Geographical, Seasonal, and Growth-Related Dynamics of Gut Microbiota in a Grapevine Pest, Apolygus spinolae (Heteroptera: Miridae).

A number of insects are associated with gut symbiotic microorganisms, wherein symbiotic partners play pivotal metabolic roles for each other such as nutrient supplementation, diet degradation, and pesticide detoxification. Despite the ecological and evolutionary importance of gut microbial communities in insects, their diversity and dynamics remain unclear in many species. The green plant bug Apolygus spinolae, a notorious grapevine pest in Japan, damages grape shoots and severely reduces grape berry yield and quality.

The Effect of Hokkaido Red Wines on Vascular Outcomes in Healthy Adult Men: A Pilot Study.

Moderate red wine intake has been associated with lower cardiovascular mortality, due in part to the intake of polyphenols and anthocyanins, whose content can vary from varietal and year of harvest. This study assessed the vascular effects in response to a single intake of 2015 and 2018 Zweigelt red wines from Hokkaido, Japan. Healthy men were randomly assigned to consume 240 mL each of a red wine, or a sparkling white grape juice as a control in a randomized three-arm cross-over design with a 7 day washout between arms.

Insight into the population dynamics of pathogenic bacteria causing grapevine crown gall in snowfall areas: snow cover protects the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria.

Grapevine crown gall (GCG) is a significant bacterial disease caused by tumorigenic (TAV) and is prevalent worldwide. TAV infects grapevines through wounds such as freezing injuries. Although grapevines typically avoid being wounded under snow cover, GCG occurs in many commercial vineyards in snowy regions.

PANI sensor for monitoring the oxidative degradation of wine using cyclic voltammetry.

Redox species in wine are altered by pH and some wines are easily degraded due to oxidation and sulfur dioxide (SO) reduction. There is a need for quick, easy, simple, and economical methodologies for pH and wine-oxidized products (acetaldehyde) analysis. This study aimed to measure pH and degradation of wines that were electrochemically analyzed using polyaniline (PANI) sensor.

Prevalence and Characterization of Gentamicin Resistance Genes in Escherichia coli Isolates from Beef Cattle Feces in Japan.

Gentamicin is an important antibiotic for the treatment of opportunistic infections in the clinical field. Gentamicin-resistant bacteria have been detected in livestock animals and can be transmitted to humans through the food supply or direct contact. We have previously revealed that gentamicin-resistant Escherichia coli are distributed at a comparatively high rate from beef cattle in Japan, but few studies have focused on the molecular epidemiology of gentamicin-resistant bacteria.

Origin of Pathogens of Grapevine Crown Gall Disease in Hokkaido in Japan as Characterized by Molecular Epidemiology of Strains.

Crown gall is a globally distributed and economically important disease of grapevine and other important crop plants. The causal agent of grapevine crown gall is tumorigenic (Ti) strains that harbor a tumor-inducing plasmid (pTi). The epidemic of grapevine crown gall has not been widely elucidated.

Characterization and proposed spontaneous deletion mechanism of AVR-Pik locus in Pyricularia oryzae.

In phytopathogenic fungi, a mutation in the avirulence gene can lead to the breakdown of resistance in the host plant. The nucleotide sequences of the AVR-Pik locus in the strain Ina168 and its spontaneous mutant Ina168m95-5 of Pyricularia oryzae were determined. An AVR-Pik spontaneous deletion mechanism of Ina168m95-5, including multiple homologous recombination events involving repetitive transposable elements, is proposed.

A Peptidoglycan Amidase Mutant of Burkholderia insecticola Adapts an L-form-like Shape in the Gut Symbiotic Organ of the Bean Bug Riptortus pedestris.

Bacterial cell shapes may be altered by the cell cycle, nutrient availability, environmental stress, and interactions with other organisms. The bean bug Riptortus pedestris possesses a symbiotic bacterium, Burkholderia insecticola, in its midgut crypts. This symbiont is a typical rod-shaped bacterium under in vitro culture conditions, but changes to a spherical shape inside the gut symbiotic organ of the host insect, suggesting the induction of morphological alterations in B.

Function of , a homolog, in appressorium formation and cAMP signal transduction in .

A novel homolog of , a global regulatory gene in filamentous fungi, was identified from . A deletion mutant of the homolog () exhibited lowered intracellular cAMP levels, and decreased appressorium formation on non-host surface; the decrease was recovered using exogenous cAMP and IBMX, indicating that deletion affected the cAMP signaling pathway.

Double-Stranded Structure of the Polyinosinic-Polycytidylic Acid Molecule to Elicit TLR3 Signaling and Adjuvant Activity in Murine Intranasal A(H1N1)pdm09 Influenza Vaccination.

Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (PIC) is a potent double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) adjuvant useful in intranasal influenza vaccination. In mice, the intensity and duration of immune responses to PIC correlated with the double-stranded chain length. A rational method to avoid PIC chain extension in PIC production is to use multiple short poly(I) molecules and one long poly(C) molecule for PIC assembly.

Plasmid Sequences of Four Large Plasmids Carrying Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Beef Cattle in Japan.

is a common reservoir for antimicrobial resistance genes that can be easily transformed to possess multidrug resistance through plasmid transfer. To understand multidrug resistance plasmids, we report the plasmid sequences of four large plasmids carrying a number of genes related to antimicrobial resistance that were found in strains isolated from beef cattle.

Conductive Iron Oxides Promote Methanogenic Acetate Degradation by Microbial Communities in a High-Temperature Petroleum Reservoir.

Supplementation with conductive magnetite particles promoted methanogenic acetate degradation by microbial communities enriched from the production water of a high-temperature petroleum reservoir. A microbial community analysis revealed that Petrothermobacter spp. (phylum Deferribacteres), known as thermophilic Fe(III) reducers, predominated in the magnetite-supplemented enrichment, whereas other types of Fe(III) reducers, such as Thermincola spp.

Comparative cytology, physiology and transcriptomics of Burkholderia insecticola in symbiosis with the bean bug Riptortus pedestris and in culture.

In the symbiosis of the bean bug Riptortus pedestris with Burkholderia insecticola, the bacteria occupy an exclusive niche in the insect midgut and favor insect development and reproduction. In order to understand how the symbiotic bacteria stably colonize the midgut crypts and which services they provide to the host, we compared the cytology, physiology, and transcriptomics of free-living and midgut-colonizing B. insecticola.

Novel methods for nucleotide length control in double-stranded polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid production using uneven length components.

Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (PIC), a double-stranded RNA that induces innate immunity in mammals, is a candidate immunopotentiator for pharmaceuticals. The potency and adverse effects of PIC are strongly correlated with the nucleotide length, and the inability to precisely control the length in PIC production limits its practical use. Length extension during the annealing process is the major factor underlying the lack of control, but tuning the annealing conditions is insufficient to resolve this issue.

Isolation of Previously Uncultured Slow-Growing Bacteria by Using a Simple Modification in the Preparation of Agar Media.

Most microorganisms living in the environment have yet to be cultured, owing at least in part to their slow and poor propagation properties and susceptibility to oxidative stress. Our previous studies demonstrated that a simple modification in the preparation of agar media, i.e.

Burkholderia insecticola sp. nov., a gut symbiotic bacterium of the bean bug Riptortus pedestris.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming, motile bacterium, designated strain RPE64, was isolated from the gut symbiotic organ of the bean bug Riptortus pedestris, collected in Tsukuba, Japan, in 2007. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that this strain belongs to the Burkholderia glathei clade, exhibiting the highest sequence similarity to Burkholderia peredens LMG 29314 (100 %), Burkholderia turbans LMG 29316 (99.52 %) and Burkholderia ptereochthonis LMG 29326 (99.

Diversity of lactic acid bacteria from Miang, a traditional fermented tea leaf in northern Thailand and their tannin-tolerant ability in tea extract.

The microbiota of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in thirty-five samples of Miang, a traditional fermented tea leaf product, collected from twenty-two different regions of eight provinces in upper northern Thailand was revealed through the culture-dependent technique. A total of 311 presumptive LAB strains were isolated and subjected to clustering analysis based on repetitive genomic element-PCR (rep-PCR) fingerprinting profiles. The majority of the strains belonged to the Lactobacillus genera with an overwhelming predominance of the Lb.

Restoration of the growth of Escherichia coli under K-deficient conditions by Cs incorporation via the K transporter Kup.

Biological incorporation of cesium ions (Cs) has recently attracted significant attention in terms of the possible applications for bioremediation of radiocesium and their significant roles in biogeochemical cycling. Although high concentrations of Cs exhibit cytotoxicity on microorganisms, there are a few reports on the promotive effects of Cs on microbial growth under K-deficient conditions. However, whether this growth-promoting effect is a common phenomenon remains uncertain, and direct correlation between growth promotion and Cs uptake abilities has not been confirmed yet.

Fluorescent reporter analysis revealed the timing and localization of AVR-Pia expression, an avirulence effector of Magnaporthe oryzae.

In order to facilitate infection, the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae secretes an abundance of proteins, including avirulence effectors, to diminish its host's defences. Avirulence effectors are recognized by host resistance proteins and trigger the host's hypersensitive response, which is a rapid and effective form of innate plant immunity. An understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of such interactions is crucial for the development of strategies to control disease.

Burkholderia of Plant-Beneficial Group are Symbiotically Associated with Bordered Plant Bugs (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoroidea: Largidae).

A number of phytophagous stinkbugs (order Heteroptera: infraorder Pentatomomorpha) harbor symbiotic bacteria in a specific midgut region composed of numerous crypts. Among the five superfamilies of the infraorder Pentatomomorpha, most members of the Coreoidea and Lygaeoidea are associated with a specific group of the genus Burkholderia, called the "stinkbug-associated beneficial and environmental (SBE)" group, which is not vertically transmitted, but acquired from the environment every host generation. A recent study reported that, in addition to these two stinkbug groups, the family Largidae of the superfamily Pyrrhocoroidea also possesses a Burkholderia symbiont.

Structural characterization reveals the keratinolytic activity of an arthrobacter nicotinovorans protease.

Elevated cadmium (Cd) concentrations in fishery byproducts are an environmental concern, that might be reduced by enzymatic removal and adsorption of the contaminants during recycling the byproducts as animal food. We cloned the gene for Arthrobacter nicotinovorans serine protease (ANISEP), which was isolated from the hepatopancreas of the Japanese scallop (Patiopecten yessoensis) and has been found to be an effective enzyme for Cd(II) removal. The gene is 993 bp in length and encodes 330 amino acids, including the pre (1-30) and pro (31-111) sequences.

Heterologous production, purification, and immunodetection of Magnaporthe oryzae avirulence protein AVR-Pia.

The avirulence gene AVR-Pia of Magnaporthe oryzae, which induces a hypersensitive reaction in rice cultivars containing the resistance gene Pia, was expressed in Escherichia coli. AVR-Pia protein was collected as inclusion bodies, denatured, and refolded. Finally, recombinant AVR-Pia (rAVR-Pia) protein was purified by column chromatography.

Characterization of multi-antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli Isolated from beef cattle in Japan.

The emergence of multiple-antibiotic-resistance bacteria is increasing, which is a particular concern on livestock farms. We previously isolated 1,347 antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) Escherichia coli strains from the feces of beef cattle on 14 Japanese farms. In the present study, the genetic backgrounds and phylogenetic relationships of 45 AMR isolates were characterized by the chromosome phylotype, AMR phenotype, AMR genotype, and plasmid type.

Draft Genome Sequence of Methanol-Utilizing Methylophilus sp. Strain OH31, Isolated from Pond Sediment in Hokkaido, Japan.

Methylophilus sp. strain OH31 was isolated from the sediment of the Ohno pond at Hokkaido University. Strain OH31 utilizes methanol as its energy source.