Angiosperms produce diverse flowers and the pattern of floral symmetry is a major factor for flower diversification. Bilaterally symmetric flowers have evolved multiple times in different angiosperm lineages from radially symmetric ancestors. Whereas most monocots produce radially symmetric flowers, grasses such as rice (Oryza sativa) and maize (Zea mays) generate bilaterally symmetric flowers and spikelets. In this paper, we focused on the two opposite lemma (tol) mutant, which displays a pleiotropic phenotype in the spikelet. Close morphological examination revealed that a typical spikelet phenotype of the tol mutant was principally based on the mirror image duplication of the lemma-side half of the spikelet. Other spikelet phenotypes can be explained as the derivation from the spikelet with this duplication. A polar pattern of organ formation along the lemma-palea axis was disrupted by this duplication. Accordingly, tol mutation seems to change the spikelet from bilateral symmetry (monosymmetry) to disymmetry. Thus, the tol mutant provides good genetic material to investigate the regulation of spikelet symmetry in rice.

The anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and its metabolite 5-fluoro-2′-deoxyuridine (FUdR) inhibit thymidylate synthase and induce uracil bases in DNA. FUdR is commonly used for inhibiting fertility when measuring the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. However, it is not known whether DNA damage induced by FUdR affects lifespan. EXO-3 is an apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease in C. elegans, and we reported previously that deletion of the exo-3 gene causes reproductive abnormalities and decreased lifespan. In this study, we found that FUdR extended the lifespan of exo-3 mutants. We measured the lifespan of multiple germline mutants to examine whether this lifespan extension effect was dependent on fertility. In the presence of a fem-1 mutation, which causes a deficiency in sperm production, FUdR did not extend the lifespan of the exo-3 mutant. In glp-1 mutants, which do not develop gonads, the exo-3 mutant was not short-lived, and FUdR did not extend its lifespan. These results suggest that the lifespan extension effect of FUdR depends on fertility and the presence of gonads. fem-3 mutants, which do not produce oocytes, had increased lifespan in the presence of FUdR, independent of the exo-3 mutation. It is possible that the fem-3 mutant was susceptible to the lifespan extension effect of FUdR. From these results, we suggest that FUdR affects the lifespan of C. elegans in two ways: by interfering with fertility, which extends lifespan, and by inducing DNA base damage, which reduces lifespan.

The giant rhinoceros beetles (Dynastini, Scarabaeidae, Coleoptera) are distributed in tropical and temperate regions in Asia, America and Africa. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have revealed that the giant rhinoceros beetles can be divided into three clades representing Asia, America and Africa. Although a correlation between their evolution and the continental drift during the Pangean breakup was suggested, there is no accurate divergence time estimation among the three clades based on molecular data. Moreover, there is a long chronological gap between the timing of the Pangean breakup (Cretaceous: 110–148 Ma) and the emergence of the oldest fossil record (Oligocene: 33 Ma). In this study, we estimated their divergence times based on molecular data, using several combinations of fossil calibration sets, and obtained robust estimates. The inter-continental divergence events among the clades were estimated to have occurred about 99 Ma (Asian clade and others) and 78 Ma (American clade and African clade), both of which are after the Pangean breakup. These estimates suggest their inter-continental divergences occurred by overseas sweepstakes dispersal, rather than by vicariances of the population caused by the Pangean breakup.

The five frog species of the genus Hoplobatrachus are widely distributed in Asia and Africa, with Asia being considered the genus’ origin. However, the evolutionary relationships of Asian Hoplobatrachus species remain ambiguous. Additionally, genetic diversity and fundamental differentiation processes within species have not been studied. We conducted molecular phylogenetic analysis on Asian Hoplobatrachus frogs and population genetic analysis on H. tigerinus in Bangladesh using the mitochondrial CYTB gene and 21 microsatellite markers. The resultant phylogenetic tree revealed monophyly in each species, notwithstanding the involvement of cryptic species in H. chinensis and H. tigerinus, which are evident from the higher genetic divergence between populations. Bayesian inference of population structure revealed genetic divergence between western and eastern H. tigerinus populations in Bangladesh, suggesting restricted gene flow caused by barriers posed by major rivers. However, genetic distances among populations were generally low. A discrete population is located in the low riverine delta region, which likely reflects long-distance dispersal. These results strongly suggest that the environment specific to this river system has maintained the population structure of H. tigerinus in this region.

Detection of mutations at the whole-genome level is now possible by the use of high-throughput sequencing. However, determining mutations is a time-consuming process due to the number of false positives provided by mutation-detecting programs. AMAP (automated mutation analysis pipeline) was developed to overcome this issue. AMAP integrates a set of well-validated programs for mapping (BWA), removal of potential PCR duplicates (Picard), realignment (GATK) and detection of mutations (SAMtools, GATK, Pindel, BreakDancer and CNVnator). Thus, all types of mutations such as base substitution, deletion, insertion, translocation and chromosomal rearrangement can be detected by AMAP. In addition, AMAP automatically distinguishes false positives by comparing lists of candidate mutations in sequenced mutants. We tested AMAP by inputting already analyzed read data derived from three individual Arabidopsis thaliana mutants and confirmed that all true mutations were included in the list of candidate mutations. The result showed that the number of false positives was reduced to 12% of that obtained in a previous analysis that lacked a process of reducing false positives. Thus, AMAP will accelerate not only the analysis of mutation induction by individual mutagens but also the process of forward genetics.

Leaves are a major site for photosynthesis and a key determinant of plant architecture. Rice produces thin and slender leaves, which consist of the leaf blade and leaf sheath separated by the lamina joint. Two types of vasculature, the large and small vascular bundles, run in parallel, together with a strong structure, the midrib. In this paper, we examined the function of four genes that regulate the width of the leaf blade and the vein number: NARROW LEAF1 (NAL1), NAL2, NAL3 and NAL7. We backcrossed original mutants of these genes with the standard wild-type rice, Taichung 65. We then compared the effect of each mutation on similar genetic backgrounds and examined genetic interactions of these genes. The nal1 single mutation and the nal2 nal3 double mutation showed a severe effect on leaf width, resulting in very narrow leaves. Although vein number was also reduced in the nal1 and nal2 nal3 mutants, the small vein number was more strongly reduced than the large vein number. In contrast, the nal7 mutation showed a milder effect on leaf width and vein number, and both the large and small veins were similarly affected. Thus, the genes responsible for narrow leaf phenotype seem to play distinct roles. The nal7 mutation showed additive effects on both leaf width and vein number, when combined with the nal1 single or the nal2 nal3 double mutation. In addition, observations of inner tissues revealed that cell differentiation was partially compromised in the nal2 nal3 nal7 mutant, consistent with the severe reduction in leaf width in this triple mutant.

Table 1 on p. 203 should be replaced with the corrected Table 1 shown bellow.