Utsunomiya University

About: Utsunomiya University is a education organization based out in Utsunomiya, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Laser & Holography. The organization has 4139 authors who have published 6812 publications receiving 91975 citations. The organization is also known as: Utsunomiya daigaku.

Cosmic—Ray Deficit from the Directions of the moon and the Sun Detected with the Tibet Air Shower Array

Abstract: Data from the Tibet air-shower array were used to examine the cosmic-ray shadows of the Moon and the Sun at energies around 10 TeV. The shadowing effect was clearly observed at the $5.8\ensuremath{\sigma}$ level for the Moon, while the shadow of the Sun was found in the direction away from the Sun by 0.86\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to the west and 0.43\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to the south. The effect of the geomagnetic field has also been observed in the shadow of cosmic rays by the Moon. The observed deflection of the Sun's shadow is briefly discussed in connection with the effect of the magnetic fields between the Sun and the Earth. This is the first observation of the effects of such magnetic fields on the cosmic-ray shadow. The maximum-likelihood analysis of the Moon data set shows that the angular resolutions of the array for showers with its mode energies 7 and 35 TeV are 0.87${\mathrm{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}}_{\ensuremath{-}0.10\mathrm{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}}^{+0.13\mathrm{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}}$ and 0.54${\mathrm{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}}_{\ensuremath{-}0.08\mathrm{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}}^{+0.11\mathrm{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}}$, respectively.

Molecular analysis of the poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) synthase gene from a methylotrophic bacterium, Paracoccus denitrificans.

Abstract: A 3.6-kb EcoRI-SalI fragment of Paracoccus denitrificans DNA hybridized with a DNA probe carrying the poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) synthase gene (phaC) of Alcaligenes eutrophus. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this region showed the presence of a 1,872-bp open reading frame (ORF), which corresponded to a polypeptide with a molecular weight of 69,537. Upstream of the ORF, a promoter-like sequence was found. Escherichia coli carrying the fusion gene between lacZ and the ORF accumulated a level of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) that was as much as 20 wt% of the cell dry weight in the presence of beta-ketothiolase and acetoacetylcoenzyme A reductase genes of A. eutrophus. The ORF was designated phaCPd. A plasmid vector carrying the phaCPd9-9lacZ fusion gene downstream of the promoter-like sequence expressed beta-galactosidase activity in P. denitrificans. When a multicopy and broad-host-range vector carrying the ORF along with the promoter-like sequence was introduced into P. denitrificans, the PHA content in the cells increased by twofold compared with cells carrying only a vector sequence.

Strigolactones as an auxiliary hormonal defence mechanism against leafy gall syndrome in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract: Leafy gall syndrome is the consequence of modified plant development in response to a mixture of cytokinins secreted by the biotrophic actinomycete Rhodococcus fascians. The similarity of the induced symptoms with the phenotype of plant mutants defective in strigolactone biosynthesis and signalling prompted an evaluation of the involvement of strigolactones in this pathology. All tested strigolactone-related Arabidopsis thaliana mutants were hypersensitive to R. fascians. Moreover, treatment with the synthetic strigolactone mixture GR24 and with the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase inhibitor D2 illustrated that strigolactones acted as antagonistic compounds that restricted the morphogenic activity of R. fascians. Transcript profiling of the MORE AXILLARY GROWTH1 (MAX1), MAX2, MAX3, MAX4, and BRANCHED1 (BRC1) genes in the wild-type Columbia-0 accession and in different mutant backgrounds revealed that upregulation of strigolactone biosynthesis genes was triggered indirectly by the bacterial cytokinins via host-derived auxin and led to the activation of BRC1 expression, inhibiting the outgrowth of the newly developing shoots, a typical hallmark of leafy gall syndrome. Taken together, these data support the emerging insight that balances are critical for optimal leafy gall development: the long-lasting biotrophic interaction is possible only because the host activates a set of countermeasures—including the strigolactone response—in reaction to bacterial cytokinins to constrain the activity of R. fascians.