Formation of temporal memory requires NMDA receptors within CA1 pyramidal neurons

In humans the hippocampus is required for episodic memory, which extends into the spatial and temporal domains. Work on the rodent hippocampus has shown that NMDA receptor (NMDAR) -mediated plasticity is essential for spatial memory. Here, we have examined whether hippocampal NMDARs are also needed for temporal memory. We applied trace fear conditioning to knockout mice lacking NMDARs only in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells. This paradigm requires temporal processing because the conditional and unconditional stimuli are separated by 30 s (trace). We found that knockout mice failed to memorize this association but were indistinguishable from normal animals when the trace was removed. Thus, NMDARs in CA1 are crucial for the formation of memories that associate events across time.     

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 may be a good predictor of success in oocyte fertilization during assisted reproductive technology

The aim of this study was to determine whether the bone-morphogenetic proreins-2 (BMP-2) or -7 (BMP-7) levels in follicular fluid (FF) are associated with success in oocyte fertilization during assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Twenty-four cycles in 24 patients who underwent oocyte retrieval in Sugiyama clinic were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into two groups according to the success or failure of fertilization. FF samples were obtained from a single follicle in each patient, and the levels of BMP-2, BMP-7, Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), estradiol and progesterone from FF were measured, and evaluated in relation to the ART outcomes. The BMP-2 levels correlated positively with the AMH levels in FF (r(2) = 0.4928), but there was no statistically significant difference between BMP-7 and AMH levels. The BMP-2 and BMP-7 levels had no relation with either progesterone or estradiol levels, but BMP-2 levels in the fertilized group were significantly higher than those in the unfertilized group (P < 0.05). The BMP-2 levels in FF positively correlated with the AMH levels in FF, and those in the fertilized group were significantly higher than in the unfertilized group. Therefore, the BMP-2 levels in FF could be a predictive marker for fertilization.     

Fluorescent analysis of excess electron transfer through DNA

The DNA base stack provides unique features for the efficient long-range charge transfer. For the purpose of investigating excess electron transfer process through DNA, we developed a new method for fluorescence analysis of excess electron transfer based on reductive cleavage of a disulfide bond and a thiol-specific fluorescent probe. Excess electron transfer was detected by monitoring the fluorescence of emissive pyrene monomer generated by the reaction of pyrene maleimides with the cleaved disulfide bond (thiols). Mechanism of reductive cleavage of disulfides through excess electron transfer and subsequent reaction with the fluorescent probes were discussed. This facile and sensitive detection by fluorescence method can be applied for mechanistic study of excess electron transfer.     

Starch phosphorus content in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars and its effect on other starch properties

The research presented herein provides valuable data with respect to the phosphorus content of starches from many potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivars using an energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique. In all starches examined, the phosphorus content ranged from 308 to 1244 ppm. Furthermore, the estimation of the starch characteristics of representative samples differing manifestly in their phosphorus content indicated that enhancing the starch phosphate resulted in significant increases in the swelling power, peak viscosity, and breakdown and significant but small increases in the onset and peak temperatures of gelatinization. Other starch quality parameters, such as the amylose content, median granule size, and the gelatinization enthalpy, did not change significantly due to the degree of phosphate substitution of starch.     

An Asian Origin for Subtype IV BK Virus Based on Phylogenetic Analysis

Similarly to other members of the Polyomaviridae family, BK virus (BKV) is thought to have co-evolved with its human host. BKV has four subtypes that are distinguishable by immunological reactivity, with two (subtypes I and IV) being most prevalent in human populations. Subtype I is the major subtype worldwide, whereas subtype IV is prevalent in East Asia and Europe but rare in Africa. The geographic distribution pattern of subtype IV BKV is in apparent disagreement with the hypothesis that BKV co-evolved with humans, since subtype IV rarely occurs in Africa. To elucidate the origin of subtype IV, 53 complete subtype IV sequences derived from East Asians and Europeans were subjected to a detailed phylogenetic analysis using the maximum-likelihood and neighbor-joining methods. We identified six subgroups (a1, a2, b1, b2, c1, and c2) that formed a tree represented by the formula: “(a1, a2), ((b1, b2), (c1, c2)).” Interestingly, we found a close correlation between subtype IV subgroups and population geography; thus, all subgroups except c2 were prevalent in particular East Asian populations, with c2 occurring in both Europe and Northeast Asia. From these findings, we conclude that subtype IV of BKV now prevalent in modern humans is derived from a virus that infected ancestral Asians. We introduce two hypotheses to explain how ancestral Asians became infected with subtype IV BKV. [Reviewing Editor: Dr. Joshua Plotkin] Yuriko Nishimoto and Huai-Ying Zheng are two authors contributed equally to this article.     

Relationships between BK virus lineages and human populations

BK polyomavirus (BKV) is ubiquitous in human populations, infecting children asymptomatically and then persisting in the kidney, in which it can cause nephropathy in renal transplant patients. BKV isolates are classified into four subtypes (I-IV) using serological or genotyping methods, and subtype I is further divided into four subgroups, Ia, Ib-1, Ib-2, and Ic, based on DNA sequence variations. To clarify whether there is an association between BK virus lineages and human populations, we examined BKV-positive urine samples collected from immunocompetent individuals at various locations in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Partial BKV DNA sequences (n=299) in these samples were determined and subjected to phylogenetic and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis to classify BKV isolates around the world. The validity of the classification was confirmed by analyses based on complete BKV DNA sequences. Subtype I was the major subtype throughout the studied regions, and subtype IV was prevalent only in Asia and Europe. Subtype-I subgroups showed close relationships to major geographical areas. It has recently been shown that JC virus (a human polyomavirus closely related to BKV) co-evolved with human populations, and the present study thus suggests that host-linked evolution is the general mode of polyomavirus evolution. Additionally, our results indicate certain unique aspects of the relationship between BKV and humans.     

In vitro trans-translation of Thermus thermophilus: ribosomal protein S1 is not required for the early stage of trans-translation

Transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) plays a dual role as a tRNA and an mRNA in trans-translation, during which the ribosome replaces mRNA with tmRNA encoding the tag-peptide. These processes have been suggested to involve several tmRNA-binding proteins, including SmpB and ribosomal protein S1. To investigate the molecular mechanism of trans-translation, we developed in vitro systems using purified ribosome, elongation factors, tmRNA and SmpB from Thermus thermophilus. A stalled ribosome in complex with polyphenylalanyl-tRNA(Phe) was prepared as a target of tmRNA. A peptidyl transfer reaction from polyphenylalanyl-tRNA(Phe) to alanyl-tmRNA was observed in an SmpB-dependent manner. The next peptidyl transfer to aminoacyl-tRNA occurred specifically to the putative resume codon for the tag-peptide, which was confirmed by introducing a mutation in the codon. Thus, the in vitro systems developed in this study are useful to investigate the early steps of trans-translation. Using these in vitro systems, we investigated the function of ribosomal protein S1, which has been believed to play a role in trans-translation. Although T. thermophilus S1 tightly bound to tmRNA, as in the case of Escherichia coli S1, it had little or no effect on the early steps of trans-translation.     

Insecticide applications to soil contribute to the development of Burkholderia mediating insecticide resistance in stinkbugs

Some soil Burkholderia strains are capable of degrading the organophosphorus insecticide, fenitrothion, and establish symbiosis with stinkbugs, making the host insects fenitrothion‐resistant. However, the ecology of the symbiotic degrading Burkholderia adapting to fenitrothion in the free‐living environment is unknown. We hypothesized that fenitrothion applications affect the dynamics of fenitrothion‐degrading Burkholderia, thereby controlling the transmission of symbiotic degrading Burkholderia from the soil to stinkbugs. We investigated changes in the density and diversity of culturable Burkholderia (i.e. symbiotic and nonsymbiotic fenitrothion degraders and nondegraders) in fenitrothion‐treated soil using microcosms. During the incubation with five applications of pesticide, the density of the degraders increased from less than the detection limit to around 10⁶/g of soil. The number of dominant species among the degraders declined with the increasing density of degraders; eventually, one species predominated. This process can be explained according to the competitive exclusion principle using V_max and K_m values for fenitrothion metabolism by the degraders. We performed a phylogenetic analysis of representative strains isolated from the microcosms and evaluated their ability to establish symbiosis with the stinkbug Riptortus pedestris. The strains that established symbiosis with R. pedestris were assigned to a cluster including symbionts commonly isolated from stinkbugs. The strains outside the cluster could not necessarily associate with the host. The degraders in the cluster predominated during the initial phase of degrader dynamics in the soil. Therefore, only a few applications of fenitrothion could allow symbiotic degraders to associate with their hosts and may cause the emergence of symbiont‐mediated insecticide resistance.