Publications by authors named "T Kunihiro"
The genus Jannaschia is one of the representatives of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria, which is a strictly aerobic bacterium, producing a photosynthetic pigment bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a. However, a part of the genus Jannaschia members have not been confirmed the photosynthetic ability. The partly presence of the ability in the genus Jannaschia could suggest the complexity of evolutionary history for anoxygenic photosynthesis in the genus, which is expected as gene loss and/or horizontal gene transfer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStrain KK2020170, a Gram-stain negative, yellow colony-forming bacterium, was isolated from surface seawater sampled in Kojima Bay, Okayama, Japan. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene revealed that strain KK2020170 belongs to the genus Flavobacterium, with Flavobacterium haoranii LQY-7 (98.1% similarity) being its closest relative, followed by Flavobacterium sediminis MEBiC07310 (96.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Hayabusa2 mission was tasked with returning samples from the C-complex asteroid Ryugu (1999 JU3), in order to shed light on the formation, evolution and composition of such asteroids. One of the main science objectives was to understand whether such bodies could have supplied the organic matter required for the origin of life on Earth. Here, a review of the studies concerning the organic matter within the Ryugu samples is presented.
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- Recent studies show that the gut microbiome influences health conditions through its metabolites, like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and bile acids (BAs).
- A new preservation solution called "Metabolokeeper" was developed to stabilize fecal microbiota and their metabolites at room temperature, making sample handling easier.
- Tests with 20 healthy adults demonstrated that microbiome profiles and SCFA levels remained stable for 28 days at room temperature with Metabolokeeper, while BAs stayed stable for 7 days, highlighting its potential for improving gut health research.
α-Hydroxy acids are prebiotic monomers that undergo dehydration synthesis to form polyester gels, which assemble into membraneless microdroplets upon aqueous rehydration. These microdroplets are proposed as protocells that can segregate and compartmentalize primitive molecules/reactions. Different primitive aqueous environments with a variety of salts could have hosted chemistries that formed polyester microdroplets.
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