Dioctophymatid nematode larva found from human skin with creeping eruption

A female dioctophymatid nematode larva, presumably belonging to the genus Dioctophyme, was found in a dermal granuloma accompanied by creeping eruption in the left inner thigh of a 26-yr-old Chinese woman who had stayed in Japan for 4 yr. Morphology of the sectioned worm is described in detail. This is the fourth case of dermal infection with dioctophymatid larva in humans.     

Effects of sugar on vegetative development and floral transition in Arabidopsis

Although sugar has been suggested to promote floral transition in many plant species, growth on high concentrations (5% [w/v]) of sucrose (Suc) significantly delayed flowering time, causing an increase in the number of leaves at the time of flowering in Arabidopsis. The effect of high concentrations of Suc seemed to be metabolic rather than osmotic. The delay of floral transition was due to extension of the late vegetative phase, which resulted in a delayed activation of LFY expression. In addition, growth on low concentrations (1% [w/v]) of Suc slightly inhibited flowering in wild-type plants. This delay resulted from effects on the early vegetative phase. This inhibition was more pronounced in tfl1, an early flowering mutant, than in the wild type. Although 1% (w/v) Suc was reported to promote floral transition of late-flowering mutants such as co, fca, and gi, floral transition in these mutants was delayed by a further increase in Suc concentration. These results suggest that sugar may affect floral transition by activating or inhibiting genes that act to control floral transition, depending on the concentration of sugars, the genetic background of the plants, and when the sugar is introduced. Growth on 1% (w/v) Suc did not restore the reduced expression levels of FT and SOC1/AGL20 in co or fca mutants. Rather, expression of FT and SOC1/AGL20 was repressed by 1% (w/v) Suc in wild-type background. The possible effects of sugar on gene expression to promote floral transition are discussed.     

Indispensability of transmembrane domains of Golgi UDP-galactose transporter as revealed by analysis of genetic defects in UDP-galactose transporter-deficient murine had-1 mutant cell lines and construction of deletion mutants

UDP-galactose transporter is a membrane protein localized in the Golgi apparatus. It translocates UDP-galactose from the cytosol into the Golgi lumen, thus providing galactosyltransferases with their substrate. We characterized murine UDP-galactose transporter through molecular cloning for the following purposes: (i) to elucidate the molecular bases underlying the genetic defects of murine Had-1 mutants, which are deficient in UDP-galactose transporting activity, and (ii) to obtain information that would help us in planning rational approaches to identify functionally essential regions, based on comparison of primary structures between human and murine UDP-galactose transporters. We identified five nonsense mutations, one missense Gly178Asp mutation, and two aberrant splicing mutations. Although glycine178 is highly conserved among nucleotide-sugar transporters, a Gly178Ala variant was functional. The species-differences between human and murine UDP-galactose transporters were largely confined to the N- and C-terminal regions of the transporters. Substantial deletions in the N- and C-terminal regions did not lead to loss of UDP-galactose transporting activity, indicating that these cytosolic regions are dispensable for the transporting activity. The transporter was fused with green-fluorescent protein at the C-terminal cytosolic tail without impairing the functions of either protein. Our results demonstrate the importance of the transmembrane core region of the UDP-galactose transporter protein.     

Molecular cloning and biochemical characterization of a novel cytochrome P450, flavone synthase II, that catalyzes direct conversion of flavanones to flavones

Cytochrome P450 cDNAs, AFNS2 and TFNS5, were isolated from snapdragon and torenia petal cDNA libraries, respectively, based on the sequence homology with licorice CYP93B1 cDNA encoding (2S)-flavanone 2-hydroxylase. They were expressed in yeast and identified to encode flavone synthase II catalyzing direct conversion of flavanones to flavones probably via 2-hydroxyflavanones.     

Genomic sequence and organization of the family of CNR/Pcdhalpha genes in rat

CNR/Pcdhalpha family proteins are known as synaptic cadherins and Reelin receptors. Here we report the complete genomic sequence and organization of the rat CNR. The rat CNR cluster encodes 15 variable and 3 constant exons. The genomic organizations of the rat, mouse, and human CNR/Pcdhalpha are orthologous. The percentage identity of the coding regions between the rat and the mouse is 93.6% on average at the nucleic acid level, and between rat and human it is 82.8%. The rat CNRs (v1-v13) also contain an RGD motif in the extracellular cadherin 1 domains and cysteine repeats that are characteristic of the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of CNR proteins. The number of variable exons in the rat CNR cluster is identical to that of the human. The rat CNR cluster has one more variable exon than is found in laboratory mouse strains, because in the mouse a variable exon located between v7 and v8 is divided by the insertion of a retrotransposon. This exon is not disrupted in the rat, in which it is transcribed. By in silico analysis, CNR/Pcdhalpha was also mapped to rat chromosome 18, but the orientation was opposite for the mouse CNR/Pcdhalpha gene cluster. The relative expression profiles of the rat CNRs (v1-v13) show that all the CNRs are transcribed, but there are variations in the expression ratios among the CNRs.     

Current LCA database development in Japan -results of the LCA project

In 1998, the Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) launched a five-year national project entitled ‘Development of Life Cycle Impact Assessment for Products’ (commonly known as ‘the LCA Project’). The purpose of the project is to develop common LCA methodology as well as a highly reliable database that can be shared in Japan. Activities over these five years have resulted in the supply of LCI data on some 250 products. Industrial associations voluntarily provided data. The results of these activities are currently being made available on the Internet on a trial basis in the form of an LCA database. In addition, a method entitled ‘Life-cycle Impact assessment Method based on Endpoint modeling (LIME)’ was developed. It is expected that these results will be widely used in Japan in the future. This paper presents an outline of the results of the research and development that has been conducted in the LCA Project in Japan.