Lunar soil and Zagami meteorite inhibit biosynthesis of itoic acid,a siderophore

Summary Lunar soil, Zagami meteorite, and Gorda Ridge ocean basalt inhibited the synthesis of iotic acid and coproporphyrin III in iron-deficientBacillus subtilis cultures. Synthetic ilmenite did not. The results indicated that the three natural samples served as sources of iron for the organism, but the ilmenite did not.     

Chemical behavior of conjugated polyenoic acids toward sulfuric acid. acid-catalyzed cyclization and successive rearrangement ofTrans-β-ionylidene crotonic acid

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine neuartige, säurekatalysierte Zyklisierung und Umlagerung an einer konjugierten Tetraencarbonsäure beschrieben.     

Isolation and characterization of a new hemagglutinin from the red algaGracilaria bursa-pastoris

Summary A new agglutinin has been isolated from the red algaGracilaria bursa-pastoris by affinity chromatography on a yeast mannan-Cellulofine column. This agglutinin was isolated as a monomeric glycoprotein with a relatively low molecular weight. It had an isoelectric point of 4.7 and contained large amounts of Gly, Asx and Glx. It agglutinated trypsin-treated rabbit erythrocytes at the low concentration of 30 ng/ml. The activity was inhibited only by glycoproteins bearing N-glycans. This agglutinin also showed mitogenic activity for mouse splenic lymphocytes.     

A genome-wide association study identifies common variants near LBX1 associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a pediatric spinal deformity affecting 2-3% of school-age children worldwide(1). Genetic factors have been implicated in its etiology(2). Through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and replication study involving a total of 1,376 Japanese females with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and 11,297 female controls, we identified a locus at chromosome 10q24.31 associated with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis susceptibility. The most significant SNP (rs11190870; combined P = 1.24 × 10(-19); odds ratio (OR) = 1.56) is located near LBX1 (encoding ladybird homeobox 1). The identification of this susceptibility locus provides new insights into the pathogenesis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.     

Time-lapse photography reveals the occurrence of unexpected bee-pollination in Calanthe izuinsularis,an endangered orchid endemic to the Izu archipelago

Calanthe izuinsularis is a rare, beautiful and fragrant orchid endemic to the Izu archipelago. Although it is known that mainland populations of closely related Calanthe species are pollinated by medium- to large-sized bees, it is likely that C. izuinsularis has been forced to alter its floral biology to attract alternative pollinators, as large-sized bees are rarely found on the Izu Islands. Indeed, the unusual floral characteristics of C. izuinsularis, which produces pale flowers that emit a strong and fragrant scent during the night, are considered the adaptation to a moth-pollinator syndrome. As expected, our time-lapse photography using a digital camera revealed that the inflorescences of C. izuinsularis were most frequently visited by nocturnal moths such as Noctuidae, Geometridae and Crambidae, which accounted for 50% of all insect visits (in terms of both the number of frames with captured visitors and the number of times visited). However, our study could not provide evidence of a pollinator shift towards moths because none of the moth species was observed with pollinaria. On the other hand, our study found that the pollinaria of C. izuinsularis could become attached to the mesothorax of the small-sized sweat bee Lasioglossum occidens. Therefore, our study suggests that C. izuinsularis is still somewhat dependent on bee pollination, while the orchid has changed its floral colouration and scent. The occurrence of bee-pollination in C. izuinsularis would provide an explanation for how the natural hybridisation between C. aristulifera, C. discolor and C. izuinsularis can occur.