The "silver" Japanese quail and the MITF gene: causal mutation, associated traits and homology with the "blue" chicken plumage

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The <it>MITF </it>(<it>microphthalmia-associated transcription factor</it>) gene has been investigated in mice and various vertebrates but its variations and associated effects have not yet been explored much in birds. The present study describes the causal mutation <it>B </it>at the <it>MITF </it>gene responsible for the "silver" plumage colour in the Japanese quail (<it>Coturnix japonica</it>), and its associated effects on growth and body composition, and tests its allelism with the "blue" plumage colour mutation <it>Bl </it>in <it>Gallus gallus</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The semi dominant <it>B </it>mutation results from a premature stop codon caused by a 2 bp deletion in exon 11 of <it>MITF</it>. Homozygous "white" (<it>B/B</it>) quail which have a white plumage also show a slightly lower growth, lower body temperature, smaller heart, and lighter <it>pectoralis </it>muscles but more abdominal adipose tissue than the recessive homozygous "wild-type" (<it>+/+</it>) and heterozygous "silver" (<it>B/+</it>) quail. Similar observations on cardiac and body growth were made on mice (<it>Mus musculus</it>) homozygous for mutations at <it>MITF</it>. The production of chicken-quail hybrids with a white plumage obtained by crossing <it>Bl/+ </it>chicken heterozygous for the <it>blue </it>mutation with <it>B/B </it>white quail indicated that the mutations were allelic.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The "silver" Japanese quail is an interesting model for the comparative study of the effects of <it>MITF </it>in birds and mammals. Further investigation using a chicken family segregating for the "blue" plumage and molecular data will be needed to confirm if the "blue" plumage in chicken results from a mutation in <it>MITF</it>.</p

「青島鹵獲書籍」の復元と清末民国初における独英の対中国文化接触に関する比較研究

本研究の目的は、日本全国の高等教育機関等に分散所蔵されている「青島旧蔵書籍」の全体像を調査・復元し、それを通して青島におけるドイツ租界の文化情況や中国人との接触情況、並びにドイツの対中国文化政策を明らかにすること、それらドイツ租界における情況を上海等におけるイギリス租界の情況と比較することにより、新旧帝国主義国家の対中国文化接触のあり方、並びにそれに対応する中国側のあり方の相違を明らかにすることの二点である。 青島ドイツ租界に原蔵され、その後青島守備軍による接収を経て、日本の各高等教育機関に配分された「青島旧蔵書籍」に関しては、以下の作業を行なった。 1)日本全国の高等教育機関等に現蔵される当該書籍や配分関連文書の逐件調査を行なった。 2)その調査をふまえ、各冊ごとの書誌データ、青島における原蔵状況、守備軍による配分状況、現蔵機関における所蔵状況についての各種データを整理し、「青島旧蔵書籍」を各機関に配分したその計画リストの上に、その逐件調査によって得られた調査データを加えた新規データベースを作成した。 青島ドイツ租界・上海租界におけるそれぞれの文化接触や文化政策についての比較検討を試みる「独・英の対中国文化接触」の研究に関しては、以下の作業を行なった。 1)青島ドイツ租界・上海租界に関する記載を含むマイクロフィルム資料を収集・整理した。 2)その資料の電子データ化を経て抽出した、租界内部やその周辺地域での文化・社会・経済政策に関連するデータ、並びに、青島及びその周辺地域の歴史やイギリスの対中国政策史に関わる中国側諸文献の分析を行なった。 上記の調査・分析から得られたそれぞれの研究成果をまとめて、研究成果報告書として作成・公表した。This study attempts to give a complete picture of “Books from German Tsing-tao", with the object to use this first hand material to research in two directions 1) to reveal the strategies of German cultural policies in Tsing-tao leased territory and results and responses affected on the Chinese side; 2) to disclose the underlying differences in approach towards the Chinese affected in cultural contact by two European colonial powers; by comparing Germany\u27 s rule in Tsing-tao and British strategies of government in the Shanghai settlement. The research group succeeded in drawing up the original situation in the German concessions\u27 libraries and related bodies. The bibliographies of these library materials, then taken in 1914 by the Japanese army before being redistributed as bequests to more than 50 Japanese institutions, have been meticulously accumulated and re-compilated for this research. The state of preservation at the present date (including ownership changes, losses, etc.) and additional related data have been arranged new and systematically for use in future research. The group researching “comparative studies in meeting of cultures" has 1) collected documents in German and English on the history of German Tsingtao, and also the British settlement Shanghai, and sifted those data on the cultural, social and economic policy of both powers in these two interest spheres. 2) The collected texts were digitised and further used, both data written in western languages, and Chinese documents and remains were then analysed concerning the history of German Tsing-tao and British pursuit in modern China.研究課題/領域番号:17320091, 研究期間(年度):2005–2007出典：「「青島鹵獲書籍」の復元と清末民国初における独英の対中国文化接触に関する比較研究」研究成果報告書　課題番号17320091 (KAKEN：科学研究費助成事業データベース（国立情報学研究所）)　　　本文データは著者版報告書より作

Long-Distance Signals Are Required for Morphogenesis of the Regenerating Xenopus Tadpole Tail, as Shown by Femtosecond-Laser Ablation

tadpoles has recently emerged as an important model for these studies; we explored the role of the spinal cord during tadpole tail regeneration.Using ultrafast lasers to ablate cells, and Geometric Morphometrics to quantitatively analyze regenerate morphology, we explored the influence of different cell populations. For at least twenty-four hours after amputation (hpa), laser-induced damage to the dorsal midline affected the morphology of the regenerated tail; damage induced 48 hpa or later did not. Targeting different positions along the anterior-posterior (AP) axis caused different shape changes in the regenerate. Interestingly, damaging two positions affected regenerate morphology in a qualitatively different way than did damaging either position alone. Quantitative comparison of regenerate shapes provided strong evidence against a gradient and for the existence of position-specific morphogenetic information along the entire AP axis.We infer that there is a conduit of morphology-influencing information that requires a continuous dorsal midline, particularly an undamaged spinal cord. Contrary to expectation, this information is not in a gradient and it is not localized to the regeneration bud. We present a model of morphogenetic information flow from tissue undamaged by amputation and conclude that studies of information coming from far outside the amputation plane and regeneration bud will be critical for understanding regeneration and for translating fundamental understanding into biomedical approaches

Gecko CD59 Is Implicated in Proximodistal Identity during Tail Regeneration

Several adult reptiles, such as Gekko japonicus, have the ability to precisely re-create a missing tail after amputation. To ascertain the associated acquisition of positional information from blastemal cells and the underlying molecular mechanism of tail regeneration, a candidate molecule CD59 was isolated from gecko. CD59 transcripts displayed a graded expression in the adult gecko spinal cord with the highest level in the anterior segment, with a stable expression along the normal tail. After tail amputation, CD59 transcripts in the spinal cord proximal to the injury sites increased markedly at 1 day and 2 weeks; whereas in the regenerating blastema, strong CD59 positive signals were detected in the blastemal cells anterior to the blastema, with a gradual decrease along the proximodistal (PD) axis. When treated with RA following amputation, CD59 transcripts in the blastema were up-regulated. PD confrontation assays revealed that the proximal blastema engulfed the distal one after in vitro culture, and rabbit-anti human CD59 antibody was able to block this PD engulfment. Overexpression of the CD59 during tail regeneration causes distal blastemal cells to translocate to a more proximal location. Our results suggest that position identity is not restricted to amphibian limb regeneration, but has already been established in tail blastema of reptiles. The CD59, a cell surface molecule, acted as a determinant of proximal–distal cell identity

Pseudomonas aeruginosa Suppresses Host Immunity by Activating the DAF-2 Insulin-Like Signaling Pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans

Some pathogens have evolved mechanisms to overcome host immune defenses by inhibiting host defense signaling pathways and suppressing the expression of host defense effectors. We present evidence that Pseudomonas aeruginosa is able to suppress the expression of a subset of immune defense genes in the animal host Caenorhabditis elegans by activating the DAF-2/DAF-16 insulin-like signaling pathway. The DAF-2/DAF-16 pathway is important for the regulation of many aspects of organismal physiology, including metabolism, stress response, longevity, and immune function. We show that intestinal expression of DAF-16 is required for resistance to P. aeruginosa and that the suppression of immune defense genes is dependent on the insulin-like receptor DAF-2 and the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16. By visualizing the subcellular localization of DAF-16::GFP fusion protein in live animals during infection, we show that P. aeruginosa–mediated downregulation of a subset of immune genes is associated with the ability to translocate DAF-16 from the nuclei of intestinal cells. Suppression of DAF-16 is mediated by an insulin-like peptide, INS-7, which functions upstream of DAF-2. Both the inhibition of DAF-16 and downregulation of DAF-16–regulated genes, such as thn-2, lys-7, and spp-1, require the P. aeruginosa two-component response regulator GacA and the quorum-sensing regulators LasR and RhlR and are not observed during infection with Salmonella typhimurium or Enterococcus faecalis. Our results reveal a new mechanism by which P. aeruginosa suppresses host immune defense

〈青島〉旧蔵書籍書誌情報の緊急採録と国内学術機関宛寄贈書籍書誌情報原稿の完成

金沢大学人間社会研究域歴史言語文化学系当該書籍の都合約2/3に就き、精査を完了。今次事業に於る精査済み受贈機関は第2、第3高校、新潟高校の3機関のみだが、東北帝大は雑誌5、6冊を遺すのみで、山形高校は9割方を了え、東京帝大も8割方、松本高校も5割方を了え、京都帝大は、雑誌は2割程だが、単行本は完了。公表論文2篇(A、B)のうち、Aでは膠州図書館宛書籍寄贈者H.グラウエ、及びヴ、コーン叢書の寄贈者W.コーンに就ての新知見を記しつつ、膠州図書館所用受入藏書印中の長方形印の使用時期を特定し、Bでは新潟高校受贈書籍に就て略報すると共に、膠州図書館藏書票の印刷用組版の来華時期、及び当該図書館創設時の勅許状と財団証書の全文を付記。Books from Germann Tsingtau presented to Universities and Highschools in Japan contain various types of bibliogr. data and imprities, for instance seals of traders, ex-libris, ownership stamps, bookmarks, etc. These data and imprities show us the history of the books. We totally investigated 2/3 of the books.We published two reports. The first dealed with Heinrich Glaue, Wilhelm Cohn, and the rectangle type of ownership stamps of Kiautschou-Bibliothek. On H. Glaue, we traced his brief life and presumed an special ex-libris belongs to him. On W. Cohn, we cleared his dwelling place in Berlin based on his postcard and Berliner Addressbook. And on the rectangle type of K.-B. ownership stamps, we pointed out the year which it was used. The second dealed with the Books from Tsingtau received by Niigata Highschool. While we found a full text of the kaiserl. Kabinettsordre and Stiftungsurkunde of K.-B., we retyped them as a post script.研究課題/領域番号:26284107, 研究期間(年度):2014-04-01 – 2019-03-31出典：研究課題「〈青島〉旧蔵書籍書誌情報の緊急採録と国内学術機関宛寄贈書籍書誌情報原稿の完成」課題番号26284107（KAKEN：科学研究費助成事業データベース（国立情報学研究所）） （https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/report/KAKENHI-PROJECT-26284107/26284107seika/)を加工して作