The remaining risk of transfusion transmission of HBV infection before the adoption of NAT was mainly due to window-period donations, including one that was made before the HBV genome was detectable by PCR. However, it was determined that transfusion was not responsible in many cases for HBV infection after transfusion.

The sequences of ITS regions in 30 species and two groups of the genus Pythium were resolved. In the phylogenetic trees, the species were generally divided into two clusters, referred to here as the F and S groups. The species in the two groups correspond in terms of their sporangial morphology, with the F group being filamentous/Iobulate and the S group being spherical. Genetic divergence within the F group was lower than that within the S group. Other morphological characteristics such as oogonial structure and sexual nature appeared to be unrelated to the groupings in these trees. An alignment analysis revealed common sequences to all the species and arrangements specific to each F or S group. It was found that the ITS region was a good target in designing species-specific primers for the identification and detection of Pythium species. In the tree based on 5.8S rDNA sequences, oomycetes are distantly related to other fungi but separated from algae in Chromista. Key WordsChromista; internal transcribed spacer; phylogeny; Pythium; 5.8S rDNA.Pythium is a large genus of the class Oomycetes including more than 80 species (van der Plaats-Niterink, 1981 ), some of which are important plant pathogens with worldwide distribution. The taxonomy of this genus is mainly based on the morphology of reproductive structures such as the oogonium, oospore, antheridium, and sporangium. Since Matthews (1931) and Sideris (1932) proposed the first keys for Pythium spp., several keys have been published as new species have been described. Researchers providing systematic taxonomy in the genus are Middleton (1943), Waterhouse (1967), and van der Plaats-Niterink (1981). Hendrix and Papa (1974) introduced the concept of 'species complexes' in relation to taxonomy of the genus Pythium. This is an arrangement in which the species of Pythium are lumped into 15 species groups based on their morphological characteristics. In the taxonomic keys for Pythium, the size of each structure and common morphological characteristics are taken as criteria, including: (1) the presence of sexual reproductive structures -homothallic or heterothallic; (2) the sporangial morphology-spherical, filamentous or Iobulate; (3) the oogonial wall charactersmooth or ornamental; (4) the oospore character-plerotic or aplerotic; and (5) the antheridial charactermonoclinous or diclinous, However, each author regarded different characteristics as more important. For example, Middleton (1943) used the sporangial morphology at the first branch, whereas Waterhouse (1967) frequently utilized the reproductive structure size in the separaCorresponding author. E-mail: kageyama(~cc.gifu-u.ac.jp tion of species. Van der Plaats-Niterink (1981) regarded the presence of reproductive structures and the oogonial wall character as more important criteria. These differences in the interpretation of the taxonomic value of each character have resulted in a confusing taxonomic system for the Pythium species. It is therefore necessary to determine which morphological characteristic is the ...

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Western blotting (WB) for human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is performed to confirm anti-HTLV-1 antibodies detected at the initial screening of blood donors and in pregnant women. However, the frequent occurrence of indeterminate results is a problem with this test. We therefore assessed the cause of indeterminate WB results by analyzing HTLV-1 provirus genomic sequences. A quantitative PCR assay measuring HTLV-1 provirus in WB-indeterminate samples revealed that the median proviral load was approximately 100-fold lower than that of WBpositive samples (0.01 versus 0.71 copy/100 cells). Phylogenic analysis of the complete HTLV-1 genomes of WB-indeterminate samples did not identify any specific phylogenetic groups. When we analyzed the nucleotide changes in 19 HTLV-1 isolates from WB-indeterminate samples, we identified 135 single nucleotide substitutions,

Background: A significant non-neural, monoamine-independent mechanism underlies the antidepressant effect of amitriptyline. Results: Amitriptyline-evoked GDNF production is mediated by pertussis toxin (PTX)-sensitive G␣ i/o . Conclusion: PTX-sensitive G␣ i/o activation is critical for the cascade that underpins the biological effect of amitriptyline. Significance: Further elaboration of the intracellular mechanism of amitriptyline could lead to greater understanding of depression and novel antidepressant treatments.