Purification and some properties of Papaya meleira virus, a novel virus infecting papayas in Brazil

'Meleira', or 'sticky disease', is currently the most damaging papaya disease in the mid-eastern Brazilian growing regions. Consistent disease transmission via latex injection, presence of similar isometric particles in the laticiferous vessels of diseased plants, and detection of double-stranded DNA in naturally and experimentally infected papaya trees suggest that a virus is the causal agent. Conclusive evidence for viral aetiology was previously lacking, mostly because every attempt to purify the putative virus from infected papayas had failed. Following the successful purification and partial characterization of the meleira virus, healthy papaya seedlings injected with purified virus particles later developed typical symptoms of the disease. Negatively stained, isometric, full and 'empty' purified virus particles measured 42 and 38 nm, respectively. The viral genome was a single dsRNA molecule of about 12 kbp. Several capsid proteins, ranging in size from 14·4 to 45 kDa, were consistently revealed by PAGE. Papaya meleira virus (PMeV) appears to represent a novel group of viruses, with no known similar counterpart among known plant-, vertebrate-, invertebrate- or prokaryote-infecting viruses.     

Phytoplankton surveys off the southern Myanmar coast of the Andaman Sea: an emphasis on dinoflagellates including potentially harmful species

A detailed list of dinoflagellate species for the Mergui Archipelago, off southern Myanmar, was compiled for the first time. This was based on surveys conducted in two seasons in pre- and post-monsoons, and on observations for both plankton and cyst assemblages. In the plankton samples, 57 and 26 dinoflagellate species were recorded, respectively, in the pre- and post-monsoons. Among the list from plankton and cyst samples, harmful species were found: red-tide species including Prorocentrum spp. and Alexandrium affine, and causative species of paralytic shellfish poisoning, e.g., Alexandrium tamiyavanichii and Gymnodinium catenatum, and of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, e.g., Dinophysis spp. Therefore, although no incidences have been reported yet, attention must be paid to these harmful algal bloom (HAB) events in Myanmar where exploitation of fishery resources is drastically increasing. Other dinoflagellate compositions were also unique and may relate to the oceanographic system in this region. In the pre-monsoon, rather rare oceanic species of Ornithocercus spp. were found concurrently with neritic species, probably due to the extensive southwesterly current from the Indian Ocean. Throughout the seasons, diverse species of Protoperidinium were predominately recorded in both planktonic and sediment samples, indicating richness of prey organisms probably sustained by upwelling systems.     

Growth and yield of self-compatible and hybrid common buckwheat lines pollinated with and without flies

Common buckwheat is a self-incompatible, insect-pollinated allogamous plant. This study examined growth and yield of the common buckwheat self-compatible and hybrid lines pollinated with and without flies. Self-compatible ‘IH3’, hybrid ‘IP2/IH3’, and standard self-incompatible ‘Kitawasesoba’ were used in field and pot experiments. Self-compatibility of ‘IH3’ was shown to be of high purity. Approximately 10% segregation of pin plants from ‘IP2/IH3’ was observed. The harvest index of ‘Kitawasesoba’ pollinated without flies was considerably lower than that pollinated with flies in both field and pot experiments. The harvest index values of ‘IH3’ and ‘IP2/IH3’ were hardly affected by the presence or absence of flies. The morphological traits of ‘IH3’ were significantly lower than those of the other two genotypes. Large differences in these traits between ‘IP2/IH3’ and ‘Kitawasesoba’ were not observed in either the field or pot experiments. The seed yield of ‘Kitawasesoba’ pollinated without flies tended to be lower than that pollinated with flies. The seed yield of ‘IP2/IH3’ tended to be higher than that of ‘IH3’. The hybrid line ‘IP2/IH3’ showed a high fertilization rate, which was nearly as high as that of ‘IH3’. Rate of fertilization and percentage of ripe seeds were higher in ‘IH3’ and ‘IP2/IH3’, wherein they were hardly affected by the presence or absence of flies, than in ‘Kitawasesoba’. The ‘IP2/IH3’ hybrid line will be useful for understanding the stable high-yielding ability of self-compatibility common buckwheat.     

Abietane-type and labdane-type diterpenoids from the cones of Chamaecyparis obtusa

A novel compound, 8(17),12E,14-labdatrien-19-al (trans-communal), was isolated from ethyl acetate extract of young cones of hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl.). The chemical structure of the compound was determined mainly with various nuclear magnetic resonance spectral techniques. Its stereochemistry was determined by derivation to a known compound,trans-communol. In addition to this compound, four known compounds — ferruginol, chamaecydin, 12-hydroxy-6,7-seco-abieta-8,l 1,13-triene-6,7-dial, and frans-communic acid — were isolated. All isolated compounds were subjected to an antifeedant bioassay against the pest insectSpodoptera litura. Results of the bioassay showed that chamaecydin and 12-hydroxy-6,7-seco-abieta-8,11,13-triene-6,7-dial had antifeedant activity.Part of this report was presented at 45th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1995     

Termiticidal activity of wood vinegar, its components and their homologues

The termiticidal activity of wood vinegar, its components, and their homologues have been studied. Three kinds of wood vinegar made from the mixed chips ofCryptomeria japonlca andPseudotsga menziesii (wood vinegar A),Quercus serrata (wood vinegar B), andPinus densiflora (wood vinegar C) exhibited high termiticidal activities againstReticulitermes speratus. Acetic acid, which is the largest content of wood vinegar, exhibited high termiticidal acitivity. The contents of organic fraction of wood vinegars and acetic acid might be responsible for the differences in termiticidal activities among these wood vinegars. The structure and termiticidal activity relations of phenols were studied. Phenol with some substituents revealed higher termiticidal activity than benzene derivatives, which have no hydroxyl group; an ortho substituent of phenol plays an important role in termiticidal activity. It has become apparent that high termiticidal activity cannot be obtained by a phenolic hydroxyl group alone; it can be obtained, however, by some substituents, especially an ortho substituent in addition to a phenolic hydroxyl group. The bulkiness of the substituent at the ortho position participates in termiticidal activity; activity decreases as the size of an ortho substituent increases. It is thought that the interaction at the receptor site of termites is affected by the increased size of the ortho substituent.     

Thinning alters crown dynamics and biomass increment within aboveground tissues in young stands of Chamaecyparis obtusa

The stand density of a forest affects the vertical distribution of foliage. Understanding the dynamics of this response is important for the study of crown structure and function, carbon-budget estimation, and forest management. We investigated the effect of tree density on the vertical distribution of foliage, branch, and stem growth, and ratio of biomass increment in aboveground tissues; by monitoring all first-order branches of five trees each from thinned and unthinned control stands of 10-year-old Chamaecyparis obtusa for four consecutive years. In the control stand, the foliage crown shifted upward with height growth but the foliage quantity of the whole crown did not increase. In addition, the vertical distribution of leaf mass shifted from lower-crown skewed to upper-crown skewed. In the thinned stand in contrast, the foliage quantity of individual crowns increased two-fold within 4 years, while the vertical distribution of leaf mass remained lower-crown skewed. The two stands had similar production rates, numbers of first-order branches per unit of tree height, and total lengths of first-order branches. However, the mortality rate of first-order branches and self-pruning within a first-order branch were significantly higher in the control stand than in the thinned stand, which resulted in a higher ratio of biomass increment in branch. Thinning induced a higher ratio of biomass increment in foliage and lower in branch. The increased foliage quantity and variation in ratio of biomass increment after thinning stimulated stem growth of residual trees. These results provide information that will be useful when considering thinning regimes and stand management.     

Gustatory sensitivity of the external taste buds of Oreochromis niloticus L. to amino acids

The gustatory sensitivity of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus L., to different amino acids was studied using an electrophysiological approach. The electrical responses were recorded from a branch of the facial nerve innervating the external taste buds of the upper lip. The relative stimulatory effectiveness (RSE) of nine amino acids and betaine were determined at a concentration of 1 mm and all of them elicited neural responses. This species responded well to the neutral, basic and acidic amino acids. The most stimulatory amino acids were L‐histidine, L‐arginine, L‐serine, L‐methionine and L‐glutamine; L‐proline and betaine were the least stimulatory. The results of this study suggest that the Nile tilapia has high external gustatory sensitivity to some amino acids as a physiological adaptation to search effectively for their sources. The effect of the pH, ranging from 4.0 to 9.0, on the RSE of three neutral amino acids and artificial pond water (APW) was also studied. The RSE increased below pH 6.0 and was relatively unaffected from 7.0 to 9.0, indicating that acidified stimulants are highly stimulatory in this species. Nile tilapia did not discriminate the pH of APW as effectively as some of the species studied earlier.     

Applicability of Aegilops tauschii drought tolerance traits to breeding of hexaploid wheat

Few genes are available to develop drought-tolerant bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars. One way to enhance bread wheat’s genetic diversity would be to take advantage of the diversity of wild species by creating synthetic hexaploid wheat (SW) with the genomic constitution of bread wheat. In this study, we compared the expression of traits encoded at different ploidy levels and evaluated the applicability of Aegilops tauschii drought-related traits using 33 Ae. tauschii accessions along with their corresponding SW lines under well-watered and drought conditions. We found wide variation in Ae. tauschii, and even wider variation in the SW lines. Some SW lines were more drought-tolerant than the standard cultivar Cham 6. Aegilops tauschii from some regions gave better performing SW lines. The traits of Ae. tauschii were not significantly correlated with their corresponding SW lines, indicating that the traits expressed in wild diploid relatives of wheat may not predict the traits that will be expressed in SW lines derived from them. We suggest that, regardless of the adaptability and performance of the Ae. tauschii under drought, production of SW could probably result in genotypes with enhanced trait expression due to gene interactions, and that the traits of the synthetic should be evaluated in hexaploid level.