Fungal contamination and mycotoxin-producing potential of dried beans

A total of 604 samples of about 7 different types of beans was examined to determine their mycological profiles, and suitability for use as solid substrates for mycotoxin production.All of the samples were collected from bean jam makers in Tokyo by the official food examiners.Genera Penicillium and Aspergillus were predominant, and genus Wallemia was also found commonly in all types of beans.Mycotoxin-producing Aspergillus strains were isolated from 52 samples of beans, approximately 9% of the total. The highest incidence of toxigenic Aspergillus (14.1%) was found in kidney beans. Red beans and peas inoculated with Aspergillus ochraceus were found to produce about 7 to 8 times more toxin than was obtained in a liquid medium, and red beans inoculated with A. versicolor produced more toxin than was obtained in yeast extract sucrose broth. Green peas inoculated with Fusarium graminearum produced about 8 times more T-2 toxin than was obtained in 1% peptone containing Czapek solution under comparable culture conditions.     

Purification and properties of a lambda operator-binding protein which is expected to be autorepressor (tof protein) from E. coli carrying lambdadv plasmid.

Summary In order to study the mode of action of the tof gene product, which is an autorepressor of the bacteriophage and plasmid dv, we have purified a DNA-binding protein which is specifically produced in bacteria carrying dv. This protein possesses characteristics expected for the product of the tof gene, since it is produced under conditions where cI-repressor is not made, and since it binds to oL and oR operators on the phage genome. The molecular weight of the native protein is 16,000–17,000 daltons, and the monomeric molecular weight as measured by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate is about 10,000 daltons. Denaturation and renaturation experiments demonstrated that the native protein is a dimer of 10,000-dalton monomers. The DNA-specific binding protein is not produced in cells carrying i ²¹dv or 80dv.     

On mechanisms of removing astringency in persimmon fruits by carbon dioxide treatment I. Some properties of the two processes in the de-astringency

Carbon dioxide treatment of persimmon fruit (Diospyros KakiL., cv. "Hiratanenashi" astringent type) at 20?C for 24 hr,at 30?C for 12 hr, or at 40?C for 6 hr followed by storage inair at 30?C for 3 days produced de-astringent fruit of excellentquality without abnormal softening. The induction process inthe anaerobic atmosphere had a Q₁₀ of ca. 2.0 and the subsequentde-astringency process, which proceeded either in air or carbondioxide, had Q₁₀ of ca. 1.4. During the short gas treatment(at 40?C for 6 hr) the ethanol content increased rapidly andreached a maximum of 28.0 mg and the acetaldehyde content graduallyreached 0.443 mg per fruit, whereas the soluble tannin(s) contentdecreased rapidly to two-thirds of its initial level. Therewas a lag period of 3 hr in the decrease of soluble tannin(s).Dimedon and sodium bisulfite, as well as sodium fluoride, inhibitedde-astringency. The mechanisms of removing astringency in thisfruit are discussed. (Received June 3, 1976; )     

Linkage of Mercury, Cadmium, and Arsenate and Drug Resistance in Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Of the 787 isolates, 99.8% were metal resistant, with most (99.5%) showing multiple resistance. Fifty-three percent of the isolates were both metal and drug resistant, whereas only 19% were metal resistant and drug sensitive.     

Growth of the hydrocarbon-rich microalga Botryococcus braunii in secondarily treated sewage

Summary A hydrocarbon-rich green microalga, Botryococcus braunii, was able to grow well in secondarily treated sewage (STS) from domestic waste-water in a batch system. The growth in STS from domestic waste-water was as good as in the common artificial medium of modified Chu 13 and its hydrocarbon contents were high enough at 53% and 40% compared with 58% in the case of the modified Chu 13 medium. B. braunii utilized nitrate from 7.67 or 4.48 mg/l to a level below detection of < 0.01 mg/l in STS. After this consumption of nitrate, nitrite was consumed, and ammonium was not. Phosphate, even at an extremely low concentration, was also consumed by B. braunii. These results show the possibility of using STS as a medium to grow B. braunii and for removal of nitrogen and phosphorus by algal consumption in STS.Correspondence to: S. Yokoyama     

Inhibitory effects of condiments and herbal drugs on the growth and toxin production of toxigenic fungi

The effects of thirteen kinds of powdered herbal drugs and seven kinds of commercial dry condiments on the growth and toxin production ofAspergillus parasiticus, A. flavus,A. ochraceus, andA. versicolor were observed by introducing these substances into culture media for mycotoxin production.Of the twenty samples tested, cinnamon bark completely inhibited the fungal growth, while the others only inhibited the toxin production.The inhibitors were easily extracted from the samples with solvents such as hot water, chloroform, or ethanol.The extracts from coptis, philodendron bark, mustard, green tea leaves, and zanthoxylum completely inhibited the aflatoxin production ofA. parasiticus, however, they had little or no inhibitory effect againstA. flavus.     

Partial silencing of fucosyltransferase 8 gene expression inhibits proliferation of Ishikawa cells,a cell line of endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy and is associated with increased morbidity each year, including young people. However, its mechanisms of proliferation and progression are not fully elucidated. It is well known that abnormal glycosylation is involved in oncogenesis, and fucosylation is one of the most important types of glycosylation. In particular, fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) is the only FUT responsible for α1, 6-linked fucosylation (core fucosylation), and it is involved in various physiological as well as pathophysiological processes, including cancer biology. Therefore, we aimed to identify the expression of FUT8 in endometrial endometrioid carcinoma and investigate the effect of the partial silencing of the FUT8 gene on the cell proliferation of Ishikawa cells, an epithelial-like endometrial cancer cell line. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that FUT8 gene expression was significantly elevated in the endometrial endometrioid carcinoma, compared to the normal endometrium. The immunostaining of FUT8 and Ulex europaeus Agglutinin 1 (UEA-1), a kind of lectin family specifically binding to fucose, was detected endometrial endometrioid carcinoma. The proliferation assay showed FUT8 partial knockdown by transfection of siRNA significantly suppressed the proliferation of Ishikawa cells, concomitant with the upregulation in the gene expressions associated with the interesting pathways associated with de-ubiquitination, aspirin trigger, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) et al. It was suggested that the core fucosylation brought about by FUT8 might be involved in the proliferation of endometrial endometrioid carcinoma cells.     

Cooperation of the IFT-A complex with the IFT-B complex is required for ciliary retrograde protein trafficking and GPCR import

Cilia sense and transduce extracellular signals via specific receptors. The intraflagellar transport (IFT) machinery mediates not only bidirectional protein trafficking within cilia but also the import/export of ciliary proteins across the ciliary gate. The IFT machinery is known to comprise two multisubunit complexes, namely, IFT-A and IFT-B; however, little is known about how the two complexes cooperate to mediate ciliary protein trafficking. We here show that IFT144–IFT122 from IFT-A and IFT88–IFT52 from IFT-B make major contributions to the interface between the two complexes. Exogenous expression of the IFT88(Δα) mutant, which has decreased binding to IFT-A, partially restores the ciliogenesis defect of IFT88-knockout (KO) cells. However, IFT88(Δα)-expressing IFT88-KO cells demonstrate a defect in IFT-A entry into cilia, aberrant accumulation of IFT-B proteins at the bulged ciliary tips, and impaired import of ciliary G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs). Furthermore, overaccumulated IFT proteins at the bulged tips appeared to be released as extracellular vesicles. These phenotypes of IFT88(Δα)-expressing IFT88-KO cells resembled those of IFT144-KO cells. These observations together indicate that the IFT-A complex cooperates with the IFT-B complex to mediate the ciliary entry of GPCRs as well as retrograde trafficking of the IFT machinery from the ciliary tip.