Seawater transmission and infection dynamics of pilchard orthomyxovirus (POMV) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

The Tasmanian salmon industry had remained relatively free of major viral diseases until the emergence of pilchard orthomyxovirus (POMV). Originally isolated from wild pilchards, POMV is of concern to the industry as it can cause high mortality in farmed salmon (Salmo salar). Field observations suggest the virus can spread from pen to pen and between farms, but evidence of passive transmission in sea water was unclear. Our aim was to establish whether direct contact between infected and naïve fish was required for transmission, and to examine viral infection dynamics. Atlantic salmon post‐smolts were challenged with POMV by either direct exposure via cohabitation or indirect exposure via virus‐contaminated sea water. POMV was transmissible in sea water and direct contact between fish was not required for infection. Head kidney and heart presented the highest viral loads in early stages of infection. POMV survivors presented low viral loads in most tissues, but these remained relatively high in gills. A consistent feature was the infiltration of viral‐infected melanomacrophages in different tissues, suggesting an important role of these in the immune response to POMV. Understanding POMV transmission and host–pathogen interactions is key for the development of improved surveillance tools, transmission models and ultimately for disease prevention.     

Impact of heavy metal amended sewage sludge on forest soils as assessed by bacterial and fungal biosensors

Bacterial and fungal bioluminescence-based biosensors were used as indicators of potential heavy metal toxicity to microorganisms in the needle litter of a mature Pinus radiata forest under heavy metal contaminated sewage sludge. Sewage sludge was amended with increasing concentrations of Cu, Ni and Zn and applied to the surface of a mature P. radiata forest. The response of the bacterial and fungal biosensors to soluble Cu, Ni and Zn in needle litter extracts was investigated. The bioluminescence response of the bacterial biosensor Escherichia coli HB101 pUCD607 declined as water-soluble Zn concentrations increased. The effective concentrations that gave a 50% reduction in bioluminescence (EC₅₀ values) for water-soluble Zn and total litter Zn were 1.3 mg l⁻¹ and 3700 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. The bioluminescence response of the fungal biosensor Armillaria mellea declined as soluble Cu concentrations increased. The EC₅₀ values for water-soluble Cu and total litter Cu were 0.12 mg l⁻¹ and 540 mg kg⁻¹, respectively. No decline in bioluminescence was noted for either the bacterial or fungal biosensor on exposure to increasing concentrations of water-soluble Ni. The use of a combination of bacterial and fungal biosensors offers a rapid and sensitive tool for assessing toxicity of heavy metals to microorganisms and, thus, elucidating the environmental impact of contaminants in sewage sludge on litter dwelling microorganisms.     

Evaluation for resistance to Pyrenophora tritici-repentis in Aegilops tauschii Coss. and synthetic hexaploid wheat amphiploids

Summary A total of 59 diploid Aegilops tauschii Coss. (syn. Aegilops sguarrosa auct. non L.) and 39 synthetic hexaploid wheat accessions were evaluated for reaction to Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Died.) Drechs. in a controlled environment, and classified using a disease rating system based on lesion type. 27 Ae. tauschii and 20 synthetic wheats were found to be resistant to tan spot disease. The overall mean disease ratings of Ae. tauschii and the synthetic wheat lines scored on a scale of 1 (resistant) to 5 (susceptible) were 1.80 and 2.38, respectively. Synthetic wheats generally showed a decrease in resistance, although several lines of synthetic wheat expressed a higher resistance than the diploid parents. Five synthetic wheat lines exhibited higher resistance than the standard resistant common wheat cultivar Red Chief.     

Nonenzymatic C-glycosylation of flavan-3-ols by oligo- and polysaccharides

Model reactions between the polysaccharide amylose and the polyphenol (-)-epicatechin followed by partial enzymatic hydrolysis of the reaction products formed led to the detection of mono- and oligo-C-glucosylated flavan-3-ols by means of LC-MS/MS experiments. To confirm the structure of these putative flavan-3-ol/oligosaccharide conjugates, (-)-epicatechin was reacted with maltose and maltotriose, respectively, giving rise to a series of previously unreported flavan-3-ol/maltose and flavan-3-ol/maltotriose conjugates, namely, (-)-epicatechin-8-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, (-)-catechin-8-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, (-)-catechin-6- C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, (-)-catechin-8-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, (-)-catechin-6-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)- O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside, and (-)-epicatechin-6/8-C-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(4-->1)-O-alpha-D-glucopyranoside. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of flavan-3-ol-C-glucosides in an enzymatic total hydrolysate using a newly developed stable isotope dilution assay (SIDA) enabled a first insight into the yield of the formation of polyphenol/polysaccharide cross-links, for example, an amount of 14.0, 9.0, and 0.15 micromol of flavan-3-ol-6-C-beta-D-glucopyranoside, flavan-3-ol-8-C-beta-D-glucopyranoside, and flavan-3-ol-6- C,8-C-beta-D-glucopyranoside were per mmol (-)-epicatechin when reacted with amylose.     

Predominant autoantibody production by early human B cell precursors

During B lymphocyte development, antibodies are assembled by random gene segment reassortment to produce a vast number of specificities. A potential disadvantage of this process is that some of the antibodies produced are self-reactive. We determined the prevalence of self-reactive antibody formation and its regulation in human B cells. A majority (55 to 75%) of all antibodies expressed by early immature B cells displayed self-reactivity, including polyreactive and anti-nuclear specificities. Most of these autoantibodies were removed from the population at two discrete checkpoints during B cell development. Inefficient checkpoint regulation would lead to substantial increases in circulating autoantibodies.     

Accessibility, reactivity and supramolecular structure of E. globulus pulps with reduced xylan content

The correlation of structural assembly on a molecular level with macroscale properties such as accessibility and reactivity was investigated. A series of TCF-bleached E. globulus kraft dissolving pulps was prepared aiming at a specification suitable for viscose application. The removal of xylan to a comparable level was achieved by different pre- and post-treatments. Solid-state CP-MAS ¹³C NMR was used to determine the degree of order and the lateral fibril dimensions of cellulose fibrils. The results of the NMR measurements were related to the processability of these pulps during viscose manufacture, expressed in terms of filterability of the viscose dope and its amount of undissolved particles. The cellulose crystallinity did not affect the pulp reactivity. It was noticed that the cold caustic extracted (CCE) pulps revealed both large fibril aggregate width as determined from NMR data and low reactivity toward xanthation at the same time. These pulps exhibited significantly higher amounts of alkali-resistant xylan than those prepared by prehydrolysis kraft cooking.     

Synthesis and Bioactivity of Ancorinoside B,a Marine Diglycosyl Tetramic Acid

The sponge metabolite ancorinoside B was prepared for the first time in 16 steps and 4% yield. It features a β-d-galactopyranosyl-(1→4)-β-d-glucuronic acid tethered to a d-aspartic acid-derived tetramic acid. Key steps were the synthesis of a fully protected d-lactose derived thioglycoside, its attachment to a C₂₀-aldehyde spacer, functionalization of the latter with a terminal N-(β-ketoacyl)-d-aspartate, and a basic Dieckmann cyclization to close the pyrrolidin-2,4-dione ring with concomitant global deprotection. Ancorinoside B exhibited multiple biological effects of medicinal interest. It inhibited the secretion of the cancer metastasis-relevant matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, and also the growth of Staphylococcus aureus biofilms by ca 87% when applied at concentrations as low as 0.5 µg/mL. This concentration is far below its MIC of ca 67 µg/mL and thus unlikely to induce bacterial resistance. It also led to a 67% dispersion of preformed S. aureus biofilms when applied at a concentration of ca 2 µg/mL. Ancorinoside B might thus be an interesting candidate for the control of the general hospital, catheter, or joint protheses infections.