Cell wall Glycine-rich Protein2 is involved in tapetal differentiation and pollen maturation.

The tapetum plays important roles in anther development by providing materials for pollen-wall formation and nutrients for pollen development. Here, we report the characterization of a male-sterile mutant of glycine-rich protein 2 (OsGRP2), which exhibits irregular cell division and dysfunction of the tapetum. GRP is a cellwall structural protein present in the cell walls of diverse plant species, but its function is unclear in pollen development. We found that few GRP genes are expressed in rice and thus focused on one highly expressed gene, OsGRP2. The tapetal cell walls of an OsGRP2 mutant did not thicken at the pollen mothercell stage, as a result, pollen maturation and fertility rate decreased. High OsGRP2 expression was detected in male-floral organs, and OsGRP2 was distributed in the tapetum. OsGRP2 participated in establishment of the cellwall network during early tapetum development. In conclusion, our results indicate that OsGRP2 plays important roles in the differentiation and function of the tapetum.

[Treatment outcome of alcoholics in a general hospital alcoholic clinic: effects of adopting moderation as a practical treatment goal].

It's almost 50 years since medical treatment for alcoholism began to be practiced in Japan in 1960s. Since then, treatment goal for alcohol use disorders has always been absolute abstinence, and only severe cases have been treated. Recently, many people are concerned about lifestyle-related diseases, suicides, depression, and drunken-driving accidents. Reduction in alcohol consumption of heavy drinkers began to draw attention, and brief motivational intervention study was launched at last in 2007 in Japan. In 2009 we set up alcohol clinic in a general hospital in order that the alcoholics may get easier access to their treatments. The basic roles of our alcohol satellite clinicare as follows: 1. Assessment and diagnosis of patient's alcohol-related problem are our primary role. 2. Referral to a specialized hospital is offered in case special treatments for alcohol dependence are needed. 3. Our standard treatment is a brief intervention, not exceeding 3 sessions, to enhance the patients' self-efficacy. 4. Our treatment goal is not limited to total abstinence. Moderation of drinking can also be a goal. We examined the treatment outcome to verify these roles and meanings. Of all the patients visited this hospital from 2009 to 2011, 77 patients were diagnosed as alcohol dependent. Out of those 77 patients, 21 patients set up a moderation of drinking as their temporal treatment goal and 10 achieved good outcome at the inquiry point of 8 to 41 (average: 22) months after intervention. This result suggests that moderation can be a practical treatment goal in some alcoholics.