No association between complement factor H gene polymorphism and exudative age-related macular degeneration in Japanese

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly population not only Western but also Asian industrial countries. In Caucasian, a polymorphism of the complement factor H gene (CFH), the C allele of rs1061170 (Y402H), was established as the first strong genetic factor for excursively exudative type of ARMD. In this study, we performed an extensive sequencing of the 22 exons in the CFH gene by recruiting 146 exudative ARMD patients and 105 normal controls of Japanese origin and identified 61 polymorphisms. We found that the frequency of the C allele of rs1061170 (Y402H) is much lower (0.04) in Japanese controls than in Caucasians (0.45). No case disease susceptibility to exudative ARMD was noted for rs1061170 (Y402H) (χ ² = 3.19, P _corr = 0.423), or other 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) whose frequency is greater than 0.05. When haplotypes were inferred for 13 SNPs (these 12 SNPs with a frequency greater than 0.05 and rs1061170), three haplotypes whose pattern was similar to those in Caucasians were identified but with substantial difference in frequency. Again we failed to identify genetic association between Japanese exudative ARMD and any of the haplotypes including the J1 haplotype which was shown to be susceptible to ARMD in Caucasians (χ ² = 3.92, P _corr = 0.157). CFH does not appear to be a primary hereditary contributor to ARMD in Japanese. The absence of CFH contribution to ARMD in Japanese may correlate with the findings in ethnic differences of ARMD phenotypes.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.This work was accomplished by equal contribution of two groups organized by the last two authors.     

The influence of ionizing radiation on spore germination and emergent hyphal growth response reactions of microfungi

The accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Energy Station resulted in radiation contamination of large tracts of land and particularly the reactor building itself. Sustained exposure of microfungi to radiation appears to have resulted in formerly unknown adaptive features, such as directed growth of fungi to sources of ionizing radiation. We evaluate here spore germination and subsequent emergent hyphal growth of microfungi in the presence of pure gamma or mixed beta and gamma radiation of fungi isolated from a range of long term background radiation levels. Conidiospore suspensions were exposed to collimated beams of radiation and percent spore germination and length of emergent hyphae were measured. All fungal species isolated from background radiation showed inhibition or no response in germination when irradiated. Isolates from sites with elevated radiation showed a stimulation in spore germination (69% mixed radiation and 46% for gamma irradiation). Most isolates from low background radiation sites showed a significant reduced or no response to exposure to either source of radiation, whereas the stimulatory effect of experimental exposure to radiation appeared to increase in magnitude as prior exposure to radiation increased. We propose that the enhanced spore germination and hyphal growth seen in the exposure trials is induced by prior long term exposure to radiation and these factors could be important in controlling the decomposition of radionuclide-bearing resources in the environment.     

Flavonols and an indole alkaloid skeleton bearing identical acylated glycosidic groups from yellow petals of Papaver nudicaule

From yellow petals of Iceland poppy, besides the known flavonoid gossypitrin, seven kaempferol derivatives were isolated. In addition to kaempferol 3-O-beta-sophoroside and kaempferol 3-O-beta-sophoroside-7-O-beta-glucoside, known from other plants, the mono- and dimalonyl conjugates of the latter were identified by MS and NMR spectroscopy. Structure analyses of a set of co-occurring pigments, the nudicaulins, revealed that they have the identical acylated glycoside moieties attached to a pentacyclic indole alkaloid skeleton for which the structure of 19-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-10H-1,10-ethenochromeno[2,3-b]indole-6,8,18-triol was deduced from MS and NMR as well as chemical and chiroptical methods.     

Newbouldiaquinone A: A naphthoquinone-anthraquinone ether coupled pigment, as a potential antimicrobial and antimalarial agent from Newbouldia laevis

The study of the chemical constituents of the roots of Newbouldia laevis (Bignoniaceae) has resulted in the isolation and characterization of a naphthoquinone-anthraquinone coupled pigment named newbouldiaquinone A (1) together with 14 known compounds: apigenin, chrysoeriol, newbouldiaquinone, lapachol, 2-methylanthraquinone, 2-acetylfuro-1,4-naphthoquinone, 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone, oleanolic acid, canthic acid, 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl triacontanoate, newbouldiamide, 5,7-dihydroxydehydroiso-alpha-lapachone, beta-sitosterol, and beta-sitosterol glucopyranoside. The structure elucidation of the isolated compounds was established based on spectroscopic studies, notably of the 2D NMR spectra. The antimalarial activity of compound (1) against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro shows moderate chemo suppression of parasitic growth. Its antimicrobial activity against a wide range of microorganisms was 13- and 24-fold more active against Candida gabrata and Enterobacter aerogens than the reference antibiotics nystatin and gentamycin.     

Discrimination of multiple Dehalococcoides strains in a trichloroethene enrichment by quantification of their reductive dehalogenase genes

While many anaerobic microbial communities are capable of reductively dechlorinating tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) to dichloroethene (DCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and finally ethene, the accumulation of the highly toxic intermediates, cis-DCE (cDCE) and VC, presents a challenge for bioremediation processes. Members of the genus Dehalococcoides are apparently solely responsible for dechlorination beyond DCE, but isolates of Dehalococcoides each metabolize only a subset of PCE dechlorination intermediates and the interactions among distinct Dehalococcoides strains that result in complete dechlorination are not well understood. Here we apply quantitative PCR to 16S rRNA and reductase gene sequences to discriminate and track Dehalococcoides strains in a TCE enrichment derived from soil taken from the Alameda Naval Air Station (ANAS) using a four-gene plasmid standard. This standard increased experimental accuracy such that 16S rRNA and summed reductase gene copy numbers matched to within 10%. The ANAS culture was found to contain only a single Dehalococcoides 16S rRNA gene sequence, matching that of D. ethenogenes 195, but both the vcrA and tceA reductive dehalogenase genes. Quantities of these two genes in the enrichment summed to the quantity of the Dehalococcoides 16S rRNA gene. Further, between ANAS subcultures enriched on TCE, cDCE, or VC, the relative copy number of the two dehalogenases shifted 14-fold, indicating that the genes are present in two different Dehalococcoides strains. Comparison of cell yields in VC-, cDCE-, and TCE-enriched subcultures suggests that the tceA-containing strain is responsible for nearly all of the TCE and cDCE metabolism in ANAS, whereas the vcrA-containing strain is responsible for all of the VC metabolism.     

Relationship between the bloom of Noctiluca scintillans and environmental factors in the coastal waters of Sagami Bay, Japan

In order to study the mechanism of the bloom formation of Noctilucascintillans, the relationship between the variation in the abundanceof N. scintillans and environmental factors was examined inthe coastal waters of Sagami Bay, Japan. Hydrographic (temperature,salinity, water stability), biological (chlorophyll a concentration,zooplankton biomass) and meteorological (rainfall, wind velocity,wind direction) factors were investigated from 1997 to 2004.For all years, the abundance of N. scintillans started to increasefrom March and reached a maximum in spring between April andMay. The abundance in 1997 and 2000 was relatively high comparedto the other years while the abundance in 1998 and 2004 wasrelatively low. A stepwise multiple linear regression analysisshowed that the wind direction and rainfall were significantlycorrelated with the variation in the abundance of N. scintillans.Our results suggest that bloom formation can be separated intoa three-step process: (i) initial increase in the abundanceof N. scintillans attributed to an increase in optimum hydrographicand biological factors, (ii) N. scintillans is then accumulatedby convergence of seawater by the factors of low rainfall andwind and (iii) swarmer-effects suggested enhanced bloom formation.Accumulation is considered to be a key trigger in this processof the formation of large-scale blooms. This paper was presented at Plankton Symposium III, held atFiguera da Foz, Portugal between 17 and 20 March 2005, underthe auspices of the University of Coimbra and the Universityof Aveiro, and coordinated by Mário Jorge Pereira andUlisses M. Azeiteiro.     

Spatial and temporal patterns of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) along two freshwater-estuarine transects in the Florida Coastal Everglades

We present here a 4-year dataset (2001–2004) on the spatial and temporal patterns of aboveground net primary production (ANPP) by dominant primary producers (sawgrass, periphyton, mangroves, and seagrasses) along two transects in the oligotrophic Florida Everglades coastal landscape. The 17 sites of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) program are located along fresh-estuarine gradients in Shark River Slough (SRS) and Taylor River/C-111/Florida Bay (TS/Ph) basins that drain the western and southern Everglades, respectively. Within the SRS basin, sawgrass and periphyton ANPP did not differ significantly among sites but mangrove ANPP was highest at the site nearest the Gulf of Mexico. In the southern Everglades transect, there was a productivity peak in sawgrass and periphyton at the upper estuarine ecotone within Taylor River but no trends were observed in the C-111 Basin for either primary producer. Over the 4 years, average sawgrass ANPP in both basins ranged from 255 to 606 g m⁻² year⁻¹. Average periphyton productivity at SRS and TS/Ph was 17–68 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ and 342–10371 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, respectively. Mangrove productivity ranged from 340 g m⁻² year⁻¹ at Taylor River to 2208 g m⁻² year⁻¹ at the lower estuarine Shark River site. Average Thalassia testudinum productivity ranged from 91 to 396 g m⁻² year⁻¹ and was 4-fold greater at the site nearest the Gulf of Mexico than in eastern Florida Bay. There were no differences in periphyton productivity at Florida Bay. Interannual comparisons revealed no significant differences within each primary producer at either SRS or TS/Ph with the exception of sawgrass at SRS and the C−111 Basin. Future research will address difficulties in assessing and comparing ANPP of different primary producers along gradients as well as the significance of belowground production to the total productivity of this ecosystem.