Results: All patients had successful disimpaction over 3 days (me

Results: All patients had successful disimpaction over 3 days (mean 6 cups of stool in total) and then continued with low dose of medication and TES therapy. All started with <3 bowel actions/week. After 8–12 weeks of TES, 32/33 (97%) increased to >3

BA/wk with 29 /33 PF-01367338 datasheet (88%) having 7 BA/wk. Median stool consistency improved from BSS score of 2 (range: 1–7) to 4 (4–5) (p < 0.0001). Median stool output improved from 1 (0–2) to 7 (2–10) cups/wk (p < 0.0001). Soiling episodes decreased from 5 (0–7) to 0 (0–4) episodes/wk (p < 0.0001). Patients were weaned off laxatives during TES, and off TES after 3 months and continued with daily defecation. Conclusions: We have previously shown that TES added onto existing treatment increases defecation to >3BA/wk in half of the patients with STC over 2–3 months (Yik 2012). The addition of disimpaction with oral laxatives and education on diet and toileting prior to TES therapy resulted in >3 BA/wk in 97% of patients with 88% having daily bowel motions. Improvement occurred in more patients, was bigger improvement and was more rapid than with TES alone. TES is a non invasive treatment 1. Yee Ian Yik, Khairul A Ismail, John M Hutson, Bridget R

Southwell. 2012. Home transcutaneous electrical stimulation to treat children with slow-transit constipation. J Pediatr Surg 47(6): 1285–1290. 2. Jordan-Ely J, Hutson JM, Southwell BR. PD0325901 Lifestyle Approach: Holistic Management. In: Constipation: Current & Emerging Treatments. Future Medicine 2013 (In press). J JORDAN-ELY,1,2 K DOBSON,1 JM HUTSON,1,2,3 BR SOUTHWELL1,3 1Murdoch childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Australia, 2Dept. Urology, Royal Childrens hospital, Parkville,

Australia, 3Dept. Paediatrics University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia Introduction: polyethylene glycol (PEG) is an oral stool softener that produces disimpaction in 97% patients. However because of the large MCE公司 volume (2 litres) that needs to be taken, many patients have difficulty completing treatment. We have developed a program of patient education and engagement (called MOTIVATE) to enable compliance and obtain the highest efficacy. The aim of the study was to review outcomes of oral bowel disimpaction with PEG administered in a nurse-led clinic using the MOTIVATE method. Materials and methods: A retrospective clinical audit of 33 patients (2–17 years, 17 male) with chronic constipation referred to a surgeon at a tertiary Childrens hospital. Patients and carers were provided information on Diet, Education, Laxative and Disimpaction (DELD) method during two × 30 min sessions. An advanced practice nurse demonstrated how to take the PEG+E (Movicol) combined with Sodium Picosulphate (Dulcolax SP). The solution was mixed with 125 ml of water/sachet. The mixture was taken spread out across the morning at a rate of 125 ml/hour. To make drinking easier and fun, 125 ml was divided into 6 shot glasses and an equal volume of juice added.

Results: All patients had successful disimpaction over 3 days (me

Results: All patients had successful disimpaction over 3 days (mean 6 cups of stool in total) and then continued with low dose of medication and TES therapy. All started with <3 bowel actions/week. After 8–12 weeks of TES, 32/33 (97%) increased to >3

BA/wk with 29 /33 U0126 in vitro (88%) having 7 BA/wk. Median stool consistency improved from BSS score of 2 (range: 1–7) to 4 (4–5) (p < 0.0001). Median stool output improved from 1 (0–2) to 7 (2–10) cups/wk (p < 0.0001). Soiling episodes decreased from 5 (0–7) to 0 (0–4) episodes/wk (p < 0.0001). Patients were weaned off laxatives during TES, and off TES after 3 months and continued with daily defecation. Conclusions: We have previously shown that TES added onto existing treatment increases defecation to >3BA/wk in half of the patients with STC over 2–3 months (Yik 2012). The addition of disimpaction with oral laxatives and education on diet and toileting prior to TES therapy resulted in >3 BA/wk in 97% of patients with 88% having daily bowel motions. Improvement occurred in more patients, was bigger improvement and was more rapid than with TES alone. TES is a non invasive treatment 1. Yee Ian Yik, Khairul A Ismail, John M Hutson, Bridget R

Southwell. 2012. Home transcutaneous electrical stimulation to treat children with slow-transit constipation. J Pediatr Surg 47(6): 1285–1290. 2. Jordan-Ely J, Hutson JM, Southwell BR. buy Stem Cell Compound Library Lifestyle Approach: Holistic Management. In: Constipation: Current & Emerging Treatments. Future Medicine 2013 (In press). J JORDAN-ELY,1,2 K DOBSON,1 JM HUTSON,1,2,3 BR SOUTHWELL1,3 1Murdoch childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Australia, 2Dept. Urology, Royal Childrens hospital, Parkville,

Australia, 3Dept. Paediatrics University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia Introduction: polyethylene glycol (PEG) is an oral stool softener that produces disimpaction in 97% patients. However because of the large MCE volume (2 litres) that needs to be taken, many patients have difficulty completing treatment. We have developed a program of patient education and engagement (called MOTIVATE) to enable compliance and obtain the highest efficacy. The aim of the study was to review outcomes of oral bowel disimpaction with PEG administered in a nurse-led clinic using the MOTIVATE method. Materials and methods: A retrospective clinical audit of 33 patients (2–17 years, 17 male) with chronic constipation referred to a surgeon at a tertiary Childrens hospital. Patients and carers were provided information on Diet, Education, Laxative and Disimpaction (DELD) method during two × 30 min sessions. An advanced practice nurse demonstrated how to take the PEG+E (Movicol) combined with Sodium Picosulphate (Dulcolax SP). The solution was mixed with 125 ml of water/sachet. The mixture was taken spread out across the morning at a rate of 125 ml/hour. To make drinking easier and fun, 125 ml was divided into 6 shot glasses and an equal volume of juice added.

[1] Although successful curative hepatectomy has significantly im

[1] Although successful curative hepatectomy has significantly improved survival, the prognosis of HCC remains poor owing to tumor invasiveness, frequent intrahepatic spread, and extrahepatic metastasis. The molecular mechanism of HCC invasiveness and metastasis is ill-defined and its elucidation is fundamental to the improvement of HCC prognosis and treatment. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process in which epithelial cells lose polarity and cell–cell adhesion, and are converted to a mesenchymal phenotype.

The molecular hallmarks during EMT include down-regulation of epithelial markers (e.g., E-cadherin) and up-regulation of mesenchymal markers (e.g., vimentin).[2] EMT has a crucial role in the progression and metastasis of multiple cancers including HCC.[3, 4] EMT JQ1 in vivo is triggered and controlled by signals

cancer cells receive from their microenvironment. One of the major EMT triggers in cancers is the signaling through hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), activated via hypoxia-dependent or hypoxia-independent Selleckchem LY294002 pathways.[5, 6] Enhanced HIF-1 activities have been reported to promote angiogenesis and invasiveness in HCC.[7, 8] HIF-1 is composed of a hypoxia-inducible α subunit (HIF-1α) and a constitutively expressing β subunit (HIF-1β). HIF-1α is rapidly degraded under normoxic conditions.[5] During this process, HIF-1α is hydroxylated by prolyl hydroxylase domain proteins

(PHDs) at two proline residues (P402 and P564) and subsequently interacts with the E3 ubiquitin ligase von Hippel-Lindau protein (VHL). Acetylation at K532 by ARD1 favors the interaction of HIF-1α with VHL and is coordinated with prolyl hydroxylation and ubiquitination,[9] leading to proteasomal degradation of HIF-1α. 上海皓元 Under hypoxia conditions, the activities of PHDs are inhibited and HIF-1α acetylation can be prevented by histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1).[10] Consequently, HIF-1α is stabilized, translocates to the nucleus, heterodimerizes with HIF-1β, and activates the expression of a broad range of genes including essential regulators for EMT.[11, 12] The homeobox protein PROX1 is crucial for the development of multiple organs and tissues.[13] Gene knockout analysis in mice indicates that PROX1 is required for hepatocyte migration during embryonic liver development.[14] The role of PROX1 in cancer development has been studied in several cancers. A positive correlation is present between PROX1 protein expression and the malignancy grades of gliomas.[15] High PROX1 protein expression is also associated with poor clinical outcomes of colon cancer.[16] PROX1 is thought not to be responsible for the initiation of colon cancer but rather promotes cancer progression from benign to highly dysplastic phenotype.[17] The connection between PROX1 and HCC is rather obscure. Shimoda et al.

40 And thus, a more sensitive assay such as the nucleic acid ampl

40 And thus, a more sensitive assay such as the nucleic acid amplification test to detect occult HBV infection should be implemented to minimize the transmission through blood transfusion.41 buy Everolimus As to perinatal transmission, the most effective means for prevention is immunization (vide infra). Nevertheless, whether modes of obstetric delivery are associated with HBV infection has been studied. A meta-analysis based on four randomized controlled clinical trials including a total of 789 HBsAg carrier mothers found perinatal HBV infection in infants delivered by elective cesarean section

and vaginal delivery was 10.5% and 28.2%, respectively.42 However, other studies did not favor cesarean section in preventing maternal transmission of HBV.43,44 Elective cesarean section in HBsAg-carrier mothers

is not recommended as long as the newborn infant receives appropriate hepatitis B www.selleckchem.com/products/INCB18424.html immunoprophylaxis.45 Under immunoprophylaxis, breast-feeding also does not pose additional risk for HBV transmission from chronic HBV-carrier mothers.46 Because of the extreme effectiveness of hepatitis B vaccine in precluding HBV infection, universal vaccination against hepatitis B is regarded to be the key toward elimination and eradication of hepatitis B.5 Pre-exposure prophylaxis with hepatitis B vaccine has been most extensively studied in men who have sex with men and health-care workers. Randomized, 上海皓元 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials demonstrated a protective efficacy of 80–88% in male homosexuals as well as health-care workers (reviewed in 5). The efficacy in immunocompromised

hosts, such as patients with end-stage renal disease, chronic liver disease, HIV infection or organ transplants, was inadequate. However, if these patients have been vaccinated against hepatitis B before, a booster before transplantation can yield good protection. This was documented by a recent study from Taiwan where a mass hepatitis B vaccination has been implemented since 1984.47 The study indicated that boosting the antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) in children who had received hepatitis B vaccination in infancy prevented HBV infection in most of the 60 children who received living donor liver transplantation. Those with anti-HBs levels of more than 1000 IU/L were all protected from HBV infection in this study.48 In this setting, the most thoroughly population studied is infants born to HBeAg-positive HBsAg carrier mothers. Because HBeAg-positive mothers are highly infectious, the gap between exposure to maternal HBV and the newborn’s own active production of anti-HBs induced by hepatitis B vaccine should be bridged as soon as possible with hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG). The efficacy of protecting from chronic HBsAg carriage with passive-active immunoprophylaxis in these infants is more than 90%.

pCLE provided satisfactory images in all 12 suspicious lesions; b

pCLE provided satisfactory images in all 12 suspicious lesions; but only in 26 of 148 (17.6%) normal control mucosa pCLE images are decipherable. Among the total 12 suspicious lesions, pCLE successfully identified 5 lesions with esophageal squamous low grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) which were confirmed by histopathology. The other suspicious lesions

with normal surface maturation were confirmed as inflammation or hyperplasia. Conclusion: CONCLUSION: Our initial experience using selleck compound pCLE imaging suggested that pCLE bear the promise of diagnosing esophageal neoplasia during ongoing endoscopy. But further improvement to provide consistent satisfactory images is needed. Key Word(s): 1. endomicroscopy; 2. esophageal

neoplasia; Presenting Author: FUMIKO YAMAMOTO Additional Authors: RYOJI MIYAHARA, KOHEI FUNASAKA, KAZUHIRO FURUKAWA, ISSEI THURUDOME, IPPEI MATSUZAKI, TAKAFUMI YOKOYAMA, MASAKAZU KIKUCHI, EIZABURO OHNO, MASANAO NAKAMURA, HIROKI KAWASHIMA, AKIHIRO ITOH, YOSHIKI HIROOKA, buy Cilomilast OSAMU WATANABE, OSAMU MAEDA, TAKAHUMI ANDO, HIDEMI GOTO Corresponding Author: FUMIKO YAMAMOTO Affiliations: Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine; Endoscopy, Nagoya University Hospital; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine; Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nagoya University Graduate School of MEdicine Objective: In recent years, image-enhanced endoscopy (IEE) has been reported to be useful in diagnosis of early cancer. IEE has been classified to NBI, FICE, i-scan and so on. NBI has widely been recognized as the most popular IEE. Blue LASER imaging (BLI) using

上海皓元医药股份有限公司 a laser beam which is newly developed by Fujifilm, Tokyo, Japan. BLI is a technology of the observation that highlights the micro vessels of the mucosal surface just like technology of NBI. LASER light has characteristics of monochromatic, directivity, and coherence. So this new LASER endoscope can obtain bright image in high resolution. Methods: We evaluated the usefulness of BLI in superficial esophageal cancer. Patients and methods: From August 2011 to January 2013, we examined 10 patients with early esophageal cancer who underwent ESD after IEE observations with both NBI and BLI. We examined the concordance rate of the diagnosis of micro vascular classification and the diagnostic accuracy rate of depth of invasion using both NBI and BLI. We also examined the changes in visibility of BLI compared with those of NBI by three stages as below. The evaluation was performed by two endoscopists.

73 ± 336) (P < 001) The prevalence of headache according to re

73 ± 3.36) (P < .001). The prevalence of headache according to region was 30.7% among students in urban, 31.2% in suburban, and 21.6% in rural areas. The prevalence of headache according to age was 20.8% among students ∼6-12 years, 32.0% ∼13-15 years, and 38.2% ∼16-18 years. The prevalence according to headache types was 8.7% (boys 7.0%, girls 10.3%) in migraine, 13.7% (boys 10.7%, girls 16.3%) in TTH, and 6.7% in others. The mean frequency, severity of headache, and duration of symptoms were significantly higher in girls than in boys (P < .001). Conclusions.— Recurrent primary headaches

are quite prevalent among school-aged children and adolescents in South Korea, and the prevalence rates are similar to those reported elsewhere. TTH was more common than migraine. Ku-0059436 supplier The prevalence of migraine headache increased with age. The prevalence rate of headache in students in urban and suburban areas was significantly higher than the rate of students in rural areas. “
“(Headache 2011;51:1132-1139) The objective Selleck GSI-IX of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of spinal manipulations as a treatment option for cervicogenic headaches. Seven databases were searched from their inception to February 2011. All randomized

trials which investigated spinal manipulations performed by any type of healthcare professional for treating cervicogenic headaches in human subjects were considered. The selection of studies, data extraction, and validation were performed independently by 2 reviewers. Nine randomized clinical trials (RCTs) met the inclusion criteria. Their methodological quality was mostly poor. Six RCTs suggested that spinal manipulation is more effective than physical therapy, gentle massage, drug therapy, or no intervention. Three RCTs showed no differences in pain, duration,

and frequency of headaches compared to placebo, manipulation, physical therapy, massage, or wait list controls. Adequate control for placebo effect was achieved in 1 RCT only, and this trial showed no benefit of spinal manipulations beyond a placebo effect. The majority of RCTs failed to provide details of adverse effects. There are few rigorous RCTs testing the effectiveness of spinal manipulations for treating cervicogenic headaches. The results are mixed and the only trial accounting for placebo medchemexpress effects fails to be positive. Therefore, the therapeutic value of this approach remains uncertain. “
“Medication overuse headache (MOH) affects between 1% and 2% of the general population but is present in up to 50% of patients seen in headache centers. There are currently no internationally accepted guidelines for treatment of MOH. A review of the current literature on MOH treatment and pathophysiology. We conclude that headache frequency can be reduced to episodic headache in more than 50% of the patients by simple detoxification and information. Approximately half the patients will not have need for prophylactic medication after withdrawal.

Genomewide miRNA changes were

studied in both sham and PH

Genomewide miRNA changes were

studied in both sham and PH samples at the indicated time points by a custom microarray platform,19 as described in Supporting Information. A minimum of 2-3 replicates were studied in each group. Array data for each of the different time points have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus under accession number GSE28404. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blots, and immunoflurescence were performed, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Please refer to Supporting Information for additional details. Human RNASEN (Drosha), TARBP2 (TRBP), and PRKRA (PACT)-3′UTRs were amplified and cloned into pSGG prom 3′UTR reporter plasmid (SwitchGear Genomics, Menlo Park, CA) by NheI and XhoI. DICER and DGCR8 3′UTR reporters were purchased from SwitchGear mTOR inhibitor Genomics. Ten individual miRNAs or miRNA Roxadustat clusters were cloned into pcDNA3.1 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) by HindIII/XbaI or NheI/XhoI. The miR-17-92 expression construct was kindly provided by Dr. He Lin (University of California, Berkeley, CA). The miRNAs included in the constructs and primers used in cloning are shown in Supporting Tables 2 and 3, respectively.

Anti-miR-107, anti-miR-424, and anti-let-7a were purchased from Qiagen (Hilden, Germany). Human hepatoma Huh-7 cells were cultured in high-glucose Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) as previously described.20 Cells were plated at 70% density 24 hours before transfection. Primary rat hepatocytes were obtained from male (225-250 MCE g) Sprague-Dawley rats via collagenase perfusion, as previously outlined.21 Please refer to Supporting Information for additional details. Different 3′UTR reporter constructs were cotransfected with miRNA constructs (or anti-miRs) and the SV40-RL internal control plasmid (Promega, Madison, WI) by Lipofectamine 2000 into Huh-7 cells. Cells were harvested 24 hours after transfection, and luciferase

activity was determined by the Dual-Glo Luciferase Assay System (Promega), using a Synergy 2 microplate reader (BioTek, Winooski, VT). A number of different miRNA expression constructs were transfected into Huh-7 cells, and cells were harvested after 24 hours. For cell-cycle and cell-death studies of both Huh-7 cells and primary hepatocytes, please refer to Supporting Information. We analyzed hepatic miRNA expression profiles from both sham and 70% hepatectomized rats from 3 to 72 hours after surgery. Between 300 and 400 miRNAs were expressed at these various time points (Table 1). Comparing sham and PH groups, 208 miRNAs could be detected at all indicated times. Based on their expression levels, we grouped these miRNAs into three sets and classified them as down-regulated (<0.8-fold), unchanged (0.8- to 1.2-fold), and up-regulated (>1.2-fold).

04) Among 38 patients with accurate laboratory follow-up data, t

04). Among 38 patients with accurate laboratory follow-up data, the number of tooth extractions correlated with the change in MELD score during the year

preceding dental examination (r = 0.43, P = 0.03). Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis caused by Streptococcus viridans occurred only among patients with multiple dental infections. Dental infections may influence the clinical course of liver disease, but prospective studies are needed. “
“No GSI-IX datasheet previous study has performed multivariate analysis of the risk factors of fatty liver disease (FL), focusing on the effect of weight gain of ≥ 10 kg since the age of 20, and no analysis model exists that simultaneously evaluates body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BFP) as adjustment variables. To investigate these, we collected anthropometric data from health checkups, and conducted a cross-sectional study (targeting 1851 males and 1259 females aged 30 years or over). Regardless of sex, weight gain of ≥10 kg since the age of 20 was positively associated

with FL. Our stratified analysis of BFP into two categories, to evaluate the interaction between BMI and BFP in FL, indicated an approximately fivefold increase in the odds ratio in the male group with high BMI and BFP values compared to those with low BMI and BFP values, with a synergy index of 1.77 > 1. On the other hand, females demonstrated find more no significant additive interaction, with a synergy index of 0.49 < 1. We revealed that weight gain ≥ 10 kg since the age of 20 is significantly associated with FL regardless of sex. In addition,

by performing a synergy index (S), we showed that the additive interaction between BMI and BFP in FL differs according to gender. Recently, many researchers have been paying attention to the fact that liver disease is attributable to metabolic disorders, such as fatty liver disease (FL) nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Several previous studies have focused on factors associated medchemexpress with metabolic syndrome, NAFLD and NASH.[1, 2] Although FL is asymptomatic and not a direct cause of death, it is considered a preclinical condition related to ischemic heart disease and arteriosclerosis.[3] In Japan, due to the high levels of health awareness, many Japanese adults undergo health checkups. FL is easily, and most frequently, detected by abdominal ultrasonography during health checkups.[4-6] Well-known causes of FL include being overweight, hypertension, alcohol intake, and insufficient physical exercise. Some preceding studies reported ethnic differences in FL and health, higher NASH prevalence among men than women, and association between age and visceral fat.[7-9] Regarding weight and weight gain, other studies reported an association between weight gain within the normal weight ranges and FL.

04) Among 38 patients with accurate laboratory follow-up data, t

04). Among 38 patients with accurate laboratory follow-up data, the number of tooth extractions correlated with the change in MELD score during the year

preceding dental examination (r = 0.43, P = 0.03). Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis caused by Streptococcus viridans occurred only among patients with multiple dental infections. Dental infections may influence the clinical course of liver disease, but prospective studies are needed. “
“No MAPK Inhibitor Library previous study has performed multivariate analysis of the risk factors of fatty liver disease (FL), focusing on the effect of weight gain of ≥ 10 kg since the age of 20, and no analysis model exists that simultaneously evaluates body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BFP) as adjustment variables. To investigate these, we collected anthropometric data from health checkups, and conducted a cross-sectional study (targeting 1851 males and 1259 females aged 30 years or over). Regardless of sex, weight gain of ≥10 kg since the age of 20 was positively associated

with FL. Our stratified analysis of BFP into two categories, to evaluate the interaction between BMI and BFP in FL, indicated an approximately fivefold increase in the odds ratio in the male group with high BMI and BFP values compared to those with low BMI and BFP values, with a synergy index of 1.77 > 1. On the other hand, females demonstrated Cabozantinib purchase no significant additive interaction, with a synergy index of 0.49 < 1. We revealed that weight gain ≥ 10 kg since the age of 20 is significantly associated with FL regardless of sex. In addition,

by performing a synergy index (S), we showed that the additive interaction between BMI and BFP in FL differs according to gender. Recently, many researchers have been paying attention to the fact that liver disease is attributable to metabolic disorders, such as fatty liver disease (FL) nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Several previous studies have focused on factors associated 上海皓元 with metabolic syndrome, NAFLD and NASH.[1, 2] Although FL is asymptomatic and not a direct cause of death, it is considered a preclinical condition related to ischemic heart disease and arteriosclerosis.[3] In Japan, due to the high levels of health awareness, many Japanese adults undergo health checkups. FL is easily, and most frequently, detected by abdominal ultrasonography during health checkups.[4-6] Well-known causes of FL include being overweight, hypertension, alcohol intake, and insufficient physical exercise. Some preceding studies reported ethnic differences in FL and health, higher NASH prevalence among men than women, and association between age and visceral fat.[7-9] Regarding weight and weight gain, other studies reported an association between weight gain within the normal weight ranges and FL.

Rapid conversions could not be confirmed, but long-term conversio

Rapid conversions could not be confirmed, but long-term conversions cannot be excluded. New pigment ratios are proposed for chemotaxonomic applications. The ratios will improve pigment-based diagnosis of algal SAHA HDAC cost species in waters

dominated by P. antarctica. “
“Environmental Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA Crocosphaera watsonii, a unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium found in oligotrophic oceans, is important in marine carbon and nitrogen cycles. Isolates of C. watsonii can be separated into at least two phenotypes with environmentally important differences, indicating possibly distinct ecological roles and niches. To better H 89 price understand the evolutionary history and variation in metabolic capabilities among strains and

phenotypes, this study compared the genomes of six C. watsonii strains, three from each phenotypic group, which had been isolated over several decades from multiple ocean basins. While a substantial portion of each genome was nearly identical to sequences in the other strains, a few regions were identified as specific to each strain and phenotype, some of which help explain observed phenotypic features. Overall, the small-cell type strains had smaller genomes and a relative loss of genetic capabilities, while the large-cell type strains were characterized by larger genomes, some genetic redundancy, and potentially increased adaptations to iron and phosphorus limitation. As such, strains with shared phenotypes were evolutionarily more closely related than those with the opposite phenotype, regardless of isolation location or date. Unexpectedly, the genome of the type-strain for the species, C. watsonii WH8501, was

quite unusual even among strains with a shared phenotype, indicating it may not be an ideal representative of the species. MCE公司 The genome sequences and analyses reported in this study will be important for future investigations of the proposed differences in adaptation of the two phenotypes to nutrient limitation, and to identify phenotype-specific distributions in natural Crocosphaera populations. “
“Members of the Closterium peracerosum–strigosum–littorale (C. psl.) complex are unicellular charophycean algae in which there are two modes of zygospore formation, heterothallic and homothallic. A homothallic strain of Closterium (designation, kodama20) was isolated from a Japanese rice paddy field. Based on alignment of the 1506 group-I introns, which interrupt nuclear SSU rDNAs, homothallic kodama20 is most closely related to the heterothallic mating group II-B, which is partially sexually isolated from group II-A. Time-lapse photography of the conjugation process in kodama20 revealed that most of the observed zygospores originated from one vegetative cell.