Bioremediation of Fish Cannery Wastewater with Yeasts Isolated from a Drainage Canal

Several yeasts were isolated from a drainage canal in a Japanese fish food processing factory. They were characterized by the decomposition of organic polymers such as proteins and reducing sugars, their growth in the wastewater, the decrease in total organic carbon (TOC), and taxonomy. Three strains of yeast dominated the sample: Debaryomyces occidentalis (P1), Trichosporon ovoides (P19), and a strain that could not be identified (S27). Strain P19 had the highest TOC-decreasing activity and was immobilized onto chitosan beads. The immobilized yeasts reduced the TOC from 1.2 × 103 to 3.0 × 102 mg of C/L per day in the fish cannery wastewater.     

Simulations of airflow and substance concentration around a human body

In order to predict airflow and suspended substance concentration around a human body, we developed a geometric model of the human form and generated grids around it for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). According to a CFSV model proposed by us we made a domain that included a geometric human model and generated the grids within this domain. By using this model with the grids and the developed CFD program, it is possible to simulate the airflow and the transfer of a suspended substance around the body. The simulated airflow provided a different velocity profile for each region of the body due to the characteristics of the body shape. The simulated distribution of the suspended substance concentration demonstrates how usable the present model is for quantifying a substance in any exposed region of the body.     

Fusicoccins P and Q,and 3-epifusicoccins H and Q,new polar fusicoccins from isolate Niigata 2-A of a peach Fusicoccum canker fungus

Our search for new polar fusicoccins biosynthetically related to fusicoccin A from the culture filtrate of isolate Niigata 2-A of a peach Fusicoccum canker fungus resulted in the isolation of new fusicoccins named fusicoccins P and Q, and 3-epifusicoccins H and Q, together with 3'-deacetylfusicoccin A and 16-O-demethyl-3-epifusicoccin J. The structures of fusicoccins P and Q, and of 3-epifusicoccin Q were determined to be those of deisopentenylfusicoccin J, 12alpha-hydroxyfusicoccin H and 12alpha-hydroxy-3-epifusicoccin H, respectively, by NMR spectrometry and chemical derivation from known fusicoccins. 3-Epifusicoccin H was identified by comparing its 400 MHz NMR spectra with those of fusicoccin H. The lettuce seed germination-stimulating activity of these new fusicoccins was examined in the presence of ABA: fusicoccin P was highly active, while 3-epifusicoccins H and Q were slightly active, and fusicoccins H and Q were almost inactive. Possible biosynthetic pathways incorporating these new fusicoccins and 3-epifusicoccins from geranylgeranyl diphosphate to 3'-deacetlyfusicoccin A and 16-O-demethyl-3-epifusicoccin J are discussed.     

Short-term hypergravity does not affect protein-ubiquitination and proliferation in rat L6 myoblastic cells.

We previously reported that spaceflight (STS-90) and tail-suspension stimulated muscle protein ubiquitination and accumulated the degradation fragments. However, in space experiments the side-effects of hypergravity on samples are inevitable during the launch of a space shuttle into space or the reentry. To examine whether hypergravity also caused protein-ubiquitination in skeletal muscle cells, we exposed rat myoblastic L6 cells to various hypergravity conditions. Immunoblot analysis showed that the centrifugation at 2, 3, 30 or 100 G for 10 min did not increase the amount of ubiquitinated proteins in L6 cells, whereas the centrifugation at 100 G for 1 or 2 hrs significantly induced the protein-ubiquitination. In contrast, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), another stress-responsive protein, in L6 cells was accumulated only by centrifugation at 100 G for more than 10 min. Short-term (10 min) hypergravity including 3 or 100 G did not affect the proliferation and morphological changes in L6 cells. Our present results suggest that the ubiquitination of muscle proteins is less sensitive to hypergravity than the induction of HSP70, and that the effect of hypergravity on protein-ubiquitination and proliferation of skeletal muscle cells may be negligible, as far as its duration is short-term.     

Stand-level distribution and movement of Platypus quercivorus adults and patterns of incidence of new infestation

Abstract 1 Flying populations of an ambrosia beetle, Platypus quercivorus (Murayama), a vector of an ambrosia fungus Raffaelea quercivora, which causes deciduous oak diebacks in Japan, were determined by sticky screen traps. 2 Platypus quercivorus beetles tended to move upwards along slopes. The highest concentrations of flying beetles usually occured at the upper forest margins. 3 During the period when the number of flying beetles was increasing, the incidence of newly infested trees spread from the epicentre into the forest. During the period when the number of flying beetles was decreasing, the epicentre shrank into the upper forest edge. Newly infested trees did not occur in this period because most trees had already been infested. 4 Near the upper forest edge, where many beetles were highly concentrated throughout the season, the number of new entry holes decreased greatly after the initial attack early in the season, although many adults were present throughout the period.     

Phenolic acids and their carbohydrate esters in rice endosperm cell walls

Ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid and diferulic acid were detected in the alkaline extract of rice endosperm cell walls. The amount of each component was estimated as 9.1, 2.5 and 0.56 mg/g cell wall, respectively. Several phenolic-carbohydrate esters were isolated from the enzymatic digest of this cell wall, which included a series of ferulic acid esters of arabinoxylan fragments and also some fractions containing a high proportion of diferulic acid.     

Localization of N-linked carbohydrate chains in glycoprotein ZPA of the bovine egg zona pellucida.

The zona pellucida, a transparent envelope surrounding the mammalian oocyte, consists of three glycoproteins, ZPA, ZPB and ZPC, and plays a role in sperm-egg interactions. In bovines, these glycoproteins cannot be separated unless the acidic N-acetyllactosamine regions of the carbohydrate chains are removed by endo-beta-Galactosidase digestion. Endo-beta-Galactosidase-digested ZPB retains stronger sperm-binding activity than ZPC. It is still unclear whether ZPA possesses significant activity. Recently, we reported that bovine sperm binds to Man5GlcNAc2, the neutral N-linked chain in the cow zona proteins. In this study, we investigated the localization of the sperm-ligand active high-mannose-type chain and the acidic complex-type chains in bovine ZPA. Three N-glycopeptides of ZPA, containing an N-glycosylation site at Asn83, Asn191 and Asn527, respectively, were obtained from endo-beta-Galactosidase-digested ZPA. Of these glycosylation sites, only Asn527 is present in the ZP domain common to all the zona proteins. The carbohydrate structures of the N-linked chains obtained from each N-glycopeptide were characterized by two-dimensional sugar mapping analysis, while considering the structures of the N-linked chains of the zona protein mixture reported previously. Acidic complex-type chains were found at all three N-glycosylation sites, while Man5GlcNAc2 was found at Asn83 and Asn191, but there was very little of this sperm-ligand active chain at Asn527 in the ZP domain of ZPA.     

Transient Cytoplasmic pH Change and Ion Fluxes through the Plasma Memberan in Suspension-Cultured Rice Cells Triggered by N-Acetylchitooligosaccharide Elicitor

N-Acetylchitooligosaccharides, fragments of a main backbonepolymer of fungal ceil wall, elicit defense responses includingphytoalexin production in suspension-cultured rice cells. Thepurified oligosaccharide triggers rapid, transient membranedepolarization. Ion fluxes induced by the oligosaccharides wereanalyzed by using ion-selective electrodes. Treatment of thecells with the oligosaccharides induced transient efflux ofK⁺ and influx of H⁺ immediately after the elicitation. To monitorthe pH values of the cytoplasm and the vacuoles noninvasivelyunder a physiological condition, in vivo ³¹P-nuclear magneticresonance spectroscopy was applied to the cells to which oxygenatedgrowth medium was perfused continuously. The cytoplasmic pHshowed significant transient decrease, correspondingly. Onlythe N-acetylchitooligosaccharides with a degree of polymerizationhigher than 5 were active, whereas deacetylated chitosan oligomerscaused no effect. Less than 1 nM of N-acetylchitoheptaose wassufficient to induce rapid flux of ions. Such strict structuralrequirements for the induction of ion fluxes were similar tothose of specific binding to the putative plasma membrane receptoras well as a series of signaling events specifically inducedby the oligosaccharides, suggesting the involvement of transientchanges in cytoplasmic ion concentration in oligosaccharidesignaling for defense responses. (Received March 10, 1997; Accepted June 25, 1997)