Region specificity of rectus femoris muscle for force vectors in vivo.

To examine the region specificity within the rectus femoris (RF) for knee extension and hip flexion force directions, three force components around the ankle were measured during intramuscular electrical stimulation applied to six parts of the RF: a proximal and medial part, a proximal and lateral part, a middle and medial part, a middle and lateral part, a distal and medial part, and a distal and lateral part. As a result, the exerted force directions in all of the subjects were variable in all regions, and the proximal region of the RF was the dominant contributor to the hip flexion moment. In addition, the force in the lateral region of the RF, rather than that in the medial region, denoted the lateral direction. These results suggest that divergent regions of muscle fibers within the RF are responsible for different functions in determining the force direction

Genome Analysis Revives a Forgotten Hybrid Crop Edo-dokoro in the Genus Dioscorea

忘れられた作物「えどどころ」の起原 --ゲノム解析が明らかにする青森県三八上北地域に残る栽培イモの歴史--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.A rhizomatous Dioscorea crop “Edo-dokoro” was described in old records of Japan, but its botanical identify has not been characterized. We found that Edo-dokoro is still produced by four farmers in Tohoku-machi of Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Rhizomes of Edo-dokoro are a delicacy to the local people and are sold in the markets. Morphological characters of Edo-dokoro suggest its hybrid origin between the two species, D. tokoro and D. tenuipes. Genome analysis revealed that Edo-dokoro is likely originated by hybridization of a male D. tokoro to a female D. tenuipes, followed by a backcross with a male plant of D. tokoro. Edo-dokoro is a typical minor crop possibly maintained for more than 300 years but now almost forgotten from the public. We hypothesize that there are many such uncharacterized genetic heritages passed over generations by small scale farmers that await serious scientific investigation for future use and improvement by using modern genomics information

Biometric assessment of deep-sea vent megabenthic communities using multi-resolution 3D image reconstructions

This paper describes a method to survey the distribution of megabenthos over multi-hectare regions of the seafloor. Quantitative biomass estimates are made by combining high-resolution 3D image reconstructions, used to model spatial relationships between representative taxa, with lower-resolution reconstructions taken over a wider area in which the distribution of larger predatory animals can be observed. The method is applied to a region of the Iheya North field that was the target of scientific drilling during the IODP Expedition 331 in 2010. An area of 2.5 ha was surveyed 3 years and 4 months after the site was drilled. More than 100,000 organisms from 6 taxa were identified. The visible effects of drilling on the distribution of megabenthos were confined to a 20 m radius of the artificially created hydrothermal discharges, with the associated densities of biomass lower than observed in nearby naturally discharging areas

Genome analyses reveal the hybrid origin of the staple crop white Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata)

西アフリカの主食作物ギニアヤムの起源を解明 --ギニアヤムはサバンナと熱帯雨林に生育する野生種の雑種起源--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-12-11.White Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) is an important staple tuber crop in West Africa. However, its origin remains unclear. In this study, we resequenced 336 accessions of white Guinea yam and compared them with the sequences of wild Dioscorea species using an improved reference genome sequence of D. rotundata. In contrast to a previous study suggesting that D. rotundata originated from a subgroup of Dioscorea praehensilis, our results suggest a hybrid origin of white Guinea yam from crosses between the wild rainforest species D. praehensilis and the savannah-adapted species Dioscorea abyssinica. We identified a greater genomic contribution from D. abyssinica in the sex chromosome of Guinea yam and extensive introgression around the SWEETIE gene. Our findings point to a complex domestication scenario for Guinea yam and highlight the importance of wild species as gene donors for improving this crop through molecular breeding

Disentangling the complex gene interaction networks between rice and the blast fungus identifies a new pathogen effector

Studies focused solely on single organisms can fail to identify the networks underlying host–pathogen gene-for-gene interactions. Here, we integrate genetic analyses of rice (Oryza sativa, host) and rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe oryzae, pathogen) and uncover a new pathogen recognition specificity of the rice nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat protein (NLR) immune receptor Pik, which mediates resistance to M. oryzae expressing the avirulence effector gene AVR-Pik. Rice Piks-1, encoded by an allele of Pik-1, recognizes a previously unidentified effector encoded by the M. oryzae avirulence gene AVR-Mgk1, which is found on a mini-chromosome. AVR-Mgk1 has no sequence similarity to known AVR-Pik effectors and is prone to deletion from the mini-chromosome mediated by repeated Inago2 retrotransposon sequences. AVR-Mgk1 is detected by Piks-1 and by other Pik-1 alleles known to recognize AVR-Pik effectors; recognition is mediated by AVR-Mgk1 binding to the integrated heavy metal-associated (HMA) domain of Piks-1 and other Pik-1 alleles. Our findings highlight how complex gene-for-gene interaction networks can be disentangled by applying forward genetics approaches simultaneously to the host and pathogen. We demonstrate dynamic coevolution between an NLR integrated domain and multiple families of effector proteins

THE SUB-MILLIMETER WAVE SPECTROSCOPY OF MONODUTERATED AMIDOGEN RADICAL (NHD)

Author Institution: Department of Environmental Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, 274-8510, Japan; Department of Physics, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama, 930-8555, JapanThe amidogen radical, NH$_{2}$ is one of the basically significant triatomic molecules in molecular spectroscopy and interstellar chemistry, quantum chemistry and so on. In 1990s, the NH$_{2}$ radical was detected in Sgr B2., \textbf{416}, 183 (1993).} The monoduterated species, NHD radical, could be observed in interstellar clouds in the future. Since NHD is light molecule, the important transitions appear in the terahertz region. However, pervious report is limited to about 500 GHz. , \textbf{107}, 22 (1997).} \par In this study, the pure rotational spectrum of NHD radical in the ground state ($\tilde{X^{2}}A^{\prime\prime}$) was observed in sub-millimeter wave region by frequency modulated sub-millimeter wave spectrometer at Toho University. This radical were produced by a DC-glow discharge through NH$_{3}$ and D$_{2}$ mixture at around 220K. So far, 7$_{2,6}$-6$_{3,3}$ and 3$_{1,2}$-3$_{0,3}$ of NHD lines were measured. We plan to measure terahertz transitions and report its analysis

Polymeric micelle of a3 b-type lactosome as a vehicle for targeting meningeal dissemination

Polymeric micelle of the A₃B-type lactosome comprising (poly(sarcosine))₃-b-poly(l-lactic acid) was labeled with ¹¹¹In. The ¹¹¹In-labeled A₃B-type lactosome was administered to the model mice bearing meningeal dissemination and bone metastasis at mandible. With single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging, the meningeal dissemination was identified successfully by ¹¹¹In-labeled A₃B-type lactosome, which was superior to ²⁰¹TlCl in regard of the imaging contrast. The ¹¹¹In-labeled A₃B-type lactosome was also potential in imaging selectively of bone metastasis at mandible, whilst a nonspecific imaging of the whole bone was obtained by the SPECT imaging using ⁹⁹mTc-HMDP. The polymeric micelle of the A₃B-type lactosome was therefore found to be effective as a vehicle of ¹¹¹In to be targeted to meningeal dissemination and bone metastasis

MILLIMETER AND SUBMILLIMETER-WAVE SPECTRUM OF AMINOACETONITRILE (NH2_{2}CH2_{2}CN)

Author Institution: Department of Environmental Science, Toho University, 2-2-1 Miyama, Funabashi, 274-8510, Japan; Department of Physics, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama, 930-8555, JapanAminoacetonitrile (NH$_{2}$CH$_{2}$CN) draws an attention with respect to a synthesis of amino acid in interstellar space, as it is considered to be a direct precursor of the simplest amino acid, glycine. Recently the molecule was detected toward SgrB2(N) \&\textit{A}, 482, 179 (2008)}, in which spectral line frequencies are predicted on the basis of the previous millimeter-wave study, 143, 180 (1990)}. We have measured pure rotational spectrum of aminoacetonitrile in the millimeter and the submillimeter-wave region. About 300 spectral lines including both a-type and b-type transitions were recorded up to 661 GHz, and centrifugal distortion constants up to the octic term were precisely determined. We had to reinvestigate most of the b-type transition lines due to wrong assignments in the previous study. The updated frequency catalogue of the aminoacetonitrile are now accurate enough for astronomically search up to 1000 GHz

Terahertz spectroscopy of methanimine and its isotopologs

Context. Methanimine (CH2NH) is a simple molecule composed of methylene and imine. The molecule has been detected toward the Galactic center, star-forming regions, circumstellar envelopes, and other galaxies since 1973. In previous studies, the rest frequency of methanimine has been measured for normal species up to the 650-GHz region, but its 13CH2NH, CH2 15NH, and CH2ND isotopologs were limited to the 100-GHz region. Aims. If a rotational temperature of 100 K is assumed for methanimine, the highest intensity falls at approximately 1.5 THz. In addition to normal methanimine, the 13CH2NH, CH2 15NH, and CH2ND isotopologs in their ground-vibrational states were observed in the frequency range of 120–1600 GHz to provide accurate rest frequency information. Based on this study, the calculated rest frequencies below 2 THz should be sufficiently precise and support observations using all ALMA and Herschel/HIFI observational bands. Methods. Methanimine was generated by pyrolysis of diaminoethane (DAE) vapor at 850 °C. 13CH2NH and CH2 15NH isotopologs were measured with their natural abundance, and deuterization of DAE was performed by mixing normal DAE with deuterated water, D2O, and then pyrolyzed. This gives the deuterated isotopolog of methanimine, CH2ND. Spectral measurements were performed by using the 23 kHz source-frequency modulated terahertz spectrometer at Toho University. Results. Both a- and b-type transitions up to 1.6 THz for the three isotopologs and the normal species were measured. Rotational and centrifugal distortion constants for the three isotopologs were accurately determined. For normal species (CH2NH), both electric quadrupole and nuclear spin-rotation coupling constants for nitrogen nucleus were determined, while for the 13CH2NH and CH2ND species, only electric quadrupole-coupling constants for nitrogen nucleus were determined. Conclusions. Our spectral line frequencies are suitable for a future astronomical search for these isotopologs of methanimine. The 1σ frequency accuracy up to 2 THz is lower than 100 kHz