Synergistic defect in 60S ribosomal subunit assembly caused by a mutation of Rrs1p, a ribosomal protein L11-binding protein, and 3′-extension of 5S rRNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Rrs1p, a ribosomal protein L11-binding protein, has an essential role in biogenesis of 60S ribosomal subunits. We obtained conditionally synthetic lethal allele with the rrs1-5 mutation and determined that the mutation is in REX1, which encodes an exonuclease. The highly conserved leucine at 305 was substituted with tryptophan in rex1-1. The rex1-1 allele resulted in 3′-extended 5S rRNA. Polysome analysis revealed that rex1-1 and rrs1-5 caused a synergistic defect in the assembly of 60S ribosomal subunits. In vivo and in vitro binding assays indicate that Rrs1p interacts with the ribosomal protein L5–5S rRNA complex. The rrs1-5 mutation weakens the interaction between Rrs1p with both L5 and L11. These data suggest that the assembly of L5–5S rRNA on 60S ribosomal subunits coordinates with assembly of L11 via Rrs1p

Cellular Polyamine Catalogues of the Five Classes of the PhylumProteobacteria: Distributions of Homospermidine within the ClassAlphaproteobacteria, Hydroxyputrescine within the ClassBetaproteobacteria, Norspermidine within the ClassGammaproteobacteria, and Spermine within the ClassesDeltaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria

Cellular polyamines extracted from reclassified or newly validated 47 alphaproteobacteria, 46 betaproteobacteria, 96 gammaproteobacteria, 12 deltaproteobacteria and 10 epsilonproteobacteria were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Homospermidine was widely distributed within the class Alphaproteobacteria, however, homospermidine-dominant type, spermidine-dominant type and homospermidine/spermidinedominant type were found and the three triamine profiles were genus-specific. The all genera belonging to the class Betaproteobacteria, ubiquitously contained putrescine and 2- hydroxyputrescine. Triamines were absent in almost betaproteobacteria. Many genera, including psychrophilic species, of the class Gammaproteobacteria, contained putrescine and spermidine as the major polyaminenes. Diaminopropane and norspermidine were selectively distributed in several genera of the class Gammaproteobacteria. Spermidine was the major polyamine in the classes Deltaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria. Spermine was found in some thermophiles within Betaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria, suggesting that the occurrence of spermine correlate to their thermophily. Additional these polyamine catalogues serve for the classification of the phylum Proteobacteria, as a chemotaxonomic marker

Participatory art activities increase aalivary oxytocin secretion of ASD children

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) occurs in 1 in 160 children worldwide. Individuals with ASD tend to be unique in the way that they comprehend themselves and others, as well as in the way that they interact and socialize, which can lead to challenges with social adaptation. There is currently no medication to improve the social deficit of children with ASD, and consequently, behavioral and complementary/alternative intervention plays an important role. In the present pilot study, we focused on the neuroendocrinological response to participatory art activities, which are known to have a positive effect on emotion, self-expression, sociability, and physical wellbeing. We collected saliva from 12 children with ASD and eight typically developed (TD) children before and after a visual art-based participatory art workshop to measure the levels of oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in a wide range of social behaviors. We demonstrated that the rate of increase in salivary oxytocin following art activities in ASD children was significantly higher than that in TD children. In contrast, the change rate of salivary cortisol after participatory art activities was similar between the two groups. These results suggest that the beneficial effects of participatory art activities may be partially mediated by oxytocin release, and may have therapeutic potential for disorders involving social dysfunction

DNA markers based on retrotransposon insertion polymorphisms can detect short DNA fragments for strawberry cultivar identification

In this study, DNA markers were developed for discrimination of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa L.) cultivars based on retrotransposon insertion polymorphisms. We performed a comprehensive genomic search to identify retrotransposon insertion sites and subsequently selected one retrotransposon family, designated CL3, which provided reliable discrimination among strawberry cultivars. Through analyses of 75 strawberry cultivars, we developed eight cultivar-specific markers based on CL3 retrotransposon insertion sites. Used in combination with 10 additional polymorphic markers, we differentiated 35 strawberry cultivars commonly cultivated in Japan. In addition, we demonstrated that the retrotransposon-based markers were effective for PCR detection of DNA extracted from processed food materials, whereas a SSR marker was ineffective. These results indicated that the retrotransposon-based markers are useful for cultivar discrimination for processed food products, such as jams, in which DNA may be fragmented or degraded

Abnormal Cystatin C Levels in Two Patients with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome

Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by central obesity, mental impairment, rod-cone dystrophy, polydactyly, hypogonadism in males, and renal abnormalities. The causative genes have been identified as BBS1-14. In the Western countries, the prevalence of this disease ranges from 1/13,500 to 1/160,000, while only a few Japanese patients have been reported in the English-language literature. The incidence of renal dysfunction or anomalies in previous reports varies considerably ranging from ∼20% to universal occurrence. We here report that two Japanese patients who had BBS with normal BUN and creatinine levels had elevated levels of cystatin C, a sensitive marker of glomerular filtration rate. A urine albumin level increased only in the elder patient. Thus, cystatin C may be useful for detecting renal abnormalities in patients with an apparent normal renal function. Because this disease is diagnosed by accumulation of symptoms, such a sensitive marker might help early diagnosis of BBS

Bilateral Cochlear Implantation for Children in Nagasaki, Japan

Objectives: The number of patients with bilateral cochlear implant (CI) has gradually increased as patients and/or parents recognize its effectiveness. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the efficacy of 29 bilateral CI out of 169 pediatric CI users, who received auditory-verbal/oral habilitation at our hearing center. Methods: We evaluated the audiological abilities 29 Japanese children with bilateral CIs including wearing threshold, word recognition score, speech discrimination score at 1 m from front speaker (SP), 1 m from second CI side SP, speech discrimination score under the noise (S/N ratio=80 dB sound pressure level [SPL]/70 dB SPL, 10 dB) at 1 m from front SP, word recognition score under the noise (S/N ratio=80 dB SPL/70 dB SPL, 10 dB) at 1 m from front SP. Results: Binaural hearing using bilateral CI is better than first CI in all speech understanding tests. Especially, there were significant differences between the results of first CI and bilateral CI on SDS at 70 dB SPL (P=0.02), SDS at 1 m from second CI side SP at 60 dB SPL (P=0.02), word recognition score (WRS) at 1 m from second CI side SP at 60 dB SPL (P=0.02), speech discrimination score (SDS) at 1 m from front SP under the noise (S/N=80/70; P=0.01) and WRS at 1 m from front SP under the noise (S/N=80/70; P=0.002). At every age, a second CI is very effective. However, the results of under 9 years old were better than of over 9 years old on the mean SDS under the noise (S/N=80/70) on second CI (P=0.04). About use of a hearing aid (HA) in their opposite side of first CI, on the WRS and SDS under the noise, there were significant differences between the group of over 3 years and the group of under 10 months of HA non user before second CI. Conclusion: These results may show important binaural effectiveness such as binaural summation and head shadow effect. Bilateral CI is very useful medical intervention for many children with severe-to-profound hearing loss in Japan as well as elsewhere