The genetic profile and molecular diagnosis of thiophanate-methyl resistant strains of Fusarium asiaticum in Japan

Fusarium asiaticum strains resistant to thiophanate-methyl were detected in four prefectures in Japan though their proportion in the total population was low in all instances. The F167Y or F200Y mutation in the β2-tubulin gene (FGSG06611.3) was detected in thiophanate-methyl resistant (TMR) strains. A PCR-based diagnostic method based on these mutations was developed and applied for all 17 TMR strains that have been detected so far in Japan. Three and 14 TMR strains were the F167Y and F200Y mutation types, respectively. Analysis by 11 variable number of tandem repeat markers showed that TMR strains from the same site had an identical genotype, while TMR strains from different sites were dissimilar. This result indicates that TMR strains did not spread clonally to the different sites.     

Novel proteinaceous toxins from the nematocyst venom of the Okinawan sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni Kwietniewski

The Okinawan sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni is known to cause cases of severe stinging. We isolated P. semoni toxins 60A and 60B (PsTX-60A and PsTX-60B; ca. 60 kDa) as the major toxins from the isolated nematocysts of this species for the first time. PsTX-60A and PsTX-60B showed lethal toxicity to the shrimp Palaemon paucidence when administered via intraperitoneal injection (LD(50) values: 800-900 and 800 microg/kg, respectively) and hemolytic activity toward a 0.8% suspension of sheep red blood cells (ED(50) values: 600 and 300 ng/ml, respectively). Furthermore, we sequenced the cDNA encoding PsTX-60A. The deduced amino acid sequence of PsTX-60A did not show any similarity to previously reported proteins. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of PsTX-60B showed homology with that of PsTX-60A. These toxins represent a novel class of cytolytic proteinaceous toxins.     

The Waste Input-Output Approach to Materials Flow Analysis

Abstract: A general analytical model of materials flow analysis (MFA) incorporating physical waste input-output is proposed that is fully consistent with the mass balance principle. Exploiting the triangular nature of the matrix of input coefficients, which is obtained by rearranging the ordering of sectors according to degrees of fabrication, the material composition matrix is derived, which gives the material composition of products. A formal mathematical definition of materials (or the objects, the flow of which is to be accounted for by MFA) is also introduced, which excludes the occurrence of double accounting in economy-wide MFAs involving diverse inputs. By using the model, monetary input-output (IO) tables can easily be converted into a physical material flow account (or physical input-output tables [PIOT]) of an arbitrary number of materials, and the material composition of a product can be decomposed into its input origin. The first point represents substantial saving in the otherwise prohibitive cost that is associated with independent compilation of PIOT. The proposed methodology is applied to Japanese IO data for the flow of 11 base metals and their scrap (available as e-supplement on the JIE Web site).     

Non-acidic compounds induce the intense sweet taste of neoculin, a taste-modifying protein

Neoculin, a sweet protein found in the fruit of Curculigo latifolia, has the ability to change sourness into sweetness. Neoculin turns drinking water sweet, indicating that non-acidic compounds may induce the sweetness. We report that ammonium chloride and certain amino acids elicit the intense sweetness of neoculin. Neoculin can thus sweeten amino acid-enriched foods.     

Bone Inner Structure Suggests Increasing Aquatic Adaptations in Desmostylia (Mammalia,Afrotheria)

Background

The paleoecology of desmostylians has been discussed controversially with a general consensus that desmostylians were aquatic or semi-aquatic to some extent. Bone microanatomy can be used as a powerful tool to infer habitat preference of extinct animals. However, bone microanatomical studies of desmostylians are extremely scarce.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We analyzed the histology and microanatomy of several desmostylians using thin-sections and CT scans of ribs, humeri, femora and vertebrae. Comparisons with extant mammals allowed us to better understand the mode of life and evolutionary history of these taxa. Desmostylian ribs and long bones generally lack a medullary cavity. This trait has been interpreted as an aquatic adaptation among amniotes. Behemotops and Paleoparadoxia show osteosclerosis (i.e. increase in bone compactness), and Ashoroa pachyosteosclerosis (i.e. combined increase in bone volume and compactness). Conversely, Desmostylus differs from these desmostylians in displaying an osteoporotic-like pattern.

Conclusions/Significance

In living taxa, bone mass increase provides hydrostatic buoyancy and body trim control suitable for poorly efficient swimmers, while wholly spongy bones are associated with hydrodynamic buoyancy control in active swimmers. Our study suggests that all desmostylians had achieved an essentially, if not exclusively, aquatic lifestyle. Behemotops, Paleoparadoxia and Ashoroa are interpreted as shallow water swimmers, either hovering slowly at a preferred depth, or walking on the bottom, and Desmostylus as a more active swimmer with a peculiar habitat and feeding strategy within Desmostylia. Therefore, desmostylians are, with cetaceans, the second mammal group showing a shift from bone mass increase to a spongy inner organization of bones in their evolutionary history.     

Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of the pyruvate kinase gene of an actinomycete Microbispora thermodiastatica

The gene for the thermostable pyruvate kinase of Microbispora thermodiastatica IFO 14046, a moderate thermophilic actinomycete, was cloned in Escherichia coli. This gene consists of an open reading frame of 1422 nucleotides and encodes a protein of 474 amino acids with molecular mass of 50 805 Da. The open reading frame was confirmed as the pyruvate kinase gene by comparison with the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified pyruvate kinase from M. thermodiastatica. Received: 19 May 1997 / Received last revision: 22 September 1997 / Accepted: 14 October 1997     

Association between Maternal Exposure to di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate and Reproductive Hormone Levels in Fetal Blood: The Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health

Prenatal di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure can produce reproductive toxicity in animal models. Only limited data exist from human studies on maternal DEHP exposure and its effects on infants. We aimed to examine the associations between DEHP exposure in utero and reproductive hormone levels in cord blood. Between 2002 and 2005, 514 pregnant women agreed to participate in the Hokkaido Study Sapporo Cohort. Maternal blood samples were taken from 23–35 weeks of gestation and the concentration of the primary metabolite of DEHP, mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), was measured. Concentrations of infant reproductive hormones including estradiol (E2), total testosterone (T), and progesterone (P4), inhibin B, insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3), steroid hormone binding globulin, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone were measured from cord blood. Two hundred and two samples with both MEHP and hormones'' data were included in statistical analysis. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding information on maternal characteristics. Gestational age, birth weight and infant sex were obtained from birth records. In an adjusted linear regression analysis fit to all study participants, maternal MEHP levels were found to be associated with reduced levels of T/E2, P4, and inhibin B. For the stratified analyses for sex, inverse associations between maternal MEHP levels T/E2, P4, inhibin B, and INSL3 were statistically significant for males only. In addition, the MEHP quartile model showed a significant p-value trend for P4, inhibin B, and INSL3 decrease in males. Since inhibin B and INSL3 are major secretory products of Sertoli and Leydig cell, respectively, the results of this study suggest that DEHP exposure in utero may have adverse effects on both Sertoli and Leydig cell development in males, which agrees with the results obtained from animal studies. Comprehensive studies investigating phthalates'' exposure in humans, as well as their long-term effects on reproductive development are needed.     

A dicarba analog of beta-atrial natriuretic peptide (beta-ANP) inhibits guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate production induced by alpha-ANP in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells

The synthesis and biological properties are described of [Asu7,23']-beta-ANP-(7-28) (Asu, L-alpha-aminosuberic acid), a dicarba analog of beta-atrial natriuretic peptide (beta-ANP, an antiparallel dimer of human alpha-ANP with the chains linked by 7-23' and 7'-23 disulfide bonds). This Asu-analog (referred to as analog III) displaced 125I-alpha-ANP specifically bound to cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) with an apparent Ki of 2.1 x 10(-8) M, but did not stimulate formation of intracellular cGMP at 10(-8) -10(-5) M. Analog III inhibited the alpha-ANP-stimulated cGMP production in VSMC competitively with a pA2 value of 7.45 and behaved as an antagonist of alpha-ANP in rat aorta smooth muscle relaxation. In addition, beta-ANP was also shown to inhibit the alpha-ANP-induced cGMP production in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanism of action of beta-ANP is also discussed.