Simplified Chinese lacquer techniques and Nanban style decoration on Luso-Asian objects from the late sixteenth or early seventeenth centuries

The meeting of multiple cultures and their mutual influence during the Portuguese expansion in Asia led to the emergence of different types of fusion styles in objects commissioned by the settlers, merchants, and religious orders present in Portuguese India. The east-Asian lacquer coatings of modestly sized wooden objects of various types dating from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries have been analyzed as part of the research for a doctoral thesis that aims to establish their cultural and geographical attribution within the context of the Getty Conservation Institute’s lacquer research project. Among the objects were three seventeenthcentury lacquered trays from Portuguese museums and private collections that had previously been classified as Japanese Nanban, Chinese or Ryukyuan lacquers or even as Indo-Portuguese artifacts. The materials and techniques that were identified show close similarities with Chinese techniques mentioned in historic accounts — the only existing Ming Chinese Treatise on lacquering Xiushi lu and the eighteenth-century memoirs of the Jesuit priest d’Incarville. These nearly 400-year-old artifacts are among the first lacquered objects commissioned by Europeans and probably the first of Chinese origin. Their detailed technical study contributes to international lacquer research and complements existing knowledge and perceptions of the lacquering processes that were applied in response to an early European demand for exotic items.

Identification and characterization of parasitism genes from the pinewood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus reveals a multilayered detoxification strategy.

The migratory endoparasitic nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which is the causal agent of pine wilt disease, has phytophagous and mycetophagous phases during its life cycle. This highly unusual feature distinguishes it from other plantparasitic nematodes and requires profound changes in biology between modes. During the phytophagous stage, the nematode migrates within pine trees, feeding on the contents of parenchymal cells. Like other plant pathogens, B. xylophilus secretes effectors from pharyngeal gland cells into the host during infection.We provide the first description of changes in the morphology of these gland cells between juvenile and adult life stages. Using a comparative transcriptomics approach and an effector identification pipeline, we identify numerous novel parasitism genes which may be important for the mediation of interactions of B. xylophilus with its host. In-depth characterization of all parasitism genes using in situ hybridization reveals two major categories of detoxification proteins, those specifically expressed in either the pharyngeal gland cells or the digestive system. These data suggest that B. xylophilus incorporates effectors in a multilayer detoxification strategy in order to protect itself from host defence responses during phytophagy.