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Sechang Oh,1 Takashi Shida,1 Akemi Sawai,1 Tsuyoshi Maruyama,2 Kiyoshi Eguchi,2 Tomonori Isobe,1 Yoshikazu Okamoto,3 Noriko Someya,4 Kiyoji Tanaka,4 Emi Arai,1 Akiko Tozawa,5 Junichi Shoda1 1Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 2Department of Rehabilitation, Tsukuba University Hospital, 3Department of Diagnostic Radiology, 4Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 5Protea Japan Co Ltd, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan Background: While aerobic training is generally recommended as therapeutic exercise in guidelines, the effectiveness of resistance training has recently been reported in the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Acceleration training (AT) is a new training method that provides a physical stimulation effect on skeletal muscles by increasing gravitational acceleration with vibration. AT has recently been indicated as a component of medicine. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of AT in the management of NAFLD in obese subjects.Methods: A total of 18 obese patients with NAFLD who had no improvement in liver function test abnormalities and/or steatosis grade after 12 weeks of lifestyle counseling were enrolled in an AT program. These patients attended a 20-minute session of AT twice a week for 12 consecutive weeks.Results: During the AT program, the NAFLD patients showed a modest increase in the strength (+12.6%) and cross-sectional area (+3.1%) of the quadriceps, coupled with a significant reduction in intramyocellular lipids (−26.4%). Notably, they showed a modest reduction in body weight (−1.9%), abdominal visceral fat area (−3.4%), and hepatic fat content (−8.7%), coupled with a significant reduction in levels of aminotransferase (−15.7%), γ-glutamyltransferase (−14.4%), leptin (−9.7%), interleukin-6 (−26.8%), and tumor necrosis factor-α (−17.9%), and a significant increase of adiponectin (+8.7%). On a health-related quality of life survey, the patients showed an improvement in physical functioning (+17.3%), physical role (+9.7%), general health (+22.1), and social functioning (+6.0%).Conclusion: AT reduced hepatic and intramyocellular fat contents and ameliorated liver function test abnormalities in obese patients with NAFLD, which was coupled with improved physical function and body adiposity. AT is clinically beneficial for the management of NAFLD. Keywords: whole-body vibration, obesity, liver steatosis, adipokine, quality of life

The aim of this study was to determine whether autoregulation exerts similar effects in the ocular and cerebral vessels, which are both branches of the internal carotid artery. Ocular blood flow velocities, cerebral blood flow velocity and blood pressure were measured in 11 subjects during a 2-min resting period, static handgrip exercise (HG) and a cold pressor test (CPT). Blood velocity data for the superior and inferior temporal retinal arterioles (STRA and ITRA, respectively) and the retinal and choroidal vasculature (RCV) were obtained for 4 s during the measurement using laser speckle flowmetry. Mean blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (MCAVmean) was measured by transcranial Doppler ultrasound. The conductance index (CI) of each vessel was calculated by dividing blood flow by mean arterial pressure. Blood flow velocity in the RCV increased by 19 ± 9% from resting baseline level during the CPT (P < 0.05), while blood flow in the STRA, ITRA and MCAVmean did not. The CI of the MCA decreased. The RCV blood flow velocity, ITRA blood flow and MCAVmean increased by 8 ± 1, 9 ± 3 and 11 ± 4%, respectively, during the HG (P < 0.05). Conversely, STRA blood flow remained unchanged. The HG did not significantly change the CI in any of the vessels measured. These findings suggest that cerebral blood flow velocity was maintained during the CPT, but autoregulation does not work well in the RCV during the CPT and HG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the pattern of theNgene-mediated systemic hypersensitive response (HR), which was induced by tobacco mosaic virus upon temperature shift, and analyzed the distribution of the coat protein and the virus-encoded 126?kDa replicase protein (126?K protein) by immunoblot analysis. In the middle- and lower-positioned leaves, HR occurred in the advancing edge of the infected area, where we detected both the coat protein and the 126?K protein. In the areas between the main vein and the advancing edge of these leaves, we observed no HR and did not detect 126?K protein, though virus was present in these areas. In the upper-positioned mosaic leaves, patterns of the HR were different depending on the leaf age. In these mosaic leaves, the mechanism preventing the virus from invading dark green tissue seemed to be broken down in 8-14 days old leaves, and HR was observed only in the tissue just invaded by the virus, where we detected the 126?K protein. Those results suggested that the viral 126?K protein was present when the viral replication was taking place, and easily degraded when the amount of the virus was saturated in the cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background To investigate the effect of preceding acute exercise on the peripheral vascular response to a mental task, we measured splanchnic and cerebral blood flow responses to performing a mental task after exercise and resting. Methods In the exercise trial, 11 males exercised for 30 min on a cycle ergometer with a workload set at 70% of the age-predicted maximal heart rate for each individual. After a 15-min recovery period, the subjects rested for 5 min for pre-task baseline measurement and then performed mental arithmetic for 5 min followed by 5 min of post-task measurement. In the resting trial, they rested for 45 min and pre-task baseline data was obtained for 5 min. Then mental arithmetic was performed for 5 min followed by post-task measurement. We measured the mean blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery and superior mesenteric artery and the mean arterial pressure. Results Mean arterial pressure and mean blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery were significantly higher than the baseline during mental arithmetic in both exercise and resting trials. Mean blood velocity in the middle cerebral artery during mental arithmetic was greater in the control trial than the exercise trial. Mean blood velocity in the superior mesenteric artery showed no significant change during mental arithmetic from baseline in both trials. Conclusion These results suggest that acute exercise can moderate the increase in cerebral blood flow induced by a mental task.

Some strains of nonpathogenic Allorhizobium vitis can control crown gall disease in grapevines caused by pathogenic A. vitis and are considered candidates for biocontrol agents. Many plant pathogenic bacteria regulate the expression of their virulence genes via quorum sensing using N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) as a signaling compound. The eight nonpathogenic A. vitis strains used in this study showed AHL-degrading activity. The complete genome sequence of A. vitis MAFF 212306 contained three AHL lactonase gene homologs. When these genes were cloned and transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α, E. coli harboring the aiiV gene (RvVAR031&#95;27660) showed AHL-degrading activity. The aiiV coding region was successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction from the genomes of all eight strains of nonpathogenic A. vitis. Purified His-tagged AiiV exhibited AHL lactonase activity by hydrolyzing the lactone ring of AHL. AiiV had an optimal temperature of approximately 30 °C; however, its thermostability decreased above 40 °C. When the AiiV-expressing plasmid was transformed into Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum NBRC 3830, AHL production by NBRC 3830 decreased below the detection limit, and its maceration activity, which was controlled by quorum sensing, almost disappeared. These results suggest the potential use of AHL-degrading nonpathogenic A. vitis for the inhibition of crown gall disease in grapevines and other plant diseases controlled by quorum sensing., (Copyright © 2024 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Phytopathogenic bacteria (MAFF 302110 T and MAFF 302107) were isolated from lesions on Japanese angelica trees affected by bacterial soft rot in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The strains were Gram-reaction-negative, facultatively anaerobic, motile with peritrichous flagella, rod-shaped, and non-spore-forming. The genomic DNA G+C content was 51.1 mol % and the predominant cellular fatty acids included summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1  ω7 c and/or C 16 : 1  ω6 c ), C 16 : 0 , summed feature 8 (C 18 : 1  ω7 c and/or C 18 : 1  ω6 c ), summed feature 2 (comprising any combination of C 12 : 0 aldehyde, an unknown fatty acid with an equivalent chain length of 10.928, C 16 : 1 iso I, and C 14 : 0 3OH), and C 12 : 0 . Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and gyrB gene sequences, along with phylogenomic analysis utilizing whole-genome sequences, consistently placed these strains within the genus Pectobacterium . However, their phylogenetic positions did not align with any known species within the genus. Comparative studies involving average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization with the closely related species indicated values below the thresholds employed for the prokaryotic species delineation (95-96 % and 70 %, respectively), with the highest values observed for Pectobacterium polonicum DPMP315 T (92.10 and 47.1 %, respectively). Phenotypic characteristics, cellular fatty acid composition, and a repertoire of secretion systems could differentiate the strains from their closest relatives. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genotypic data obtained in this study show that MAFF 302110 T /MAFF 302107 represent a novel species of the genus Pectobacterium , for which we propose the name Pectobacterium araliae sp. nov., designating MAFF 302110 T (=ICMP 25161 T ) as the type strain.

The search for bacteria that can be used as biocontrol agents to control crop diseases yielded a promising candidate, Sm006 T , which was isolated from the rhizosphere of eggplant ( Solanum melongena ) growing in a field in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in 2006. The cells were Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped and motile with one polar flagellum. The results of homology searches and phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that Sm006 T represents a member of the genus Pseudomonas . The genomic DNA G+C content was 66.3 mol% and the major cellular fatty acids (more than 5 % of the total fatty acids) were summed feature 8 (C 18 : 1 ω7 c and/or C 18 : 1 ω6 c ), summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 ω7 c and/or C 16 : 1 ω6 c ), C 16 : 0 and C 12 : 0 . Phylogenetic analyses using the rpoD gene sequence and phylogenomic analysis of the whole genome sequence revealed that Sm006 T represents a member of the Pseudomonas resinovorans group; however, its phylogenetic position does not match that of any known species of the genus Pseudomonas . The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridisation values between the strain and closely related species were lower than the thresholds for prokaryotic species delineation (95-96 and 70 %, respectively), with the highest values observed for Pseudomonas tohonis TUM18999 T (92.05 and 46.3 %, respectively). Phenotypic characteristics, cellular fatty acid composition and possession of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol biosynthetic gene cluster could be used to differentiate the strain from its closest relatives. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic data obtained during this study indicated that Sm006 T represents a novel species of the genus Pseudomonas , for which we propose the name Pseudomonas solani sp. nov., with Sm006 T (= MAFF 212523 T = ICMP 24689 T ) as the type strain.

Many gram-negative pathogens can activate virulence factors under the control of N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL）-mediated quorum sensing. AHL-degrading enzymes have been investigated for their application in disease control. Trichoderma is a genus of fungi inhabiting various types of soil and are widely used as biocontrol agents for plant pathogens. When the AHL-degrading activity of 33 strains belonging to Trichoderma species was investigated, most strains can degrade AHL. AHL lactonase catalyzes AHL ring opening by hydrolyzing lactone. Two model strains, Trichoderma atroviride MAFF 242473 and MAFF 242475, degrade AHL using their AHL lactonase activity and rapidly metabolize ring-opening AHL. Moreover, co-inoculation with MAFF 242473 and MAFF 242475 effectively inhibited AHL production by the plant pathogens, Pantoea ananatis and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. Our study suggested that Trichoderma might be an effective biocontrol agent to inhibit the expression of virulence factors via AHL-mediated quorum sensing.

Pseudomonas putida is a major species belonging to the genus Pseudomonas. Although several hundred strains of P. putida have been deposited in culture collections, they potentially differ from the genetically defined "true Pseudomonas putida" because many were classified as P. putida based on their phenotypic and metabolic characteristics. A phylogenetic ana-lysis based on the concatenated sequences of the 16S rRNA and rpoD genes revealed that 46 strains of P. putida deposited in Japanese culture collections were classified into nine operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and eleven singletons. The OTU7 strain produces N-acylhomoserine lactone as a quorum-sensing signal. One of the OTU7 strains, JCM 20066, exhibited a ppuI-rsaL-ppuR quorum-sensing system that controls biofilm formation and motility. The P. putida type strain JCM 13063 T and six other strains were classified as OTU4. Classification based on the calculation of whole-genome similarity revealed that three OTU4 strains, JCM 20005, 21368, and 13061, were regarded as the same species as JCM 13063 T and defined as true P. putida. When orthologous genes in the whole-genome sequences of true P. putida strains were screened, PP4&#95;28660 from P. putida NBRC 14164 T (=JCM 13063 T ) was present in all true P. putida genome sequences. The internal region of PP4&#95;28660 was successfully amplified from all true P. putida strains using the specific primers designed in this study.

Quorum sensing is a population density-dependent gene regulation mechanism. N-Acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) has been identified as a signal compound in quorum sensing in gram-negative bacteria. Phenazine derivatives are bacterial secondary metabolites known for their broad-spectrum antifungal activity. Pseudomonas chlororaphis has been demonstrated to be a biocontrol strain, and most of its species can produce phenazine derivatives under AHL-mediated quorum sensing. Although P. chlororaphis is divided into four subspecies, the relationship between phenazine production and quorum sensing has not been investigated in two of the subspecies, P. chlororaphis subsp. chlororaphis and piscium. Two luxI/luxR homolog gene sets, phzI and phzR and csaI and csaR, were found in the complete genome sequences of the type strains of P. chlororaphis subsp. chlororaphis JCM 2778 T and P. chlororaphis subsp. piscium DSM 21509 T . Two major AHLs, N-(3-hydroxyhexanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone and N-(3-hydroxyoctanoyl)-l-homoserine lactone, were detected in JCM 2778 and DSM 21509 samples. PhzI synthesized all AHLs; however, CsaI could not perform AHL biosynthesis in JCM 2778 and DSM 21509. In both strains, disruption of the phzI caused complete disappearance of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) and phenazine-1-carboxamide (PCN) production; however, disruption of csaI did not induce significant changes in PCA and PCN production. Phenazine derivatives produced by JCM 2778 and DSM 21509 under quorum sensing are crucial for the control of the plant pathogenic fungi, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium graminearum, and Fusarium nirenbergiae. These results demonstrated that PhzI/PhzR quorum-sensing system play an important role in production of phenazine derivatives and biocontrol activity., (Copyright © 2022 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

(1) Aim: Hepatic fibrosis is a prognostic factor for disease progression in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to determine the relationships between diet, physical activity, and the progression of liver fibrosis. (2) Methods: The 349 participants were categorized by their FibroScan-aspartate aminotransferase score, and they completed a questionnaire regarding their diet and physical activity. (3) Results: There were 233 patients in the negative-on-screening group, 78 in the gray zone group, and 38 in the positive-on-screening group. The frequencies of consumption of soybeans and soybean products and of light-colored vegetables were lower in the positive group; whereas the frequencies of consumption of snack food and fried sweets, jelly and pudding, fried food, and butter, lard, and beef tallow were higher. The odds ratios for the fibrosis progression in patients who consumed fried food ≥4 times/week was 2.21. The positive group also showed lower physical activity level (PAL) and exercise (Ex, metabolic equivalents for tasks (METs)/hour/week). The patients who undertook Ex at >7.5 had an odds ratio of 0.21 for the fibrosis progression. (4) Conclusion: High consumption of fried food and low Ex are risk factors for the fibrosis progression in NAFLD.

We present the complete genome sequences of 3 Erwinia rhapontici strains, MAFF 311153, 311154, and 311155. These chromosome sequences contained variety types of luxI/luxR gene pair involved in acylhomoserine lactone biosynthesis and reception. Large-scale insertion sequence was observed in the indigenous plasmid of MAFF 311154 and contained eraI3/eraR3 gene pair that make possible to produce acylhomoserine lactone., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry.)

Strains belonging to the Pseudomonas syringae complex often possess quorum-sensing systems that comprise N-acyl-l-homoserine lactone (AHL) synthases (PsyI) and AHL receptors (PsyR). Here, we investigated the diversity of PsyI/PsyR quorum-sensing systems in 630 strains of the P. syringae complex. AHL production was observed in most strains of Pseudomonas amygdali and Pseudomonas meliae, and a few strains of Pseudomonas coronafaciens and P. syringae. The DNA sequences of psyIR and their upstream and downstream regions were categorized into eight types. P. amygdali pv. myricae, Pseudomonas savastanoi, and P. syringae pv. solidagae, maculicola, broussonetiae, and tomato encoded psyI, but did not produce detectable amounts of AHL. In P. savastanoi, an amino acid substitution (R27S) in PsyI caused defective AHL production. The psyI gene of P. syringae pv. tomato was converted to pseudogenes by frameshift mutations. Escherichia coli harboring psyI genes from P. amygdali pv. myricae, P. syringae pv. solidagae and broussonetiae showed high levels of AHL production. Forced expression of functional psyR restored AHL production in P. amygdali pv. myricae and P. syringae pv. solidagae. In conclusion, our study indicates that the PsyI/PsyR quorum-sensing systems in P. syringae strains are genetically and functionally diverse, with diversity being linked to phylogenetic and pathovar classifications., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS.)

Biocontrol fluorescent pseudomonads produce a number of antibiotic organic compounds, including 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol, pyoluteorin, pyrrolnitrin, and phenazine. We previously classified rhizospheric fluorescent pseudomonads harboring antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters into 10 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). In the present study, we report the complete genome sequences of selected strains from these OTUs. The genetic diversity of antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters and their surrounding sequences correlated with the OTU classification. In comparisons of the biocontrol activity and distribution of antibiotic biosynthetic gene clusters, we found that the pyrrolnitrin biosynthetic gene cluster more effectively controlled the growth of Rhizoctonia solani.

Culturable bacteria were isolated from tomato seeds using media selective for the canker pathogen Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis. Clustering analysis (>99% identity) revealed the presence of 16 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) among isolates detected on semi-selective media. Three OTUs belonged to the phylum Actinobacteria, including those of Micrococcus and Dermacoccus, and 13 OTUs belonged to the phylum Firmicutes, including Bacillus and related genera. These Gram-positive endophytic bacteria have the potential to provide false-positive results in seed health tests using media considered semi-selective for the cancer pathogen.

Many root-colonizing Pseudomonas spp. exhibiting biocontrol activities produce a wide range of secondary metabolites that exert antibiotic effects against other microbes, nematodes, and insects in the rhizosphere. The expression of these secondary metabolites depends on the Gac/Rsm signal transduction pathway. Based on the findings of a previous genomic study on newly isolated biocontrol pseudomonad strains, we herein investigated the novel gene cluster OS3, which consists of four genes ( Os1348-Os1351 ) that are located upstream of putative efflux transporter genes ( Os1352-Os1355 ). Os1348 was predicted to encode an 85-aa small precursor protein, the expression of which was under the control of GacA, and an X-ray structural analysis suggested that the Os1348 protein formed a dimer. The mutational loss of the Os1348 gene decreased the antibiotic activity of Pseudomonas sp. Os17 without changing its growth rate. The Os1349-1351 genes were predicted to be involved in post-translational modifications. Intracellular levels of the Os1348 protein in the deficient mutant of each gene differed from that in wild-type cells. These results suggest that Os1348 is involved in antibiotic activity and that the structure or expression of this protein is under the control of downstream gene products., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Takeuchi, Tsuchiya, Fujimoto, Yamada, Someya and Yamazaki.)