under 60 degrees C activity was stable. HPLC analysis detected oligosaccharides with degrees of polymerization (DP) of 2 to 7 and 2 to 6 released on hydrolysis of guar and locust bean gums, respectively; about 92% of the released sugars were oligosaccharides. In analysis of the sugar distribution on MALDI-TOF-MS, major products of DP 6 and 7 and DP 5 and 6 were confirmed in hydrolysates of guar gum and locust bean gum, respectively. One of the main oligosaccharides released from guar gum, with DP 7, had a high galactose content (Gal/Man = 0.76) and corresponded to a blockwise galactose-substituted mannan type in galactomannan.     

Effect of nutrient salts eluted from hedoro blocks on growth and survival rate of gametophyte and juvenile Eisenia bicyclis

SUMMARY: The effects of nutrient salts eluted from artificial algal reef blocks made with sea-bottom sediment (hedoro) and cement to the growth and survival rate of the gametophytes and juveniles of Eisenia bicyclis were investigated. When each sample block was submerged in filtered seawater for 28 days, the nutrient salt content from the hedoro increased with time and, in particular, the amounts of NO₃⁻− N and NO₂⁻− N reached a constant level on day 10. We observed that the lower the cement ratio, the higher the concentrations of eluted NH₄⁺− N and PO₄³⁻− P. The growth of gametophytes as well as juveniles was highest in the elution of the block with the lowest cement ratio of 30%. In contrast, the survival rate of gametophytes and juveniles decreased linearly with time and the survival rate was higher for the hedoro blocks than for the block made of mortar.