Using monitoring data gathered by volunteers to predict the potential distribution of the invasive alien bumblebee Bombus terrestris     

Taku Kadoya  Hiroshi S. Ishii 《Biological conservation》2009,142(5):1011-31

We explored the use of ecological niche-modeling from data compiled in a participatory program of thousands of volunteer observers to quantitatively evaluate the spatial risk of invasion by the alien species Bombus terrestris. B. terrestris has been commercially introduced to Japan for the pollination of greenhouse tomato crops since 1991. Recently, naturalized populations of this species have spread rapidly, particularly in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Two niche-based models were constructed from independent data sets (presence-absence and presence-only data sets) and were used to validate one another. Both models performed well and indicated that the data compiled by participatory programs were useful for generating predictive models of the potential distribution of this invasive species. The models also revealed that the potential distribution of B. terrestris is negatively related to the proportion of woodland area, which corresponds to the known biology of this species. In contrast, the effect of the number of colonies introduced for tomato pollination (represented by tomato production) did not significantly affect the distribution of B. terrestris, indicating that its spread is now entering a phase of dispersal from established feral populations and that primary dispersal from commercial colonies in greenhouses is no longer a limiting factor for the distribution of this invasive species.  相似文献   

Clone identification in Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus subgenus Cerasus) cultivars using nuclear SSR markers     

Shuri Kato  Asako Matsumoto  Kensuke Yoshimura  Toshio Katsuki  Kojiro Iwamoto  Yoshiaki Tsuda  Shogo Ishio  Kentaro Nakamura  Kazuo Moriwaki  Toshihiko Shiroishi  Takashi Gojobori  Hiroshi Yoshimaru 《Breeding Science》2012,62(3):248-255

Numerous cultivars of Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus subgenus Cerasus) are recognized, but in many cases they are difficult to distinguish morphologically. Therefore, we evaluated the clonal status of 215 designated cultivars using 17 SSR markers. More than half the cultivars were morphologically distinct and had unique genotypes. However, 22 cultivars were found to consist of multiple clones, which probably originate from the chance seedlings, suggesting that their unique characteristics have not been maintained through propagation by grafting alone. We also identified 23 groups consisting of two or more cultivars with identical genotypes. Most members of these groups were putatively synonymously related and morphologically identical. However, some of them were probably derived from bud sport mutants and had distinct morphologies. SSR marker analysis provided useful insights into the clonal status of the examined Japanese flowering cherry cultivars and proved to be a useful tool for cultivar characterization.  相似文献   

Association of Verticillium dahliae and Verticillium longisporum with Chinese cabbage yellows and their distribution in the main production areas of Japan     

Kentaro Ikeda  Shinpei Banno  Ken Watanabe  Masashi Fujinaga  Hideki Ogiso  Hiroshi Sakai  Hitoshi Tanaka  Shizue Miki  Satoshi Shibata  Toshimasa Shiraishi  Makoto Fujimura 《Journal of General Plant Pathology》2012,78(5):331-337

Chinese cabbage yellows caused by Verticillium dahliae and V. longisporum is one of the most economically important diseases in Japan. Verticillium isolates from infected Chinese cabbage in Japan were identified as V. dahliae and V. longisporum based on morphological characteristics and newly developed molecular genotyping methods using group I intron of 18S rDNA, mitochondrial-SSU rDNA and cob gene. Although the two species were equally virulent to Chinese cabbage in the greenhouse, V. longisporum was more virulent in the field compared with V. dahliae. Among the 67 Verticillium isolates from Chinese cabbage, 53 were V. longisporum and considered to be the major pathogen. The isolation frequency of V. longisporum was 98?% in Ibaraki and eastern Gunma where Chinese cabbage was cropped from autumn to winter. In contrast, the frequency was 48?% in Nagano and north to west Gunma where the plant was cropped in cool summer and highland conditions and the rests were V. dahliae. This is the first report to show the different geographical distribution of V. longisporum and V. dahliae in Chinese cabbage production area of Japan.  相似文献   

Propagation of slow slip leading up to the 2011 M(w) 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake     

Kato A  Obara K  Igarashi T  Tsuruoka H  Nakagawa S  Hirata N 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2012,335(6069):705-708

Many large earthquakes are preceded by one or more foreshocks, but it is unclear how these foreshocks relate to the nucleation process of the mainshock. On the basis of an earthquake catalog created using a waveform correlation technique, we identified two distinct sequences of foreshocks migrating at rates of 2 to 10 kilometers per day along the trench axis toward the epicenter of the 2011 moment magnitude (M(w)) 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake in Japan. The time history of quasi-static slip along the plate interface, based on small repeating earthquakes that were part of the migrating seismicity, suggests that two sequences involved slow-slip transients propagating toward the initial rupture point. The second sequence, which involved large slip rates, may have caused substantial stress loading, prompting the unstable dynamic rupture of the mainshock.  相似文献   

Acute Phase Pulmonary Responses to a Single Intratracheal Spray Instillation of Magnetite (Fe3O4) Nanoparticles in Fischer 344 Rats     

Yukie Tada  Norio Yano  Hiroshi Takahashi  Katsuhiro Yuzawa  Hiroshi Ando  Yoshikazu Kubo  Akemichi Nagasawa  Akio Ogata  Dai Nakae 《Journal of toxicologic pathology》2012,25(4):233-239

Iron nanomaterials are of considerable interest for application to nanotechnology-related fields including environmental catalysis, biomedical imaging, drug delivery and hyperthermia, because of their superparamagnetic characteristics and high catalytic abilities. However, information about potential risks of iron nanomaterials is limited. The present study assessed pulmonary responses to a single intratracheal spray instillation of triiron tetraoxide nanoparticles (magnetite) in rats. Ten-week-old male and female Fischer 344 rats (n=5/group) were exposed to a single intratracheal spray instillation of 0 (vehicle), 5.0, 15.0 or 45.0 mg/kg body weight (BW) of magnetite. After 14 days, the rats were sacrificed, and biological consequences were investigated. The lung weights of the 15.0 and 45.0 mg/kg BW male and female groups were significantly higher than those of the control groups. The lungs of treated rats showed enlargement and black patches originating from the color of magnetite. The typical histopathological changes in the lungs of the treated rats included infiltration of macrophages phagocytosing magnetite, inflammatory cell infiltration, granuloma formation and an increase of goblet cells in the bronchial epithelium. The results clearly show that instilled magnetite causes foreign body inflammatory and granulating lesions in the lung. These pulmonary responses occur in a dose-dependent manner in association with the increase in lung weight.  相似文献   

Ehrlichia canis infection in two dogs that emigrated from endemic areas     

Baba K  Itamoto K  Amimoto A  Kitagawa K  Hiraoka H  Mizuno T  Sato H  Okuda M 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2012,74(6):775-778

Two dogs, emigrated from Zambia and China to Japan, were diagnosed with Ehrlichia canis infection. Both cases had thrombocytopenia, non-regenerative anemia, and hypergloblinemia with polyclonal gammopathy. Case 1 had ataxia of the hind limbs. Severe meningitis was revealed by magnetic resonance imaging examination. Intracytoplasmic inclusions were observed in mononuclear cells of cerebrospinal fluid. Case 2 had a history of bilateral epistaxis, and severe pancytopenia was noticed in complete blood count. Diagnosis was finally achieved by nested polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis. Thus, even in non-endemic areas, E. canis infection should be included in the differential diagnosis of clinically ill dogs that emigrated from endemic areas.  相似文献   

X-irradiation Removes Endogenous Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) and Increases Germline Transmission of Donor PGCs in Chimeric Chickens     

Nakamura Y  Usui F  Miyahara D  Mori T  Ono T  Kagami H  Takeda K  Nirasawa K  Tagami T 《The Journal of reproduction and development》2012,58(4):432-437

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are embryonic precursors of germline cells with potential applications in genetic conservation, transgenic animal production and germline stem cell research. These lines of research would benefit from improved germline transmission of transplanted PGCs in chimeric chickens. We therefore evaluated the effects of pretransplant X-irradiation of recipient embryos on the efficacy of germline transmission of donor PGCs in chimeric chickens. Intact chicken eggs were exposed to X-ray doses of 3, 6 and 9 Gy (dose rate = 0.12 Gy/min) after 52 h of incubation. There was no significant difference in hatching rate between the 3-Gy-irradiated group and the nonirradiated control group (40.0 vs. 69.6%), but the hatching rate in the 6-Gy-irradiated group (28.6%) was significantly lower than in the control group (P<0.05). No embryos irradiated with 9 Gy of X-rays survived to hatching. X-irradiation significantly reduced the number of endogenous PGCs in the embryonic gonads at stage 27 in a dose-dependent manner compared with nonirradiated controls. The numbers of endogenous PGCs in the 3-, 6- and 9-Gy-irradiated groups were 21.0, 9.6 and 4.6% of the nonirradiated control numbers, respectively. Sets of 100 donor PGCs were subsequently transferred intravascularly into embryos irradiated with 3 Gy X-rays and nonirradiated control embryos. Genetic cross-test analysis revealed that the germline transmission rate in the 3-Gy-irradiated group was significantly higher than in the control group (27.5 vs. 5.6%; P<0.05). In conclusion, X-irradiation reduced the number of endogenous PGCs and increased the germline transmission of transferred PGCs in chimeric chickens.  相似文献   

Therapeutic potential of canine bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) induced chronic liver dysfunction mouse model     

Haraguchi T  Tani K  Takagishi R  Oda Y  Itamoto K  Yamamoto N  Terai S  Sakaida I  Nakazawa H  Taura Y 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2012,74(5):607-611

Regenerative medicine using bone marrow cells is an attractive therapy for the cure of patients with severe liver disease. Here, we show the therapeutic potential of canine bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in mouse models of CCl(4)-induced chronic liver dysfunction. We used two different models for xenotransplantation, nude mice and cyclosporine A (CSA) immunosuppressed mice. Serum parameters from a standard liver panel were not improved following transplantation. However, fibrotic liver lesions with severe inflammation were decreased in CCl(4)-treated CSA mice following BMSC transplantation. Effective migration of transplanted canine BMSCs was limited to persistently injured liver in CCl(4)-treated CSA mice, where they may be effective in resolving inflammatory fibrotic lesions. These results suggest that canine BMSCs are an effective cell source for liver regeneration.  相似文献   

Digestibility for dogs and cats of meat and bone meal processed at two different temperature and pressure levels*     

de-Oliveira LD  de Carvalho Picinato MA  Kawauchi IM  Sakomura NK  Carciofi AC 《Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition》2012,96(6):1136-1146

This study evaluated the effect of two rendering processes applied to meat and bone meal (MBM) production, associated or not with extrusion, by measuring diet apparent total tract digestibility of dogs and cats, and true digestibility of amino acids (AA) by cecectomized roosters. Four diets were evaluated, with the main protein source as follows: conventional and extruded MBM; high temperature and pressure (HPT; 135 °C, 3 bar, 20 min) and extruded MBM; conventional non‐extruded MBM; HPT non‐extruded MBM. Nutrient digestibility and food metabolizable energy content were evaluated with dogs and cats by the method of total collection of faeces. True AA digestibility was evaluated by a precision‐fed assay with cecectomized roosters. The evaluated MBM had high‐ash content. The HPT process of MBM increased the digestibility of crude protein of the diets by cats, and the true digestibility of several AA by cecectomized roosters. The extrusion process did not modify the apparent total tract nutrient digestibility of MBM by dogs and their amino acid digestibility by roosters, but increased the digestibility of the dietary protein by cats. Dogs fed HPT MBM presented a higher urea post‐prandial response, suggesting reductions in bioavailability and protein synthesis from absorbed AA.  相似文献   

Factors associated with antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in zoo animals     

Ishihara K  Hosokawa Y  Makita K  Noda J  Ueno H  Muramatsu Y  Ueno H  Mukai T  Yamamoto H  Ito M  Tamura Y 《Research in veterinary science》2012,93(2):574-580

Factors associated with the carriage of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli isolates were analysed among zoo animals. An association was observed between selection of amoxicillin as the first-line therapy and a significantly higher percentage of resistance to ampicillin (54.5%) from 11 animals treated with antimicrobials, compared with isolates from 32 untreated animals (9.4%). In addition, the percentage resistance to kanamycin (36.4%), gentamicin (27.3%), trimethoprim (27.3%) and tetracycline (63.6%) from 11 treated animals was significantly higher than those from 32 untreated animals (3.1%, 3.1%, 3.1% and 25%, respectively), although these antimicrobials were rarely used. All kanamycin-, gentamicin- and trimethoprim-resistant isolates and more than half of the tetracycline-resistant isolates from treated animals were also resistant to ampicillin. Co-resistance to other antimicrobials with ampicillin was suggested to contribute to an increasing of resistance towards antimicrobials that were rarely administered. The present investigation revealed an association of antimicrobial treatment with the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria among zoo animals.  相似文献