Yeasts as antagonists against fireblight

Yeasts are potential antagonists of microorganisms in the phyllosphere. Due to their osmotolerance, they should also be able to colonize apple flowers. In field experiments, we applied yeast agents against fireblight at two different sites in the southern part of Germany. They showed efficiencies 0–20% below Plantomycin (streptomycin). Co-culture experiments in liquid basal media with synthetic nectar resulted in suppression of Erwinia amylovora by yeast. This effect could not be confirmed with population studies of yeasts and E. amylovora in flower clusters. Field and laboratory experiments indicated that yeasts have antagonistic properties against fireblight but further research is needed to investigate this potential.     

Ellipsosomes: organelles containing a cytochrome-like pigment in the retinal cones of certain fishes

Ellipsosomes are dense spherical bodies containing a very large concentration of a heme pigment spectroscopically resembling pure cytochrome c. They are located at the outer ends of the inner segments of the cones of certain fishes. Although, superficially, they resemble the similarly located oil droplets in the cones of birds and reptiles, their ultrastructure and staining properties resemble those of the neighboring mitochondria. However, like the oil droplets, they may serve as intracellular color filters.     

Induced Disease Resistance in Plants by Chemicals

Plants can be induced locally and systemically to become more resistant to diseases through various biotic or abiotic stresses. The biological inducers include necrotizing pathogens, non- pathogens or root colonizing bacteria. Through at network of signal pathways they induce resistance spectra and marker proteins that are characteristic for the different plant species and activation systems. The best characterized signal pathway for systemically induced resistance is SAR (systemic acquired resistance) that is activated by localized infections with necrotizing pathogens. It is characterized by protection against a broad range of pathogens, by a set of induced proteins and by its dependence on salicylic acid (SA) Various chemicals have been discovered that seem to act at various points in these defense activating networks and mimic all or parts of the biological activation of resistance. Of these, only few have reached commercialization. The best- studied resistance activator is acibenzolar-5-methyl (BION). At low rates it activates resistance in many crops against a broad spectrum of diseases, including fungi, bacteria and viruses. In monocots, activated resistance by BION typically is very long lasting, while the lasting effect is less pronounced in dicots. BION is translocated systemically in plants and can take the place of SA in the natural SAR signal pathway, inducing the same spectrum of resistance and the same set of molecular markers. Probenazole (ORYZEMATE) is used mainly on rice against rice blast and bacterial leaf blight. Its mode of action is not well understood partly because biological systems of systemically induced resistance are not well defined in rice. Treated plants clearly respond faster and in a resistant manner to infections by the two pathogens. Other compounds like beta-aminobutyric acid as wdl as extracts from plants and microorganisms have also been described as resistance inducers. For most of these, neither the mode of action nor reliable pre-challenge markers are known and still other pathways for resistance activation are suspected. Resistance inducing chemicals that are able to induce broad disease resistance offer an additional option for the farmer to complement genetic disease resistance and the use of fungicides. If integrated properly in plant health management programs, they can prolong the useful life of both the resistance genes and the fungicides presently used.     

Has bovine somatotropin (BST) an effect upon drug disposition? Comparative studies in goats and cattle with sulphadimidine and antipyrine after parenteral administration of BST,zeranol and proligestone

Daily subcutaneous BST injection in lactating cows, bulls and castrated male dwarf goats did not induce significant changes in the pharmacokinetic parameters of antipyrine (AP) and sulphadimidine (SDD). Similarly, no changes were obtained after injection of slow-release BST formulations in lactating cows and non-lactating female goats. In contrast to androgenic hormones, both zeranol and proligestone had no effect upon the disposition of AP and SDD, although both synthetic hormones did induce enhanced plasma somatotropin concentrations. In goats, metabolic effects induced by zeranol and BST included significant reductions in plasma urea values, whereas plasma creatinine levels were somewhat lower after daily BST administration.     

Reactivation of a Trypanosoma cruzi infection in a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) experimentally infected with SIV

Trypanosoma cruzi-like flagellates were incidentally noted in blood smears of a routinely monitored rhesus monkey experimentally infected with the simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Immunodeficiency in the course of the SIV infection reactivated a chronic infection of Chagas' disease that had been unnoticed when the macaque was imported to Europe. The animal developed no specific clinical symptoms of American trypanosomiasis, but histologically a chagasic myocarditis was detected. Analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene of the trypanosome identified the protozoan as T. cruzi.     

Self-trapping of dark incoherent light beams

"Dark beams" are nonuniform optical beams that contain either a one-dimensional (1D) dark stripe or a two-dimensional (2D) dark hole resulting from a phase singularity or an amplitude depression in their optical field. Thus far, self-trapped dark beams (dark solitons) have been observed using coherent light only. Here, self-trapped dark incoherent light beams (self-trapped dark incoherent wavepackets) were observed. Both dark stripes and dark holes nested in a broad partially spatially incoherent wavefront were self-trapped to form dark solitons in a host photorefractive medium. These self-trapped 1D and 2D dark beams induced refractive-index changes akin to planar and circular dielectric waveguides. The experiments introduce the possibility of controlling high-power coherent laser beams with low-power incoherent light sources such as light emitting diodes.     

The nature of pristine noble gases in mantle plumes

High-precision noble gas data show that the Hawaiian and Icelandic mantle plume sources contain uniquely primitive neon that is composed of moderately nucleogenic neon-21 and a primordial component indistinguishable from the meteoritic occurrence of solar neon. This suggests that Earth's solar-type rare gas inventory was acquired during accretion from small planetesimals previously irradiated by solar wind from the early sun. However, nonradiogenic argon, krypton, and xenon isotopes derived from the mantle display nonsolar compositions and indicate an atmosphere-like fingerprint that is not due to recent subduction.