Collaborative environmental DNA sampling from petal surfaces of flowering cherry <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cerasus</Emphasis> × <Emphasis Type="Italic">yedoensis</Emphasis> ‘Somei-yoshino’ across the Japanese archipelago

Recent studies have shown that environmental DNA is found almost everywhere. Flower petal surfaces are an attractive tissue to use for investigation of the dispersal of environmental DNA in nature as they are isolated from the external environment until the bud opens and only then can the petal surface accumulate environmental DNA. Here, we performed a crowdsourced experiment, the “Ohanami Project”, to obtain environmental DNA samples from petal surfaces of Cerasus?×?yedoensis ‘Somei-yoshino’ across the Japanese archipelago during spring 2015. C. × yedoensis is the most popular garden cherry species in Japan and clones of this cultivar bloom simultaneously every spring. Data collection spanned almost every prefecture and totaled 577 DNA samples from 149 collaborators. Preliminary amplicon-sequencing analysis showed the rapid attachment of environmental DNA onto the petal surfaces. Notably, we found DNA of other common plant species in samples obtained from a wide distribution; this DNA likely originated from the pollen of the Japanese cedar. Our analysis supports our belief that petal surfaces after blossoming are a promising target to reveal the dynamics of environmental DNA in nature. The success of our experiment also shows that crowdsourced environmental DNA analyses have considerable value in ecological studies.     

Design and synthesis of histamine H3/H4 receptor ligands with a cyclopropane scaffold

We previously designed and synthesized a series of histamine analogues with an imidazolylcyclopropane scaffold and identified potent non-selective antagonists for histamine H₃ and H₄ receptor subtypes. In this study, to develop H₄ selective ligands, we newly designed and synthesized cyclopropane-based derivatives having an indole, benzimidazole, or piperazine structure, which are components of representative H₄ selective antagonists such as JNJ7777120 and JNJ10191584. Among the synthesized derivatives, imidazolylcyclopropanes 12 and 13 conjugated with a benzimidazole showed binding affinity to the H₃ and H₄ receptors comparable to that of a well-known non-selective H₃/H₄ antagonist, thioperamide. These results suggest that the binding modes of the cyclopropane-based H₃/H₄ ligands in the H₄ receptor can be different from those of the indole/benzimidazole-piperazine derivatives.     

Design,synthesis and anti-malarial activities of synthetic analogs of biselyngbyolide B,a Ca2+ pump inhibitor from marine cyanobacteria

Biselyngbyaside, an 18-membered macrolide glycoside from marine cyanobacteria, and its derivatives are known to be sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ ATPase (SERCA) inhibitors. Recently, a SERCA orthologue of the malaria parasite, PfATP6, has attracted attention as a malarial drug target. To provide a novel drug lead, we designed new synthetic analogs of biselyngbyolide B, the aglycone of biselyngbyaside, based on the co-crystal structure of SERCA with biselyngbyolide B, and synthesized them using the established synthetic route for biselyngbyolide B. Their biological activities against malarial parasites were evaluated.     

Life history parameters of the microtype parasitoid fly Pales pavida (Diptera: Tachinidae), and effects of host age and number of eggs ingested by host on parasitism success

With the aim of developing better procedures for rearing the microtype tachinid fly Pales pavida (Meigen), we performed ecological studies in the laboratory using the natural host Mythimna separata (Walker), investigating larval development, mating behaviour, individual oviposition patterns and relationships between parasitisation and number of eggs ingested (NEI) per host. The host instar at the time of parasitoid egg ingestion significantly affected the development time of the immature parasitoid: development took longer when the hosts ingested eggs when at the fifth instar than at the sixth (last) instar. There was no difficulty obtaining mated females in the laboratory when day 0–1 female flies were kept with day 2–4 males. Mean lifetime fecundity was 5805?±?568 eggs per female. Daily rates of oviposition by individual females varied widely; the greatest number of eggs laid in a day was exactly 1700. When the NEI by day 1 fifth instars or day 0 or 3 last instars was 1, 3, 6 or 10, the parasitisation percentage tended to increase with increasing NEI, although it did not differ significantly between NEI 6 and 10. Therefore, the percentage adult emergence per egg ingested decreased from NEI 6 to 10, particularly in the case of last instars. Using day 0 last instars, with six eggs ingested per host, should increase parasitisation rates and shorten the development time of the parasitoid for rearing.     

The giant mycoheterotrophic orchid Erythrorchis altissima is associated mainly with a divergent set of wood‐decaying fungi

The climbing orchid Erythrorchis altissima is the largest mycoheterotroph in the world. Although previous in vitro work suggests that E. altissima has a unique symbiosis with wood‐decaying fungi, little is known about how this giant orchid meets its carbon and nutrient demands exclusively via mycorrhizal fungi. In this study, the mycorrhizal fungi of E. altissima were molecularly identified using root samples from 26 individuals. Furthermore, in vitro symbiotic germination with five fungi and stable isotope compositions in five E. altissima at one site were examined. In total, 37 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to nine orders in Basidiomycota were identified from the orchid roots. Most of the fungal OTUs were wood‐decaying fungi, but underground roots had ectomycorrhizal Russula. Two fungal isolates from mycorrhizal roots induced seed germination and subsequent seedling development in vitro. Measurement of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope abundances revealed that E. altissima is a full mycoheterotroph whose carbon originates mainly from wood‐decaying fungi. All of the results show that E. altissima is associated with a wide range of wood‐ and soil‐inhabiting fungi, the majority of which are wood‐decaying taxa. This generalist association enables E. altissima to access a large carbon pool in woody debris and has been key to the evolution of such a large mycoheterotroph.     

Anti-inflammatory roles of mesenchymal stromal cells during acute Streptococcus pneumoniae pulmonary infection in mice

Background

Pneumonia is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most commonly associated pathogen. Increasing evidence suggests that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have anti-inflammatory roles during innate immune responses such as sepsis. However, little is known about the effect of MSCs on pneumococcal pneumonia.

Structural Basis of Heterochromatin Formation by Human HP1

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Green‐shifting of SWS2A opsin sensitivity and loss of function of RH2‐A opsin in flounders,genus Verasper

We identified visual opsin genes for three flounder species, including the spotted halibut (Verasper variegatus), slime flounder (Microstomus achne), and Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). Structure and function of opsins for the three species were characterized together with those of the barfin flounder (V. moseri) that we previously reported. All four flounder species possessed five basic opsin genes, including lws, sws1, sws2, rh1, and rh2. Specific features were observed in rh2 and sws2. The rh2‐a, one of the three subtypes of rh2, was absent in the genome of V. variegatus and pseudogenized in V. moseri. Moreover, rh2‐a mRNA was not detected in M. achne and P. olivaceus, despite the presence of a functional reading frame. Analyses of the maximum absorption spectra (λ_max) estimated by in vitro reconstitution indicated that SWS2A of M. achne (451.9 nm) and P. olivaceus (465.6 nm) were blue‐sensitive, whereas in V. variegatus (485.4 nm), it was green‐sensitive and comparable to V. moseri (482.3 nm). Our results indicate that although the four flounder species possess a similar opsin gene repertoire, the SWS2A opsin of the genus Verasper is functionally green‐sensitive, while its overall structure remains conserved as a blue‐sensitive opsin. Further, the rh2‐a function seems to have been reduced during the evolution of flounders. λ_max values of predicted ancestral SWS2A of Pleuronectiformes and Pleuronectidae was 465.4 and 462.4 nm, respectively, indicating that these were blue‐sensitive. Thus, the green‐sensitive SWS2A is estimated to be arisen in ancestral Verasper genus. It is suggested that the sensitivity shift of SWS2A from blue to green may have compensated functional reduction in RH2‐A.     

Inborn Errors of RNA Lariat Metabolism in Humans with Brainstem Viral Infection

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Changes in fatty acid compositions of myocardial lipids in rats with heart failure following myocardial infarction

Changes in fatty acid composition of myocardial lipids were examined in rats with heart failure following myocardial infarction. Left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) was decreased and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) was elevated 24 h, 1 and 12 weeks after left coronary artery ligation (CAL), suggesting the development of heart failure at these periods in this model. Hearts were isolated 24 h, 1 week and 12 weeks after the operation. Myocardial lipids in the infarcted scar tissue, non-infarcted remaining left ventricle including interseptum and right ventricle were separated into phospholipid (PL), triacylglycerol (TG), diacylglycerol (DAG) and free fatty acid (FFA) fractions. In the scar tissue PL content markedly decreased whereas TG, DAG and FFA contents increased 24 h after CAL. Despite a marked decrease in constituted fatty acids of PL fraction in the scar tissue the percentage of arachidonic acid in PL was elevated 12 weeks after CAL, suggesting that release of arachidonic acid during PL degradation was suppressed. In the non-infarcted viable left ventricle PL content remained unchanged throughout the experiment whereas TG, DAG and FFA contents were elevated 24 h after CAL. Despite no changes in PL and other lipid contents in the non-infarcted tissue the percentage of linoleic acid in PL was reduced and that of docosahexaenoic acid in PL was elevated 12 weeks after CAL. Our findings showed that myocardial lipid composition of the non-infarcted left ventricle was altered only in an early stage of the development of heart failure and fatty acid compositions of PL was exchanged in a late stage of the development of heart failure. The exchange may be related to cardiac dysfunction or myocardial remodelling in the rat with heart failure.