The depolymerization of the recalcitrant polysaccharides found in lignocellulose has become an area of intense interest due to the role of this process in global carbon cycling, human gut microbiome nutritional contributions, and bioenergy production. However, underdeveloped genetic tools have hampered study of bacterial lignocellulose degradation, especially outside model organisms. In this re...

Indirect defense of plants against herbivores often involves the induced emission of volatile infochemicals including terpenoids that attract natural enemies of the herbivores. We report the isolation and characterization of a terpene synthase cDNA (LjEbOS) from a model legume, Lotus japonicus. Recombinant LjEbOS enzyme produced (E)-b-ocimene (98%) and its Z-isomer (2%). Transcripts of LjEbOS w...

We detected Cache Valley virus in Aedes japonicus, a widely distributed invasive mosquito species, in an Appalachian forest in the United States. The forest contained abundant white-tailed deer, a major host of the mosquito and virus. Vector competence trials indicated that Ae. j. japonicus mosquitoes can transmit this virus in this region.

Voltage-dependent anion channels (VDACs) are generally considered as the main pathway for metabolite transport across the mitochondrial outer membrane. Recent proteomic studies on isolated symbiosome membranes from legume nodules indicated that VDACs might also be involved in transport of nutrients between plants and rhizobia. In an attempt to substantiate this, we carried out a detailed molecu...

The invasive Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus was first recognised as established in Germany in 2008. In addition to the first known and quickly expanding population in the southwestern part of the country, three separate populations were discovered in West, North and southeastern Germany in 2012, 2013 and 2015, respectively, by means of the 'Mueckenatlas', a German instrument of p...

Lipase purified from Aspergillus japonicus isolated from Ropalidia marginata paper nest was attempted for crystallization by hanging drop method. 2-methyl2, 4-pentanediol (MPD) was used as the precipitating agent and single crystals of A. japonicus lipase were obtained by using protein concentrated to 10 mg/mL and a reservoir solution containing 10-20% MPD buffered with 150 mM cacodylate buffer...

Adult females of two invasive species, Aedes albopictus and Aedes japonicus japonicus, were collected for the first time in July and August 2011 in Germany. Previously, only immature stages of these species had been found in the country. Repeated detection of these species reveals the Upper Rhine Valley in south-west Germany to be a particularly sensitive region for the introduction and establi...

The sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus is exploited as a commercial species owing to their high nutritive and medicinal value. Recent high summer temperatures have caused high mortality rates in A. japonicus. In this study, we applied the isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) technique to investigate the global protein expression profile under an acute short-term (48 h) h...