Mode of resistance to respiration inhibitors at the cytochrome bc1 enzyme complex of Mycosphaerella fijiensis field isolates

Field isolates of Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causing black Sigatoka of banana, were characterised for their sensitivity to different inhibitors of the cytochrome bc₁ enzyme complex (Qo respiration inhibitors, strobilurin fungicides), using physiological, biochemical and molecular genetic methods. Strobilurin‐resistant isolates exhibited very high resistance factors both in mycelial growth inhibition and NADH consumption assays. Cross‐resistance was observed among all Qo inhibitors, including trifloxystrobin, azoxystrobin, famoxadone, strobilurin B and myxothiazol. However, the Qi and the cytochrome aa₃ inhibitors, antimycin A and potassium cyanide, respectively, were not cross‐resistant to Qo inhibitors. In sensitive but not in resistant isolates, mixtures of Qo inhibitors and SHAM, an inhibitor of the alternative oxidase (AOX), were more active than the components alone, indicating that the alternative pathway is essential in metabolism, but not causal for resistance. In the cell‐free NADH‐consumption assay, the Qo inhibitors affected the sensitive but not the resistant isolates, suggesting that AOX was not active in sub‐mitochondrial particles. In whole cells, however, the AOX has a basic expression level and is probably not inducible by trifloxystrobin. Sequencing of the cytochrome b gene of sensitive and resistant M fijiensis isolates revealed a difference in the nucleotide sequence leading to a single amino acid change from glycine to alanine at position 143 in the resistant isolate. This change is known to occur also in the naturally tolerant basidiomycete Mycena galopoda. It is suggested that the field isolates of M fijiensis can acquire resistance to Qo inhibitors due to a target site alteration with a single base pair change. Resistant isolates do not seem to contain a mixture of mutated and non‐mutated DNA, indicating a complete selection of resistant mitochondria and a maternally donated mode of resistance. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Die Schwarzerden Nordostdeutschlands und ihre Stellung in der holozänen Landschaftsentwicklung

Phaeozems of northeastern Germany and their position in holocene landscape development A typical soil association of NE-German young moraine area (Uckermark-region) including Phaeozems and colluvial deposits (Cumulic Anthrosols) was described macromorphologically using a trench profile and investigated by chemical standard analyses, humic compound analysis, pollen analysis and ¹⁴C-radiocarbon dating. Results are discussed in view of pedogenesis of Phaeozems. Conclusions were made concerning the holocene premedieval landscape development. A key position for reconstructing palaeoecological environmental conditions is held by “Black colluvium”. The “Black colluvium” is the relocated humous horizon of former Chernozems influenced by syn- and postsedimentary processes. The specific character of holocene landscape development and pedogenesis of the Uckermark-region is connected with the special natural conditions and history of land-use.     

Correction to: “Current-IPM-Fit”: a new proposal for enhanced efficacy labelling of plant protection products

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In the original publication, old version of Table 1 was included by mistake. The correct version of Table 1 is given here.     

The importance of the soil skeleton for plant-available nutrients in sites of the Southern Black Forest,Germany

The skeletal fraction of forest soils in the Southern Black Forest has a cation exchange capacity (CEC) within the same order of magnitude as fine earth. As the base saturation in the skeleton is much higher than in the fine earth, stones provide a physiologically more favourable environment for nutrient uptake by plants. The fact that 70% of the skeleton grains showed adherent rhizomorphae and/or fine roots suggests that this potential is widely used by nutrient-adsorbing tissues. Therefore the ecological importance of this additional and, until now, unconsidered ion pool available to plants is probably higher than what is reflected by simple ion quantities. The effective CEC of the coarse fraction in forest sites with crystalline bedrock is reasonably predictable considering the water vapour adsorption of the 105°C dried skeleton at a suction of pF 4.6 (vapour pressure equilibrium with an oversaturated K₂SO₄ solution). The content of exchangeable base cations in the coarse fraction can be estimated using the content of exchangeable Mg in the fine earth. These stochastic relations are causally plausible. The regressions are a first approach to identify pedo-transfer functions predicting the skeletons nutrient potential with the aid of easily measurable site parameters.     

Seroprevalence of anaplasmosis among cattle in Switzerland in 1998 and 2003: no evidence of an emerging disease

Anaplasma marginale infection in Europe has been limited to the Mediterranean and eastern countries, to Austria and to very sporadic cases in Switzerland. There are no reports of its occurrence in the countries north of Switzerland. A severe outbreak of anaplasmosis in August 2002 in a cattle farm in the canton Grisons, Switzerland, north of the Alps, with more than 300 cattle that had to be culled, came unexpected and gave reason to hypothesize presence of an increased yet undetected prevalence of A. marginale in Switzerland. Randomly selected bovine serum samples collected in 1998 and 2003 were tested using a competitive inhibitory ELISA (cELISA) to test the hypothesis. Our validation of the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of this test, done in the outbreak herd, yielded 99.2 and 83.3%, respectively, probably underestimating the true specificity. The true seroprevalence of anaplasmosis in Swiss cattle determined by cELISA was likely to be zero with upper 95% confidence limits of 2.49% in the canton Grisons and 1.17% in the rest of Switzerland, respectively, in 1998. For 2003, these estimates were even lower. There was no significant difference in apparent prevalences between 1998 and 2003. In search of a possible reservoir, three chamoises out of 46 free ranging wild ruminants from the Swiss National Park, Grisons, tested positive in the cELISA. This reaction is in accordance with A. marginale or a cross reacting agent such as Anaplasma ovis. From our results we conclude that the hypothesis of an increased prevalence of anaplasmosis in cattle in Switzerland must be rejected.     

Liquid crystalline networks composed of pentagonal, square, and triangular cylinders

T-shaped molecules are designed in such a way that they self-organize into nanoscale liquid crystalline honeycombs based on polygons with any chosen number of sides. One of the phases reported here is a periodic organization of identical pentagonal cylinders; the other one is a structure composed of square-shaped and triangular cylinders in the ratio 2:1. These two different packing motifs represent duals of the same topological class. The generalization of the concept applied here allows the prediction of a whole range of unusual complex liquid crystalline phases.     

Endosomal proteolysis of the Ebola virus glycoprotein is necessary for infection

Ebola virus (EboV) causes rapidly fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and there is currently no effective treatment. We found that the infection of African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells by vesicular stomatitis viruses bearing the EboV glycoprotein (GP) requires the activity of endosomal cysteine proteases. Using selective protease inhibitors and protease-deficient cell lines, we identified an essential role for cathepsin B (CatB) and an accessory role for cathepsin L (CatL) in EboV GP-dependent entry. Biochemical studies demonstrate that CatB and CatL mediate entry by carrying out proteolysis of the EboV GP subunit GP1 and support a multistep mechanism that explains the relative contributions of these enzymes to infection. CatB and CatB/CatL inhibitors diminish the multiplication of infectious EboV-Zaire in cultured cells and may merit investigation as anti-EboV drugs.