The transition time from the juvenile phase to the adult phase differs in soybean cultivars ‘Enrei’ and ‘Peking’

Plants develop juvenile phase to adult phase in vegetative stage. Although soybean is a very important crop worldwide, there has been only one study of the juvenile–adult phase change. In this study, we determined that the juvenile–adult phase change occurred at different stages in two soybean cultivars that differ in their photosensitivity. Cultivar ‘Enrei’ (E1e2e3E4) is weakly photosensitive and cultivar ‘Peking’ (E1E2E3E4) is strongly photosensitive. In ‘Enrei’, the leaf size gradually increased at a constant leaf position regardless of the difference in day length. In ‘Peking’ plants transferred to short‐day conditions at several leaf development stages, leaf size gradually increased at different leaf positions. Expression of miR156 by ‘Enrei’ transferred to short‐day conditions had nearly the same pattern as that of ‘Enrei’ grown under long‐day conditions. In ‘Peking’, the expression of miR156 had different patterns in younger leaves of plants subjected to either a short‐day treatment or long‐day conditions. These results indicate that the E2 and E3 loci that regulate photosensitivity also regulate the expression of miR156 and the juvenile–adult phase change in soybean.     

Synthesis and insecticidal activity of benzoheterocyclic analogues of N'-benzoyl-N-(tert-butyl)benzohydrazide: Part 3. Modification of N-tert-butylhydrazine moiety

Nineteen analogues were synthesized by modifying the tert-butylhydrazine moieties of N'-tert-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxine-6-carbohydrazide and N'-tert-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-5-methylchromane-6-carbohydrazide (chromafenozide), and the synthesized analogues were evaluated for their insecticidal activity against Spodoptera litura F. While all of the synthesized analogues had insecticidal activity inferior to those of the lead compounds, several of the analogues nonetheless showed high insecticidal activity. Chromafenozide has shown very high selectivity toward lepidopteran species.     

Linkage mapping of the mouse nephrosis (nep) gene to chromosome 15.

ICGN is a partially inbred strain of mice with nephrotic syndrome caused by spontaneous glomerular lesion. It has been reported that the albuminuria in ICGN mouse was controlled by at least a single autosomal recessive gene (nep). In this study, we mapped the nep locus by linkage analysis of backcross progeny between ICGN and MSM mice using DNA pooling method. The linkage analysis revealed that the nep locus was localized on the distal part of chromosome 15.     

Development of murine monoclonal antibodies against an enterotoxin produced by Bacillus cereus.

Three murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were prepared against an enterotoxin (ET) produced by Bacillus cereus. Although these MAbs were found to react with the ET, their specificities appeared to be different in competitive binding assays. One of the MAbs (D-8), which was highly reactive with the ET, will be useful in developing immunological methods to detect crude ET and to isolate the ET in high yield.     

Characteristics of ferrous iron forms in paddy soil with reference to development of the soil profile

It is considered that transformation of iron compounds owing to alternation of submergence and drainage exert a complicated influence on physico-chemical properties of paddy soils and that subsequent changes in physicochemical properties play an important role in the development of paddy soil profile, for example gley formation, occurrence of iron mottling etc. Ferrous iron in waterlogged condition, however, exists in many complex forms, and is under physico-chemical equilibrium in conjunction with the environmental soil condition. In the previous paper, the authors have suggested that ferrous iron status in submerged condition is closely related to the characteristics of genetic soil types from their experiment on fractionation of inorganic ferrous iron (8).     

Hd3a protein is a mobile flowering signal in rice

Florigen, the mobile signal that moves from an induced leaf to the shoot apex and causes flowering, has eluded identification since it was first proposed 70 years ago. Understanding the nature of the mobile flowering signal would provide a key insight into the molecular mechanism of floral induction. Recent studies suggest that the Arabidopsis FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) gene is a candidate for encoding florigen. We show that the protein encoded by Hd3a, a rice ortholog of FT, moves from the leaf to the shoot apical meristem and induces flowering in rice. These results suggest that the Hd3a protein may be the rice florigen.     

Antioxidative effects of lactic acid bacteria on the colonic mucosa of iron-overloaded mice

The antioxidative effects of lactic acid bacteria on lipid peroxidation in the colonic mucosa were investigated. Among 49 strains of lactic acid bacteria, Streptococcus thermophilus YIT 2001 showed the highest inhibitory activity against lipid peroxidation in liposomes induced by ferrous iron. Feeding a diet containing 0.4% St. thermophilus YIT 2001 (2 x 10(8) colony-forming units per mouse per day) for 2 weeks caused a significant decrease of lipid peroxide (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance) in the colonic mucosa of iron-overloaded mice (0.07% Fe in the diet). The mucosal lipid peroxide level did not correlate with the soluble iron concentration of the cecal contents. Therefore, it is suggested that the antioxidative effect of St. thermophilus YIT 2001 in the colonic mucosa was not due to the removal of ferrous iron from the reaction system of lipid peroxidation.