Transcriptome analysis of the brown rot fungus \u3cem\u3eGloeophyllum trabeum\u3c/em\u3e during lignocellulose degradation

Brown rot fungi have great potential in biorefinery wood conversion systems because they are the primary wood decomposers in coniferous forests and have an efficient lignocellulose degrading system. Their initial wood degradation mechanism is thought to consist of an oxidative radical-based system that acts sequentially with an enzymatic saccharification system, but the complete molecular mechanism of this system has not yet been elucidated. Some studies have shown that wood degradation mechanisms of brown rot fungi have diversity in their substrate selectivity. Gloeophyllum trabeum, one of the most studied brown rot species, has broad substrate selectivity and even can degrade some grasses. However, the basis for this broad substrate specificity is poorly understood. In this study, we performed RNA-seq analyses on G. trabeum grown on media containing glucose, cellulose, or Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) as the sole carbon source. Comparison to the gene expression on glucose, 1,129 genes were upregulated on cellulose and 1,516 genes were upregulated on cedar. Carbohydrate Active enZyme (CAZyme) genes upregulated on cellulose and cedar media by G. trabeum included glycoside hyrolase family 12 (GH12), GH131, carbohydrate esterase family 1 (CE1), auxiliary activities family 3 subfamily 1 (AA3_1), AA3_2, AA3_4 and AA9, which is a newly reported expression pattern for brown rot fungi. The upregulation of both terpene synthase and cytochrome P450 genes on cedar media suggests the potential importance of these gene products in the production of secondary metabolites associated with the chelator-mediated Fenton reaction. These results provide new insights into the inherent wood degradation mechanism of G. trabeum and the diversity of brown rot mechanisms

Litter carbon dynamics analysis in forests in an arid ecosystem with a model incorporating the physical removal of litter

金沢大学理工研究域自然システム学系Arid land afforestation could be a countermeasure for global warming, and a project for developing and evaluating techniques for arid land afforestation and reforestation has been carried out in Sturt Meadows near Leonora, Western Australia. As a part of this project, the litter carbon dynamics were investigated at three Acacia aneura forest sites, using a litter carbon model incorporating the physical removal of litter by winds, floods, etc. Based on the field observation data of above ground plant biomass, annual litter fall, existing amount of the litter, and also litter decomposition rate constants separately obtained for leaf litter and woody litter, we investigated the carbon flows at these forest sites, especially the annual amount of litter physically removed from the sites by floods or winds. As a result, it is estimated that annual physical removal of litter amounted to 59-75% of the annual litter fall, and the litter removal rate constants were from 0.38 to 0.55 year-1. Roughly one third to a half of the existing litter is removed annually from the sites. There was also a tendency that as the canopy coverage decreases, the litter removal rate constant increases. For this type of ecosystem, which is susceptible to the run-off of water and strong winds, we consider the taking into account of the physical removal of the litter is essential for analyzing the carbon dynamics in the ecosystem. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Loss of NSD2 causes dysregulation of synaptic genes and altered H3K36 dimethylation in mice

Background: Epigenetic disruptions have been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders. NSD2 is associated with developmental delay/intellectual disability; however, its role in brain development and function remains unclear.Methods: We performed transcriptomic and epigenetic analyses using Nsd2 knockout mice to better understand the role of NSD2 in the brain.Results and discussion: Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the loss of NSD2 caused dysregulation of genes related to synaptic transmission and formation. By analyzing changes in H3 lysine 36 dimethylation (H3K36me2), NSD2-mediated H3K36me2 mainly marked quiescent state regions and the redistribution of H3K36me2 occurred at transcribed genes and enhancers. By integrating transcriptomic and epigenetic data, we observed that H3K36me2 changes in a subset of dysregulated genes related to synaptic transmission and formation. These results suggest that NSD2 is involved in the regulation of genes important for neural function through H3K36me2. Our findings provide insights into the role of NSD2 and improve our understanding of epigenetic regulation in the brain

Th17 cells differentiated with mycelial membranes of Candida albicans prevent oral candidiasis

Candida albicans is a human commensal that causes opportunistic infections. Th17 cells provide resistance against mucosal infection with C. albicans; however, the T cell antigens remain little known. Our final goal is to find effective T cell antigens of C. albicans that are responsible for immunotherapy against candidiasis. Here, we prepared fractions including cytosol, membrane and cell wall from yeast and mycelial cells. Proteins derived from a membrane fraction of mycelial cells effectively induced differentiation of CD4+ T cells into IL-17A-producing Th17 cells. To confirm the immunological response in vivo of proteins from mycelial membrane, we performed adoptive transfer experiments using ex vivo stimulated CD4+ T cells from IL-17A-GFP reporter mice. Mycelial membrane-differentiated CD4+ Th17 cells adoptively transferred intravenously prevented oral candidiasis by oral infection of C. albicans, compared with control anti-CD3-stimulated CD4+ T cells. This was confirmed by the clinical score and the number of neutrophils on the infected tissues. These data suggest that effective T cell antigens against candidiasis could be present in the membrane protein fraction of mycelial cells. The design of novel vaccination strategies against candidiasis will be our next step.福岡歯科大学2017年

NACSIS ILL ログ ブンセキ ニ モトヅク ムリョウ デジタルカ シリョウ ニ カンスル コウサツ

今日世界中で数多くのデジタル化資料が無料公開されている。本稿では，これらの資料の発見性を高める方策を検討するため，NACSIS-ILL のログに注目し，分析を行った。ILL ログのうち，無料で公開されているデジタル化資料が利用できるという理由で謝絶に至ったログを抽出，案内されている資料を調査した。その結果，無料デジタル化資料はWeb 上の広い範囲に散在し，特に国内では60％程度がNDLSearch・CiNii Articles・J-GLOBAL・J-STAGE の各サイトに加えて検索エンジンで検索すれば発見可能な資料であることがわかった。また，これらのサイトはメタデータ連携が部分的で，収録状況の詳細が明示されていないことがわかり，発見性低下の一つの要因になっていることが示唆された。 / There is now a multitude of digitizedmaterials that have beenmade available for free around the world. In order to consider measures to improve the discoverability of these free resources, the authors have analyzed the transaction logs from NACSIS-ILL logs. The authors surveyed the interlibrary loan transactions where the request was cancelled because an item was freely available to see what types of materials were requested. As a result, the authors found that the digitized materials are widely-scattered on the web and of particular significance approximately 60% of the domestic digitized materials are discoverable using the search engines and following services: NDL Search, CiNii Articles, J-GLOBAL, and JSTAGE. While there is a partial linkage between the metadata existing in each of these sites, it is not possible to see detailed information about the contents and that fact contributes to the decreased discoverability

Preventive effects of betamethasone valerate ointment for radiation-induced severe oral mucositis in patients with oral or oropharyngeal cancer: protocol for a multicentre, phase II, randomised controlled trial (Bet-ROM study)

Introduction: This is a randomised, multi-centre, open-label, phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of betamethasone valerate ointment on radiation-induced oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer undergoing concomitant radiotherapy with cisplatin or cetuximab.Methods and analysis: The trial will take place at seven hospitals in Japan. Patients will be randomised (1:1) into betamethasone and control groups after the occurrence of grade 1 oral mucositis. In the betamethasone group, patients will use betamethasone valerate ointment five times a day, in addition to usual oral hygiene guidance. The primary endpoint is the incidence and onset time of grade 3 oral mucositis. The secondary endpoints are the incidence and onset time of grade 2 oral mucositis, incidence and onset time of oral candidiasis, completion of radiation therapy and adverse events. Target accrual is 102 patients with a two-sided type I error rate of 5% and 80% power to detect an 80% risk reduction in the incidence of grade 3 oral mucositis.Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the Clinical Research Review Board of Nagasaki University (No. CRB20-009). All participants will be required to provide written informed consent. Findings will be disseminated through scientific and professional conferences and peer-reviewed journal publication. The datasets generated during the study will be available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Trial registration number: jRCTs071200013

Fundamental electron-transfer and proton-coupled electron-transfer properties of Ru(iv)-oxo complexes

Isolation and characterisation of Ru-IV(O) complexes were accomplished to investigate their fundamental electron transfer (ET) and proton-coupled ET (PCET) properties. Reorganisation energies (lambda) in electron transfer (ET) and proton-coupled ET (PCET) from electron donors to the isolated Ru-IV(O) complexes have been determined for the first time to be in the range of 1.70-1.88 eV (ET) and 1.20-1.26 eV (PCET). It was suggested that the reduction of the lambda values of PCET in comparison with those of ET should be due to the smaller structural change in PCET than that in ET on the basis of DFT calculations on 1 and 1e(-)-reduced 1 in the absence and presence of TFA, respectively. In addition, the smaller lambda values for the Ru-IV(O) complexes than those reported for Fe-IV(O) and Mn-IV(O) complexes should be due to the lack of participation of d(sigma) orbitals in the ET and PCET reactions. This is the first example to evaluate fundamental ET and PCET properties of Ru-IV(O) complexes leading to further understanding of their reactivity in oxidation reactions

A hydroxypropyl methylcellulose plaque assay for human respiratory syncytial virus

ウイルスの研究において感染性のあるウイルス粒子を正確に定量することは，病原性の評価のみならずウイルスに対する新規治療薬の効果を客観的に評価するために極めて重要な手技である．プラークアッセイ法はウイルス粒子を定量するために不可欠な技術であるが，Respiratory syncytial virus（RSV）において，プラークアッセイ法を安定して行うことはしばしば困難である．今回我々は，overlay material（充填化合物）が細胞増殖に与える影響を中心にRSVおよびhuman metapneumovirus（hMPV）におけるプラークアッセイ法の最適化の検討を行った