Distribution of mecA-harboring staphylococci in healthy mares     

Yasuda R  Kawano J  Matsuo E  Masuda T  Shimizu A  Anzai T  Hashikura S 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2002,64(9):821-827

The prevalence of staphylococci that harbor the mecA gene responsible for methicillin resistance was examined in healthy breeding mares. Staphylococci often cause diseases of horses such as metritis, keratitis, and abscess. Methicillin-resistant staphylococci would make antibiotic treatments ineffective, so it may be significant to know the distribution of mecA-harboring staphylococci in mares. Isolation of mecA-harboring staphylococci was achieved from nares and pasterns of 100 mares in Hokkaido, Japan. From 13% of the mares, mecA-harboring staphylococci, including 15 isolates of Staphylococcus sciuri and 3 of Staphylococcus lentus, were isolated. Isolates of S. sciuri were found to be genetically polyclonal by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. These isolates produced no PCase and showed low or no resistance to beta-lactam and other classes of antibiotics. Distribution of staphylococcal species and levels of antibiotic resistance were found to be different between isolates from the present mares and those previously reported from riding-horses. Antibiotic pressure may lead to these differences. In addition, it appears that mecA-harboring S. sciuri may be native to horses.  相似文献   

Sarcocystis sp. from cattle slaughtered in Japan     

Saito M  Kubo M  Itagaki H 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2000,62(11):1209-1211

Sarcocystis sp. was detected from cattle slaughtered in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The cysts were 3,400-4,400 x 198-238 microm in size and had the thick cyst wall which was 7 to 10 microm thick and provided with finger-like villar protrusions. The protrusions were 8-9.5 x 2-2.5 microm in size and had microtubules in the core.  相似文献   

Defense Mechanism of Rice Plant to Respiratory Inhibition by a Promising Candidate Blasticide, SSF126     

Akira Mizutani  Nobuo Miki  Kenkichi Nanba 《Pesticide biochemistry and physiology》1998,60(3):187

A new candidate systemic rice blasticide, SSF126, dose-dependently inhibited NADH oxidation by submitochondrial particles from rice roots. However, oxidation by the root submitochondrial particles was much less susceptible to SSF126 compared to that by submitochondrial particles from mycelial cells ofPyricularia grisea, a pathogen causing rice blast. Interestingly, SSF126 did not completely suppress the respiration by intact rice roots, and the respiratory activity of the roots recovered from inhibition time-dependently even in the presence of SSF126 at concentrations sufficient to fully block oxidation by the submitochondrial particles. This recovery was not due to selective extrusion of SSF126 from the roots, but to switching from the cytochrome pathway to the alternative cyanide-resistant respiratory pathway. In immunoblots of the alternative oxidase, high molecular mass species were detected in the mitochondria from rice roots in addition to low molecular mass species. Quantification of high and low molecular mass species revealed an increase in the amount of a protein corresponding to a 36-kDa species equivalent to a decrease in the amount of a protein corresponding to a 72-kDa species following a 5-h incubation with SSF126. This conversion of the alternative oxidase to the low molecular mass species in the mitochondria was correlated with the respiratory recovery found in intact rice roots, suggesting that the low molecular mass species is the active form of the alternative oxidase and the high molecular mass species is the inactive form. These results suggest that rice plants can block the severe injury caused by limiting the cytochrome pathway by SSF126 through utilization of the alternative pathway promoted by the interconversion of the alternative oxidase protein.  相似文献   

The relation between pathogenicity and plaque size of Getah virus Kanagawa strain in suckling mice     

T Hohdatsu  N Takahasi  S Ide  H Yamagishi  H Saito  Y Fujisaki  H Koyama 《Nippon juigaku zasshi. The Japanese journal of veterinary science》1990,52(3):519-526

The relation among biological properties, particularly pathogenicity for suckling mice, and plaque size was studied in four virus strains: Getah virus strain Kanagawa; two strains obtained by plaque cloning of the Kanagawa strain, Getah Kanagawa SP (G-K-SP) strain which forms small plaques (SP) only and strain G-K-LP which forms large plaques (LP) only; and strain Haruna which forms SP only. There were no marked differences among the four strains in serological properties, growth curves and sensitivity to pH, trypsin and temperature. Strain G-K-LP showed higher pathogenicity for suckling mice than strain G-K-SP. However, the pathogenicity of strain Haruna, which forms SP only, was as high as that of strain G-K-LP. Some of the clones in SP of strain Kanagawa kill all mice in 5 to 6 days after inoculation while the others required 9 to 11 days or longer before causing death. The present study showed that the pathogenicity of Getah viruses shortly after being isolated from the field, such as the Kanagawa strain, is different between large and small plaques, and even among small plaques, at least in suckling mice, and that the pathogenicity has no relation to plaque size.  相似文献   

A Markov chain approach to crop yield forecasting     

J.H. Matis  T. Saito  W.E. Grant  W.C. Iwig  J.T. Ritchie 《Agricultural Systems》1985,18(3):171-187

This study proposes a methodology for forecasting crop yields at intermediate times in the growing season using Markov chain theory. A Markov chain is constructed, based on historical data, to provide forecast distributions of crop yield for various crop and soil moisture condition classes at selected times prior to harvest. Expected yield and the associated standard error are obtained for each condition class. The methodology is compared to a regression approach in which the independent variables are the various crop and soil moisture conditions. The Markov chain approach requires less stringent assumptions and provides more information than the regression approach. However, the potential loss of precision in the forecast using this approach requires separate evaluation for each application. A data base created by the CERES-Maize model, which simulates the growth and development of a corn crop, is used to demonstrate the development of the forecast yield distributions using the Markov chain approach.  相似文献   

Electroencephalogram of Japanese Black calves affected with cerebrocortical necrosis     

M Suzuki  K Sitizyo  T Takeuchi  T Saito 《Nippon juigaku zasshi. The Japanese journal of veterinary science》1990,52(5):1077-1087

Electroencephalogram (EEG) examinations were carried out on three Japanese Black calves (1, 2 and 14 week old) affected with cerebrocortical necrosis (CCN) in order to investigate the relationship between EEG abnormalities and encephalic lesions. Some neurologic signs such as circling, astasia, convulsion and opisthotonus appeared in two of the calves (case 1 and 3). The other calf (case 2), however, showed no neurologic signs. The EEGs obtained from the two calves (case 1 and 2), in the awake state, showed constant high amplitude (50-160 microV) and slow (1-4 Hz) activity (HASA). One of these (case 1) had necrosis mainly in the right hemisphere and showed a markedly asymmetric sharp wave. On the other hand, in case 3, the EEG showed diffuse lowered activity, and almost flat in some leads. A decrease in fast activity observed in common with all three animals. These findings suggest that one of the characteristic EEG patterns of CCN patient may be HASA and decreased fast activity. Histopathologic diagnoses of the calves were CCN in various degrees. The degrees of abnormality of the EEGs seemed to accord with the seriousness of the lesions. Because the EEG obtained from the calf having no obvious neurologic signs showed an abnormal pattern, it was considered that EEG examinations in the early stages of disorders are valuable to diagnose CCN.  相似文献   

Interactive effects of leaf age and self-shading on leaf structure,photosynthetic capacity and chlorophyll fluorescence in the rain forest tree,Dryobalanops aromatica     

Ishida A  Uemura A  Koike N  Matsumoto Y  Hoe AL 《Tree physiology》1999,19(11):741-747

In the tropical canopy tree, Dryobalanops aromatica Gaertn. f., upper-canopy leaves (UL) develop under sunlit conditions but are subjected to self-shading within the crown as they age. In contrast, lower-canopy leaves (LL) are exposed to uniform dim light conditions throughout their life span. By comparing leaf morphology and physiology of UL and LL, variations in leaf characteristics were related to leaf age and self-shading. Mass-based chlorophyll (chl) concentration and the chlorophyll/nitrogen (chl/N) ratio were lower and the chl a/b ratio was higher in UL than in LL. In UL, the chl/N ratio gradually increased and the chl a/b ratio gradually decreased with leaf aging, whereas these ratios remained unchanged with leaf age in LL. The effective quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) (DeltaF/F(m)') at a given irradiance remained unchanged with leaf age in LL, whereas DeltaF/F(m)' changed with leaf age in UL. These data indicate N reallocation within the leaves from carbon fixation components to light harvesting components and a dynamic regulation of photochemical processes of PSII in response to increased self-shading of UL. Despite the difference in light environment with leaf age between UL and LL, maximum photosynthetic rates and nitrogen-use efficiency decreased with leaf aging in both UL and LL. Constancy in the chl/N ratio with leaf age in LL indicated that the decrease in photosynthetic capacity was caused by effects other than shading, such as leaf aging. We conclude that N reallocation and acclimation of PSII to self-shading occurred even in mature leaves, whereas the change in photosynthetic capacity with leaf age was more conservative.  相似文献   

Variations in transpiration rate and leaf cell turgor maintenance in saplings of deciduous broad-leaved tree species common in cool temperate forests in Japan     

Saito T  Tanaka T  Tanabe H  Matsumoto Y  Morikawa Y 《Tree physiology》2003,23(1):59-66

To clarify mechanisms underlying variation in transpiration rate among deciduous broad-leaved tree species, we measured diurnal changes in stomatal conductance (gs) and leaf water potential, and calculated the maximum transpiration rate (Emax), leaf-specific hydraulic conductance (K(s-l)) and difference between the soil water potential and the daily minimum leaf water potential (Psis - Psi(l,min)). Pressure-volume (P-V) measurements were made on leaves. Saplings of eight broad-leaved tree species that are common in Japanese cool temperate forests were studied. Maximum transpiration rate varied significantly among species. There was a statistically significant difference in Psis - Psi(l,min), but not in K(s-l). Species with large Emax also had large Psis - Psi(l,min) and gs. The results of the P-V analyses showed that species with a large Psis - Psi(l,min) maintained turgor even at low leaf water potentials. The similar daily minimum leaf pressure potentials (Psip) across all eight species indicate that Psip values below this minimum are critical. Based on these results, we suggest that the leaf cell capacity for turgor maintenance strongly affects Psis - Psi(l,min) and consequently Emax via stomatal regulation.  相似文献   

The process of decline of an endangered tree species,Pinus armandii Franch. var.amamiana (Koidz.) Hatusima, on the southern slope of Mt. Hasa-dake in Yaku-shima Island     

Seiichi Kanetani  Mitsuteru Akiba  Katsunori Nakamura  Koichiro Gyokusen  Akira Saito 《Journal of Forest Research》2001,6(4):307-310

The process of decline of an endangered tree species,Pinus armandii var.amamiana, was monitored on the southern slope of Mt. Hasa-dake in Yaku-shima Island from 1994 to 1998. There are 163 trees ofP. armandii var.amamiana over 1.3 m in height. They are distributed on steep ridges and rocks with a thin soil layer mostly consisting of friable granite. During the monitoring period, 21 trees ofP. armandii var.amamiana died and the mortality rate was 12.9%. Dead trees were categorized into three types: standing, uprooted and landslide. The uprooted- and landslide-typed dead trees were found only after a severe typhoon struck Yaku-shima Island. This suggests that the combination of fragile site conditions and severe typhoons play an important role in the process of decline ofP. armandii var.amamiana. The standing-typed dead trees were presumed to have been killed by pine wilt disease, accounting for 71.4% of the dead trees. However,Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, the cause of pine wilt disease, was not detected from any of the wood chips or branch samples from the standing-typed dead trees ofP. armandii var.amamiana. This might indicate that some factor(s) other than pine wilt disease could be responsible for the standing-typed death ofP. armandii var.amamiana in natural habitats. A part of this paper was presented at the 109th Meeting of the Japanese Forestry Society.  相似文献   

Plus tree of Cryptomeria japonica D. Don with a heterozygous male-sterility gene     

Maki Saito  Hideaki Taira 《Journal of Forest Research》2005,10(5):391-394

To find plus tree clones of Cryptomeria japonica that are heterozygous for a male-sterility gene (Aa), we crossed a homozygous male-sterile tree (aa) with 63 clones. Male sterility in this case is controlled by a recessive allele at a single gene locus and is expressed only in homozygotes. All F₁ seedlings obtained by crossing the male-sterile mother tree and 62 out of the 63 clones produced pollen. In contrast, F₁ seedlings obtained from the crossing between the male-sterile mother tree and a plus tree clone, Ohara 13, produced 64 male-sterile individuals and 52 fertile individuals. The segregation ratio fitted the expected 1 : 1 ratio according to a chi-square test. These results clearly demonstrate that the Ohara 13 clone is heterozygous for a male-sterility gene.  相似文献