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...     

Growth performance,carcass traits,physiochemical characteristics and intramuscular fatty acid composition of finishing Japanese black steers fed soybean curd residue and soy sauce cake

This study was conducted to determine the effects of dietary soybean curd residue (SCR) and soy sauce cake (SSC) on the growth performance, carcass traits and physiochemical and intramuscular fatty acid (FA) characteristics in Japanese Black steers. Ten steers (29.7 ± 0.3 months old, 856.6 ± 24.4 kg body weight) were assigned to either treatment C, fed a conventional concentrate or T, fed the test diet including dried SCR and SSC for 3 months. In growth performance, dry matter (DM) intake and average daily gain, and carcass traits did not differ significantly between the treatments. Color of beef was affected by the dietary treatments and meat samples from T showed higher a^* value and chroma than those in C. On FA composition, there was no significant difference between the treatments in neutral lipids, whereas in polar lipids, meat samples from T had higher C16:1 (P < 0.05) and tended to have higher C16:0 (P = 0.05) and C18:1 (P = 0.08), but lower C17:0 (P = 0.098), C18:2 (P = 0.06) and C20:4 (P = 0.07) than those from C. The study suggested that SCR and SSC could be used as a substitute for conventional concentrate and would influence meat color and intramuscular FA composition of polar lipids.     

Thyroid Hormone-disrupting Effects and the Amphibian Metamorphosis Assay

There are continued concerns about endocrine-disrupting chemical effects, and appropriate vertebrate models for assessment of risk are a high priority. Frog tadpoles are very sensitive to environmental substances because of their habitat and the complex processes of metamorphosis regulated by the endocrine system, mainly thyroid hormones. During metamorphosis, marked alteration in hormonal factors occurs, as well as dramatic structural and functional changes in larval tissues. There are a variety of mechanisms determining thyroid hormone balance or disruption directly or indirectly. Direct-acting agents can cause changes in thyroxine synthesis and/or secretion in thyroid through effects on peroxidases, thyroidal iodide uptake, deiodinase, and proteolysis. At the same time, indirect action may result from biochemical processes such as sulfation, deiodination and glucuronidation. Because their potential to disrupt thyroid hormones has been identified as an important consideration for the regulation of chemicals, the OECD and the EPA have each established guidelines that make use of larval African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) and frog metamorphosis for screening and testing of potential endocrine disrupters. The guidelines are based on evaluation of alteration in the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. One of the primary endpoints is thyroid gland histopathology. Others are mortality, developmental stage, hind limb length, snout-vent length and wet body weight. Regarding histopathological features, the guidelines include core criteria and additional qualitative parameters along with grading. Taking into account the difficulties in evaluating amphibian thyroid glands, which change continuously throughout metamorphosis, histopathological examination has been shown to be a very sensitive approach.     

Modified plant architecture to enhance crop disease control: genetic control and possible value of upright fruit position in cucumber

Plant architectural features can facilitate disease control by creating unfavourable environments for pathogen growth or limiting pathogen contact with the host. In the case of Phytophthora capsici infection of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), the susceptible fruit typically lie in contact with soil under warm, moist conditions of a full canopy, an ideal location for exposure to inoculum and disease development. We have shown that increased row spacing, trellising and architectural variants that allow for more open canopies, such as shorter vines, reduced branching, or smaller leaves, can modify microclimate as assessed by temperature at the location of developing fruits. However, only trellising reduced infection rates (<3 % infection vs. 22 % for control). A cucumber accession PI308916, with extremely short internodes and resulting upright position of young fruit, also exhibited reduced disease. Fruit of PI308916 were susceptible when inoculated with P. capsici, indicating that reduced infection likely resulted from decreased soil contact. The compact trait is inherited as a single recessive gene, cp. Like many architectural traits, cp may be pleiotropic; PI308916-derived breeding lines were reported to have poor seedling emergence. PI308916 exhibited inconsistent apical hook formation that co-segregated with short internodes in F₂ and backcross generations, and disorganized internodal cortical cell arrangement. The combined phenotypes suggest either pleiotropy or very tight linkage of genes affecting hormone balance or cell division. The narrow chromosome region recently defined by QTL analysis includes candidate gene homologs of meristem related genes modulating cell division or spacing of lateral shoot organs and genes associated with brassinosteroid signaling or cytokinin content.     

A specific and potent inhibitor of brassinosteroid biosynthesis possessing a dioxolane ring

Screening for brassinosteroid biosynthesis inhibitors was performed to find azole derivatives that induced dwarfism, to resemble brassinosteroid-deficient mutants in Arabidopsis, and which could be rescued by brassinosteroid. Through this screening experiment, propiconazole fungicide was selected as a likely inhibitor of brassinosteroid biosynthesis and, thus, propiconazole derivatives with optimized activity and selectivity were synthesized. The biological activity of these compounds was evaluated by examining cress stem elongation. Among the compounds tested, 2RS,4RS-1-[2-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-4-n-propyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-ylmethyl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole (12) showed the most potent capability to retard cress stem elongation in the light. The compound-induced hypocotyl dwarfism was restored by the coapplication of 10 nM brassinolide but not by 1 microM gibberellin. These results suggest that 12 should affect brassinosteroid biosynthesis. The potency and specificity of 12 were greater than those of brassinazole, a previously reported brassinosteroid biosynthesis inhibitor.     

Adventitious root formation of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) cuttings is stimulated by soaking basal portion of cuttings in warmed water while cooling their apical portion

To improve the propagation of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don), we investigated the effects of apical and basal temperatures during a water soaking treatment on the adventitious root formation of 70-mm long shoot tip cuttings which have an apical bud. The basal portion of the cuttings was soaked for 28 days in water with temperatures ranging from 10 to 35 °C, at an air temperature of 5 or 10 °C. Control cuttings were soaked in water at 25 °C, with an air temperature of 25 °C. Treated cuttings were then planted in vermiculite rooting medium and grown at an air temperature of 25 °C for 35 days. Adventitious roots initiated earlier and developed more in the cuttings treated with apical temperatures of 5 or 10 °C and basal temperatures of 20–30 °C than in the control cuttings. The rooting percentage was greatest (93 %) in the cuttings treated with a 10/25 °C apical/basal temperature, whereas few control cuttings rooted (13 %). This suggests that the temperature gradient created by warming the basal portion of the cuttings while cooling their apical end stimulates adventitious root formation. When we tested seasonal variation of rootability at 10/25 °C, the rooting percentage increased from early autumn to winter, and decreased from winter to summer. The soluble sugar contents did not directly affect the formation of adventitious roots in the present study.     

Analysis of strigolactones,germination stimulants for striga and orobanche,by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid analytical method for strigolactones, germination stimulants for the root parasitic weeds witchweed (Striga spp.) and broomrape (Orobanche spp.), has been developed using high-performance liquid chromatography connected to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). The natural strigolactones (strigol, sorgolactone, orobanchol, and alectrol) were clearly separated and identified by LC/MS/MS. As low as 0.1 pg/microL of strigol and 0.5 pg/microL of sorgolactone could be quantified, whereas 1 pg/microL was needed for the quantification of orobanchol (S/N > 10). Using this method, it was found that red clover produces orobanchol and alectrol but not strigol. The roots of red clover seedlings were found to produce 13, 70, 58, and 65 pg of orobanchol/plant 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after germination, respectively.