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.

Physiological and genetic characterization of rice nitrogen fixer PGPR isolated from rhizosphere soils of different crops

Abstract: We aimed to identify plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria that could be used to develop a biofertilizer for rice. To obtain plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, rhizosphere soils from different crops (rice, wheat, oats, crabgrass, maize, ryegrass, and sweet potato) were inoculated to rice plants. In total, 166 different bacteria were isolated and their plant growth-promoting traits were evaluated in terms of colony morphology, indole-3-acetic acid production, acetylene reduction activity, and phosphate solubilization activity. Moreover, genetic analysis was carried out to evaluate their phylogenetic relationships based on 16S rRNA sequence data. Strains of Bacillus altitudinis, Pseudomonas monteilii, and Pseudomonas mandelii formed associations with rice plants and fixed nitrogen. A strain of Rhizobium daejeonense showed nitrogen fixation activity in an in vitro assay and in vivo. Strains of B. altitudinis and R. daejeonense derived from rice rhizosphere soil, strains of P. monteilii and Enterobacter cloacae derived from wheat rhizosphere soil, and a strain of Bacillus pumilus derived from maize rhizosphere soil significantly promoted rice plant growth. These methods are effective to identify candidate species that could be developed as biofertilizers for target crops.

Inhibition of glutamine synthetase and quantitative changes of free amino acids in shoots of bialaphostreated japanese Barny and Millet

Abstract: 食用ビエ茎葉部から抽出したグルタミン合成酵素 (GS) に対して, ビアラホスは0.3～3mMの範囲では阻害作用を示さなかったが, インタクトの植物に散布処理した場合, 顕著なGS活性の阻害が認められた. 一方, ビアラホスの代謝物のL-AMPBはそれらの両方でGS活性を阻害した. したがってビアラホスは植物体内で代謝され, L-AMPBになってGSを阻害したと考えられる. ビアラホスを散布処理した食用ビエ茎葉の遊離アミノ酸量を測定したところ, 15種中12種で増加が認められた. 一方, 処理後24～48時間でグルタミンの顕著な減少が認められた. グルタミンの減少が殺草作用の原因であることが考えられたので, ビアラホスをグルタミンとともに散布処理したところ, ビアラホス単独に比べて体内グルタミン量は増加したが, 殺草作用の強さは変化しなかった. したがって, グルタミンの減少は殺草作用の第一義的な要因ではないと考えられる.

Which side of the π-macrocycle plane of (bacterio)chlorophylls is favored for binding of the fifth ligand?

Abstract: Reported crystallographic data and calculated molecular models indicated that chlorophyll (Chl) a and bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a tend to bind the fifth ligand on the side of the macrocycle where the C132-(R)-methoxycarbonyl moiety protrudes (denoting the ‘back’ side). The crystal structures of 34 photosynthetic proteins possessing (B)Chl cofactors revealed that most of Chl a and BChl a (and b) are coordinated by any peptidyl residue (e.g., histydyl-imidazolyl group), peptidyl backbone or water from the ‘back’ side. Almost all the cofactors that bind a water molecule as the fifth ligand in these proteins have a ‘back’ configuration. Theoretical model calculations for methyl chlorophyllide a (MeChlid a) and methyl bacteriochlorophyllide a (MeBChlid a) bound to an imidazole molecule indicated that the ‘back’ side is energetically favored for the ligand binding. These results are consistent with the fact that ethyl chlorophyllide a (EtChlid a) dihydrate crystal consists of the ‘back’ complex. The modeling also showed that both removal and stereochemical inverse of the C132-methoxycarbonyl group affect the relative stability between the ‘back’ and ‘face’ complexes. The effect of the C132-moiety on the choice of the macrocycle side for the ligand binding is discussed in relation to the function of P700.

The evaluation of the stability of Ni/MgO catalysts for the gasification of lignin in supercritical water

Abstract: The lignin gasification in supercritical water with 20 wt.% Ni/MgO catalyst showed high catalytic performance, however, the deactivation of catalyst was observed when this catalyst was reused successively three times. The used catalyst was characterized by BET, XRD, TPR, CO chemical adsorption techniques, TPO and TEM observation, and the reasons of deactivation were discussed in detail. When the mixture of Ni/MgO catalyst and THF insolubles obtained in the previous run was used as a catalyst for the next run, the carbon yield of gas products considerably dropped due to the presence of char-like carbonaceous products and the formation of Mg(OH) 2 phase. Moreover, the deactivation of catalyst was also observed even after used catalyst was regenerated by oxidation at 1023 K for 1 h and reduction at 1173 K for 1 h. The decrease in Ni metal surface area of catalyst treated by oxidation and reduction probably caused catalyst deactivation. The deactivation of catalyst during reuse test with Ni/MgO catalyst occurred regardless of regeneration treatments.