Suppression of Verticillium Wilt in Eggplant by Some Fungal Root Endophytes

One hundred and twenty-three fungal isolates were obtained from 225 root segments of eggplants, melon, tomato, strawberry and Chinese cabbage, grown as bait plants in a mixed soil made up of samples from different fields in Shizuoka, Japan. Isolates belonging to Mycelium radicis atrovirens (MRA), including Phialocephala fortinii, were the most prevalent in all the five bait plants. Eleven of the 123 isolates, after being inoculated onto axenically reared eggplant seedlings, almost completely suppressed the pathogenic effects of a post-inoculated, virulent strain of Verticillium dahliae. Seven of these 11 isolates had come from the roots of eggplant and included Heteroconium chaetospira, P. fortinii, and unidentified species of Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma and MRA. P. fortinii, H. chaetospira, a non-sporulating isolate with white mycelium (SWM) and MRA were easily reisolated from root segments. Hyphae of H. chaetospira, P. fortinii and SWM colonized the root tissues of eggplant without causing apparent pathogenic symptoms. The mechanisms by which these endophytes confer resistance to infection by V. dahliae are unknown but the effectiveness of these fungi in a laboratory setting indicates that they have potential as biocontrol agents and merit further investigation.     

The effects of human disturbance on a stingless bee community in a tropical rainforest

Human disturbance of tropical rainforests may change pollinator communities indirectly as a result of changes in resource availability. We studied the mechanisms by which human disturbance affects a community of major pollinators, stingless bees, in Sarawak, Malaysia. We surveyed forest structure and flowering activity, and conducted a nest census and a bait-trap survey of stingless bees, both in primary forests and in forests disturbed by logging and shifting cultivation. The densities of late successional trees and large trees (diameter at breast height >50 cm) were higher in the primary forests than in the disturbed forests. The density of flowering trees was lower one year after logging, but recovered in old disturbed forests because of the active flowering of pioneer trees that became established after the disturbance. Stingless bees nest only in large trees, and nest density was positively correlated with the density of large trees. However, we found no relationship between the numbers of foragers and floristic parameters. Some species preferred nesting in dipterocarps, while others preferred dead trees. The results of the bait-trap survey also indicated that some species were abundant in the primary forests, whereas other species were abundant in the disturbed forests. These results suggest that human disturbance alters the species composition of the stingless bee community. Such changes in the bee community may affect the reproductive success of plants, and ultimately forest composition.     

Conjugated linoleic acid-induced fatty liver can be attenuated by combination with docosahexaenoic acid in C57BL/6N mice

We investigated the effect of dietary combination of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to attenuate CLA-induced fatty liver in C57BL/6N mice. Mice were fed semisynthetic diets that contained either 6% high linoleic safflower oil (HL-SAF), 4% HL-SAF + 2% CLA, or 3.5% HL-SAF + 2% CLA + 0.5% DHA for 4 weeks. This 4 week feeding of CLA showed hepatic lipid accumulation concomitant with the decrease in adipose tissue weight in mice. However, 0.5% supplementation of DHA to the CLA diet could alleviate fatty liver without decreasing the antiobesity effect of CLA. The CLA diet promoted fatty acid synthesis in the liver, but DHA supplementation significantly attenuated the increase in enzyme activity induced by CLA. On the other hand, serum adipocytokines, leptin and adiponectin, were drastically decreased by CLA feeding, and DHA supplementation did not affect those levels. These results show that DHA supplementation to the CLA diet can attenuate CLA-induced fatty liver through the reduction of hepatic fatty acid synthesis without affecting adipocytokine production in C57BL/6N mice.     

Suppression of rice blast by phylloplane fungi isolated from rice plants

Rice phylloplane fungi were evaluated for their potential as biocontrol agents for rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe grisea. A total of 1923 fungal isolates were obtained from rice plants in fields at Ishigaki and Iwama and from potted plants placed in a cedar woods in Iwama as bait. Although 82.9% of isolated fungi could not be identified, species of Epicoccum were the most prevalent among identified isolates. Of the 1923 isolates, 967 were randomly selected for screening against rice leaf blast. Nine isolates (MKP5111B, MKP5112, J2JMR3-2, K2J131-2, I5R3-1, NOP541, K1KM134-1, NOP5112, MKP33222) suppressed the disease when a conidial or hyphal suspension of both the phylloplane fungus and pathogen were simultaneously used to inoculate rice plants cultured in pots in a growth chamber. Five of the isolates originated from potted plants in the woods and four from Ishigaki, a subtropical island. Five (MKP5111B, MKP5112, NOP541, NOP5112, MKP33222) of the nine isolates strongly suppressed conidial germination of M. grisea (0.7%) and formed inhibition zones (3–5mm width) in dual cultures with the pathogen. Methanol extracts from the isolates also inhibited mycelial growth of the pathogen. These results suggest that the five isolates produced antibiotic(s). These five isolates are likely identical or closely related fungal species because the sequence of their ITS regions were 100% similar. ITS sequence analysis also suggested that J2JMR3-2 was associated with a species of Fusarium. Under field conditions, J2JMR3-2 reduced both leaf and panicle blast severity, and three other isolates (MKP5111B, K1KM134-1, K2J131-2) suppressed leaf blast in one of the three experiments.     

An Efficient Inoculation Method for Colonization of Chinese Cabbage Seedlings by the Root Endophytic Fungus Heteroconium chaetospira

To develop an efficient method to inoculate Chinese cabbage seedlings with the root endophytic fungus Heteroconium chaetospira, an appropriate nursery soil and glucose concentration for the nutrient medium for fungal colonization were determined. A grid-sheet method was established for estimating the degree of colonization of entire roots by the fungus. The fungus colonized at high frequencies when peat moss was used as the rooting medium. Colonization was highest (75%) when peat moss was amended with 0.1% glucose. Under these conditions, fungal hyphae developed intracellularly in root cortical cells. In contrast, under high glucose conditions, fungal colonization was restricted mostly to intercellular regions of epidermal or cortical root tissues. Here, hyphae formed inter- or intracellular microsclerotia. Received 19 August 2002/ Accepted in revised form 5 December 2002     

Effect of water surface condition on survival,growth and swim bladder inflation of yellowfin tuna,Thunnus albacares (Temminck and Schlegel), larvae

Early‐stage mortality due to surface water tension‐related death and due to sinking to the tank bottom was investigated for yellowfin tuna, Thunnus albacares (YFT), larvae. Different aeration rates and rearing water surface conditions were examined to evaluate the effect on larval survival, swim bladder inflation and growth. The percentage survival of yolk sac larvae was significantly higher when the rearing water surface was covered with fish oil at aeration rates of 0 and 50 mL min^?1. The highest mortality occurred at the highest aeration rate of 250 mL min^?1 regardless of surface water condition. A second experiment was conducted twice under different water surface conditions: the water surface was covered by fish oil (FO), skimmed of fish oil (SS), and was not treated (NC). The percentage survival was not significantly different between treatments after 7 days of feeding. In contrast to the survival, the proportion of larvae with inflated swim bladders was significantly higher for the NC and SS groups than that of the FO group. Results of these experiments indicate that the addition of oil to the rearing water surface without its removal interferes with the initial swim bladder inflation in YFT larvae. These results also indicate that YFT larvae need to obtain (gulp) air at the water surface for initial swim bladder inflation, and success of initial swim bladder inflation may be crucial for their survival.     

Dietary phosphatidylinositol prevents the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in Zucker (fa/fa) rats

Recent studies have shown that dietary phospholipids, especially phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine, have various beneficial biological effects. However, there are not enough data concerning the physiological function of dietary phosphatidylinositol (PI). The metabolic syndrome, a cluster of metabolic abnormalities such as dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension, is a widespread and increasingly prevalent disease in industrialized countries. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is often associated with features of the metabolic syndrome. NAFLD describes the spectrum of liver damage ranging from hepatic steatosis to steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, and cirrhosis, and it is emerging as the most common liver disease worldwide. The present study examined whether dietary PI protects Zucker ( fa/ fa) rats from the metabolic syndrome. For 4 weeks, rats were fed semisynthetic diets containing either 7% soybean oil or 5% soybean oil plus 2% PI. Dietary PI markedly prevented the development of hepatomegaly and hepatic steatosis and lowered hepatic injury markers in serum. Additionally, hyperinsulinemia was relieved by the feeding of dietary PI in Zucker rats. These effects were attributable to an increase in serum adiponectin, enhancement of fatty acid beta-oxidation, and suppression of mRNA expression of inflammatory genes in the liver. This is the first report that dietary PI increases serum adiponectin level and prevents the development of NAFLD in a rat model of the metabolic syndrome.     

Pollen-limited production of viable seeds in an endemic dwarf birch, Betula apoiensis, and incomplete reproductive barriers to a sympatric congener, B. ermanii

An endemic dwarf birch, Betula apoiensis, is critically endangered, and two populations of this species are restricted to the ridges of Mt. Apoi in Hokkaido, Japan. We observed the flowering phenology, pollen dispersal, and viable seed production and conducted pollination experiments in order to examine pollen limitation and hybridization with a sympatric congener, B. ermanii. B. apoiensis flowered earlier than B. ermanii but had a more variable flowering time among trees than B. ermanii. The female flowering of B. apoiensis temporally overlapped with the male flowering of B. ermanii as well as with that of B. apoiensis. Pollination experiments demonstrated that seed set and seed germination were higher in female flowers outcrossed than in those that were non-pollinated, selfed, hybridized with B. ermanii pollen, or pollinated naturally. A few selfed or hybrid seeds were filled and germinated, which indicates that self-incompatibility and reproductive barriers are not complete. Logistic regressions of local density of conspecific trees on natural seed set and seed germination were significantly positive. These results suggest that B. apoiensis is pollen-limited.     

Effect of annealing temperature on gelatinization of rice starch suspension as studied by rheological and thermal measurements

The effect of annealing temperature (Ta) on the rheological behavior of 10 wt % rice starch suspension was investigated by the dynamic viscoelasticity, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the amount of leached out amylose and the swelling ratio of starch suspension. The rheological behaviors of the annealed samples are classified into three types in terms of Ta: Ta1, 48 and 55 degrees C, which are much lower than the gelatinization temperature, Tgel (=62 degrees C); Ta2, 58, 60, and 62 degrees C, which are almost the same as Tgel; and Ta3, 65, 68, 70, and 73 degrees C, which are much higher than Tgel. For the samples annealed at Ta2, the onset temperature of the storage and the loss moduli, G' and G', increased with increasing T(a), and G' and G" in the temperature range from 65 to 90 degrees C gradually increased though smaller than those for the nonannealed sample, the control. This can be understood by the partial gelatinization; i.e., the leached out amylose prevents further amylose from leaching out. The rheological property of the samples annealed at Ta1 is not so different from that of the control, and the samples annealed at Ta3 are almost gelatinized. The rheological behavior of starch suspension can be controlled by Ta.