No abstract

Two types of Berardius are recognised by local whalers in Hokkaido, Japan. The first is the ordinary Baird’s beaked whale, B . bairdii , whereas the other is much smaller and entirely black. Previous molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed that the black type is one recognisable taxonomic unit within the Berardius clade but is distinct from the two known Berardius species. To determine the characteristics of the black type, we summarised external morphology and skull osteometric data obtained from four individuals, which included three individuals from Hokkaido and one additional individual from the United States National Museum of Natural History collection. The whales differed from all of their congeners by having the following unique characters: a substantially smaller body size of physically mature individuals, proportionately shorter beak, and darker body colour. Thus, we conclude that the whales are a third Berardius species.

The release of elicitor-active carbohydrates from fungal cell walls by p-1,3-endoglucanase contained i n host tissues has been implicated as one of the earliest processes in the interaction between soybean (Glycine max) and the fungal pathogen Pbytopbtbora megasperma f. sp. glycinea leading t o host defense responses such as phytoalexin production. The present study was conducted t o evaluate the primary structure of the glucanase-released elicitor (RE).Cel-filtration chromatography of carbohydrates released from mycelial walls by purified soybean p-1,3-endoglucanase resolved them into the four fractions (elicitor-active RE-I, -11, and -111 and elicitorinactive RE-IV). Sugar composition analysis indicated that all of the fractions were composed almost entirely of glucose. 'H-and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance analysis indicated the presence of both p-1,3-and p-1,6-linkages for the elicitor-active RE-I, -11, and -111 fractions and only p-1,3 linkage for the elicitor-inactive RE-IV fraction. Methylation analysis and degradation studies employing p-1 ,3-endo-and p-1,3-exoglucanase further suggested that the basic structure of elicitor-active RE consists of P-1,6-linked glucan backbone chains of various lengths with frequent side branches composed of p-1,3-linked one or two glucose moieties. From these structural analyses of RE, a structural model of how RE is originally present in fungal cell walls and released by host p-1,3-endoglucanase is also proposed.