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.

Neverland regulates embryonic moltings through the regulation of ecdysteroid synthesis in the water flea Daphnia magna, and may thus act as a target for chemical disruption of molting

Abstract: Embryo development in arthropods is accompanied by a series of moltings. A cladoceran crustacean Daphnia magna molts three times before reaching first instar neonate during embryogenesis. Previous studies argued ecdysteroids might regulate D. magna embryogenesis. However, no direct evidence between innate ecdysteroids fluctuation and functions has been forthcoming. Recently, we identified genes involved in ecdysteroid synthesis called, neverland (neverland1 and neverland 2) and shade and in the ecdysteroid degradation (Cyp18a1). To understand the physiological roles of ecdysteroids in D. magna embryos, we performed expression and functional analyzes of those genes. Examining innate ecdysteroids titer during embryogenesis showed two surges of ecdysteroids titer at 41 and 61 h after oviposition. The first and second embryonic moltings occurred at each ecdysteroid surge. Expression of neverland1 and shade began to increase before the first peak in ecdysteroid. Knockdown of neverland1 or shade by RNAi technique caused defects in embryonic moltings and subsequent development. The ecdysteroids titer seemingly decreased in nvd1-knowckdown embryos. Knockdown of Cyp18a1 resulted in early embryonic lethality before the first molting. Our in situ hybridization analysis revealed that nvd1 was prominently expressed in embryonic gut epithelium suggesting the site for an initial step of ecdysteroidgenesis, a conversion of cholesterol to 7-dehydrocholesterol and possibly for ecdysone production. Taken together, de novo ecdysteroid synthesis by nvd1 in the gut epithelial cells stimulates molting, which is indispensable for D. magna embryo development. These findings identify neverland as a possible target for chemicals, including various pesticides that are known to disrupt molting, development and reproduction. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characterization of a Matrix Protein in the Gastroliths of the Crayfish Procambarus clarkii

Abstract: As a first step in understanding the calcification mechanism, a matrix protein in the gastrolith of the crayfish Procambarus clarkii was purified and sequenced. The protein was insoluble in acid, but after trypsin digestion, it dissolved in 6M urea. The trypsin-digested protein dissolved in urea solution was purified by reversed-phase HPLC and designated gastrolith matrix protein fragment. The fragment had a molecular weight of 9658 and a blocked amino terminus. It had tandemly repeated units not reported before at the central part of the sequence, with each unit being Gly-Ser-X1-X2-Phe as the most typical sequence. This peptide was found associated with chitin, a main component of the organic matrix.

RNA-Seq using bulked recombinant inbred line populations uncovers the importance of brassinosteroid for seed longevity after priming treatments.

Abstract: Seed priming is a commercially used technique for improving seed performance including germination. However, the treatment sometimes reduces seed longevity as a side effect, limiting the storable period or longevity of the seeds. To overcome this problem, molecular mechanisms involved in the loss of seed longevity during priming were analyzed using natural variations of Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that the Est-1 accession retained longevity for longer after priming compared to the reference accession Col-0. QTL analysis using 279 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the Est-1 × Col-0 detected three QTL regions associated with the loss of seed longevity during priming. Bulked transcriptome analysis (RNA-Seq with bulked RIL populations) revealed that genes related to brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis/signaling and cell wall modification were highly expressed in primed seeds with shorter longevity. After priming, BR-deficient mutants cyp85a1/a2 and det2 showed significantly longer longevity than the wild type (WT). Moreover, tetrazolium staining indicated that mutant seed coats were less permeable after priming than those of WT. We suggest that the loss of seed longevity in primed seed is due to increased seed coat permeability, which is positively regulated, at least partly, via BR signaling.

Contribution of quorum sensing to the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in pressure ulcer infection in rats.

Abstract: The impact of quorum sensing (QS) in in vivo models of infection has been widely investigated, but there are no descriptions for ischemic wound infection. To explore the role of QS in Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the establishment of ischemic wound infection, we challenged a pressure ulcer model in rats with the PAO-1, PAO-1 derivatives ΔlasIΔrhlI and ΔlasRΔrhlR strains, which cannot induce the virulence factor under QS control, thus the reduced tissue destruction was expended in these mutant strains. However unexpectedly, on postwounding day 3, the inflammatory responses in the three groups were similarly severe and the numbers of bacteria in tissue samples did not differ among the three strains. Biofilm formation was immature in QS-deficient strains, defined by the absence of dense bacterial aggregates and extracellular polymeric substance, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The Pseudomonas aeruginosa QS signal, acylated homoserine lactone, was only quantified from wound samples in the PAO-1 group. The swimming and twitching motilities were significantly enhanced in the ΔlasRΔrhlR group compared with the PAO-1 group in vitro. A significantly larger wound area was correlated with the bacterial motility. The inflammation in the early phase of bacterial challenge to wounds with immature biofilm formation in the QS-deficient strains indicated that the role of QS was more crucial for the chronic phase than for the acute phase of infection. The present findings indicate a difference in the importance of QS in ischemic wound infections compared with other infection models.