Effect of dietary supplementation of inulin and W. cibaria on haemato‐immunological parameters of hybrid surubim (Pseudoplatystoma sp)

The dietary supplementation of prebiotics, probiotics and symbiotic in hybrid surubins (a Pseudoplatystoma corruscans and P. fasciatum cross) was evaluated for the effects on their autochthonous intestinal microbiota and on haematological and immunological parameters. A total of 160 fish were divided into four treatment groups with four replicates each. The treatment groups were fed with the following diets for 15 days: control diet without supplementation; 0.5% inulin (prebiotic) supplementation; Weissella cibaria (CPQBA 001‐10 DRM 02) (7.87 ± 0.2 log CFU g^?1) supplementation; or 0.5% inulin and W. cibaria supplementation (symbiotic group). The midgut intestines of the fish with the symbiotic diet supplementation had higher concentrations of lactic acid bacteria (7.07 ± 1.11 log CFU g^?1) and low levels of Vibrio spp (1.90 ± 0.60 log CFU g^?1) and Pseudomonas spp (2.23 ± 1.48 log CFU g^?1). In addition, increased erythrocytes and reduced circulating neutrophils were observed in this group. No differences in blood glucose, serum protein or lysozyme levels were detected between treatment groups. However, a higher concentration of total immunoglobulin was observed in fish fed with the probiotic and symbiotic diets. The addition of 0.5% inulin (prebiotic) thus W. cibaria (probiotic) to the diet of Pseudoplatystoma hybrid surubins reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria and stimulate the beneficial intestinal microbiota and may possibly alter their immune defence system.     

Ceratocystis platani is killing plane trees in Istanbul (Turkey)

Ceratocystis platani was detected at several locations in the European side of Istanbul, causing severe dieback and mortality, mainly on Platanus × acerifolia imported from Italy approximately 160 years ago, but also on Platanus orientalis. In the work reported here, the causal agent of the dieback and mortality was identified based on morphological characteristics in culture and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing, confirming the presence of C. platani in Turkey. All analysed C. platani isolates from Istanbul shared the same ITS sequence with European C. platani strains available in the NCBI, but differed from other species previously ascribed to the Ceratocystis fimbriata species complex. Pathogenicity of C. platani was proven by inoculation onto 25‐cm‐long and 4–9 mm diam. P. orientalis twigs and the causal agent reisolated from symptomatic tissues. In a survey of 976 Platanus in streets and parks of Istanbul, 26.5% of trees showed symptoms of C. platani infections, whilst 5.6% were dead. The proportion of symptomatic trees was higher where management interventions, such as topping or pruning and felling infected trees had been carried out.     

Chlorogenic acid supplementation during in vitro maturation improves maturation,fertilization and developmental competence of porcine oocytes

Chlorogenic acid (CGA) is a quinic acid conjugate of caffeic acid, and a phytochemical found in many fruits and beverages that acts as an antioxidant. The present study investigated the effects of CGA supplementation during in vitro maturation (IVM), on in vitro development of porcine oocytes, to improve the porcine in vitro production (IVP) system. Oocytes were matured either without (control) or with CGA (10, 50, 100 and 200 μM). Subsequently, the matured oocytes were fertilized and cultured in vitro for 7 day. The rates of maturation, fertilization and blastocyst formation of oocytes matured with 50 μM CGA were significantly (p < .05) higher than those of the control oocytes. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is one of the reactive oxygen species and induces DNA damage in porcine oocytes. When oocytes were matured with 1 mM H₂O₂ to assess the protective effect of CGA, 50 μM CGA supplementation improved the maturation rate and the proportion of DNA‐fragmented nuclei in oocytes compared with control oocytes matured without CGA. Moreover, when oocytes were matured with either 50 μM CGA (control) or caffeic acid (10, 50 and 100 μM), the rates of maturation, fertilization and the blastocyst formation of oocytes matured with 50 μM CGA were similar to those of oocytes matured with 10 and 50 μM caffeic acid. Our results suggest that CGA has comparable effects to caffeic acid, and IVM with 50 μM CGA is particularly beneficial to IVP of porcine embryos and protects oocytes from DNA damage induced by oxidative stress. Supplementation of CGA to the maturation medium has a potential to improve porcine IVP system.     

Miscibility, structural characteristics, and thermal behavior of wet spun regenerated silk fibroin/nylon 6 blend filaments

In this study, the regenerated silk fibroin (SF)/nylon 6 blend filaments were fabricated by the wet spinning and miscibility, structural characteristics, and thermal behavior of blend filaments were elucidated. The XRD results implied that the amount of crystalline region of each polymer did not change linearly with the blend ratio suggesting that there are some changes in the miscibility depending on the mixing ratio. The SEM observation revealed that the miscibility of blend decreased with an increase of nylon 6 resulting in a severe phase separation in 50/50 SF/nylon 6 filament. The miscibility governed the thermal behavior of blend filaments. The melting point of nylon 6 remained constant until 50 % nylon 6 content, whereas the melting point depression appeared in 30 % nylon 6 implying miscibility. Interestingly, the thermal decomposition of the nylon 6 component was accelerated by the presence of SF and the acceleration action of SF became stronger as the miscibility increased.     

Gall production on hawthorns caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gymnosporangium</Emphasis> spp. in Hatay province,Turkey

Three hawthorn and related rust diseases caused by Gymnosporangium confusum on Crataegus monogyna, Gymnosporangium clavariiforme on Crataegus orientalis and Gymnosporangium sabinae on Pyrus communis were detected in Hatay province, Turkey. G. confusum was also found causing telial galls on Juniperus communis. G. confusum and G. clavariiforme produced aecial horns on overwintered galls on hawthorn twigs from May to June. The production of galls caused by Gymnosporangium on the secondary host is unusual. Portions of the nuclear ITS and LSU rDNA were sequenced for all three species of Gymnosporangium for use as a species barcode; sequences were deposited in GenBank. Sequence data from G. clavariiforme and G. sabinae matched those in GenBank; however, this is the first study to deposit sequence data from G. confusum to GenBank. The life cycles of G. confusum and G. clavariiforme are discussed along with implications for disease control.     

Suppression of pine wilt disease by an antibacterial agent,oxolinic acid

BACKGROUND: Pine wilt disease (PWD) is very complex and has been reported to be caused by pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner & Buhrer) Nickle, and its accompanying bacteria. However, there is no report on the control of PWD by antibacterial agent. The present study was performed to investigate disease control efficacy of antibacterial agents against PWD. RESULTS: Among six antibacterial antibiotics tested, oxolinic acid (OA) showed the strongest antibacterial activity against five bacteria isolated from three strains of pine wood nematode. In in vivo assay, it effectively suppressed the development of PWD in three‐year‐old seedlings of Pinus densiflora Sieb. & Zucc.; it showed 71% control when injected at 3 mg per seedling. A mixture of OA and the nematicidal agent abamectin (Ab) showed higher disease control efficacy against PWD than either OA or Ab alone. In addition, OA alone and a mixture of OA and Ab also controlled PWD in approximately 20‐year‐old pine trees under field conditions. CONCLUSION: This is the first report on the suppression of PWD by OA. The result strongly indicates that PWD could be controlled by antibacterial antibiotic alone and a combination of antibacterial and nematicidal agents. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Acaricidal,repellent and oviposition deterrent activities of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Datura stramonium</Emphasis> L. against adult <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetranychus urticae</Emphasis> (Koch)

The ethanol extracts obtained from both leaf and seed in the Thorn apple (Datura stramonium L.) (Solanaceae) were investigated for acaricidal, repellent and oviposition deterrent properties against adult two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae) under laboratory conditions. Leaf and seed extracts, which were applied in 167,250 and 145,750 mg/l concentrations, respectively (using a Petri leaf disc-spray tower method), caused 98 and 25% mortality among spider mite adults after 48 h. The simple logistic regression analysis showed that the independent variable, an increase in the dose of leaf extract was associated with a significant increase in the death rate of T. urticae females, but an increase in the dosage of seed extracts did not have a significant effect. Using probit analysis and estimating the parameters with a confidence limit of 95%, we determined the LC₅₀ values of leaf extract to be 70,593 mg/l. According to Pearson’s χ² test, mites showed the strongest run off to bean leaf surfaces sprayed with both leaf and seed extracts (in sub-lethal doses: <7,500 mg/l and <25,000 mg/l, respectively) and moved towards surfaces that had not been sprayed with extracts. Furthermore, repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant difference between the number of eggs laid on unsprayed bean leaves compared to bean leaves that were sprayed with leaf and seed extracts at sub-lethal doses, 2,500 and 25,000 mg/l concentrations, respectively. These results suggest that D. stramonium extracts could be used to manage the two-spotted spider mite.     

Different crop rotation systems as drivers of change in soil bacterial community structure and yield of rice, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis>

Intensive cropping, especially of rice, is considered to contribute to negative effects not only on soil chemical and biological properties but also on long-term grain yield. Appropriate crop rotation is often practiced as an alternative strategy to overcome the negative side effects of intensive cropping. Although soil microbial diversity and community structure have been shown to respond differently to altered agricultural management practices, little is known about possible links between crop rotation and grain yield on bacterial communities in rice paddy soil. In this study, we investigated the impact of specific rotational crops and compared it with intensive rice cultivation. The main crop rice (Oryza sativa) was rotated with maize (Zea mays) and mungbean (Phaseolus aureus) in different combinations in a system cultivating three crops per year. Soil bacterial communities were studied in two different cropping periods using pyrosequencing of the variable V4 region of the 16S rRNA. Our results showed that rotation with alternative crops increased rice yield by 24–46% depending on rotation structure and that bacterial community structure was altered in the presence of mungbean and/or maize compared to that in rice monoculture. In the crop rotation systems, composition, abundance, and diversity of soil bacterial communities were significantly different and higher than those in rice monoculture. Our results show that effects of crop rotation relate to changes in soil bacterial community structure suggesting that appropriate crop rotations provide a feasible practice to maintain the equilibrium in soil microbial environment for sustainable rice cultivation.     

Differentiation of Umbilical Cord Lining Membrane-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Endothelial-Like Cells

Background: Stem cell therapy for the treatment of vascular-related diseases through functional revascularization is one of the most important research areas in tissue engineering. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro differentiation of umbilical CL-MSC into endothelial lineage cells. Methods: In this study, isolated cells were characterized for expression of MSC-specific markers and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation. They were induced to differentiate into endothelial-like cells and then examined for expression of the endothelial-specific markers, karyotype, and functional behavior of cells. Results: Isolated cells expressed MSC-specific markers and differentiated into adipocytes and osteoblasts. After endothelial differentiation, they expressed CD31, vWF, VE-cadherin, VEGFR1, and VEGFR2 at both mRNA and protein level, but their morphological changes were not apparent when compared with those of undifferentiated cells. There were no significant changes in karyotype of differentiated cells. Furthermore, angiogenesis assay and LDL uptake assay showed that differentiated cells were able to form the capillary-like structures and uptake LDL, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicated that umbilical CL-MSC could differentiate into functional endothelial-like cells. Also, they are suitable for basic and clinical studies to cure several vascular-related diseases. Key Words: Endothelial differentiation, Endothelial-like cells, Mesenchymal stem cells, Umbilical cord lining membrane