Long-read genome assembly of the Japanese parasitic wasp Copidosoma floridanum (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae).

Copidosoma floridanum is a cosmopolitan species and an egg-larval parasitoid of the Plusiine moth. C. floridanum has a unique development mode called polyembryony, in which over two thousand genetically identical embryos are produced from a single egg.

A highly contiguous genome assembly of red perilla (Perilla frutescens) domesticated in Japan.

Perilla frutescens (Lamiaceae) is an important herbal plant with hundreds of bioactive chemicals, among which perillaldehyde and rosmarinic acid are the two major bioactive compounds in the plant. The leaves of red perilla are used as traditional Kampo medicine or food ingredients. However, the medicinal and nutritional uses of this plant could be improved by enhancing the production of valuable metabolites through the manipulation of key enzymes or regulatory genes using genome editing technology.

Black tea extract and theaflavin derivatives affect the pharmacokinetics of rosuvastatin by modulating organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 2B1 activity.

Theaflavins (TFs) are derived from black tea, an important source of dietary polyphenols. Although the potential interactions between dietary polyphenols and drugs have been demonstrated through in vitro and in vivo studies, little information is available concerning the influence of TFs on drug disposition. Organic anion transporting polypeptide 2B1 (OATP2B1) is expressed in human enterocytes and plays a role in the intestinal absorption of numerous drugs.

Performance of mice in discrimination of liquor odors: behavioral evidence for olfactory attention.

We examined performance of mice in discrimination of liquor odors by Y-maze behavioral assays. Thirsty mice were initially trained to choose the odor of a red wine in the Y-maze. After successful training (>70% concordance for each trained mouse), the individual mice were able to discriminate the learned red wine from other liquors, including white wine, rosé wine, sake, and plum liqueur.

Identification of 3beta,5beta-tetrahydroprogesterone, a progesterone metabolite, and its stimulatory action on preoptic neurons in the avian brain.

We have demonstrated recently that the quail brain possesses the cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (cytochrome P450scc) and 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Delta(5)-Delta(4)-isomerase (3beta-HSD) and produces pregnenolone, pregnenolone sulfate and progesterone from cholesterol. The present study was therefore conducted to investigate progesterone metabolism in the brain of adult male quails. Employing biochemical techniques combined with HPLC and TLC analyses, the conversion of progesterone to 3beta,5beta-tetrahydroprogesterone (3beta,5beta-THP) via 5beta-dihydroprogesterone (5beta-DHP) was found in the brain.