Effects of environmental factors on the species composition of aquatic insects in irrigation ponds

Although irrigation ponds contribute to the conservation of aquatic biodiversity, they have experienced declines in recent years. We therefore examined the relationships between various environmental factors and the community composition of aquatic insects, specifically insect predators, in irrigation ponds to gain knowledge that would aid in the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. We selected Odonata, Hemiptera and Coleoptera as target taxonomic groups and conducted censuses of these groups in 21 ponds in Shiga, central Japan. In total, we collected 30 and 10 species (or species groups) of Odonata and Hemiptera, respectively, and 17 species of Coleoptera. A partial canonical correspondence analysis revealed that the following four environmental factors significantly affected the species composition of aquatic insect communities: the number of emergent plant species, percent concrete revetment, presence of litter and peripheral length. Among these variables, the number of emergent plant species was the most potent factor, perhaps because emergent plants serve as sites for oviposition and emergence, and provide refugia for aquatic insects (odonate nymphs in particular). In contrast, some species specifically inhabited sites poor in emergent plants. This study shows that reductions in concrete revetments are necessary for the conservation of biodiversity. This would lead to increases in the number of aquatic plant species, which provide habitats and oviposition sites for many aquatic insects. Furthermore, to enrich the local biodiversity of aquatic insects, groups of irrigation ponds with different environments are needed.     

Novel histone modifications in microglia derived from a mouse model of chronic pain

As the resident immune cells in the central nervous system, microglia play an important role in the maintenance of its homeostasis. Dysregulation of microglia has been associated with the development and maintenance of chronic pain. However, the relevant molecular pathways remain poorly defined. In this study, we used a mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach to screen potential changes of histone protein modifications in microglia isolated from the brain of control and cisplatin-induced neuropathic pain adult C57BL/6J male mice. We identified several novel microglial histone modifications associated with pain, including statistically significantly decreased histone H3.1 lysine 27 mono-methylation (H3.1K27me1, 54.8% of control) and H3 lysine 56 tri-methylation (7.5% of control), as well as a trend suggesting increased H3 tyrosine 41 nitration. We further investigated the functional role of H3.1K27me1 and found that treatment of cultured microglial cells for 4 consecutive days with 1–10 μM of NCDM-64, a potent and selective inhibitor of lysine demethylase 7A, an enzyme responsible for the demethylation of H3K27me1, dose-dependently elevated its levels with a greater than a two-fold increase observed at 10 μM compared to vehicle-treated control cells. Moreover, pretreatment of mice with NCDM-64 (10 or 25 mg/kg/day, i.p.) prior to cisplatin treatment prevented the development of neuropathic pain in mice. The identification of specific chromatin marks in microglia associated with chronic pain may yield critical insight into the contribution of microglia to the development and maintenance of pain, and opens new avenues for the development of novel nonopioid therapeutics for the effective management of chronic pain.     

Structural basis for the inhibitor recognition of human Lyn kinase domain

Human Lyn tyrosine kinase is expressed in hematopoietic tissues and plays crucial roles in the signal transduction of hematopoietic immune system. Its excess activity is involved in several tumors. The crystal structure has revealed that the potent inhibitor staurosporine binds to human Lyn kinase domain at the ATP-binding site. The remarkable structural features of the staurosporine-binding region will offer valuable structural insights for the structure-based design of novel Lyn-selective inhibitors.     

Evolutionary Origin of GnIH and NPFF in Chordates: Insights from Novel Amphioxus RFamide Peptides

Gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) is a newly identified hypothalamic neuropeptide that inhibits pituitary hormone secretion in vertebrates. GnIH has an LPXRFamide (X = L or Q) motif at the C-terminal in representative species of gnathostomes. On the other hand, neuropeptide FF (NPFF), a neuropeptide characterized as a pain-modulatory neuropeptide, in vertebrates has a PQRFamide motif similar to the C-terminal of GnIH, suggesting that GnIH and NPFF have diverged from a common ancestor. Because GnIH and NPFF belong to the RFamide peptide family in vertebrates, protochordate RFamide peptides may provide important insights into the evolutionary origin of GnIH and NPFF. In this study, we identified a novel gene encoding RFamide peptides and two genes of their putative receptors in the amphioxus Branchiostoma japonicum. Molecular phylogenetic analysis and synteny analysis indicated that these genes are closely related to the genes of GnIH and NPFF and their receptors of vertebrates. We further identified mature RFamide peptides and their receptors in protochordates. The identified amphioxus RFamide peptides inhibited forskolin induced cAMP signaling in the COS-7 cells with one of the identified amphioxus RFamide peptide receptors expressed. These results indicate that the identified protochordate RFamide peptide gene is a common ancestral form of GnIH and NPFF genes, suggesting that the origin of GnIH and NPFF may date back to the time of the emergence of early chordates. GnIH gene and NPFF gene may have diverged by whole-genome duplication in the course of vertebrate evolution.     

Role of guaiacol in the degradation of arylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether by Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Abstract It was found that guaiacol and 4-ethoxy-3-methoxy-phenylglycerol were produced via different pathways and that they were not counterpart compounds to each other in the cleavage of the β - O -4 bond of 4-ethoxy-3-methoxyphenylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether by a white-rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium .