Four new Pythium species from aquatic environments in Japan.

Four new species of Pythium s.str., namely Pythium utonaiense, Pythium brachiatum, Pythium biforme and Pythium junctum, were described based on their morphology and molecular phylogeny.

Nationwide multicenter study aimed at the establishment of common reference intervals for standardized clinical laboratory tests in Japan.

Background: The Japanese Association of Medical Technologists (JAMT) sought to establish common reference intervals (RIs) applicable nationwide in Japan for 27 serum constituent analytes for which certified reference materials are available and nine analytes frequently measured in routine tests. More than 100 laboratories certified for metrological traceability collaborated in the recruitment, sampling, and measurement of analytes for the establishment of RIs. No previous attempt has been made to establish RIs by such a large number of laboratories.

Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear rRNA genes and the intron-exon structures of the nuSSU rRNA gene in Dictyocatenulata alba (anamorphic Ascomycota).

Molecular phylogenies inferred from the nuclear small subunit rRNA gene (nuSSU), nuclear large subunit rRNA gene D1/D2 region (nuLSU), and ITS-5.8S rRNA gene (ITS) indicated that five cultures of the lichenized hyphomycete Dictyocatenulata alba isolated from Japan form a monophyletic clade with high bootstrap support, and a close relationship to the Ostropomycetidae (Lecanoromycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota). Insertion sequences were found in the nuSSU of all isolates [e.

Fungus symbionts colonizing the galleries of the ambrosia beetle Platypus quercivorus.

Isolations were made to determine the fungal symbionts colonizing Platypus quercivorus beetle galleries of dead or dying Quercus laurifolia, Castanopsis cuspidata, Quercus serrata, Quercus crispula, and Quercus robur. For these studies, logs from oak wilt-killed trees were collected from Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Fungi were isolated from the: (1) entrances of beetle galleries, (2) vertical galleries, (3) lateral galleries, and (4) the larval cradle of P.

RK-95113, a new angiogenesis inhibitor produced by Aspergillus fumigatus.

We found that the strain Aspergillus fumigatus var. fumigatus RK95-113 produced a new angiogenesis inhibitor, RK-95113. Spectroscopic analyses identified the structure of RK-95113 as a new fumagillin-related small molecule.