Naemacyclus culmigenus,a newly reported potential pathogen to Miscanthus sinensis,new to Japan

Since the summer of 2010, a discomycete with erumpent apothecia associated with a leaf blight of Miscanthus leaves, were often collected. The morphological characteristics of the fungus suggested it was a member of the Helotiales rather than the Rhytismatales and this was supported by a phylogenetic analysis. Based on a morphological comparison with the type specimen of Naemacyclus culmigenus, currently known from Poaceae (Andropogon and Panicum), it was identified as N. culmigenus, new to Japan. The molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the generic delimitation of Naemacyclus and related species requires clarification, as does their higher classification within the Leotiomycetes.     

Quantitative Proteomic Profiling Identifies DPYSL3 as Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma-Associated Molecule That Regulates Cell Adhesion and Migration by Stabilization of Focal Adhesion Complex

Elucidation of how pancreatic cancer cells give rise to distant metastasis is urgently needed in order to provide not only a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms, but also to identify novel targets for greatly improved molecular diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. We employed combined proteomic technologies including mass spectrometry and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification peptide tagging to analyze protein profiles of surgically resected human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissues. We identified a protein, dihydropyrimidinase-like 3, as highly expressed in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tissues as well as pancreatic cancer cell lines. Characterization of the roles of dihydropyrimidinase-like 3 in relation to cancer cell adhesion and migration in vitro, and metastasis in vivo was performed using a series of functional analyses, including those employing multiple reaction monitoring proteomic analysis. Furthermore, dihydropyrimidinase-like 3 was found to interact with Ezrin, which has important roles in cell adhesion, motility, and invasion, while that interaction promoted stabilization of an adhesion complex consisting of Ezrin, c-Src, focal adhesion kinase, and Talin1. We also found that exogenous expression of dihydropyrimidinase-like 3 induced activating phosphorylation of Ezrin and c-Src, leading to up-regulation of the signaling pathway. Taken together, the present results indicate successful application of combined proteomic approaches to identify a novel key player, dihydropyrimidinase-like 3, in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumorigenesis, which may serve as an important biomarker and/or drug target to improve therapeutic strategies.     

Generation of robust vascular networks from cardiovascular blast populations derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells in vivo and ex vivo organ culture system

Vascular network formation is a key therapeutic event in regenerative medicine because it is essential for mitigating or ameliorating ischemic conditions implicated in various diseases and repair of tissues and organs. In this study, we induced human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to differentiate into heterogeneous cell populations which have abilities to form vascular vessel-like structures by recapitulating the embryonic process of vasculogenesis in vitro. These cell populations, named cardiovascular blast populations (CBPs) in this report, primarily consisted of CD31⁺ and CD90⁺ cells.     

Tail-extension following the termination codon is critical for release of the nascent chain from membrane-bound ribosomes in a reticulocyte lysate cell-free system

Nascent chain release from membrane-bound ribosomes by the termination codon was investigated using a cell-free translation system from rabbit supplemented with rough microsomal membrane vesicles. Chain release was extremely slow when mRNA ended with only the termination codon. Tail extension after the termination codon enhanced the release of the nascent chain. Release reached plateau levels with tail extension of 10 bases. This requirement was observed with all termination codons: TAA, TGA and TAG. Rapid release was also achieved by puromycin even in the absence of the extension. Efficient translation termination cannot be achieved in the presence of only a termination codon on the mRNA. Tail extension might be required for correct positioning of the termination codon in the ribosome and/or efficient recognition by release factors.     

Aroma Components of Baelfruit (Aegle marmelos CORREA)

The attractive and characteristically sweet aroma components of baelfruit—a tropical fruit— were investigated. The aroma concentrates possessing the sweet floral and somewhat terpene-like aroma were obtained from both the pulp and peel of fresh baelfruits by means of lyophilization and ether extraction, being analyzed mainly by GC-MS, A total of 39 components were identified. Among these components, terpene alcohols and β-βonone were considered to contribute to the aroma of baelfruit. At optimum ripeness, the fruit with excellent flavor contained a large quantity of an isomeric compound of 3,7-dimethyl-1,5,7-octatrien-3-ol. This compound couldn’t be found in unripe fruit, and seems to be ?mportant in making the baelfruit flavor attractive.     

Flavor Constituents of Pouchong Tea and a Comparison of the Aroma Pattern with Jasmine Tea

The aroma constituents of the highest quality pouchong tea were characterized by GC–MS. Forty-eight components, including five newly identified compounds were characterized. GC peak area percentages of the main components in pouchong tea were compared with those of jasmine tea to differentiate compounds contributing to the aroma characteristics of pouchong tea with superior floral elegant flavor. Nerolidol, jasmine lactone, methyl jasmonate, indole, benzyl cyanide and linalool oxides were found in much higher concentration in pouchong tea than in jasmine tea. These compounds seemed to contribute to the aroma characteristics of the highest quality pouchong tea.