The role of autophagy of early embryonic development in mice

After fertilization, maternal products which are stored during oogenesis are rapidly degraded and newly zygotic products are synthesized in most animals. This transition, known as an oocyte-to-embryo transition, is critical step for further embryonic development. Considering that the process occurs quickly, bulk degradation system could be highly activated to eliminate maternal products and recycle them to synthesize newly products. We have demonstrated that autophagy, which is cytoplasmic bulk degradation system mediated by the lysosome, is highly induced after fertilization, and autophagy-deficient embryo dies before implantation, suggesting that autophagy is essential for preimplantaion embryonic development. Our recent studies also revealed that lysosomal size and number changes during the embryonic development. Here we will briefly review the autophagy, and discuss the function of autophagy and lysosome in early mouse embryogenesis

Geographical Heterogeneity in Homeownership Rates: Does the Differential between Rent and Ownership Cost Explain Local Variation in Homeownership Rates?

This paper focuses on differentials between rental and owner costs as a primary determinant of local homeownership. In simultaneous equations to estimate the separate effects of owner cost and rent on homeownership rates, the control variables are various household and geographical factors (Census 2000 tract level dataset), in the samples of 48 contiguous states within the United States. The results show negative effects of rental and owner costs on homeownership rates. Ethnicity, income, age, property tax rate and loan usage rates, contribute to increased owner costs. Several factors had significant association with the rise in housing prices before 2006.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Public Economics, D12, H0, R2,

Can Health Care Services Attract Retirees And Contribute to the Economic Sustainability of Rural Places?

The search for engines to power rural economic growth has gone beyond the traditional boundaries of the food and fiber sector to industries such as tourism and to schemes such as attracting metropolitan workers to commuter communities with rural amenities. A group that has been somewhat overlooked is retirees, who may wish to trade in urban or suburban life-styles for a more peaceful rural retirement. An industry that has been neglected is the health care industry, which is the most rapidly growing industry nationally and of particular interest to retirees and aging populations. This paper examines the importance of rural health care services in attracting migrants age 65+ to rural counties in Michigan. Results indicate that the number of health care workers has a positive effect on net in-migration, and that this effect is large and statistically significant for the 70+ age group. Implications for rural development strategies are discussed.elder migration, health care, rural development, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Significance of the Cgl1427 gene encoding cytidylate kinase in microaerobic growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum

The Cgl1427 gene was previously found to be relevant to the microaerobic growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum (Ikeda et al. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 73:2806-2808, 2009). In the present work, Cgl1427 was identified as a cytidylate kinase gene (cmk) by homology analysis of its deduced amino acid sequence with that of other bacterial cytidylate kinases (CMP kinases) and on the basis of findings that deletion of Cgl1427 results in loss of CMP kinase activity. Deletion of the cmk gene significantly impaired the growth of C. glutamicum in oxygen-limiting static culture, and the impaired growth was restored by introducing a plasmid containing the cmk gene, suggesting that this gene plays an important role in the microaerobic growth of C. glutamicum. On the other hand, in the main culture with aerobic shaking, a prolonged lag phase was observed in the cmk disruptant, despite an unchanged growth rate, compared to the behavior of the wild-type strain. The prolongation was observed when using seed culture grown to later growth stages in which oxygen limitation occurred, but it was not observed when using seed culture grown to an earlier growth stage in which oxygen remained relatively plentiful. Since nucleotide biosynthesis in C. glutamicum requires oxygen, we hypothesized that the ability of the cmk disruptant to synthesize nucleotides was influenced by oxygen limitation in the later growth stages of the seed culture, which caused the prolongation of the lag phase in the following shaken culture. To verify this hypothesis, a plasmid containing genes encoding all components of a homologous ribonucleotide reductase, a key enzyme for nucleotide synthesis that requires oxygen for its reaction, was introduced into the cmk disruptant, which significantly ameliorated the lag phase prolongation. Furthermore, this experimental setup almost completely restored the growth of the cmk disruptant in the oxygen-limiting static culture. These results indicate that CMP kinase plays an important role in normal nucleotide biosynthesis under an oxygen-limiting environment.ArticleAPPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY. 97(3):1259-1267 (2013)journal articl