A new sexannulate species of Orobdella (Hirudinida, Arhynchobdellida, Orobdellidae) from Yakushima Island, Japan

A new sexannulate species of the genus Orobdella Oka, 1895, Orobdella mononoke sp. n., is described on the basis of five specimens collected from Yakushima Island, Japan. Orobdella mononoke sp. n. differs from other sexannulate Orobdella species in its possessing the following combination of characters: dorsal surface bicolor in life, I–XIII, XXVII and caudal sucker grayish purple, XIV–XXVI amber, male gonopore at XI c11/c12, female gonopore at XIII b2, 8 + 1/2 between gonopores, tubular but bulbous at junction with crop gastroporal duct, epididymides in XV–XIX, and atrial cornua ovate. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 18S rDNA and histone H3, and mitochondrial COI, tRNACys, tRNAMet, 12S rDNA, tRNAVal and 16S rDNA markers show that O. mononoke sp. n. is closely related to Orobdella esulcata Nakano, 2010 from Kyushu, Japan, and two species, Orobdella dolichopharynx Nakano, 2011 and Orobdella shimadae Nakano, 2011, from the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

A new species of Orobdella (Hirudinida, Arhynchobdellida, Gastrostomobdellidae) and redescription of Orobdella kawakatsuorum from Hokkaido, Japan with the phylogenetic position of the new species.

A new quadrannulate Orobdella Oka, 1895 species, Orobdella koikeisp. n., is described on the basis of six specimens collected from Hokkaido, Japan. In addition, an emended description of quadrannulate Orobdella kawakatsuorum Richardson, 1975 is also provided. Orobdella koikei differs from other quadrannulate species of Orobdella in possessing the following combination of characters: color dorsally brown, IV uniannulate, male gonopore at XI b6, gastropore and female gonopore at XIII a1, 1/2 + 4 + 1/2 between gonopores, XXV triannulate, tubular but bulbous at junctions with gastropore and crop gastroporal duct, epididymides in XVII to XIX, and atrial cornua ovate. The phylogenetic position of the newly described species is estimated using mitochondrial COI, tRNA(Cys), tRNA(Met), 12S rDNA, tRNA(Val) and 16S rDNA markers. Orobdella koikei is a sister taxon of Orobdella kakawatsuorum according to the molecular phylogenetic analyses

A new quadrannulate species of Orobdella (Hirudinida, Arhynchobdellida, Orobdellidae) from central Honshu, Japan.

A new quadrannulate species of Orobdella, Orobdella masaakikuroiwai sp. n., from the mountainous region of central Honshu, Japan is described. This is only the second small species known within this genus, with a body length of less than 4 cm for mature individuals. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 18S rDNA and histone H3 as well as mitochondrial COI, tRNA(Cys), tRNA(Met), 12S, tRNA(Val), 16S, and ND1 markers showed that Orobdella masaakikuroiwai sp. n. is the sister species of the quadrannulate Orobdella whitmani Oka, 1895. Phylogenetic relationships within Orobdella masaakikuroiwai sp. n. conducted using mitochondrial markers reveled a distinction between eastern and western phylogroups

A new species of Orobdella (Hirudinida, Arhynchobdellida, Orobdellidae) from the Tsukuba Mountains in Japan

A small-type quadrannulate leech species, Orobdella montipumila sp. nov., from the Tsukuba Mountains in central Honshu island, Japan, is described. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, histone H3, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, tRNA[Cys], tRNA[Met], 12S rRNA, tRNA[Val], 16S rRNA, tRNA[Leu] and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 markers revealed that O. montipumila formed a monophyletic lineage with seven congeners that include the small-type quadrannulate O. masaakikuroiwai Nakano, 2014, which is endemic to montane regions of central Honshu. However, the present phylogenies showed that O. montipumila and O. masaakikuroiwai are not sister species, which confirms that reduction of body length has arisen independently in Orobdella leeches indigenous to central Honshu

Redescription of Gyrinicola japonica, a tadpole-endoparasitic nematode from Japan, with resurrection of the family Gyrinicolidae (Nematoda: Oxyurina)

The taxonomic account of the tadpole-parasitic nematode Gyrinicola japonicaYamaguti, 1938, which is the type species of the genus, was reassessed based on syntypes and newly-collected specimens from the type locality. Our redescription of G. japonica addresses the erroneous original description of a spicule in this nematode, and emends the diagnosis of the species. Additionally, molecular phylogenetic trees based on nuclear 18S and 28S rDNA sequences revealed that G. japonica forms a distinctive lineage within the suborder Oxyurina, and this tadpole-specialist is phylogenetically close to the lizard-parasitic nematodes that belong to the family Pharyngodonidae. The results of morphological examination with the aid of molecular phylogenetic trees highlight the systematic uniqueness of this tadpole-parasitic group within Oxyurina, and Gyrinicolidae is accordingly resurrected as a distinctive oxyurinan family, with redefinition of the family and the genus Gyrinicola

Comprehensive Identification of PTI Suppressors in Type III Effector Repertoire Reveals that Ralstonia solanacearum Activates Jasmonate Signaling at Two Different Steps

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causative agent of bacterial wilt in many plants. To identify R. solanacearum effectors that suppress pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) in plants, we transiently expressed R. solanacearum RS1000 effectors in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves and evaluated their ability to suppress the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) triggered by flg22. Out of the 61 effectors tested, 11 strongly and five moderately suppressed the flg22-triggered ROS burst. Among them, RipE1 shared homology with the Pseudomonas syringae cysteine protease effector HopX1. By yeast two-hybrid screening, we identified jasmonate-ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins, which are transcriptional repressors of the jasmonic acid (JA) signaling pathway in plants, as RipE1 interactors. RipE1 promoted the degradation of JAZ repressors and induced the expressions of JA-responsive genes in a cysteine-protease-activity-dependent manner. Simultaneously, RipE1, similarly to the previously identified JA-producing effector RipAL, decreased the expression level of the salicylic acid synthesis gene that is required for the defense responses against R. solanacearum. The undecuple mutant that lacks 11 effectors with a strong PTI suppression activity showed reduced growth of R. solanacearum in Nicotiana plants. These results indicate that R. solanacearum subverts plant PTI responses using multiple effectors and manipulates JA signaling at two different steps to promote infection