Morphological and glycohistochemical studies on the epididymal region of the Sudani duck (Cairina moschata)

In this study, the epididymal region of the Sudani duck was investigated using histological and lectin histochemical methods. Morphologically, the epididymal region of the Sudani duck is composed of extratesticular rete testis, proximal and distal efferent ductules, a short connecting duct, and epididymal ducts. Morphometric analysis of the epididymal region of Sudani duck revealed that the efferent ductules predominate in relation to the epididymal ducts. The distribution of sugar moieties within the epididymal region of the Sudani duck was investigated using ten different fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) conjugated lectins. In the rete testis epithelium, only PHA-L showed a positive reaction. Efferent ductules in contrary exhibited a wide range of lectin affinity whereas six positive lectins (Con A, LCA, PNA, WGA, PHA-L, PHA-E) were observed. In the connecting and epididymal ducts, four lectins (Con A, WGA, PHA-L, PHA-E) were also detected. GSA-I, UEA-I, and LTA were at all not evident in the epididymal region of the Sudani duck. In conclusion, the correlation between the large areas of the epididymal region occupied by the efferent ductules and the wide range of sugar affinity of this portion may confirm the speculation that efferent ductules might be the primary site of fluid reabsorption in the epididymal region of Sudani duck.     

Characterization and crystallography of recombinant 7S globulins of Adzuki bean and structure-function relationships with 7S globulins of various crops

The recombinant proteins Adzuki 7S1, Adzuki 7S2, and Adzuki 7S3 were prepared through the Escherichia coli expression systems of three kinds of adzuki bean cDNAs. The recombinant proteins exhibited intrinsic thermal stabilities, surface hydrophobicities, and solubilities, although the homology of their amino acid sequences ranged from 95-98%. To understand why these individual proteins exhibited different properties, their three-dimensional structures were elucidated. The three proteins were successfully crystallized, and the three-dimensional structures of Adzuki 7S1 and Adzuki 7S3 were determined. The properties and structures of these two proteins were comprehensively compared with those of recombinant 7S globulins (soybean beta-conglycinins beta and alpha'c and mungbean 8Salpha) reported previously. It was likely that cavity sizes, hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, hydrophobic interactions, and lengths of loops determine the thermal stabilities of 7S globulins, and results indicated that cavity sizes strongly contribute to such stability. Surface hydrophobicity was also found to be determined not only by distributions of hydrophobic residues on the molecular surface. Furthermore, solubility at neutral and weak alkaline pH values at mu = 0.08 was found to be dominantly influenced by the electrostatic surface potentials.     

Enhanced Adsorption of Metal Ions Onto Polyethyleneimine-Impregnated Palm Shell Activated Carbon: Equilibrium Studies

In this study, palm shell activated carbon was impregnated with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and the effect of impregnation on batch adsorption of Ni²⁺, Cd²⁺or Pb²⁺ as well as the equilibrium behavior of adsorption of metal ions on PEI-impregnated AC were investigated. PEI impregnation evidently increased the single metal adsorption capacities of Ni²⁺ or Cd²⁺except for Pb²⁺, where its adsorption capacities were reduced by 16.67% and 19.55% for initial solution pH of 3 and 5 respectively. This suggested that PEI-impregnated AC could be used for selective separation of Pb²⁺ ions from other metal ions. The adsorption data of all the metal ions on both virgin and PEI-impregnated AC for both initial solution pH of 3 and 5 generally fitted the Langmuir and Redlich-Peterson isotherms considerably better than the Freundlich isotherm.     

Highlighting the Biotechnological Potential of Deep Oceanic Crust Fungi through the Prism of Their Antimicrobial Activity

Among the different tools to address the antibiotic resistance crisis, bioprospecting in complex uncharted habitats to detect novel microorganisms putatively producing original antimicrobial compounds can definitely increase the current therapeutic arsenal of antibiotics. Fungi from numerous habitats have been widely screened for their ability to express specific biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) involved in the synthesis of antimicrobial compounds. Here, a collection of unique 75 deep oceanic crust fungi was screened to evaluate their biotechnological potential through the prism of their antimicrobial activity using a polyphasic approach. After a first genetic screening to detect specific BGCs, a second step consisted of an antimicrobial screening that tested the most promising isolates against 11 microbial targets. Here, 12 fungal isolates showed at least one antibacterial and/or antifungal activity (static or lytic) against human pathogens. This analysis also revealed that Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and Enterococcus faecalis CIP A 186 were the most impacted, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853. A specific focus on three fungal isolates allowed us to detect interesting activity of crude extracts against multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Finally, complementary mass spectrometry (MS)-based molecular networking analyses were performed to putatively assign the fungal metabolites and raise hypotheses to link them to the observed antimicrobial activities.     

Effect of altering the steric hindrance of the nitrogen atom in 2,5-bis(pyridin-n-yl)-1,3,4 thiadiazole isomers on their ability to elicit tomato defense responses against Verticillium wilt and crown gall diseases

Three isomers of the ligand 2,5-bis(pyridinyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole, with the N atom of pyridine group in position 2, 3 or 4, named respectively, L2, L3 and L4 were compared for their use as plant defense activators. They were examined for their ability to protect tomato plants from Verticillium dahliae and Agrobacterium tumefaciens in the greenhouse, to induce reactive oxygen species and to activate plant defenses, including antioxidant enzymes. The three ligand isomers exhibited in vitro only slight inhibition of radial growth of V. dahliae, while no significant inhibition was observed for phytopathogenic bacteria. In the greenhouse, the three ligand isomers statistically reduced the severity of Verticillium wilt and crown gall on tomato plants, and the isomers L3 and L4 were the most efficient to control Verticillium wilt. This superiority was reflected in their differential ability to activate H₂O₂ accumulation, antioxidant enzymes including catalase and ascorbate peroxidase and other defense-related enzymes such as guaiacol peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase. These results demonstrated that the presence of the N atom within the two pyridinyl groups in the position 3 or 4 highly enhanced the activity of plant defense and antioxidant responses as well as their ability to reduce the severity of symptoms caused by V. dahliae on tomato.     

In field control of Botrytis cinerea by synergistic action of a fungicide and organic sanitizer

A new Integrated Pest Management program based on the combination of synthetic pesticide with a GRAS(generally recognized as safe)-classified sanitizer for the control of Botrytis cinerea in field conditions was described. The aim behind this research was to determine whether the use of this mixture would enhance the efficiency of pesticides while decreasing the recommended dose. Naturally infected tomato plants, grown in the greenhouse, were treated with two commonly used fungicides SWITCH(Syngenta, Switzerland) and SIGNUM(BASF, Germany) each alone or combined with a commercially available organic sanitizer PERACLEAN?5(Evonik Industries, Germany). A total of 27 treatments were tested consisting of three concentrations of synthetic fungicide(×1, ×1/2 and ×1/4 of the recommended dose) either applied separately or combined with three concentrations of the tested sanitizer(0.5, 1 and 1.5%). The control efficacy achieved by the fungicides applied alone ranged between 0 and 66.7% while all fungicide-sanitizer mixtures resulted in up to 70% control of grey mould. The treatment that provides the maximum control of B. cinerea was the result mixture of ×1/4 of the recommended concentration of SWITCH(15 g L~(–1)) with 0.5% of PERACLEAN~?5. This combination suppressed 85% of grey mold infections while decreasing the usually used amount of this pesticide by 75%, reducing therefore the well known negative impacts of chemical pesticides on environment and consumers health.     

Comparative biocatalytic degradation of Kraft prehydrolysate phenolic fermentation inhibitors using bacteria-derived laccase

Wood Science and Technology - Kraft prehydrolysate contains fermentable sugars and other organic compounds such as furans, phenolic compounds and acids, which are toxic to the fermentation...     

Identification of resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bemisia tabaci</Emphasis> Genn. in closely related wild relatives of cultivated tomato based on trichome type analysis and choice and no-choice assays

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Genn., is a major pest of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and other crops throughout the tropics and subtropics. The objectives of this study were to characterize 255 accessions of S. galapagense, S. cheesmaniae and S. pimpinellifolium for trichome types, and to evaluate selected accessions with high densities of glandular trichomes for resistance to whitefly. Twenty-two accessions classified as either sparse or abundant for type IV trichomes were selected and evaluated for numbers of adults, eggs, nymphs, and puparium of whitefly in choice bioassays, for adult mortality and egg numbers in no-choice bioassays, and for densities of type I, IV, V, and VI trichomes. The highest whitefly resistance was detected in S. galapagense accessions VI063177 and VI037239 based on choice and no-choice bioassays. In addition, we found high levels of whitefly resistance in S. cheesmaniae accession VI037240 based on the choice bioassay and in S. pimpinellifolium accession VI030462 based on the no-choice bioassay. Whitefly resistance in VI037240 and VI030462 is noteworthy because these species are closely related to cultivated tomato and introgression of whitefly resistance should be relatively straightforward. High densities of type IV trichomes and low densities of type V trichomes were associated with reduced numbers of whitefly adults, nymphs, puparium, and eggs in the choice bioassay and with high adult whitefly mortality in the no-choice bioassay. Preliminary trichome analysis followed by choice and no-choice assays facilitated rapid identification of whitefly-resistant accessions from a large pool of candidates of different species.