Novel primer sets for species‐specific amplification of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA genes in four Japanese woodpeckers (Picidae,Piciformes)

In birds, feathers and faeces can be used as a source of DNA for genetic analyses. If the materials are derived from an absentee bird(s), however, the species must first be identified. Here, we developed four pairs of primers for amplification of mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA fragments in the black woodpecker Dryocopus martius, a vulnerable species in Japan, and three other sympatric woodpeckers including Dendrocopos leucotos, D. major and Picus awokera. Because each primer pair gave a PCR product in only one of the examined species, these primer sets will be useful in identifying the species of woodpeckers.     

两个黄芪根瘤菌新类群代表菌株的16S rDNA序列分析

对黄芪根瘤菌两个新类群中心菌株CA8561和JL84进行了16S rDNA全序列测定,并进行了系统发育学分析。结果表明,CA8561位于Rhizobium分支中,JL84位于Sinorhizobium分支中。     

Characterization of Thermophilic Proteolytic Spore-Forming Bacteria from a Geothermal Site in Lithuania Based on 16S rDNA RFLP and ITS-PCR Analyses1

Forty-two strains of gram-positive, aerobic, heterotrophic, obligately thermophilic, spore-forming bacteria were isolated from a geothermal site near the Baltic Sea in Lithuania. All of the strains were able to hydrolyze collagen and/or casein. Since characteristics of proteolytic activity are correlated with taxonomic positions of bacteria, the strains were grouped on the basis of molecular biological analyses. On the basis of RFLP patterns of 16S rDNA and 16S–23S rDNA ITS-PCR analysis, the strains were subdivided into nine groups.     

Coumaronochromones and flavanones from Euchresta formosana roots

Four coumaronochromones, formosanatins A–D (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2–4), and a flavanone, euchrenone a₁₆ (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), along with four known compounds, euchretins E and G, euchrestaflavanone A, and daidzein, were isolated from the roots of Euchresta formosana. The structures of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2– Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 were established by spectroscopic analyses.