Impedimetric evaluation of compounds for antifungal activity versus Aspergillus niger

The procedure described utilized a microbial monitoring system (bactometer) to measure impedimetrically the inhibitory activity of known antifungal compounds (2-(thiocyanomethylthio)benzothiazole [TCMTB], 3-iodo-2-propynylbutyl carbamate [IPBC], chlorothalonil, tebuconazole, and copper-8-quinolinolate [Cu-8]) on growth of Aspergillus niger Teigh. in a liquid medium. The MIC values determined were based on the activity of the compounds to inhibit a change in the capacitance of the medium during a 96-h period after inoculation. The MIC values obtained with the bactometer were compared with MIC values derived from the inhibition of radial growth of A. niger on the same liquid medium solidified with agar. The MIC values for all the compounds tested were substantially lower when determined with the bactometer than on agar. The impedimetric evaluation of compounds for antifungal activity offers advantages of speed, sensitivity, and data collection.     

黑河流域水化学空间分异特征分析

选取我国西北干旱区第 2大内陆河———黑河流域 ,对全流域地表水和地下水的水化学类型和水化学特征进行了系统分析。结果表明 ,黑河流域地表水中TDS (阴离子总量 )和主要离子含量沿流程均有不同程度的增加 ,但增幅不大。而地下水TDS从莺落峡出山后呈直线上升 ,下游TDS均大于 10 0 0mg/L ,主要离子含量增加明显 ,其变化特征与 TDS 基本一致 ;水化学成分和类型在空间上呈现出由上游向下游过渡变化的分带特征 :从上游山区、中游盆地到下游的尾闾盆地 ,河水的水化学特征依次为HCO3 -型、SO42 --HCO3 -型和Cl-型 ;山区和山前冲洪积扇中地下水为低矿化度的HCO3 -型水 ,中游盆地地下水矿化度升高 ,水化学类型为HCO3 -或HCO3 --SO42 -,下游盆地地下水矿化度进一步升高 ,水化学类型为Cl--SO42 -或Cl-;垂向变化上 ,由浅层到深层地下水矿化度降低 ,水化学类型变化不大 ,中游盆地主要为HCO3 -和HCO3 --SO42 -;下游盆地主要为Cl--SO42 -。     

Spatial and temporal analysis of coffee wilt disease caused by Fusarium xylarioides in Coffea canephora

Coffee wilt disease (CWD) caused by Fusarium xylarioides, considered to be a soil-inhabiting fungus, is endemic in several African countries, affecting commercially important coffee species and causing serious economic losses. Coffee wilt disease development in naturally infected Coffea canephora fields at the Coffee Research Institute in Uganda was assessed from April 2001 to March 2006 to generate information about temporal and spatial spread of the disease. Maps of diseased trees were also generated from the data. Semi-variance analysis was performed on the data to show the spatio-temporal structure of disease. Host influence on the spatio-temporal structure was deduced from the distribution pattern of diseased and healthy trees and analysis of variance. Results show that the temporal disease epidemic progress was slow. The disease was found to spread from initial infections to healthy neighbouring trees, resulting in an aggregated pattern. An infected tree could infect up to three healthy trees away, in any direction. Disease foci formed and expanded with time, coalescing but punctuated in spots planted with resistant hosts. There were varying levels of susceptibility among host genotypes, affecting the rates and levels of epidemic development. The implications of the findings to the control of CWD are discussed.     

河南省小麦根腐线虫病的发生危害及病原鉴定

为明确河南省小麦根腐线虫病的发生危害情况及其病原线虫种类,对14个县(市)45个采样点小麦根腐线虫进行了分离调查,分别通过人工接种测定其致病性和杀线剂处理研究其危害性,并采用形态学和分子生物学方法鉴定其病原。结果显示:小麦根腐线虫在河南省的分布具有一定的区域性,中北部的10个县(市)34个沙质土壤采样点均分离出小麦根腐线虫,而在南部土壤粘重地区的小麦根内和土壤中均没有分离出根腐线虫;15%涕灭威颗粒剂处理土壤后小麦的穗粒数、千粒重和单位面积产量较对照明显上升,产量增加13.6%;该线虫能够侵染小麦,并明显抑制小麦生长;河南省小麦根腐线虫以敏捷短体线虫Pratylenchus agilis为主。     

Stem-base disease and fungal colonisation of winter wheat grown in compost inoculated with Fusarium culmorum, F. graminearum and Microdochium nivale

Fungal colonisation of winter wheat cv. Cadenza by Fusarium culmorum, F. graminearum and Microdochium nivale was studied under conditions designed to avoid the splash dispersal of conidia from infested compost, to evaluate the possibility that systemic growth may transfer infection from the stem-base to the head. At decimal growth stages 33, 59, 77–87 and 95 the extent of fungal growth was assessed using a sample of 72 plants, by the recovery of fungal species from the stem-base, from each node and from the ear. Each of the fungi was recovered from stem tissues above soil level in some, apparently symptomless, plants. Symptoms of Fusarium foot rot were seen in an increasing proportion of plants during grain-fill and desiccation. There was an inverse relationship between recovery and the height above stem-base from which the stem tissue was excised. F. culmorum was the most frequently isolated fungus and it was also recovered from the highest position in plants. Only 3% of plants were colonised above the second node and none of the fungal species were recovered from either the fifth node or the ear. This suggests that colonisation and systemic growth from Fusarium infested compost is unlikely to contribute to the development of ear blight symptoms in winter wheat.     

广西桑树春季低温寒冻害空间分布研究

春季低温寒冻害是影响广西桑树生产的主要农业气象灾害之一,分析广西春季桑树低温寒冻害发生频率以及空间分布,可为优化广西桑树产业布局提供科学的决策依据.利用广西91个国家级气象观测站1961-2016年2～4月的日平均气温气象资料,根据广西桑树低温寒冻害等级指标,计算出广西桑树(2～4月)低温寒冻害发生频率,基于SURFE...     

Production of Carotenoids and Phospholipids by Thraustochytrium sp. in Batch and Repeated-Batch Culture

The carotenogenic thraustochytrid Thraustochytrium sp. RT2316-16 was grown in batch and repeated-batch cultures using different feeds containing glucose, or glycerol, and yeast extract, for the production of lipids, phospholipids and carotenoids. RT2316-16 produced canthaxanthin, astaxanthin and β-carotene. The effects of biotin, ascorbic acid, light and temperature were evaluated in some of the experiments. In 2-day-old batch cultures, the combined mass percentage of eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in total lipids was between 16.5% (glycerol-based medium in the dark; biomass concentration = 4.2 ± 1.1 g L⁻¹) and 42.6% (glucose-based medium under light; biomass concentration = 3.3 ± 0.1 g L⁻¹), decreasing to 3.8% and 6.1%, respectively, after day 4. In repeated-batch cultures, the total lipids in the biomass increased after glucose or glycerol was fed alone, whereas the total carotenoids (168 ± 7 μg g⁻¹ dry weight (DW)) and phospholipids in the biomass increased after feeding with yeast extract. The biomass with the highest content of phospholipids (28.7 ± 4.3 mg g⁻¹ DW) was obtained using a feed medium formulated with glycerol, yeast extract and ascorbic acid. Glycerol was the best carbon source for the production of a biomass enriched with total lipids (467 ± 45 mg g⁻¹ DW). The composition of carotenoids depended strongly on the composition of the feed. Repeated-batch cultures fed with yeast extract contained canthaxanthin as the main carotenoid, whereas in the cultures fed only with glucose, the biomass contained mainly β-carotene.     

Recent Discoveries on Marine Organism Immunomodulatory Activities

Marine organisms have been shown to be a valuable source for biologically active compounds for the prevention and treatment of cancer, inflammation, immune system diseases, and other pathologies. The advantage of studying organisms collected in the marine environment lies in their great biodiversity and in the variety of chemical structures of marine natural products. Various studies have focused on marine organism compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications, for instance, as immunomodulators, to treat cancer and immune-mediated diseases. Modulation of the immune system is defined as any change in the immune response that can result in the induction, expression, amplification, or inhibition of any phase of the immune response. Studies very often focus on the effects of marine-derived compounds on macrophages, as well as lymphocytes, by analyzing the release of mediators (cytokines) by using the immunological assay enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, immunofluorescence, and real-time PCR. The main sources are fungi, bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, sponges, mollusks, corals, and fishes. This review is focused on the marine-derived molecules discovered in the last three years as potential immunomodulatory drugs.     

红托鹅膏生态环境研究

以武定狮山为样点,对红托鹅膏的生境进行了初步研究。结果表明,红托鹅膏主要生长于滇青冈、滇石栎等阔叶林或针（云南松）阔混交林中,其生长的土表层疏松、透气、潮湿,具有厚4 cm~9 cm的腐叶层,有稀薄的阳光透入,土层有机质含量高,矿物质养分丰富,土壤容重较小,偏微酸性（pH5.4~5.7）。子实体分化发育较适宜的温度为19℃~21℃,空气湿度为75%~86%,土壤含水量为38%~50%,并每天保证1 300 lx~2 000 lx的光照2 h~5 h,200 lx~900 lx的弱光6 h~9 h。