Cacao Procyanidins-Induced Lifespan Extension in Caenorhabditis elegans in a Nervous System and CaMKII-Dependent Manner

Procyanidins are gaining attention due to their potential health benefits. We found that cacao liquor procyanidin (CLPr) from Theobroma cacao seeds increased the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans, a representative model organism for aging studies. The genetic dependence of the lifespan-extending effect of CLPr was consistent with that of blueberry procyanidin, which is dependent on unc-43, osr-1, sek-1, and mev-1, but not on daf-16, sir-2.1, or skn-1. The lifespan-extending effect of CLPr was inhibited by neuron-specific RNA interference (RNAi) targeting unc-43 and pmk-1, and in worms with loss-of-function mutations in the odr-3, odr-1, or tax-4 genes, which are essential in sensory neurons, including AWC neurons. It was also inhibited in worms in which AWC neurons or AIB interneurons had been eliminated, and in worms with loss-of-function mutations in eat-4 or glr-1, which are responsible for glutamatergic synaptic transmission. These results suggest that the lifespan-extending effect of CLPr is dependent on the nervous system. In addition, it also requires unc-43 and pmk-1 expression in nonneuronal cells, as demonstrated by the experiments with RNAi in wild-type worms, the neuronal cells of which are not affected by systemic RNAi. The osr-1 gene is expressed in hypodermal and intestinal cells and regulates the response to osmotic stress along with unc-43/calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. Consistent with this, CLPr improved osmotic stress tolerance in an unc-43- and pmk-1-dependent manner, and it was also dependent on AWC neurons. The lifespan-extending and osmotic-tolerance-improving activities were attributed to procyanidins with a tetrameric or higher-order oligomeric structure.

Avena magna: An Important New Tetraploid Species of Oats

Avena magna is a new tetraploid species morphologically similar to the hexaploid A. sterilis, having a high concentration of protein, large caryopses, and outstanding resistance to crown rust. One genome in A. magna appears homologous to the As genome present in hexaploid, tetraploid, and one group of diploid species. Avena magna is a possible ancestor of cultivated oats.

Oral tumors: the surgeon and the medical oncologist

Aggressive surgery has been the primary treatment for oral tumors through the 1980s. A review of the results of such treatment is presented. A new approach using neoadjuvant chemotherapy is proposed in order to improve long-term prognosis in malignant oral tumors.

An unusual portosystemic shunt in a dog

An unusual portosystemic shunt was diagnosed in a 4-month-old male Miniature Poodle examined because of stunted growth and episodes of dementia characterized by hysteria, ataxia, and staggering. Operative splenoportography revealed a portosystemic shunt. Exploratory surgery to identify and correct the shunt was attempted. Evidence of any portal circulation was not detected, and the dog was euthanatized. The possible embryologic basis for this vascular anomaly is discussed.

Morphological discrimination among some aneuploids in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). I. Trisomies

A study of the phenotypes of four primary trisomies (2n + 1) in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) was conducted. The purpose was to determine whether measurable and consistent phenotypic differences exist between these trisomics and their disomic sibs. These trisomics are designated Tri A, B, C, and D. These trisomic stocks are homozygous but are not isolines. Root-tip squashes of seedlings were used to identify all trisomic and disomic plants. Several plants of each different trisomic type along with an equal number of their disomic sibs were transplanted to the field and randomized within four separate rows. Nineteen different phenotypic traits were measured on all plants.Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to select variables that were good discriminators (0.10 significance level). Each of the four trisomic–disomic comparisons contained a different but overlapping subset of variables that were used in subsequent discriminant analysis. The first discriminatory variable was computed for each trisomic and disomic plant and plotted on a frequency bar chart. Visual interpretation of the chart, along with an F-test, indicates that these trisomics of soybean cannot be reliably distinguished from their disomic sibs on the basis of the phenotypic traits used in this study.Key words: soybean, trisomic, morphology.

NULLISOMIC AND MONOSOMIC ANALYSES OF GENES CONTROLLING LEAF PEROXIDASES IN OATS

Monosomics derived from oat cultivars 'Cherokee' (M monosomics) and 'Kanota' (MK monosomics) were used in an attempt to locate gene Px-5a and its allele Px-Sb that control leaf peroxidase bands F (fast) and M (median), respectively, and an independent gene, Px-6a, also controlling band M. M monosomics have band M, and MK monosomics have bands F and M. Nullisomic and monosomic analyses revealed that monosomic MK7 gave a peroxidase banding pattern consistently different from other MK monosomics. Monosomic progeny of MK7 had F and M bands, but nullisomic progeny had only the F band. Monosomic F1 hybrids between MK7 and Columbia (null) and MK7 and Garton 784 had only band F. These results suggested that Px-6a, controlling leaf peroxidase band M, was located on the monosome of MK7, and Px-5a and its allele, Px-5b, must be on a different chromosome. The monosome in MK7 is a SM chromosome.

INHERITANCE OF LEAF PEROXIDASES IN OATS

Starch gel electrophoresis of leaves of diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid wild species as well as hexaploid cultivars and mutants of oats (Avena) disclosed several faint and three stable peroxidase bands, designated F, M, and S, in the anodal gel. The F band was observed only in the hexaploids, the M band in some diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid species, and the S band in some diploid and tetraploid species. The inheritance was studied of banding patterns F+M, F, M, and Null observed in the cultivars. The hybrids had only the combined bands of both parents, as did the mixture of leaf juices. Genetic studies in the F1and F2populations of crosses among parents differing in the four banding patterns revealed that band F was controlled by a dominant gene and band M by one or two independent genes. A segregation ratio of 11F+M:4M:1F in the F2populations of a cross between F × M parents indicated that one of the genes controlling band M is allelic to and codominant with the gene controlling band F.