Treatment of the early life stages of scallop (Pecten maximus) with antimicrobial agents; searching for an alternative to chloramphenicol

High mortality rates are often observed in rearing the early stages of the great scallop, Pecten maximus. The addition of antibacterial agents has been necessary to improve larval survival. However, as one antibacterial agent, chloramphenicol, is banned in Norway and Europe the aim of this study is to investigate alternative antibacterial agents. The therapeutic agents investigated in this study were florfenicol, oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid, neomycin and Pyceze. The mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined for oxytetracycline, oxolinic acid and Pyceze against bacteria isolated from scallop larvae. Two types of treatment regime were investigated on an intermediate scale (20 L). One regime involved continuous exposure of scallop larvae to the therapeutic agent while the other involved a short exposure lasting two hours. All intermediate scale treatments were performed in parallel to large-scale production (800 L) treatment with chloramphenicol. Of the therapeutants investigated, oxolinic acid was the most effective, although only at high concentrations. The short exposure of two hours was ineffective for all therapeutics.     

某牛场犊牛大肠杆菌病的实验室诊断与药敏试验

2018年3月份,黑龙江省齐齐哈尔市某规模化奶牛场发生犊牛腹泻,为了确诊其病因,无菌采取10头腹泻犊牛粪便进行细菌分离鉴定、生化试验、PCR鉴定和药敏试验等。生化结果表明:符合大肠杆菌生化特性;PCR结果表明:引物能有效扩增大肠杆菌OmpA、K99、Sta、irp2、FyuA基因;药敏结果表明:大肠杆菌对恩诺沙星、左氟沙星、头孢曲松高度敏感;10头犊牛均为大肠杆菌感染,本研究为该牛场犊牛腹泻的病因分析和防治提供了指导。     

Spatial changes of soil fungal and bacterial biomass from a sub-alpine coniferous forest to grassland in a humid, sub-tropical region

 Fungal and bacterial biomass were determined across a gradient from a forest to grassland in a sub-alpine region in central Taiwan. The respiration-inhibition and ergosterol methods for the evaluation of the microbial biomass were compared. Soil fungal and bacterial biomass both significantly decreased (P<0.05) with the shift of vegetation from forest to grassland. Fungal and bacterial respiration rates (evolved CO₂) were, respectively, 89.1 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 and 55.1 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 in the forest and 36.7 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 and 35.7 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 in the grassland surface soils (0–10 cm). The fungal ergosterol content in the surface soil decreased from the forest zone (108 μg g^–1) to the grassland zone (15.9 μg g^–1). A good correlation (R ²=0.90) was exhibited between the soil fungal ergosterol content and soil fungal CO₂ production (respiration) for all sampling sites. For the forest and grassland soil profiles, microbial biomass (respiration and ergosterol) declined dramatically with depth, ten- to 100-fold from the surface organic horizon to the deepest mineral horizon. With respect to fungal to bacterial ratios for the surface soil (0–10 cm), the forest zone had a significantly (P<0.05) higher ratio (1.65) than the grassland zone (1.05). However, there was no fungal to bacterial ratio trend from the surface horizon to the deeper mineral horizons of the soil profiles. Received: 30 March 2000     

不同中药对奶牛乳房炎病原菌抑菌效果的观察

本试验采用琼脂平板扩散法(打孔法),研究了黄芩等21种中药对从乳房炎奶牛乳汁中分离出的3种主要致病菌的体外抑菌情况。结果发现,大肠杆菌对黄芩高度敏感,对丹参、青翘属中度敏感;金黄色葡萄球菌对黄芩、青翘、丹参、地榆、红花、蒲公英高度敏感,对枳壳、忍冬藤、萹蓄、苦地丁、蟾酥、木通中度敏感;无乳链球对地榆、当归属高度敏感,对青翘、黄芩、蒲公英、丹参、苦地丁、红花、川芎、枳壳中度敏感。为防治奶牛乳房炎有效中药复方的筛选提供了理论依据。     

Effect of organic nitrogen fertilizers on microbial populations associated with bermudagrass putting greens

 Four natural organic fertilizers, alone or in combination with the synthetic organic fertilizer isobutylidene diurea (IBDU), were compared with IBDU alone for their effect on soil/root microbial populations associated with bermudagrass grown on a golf course putting green in southern Florida, USA. Populations of total fungi, total bacteria, fluorescent pseudomonads, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, actinomycetes and heat-tolerant bacteria were monitored every 3 months during the 2-year study. On only one sampling date and for only one bacterial population (S. maltophilia) was a significant difference in microbial populations obtained among the fertilizer treatments. However, the S. maltophilia populations associated with the natural organic fertilizer treatments were not significantly different from the synthetic organic IBDU fertilizer treatment. Received: 4 April 1997     

Microbial community indigenous to the earthworm Eisenia foetida

 Microbial populations of the earthworm Eisenia foetida, their casts and farmyard manure (FYM) in which E. foetida had lived were enumerated with the dilution plate method using several media. The microbial community of earthworms appeared to be similar to that of the FYM in which they had lived, while that of earthworms starved in distilled water for 24 h greatly differed from that of the FYM. The community of the starved earthworms consisted exclusively (more than 90%) of fast growers, which were defined as those that formed their colonies within 2 days, unlike that of the FYM (10–30%). About 30 isolates were randomly chosen and some physiological properties were examined. The community of starved earthworms consisted exclusively of Gram-negative, oxidase-positive, fermentative bacteria, whereas bacteria from the FYM were much more diverse and there were no fermentative bacteria in the FYM. The predominant bacteria species of the starved earthworms were identified as Aeromonas hydrophila and considered to be indigenous to the earthworm E. foetida. Received: 18 June 1999     

Fate of prions in soil: Degradation of recombinant prion in aqueous extracts from soil and casts of two earthworm species

Prions represent the active agent in transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases and can remain infective to mammals even after prolonged periods in soil. The influence of mesofauna on prion dispersal and degradation in soil, however, remains unknown. In this study the effect of earthworms on the retention/dissemination of TSEs in soil was evaluated using a model recombinant prion protein (recPrP) and aqueous extracts from soil and fresh casts of two earthworm species, Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea caliginosa. Our results showed that earthworm gut-derived enzymes did not enhance the degradation of recPrP in comparison to soil, even though non-prion related proteolytic activity was higher in fresh worm excrements than in soil samples. Complete degradation of recPrP occurred in the aqueous extracts from all samples within up to 6 days at +15 °C. The proteolytic enzymes responsible for degrading recPrP were inhibited by aprotinin and leupeptin and studies in pure cultures suggested these were most probably of soil microbial origin.     

LiCl沉淀法提取富含荚膜的细菌基因组DNA

结合提取基因组DNA的CTAB法(hexadecyltrimethylammoniumbromide,十六烷基三甲基溴化铵)和用于提取海藻基因组DNA的LiCl法,设计了针对产生较多荚膜多糖细菌的DNA提取方法—LiCl沉淀法。通过电泳、分光光度计及16SrRNA基因扩增检测,证明LiCl沉淀法可以有效地提取产荚膜细菌基因组DNA,其片断大小约为23kb,不需进一步纯化即可用于后续分子生物学实验。     

The impact of protozoa on the availability of bacterial nitrogen to plants

Summary Microbial N from ¹⁵N-labelled bacterial biomass was investigated in a microcosm experiment, in order to determine its availability to wheat plants. Sterilized soil was inoculated with either bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa alone or with a suspension of a natural bacterial population from the soil) or bacteria and protozoa to examine the impact of protozoa. Plant biomass, plant N, soil inorganic N and bacterial and protozoan numbers were determined after 14 and 35 days of incubation. The protozoa reduced bacterial numbers in soil by a factor of 8, and higher contents of soil inorganic N were found in their presence. Plant uptake of N increased by 20010 in the presence of protozoa. Even though the total plant biomass production was not affected, the shoot: root ratios increased in the presence of protozoa, which is considered to indicate an improved plant nutrient supply. The presence of protozoa resulted in a 65010 increase in mineralization and uptake of bacterial ¹⁵N by plants. This effect was more pronounced than the protozoan effect on N derived from soil organic matter. It is concluded that grazing by protozoa strongly stimulates the mineralization and turnover of bacterial N. The mineralization of soil organic N was also shown to be promoted by protozoa.Communication No. 9 of the Dutch Programme on Soil Ecology of Arable Farming Systems     

A simple method to obtain endophytic microorganisms from field-collected roots

We describe a simple technique for obtaining endophytic microorganisms from field-collected roots. Roots of plant species were surfaced-sterilized, cut into pieces, and then each root piece was transferred to drops of Gel-Gro medium. The number of segments with bacteria and fungi was quantified and those with bacteria and dark septate endophytic (DSE) fungi were plated onto tryptic soy agar (TSA) and malt extract agar (MEA), respectively. When arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) grew from root segments, they were inoculated into Ri T-DNA-transformed carrot root cultures. Eight different species of bacteria and five dark septate endophytes were isolated. Thirty AMF isolates were identified and continuous pure cultures established. This easy and inexpensive approach allowed us to culture various endophytic microorganisms in an in vitro system saving time and space.