A novel chimeric gene with a 5' end containing the nearly complete sequence of the coxI gene and a 3' end showing homology with chive orfA501 was isolated by genome walking from two cytoplasm types: CMS-S and CMS-T, both of which induce male-sterility in onion (Allium cepa L.). In addition, the normal active and variant inactive coxI genes were also isolated from onions containing the normal and CMS-S cytoplasms, respectively. The chimeric gene, designated as orf725, was nearly undetectable in normal cytoplasm, and the copy number of the normal coxI gene was significantly reduced in CMS-S cytoplasm. RT-PCR results showed that orf725 was not transcribed in normal cytoplasm. Meanwhile, the normal coxI gene, which is essential for normal mitochondrial function, was not expressed in CMS-S cytoplasm. However, both orf725 and coxI were transcribed in CMS-T cytoplasm. The expression of orf725, a putative male-sterility-inducing gene, was not affected by the presence of nuclear restorer-of-fertility gene(s) in male-fertility segregating populations originating from the cross between a male-sterile plant containing either CMS-T or CMS-S and a male-fertile plant whose genotypes of nuclear restorer gene(s) might be heterozygous. The specific stoichiometry of orf725 and coxI in the mtDNA of the three cytoplasm types was consistent among diverse germplasm. Therefore, a molecular marker based on the relative copy numbers of orf725 and coxI was designed for distinguishing among the three cytoplasm types by one simple PCR. The reliability and applicability of the molecular marker was shown by testing diverse onion germplasm.

王林发) 186 • Guoping Wang (王国平) 85 • Yanxiang Wang (王雁翔) 85 • Yaqin Wang (王亚琴) 38 • Muhammad Waqas 187 • Tàiyún Wèi (魏太云) 188 • Shaohua Wen (温少华) 85 • Anna E. Whitfield 189 • John V. Williams 190 • Yuri I. Wolf 99 • Jiangxiang Wu (吴建祥) 38 • Lei Xu (徐雷) 138 • Hironobu Yanagisawa (栁澤広 宣) 191 • Caixia Yang (杨彩霞) 69 • Zuokun Yang (杨作坤) 85 • F. Murilo Zerbini 192 • Lifeng Zhai (翟立峰) 193 • Yong-Zhen Zhang (张永振) 220,221 • Song Zhang (张松) 34 • Jinguo Zhang (张靖国) 194 • Zhe Zhang (张哲) 85 • Xueping Zhou (周雪平) 195

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The present study aimed to extract total phenolic compounds (TPC), total flavonoid compounds (TFC), and ascorbic acid (AA) from the fruit of rugosa rose ( Thunb.) by ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and to evaluate their antioxidant activities. UAE significantly increased the extract yield compared with that obtained using the conventional method. TPC, TFC, and AA were extracted, depending on the extraction conditions (temperature, time, and ethanol concentration), in the range of 50.73-96.69, 15.93-31.88, and 3.06-6.08 mg/g, respectively. TPC and TFC were effectively extracted at a relatively high temperature (50 °C) than AA was (30 °C). The solvent condition used to extract TPC, TFC, and AA was 50% ethanol. The UAE condition for the highest antioxidant activity was obtained 30 °C, 30 min, and 50% ethanol, which were the same condition for the highest AA extraction. Among the extracts, AA showed a strong correlation with antioxidant activity at -value of 0.001.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling exerts a wide spectrum of biological functions. To investigate TGF-beta signaling in amelogenesis, we initially assessed the expression of TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1) in developing teeth by immunohistochemistry. Both TGF-beta1 and TGFBR1 were strongly expressed in secreting ameloblasts. Next, we studied the effects of TGF-beta signaling on the expression of MMP20 and KLK4 mRNA using ameloblast-lineage cells (ALC) in vitro. Our RT-PCR study showed that TGF-beta1, TGFBR1, and enamel matrix proteases (MMP20 and KLK4) were expressed in ALC. Following TGF-beta1 treatment, the expression of MMP20 mRNA, but not KLK4 mRNA, was significantly upregulated. To further confirm the TGF-beta signaling involvement in the MMP20 expression, we constructed the activated TGFBR1 vector and transfected the construct into ALC. The activated TGFBR1 notably promoted MMP20 expression, but had no obvious effects on the KLK4 mRNA expression. Our studies strongly suggest that TGF-beta signaling involved in amelogenesis is partially mediated by regulating the expression of MMP20 mRNA. Anat Rec, 292:885-890, 2009. V V C 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the chemical compositions and antioxidative activities of hot pepper fruits cultivated with strict management by organic and conventional agricultural practices. The ascorbic acid content in the organically grown hot pepper (OGP) was significantly higher than that of conventionally grown hot pepper (CGP) in both green and red fruits. The content of other bioactive compounds such as flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, quercetin) and total phenolics in OGP was typically higher than in CGP regardless of fruit color. In addition, the ABTS(+) radical-scavenging activity of OGP red fruits was significantly higher than that of CGP red fruits. Moreover, regardless of the color of the fruits, a higher antioxidative activity was observed in blood plasma from rats administered the OGP fruit extracts than in blood plasma from rats administered the CGP fruit extracts. It was hypothesized that the higher antioxidant activity of the OGP fruits may have resulted from the higher antioxidant content in the OGP fruits. These results suggest that consumption of pepper fruits may increase antioxidant activity in the blood, and OGP fruits may be more effective in increasing this antioxidant activity than CGP fruits.

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One to three accessions of 22 Alstroemeria species, an interspeci®c hybrid (A. aurea´A. inodora), and single accessions of Bomarea salsilla and Leontochir ovallei were evaluated using the AFLPmarker technique to estimate the genetic diversity within the genus Alstroemeria. Three primer combinations generated 716 markers and discriminated all Alstroemeria species. The dendrogram inferred from the AFLP ®ngerprints supported the conjecture of the generic separation of the Chilean and Brazilian Alstroemeria species. The principal co-ordinate plot showed the separate allocation of the A. ligtu group and the allocation of A. aurea, which has a wide range of geographical distribution and genetic variation, in the middle of other Alstroemeria species. The genetic distances, based on AFLP markers, determined the genomic contribution of the parents to the interspeci®c hybrid.