Difference in the CaMYBA genome among anthocyanin pigmented cultivars and non-pigmented cultivars in pepper (Capsicum annuum)

Anthocyanin in pepper is beneficial as a food antioxidant compound and as a pigment for ornamentals, while unexpected anthocyanin accumulation in fruit, known as black spots, reduces the commercial quality of some cultivars. Previous studies demonstrated that the Anthocyanin (A) locus determines the anthocyanin accumulation in pepper fruits, and an MYB transcription factor, CaMYBA, was found to be located near the A locus. However, the causal gene sequence of the A locus has not yet been identified. With progress regarding genome information in pepper, two other homologous MYB genes were found to be located near CaMYBA, and they are also considered to be candidate genes for the A locus. In this study, we attempted to identify the causal gene sequence of the A locus by performing linkage analysis, genomic sequence analysis, and gene expression analysis of the three candidate MYB genes. A crossing experiment between pigmented ‘Peruvian Purple’ and non-pigmented cultivars confirmed that anthocyanin accumulation in the pigmented cultivar was controlled by a single locus. Gene expression analysis demonstrated that a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, CaMYC, and CaMYBA were expressed abundantly in pigmented cultivars, but the other two MYB genes were not. Genotyping of the F2 population derived from the cross demonstrated that the anthocyanin accumulation phenotype was highly linked to CaMYBA, but not to CaMYC. The DNA sequence of CaMYBA in pigmented cultivars had an insertion of a 4.3 kb retrotransposable element LINE-1 in the first intron, but that of non-pigmented cultivars did not. No pigmented cultivar-specific sequence was found in the promoter region of CaMYBA. Therefore, it was suggested that CaMYBA, but not the other two homologous MYB genes, is the A locus gene, and insertion of LINE-1 in CaMYBA appeared to be important for the regulation of anthocyanin accumulation, although the mechanism by which the LINE-1 insertion induces CaMYBA expression is unknown

A Simple Screening of Flower Sensitivity to Ethylene in Several Ornamental Asteraceae Species

Generally, Asteraceae flowers such as chrysanthemums and gerberas, are low ethylene-sensitive and do not exhibit petal wilting and abscission. However, previous research found that the flowers of dahlia, an Asteraceae member belonging to the tribe Coreopsideae, are ethylene-sensitive and show abscission layer development in petal-ovary boundaries. In this study, we investigated the ethylene sensitivity of 17 ornamental Asteraceae species belonging to different tribes by measuring the petal drawing resistance and vase life after 1-3 μL·L-1 ethylene exposure for 20 h. Although more than half of the tested species did not respond to ethylene, several species showed ethylene-sensitive petal wilting and abscission of fresh ray florets. Ethylene-sensitive petal wilting occurred in only two species (Calendula officinalis L. and Osteospermum L.) of the tribe Calenduleae, while ethylene-sensitive petal abscission occurred mainly in six species (Bidens ferulifolia D.C., Coreopsis lanceolata L., Cosmos atrosanguineus (Hook) Voss., Cosmos bipinnatus Cav., Cosmos sulphureus Cav. and Dahlia Cav.) of tribe Coreopsideae and one species (Helianthus annuus L.) of the tribe Heliantheae. In these species, abscission petals maintained their turgidity, and this process could be detected by measuring the petal drawing resistance of the ray florets. The reduction in petal drawing resistance, associated with abscission layer development in the petal-ovary boundaries, was observed only in these ethylene-sensitive species. The results of this study suggest that the ethylene sensitivity and petal senescing patterns in Asteraceae flowers may be associated with the phylogenetic classification at the tribe level

Effects of Deflowering and Defoliating on the Postharvest Characteristics of Individual Organs in Cut Dahlias

Cut dahlia (Dahlia Cav.) flowers have recently become popular, but their marketability has been limited due to their poor vase life. The purposes of this study were to clarify the roles of leaves and inflorescences in the senescence of cut dahlias and to discuss the sink-source relationship between vegetative organs and inflorescences. The leaf life was maintained much longer (16.7 days) than the inflorescence life (7.4 days). The inflorescence life was not affected by removal of leaves, while leaf life was prolonged (19.6 days) by removal of inflorescences. Sucrose, glucose, fructose and small quantities of myo-inositol were detected in florets, and in addition to these sugars, nystose and 1-kestose were detected in stems and leaves. Total sugar levels of the middle florets (14.5 mg·g⁻¹ FW on day 0) declined rapidly before their senescence. Total sugar levels of leaves (20.5 mg·g⁻¹ FW on day 0) and stems (19.0–22.5 mg·g⁻¹ FW on day 0) also decreased gradually during the postharvest period, but the levels decreased more slowly in deflowered cut stems. Sugar leakage from stem bases into vase water occurred during the initial few days. Removal of inflorescences increased sugar leakage significantly and promoted callus formation on the stem base. From these results, the inflorescence is considered to be a strong sink for carbohydrates, and stems and leaves serve as source organs. Heat girdling applied to the flower necks and petioles, also increased sugar concentrations of stem bases, thus resulting in higher sugar leakage and callus formation, although both heat girdling treatments shortened the leaf life. The sharp decrease in sugar levels of florets and an insufficient sugar supply are considered to be responsible for the short vase life of cut dahlias. It is suggested that these effects might be partly due to the blockage of sugar flows into petals through abscission layer development in the petal-ovary boundaries. Based on these results, we illustrate the senescing process of cut dahlia flowers in relation to sugar dynamism

Identification of Chalcones and their Contribution to Yellow Coloration in Dahlia (Dahlia variabilis) Ray Florets

Yellow color in dahlia flowers is conferred from chalcones, butein and isoliquiritigenin. The color intensity of yellow dahlia cultivars is diverse, but a detailed study on this has not yet been performed. In this study, we first identified structures of flavonoids by nuclear magnetic resonance imaging in ray florets of the red-white bicolor ‘Shukuhai’, which contains chalcones, flavones and anthocyanins. Four anthocyanins, four flavone derivatives, five isoliquiritigenin derivatives and five butein derivatives were identified. Among the identified compounds, butein 4'-malonylsophoroside is considered to be the final product for butein derivatives and the presence of chalcone 4'-glucosyltransferase, chalcone 4'-glucoside glucosyltransferase, and chalcone 4'-glucoside malonyltransferase for isoliquiritigenin and butein modification was predicted. Also, the biosynthetic pathway of butein and isoliquiritigenin derivatives in dahlia with butein 4'-malonylsophoroside as the final product was predicted from the identified compounds. Next, we used nine yellow cultivars and lines with different color intensities and analyzed the correlation between the b* value, an indicator of yellow color, and level of chalcones. There was no difference in the presence or absence of major peaks among the cultivars and lines. Peak area per fresh weight measured by HPLC was high in butein 4'-malonylglucoside, butein 4'-sophoroside and isoliquiritigenin 4'-malonylglucoside, suggesting these three compounds were accumulated abundantly. Among the identified chalcones, the highest correlation coefficient was detected between the b* value and butein 4'-malonylglucoside (r = 0.86), butein 4'-sophoroside (r = 0.82) or isoliquiritigenin 4'-malonylglucoside (r = 0.76). These results suggest that these three chalcones confer yellow color in dahlia ray florets. The findings in this study will contribute not only to efforts at breeding new yellow dahlia cultivars, but also to molecular breeding of yellow flowers in other species by introducing the butein biosynthetic pathway

A 14q+ chromosome in adult T-cell leukemia.

Chromosome studies were conducted on two patients with adult T-cell leukemia. In both patients, a marker chromosome 14q+ and a structural change involving chromosome 1 with trisomy of the q arm were found in peripheral blood leukocytes. The 14q+ marker chromosome had resulted from translocation from #5p in one patient and #5q in the other patient. The present and previous studies suggest that the donor chromosomes involved in the 14q+ translocation are variable. This indicates that the 14q+ marker chromosome rather than the donor chromosome is intimately related with adult T-cell leukemia.</p

A perifusion method for examining arginine vasopressin (AVP) release from hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system.

A perifusion method has been developed using rat hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system (HNS) or neural lobe to investigate the control mechanism of arginine vasopressin (AVP) release. A specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) for AVP was developed to measure AVP in perifusion medium employing anti-AVP serum which was obtained by immunizing rabbits. At a final dilution of 1/12,000, the antiserum showed less than 0.66 and 0.01% cross reactivity with lysine-vasopressin and oxytocin, respectively. But it did not cross reacted with other peptide hormones. The lowest detectable level of vasopressin was 0.5 pg/tube. The intra-assay coefficient of variation averaged 10.4%. The dilution curve of perifused medium was well paralled to the standard curve of AVP assay. AVP release from HNS or neural lobe gradually declined to the stable level in 90-120 min after the initiation of perifusion. Good repeatability of the AVP release from neural lobe was recognized by repeated stimulation with 10 min perifusion of 60 mM KCl at every 60 min. HNS released AVP in dose related manner to the osmotic challenge of sodium or glucose, and AVP release was stimulated from HNS by prostaglandin E2, but not by dopamine. These results show that the perifusion methods using AVP-RIA is a useful method to examine the AVP release from HNS or neural lobe.</p

The added value of non-contrast 3-Tesla MRI for the pre-operative localization of hyperparathyroidism

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the efficacy of non-contrast 3-Tesla MR imaging added to the combination of sestamibi with99mTc (MIBI) scintigraphy and Ultrasonography (US) for the pre-operative localization of Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) lesions. METHODS: A total of 34 parathyroid glands, including nine normal glands, were examined with MIBI, US, and non-contrast 3-Tesla MRI. MRI was performed with the acquisition of T1- and T2-weighted images and fat-suppressed T2-weighted images. We calculated the sensitivities of MIBI, US, and the 'additional' MRI, with knowledge of the former two modalities' results. RESULTS: For the diagnosis of PHPT lesions, the sensitivity values of MIBI, US, and additional MRI were 88.0% (22/25), 84.0% (21/25), and 92.0% (23/25), respectively. Normal glands were not visualized with any modality (0/9). One lesion was detected neither with US nor MRI, but only with MIBI, with the limitation that MIBI represented no more than laterality. The two glands not identified in MRI were 4 mm and 6 mm in their size, which are within the range of normal gland's size. Two lesions were not detected with US or MIBI but were visualized with the additional MRI, which indicated that the MRI contributed an 8.0% (2/25) improvement of sensitivity, compared from that of US. Fat-suppressed T2-weighted images were useful in the identification of parathyroid lesions, as these images helped to differentiate between the lesion and the adjacent tissue. CONCLUSION: Additional non-contrast 3-Tesla MRI was a useful adjunctive tool for localization of PHPT, which improved the sensitivity of the pre-operative localization of PHPT lesions. Fat-suppressed T2-weighted images contributed to their identification. LEVEL VI: Evidence from a single descriptive or qualitative study

Flavobacterium okayamense sp. nov. isolated from surface seawater

Strain KK2020170T, a Gram-stain negative, yellow colony-forming bacterium, was isolated from surface seawater sampled in Kojima Bay, Okayama, Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene revealed that strain KK2020170T belongs to the genus Flavobacterium, with Flavobacterium haoranii LQY-7T (98.1% similarity) being its closest relative, followed by Flavobacterium sediminis MEBiC07310T (96.9%) and Flavobacterium urocaniciphilum YIT 12746T (96.0%). Whole-genome shotgun sequencing showed that strain KK2020170T, when paralleled with F. haoranii LQY-7 T, had 81.3% average nucleotide identity, and 24.6% in silico DNA–DNA hybridization values, respectively. The DNA G + C content of strain KK2020170T was 31.1 mol%. The most abundant fatty acids (> 10%) of strain KK2020170T were iso-C15: 0, iso-C17: 0 3-OH and iso-C15: 1 G. The dominant respiratory quinone of the strain was menaquinone MK-6. Based on the phylogenetic and phenotypic analysis results, we propose that strain KK2020170T represents a novel species, for which the name Flavobacterium okayamense sp. nov. has been proposed. The type strain is KK2020170T (= ATCC TSD-280 T = NBRC 115344 T)

Bifunctionality of Rh3+ Modifier on TiO2 and Working Mechanism of Rh3+/TiO2 Photocatalyst under Irradiation of Visible Light

A rhodium(III) ion (Rh3+)-modified TiO2 (Rh3+/TiO2) photocatalyst, prepared by a simple adsorption method and exhibiting high levels of photocatalytic activity in degradation of organic compounds, was investigated by using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements, (photo)electrochemical measurements, double-beam photoacoustic (DB-PA) spectroscopic measurements, and photoluminescence measurements. Based on the results, the features of the Rh3+ modifier and the working mechanism of the Rh3+/TiO2 photocatalyst are discussed. XAFS measurements revealed that the Rh3+ species were highly dispersed and almost atomically isolated on TiO2. The (photo)electrochemical measurements, DB-PA spectroscopic measurements, and photoluminescence showed a unique bifunction of the Rh3+ modifier as a promoter for O2 reductions and an electron injector to the conduction band of TiO2 for response to visible light. The reasons for the Rh3+/TiO2 photocatalyst exhibiting higher levels of photocatalytic activity than those of TiO2 photocatalysts modified with other metal ions are also discussed on the basis of obtained results

Fe-K line probing of material around the AGN central engine with Suzaku

We systematically analyzed the high-quality Suzaku data of 88 Seyfert galaxies. We obtained a clear relation between the absorption column density and the equivalent width of the 6.4 keV line above 10$^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$, suggesting a wide-ranging column density of $10^{23-24.5}$ cm$^{-2}$ with a similar solid and a Fe abundance of 0.7--1.3 solar for Seyfert 2 galaxies. The EW of the 6.4 keV line for Seyfert 1 galaxies are typically 40--120 eV, suggesting the existence of Compton-thick matter like the torus with a column density of $>10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$ and a solid angle of $(0.15-0.4)*4pi$, and no difference of neutral matter is visible between Seyfert 1 and 2 galaxies. An absorber with a lower column density of $10^{21-23}$ cm$^{-2}$ for Compton-thin Seyfert 2 galaxies is suggested to be not a torus but an interstellar medium. These constraints can be understood by the fact that the 6.4 keV line intensity ratio against the 10--50 keV flux is almost identical within a range of 2--3 in many Seyfert galaxies. Interestingly, objects exist with a low EW, 10--30 eV, of the 6.4 keV line, suggesting that those torus subtends only a small solid angle of $<0.2*4pi$. Ionized Fe-K$\alpha$ emission or absorption lines are detected from several percents of AGNs. Considering the ionization state and equivalent width, emitters and absorbers of ionized Fe-K lines can be explained by the same origin, and highly ionized matter is located at the broad line region. The rapid increase in EW of the ionized Fe-K emission lines at $N_{H}>10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$ is found, like that of the cold material. It is found that these features seem to change for brighter objects with more than several $10^{44}$ erg/s such that the Fe-K line features become weak. We discuss this feature, together with the torus structure.Comment: 32 pages, 20 figures, ApJ accepte