Leaf Alcohol

The diethylamine-catalyzed aldol condensation of E-2-hexenal yielded a mixture of 2-E,4-E,6-E- (IV-a) and 2-E,4-Z,6-E-4-ethyldeca-2,4,6-triene-1-al (IV-b). Structual and geometrical elucidation of both alcohols were made by means of spectral evidence as well as by the catalytic hydrogenation leading to the same 4-ethyldecanol (VI). The “b-peak substance” detected in the leaf alcohol reaction products was proved to be identical with 4-ethyldecanol (VI). The treatment of the trienal containing the central Z-double bond with sodium under the leaf alcohol reaction condition failed to afford ethyl-propyl-benzyl alcohol, but gave 4-ethyldecanol (VI). This result safely excludes the operation of the previously suspected valence tautomerism (Cope rearrangement) in the leaf alcohol reaction, and accounts for the pathway of the formation of (VI).     

Stereochemical Behavior of an NADH Model Compound Carrying l-Prolinamide at 3,5-Positions

Interspecific recombinants have been produced between Streptococcus cremoris H-61 and S. lactis J-1 by polyethylene glycol-induced protoplast fusion. All of the fusants obtained showed mixed physiological properties of the two parents, and possessed plasmids derived from both parents at random. Physiological properties of primary colonies were stably maintained among the progenies after the single-colony isolation procedure. Similarly, in most of the fusants the plasmid profiles of the primary colonies were stably maintained, but one lost 2 out of the 7 plasmid bands. However, there was no indication that plasmids from either one of the parents were preferentially lost. These results showed that interspecific genetic transfer occurred on chromosomal and plasmid DNA on the protoplast fusion and that the fusants obtained were not heterokaryons, but true recombinants.     

A New Enzyme,d-Fructose Dehydrogenase

Genetic relatedness of 14 yeast strains and 2 mold strains was studied by the DNA-DNA hybridization method. The hybridization was performed between mitochondrial-DNA-free, ³²p-labeled DNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae IAM 4009 and cold DNA of other strains. The DNA homology indices deviated considerably even among S. cerevisiae strains having similar GC contents, but, in general, yeast strains known to be able to mate with S. cerevisiae, showed high homology indices (35∽70%). Other species of Saccharomycetaceae and 6 asporogenous yeast strains exhibited values of 10∽20%. The relatedness suggested from these results was confirmed by the competition experiments and also by the hybridization with ³²P-DNA of Candida pulcherrima IFO 0561. DNA’s of Aspergillus oryzae I and Neurospora crassa IFO 6067 also exhibited low but appreciable homology indices (5∽7%). These results were discussed from the aspects of phylogenetics and also of gene conservation in microorganisms.     

Effects of Futsal Demands on Serum and Salivary Levels of Trace Elements and Minerals Detected by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence

Biological Trace Element Research - The aim of this study was to monitor the circulating and salivary ion concentrations by total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) in futsal players submitted to...     

Neokomagataea gen. nov., with descriptions of Neokomagataea thailandica sp. nov. and Neokomagataea tanensis sp. nov., osmotolerant acetic acid bacteria of the α-Proteobacteria

Isolates AH11(T) and AH13(T) were isolated from flowers of lantana and candle bush respectively collected in Thailand. In phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, the two isolates formed an independent cluster, which was then connected to the type strain of Saccharibacter floricola. The calculated pair-wise 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of isolate AH11(T) were 95.7-92.3% to the type strains of the type species of the 12 genera of acetic acid bacteria. The DNA base composition was from 51.2 to 56.8 mol % G+C, with a range of 5.6 mol %. When isolate AH11(T) was labeled, DNA-DNA similarities were 100, 12, 4, 5, and 4% respectively to isolates AH11(T) and AH13(T) and the type strains of Saccharibacter floricola, Gluconobacter oxydans, and Acetobacter aceti. The two isolates were non-motile and did not oxidize either acetate or lactate. No growth was found in the presence of 0.35% acetic acid w/v. The two isolates were not osmophilic but osmotolerant, produced 2,5-diketo-D-gluconate from D-glucose, and did not oxidize lactate, thus differing from strains of Saccharibacter floricola, which showed weak lactate oxidation. The two isolates contained unsaturated C(18:1)ω7c fatty acid as the major fatty acid, and were unique in the presence of a considerable amount of straight-chain C(18:1)2OH fatty acid. Q-10 was present as the major isoprenoid quinone. Neokomagataea gen. nov. was proposed with the two species, Neokomagataea thailandica sp. nov. for isolate AH11(T) (=BCC 25710(T)=NBRC 106555(T)), which has 56.8 mol % G+C, and Neokomagataea tanensis sp. nov. for isolate AH13(T) (=BCC 25711(T)=NBRC 106556(T)), which has 51.2 mol % G+C.     

Paraspeckles are subpopulation-specific nuclear bodies that are not essential in mice

Nuclei of higher organisms are well structured and have multiple, distinct nuclear compartments or nuclear bodies. Paraspeckles are recently identified mammal-specific nuclear bodies ubiquitously found in most cells cultured in vitro. To investigate the physiological role of paraspeckles, we examined the in vivo expression patterns of two long noncoding RNAs, NEAT1_1 and NEAT1_2, which are essential for the architectural integrity of nuclear bodies. Unexpectedly, these genes were only strongly expressed in a particular subpopulation of cells in adult mouse tissues, and prominent paraspeckle formation was observed only in the cells highly expressing NEAT1_2. To further investigate the cellular functions of paraspeckles, we created an animal model lacking NEAT1 by gene targeting. These knockout mice were viable and fertile under laboratory growth conditions, showing no apparent phenotypes except for the disappearance of paraspeckles. We propose that paraspeckles are nonessential, subpopulation-specific nuclear bodies formed secondary to particular environmental triggers.     

Genetic control of a transition from black to straw-white seed hull in rice domestication

The genetic mechanism involved in a transition from the black-colored seed hull of the ancestral wild rice (Oryza rufipogon and Oryza nivara) to the straw-white seed hull of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) during grain ripening remains unknown. We report that the black hull of O. rufipogon was controlled by the Black hull4 (Bh4) gene, which was fine-mapped to an 8.8-kb region on rice chromosome 4 using a cross between O. rufipogon W1943 (black hull) and O. sativa indica cv Guangluai 4 (straw-white hull). Bh4 encodes an amino acid transporter. A 22-bp deletion within exon 3 of the bh4 variant disrupted the Bh4 function, leading to the straw-white hull in cultivated rice. Transgenic study indicated that Bh4 could restore the black pigment on hulls in cv Guangluai 4 and Kasalath. Bh4 sequence alignment of all taxa with the outgroup Oryza barthii showed that the wild rice maintained comparable levels of nucleotide diversity that were about 70 times higher than those in the cultivated rice. The results from the maximum likelihood Hudson-Kreitman-Aguade test suggested that the significant reduction in nucleotide diversity in rice cultivars could be caused by artificial selection. We propose that the straw-white hull was selected as an important visual phenotype of nonshattered grains during rice domestication.