Abstract: There is the problem that a liquid culture medium fed by a pump has a high frequency of contact with a gas during movement in a tube, and the pH value of the liquid culture medium before and after feeding changes easily. In a liquid feeder and a cell culture apparatus provided therewith, a feed pipe 7 is connected with a gas bag 14, the liquid to be fed into the feed pipe 7 is fed so as to be sandwiched by a gas for suppressing the qualitative changes of the liquid. Furthermore, the gas bag is connected with a container 8 for holding a liquid, and holds the gas for suppressing qualitative changes of the liquid in a gas phase of the container.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to provide cell concentration devices and cell concentration systems having a novel liquid flow-circulation chamber. It is a cell concentration device including a liquid flow-circulation chamber, the liquid flow-circulation chamber having a first tube and a second tube, the first tube and the second tube being connected with each other via a liquid delivery tube outside the liquid flow-circulation chamber, the liquid delivery tube including a liquid delivery pump and a cell concentration module, the liquid delivery pump being capable of feeding a liquid through the liquid delivery pump in both directions, the first tube and the second tube each having an open end in a liquid in the liquid flow-circulation chamber, the first tube having an opening in a gas in the liquid flow-circulation chamber, and the liquid being a suspension of cells.

Abstract: The present invention provides a culture vessel and a measuring device for measuring a cell sheet thickness nondestructively during culturing. A culture vessel having a lid 4 has a float 8 installed in the interior and the float is structured so as to be uplifted by a culture medium in the culture vessel. Further, a cell sheet thickness measuring device having a sensor head 10 having a light-emitting element 10A and a light-receiving element 10B to detect a positional variation of the float in the vertical direction and a controller 11 to process a signal of the sensor head is configured.

Abstract: There is the problem that a liquid culture medium fed by a pump has a high frequency of contact with a gas during movement in a tube, and the pH value of the liquid culture medium before and after feeding changes easily. In a liquid feeder and a cell culture apparatus provided therewith, a feed pipe 7 is connected with a gas bag 14, the liquid to be fed into the feed pipe 7 is fed so as to be sandwiched by a gas for suppressing the qualitative changes of the liquid. Furthermore, the gas bag is connected with a container 8 for holding a liquid, and holds the gas for suppressing qualitative changes of the liquid in a gas phase of the container.

Abstract: A culture which maintains an aseptic state at the time of culturing is achieved, the avoidance of damage to a closed-system culture vessel and of an influence to the cells due to impacts and oscillation is possible during transportation after being manufactured. The closed-system culture vessel 101 has culture vessels 201, 202 for maintaining the cells and/or the culture medium, and a culturing space which is closed by holding members 203, 204 for holding the culture vessels, and the holding member has a semi-open cavity 221 independent of the culturing space. Further, the holding member, by being provided with a lid fixing ring 220 surrounding a connector part 214, is not damaged even when impacts are applied during transportation.

Abstract: A cDNA library prepared from rice seedlings is subjected to screening using Arabidopisis proline transporter gene cDNA as a probe. The positive clones thus obtained are subcloned and examined for their length through restriction enzyme treatment and 5′ and 3′ terminal nucleotide sequences to give a rice proline transporter gene cDNA-containing clone. This cDNA is sequenced and, based on the results of homology searching, a rice proline transporter gene is identified which shows high (68%) homology (amino acid level) with the Arabidopsis-derived ones and is very similar in transmembrane domain (hydropathy plot analysis) and expression pattern (Northern analysis) thereto.