Lotus japonicus is a model plant for the legume family. To facilitate map-based cloning approaches and genome analysis, we performed an extensive characterization of the chromosome complement of the species. A detailed karyotype of L. japonicus Gifu was built and plasmid and BAC clones, corresponding to genetically mapped markers (see the accompanying article by Sandal et al. 2002, this issue),...

The exogenous addition of salicylic acid (SA) was previously shown to inhibit indeterminate but not determinate-type nodulation. We sought to extend these results by modulating endogenous levels of SA through the transgenic expression of salicylate hydroxylase (NahG) in both stably transformed Lotus japonicus and composite Medicago truncatula plants. NahG expression in L. japonicus resulted in ...

Both budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and fission yeast Schizosaccahromyces pombe have been very popular organisms used for biological research with eukaryotes for many decades. Judging from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus DNA sequence determined 2 years ago, this species is evolutionarily very much unrelated to the commonly used yeasts for research. Indicating evolutionar...

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are currently the marker of choice in a variety of genetic studies. Using the high resolution melting (HRM) genotyping approach, 101 gene-based SNP markers were developed for Apostichopus japonicus, a sea cucumber species with economic significance for the aquaculture industry in East Asian countries. HRM analysis revealed that all the loci showed polymorp...

A range of novel expressed sequence tags (ESTs) associated with late developmental events during nodule organogenesis in the legume Lotus japonicus were identified using mRNA differential display; 110 differentially displayed polymerase chain reaction products were cloned and analyzed. Of 88 unique cDNAs obtained, 22 shared significant homology to DNA/protein sequences in the respective databas...

The sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) occupies a basal position during the evolution of deuterostomes and is also an important aquaculture species. In order to identify more immune effectors, transcriptome sequencing of A. japonicus coelomocytes in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge was performed using the Illumina HiSeq™ 2000 platform. One hundred and seven differentially expre...

Petasites japonicus (P. japonicus), a perennial plant of Asteraceae family, has been reported for antioxidant, anti-obesity and anti-allergic effects. However, the anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic activities of this plant were remained unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to portray the anti-platelet and anti-thrombotic properties of P. japonicus ethanol extract (PJET) in rats. PJET (31 -500 μ...

Complaints about a biting pest led to the recognition of invasive Aedes (Finlaya) japonicus japonicus (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Central Europe. Larval collections from cemetery vases revealed a colonized area of approximately 1400 km(2) in northern Switzerland spreading into bordering Germany, suggesting that the mosquito has been established in this region for several years. Within th...

Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for plants and, in natural soils, its availability is often a major limiting factor for plant growth. Here we examine the effect of different forms of nitrogen nutrition and of photorespiration on gene expression in the model legume Lotus japonicus with the aim of identifying regulatory candidate genes co-ordinating primary nitrogen assimilation a...

Peptides that cause muscle relaxation or contraction or that modulate electrically-induced muscle contraction have been discovered in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Phylum Echinodermata; Class Holothuroidea). By analysing transcriptome sequence data, here the protein precursors of six of these myoactive peptides (the SALMFamides Sticho-MFamide-1 and -2, NGIWYamide, stichopin, GN-19 an...