A 14-year-old female South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) with persistent vaginal secretion and chronic hemorrhagic diarrhea was encountered. During postmortem examination, the uterus was found to resemble a balloon with mucosal congestion and was filled with grayish milky material. The ovaries also had abnormal features, including necrotic surface lesions and multiple whitish foci in the cut section. Hemorrhages and ulcerated changes due to toxemia were observed in other organs, including the liver, spleen, lung, intestines, and lymph nodes. Microscopically, the left ovary contained interlacing fascicles of fibroblast-like cells with blunt-end nuclei showing cytoplasmic positive immunoreactivity against alpha-smooth muscle actin and desmin. The right ovary contained cells with round to cigar-shaped nuclei showing cytoplasmic positive immunoreactivity against vimentin. In conclusion, based on classification of bilateral ovarian tumors as a leiomyoma in the left region and a fibroma in the right region, this sea lion was diagnosed with chronic closed pyometra.

Copy number variations (CNVs) are considered major sources of genetic variation, and CNVs may influence phenotypic variation and gene expression. To detect CNVs, rice seeds were exposed with 100～400 Gy of gamma-ray (GA, 60Co), cosmic-ray (CR) by Russia ISS, and 30 and 40 Gy of ion beam (IB, 220 Mev carbon ion). After the exposed rice seeds were cultured in 1/2 MS medium for 14 days, they were used for array-based Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis using Agilent’s RICE CGH array. As a results, the highest number of CNVs (Gain 808 and Loss 24,080) were detected in the CR treatment, whereas GA100 (100 Gy of GA) was identified the least CNVs. Compared individual chromosome, the chromosome 8 and 11 were identified the highest CNVs, the chromosome 3 had the least CNVs. Most of identified CNVs existed in the range of 10～500kb. In particular, the same CNV locations among different types of ionizing radiation were observed in chromosome 12, and these CNVs contained the commonly 5 amplified genes, containing retrotransposon protein, NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 3, heavy metal transport/detoxification protein domain containing protein, and 2 unknown proteins. Other studies were reported that Ty1 (Long Terminal Repeat-retrotransposon family 1) transcription and retrotransposition were induced by different environmental stresses such as ionizing radiation, UV-light exposure, DNA damage and nutrient starvation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our results also show that retrotransposon protein (LOC_Os12g34016) was specifically amplified by different types of ionizing radiation.

Single seeds of common buckwheat cultivar Suwon No. 1 when subjected to SDS-PAGE revealed very high polymorphism. High variation existed for protein or protein subunits with molecular weight 54-47kDa, 45-25kDa and 16-11kDa. The electrophoregram showed variation for globulin as well as other protein fractions. About 300 proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis in common buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) seed. Seed maturation is a dynamic and temporally regulated phase of seed development that determines the composition of storage proteins reserves in mature seeds. Buckwheat seeds from 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days after pollination and matured stage were used for the analysis. This led to the establishment of high-resolution proteome reference maps, expression profiles of 48 spots. It was identified 48 proteins from MALDI-TOF/MS analysis of wild buckwheat seed storage proteins. The 48 proteins were found identical or similar to those of proteins reported in buckwheat and other plants; it is belonging to 9 major functional categories including seed storage proteins, stress/defense response, protein synthesis, photosynthesis, allergy proteins, amino acid, enzyme, metabolism, and miscellaneous. It appears that the major allergenic storage protein separated played the important role in buckwheat breeding and biochemical characterization.

To facilitate the introgression of F. esculentum into the traits of F. homotropicum, several accessions of the hybrids between these two species were pollinated with F. esculentum as the recurrent parent. The embryo in vitro rescue was performed to increase the recovery of backcross progenies. The F2 generation was more amenable than F1 hybrids to produce backcross progenies. The F1 hybrids were backcrossed twice with common buckwheat (pin-type F. esculentum) (recurrent backcrossing). Also, alternate backcrosses with common buckwheat and F. homotropicum (congruity backcrossing) were carried out. Pollen tube growth of BCF1 × F. esculentum (thrum) and F. homotropicum × BCF1 was the disturbed penetration exceeded for all initial interspecific hybrids, and its requirement was proportionally lower when the common buckwheat was used as the recurrent parent and as the last parent of congruity hybrids. Effects of both common buckwheat and F. homotropicum on seed success rate for hybridization were observed. Growth of hybrid embryos before rescue, regeneration of mature hybrids all increased recurrent and congruity backcrosses and inter-crosses between F1 plants and selected fertile plants of the second congruity backcrosses.