Land abandonment and changes in snow cover period accelerate range expansions of sika deer

Ongoing climate change and land‐use change have the potential to substantially alter the distribution of large herbivores. This may result in drastic changes in ecosystems by changing plant–herbivore interactions. Here, we developed a model explaining sika deer persistence and colonization between 25 years in terms of neighborhood occupancy and habitat suitability. We used climatic, land‐use, and topographic variables to calculate the habitat suitability and evaluated the contributions of the variables to past range changes of sika deer. We used this model to predict the changes in the range of sika deer over the next 100 years under four scenario groups with the combination of land‐use change and climate change. Our results showed that both climate change and land‐use change had affected the range of sika deer in the past 25 years. Habitat suitability increased in northern or mountainous regions, which account for 71.6% of Japan, in line with a decrease in the snow cover period. Habitat suitability decreased in suburban areas, which account for 28.4% of Japan, corresponding to land‐use changes related to urbanization. In the next 100 years, the decrease in snow cover period and the increase in land abandonment were predicted to accelerate the range expansion of sika deer. Comparison of these two driving factors revealed that climate change will contribute more to range expansion, particularly from the 2070s onward. In scenarios that assumed the influence of both climate change and land‐use change, the total sika deer range increased by between +4.6% and +11.9% from the baseline scenario. Climate change and land‐use change will require additional efforts for future management of sika deer, particularly in the long term.     

Inhibition of Fatty Acid Synthase Decreases Expression of Stemness Markers in Glioma Stem Cells

Cellular metabolic changes, especially to lipid metabolism, have recently been recognized as a hallmark of various cancer cells. However, little is known about the significance of cellular lipid metabolism in the regulation of biological activity of glioma stem cells (GSCs). In this study, we examined the expression and role of fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key lipogenic enzyme, in GSCs. In the de novo lipid synthesis assay, GSCs exhibited higher lipogenesis than differentiated non-GSCs. Western blot and immunocytochemical analyses revealed that FASN is strongly expressed in multiple lines of patient-derived GSCs (G144 and Y10), but its expression was markedly reduced upon differentiation. When GSCs were treated with 20 μM cerulenin, a pharmacological inhibitor of FASN, their proliferation and migration were significantly suppressed and de novo lipogenesis decreased. Furthermore, following cerulenin treatment, expression of the GSC markers nestin, Sox2 and fatty acid binding protein (FABP7), markers of GCSs, decreased while that of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression increased. Taken together, our results indicate that FASN plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of GSC stemness, and FASN-mediated de novo lipid biosynthesis is closely associated with tumor growth and invasion in glioblastoma.     

Immunohistochemical localization of iodopsin in the retina of the chicken and Japanese quail

Summary Localization of iodopsin in the retina of the chicken and Japanese quail was investigated immunohistochemically with the use of monoclonal antibodies (R1-R4) highly specific for R-photopsin (protein moiety of iodopsin). In paraffin sections of the retina, the outer segments of double cones (principal and accessory cones) and of one particular type of single cones were labeled with the antibodies. In addition, reticular cytoplasmic structures, probably representing the Golgi apparatus in a position close to the vitreous pole of the paraboloid and to the outer limiting membrane were intensely stained in the cone cells bearing an immunoreactive outer segment. In whole-mount preparations, 5 types of cone cells were identified according to the color of oil droplets, i.e., red, yellow, pale-green (principal member of double cones), pale-blue and clear, in addition to a sixth type devoid of an oil droplet (accessory member of double cones). The immunohistochemical analysis of the preparations revealed that R-photopsin (suggesting the presence of iodopsin) is localized in the outer segments of both the principal and accessory members of double cones, and the population of single cones displaying a red oil droplet. Other cones endowed with a yellow, blue or clear oil droplet were not labeled with the antibodies used. Similar results were obtained in the retina of the Japanese quail.     

Crossovers within a short DNA sequence indicate a long evolutionary history of the APRT*J mutation

Summary Adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency causing 2,8-dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis and renal failure is present at a high frequency among the Japanese but not other ethnic groups. A special type of mutant allele, designated APRT*J, with a nucleotide substitution at codon 136 from ATG (Met) to ACG (Thr) is carried by approximately 79% of all Japanese 2,8-dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis patients. We analyzed mutant alleles of 39 APRT deficient patients using a specific oligonucleotide hybridization method after in vitro amplification of a part of the genomic APRT sequence. We found that 24 had only APRT*J alleles. Determination of the haplotypes of 194 APRT alleles from control Japanese subjects and of the 48 different APRT*J alleles indicated that normal alleles occur in four major haplotypes, whereas all APRT*J alleles occur in only two. These results suggest that all APRT*J alleles have a single origin and that this mutant sequence has been maintained for a long period, as calculated from the frequency of the recombinant alleles.     

On the three visual pigments in the retina of the firefly squid,Watasenia scintillans

Summary The deep-sea bioluminescent squid, Watasenia scintillans, has three visual pigments: The major one (A1 pigment) is based on retinal and has _max = 484 nm, the second one (A2 pigment) is based on 3-dehydroretinal and has _max = 500 nm, and the third one (A4 pigment) is based on 4-hydroxyretinal and has _max = 470 nm. The distribution of these 3 visual pigments in the retina was studied by HPLC analysis of the retinals in retina slices obtained by microdissection. It was found that A1 pigment was not located in the specific region of the ventral retina receiving the down-welling light which contains very long photoreceptor cells, forming two strata. A2 and A4 pigment were found exclusively in the proximal pinkish stratum and in the distal yellowish stratum. The role of these pigments in the retina is hypothesized to involve spectral discrimination. The extraction and analysis of retinoids to determine the origin of 3-dehydroretinal and 4-hydroxyretinal in the mature squid showed only a trace amount of 4-hydroxyretinol in the eggs. Similar analysis of other cephalopods collected near Japan showed the absence of A2 or A4 pigment in their eyes.Abbreviations HPLC high-performance liquid chromatography - IS inner segment - OS outer segment     

Maleless, a Recessive Autosomal Mutant of DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER That Specifically Kills Male Zygotes

A second chromosome male-specific lethal gene, maleless ( mle), in D. melanogaster is described. It kills males but not females in homozygous condition, regardless of whether female parents are heterozygous or homozygous for mle. Many, if not most, homozygous males survive up to the third instar larval stage, but cannot pupate and die eventually as larvae. No interactions with sex-transforming genes, tra and dsx, were observed. It is proposed that mle interacts with a gene(s) on the X chromosome, which is not dosage compensated.     

Glucose Modulates the Release of Histamine from the Mouse Hypothalamus In Vitro

The effect of glucose concentration on the in vitro release of histamine (HA) was examined, using two different preparations of the mouse hypothalamus. The HA and tele-methylhistamine released from whole blocks of the hypothalamus into the medium linearly increased during 2-h incubation in normal Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution in the absence of external depolarizing stimuli. The release of HA from this preparation depended on the temperature and Ca2+ in the medium and was progressively increased with decrease in the glucose concentration from 11.5 to 1 mM. The rate of the HA release was dependent on the absolute concentration of glucose and not on an abrupt change in the concentration. When slices of the hypothalamus were incubated in high K+ medium, a temperature- and Ca2+-dependent HA release was observed. At low concentrations of glucose, the K+ (20 mM)-induced HA release from the hypothalamic slices was also enhanced. Tetrodotoxin (10 microM) inhibited the enhancing effect of a low glucose concentration (2 mM) on the HA release by 60%, in both preparations of the hypothalamus. The possibility that the release of HA from the mouse hypothalamus is regulated by glucose concentration and that activation of neuronal Na+ channels is involved in the enhancement of the HA release by low glucose concentrations warrants further attention.     

Selection of Yeasts for Breadmaking by the Frozen-Dough Method

Eleven yeast strains suitable for frozen dough were selected from over 300 Saccharomyces strains. All of these were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae from morphological, cultural, and physiological characteristics. The selected yeast cells accumulated a higher amount of trehalose than did commercial bakers' yeast cells.