Odorant-binding proteins OBP57d and OBP57e affect taste perception and host-plant preference in Drosophila sechellia

Despite its morphological similarity to the other species in the Drosophila melanogaster species complex, D. sechellia has evolved distinct physiological and behavioral adaptations to its host plant Morinda citrifolia, commonly known as Tahitian Noni. The odor of the ripe fruit of M. citrifolia originates from hexanoic and octanoic acid. D. sechellia is attracted to these two fatty acids, whereas the other species in the complex are repelled. Here, using interspecies hybrids between D. melanogaster deficiency mutants and D. sechellia, we showed that the Odorant-binding protein 57e (Obp57e) gene is involved in the behavioral difference between the species. D. melanogaster knock-out flies for Obp57e and Obp57d showed altered behavioral responses to hexanoic acid and octanoic acid. Furthermore, the introduction of Obp57d and Obp57e from D. simulans and D. sechellia shifted the oviposition site preference of D. melanogaster Obp57d/e^KO flies to that of the original species, confirming the contribution of these genes to D. sechellia's specialization to M. citrifolia. Our finding of the genes involved in host-plant determination may lead to further understanding of mechanisms underlying taste perception, evolution of plant–herbivore interactions, and speciation.     

Noninvasive measurement of temperature and fractional dissociation of imidazole in human lower leg muscles using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

The temperature change of the fractional dissociation of imidazole (alpha-imidazole) in resting human lower leg muscles was measured noninvasively using (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 3.0 and 1.5 T on five normal male volunteers aged 30.6 +/- 10.4 yr (mean +/- SD). Using (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, water, carnosine, and creatine in the muscles could be simultaneously analyzed. Carnosine contains imidazole protons. The chemical shifts of water and carnosine imidazole protons relative to creatine could be used for estimating temperatures and alpha-imidazole, respectively. Using the chemical shift, the values of temperature in gastrocnemius (Gast) and soleus muscles at ambient temperature (21-25 degrees C) were estimated to be 35.5 +/- 0.5 and 37.4 +/- 0.6 degrees C (means +/- SE), respectively (significantly different; P < 0.01). The estimated values of alpha-imidazole in these muscles were 0.620 +/- 0.007 and 0.630 +/- 0.013 (means +/- SE), respectively (not significant). Alternation of the surface temperature of the lower leg from 40 to 10 degrees C significantly changed the temperature in Gast (P < 0.0001) from 38.1 +/- 0.5 to 28.0 +/- 1.2 degrees C, and the alpha-imidazole in Gast decreased from 0.631 +/- 0.003 to 0.580 +/- 0.011 (P < 0.05). However, the values of alpha-imidazole and the temperature in soleus muscles were not significantly affected by this maneuver. These results indicate that the alpha-imidazole in Gast changed significantly with alternation in muscle temperature (r = 0.877, P < 0.00001), and its change was estimated to be 0.0058/ degrees C.     

Characterization of a novel Na+/H+ antiporter gene InNHX2 and comparison of InNHX2 with InNHX1, which is responsible for blue flower coloration by increasing the vacuolar pH in the Japanese morning glory

The reddish-purple buds of the wild-type Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) change into blue open flowers, and the shift in the flower coloration correlates with an increase in the vacuolar pH of the flower epidermal cell. In the mutant deficient in the InNHX1 gene for the vacuolar Na(+)/H(+) antiporter, the vacuolar alkalization occurs only partially, and reddish-purple buds become purple open flowers. While most of the plant NHX genes characterized are generally expressed in leaves, stems and roots and induced by NaCl treatment, the InNHX1 gene is expressed predominantly in the flower limbs at around 12 h before flower opening. It is expressed very sparsly in leaves, stems and roots, and no induction occurs in response to NaCl treatment. Here, we identified a novel vacuolar Na(+)/H(+) antiporter gene InNHX2, which is expressed in leaves, stems and roots and is induced in response to NaCl treatment. In addition, relatively higher expression of InNHX2 was observed in the flower limbs shortly before flower opening. We also discovered that both the InNHX1 and InNHX2 proteins can catalyze both Na(+) and K(+) transport into vacuoles. These results suggest that InNHX2 performs dual functions: to confer salt tolerance on the plant and to promote partial vacuolar alkalization in the petals. The implication is that the InNHX2 protein is probably one of the components responsible for converting reddish-purple buds into purple open flowers by partially increasing the vacuolar pH in the absence of major InNHX1 activity.     

The pentosidine concentration in human blood specimens is affected by heating

Pentosidine is an advanced glycation end product, formed by oxidation and glycation that accumulates markedly during end-stage renal failure. Measurement of the pentosidine level in physiological samples is applied as a sensitive marker for the early diagnosis of renal failure. In the quantitative measurements of pentosidine reported to date, a rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been widely used to estimate the plasma/serum pentosidine levels in a number of clinical samples, because high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods require multiple preparation steps before the analysis. However, the currently used clinical analysis of the plasma/serum pentosidine level by ELISA requires incubation of the plasma/serum at 100°C for 15 min to inactivate the protease, which is required before the anti-pentosidine antibody can bind to the pentosidine. In the present study, we examined whether pentosidine could be generated artificially through the heating of serum. The pentosidine content, measured by HPLC, in the serum increased by heating in a temperature- and time-dependent manner. The pentosidine content was increased 1.1- to 4.2-fold by the heating process compared to unheated samples, and the increased rate was not identical for each sample. After removing low-molecular weight (<10,000) serum components, the heat-induced pentosidine formation was decreased. Furthermore, the increase in pentosidine formation was significantly inhibited by acidic conditions more than by the addition of diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid, a metal chelator. This indicates that the level of serum pentosidine will be measured more accurately by ELISA if hydrochloric acid is added during the heating process.     

Age-related changes of Alzheimer's disease-associated proteins in cynomolgus monkey brains

We characterized senile plaques (SPs) immunohistochemically in cynomolgus monkey brains and also examined age-related biochemical changes of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated proteins in these brains from monkeys of various ages. In the neocortex of aged monkeys (>20 years old), we found SPs but no neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Antibodies against beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) or apolipoprotein E (ApoE) stained SPs; however, the pattern of immunostaining was different for the two antigens. APP was present only in swollen neurites, but ApoE was present throughout all parts of SPs. Western blot analysis revealed that the pattern of APP expression changed with age. Although full-length APP695 protein was mainly expressed in brains from young monkeys (4-years-old), the expression of full-length APP751 protein was increased in brains from older monkeys (>20 years old). Biochemical analyses also showed that levels of various AD-associated proteins increased significantly with age in nerve ending fractions. Both SP-associated (APP) and NFT-associated proteins (tau, activated glycogen synthase kinase 3beta, cyclin dependent kinase 5, p35, and p25) accumulated in the nerve ending fraction with increasing age; however, we found no NFTs or paired helical filaments of tau in aged cynomolgus monkey brains. This age-related accumulation of these proteins in the nerve ending fraction was similar to that observed in our laboratory previously for presenilin-1 (PS-1). The accumulation of these SP-associated proteins in this fraction may be a causal event in the spontaneous formation of SPs; thus, SPs may be formed initially in nerve endings. Taken together, these results suggest that intensive investigation of age-related changes in the nerve ending and in axonal transport will contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders such as AD.     

Major patterns of higher teleostean phylogenies: a new perspective based on 100 complete mitochondrial DNA sequences

A recent preliminary study using complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from 48 species of teleosts has suggested that higher teleostean phylogenies should be reinvestigated on the basis of more intensive taxonomic sampling. As a second step towards the resolution of higher teleostean phylogenies, which have been described as the "(unresolved) bush at the top of the tree," we reanalyzed their relationships using mitogenomic data from 100 purposefully chosen species that fully represented all of the higher teleostean orders, except for the Batrachoidiformes. Unweighted and weighted maximum parsimony analyses were conducted with the data set that comprised concatenated nucleotide sequences from 12 protein-coding genes (excluding 3rd codon positions) and 21 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes (stem regions only) from each species. The resultant trees were well resolved and largely congruent, with most internal branches being supported by high statistical values. All major, comprehensive groups above ordinal level as currently defined in higher teleosts (with the exception of the Neoteleostei and several monotypic groups), such as the Eurypterygii, Ctenosquamata, Acanthomorpha, Paracanthopterygii, Acanthopterygii, and Percomorpha, appeared to be nonmonophyletic in the present tree. Such incongruities largely resulted from differences in the placement and/or limits of the orders Ateleopodiformes, Lampridiformes, Polymixiiformes, Ophidiiformes, Lophiiformes, Beryciformes, Stephanoberyciformes, and Zeiformes, long-standing problematic taxa in systematic ichthyology. Of these, the resulting phylogenetic positions of the Ophidiiformes and Lophiiformes were totally unexpected, because, although they have consistently been considered relatively primitive groups within higher teleosts (Paracanthopterygii), they were confidently placed within a crown group of teleosts, herein called the Percomorpha. It should be noted that many unexpected, but highly supported relationships were found within the Percomorpha, being highly promising for the next investigative step towards resolution of this remarkably diversified group of teleosts.     

Prion Protein Is Necessary for Latent Learning and Long-Term Memory Retention

1. The cellular prion protein, designated PrP^c, is a key molecule in the prion diseases but its physiological function remains unknown. To elucidate whether PrP^c plays some role in the central nervous system, we established a line of mice in which the PrP gene had been disrupted and subsequently conducted long-term observations.2. Performance in latent learning and passive avoidance was evaluated using water-finding and step-through tests, respectively.3. PrP ^–/– mice showed impaired performance in the water-finding test, indicating a disturbance in latent learning, at 23 weeks of age. In the step-through test, although the PrP ^–/– mice showed normal learning ability and short-term memory retention, they evidenced a significant disturbance in long-term memory retention.4. These results indicate that PrP^c is needed for certain types of learning and memory and that the loss of function of this protein may contribute to the pathogenesis of prion diseases.