Yoshikatsu Ueda

Changes in the Bacterial Community of Soybean Rhizospheres during Growth in the Field

Highly diverse communities of bacteria inhabiting soybean rhizospheres play pivotal roles in plant growth and crop production; however, little is known about the changes that occur in these communities during growth. We used both culture-dependent physiological profiling and culture independent DNA-based approaches to characterize the bacterial communities of the soybean rhizosphere during growth in the field. The physiological properties of the bacterial communities were analyzed by a community-level substrate utilization assay with BioLog Eco plates, and the composition of the communities was assessed by gene pyrosequencing. Higher metabolic capabilities were found in rhizosphere soil than in bulk soil during all stages of the BioLog assay. Pyrosequencing analysis revealed that differences between the bacterial communities of rhizosphere and bulk soils at the phylum level; i.e., Proteobacteria were increased, while Acidobacteria and Firmicutes were decreased in rhizosphere soil during growth. Analysis of operational taxonomic units showed that the bacterial communities of the rhizosphere changed significantly during growth, with a higher abundance of potential plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, including Bacillus, Bradyrhizobium, and Rhizobium, in a stage-specific manner. These findings demonstrated that rhizosphere bacterial communities were changed during soybean growth in the field.

A new instrument for the study of wave-particle interactions in space : One-chip Wave-Particle Interaction Analyzer

Wave-particle interactions in a collisionless plasma have been analyzed in several past space science missions but direct and quantitative measurement of the interactions has not been conducted. We here introduce the Wave-Particle Interaction Analyzer (WPIA) to observe wave-particle interactions directly by calculating the inner product between the electric field of plasma waves and of plasma particles. The WPIA has four fundamental functions: waveform calibration, coordinate transformation, time correction, and interaction calculation. We demonstrate the feasibility of One-chip WPIA (O-WPIA) using a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) as a test model for future science missions. The O-WPIA is capable of real-time processing with low power consumption. We validate the performance of the O-WPIA including determination of errors in the calibration and power consumption.

Software wave receiver for the SS-520-2 rocket experiment

A software wave receiver was aboard the SS-520-2 rocket as a part of the plasma wave analyzer and successfully accomplished waveform observations and spectral observations. In the present paper, we describe the specifications and roles of the software wave receiver on the SS-520-2 rocket experiment. This receiver consists of a waveform receiver using real-time data compression and a spectral receiver with high time and frequency resolution using a programmable down converter. We report here on the first flight test of the new plasma wave receiver to be used for future planet explorers and space observation missions. Every 0.5 s, spectra of a 3-MHz signal with 0.3-kHz resolution are obtained, and the data compression of waveforms with the bandwidth of 15 kHz are performed. Although the sweep time was occasionally affected if the data were not compressed enough, no data were lost during the flight.

Accumulation of 137Cs by rice grown in four types of soil contaminated by the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011 and 2012

The ability to predict radiocesium transfer from soil to agricultural products is necessary for assessing management options in a radiocesium contaminated area. In this study, we evaluated the differences in transfer factors among soil samples and the differences in transfer factors between the first and the second years of contamination in rice. We employed pot experiments using four types of soils that are representative of the agricultural soils present in the Fukushima Prefecture contaminated by (137)Cs released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant after the March 2011 accident. The experiments were conducted during the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons. The geometric mean of transfer factors for brown rice and inedible rice part was 0.011 and 0.031, respectively, in 2011 and 0.0061 and 0.020, respectively, in 2012. The average decreasing rate of the transfer factor was 40% and 30% in brown rice and inedible rice part, respectively, from 2011 to 2012, presumably owing to the irreversible sorption of (137)Cs to clay minerals.

Pyrosequencing assessment of rhizosphere fungal communities from a soybean field

Soil fungal communities play essential roles in soil ecosystems, affecting plant growth and health. Rhizosphere bacterial communities have been shown to undergo dynamic changes during plant growth. This study utilized 454 pyrosequencing to analyze rhizosphere fungal communities during soybean growth. Members of the Ascomycota and Basiodiomycota dominated in all soils. There were no statistically significant changes at the phylum level among growth stages or between bulk and rhizosphere soils. In contrast, the relative abundance of small numbers of operational taxonomic units, 4 during growth and 28 between bulk and rhizosphere soils, differed significantly. Clustering analysis revealed that rhizosphere fungal communities were different from bulk fungal communities during growth stages of soybeans. Taken together, these results suggest that in contrast to rhizosphere bacterial communities, most constituents of rhizosphere fungal communities remained stable during soybean growth.

Do soybeans select specific species of Bradyrhizobium during growth

Soybean is an important crop, with processed soybeans being the second largest source of vegetable oil and the largest source of animal protein feed in the world. Nodules on soybean roots are responsible for symbiotic nitrogen fixation, enabling soybean plants to obtain sufficient nitrogen for growth and seed production. Because nitrogen is an essential, but often limiting, nutrient for plant growth, improvements in nitrogen fixation are highly required in agriculture. We recently reported a comprehensive analysis of rhizosphere bacterial communities during soybean growth in a field in Kyoto prefecture, Japan. The bacterial communities of the rhizosphere changed significantly during growth, with potential plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, including Bacillus, Bradyrhizobium, and Rhizobium, increasing in a stage-specific manner. In this addendum, we focus on changes in Bradyrhizobium during soybean growth, suggesting that soybean plants select for symbiotic partners.

Local structure of alkalis in mixed-alkali borate glass to elucidate the origin of mixed-alkali effect

Abstract We report the structural analysis of Na+ and Cs+ in sodium cesium borate crystals and glasses using 23Na and 133Cs magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy. The composition dependence of NMR spectra of the borate was similar to that of the silicate: (1) the peak position of cesium borate crystals shifted to upfield for structures with larger Cs+ coordination numbers, (2) the MAS NMR spectra of xNa2O-yCs2O-3B2O3 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, x + y = 1) glass showed that the average coordination number (CN) of both the alkali cations decreases with increasing Cs+/(Na+ + Cs+) ratio. However, the degree of decrement in borates is much smaller than that in silicates. We have considered that the small difference in CN is due to 4-coordinated B, because it is electrically compensated by the alkali metal ions resulting in the restriction of having various coordinations of O to alkali metal.

Removal of radioactive Cs from gravel conglomerate using water containing air bubbles.

Remediation of sites contaminated with radioactive material such as Cs is important because of the risk posed to human health. Here, we report the effectiveness of water containing air bubbles with a diameter around 100 nm (nanobubbled water, NB water) for the removal of radioactive Cs. Laboratory experiments confirmed that NB water is more effective than purified water and as effective as water with neutral detergent in the removal of Cs-137 from gravel. Moreover, NB water retains its effectiveness even after storage for 7 d. Finally, NB water produced onsite from tap water was found to be effective for removal of radioactive Cs from gravel conglomerate in Fukushima, Japan.

Structural analysis of alkali cations in mixed alkali silicate glasses by 23Na and 133Cs MAS NMR

Abstract We report the structural analysis of Na+ and Cs+ in sodium cesium silicate glasses by using 23Na and 133Cs magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy. In the NMR spectra of cesium silicate crystals, the peak position shifted to higher magnetic field for structures with larger Cs+ coordination numbers and to lower magnetic field for smaller Cs+ coordination numbers. The MAS NMR spectra of xNa2O-yCs2O-2SiO2 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.33, 0.5, 0.66, 0.8, 1.0; x + y = 1) glass reveal that the average coordination number of both the alkali cations decreases with increasing Cs+/(Na+ + Cs+) ratio. In addition, the coordination number of Na+ in xNa2O-yCs2O-2SiO2 glass is smaller than that of Cs+. This difference between the average coordination numbers of the alkali cations is considered to be one structural reason of the mixed alkali effect.

Hydrogen Gas Sensor using Nano-sized R-MnO2 Powder

Nano-powder of R-type manganese dioxide (RMO) was used for a hydrogen gas sensor. We prepared a pellet (diameter: 2 cm, thickness: 0.5mm) of RMO, and set it in between a couple of Pt mesh sheets to make a SOFC cell. The cell showed a maximum output voltage of 0.3V with good response to hydrogen gas supplied at room temperature. We measured the variation of the output voltage by using different concentration of hydrogen gas (0.1- 99.9 %) and their flow rate (10- 100 ml/min). Furthermore, other crystal structure types of manganese dioxide were tested for comparison. Consequently, only RMO showed good suitability as a hydrogen gas sensor, usable over a wide range of hydrogen gas concentrations.