Glycosylated compounds from okra inhibit adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to human gastric mucosa

In Asian medicine the fruit of the okra plant, Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench., is used as a mucilaginous food additive against gastric irritative and inflammative diseases. To find a rational basis for its use against these diseases, several crude and purified carbohydrate-containing fractions from immature okra fruits were isolated and analyzed, and their effects against Helicobacter pylori in an in situ adhesion model on sections of human gastric mucosa were determined. Pretreatment of the bacteria with a fresh juice preparation inhibited the bacterial adhesion almost completely. Lyophilization and reconstitution of an extract solution led to a reduction of this effect. A crude polysaccharide (RPS) isolated from the fresh juice by ethanolic precipitation showed strong inhibitory effects. Further fractionation of RPS revealed a purified, highly acidic subfraction (AF III) with high antiadhesive qualities. Carbohydrate analysis revealed the presence of rhamnogalacturonans with a considerable amount of glucuronic acid, whereas other inactive subfractions contained little glucuronic acid or were glucuronic acid-free. After heat denaturation of the fresh juice or protein precipitation with 5% TCA the antiadhesive activity of the fresh extract was reduced, indicating that besides polysaccharides, protein fractions also exhibited antiadhesive properties. SDS-PAGE analysis of the precipitate revealed several bands of glycosylated proteins between 25 and 37 kDa that were almost diminished in the nonactive supernatant. Preincubations of gastric tissue with any of the active fractions did not lead to reduced bacterial binding. The antiadhesive activity is therefore due to the blocking capacity of specific Helicobacter surface receptors that coordinate the interaction between host and bacterium. Neither of the active fractions showed inhibitory effects on bacterial growth in vitro. The antiadhesive qualities of okra were assumed to be due to a combination of glycoproteins and highly acidic sugar compounds making up a complex three-dimensional structure that is fully developed only in the fresh juice of the fruit.     

Germplasm characterization of Sesbania accessions based on multivariate analyses

Nineteen Sesbania accessions were investigated, in a total of six species, to characterize the accessions based on morphological and agronomic data using multivariate methods, to identify a core set of morphological and agronomic attributes to be used in germplasm characterization of Sesbania spp., and to evaluate the forage potential of these accessions. Plots, in randomized block design, consisted of single 16 m-long rows of eight plants, spaced at 2 m between plants and 3 m between rows. Morphological data were obtained from the first four plants in each plot. The four remaining plants, submitted to four cuts at a height of 1 m, provided agronomic data. Principal component analysis indicated that variance accumulated by the first two components for morphological and agronomic data was 74.4% and 77.0%, respectively. Two large groups of accessions were formed in the cluster analysis for morphological data, one consisting of S. virgata, subgenus Daubentonia and the second group comprising the other five species. Cluster analysis using agronomic data classified higher yielding perennial species in three groups, and the annual species, which stood out principally in relation to seed production, in three other groups. Accession n° 8 of S. sesbanwas classified in an isolated group due to its forage superiority. A character discard resulted in the selection of eight characters: floral initiation, pod and leaf length, number of leaflet pairs, plant regrowth height, leaf dry matter yield, seed production and vigour, indicated as a core set of attributes for Sesbania germplasm characterization.     

Resistenzeigenschaften im Gersten- und Weizensortiment Gatersleben 27. Prüfung von Gersten auf ihr Verhalten gegenüber Gerstengelbmosaik-Virus (barley yellow mosaic virus),Drechslera teres (Sacc.) Shoem. undPuccinia hordei Otth

Zusammenfassung Unter 133 Gersten aus dem Gaterslebener Sortiment erwiesen sich 113 als anfällig und 20 als resistent gegen Gerstengelbmosaik-Virus (barley yellow mosaic virus). Weitere 22 Gersten mit Virusresistenz waren teilweise gleichzeitig gegenPuccinia hordei resistent.

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Resistance in the Gatersleben barley and wheat collection. 27. Testing of barley for reaction to barley yellow mosaic virus (BaYMV),Drechslera teres (Sacc.) Shoem. andPuccinia hordei Otth

Summary Out of 133 barleys were classified 113 as susceptible (table 1) and 20 as resistant to barley yellow mosaic virus (table 2). Of further 22 barleys with BaYMV resistance were some resistant towardsPuccinia hordei too (table 3).

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27. (barley yellow mosaic virus),Drechslera teres (Sacc.) Shoem. Puccinia hordei Otth

133 113 (barley yellow mosaic virus) 20 — , 22 - , , Drechslera teres Puccinia hordei.

     

Effect of fungicide treatment on the quality of wheat flour and breadmaking

Fungicides are applied to crop plants to ensure disease protection and improve growth. To assess the effects of five commercial foliar and spike fungicides in four different combinations on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), various quality parameters and flour processing properties, including baking quality, were determined. Three commonly used wheat cultivars with different quality classes (E, B, and C) were tested. Falling number, crude protein content, water absorption ability, protease activity, viscosity, and the free amino acid content were mainly lower in the fungicide-treated grains than in the untreated grains. None of the fungicides caused any significant changes in the wet gluten content, dough properties, the mono- and oligosaccharide content, or the breadmaking quality. In general, the commercial fungicide treatments did not cause any statistically significant differences between the treated and the untreated samples with respect to the quality parameters analyzed, although there were indeed significant differences between the three cultivars themselves.     

Soil collembolan communities on north- and south-facing slopes of an eastern Mediterranean valley

The present paper includes the first comprehensive list of a collembolan community in a site in Israel. Comparison was made between the assemblage of collembolan species on the north- and south-facing slopes of Lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel. The valley runs from east westward. Its slopes, only 100 m apart at the bottom, contrast sharply due to the much higher solar radiation on the south-facing slope. The assemblage of Collembola found includes 50 Arthropleona and 20 Symphypleona species, including 14 species that are new to science. Arthropleona species richness was very similar on the north slope (43) and the south-facing slope (41). In contrast, a rich assemblage of Symphypleona was recorded on the north-facing slope (19 species), but only eight were recorded on the south-facing slope. Differences in species richness were found between and within slopes according to altitude zone, soil depth and vegetation. Collembola of the alluvial zone on the contrasting slopes were more similar to each other than those of the alluvial zone on each slope with its adjacent altitudinal zone on the same slope.     

VelB/VeA/LaeA complex coordinates light signal with fungal development and secondary metabolism

Differentiation and secondary metabolism are correlated processes in fungi that respond to light. In Aspergillus nidulans, light inhibits sexual reproduction as well as secondary metabolism. We identified the heterotrimeric velvet complex VelB/VeA/LaeA connecting light-responding developmental regulation and control of secondary metabolism. VeA, which is primarily expressed in the dark, physically interacts with VelB, which is expressed during sexual development. VeA bridges VelB to the nuclear master regulator of secondary metabolism, LaeA. Deletion of either velB or veA results in defects in both sexual fruiting-body formation and the production of secondary metabolites.     

Effects of environment, disease progress, plant height and heading date on the detection of QTLs for resistance to Fusarium head blight in an European winter wheat cross

In order to characterise quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for Type I and Type II resistance against Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat, a population of recombinant inbred lines derived from the cross Cansas (moderately resistant)/Ritmo (susceptible) was evaluated in spray-inoculated field trials over three seasons. Map-based QTL analysis across environments revealed seven QTLs on chromosomes 1BS, 1DS, 3B, 3DL, 5BL, 7BS and 7AL (QFhs.whs-1B, QFhs.whs-1D, QFhs.whs-3B, QFhs.whs-3D, QFhs.whs-5B, QFhs.whs-7A, QFhs.whs-7B) associated with FHB resistance. They accounted for 56% of the phenotypic variance. QFhs.whs-1D primarily appeared to be involved in resistance to fungal penetration, whereas the other QTLs mainly contributed to resistance to fungal spread. FHB resistance was significantly correlated with plant height (PH) and heading date (HD). Including all single environments, corresponding overlaps of QTLs for FHB resistance and QTLs for PH/HD occurred at six loci, among them two consistently detected QTLs, QFhs.whs-5B and QFhs.whs-7A. When significant effects of PH and HD on FHB resistance were eliminated by covariance analysis, a second QTL analysis revealed possible escape mechanisms for the majority of the coincidental loci.