Reproductive habitat use,body-size structure and spawning season of Cobitis minamorii minamorii in paddy fields and ditches

We surveyed the reproductive ecology of Cobitis minamorii minamorii in paddy fields and ditches. The spatial distribution of females in the spawning season differed from that in the non-spawning season, even in short ditches. Eggs were collected in both ditches and paddy fields, unlike an earlier study demonstrating that no eggs were collected in ditches. The frequency distributions of standard body lengths of males and females were unimodal and bimodal, respectively. The females with a large standard body length were expected to be gravid with higher probability in May.

     

Anti-Barnacle Activities of Isothiocyanates Derived from β-Citronellol and Their Structure–Activity Relationships

Antifouling agents with low toxicity are in high demand for sustaining marine industries and the environment. This study aimed to synthesize 15 isothiocyanates derived from β-citronellol and evaluate their antifouling activities and toxicities against cypris larvae of the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite. The synthesized isothiocyanates exhibited effective antifouling activities (EC₅₀=0.10–3.33 μg mL⁻¹) with high therapeutic ratios (LC₅₀/EC₅₀ >30). Four isothiocyanates with an amide or isocyano group showed great potential as effective antifouling agents (EC₅₀=0.10–0.32 μg mL⁻¹, LC₅₀/EC₅₀=104–833). The enantiomers of the isothiocyanates only slightly differed in their antifouling activities. These results may serve as a basis for further research and development of β-citronellol-derived isothiocyanates as effective low-toxic antifouling agents. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report the antifouling activities of isothiocyanates derived from accessible natural products.     

An Epidermal Growth Factor Motif from Del1 Protein Increases the Efficiency of In Vivo Gene Transfer with a Non-Viral Vector

Increasing the efficiency of gene transfer using non-viral vectors, which have the potential to be safe and economical, would improve upon available options for gene therapy. We previously reported that the third EGF motif of the extracellular matrix protein Del1 (E3) increases the transfection efficiency of non-viral vector methods. Here, we asked if E3 could increase the in vivo transfection efficiency of a polyplex-based approach. To test this, cDNA encoding a heat-stable alkaline phosphatase (AP) was first injected intravenously into mice along with recombinant E3. After 24 h, exogenous AP activity in serum was measured. We found that the introduction of E3 resulted in 50 % more AP activity as compared to the control. We next tested transfection into a tumour explant of SCCKN cells, an oral carcinoma-derived cell line. To do this, a cDNA encoding yellow fluorescent protein was locally injected into a tumour explant, followed by local injection of recombinant E3. Use of E3 increased the number of transfected cells to 2.5 times that of the control. Histochemical staining revealed that E3-induced apoptosis in a tumour explant. The data suggest that E3 might be a useful tool for cancer gene therapy using non-viral vectors.     

An E3 ubiquitin ligase,ERECT LEAF1, functions in brassinosteroid signaling of rice

A spontaneous rice mutant, erect leaf1 (elf1–1), produced a dwarf phenotype with erect leaves and short grains. Physiological analyses suggested that elf1–1 is brassinosteroid-insensitive, so we hypothesized that ELF1 encodes a positive regulator of brassinosteroid signaling. ELF1, identified by means of positional cloning, encodes a protein with both a U-box domain and ARMADILLO (ARM) repeats. U-box proteins have been shown to function as E3 ubiquitin ligases; in fact, ELF1 possessed E3 ubiquitin ligase activity in vitro. However, ELF1 itself does not appear to be polyubiquitinated. Mutant phenotypes of 2 more elf1 alleles indicate that the entire ARM repeats is indispensable for ELF1 activity. These results suggest that ELF1 ubiquitinates target proteins through an interaction mediated by ARM repeats. Similarities in the phenotypes of elf1 and d61 mutants (mutants of brassinosteroid receptor gene OsBRI1), and in the regulation of ELF1 and OsBRI1 expression, imply that ELF1 functions as a positive regulator of brassinosteroid signaling in rice.     

Experimental anatomical considerations of the dorsal root entry zone lesions for pain relief

Dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) lesions were made in the cervical dorsal horn in cat and monkey. Terminal degeneration was observed in the lateral cervical nucleus in cat and contralateral VPL in monkey by Fink-Heimer stain. WGA-HRP was injected in the cervical dorsal horn of cat and retrograde labelled cells were observed mainly in the raphe nucleus, parabrachial nucleus, locus coeruleus, K?lliker-Fuse nucleus, Eddinger-Westphal nucleus, and hypothalamic area, indicating that these descending fiber systems are involved by the DREZ lesion. The functional role of these fibers in regard to deafferentation pain relief seems now to be open to discussion.