1-Butanol treatment enhances drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Abiotic stress is a major factor affecting crop productivity. Chemical priming is a promising strategy to enhance tolerance to abiotic stress. In this study, we evaluated the use of 1-butanol as an effectual strategy to enhance drought stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Contribution of Gamma-Aminobutyric Amino Acid and Free Amino Acids to Low-Salt Whole-Wheat Bread through the Addition of Spice Extracts-An Approach Based on Taste Quality.

Given the link between excessive salt consumption and hypertension, reducing salt levels in bread, an important staple food in Japan, is essential. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) has a salty taste-enhancing effect in vivo, and its production is influenced by the type of spice extract in vitro. However, the effects of spices on GABA levels, total free amino acid composition, and taste quality in whole-wheat bread remain unclear.

The Role of Intestinal Cytochrome P450s in Vitamin D Metabolism.

Vitamin D hydroxylation in the liver/kidney results in conversion to its physiologically active form of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)D]. 1,25(OH)D controls gene expression through the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR) mainly expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 24A1 is a catabolic enzyme expressed in the kidneys.

Enhanced decreases in rice evapotranspiration in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide under warmer environments.

A short period of exposure to elevated CO is known to decrease evapotranspiration via stomatal closure. Based on theoretical evaluation of a canopy transpiration model, we hypothesized that this decrease in the evapotranspiration of rice under elevated CO was greater under higher temperature conditions due to an increased sensitivity of transpiration to changes in CO induced by the greater vapour pressure deficit. In a temperature gradient chamber-based experiment, a 200 ppm increase in CO concentration led to 0.

Validation and determining an optimal cut-off score of the Infant Behavior Checklist for autism spectrum disorder.

Aim: Given the escalating prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the persistent paucity of child psychiatrists in Japan, and the need to prepare for unforeseen situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to establish a reliable screening tool. This study aims to validate the Infant Behavior Checklist (IBC) developed by Japanese experts and determine its appropriate cut-off score.

Methods: A total of 354 clinic-referred children, along with their caregivers, participated in this research.

Redefining awn development in rice through the breeding history of Japanese awn reduction.

The study challenges the conventional understanding of awn loss as a domestication syndrome, showing instead that many awned varieties continued to be widely grown in Japan until the early twentieth century and that selection for awn reduction was active at that time, demonstrating that awn loss is not a domestication syndrome but "a trait that emerged during crop improvement". Although selection for awnless mutants was carried out independently using different types of awned cultivars in the early twentieth century in Japan, awn loss was caused by the mutation in This suggests that a single mutant haplotype of was conserved in the genomes of different cultivars and subsequently selected within each line to meet the demand for awnless varieties. The study also conducts phylogenetic analyses of in 48 grass plants, revealing its unique involvement in awn formation in rice while potentially playing a different role in the domestication of other grass plants.

Distribution and Population Genetic Structure of the Hau Giang Medaka, , Along the East Coast of the Indochinese Peninsula.

The east coast of the Indochinese Peninsula is a well-known transition zone from subtropical to tropical systems, yet only a small number of studies have been conducted on the biogeography and phylogeography of aquatic organisms in this region. The Hau Giang medaka, , was originally described from the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam, and later reported also from southeastern Thailand, west of the Mekong Delta region. However, the species' full geographic range and population genetic structures remain unknown.

Involvement of α-klotho in growth hormone (GH) signaling.

Growth hormone (GH) exerts multiple effects on different organs directly or via its main mediator, insulin-like growth factor1 (IGF1). In this study, we focused on the novel relationship between GH action and the antiaging hormone α-klotho. Immunofluorescent staining of α-klotho was observed in the renal distal tubules and pituitary glands of somatostatin- and GH-positive cells in wild-type (WT) mice.

Swimming was associated with rhinitis and pollinosis in a duration-dependent manner.

Background: Previous studies have reported conflicting results regarding the effects of childhood swimming on respiratory allergic symptoms. We investigated the relationship between swimming and respiratory allergic symptoms in schoolchildren.

Methods: A questionnaire regarding participation in sports club activities and respiratory allergic symptoms in schoolchildren was distributed to the parents of all 6853 public school students (aged 6-14 years) in Omihachiman City, Shiga, Japan.

Fecal DNA analysis coupled with the sighting records re-expanded a known distribution of dugongs in Ryukyu Islands after half a century.

DNA analysis of large herbivore feces samples collected from seagrass beds at two distant sites (Irabu Island in Miyako Islands and Kushi in Okinawa Island) in the Ryukyu Islands proved that some of these feces were from dugongs, which had been treated in recent studies as extinct in this region since the last stranding of a deceased individual in 2019. In addition, local knowledge of sightings of animals thought to be dugongs and confirmed cases of dugong feeding trails since 2010 were compiled to estimate its recent distribution. This is the first scientific report on the presence of this mammal in the Ryukyu Islands within the last four years, and particularly in the Miyako Islands within the last half-century.

Straightforward Fabrication of Double Roughness Structures on a Microcrystalline Film of a Diarylethene Derivative.

Double roughness structure mimicking the surface of a lotus leaf was prepared using a newly synthesized diarylethene having a six-membered perfluorocyclohexene ring. The cubic-shaped crystals of the open-ring isomer, with sizes of approximately 7 μm, appeared immediately following solution casting. Upon UV irradiation, each cubic crystal was covered with needle-shaped crystals of the closed-ring isomer to form double roughness structures within 1 h.

Larger particle size distribution of environmental RNA compared to environmental DNA: a case study targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in zebrafish (Danio rerio) using experimental aquariums.

Environmental RNA (eRNA) analysis is conventionally expected to infer physiological information about organisms within their ecosystems, whereas environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis only infers their presence and abundance. Despite the promise of eRNA application, basic research on eRNA characteristics and dynamics is limited. The present study conducted aquarium experiments using zebrafish (Danio rerio) to estimate the particle size distribution (PSD) of eRNA in order to better understand the persistence state of eRNA particles.

Comparative evaluation for the performance of environmental DNA and RNA analyses targeting mitochondrial and nuclear genes from ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis).

Environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA and eRNA; collectively eNA) analyses have the potential for non-invasive and cost-efficient biomonitoring compared with traditional capture-based surveys. Although various types of eNA particles, including not only mitochondrial eDNA but also nuclear eDNA and their transcripts, are present in the water, performances of eNA detection and quantification have not yet been evaluated sufficiently across multiple mitochondrial and nuclear genes. We conducted a tank experiment with ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) to compare the detection sensitivity, yields per water sample, and quantification variability between replicates of each type of eNAs.

Root anatomical plasticity contributes to the different adaptive responses of two species to water-deficit and low-oxygen conditions.

The runner reed (Phragmites japonica ) is the dominant species on riverbanks, whereas the common reed (Phragmites australis ) thrives in continuously flooded areas. Here, we aimed to identify the key root anatomical traits that determine the different adaptative responses of the two Phragmites species to water-deficit and low-oxygen conditions. Growth measurements revealed that P .

Application of ethanol alleviates heat damage to leaf growth and yield in tomato.

Chemical priming has emerged as a promising area in agricultural research. Our previous studies have demonstrated that pretreatment with a low concentration of ethanol enhances abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis and cassava. Here, we show that ethanol treatment induces heat stress tolerance in tomato ( L.

Precise genetic engineering with transposon in plants.

Transposons are mobile genetic elements that can move to a different position within a genome or between genomes. They have long been used as a tool for genetic engineering, including transgenesis, insertional mutagenesis, and marker excision, in a variety of organisms. The transposon derived from the cabbage looper moth is one of the most promising transposon tools ever identified because has the advantage that it can transpose without leaving a footprint at the excised site.

Plant Molecular Phenology and Climate Feedbacks Mediated by BVOCs.

Climate change profoundly affects the timing of seasonal activities of organisms, known as phenology. The impact of climate change is not unidirectional; it is also influenced by plant phenology as plants modify atmospheric composition and climatic processes. One important aspect of this interaction is the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs), which link the Earth's surface, atmosphere, and climate.

Bright Fluorescent p-Phenylene-bridged Triarylmethyl Highly Stable Diradical.

Two units of highly stable luminescent triarylmethyl radical, (3,5-dichloro-4-pyridyl)bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)methyl radical (PyBTM), were bridged by p-phenylene linker. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of PyBTM-PhPyBTM was at most 0.4 % in various organic solvents.

Subatomic structure of orthorhombic thaumatin at 0.89 Å reveals that highly flexible conformations are crucial for thaumatin sweetness.

Thaumatin is a sweet-tasting protein that elicits a sweet taste at a threshold of approximately 50 nM. Structure-sweetness relationships in thaumatin suggest that the basicity of two amino acids residues, Arg82 and Lys67, are particularly responsible for sweetness. Using tetragonal crystals, our structural analysis suggested that flexible sidechain conformations of these two residues play an important role in sweetness.

Chemical structure and gelation characteristics of a purified gel derived from sword beans ().

Herein, a new method was developed to obtain a crude extract from sword beans at a higher extraction efficiency. The crude extract formed a gel at 8 °C, which melted at 70 °C, and lyophilization of the purified gel produced a powder that could be dissolved in distilled water at a concentration of 7 % (w/w) or less. A 3 % powder solution gelled at 12 °C and melted at 60 °C.

A comparative observational study of carbohydrate intake and continuous blood glucose levels in relation to performance in ultramarathon.

Ultra-endurance events have gained global participation, whereas the critical factors of competition results remain to be well elucidated. This study used a nutritional approach to evaluate the association of competition results with carbohydrate intake and blood glucose control during a 100-mile ultramarathon. This observational study was conducted in the 2021 LAKE BIWA 100, which covered 100 miles (169 km) and 10,500 m elevation.